Chapter 16

"Hello Derek. I'm Doctor George Huang. I'm a psychiatrist," the small statured Asian man smiled slightly. Derek's lawyer, Brett McDaniel, was more than happy to let the former FBI agent give his client a seven-thirty exam. The public defender confided in Carisi that he was afraid of his own client and the ADA told him that if Doctor Huang could perform the psychological exam, then maybe they could wrap this up quickly. It wasn't exactly true, but George wanted to talk to Derek and this was a legal way to do it.

"Hello," Derek narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

"Your lawyer explained what we're doing here, right?" George asked.

"He said that I had to talk to you so that we can move forward in talking with the ADA," Derek said.

"Yes. You understand the charges against you?" George was lobbing softballs at this guy to try and lull him into a sense of being comfortable despite their surroundings at Rikers in an interrogation room.

"Yes. Murder, rape, and stalking," Derek nodded. He really wasn't expounding at all, sure signs that he was holding back.

"How was your childhood?" The question kind of came out of left field and the defendant stumbled over his words a little.

"Ok… I guess…" Derek said.

"Just ok? What about your mom and dad? You have any siblings?" George wanted to know. To an outside person, it was an innocuous question, but the former FBI agent was hoping it would open a door, or at least a window into Derek's psyche.

"Dad was a piece of work, but he left us when I was seven. Mom… she did her best. It was hard to raise two kids and pay a mortgage while working," there was a little info but not enough.

"Was it just you and your mother after your father left?" George pressed, wondering why the sibling that was listed in his file seemed to be a sore spot. He'd get back to the 'piece of work' comment later.

"My sister and I never got along," there it was.

"Well children have their disagreements, that's not unusual," George said.

"I was a nuisance to her," the former FBI agent made a note that he had yet to call her a term of endearment or even use her first name.

"What do you mean?" It was like pulling teeth with this guy.

"She was five years older than me. Dad always paid more attention to her. She had travel softball and he always took her. He wasn't interested in my house league baseball games. She'd always get new gear and I'd get used stuff. They'd spend hours out in the backyard practicing and I could never get him to play catch," Derek finally said.

"Why do you think she thought you were a nuisance?" What Derek was describing seemed like favoritism on the part of the parent not that his sister was doing anything against him.

"She'd always push me away, call me gross," there was something that he wasn't being honest about.

"Do you talk to her now at all?" George wondered. Derek looked at the tabletop, averting his gaze from the doctor.

"I can't. She's dead," that was not something that was in Derek's file and George gave a sideways glance to the one-way glass. On the other side of the glass, Carisi pulled his cellphone from his pocket and dialed an all-familiar number.

"Hey Captain,"

"How's it going Carisi?" Olivia asked.

"Derek just said that his sister is dead and refuses to say her name. We don't have any of that in his file. He also said his dad was a piece of work," the ADA told her.

"I'll get Amanda and Joe on it. Maybe Bartoli can shed some light as well," the Captain said.

"This is going to take a while. Derek is not exactly forthcoming," Carisi admitted.

"Do what you have to do and we'll see what we can dig up," she promised.

"Thanks," with that the call ended.

"You think he's lying? I mean just because he might be doesn't mean he's nuts," Brett pointed out. The public defender must have known something that he refused to come out with. That said, he couldn't violate lawyer/client confidentiality if he wanted to keep his job and livelihood.

"Could be he's a pathological liar. All part of his psychological work up. You and I both know that guys like him don't get better in prison, but then again there might not be a cure for him either," Carisi said. Brett just nodded and they turned back to the interview.

"Why don't you tell me about your grandparents?" George had switched topics again. Carisi could see the look in Derek's eye change and he was sure that the former FBI agent could see it too.

"I can't say anything," Derek said.

"Did you not know them?" He knew the answer before he asked the question but wanted to see what reaction he got.

"My grandpa is a piece of work," Again with that phrase, George mentally noted.

"What do you mean? Did he hurt you? Did your dad? What made the men in your life 'pieces of work'?" The former FBI agent had wanted to wait for this question, but he knew that he was probably running out of time. Derek's demeanor had shifted and it seemed like his patience was running thin.

"If we don't complete this exam today then I just have to keep coming back until we do," it wasn't true, but he wanted to see if that calmed the defendant any. It didn't. Derek stood up, grabbing the table in front of him as he went. The piece of furniture moved toward George and he tried to get out of his chair, but the table was bolted to the floor. Since that didn't work, Derek lunged at the doctor, over the top of the table. The prison guards came running into the room and quickly restrained the defendant before hauling him off to his cell.

"You ok Doctor Huang?" Carisi asked as he entered the room.

"I'm fine. He didn't touch me, but I'll say that our exam is over," George admitted.

"Yeah, it is. Let's get you back to the precinct," the ADA said.

To Be Continued…