OK, new chapter up, finally. Sorry it's so short…just wanted to get this posted. Hopefully there will be much more forthcoming over the next few days!
Onward, then, eh?
Captain Sumeragi crossed and uncrossed his ankles in front of him, then looked at the department's forensic psychiatrist once more. "Sorry," he said, "but what did you say it was called again?"
"Well, it used to be called multiple personality disorder, but now it's referred to as dissociative identity disorder. It's the same thing, really – breakdowns in a person's memory, awareness, identity and whatnot."
"Ah. So it's possible to have an alternate personality, then, right?"
"In so many words, yes." The psychiatrist folded his hands in front of him. "In severe cases you could have someone who suffers from several different personality states, several different 'alters'."
"I was looking at one of the suspect's profiles." Here Sumeragi tossed Bakura Ryou's folder onto the desk in front of him. "They mention something about violent mood swings. Do you think it's possible that someone could have an alter with a penchant for violent crime?"
"When an alter takes control over the patient's behavior, that alter could have very different traits and thoughts from the 'normal' personality. I suppose you could have an alter that committed crimes that you wouldn't even dream of doing in your normal state." He tapped his pen thoughtfully against his chin. "Of course, I can't make any assumptions without having met the individual in question," he added, moving to flip through Bakura's file.
Hmm. This was getting interesting. "So. Say one of your alters committed a crime…would you even know about it?"
"Not necessarily. Someone with dissociative identity disorder may not even be aware that they even have these alters. And it's possible they wouldn't even have any memories from the time when the alternate personality was dominant."
"Hm." The captain frowned thoughtfully, then stood from the hard chair he had been sitting in. "Thanks for your time, doctor. I may be back with some more questions."
"No problem. Anytime, Captain." He nodded to the police officer as he left the office.
Out in the hall now, Captain Sumeragi's mind was beginning to see some new possibilities.
At least it's a direction to go in… We're running out of options. Ahead he spotted Lieutenant Ishtar at his desk. "Ishtar! Anything new?"
The man looked up quickly then shook his head, sweeping the photos on his desk into a messy pile at the same time. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Nothing groundbreaking, sir."
Sumeragi nodded sympathetically, pausing at the desk. "Actually, we may have something new out of psych. Have you heard of dissociative identity disorder?"
"Multiple personality disorder, right? I've…read a bit about it."
Sumeragi laughed. "I'm sure." Rishid Ishtar, he had discovered, was very well read. "The subject came up when I was looking at one of the suspect's files – Bakura Ryou's to be exact. If he suffers from dissociative identity disorder, there's a chance he could have committed crimes in one of his 'sudden and violent' personality changes. I know it's a long shot, but I want you to look into the boy's background, see if there's anything else you can dig up."
Rishid looked like he was about to say something, then changed his mind. "Yes, sir. I'll get right on it." Sumeragi watched him turn back to his computer before he, too, continued down the hall to his own desk. It was time to get back to work.
Ah, the plot thickens. Tune in soon for better, longer chapters continuing our story! XD