240
WILLIAM PHILLIPS
"For Christ's sake, stop beating around the bush. Just tell us what
bothered him, what he came to see you about. You know, when you
are subpoenaed and put on the stand, you will have to tell the judge and
the whole court. Use your common sense and get off the hook by
telling us now."
"Well, I guess the record will show that I did
all
I could to keep the
relation of patient to doctor privileged. Information was forced out of
me by legal pressures. My colleagues will understand, I hope; no,
I'm
sure."
"Well, we're waiting."
"Okay. Gianelli was born with a shriveled penis. He could not en–
gage in easy, what is considered normal, sexual relations, though there
are some schools of analysis that challenge the traditional concepts of
normality. He couldn't have stable relations with women, and of course
his marriages couldn't last. I couldn't make the speculative connections
with his other activities. It wouldn't be professional. But I suppose that
is what you have in mind."
Hastings looked up at the ceiling, then turned to Dr. Lazarstein.
"For God's sake," he said, "Is this what you were keeping from us?
What the hell were you afraid of?"
"It's not the importance of the material. As I keep saying, it's the
doctor-patient relation."
"Didn't it occur to you that this trivial information is useless? What
does it tell us about the reason he drove to Connecticut one night with
explosives in a pickup truck? You could have saved a lot of time and
fancy talk if you had told us this personal bit of biology at the begin–
ning. Anyway, thank you for your time and for your final cooperation."
Robins and Hastings got up, stretched their legs unobtrusively, and
walked to the door.
When they got outside, they asked each other what they knew now
about the crime, or, more exactly, about the intended crime.
"Well, what do we know?" asked Robins again, as they reached the
offices of the Bureau.
"A strange case," said Hastings.
"Is this what psychoanalysts do?" asked Robins , as though he were
talking to himself
The next day Hastings said to Robins, "Let's check whether Toni is
here."
That afternoon, Robins and Hastings dropped in on Wodd Wide
Books.
They showed their badges as they entered and asked for Baskin. They
were told by a secretary that Baskin was out, but Toni Renaldo was
here.
