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.”“First of all,” Gil said, smiling.He could tell she had probably practiced that speech in the car.“I can neither confirm nor deny that we’ve arrested someone.Secondly, whether or not schizophrenia had a role in any crime would be up to the doctors to decide.Not you.” He tried to add the last part gently.She smiled and said, “Just consider me an expert on schizophrenia.Someone who can save you from making a potentially embarrassing mistake.”Gil heard a throat-clearing noise behind him and turned to see Joe.She stuck out her hand and said brightly, “Hi.I’m Lucy.” Gil could see the wheels turning in Joe’s head, and those wheels only turned in one direction.They shook hands as she said, “I was just discussing the case with Gil.”Gil quickly corrected her, saying, “We are not discussing the case.”“Jeez, Gil, lighten up,” Joe said.“Let’s hear what the lady has to say.”“So,” she said with a smile at Joe.“I was just explaining to Gil that I know quite a lot about schizophrenia, and I thought before your investigation went any further it might do some good to look at your suspect’s situation.”“His situation is that he’s nuts,” Joe said.“Nuts how?” Lucy glanced at Gil and must have noticed his disapproving look.She put a hand on his arm and said, “I only want to hear a little about his behavior.I don’t care about anything else.How is that going to hurt your case?”“Yeah, Gil,” Joe said.“How is that going to hurt our case?” Gil could feel himself relenting.He had to admit he was curious, mainly about how Lucy became a schizophrenia expert.“Okay,” Gil said, “but when I say any information is off-limits you have to respect that.Let’s go sit in one of the interview rooms.”When they were all seated around the table, Gil asked, “What do you need to know?”“Tell me what he’s saying,” she said.When she saw Gil’s hackles go up, she added, “I don’t mean tell me if he’s confessed or said anything about the case.I mean how is he forming sentences? What kind of words is he using?”“He’s confused.His sentences don’t make any sense,” Gil said.“No,” she said.“I need to know exactly what he is saying.”Gil pulled his notebook out of his pocket and read, “Rarely heaven is dog symptom” and “Giraffe spoiled drum pink.”Lucy shook her head.“He’s in word salad.It’s the technical term.One of the hallmarks of schizophrenia is disorganized thinking, and word salad is about as disorganized as it gets.He’s probably delusional, has hallucinations.What else is he doing?”“He’s constantly talking,” Gil said.“That’s pressured speech,” Lucy said.“Oh, and Gil, man, don’t forget the evil laughing thing,” Joe said.“He laughs and giggles when you talk to him.”“Really?” she said, shaking her head.“No, see, this is the problem.This is why I wanted to come talk to you.People assume because schizophrenics act strangely that they are violent.A few might be, but the vast majority aren’t.Like this poor guy.It sounds like he has hebephrenic schizophrenia.You’ve got to get ahold of his psychiatrist and find out.”“Why? What does that mean?”“If he is hebephrenic, which I bet that he is, there is no way he could have had the ability to get all the stuff together that he needs, get downtown, get to Zozobra, put the skull in, and all that.That takes planning and purpose.Hebephrenics have no purpose.”“Yeah, but still, the guy is nuts—”“He’s out there, but he’s not your killer,” she said more strongly.“I mean, the way doctors diagnose hebephrenic schizophrenia is by two clear indicators: having no purpose to their movement and the laughing at inopportune moments.It’s classic.”Gil shook his head.“Lucy, we have some fairly strong evidence against him.”“What evidence?” she asked.“We have an ID from the family,” Joe said, pretending not to notice Gil’s disapproving look.“He has a history of approaching neighbor kids, and he used to stop and talk with Brianna and sometimes play—”“Joe,” Gil said sharply to make him stop.“What, Gil? I didn’t tell her who the family member was,” Joe said, annoyed and whiny.Lucy smiled and said to Joe, leaning over to touch his hand, “Gil is upset because you just confirmed to me that you think the skull is Brianna’s, and what Gil thinks is that I will use that information.I won’t.I promise.”“Gil is such a safety dog,” Joe said to Lucy, shaking his head.“I know exactly what you mean,” she said, laughing.“He is a total safety dog.On my honor, Officer Gil, I swear I will look both ways before crossing the street.” They were both laughing now.“Anyway,” Gil said.“Sorry,” Lucy said, as if she were apologizing to her dad or a teacher for acting up.“Anyway, there is no way a guy with hebephrenia would strike up a friendship with a two-year-old.Even on medication, he would barely to talk to anyone.At most, he would have possibly walked by her.Even then, he would have crossed the street to avoid her or anyone else.Your witness is wrong.”“We have no reason not to believe him,” Gil said.She shook her head again.“You guys have seen your suspect
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