you form about Davenport in this case can’t be used by us in any formal capacity, and that includes at trial. You’re one of his victims. As such, you’ll be deemed a biased witness.”
“I realize that. But you see, like I said, I knew him. Not well, but even so, even knowing how much he grieved his daughter and blamed me for her death, I would never have thought him capable of violence. Not like this.”
“Would you have suspected he’d threaten you, even break into your house with a gun?”
“No,” she said truthfully.
“Yet you saw for yourself that he did do that.”
“Yes, but murder? Mutilation? That’s far different. I just want to see him. Observe him when he doesn’t know I’m there. I might be able to offer you something useful, even if it’s nothing that can be used against him in court.”
Stevens pondered what she’d said for several minutes, then nodded. “Come with me. You can watch the tail end of Simon’s interview from a one-way mirror.”
He led her to a small room with a window that looked into another small room. There, Simon sat at a long table. On the other end of the table sat a pony-tailed man in a blazer, and Lester Davenport.
Davenport was shackled to a metal chair, his forehead on the scarred metal table in front of him, his sobs echoing through the interrogation room. Despite herself, despite all the things Simon suspected he’d done, Nina’s heart ached with sympathy for the man.
“Has he said anything about me?” she asked Stevens.
Stevens hesitated, and Nina reassured him, “It’s okay. I’ve heard him blame me for Beth’s death for a long time now. I’m just wondering if his accusations have remained consistent or if he’s started to remember the past in a skewed way. That would give me some insight into his current mental state.”
“He told Simon that you were responsible for his daughter’s death because your staff knew she was suicidal, yet you let her boyfriend give her a teddy bear with a long length of ribbon tied around its neck into a bow. He said that although your staff confiscated the bear, they failed to notice that Beth secreted the ribbon in her mouth. And he said that she used that ribbon to hang herself.”
“That’s exactly what happened,” she said. “So he’s in touch with reality.”
“He said you weren’t actually at the hospital at the time, though.”
“That’s right.”
“Yet he blames you so strongly.”
“Because I’d told him that Beth was getting better. That I didn’t think she’d make another attempt on her life as long as she continued to improve the way she had. I was obviously wrong.”
“You mean because you couldn’t predict the future with perfect accuracy, you’re to blame?”
“In his mind, yes.”
“And in your mind?”
She startled and looked up at the commander. “Logically I know I’m not to blame. But I still can’t help wondering if I could have done more to get through to Beth. Aren’t you plagued by such doubts at times?”
“Of course. We all are. I just hope you remember that.”
She smiled slightly. Commander Stevens was obviously trying to do the right thing by having someone other than Simon interview her, but he was compassionate about her situation, as well. He was just being objective, like he’d said. That went a long way in getting her to trust him again.
The interview concluded less than two minutes later without giving Nina much of an opportunity to observe Davenport. Stevens escorted her out of the room. As they walked farther down the hallway, she asked, “Despite what he believes about Davenport, Simon has said I shouldn’t assume I’m safe now. Do you agree? Because I’d like to go home. Get on with my life.”
“Does that include the shadow program with Simon?”
She shook her head. “I don’t need to continue the program. I’ve seen enough, and I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you that, while I find your men to have a basic understanding of mental illness consumers and de-escalation techniques, there is ample room for improvement. As such, I will be recommending SFPD and other city law enforcement undergo the MHIT training. Of course, I can shadow Simon or another detective a few more times if you insist but—”
“No,” Stevens said. “You’ve done what I asked. If you think you have enough information to make your recommendation, I believe you. And as far as getting back to your home? Your life? I agree with Simon. We need to proceed