Death Dance Read Online Free PDF

looked down at the papers and then glanced at Eric
Ingels, probably hoping my adversary would interrupt me.
    I went on. "The crime of rape is accomplished, as I'm sure
your honor recalls, by penetration of the victim, however slight.
There's no legal requirement that he ejaculate in each of these women."
    Moffett knew he was out of his element. The colloquy was too
graphic for his old-fashioned courtroom style. "Save that talk,
Alexandra. Eric says the hospital these girls went to is near his home.
You heard him. What kind of scheme is that?"
    "A pretty foolproof one, if my victims had used the bus
tickets they told Sengor they had for yesterday afternoon. Do you know
how many victims of drug-facilitated rape ever get to a hospital in
time to be tested?" I asked. "Less than ten percent. It's almost
impossible to prove these crimes because some of the drugs work their
way out of the system so quickly that by the time the victims sleep off
the effects of the sedatives and feel well enough to get themselves
medical attention, nobody even knows what toxicological tests to
perform."
    "What you're telling me, missy, is that this healthy male
specimen," Moffett said, an elbow resting on the ridge of the bench in
front of him, his forefinger wagging at Selim Sengor, "would rather
make love to somebody who doesn't even know what the heck is going on.
Now why would anyone want to do that?"
    "It's deviant behavior, your honor. Obviously." Don't try to
compare it to your own sexual experience, I was tempted to tell him.
Don't try for a minute to think outside the box. He looked even more
puzzled as he licked the tip of his finger and used it to smooth down
the wisps of hair that were flipping up behind his ears. "We'll have
experts to explain the psychology of it at trial. I'm just dealing with
the strength of my case for the purpose of this arraignment."
    Moffett's ruling about whether or not to detain Sengor would
be grounded on two major points: the likelihood that he would return to
stand trial rather than be a risk to flee the jurisdiction, and the
probability of my obtaining a conviction when the case went to a jury
many months down the road.
    "So, let me understand this, hon. You got two women who were
shacking up at Dr. Selim's place, drinking liquor with him, who wake up
with a hangover and miss their bus ride home. You maybe have some
seminal fluid—"
    "And both women tell me they hadn't had intercourse in more
than a month."
    "The only thing you haven't got is any evidence that the drugs
were even in their cocktails, no less slipped there by the doctor,"
Moffett said.
    Eric Ingels had very little left to do, with Moffett so
obviously in his corner. A physician didn't fit the stereotypical
profile of a rapist, and a man whose arousal came from sedating women
for the purpose of subjecting them to sexual assault was an even bigger
stretch for this jurist's small mind.
    "It seems to me, judge," Ingels said, "that until Ms. Cooper
gets her lab results, you have absolutely no reason at all to detain my
client. He's got strong roots in this community. It's where he lives,
it's where he works. He's got no history of criminal
conduct—a perfectly clean record."
    "What kind of bail can he make?" Moffett asked Ingels.
    "Your honor, most respectfully," I said, "I don't think you
should approach the matter that way and accommodate the pocketbook of
the very person we're charging with these crimes. We're talking about
two counts of first-degree rape. I'd like to suggest bail in the amount
of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
    "
What
?" Ingels said, pounding the table
in front of him with a closed fist. "You know how much a medical
resident earns?"
    "Calm down, both of you. Here's what I'm gonna do. She's gonna
holler at me anyway, Mr. Ingels. I'm going to release Dr. Sengor on his
own recognizance—no bail. You, Alexandra. Stop with the
grimace and the smoke coming out your ears. I'll put the case over for
a very short date. Next