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murder to end the suffering.”
    “Excellent, Miss Streng. Mercy killing, by law, meets the requirements for murder. The act of committing the crime, actus reus , and the willful intent to commit the crime, mens rea , is indeed malice aforethought, and according to the present law, that parent is a murderer. In this scenario, how many of you think the act is evil?”
    No one raised their hand.
    “But earlier, almost every hand was up. If the act itself isn’t evil, what is?”
    Someone said, “Motive.”
    “Ah.” Dr. Horner nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere. A parent’s decision to murder is based on ending a child’s agony. A noble, unselfish motive. Now let me show you a motive that’s a bit more selfish. Lights, please.”
    Rostenkowski killed the lights, and Dr. Horner positioned himself behind a slide projector. He switched it on, and an image threw itself up on the movie screen on the far wall.
    Someone coughed—an attempt to cover up a gag. I forced myself to look even though I had to hold my breath to do so. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
    “This victim has never been identified. The missing fingers and missing teeth have made it impossible to trace who she is. They were removed while she was still alive. The mutilation here—”
    Dr. Horner used a pointer and tapped the screen, touching the victim’s pelvis.
    “—was caused by a sharp instrument, a filet knife, or perhaps a scalpel. The victim was forced to eat these parts of herself. This white powder is salt, rubbed into the wounds. The burns here, here, here, and here were the result of a super-heated flame. Possibly a blowtorch.”
    Dr. Horner turned away from the slide and stood in front of the screen, the ghastly image projected on his face and body.
    “The autopsy determined, based on how some of the wounds had had time to heal, that she’d been tortured for at least twenty-four hours. We have no suspects, but some of the atrocities committed upon her have been seen in other, similar murders. The perpetrator has been dubbed Unknown Subject K by the FBI. We’ve taken to calling him Mr. K for short. Lights please, Sergeant.”
    The overhead fluorescent light flickered on. It reduced the brightness of the slide, but not enough. Details could still be seen.
    “Now I present to you my earlier question. By a show of hands, who believes Mr. K is evil?”
    Every hand went up but mine. Dr. Horner focused on me.
    “Surely you don’t believe this is a mercy killing, Miss Streng.”
    Titters from the peanut gallery.
    “No. Of course not.”
    “So why didn’t you raise your hand?”
    “I don’t know enough about the case.”
    Dr. Horner folded his arms across his chest. “What more do you need to know?”
    “Was she raped?”
    “Aw, come on!” Harry, naturally. “She was tortured for an entire day! What does it matter if she was raped, too?”
    “Rape is a crime of violence,” I stated, “but rapists tend to enjoy the act.”
    Dr. Horner tilted his head. “Sexual assault is unverified. Those parts of her were cut away. No semen was found.”
    “Was this the crime scene?” I asked. “Or was she dumped there?”
    “We believe the apartment where she was discovered was where the crime was committed.”
    “Were there condoms found in the apartment? Condom wrappers?”
    “No.”
    “Was it her apartment?”
    “No. The room was supposed to be unoccupied.”
    “Were there neighbors?”
    Dr. Horner offered a small smile. “Yes, on either side.”
    “No one heard her screams?”
    “No. The same thing that allowed Mr. K to pry out her teeth also kept her from making any sound. A ball gag, holding her mouth open. Sold in sex shops across town and in the backs of pornographic magazines worldwide.”
    “Did he use ball gags on his other alleged victims?”
    “Let’s stick with this one. What is your reasoning that Mr. K might not be evil? His objective was obviously to cause pain and death.”
    I tapped my