terri's loves 3 --revised version

Police special consultant, Dr. Lawrence Daniel Harriman spoke without bothering to look at Detective ‘Stu’ Jennings.

“Your theory, Detective Jennings, although interesting-- in a simplistic and I must also say amateurish way-- fails to completely address the facts.” He paused before continuing his rebuttal, more to let the sting of his remark spread deeper between the ears of his stocky, but obvious to Dr. Harriman, outmatched opponent.

Unlike the detectives, the creases of the psychologist’s dark blue suit were still sharp, unwrinkled by the day’s wear. Lean -- to the point of appearing unhealthily thin, and possessing almost skeletal fingers , the well selected clothing seemed to drape loosely, a placid figure. The eyes being the only hint of liveliness within. He fingered gently his left cufflink with his right hand --cufflinks he had chosen because they matched the subdued black and orange colors of the Ivy League tie pin he usually wore.

Jennings shifted his substantial weight back and forth in his chair as if searching for a more comfortable location for his large frame. The Captain of Detectives and the District Attorney seemed to both wait anxiously before choosing sides in the joust. Under the room’s bright lighting, a shining film of perspiration began forming near the receding hairline of the District Attorney’s balding head .

“Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, “ Dr. Harriman continued, “Could be an obvious defense for Mrs. Gentry if the case goes to trial, but it could easily be countered by the lack of tension evident in her life before any of the criminal episodes began. Persons suffering this disorder usually exhibit a consistent edginess, a jumpiness, that is unmistakable and clear to recognize.

Mrs. Gentry is quite the contrary example, described as ’ hardworking’ but also, normally very pleasant , ‘congenial’ and even described as typically a ‘jovial’ personality by friends, family and co-workers. Not the on-alert, returning veteran soldier, inadvertently jumping for a foxhole every time a truck rumbles down the street. “

Jennings’s face reddened slightly, but he refused to concede the doctor’s point. Looking to convince the Captain and the DA, he repeated his contention to them, only briefly interrupting himself to narrow his eyelids in Harriman’s direction, as if squeezing out poison at him.

“ But the incident from her childhood -- at age eight she climbs the security wall around the estate of a wealthy family and is nearly mauled by guard dogs--That could be regarded by her defense attorneys as the initial traumatizing incident. They could say it left her in a state of mind where there was a ticking device inside her waiting to eventually explode. That she managed to control it as long as she did would be made out by them to be a tribute to her character. Mother of two kids --loyal employee--faithful wife of sixteen years--Never any real trouble with the law until this --‘spree’. If the case goes to trial --with a sympathetic jury --this lady might walk .”

“Nonsense.,” the doctor replied ,still refusing to even look at Jennings, “Post Traumatic Stress severe enough to cause a criminal rampage like Mrs. Gentry’s would not wait latent and completely unnoticed for thirty years. This type of condition would reveal some obvious hint of disturbance well before the undeniable eruption . Like a volcano --there’s always thick smoke before it blows. “

“But what about the shoplifting incidents as a teenager? “ Jennings leaned forward placing his eyes directly on Dr. Harriman. If the doctor could sense the intensity and irritation within the detective’s stare, he did nothing to show it.

“ What about the thefts of money from her classmates in elementary school ? “ the detective gestured widely with his hands to illustrate his point.

What about the incidents of drunkenness on record at college ? The promiscuity ? The campus fines and disciplinary warnings for the nude sunbathing in public? “ Jennings’s voice began to rise in frustration.

The doctor seemed unaffected . Revealing a pair of white striped, blue suspenders, he casually removed from his inside coat pocket a small leatherette case containing pretreated lens tissues. Indifferently , he removed his silver rimmed glasses and wiped them clean as if wiping away the detective’s arguments.

“Detective,” the doctor quietly scolded with a dismissive smirk, making eye contact for the first time with Jennings , “ How many teenagers get caught shoplifting every day in this country and later mature into law abiding citizens? What schoolchild hasn’t taken something from a classmate at one time or another ? At that age boundaries are still in flux --not yet fixed. What coed away from home and parental supervision for the first time, hasn’t experimented with alcohol at some college party and ended up tipsy ? Perhaps even done something as unconventional as nude sunbathing while under the influence and had her virtue compromised by horny frat boys ? But none of that indicates a violent felon seething beneath the surface.“

Behind the smirk he was fancifully imagining himself in the dojang of his Tae Kwan Do club sparring with the other senior students and the instructor -- smacking away flurries of back fists, knife hand strikes vertical punches, front snap and roundhouse kicks as easily as he was thwarting the claims of the hapless detective.

“Being chased by a dog at age eight can in no way, in a court of law, be stretched into a Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome defense at age thirty eight by a bored housewife looking for thrills. A woman, who willfully decides to have sexual flings with thieves and gunmen and become involved in various …crime… trysts… simply because her husband has an affair and she later witnesses a bank robbery. “

“So, Larry, without their Post Traumatic Stress defense, you think if we go to trial, we’ve got a good chance to put Mrs. Gentry away? “ the District Attorney’s eagerness blurted his desire.

“ I prefer, ‘Lawrence’ --not ‘Larry’. “ the doctor quietly admonished. “ What I’m saying is that the Post Traumatic Stress defense probably won’t work, but it’s not her best psychological defense option. There’s a better one and it may be less risky NOT to go to trial. What I’m saying is that you might HAVE to offer her a plea bargain. “

“Post Traumatic won’t work ?” it was Detective Jennings’s turn to blurt. “ What option in your HUMBLE opinion, would her lawyers use, LARRY, the ‘Twinkie Defense’ ? “

From the corners of his eyes Jennings saw the glare his Captain of Detectives was giving him, and immediately grew quiet, but partly entertained his irritation at the psychologist with imaginings of substituting the thin doctor for the heavy bag the detective pounded regularly at the police boxing gym.

“ I prefer, ‘Dr. Harriman’ --not ‘Larry’, “ the psychologist curtly asserted with a glower that quickly located the insolence in Jennings’s eyes. It was the detective’s turn to smirk.

Reasserting his composure, the psychologist again wiped the lenses of his glasses as he began his clarification.

“In my opinion the best that you can do is offer Mrs. Gentry a plea bargain. You’d never be able to convict her in a trial. The defense team will bring in psychologists and psychiatrists who will take the stand and get her acquitted by reason of diminished capacity.

She’s almost a textbook case for the Freudians. They would claim she exhibits the characteristics of a Wounded Personality. “

“What’s that ?” the Captain leaned slightly forward.

“In Freud-speak, Mrs. Gentry’s essential sense of self was severely damaged as a young child. They will cite the fact that in her own confession statement she mentions her father wanted a son instead of a daughter. She’s the middle child. The oldest sister Michelle was Daddy’s little girl. Michelle was always the attractive one. Always praised for her appearance. The beautiful little girl who could always get by on her looks.

Like most fathers, he doted on the child and spoiled her. She was Daddy’s Princess-- his precious little girl in the pink ruffled dress. He put her on a pedestal and she adored the attention. After years of being instantly accepted and having doors flung open for simply looking good, she’s almost as psychologically damaged as her little sister Terri now. Except that after graduation, Michelle moved to Los Angeles and married well. An NFL draft pick who sat the bench for most of five years as second string quarterback before ruining his knee in a playoff game.

Luckily he had a job waiting for him in the family business selling German high performance cars to his old football buddies. Fifteen years and two acrimonious divorces later Michelle’s financially well off enough to afford a very expensive analyst as well as a large home in a very exclusive section of Miami and has enough of her looks left to still play party girl with influential people.. “

“This is all interesting Doc, but I don’t see where this is taking us,” the Captain interjected .

“ It’s ‘Doctor’ --I prefer Doctor, Captain,“ a slight annoyance arising as he began again wiping his glasses.

“Where it takes us to is this : Terri’s father already had a daughter. He made it clear that he wanted Terri to be a son. For a time, he and his wife believed they couldn’t produce any more children. But most men who want children, want a son. From the time Terri was a toddler, he treated her like his little boy until she was almost five and her brother Adam was born.

Until Adam was born, he treated Terri like his little son. Recall in her statement she said they played ball together much of the time and, she could catch and throw like a little boy…”’

“So when the boy finally comes along, Terri ’s no longer the ‘son’ anymore? You’re saying she has big identity issues?” Jennings forgot his disdain long enough to try and anticipate the twisting path the doctor was asking them to navigate.

“ In a sense, but it goes much deeper,” the psychologist ignored his annoyance with the detective long enough to further clarify meaning.

“In her statements, Terri talked about how much she enjoyed when she and her father would mock fight when she was a child. ‘We’d roughhouse it up all the time‘ were her exact words. There’s nothing she has said or implied that indicate that any molestation or sexual improprieties took place. In questioning her, it seems to be exactly how she described it. A father wrestling in the family living room with his little girl.”

The District Attorney gradually sat back in his chair after momentarily lurching forward.

“ So what happens to Terri when the little brother arrives? “ the Captain inquires.

“ Exactly,” the psychologist distinguishes the flash of recognition in the Captain’s face.

“When Adam is born , it all changes. Terri is no longer ‘Daddy’s little boy’ , she’s been replaced. By a real one. Now she has to be Daddy’s little girl--“

“But ‘the Princess’ already has that job and poor Terri knows she’ll never be beautiful enough to dethrone Michelle. “ the DA picks up the thread.

“So what happens? “ Jennings asks.

“ Five year old Terri suffers a frightful jolt to her core identity. “ Dr. Harriman responds. “ The Freudians would say she becomes a ‘Wounded Personality’. If the jolt is staggering enough, painful enough, what identity the child had at the time may not even be there any longer. It’s like a void at the center of her being --no one at home anymore where she lives--an emptiness in the core of her personality.”

“ When she pulls the crib over that baby Adam is sleeping in, putting the scar on his face, it’s not by accident --she’s not trying to get a better look at the baby--she resents the boy and turns the crib over on intent. “


“But could a child that young only limit her resentment to the boy?” asked the DA, his brow narrowing ..


‘”She not only resents the boy--she also resents her father, “ offers the Captain.

“Correct, and the Freudians would say that resentment is carried over to ALL men in general. --a sort of transference, “ the doctor responds.

“She feels her father has rejected her, so wouldn’t she turn to her mother ? “ Jennings asks.

“Yes,” the psychologist’s irritation had subsided some. The detectives’ and DA’s growing interest in fathoming the intricacies of Terri’s mind elicited his own enthusiasm for solving these puzzles.

“But, what she really wants to accomplish, is to win daddy back. And in this quest she resents the mother as an obstacle. In the child’s mind it’s an Electra-tinged, complex type of competition between young Terri and her mother as well as Terri‘s sister Michelle over who Daddy loves most. The daughter wishes to replace the mother and her sister as the primary object of the father’s attention.

The opposite of the Oedipal complex where a boy desires to replace his father and win the mother. Yet Terri is still dependent. Like all children, she needs her mother for nurturance and emotional support . Also in cases of these wounded personalities, the victim attempts to hide or cover the emptiness of the void left by a shattered personality core. They typically wrap layers of adopted identity around the wounded core. “

“Layers of protection?” the DA inquires .

“Exactly-- bandages for the wound at the core and armor against future wounding. She resents the mother, but needs her also because she provides a model for the armor Little Terri wraps around her to hide her wound. ”

“She can’t be Daddy’s little boy anymore. She can’t be Daddy’s little Princess. She wraps Mom like Kevlar around her wounded personality --but resents her too! “ The Captain’s animation increases.

“Yes! Very good ! ” Harriman points his thin index finger towards the Captain for emphasis.

“She requires the mother as role model --learns to be like Mom as her hope of winning the competition --”

“--In the process,” interrupts the DA, “Eventually out competes Mom and becomes in her own words, ’Super Mom’. “

“The Freudians would say the pattern is unmistakable. Her mother only went as far as completion of high school --Terri graduates college. Her mother works part-time, in unskilled blue collar work --Terri has a career as a white collared professional --And expects to advance up the managerial levels. Terri turns out to be an average athlete in high school and she and her siblings turn out to be only average to above average students --Terri’s kids excel not only at academics in private school, but are stand outs in gymnastics and soccer , violin and piano. Terri’s parents live in a house in the blue collar suburbs--Terri and her husband are both white collar professionals with a house overlooking a golf course. “

“She out competes her mother, but still must hold left over resentment from her childhood that she still suffers from at an unconscious level-- stemming from her perceived emotional abandonment by her father when her brother was born.”

“But at the core she is still ‘wounded little Terri‘. What would the shrinks say would happen to her when the ‘perfect’ world she built and wrapped around little wounded Terri , ALL starts to fall apart? “ Jennings asks.

One corner of Harriman’s mouth turned slightly downward in reaction to Jennings’s ‘shrink’ remark, but the doctor was too deeply inside his professional persona now to allow this offense he considered “childishly unprofessional --even for a dickhead like Jennings” to interfere with his work.

“ Discovering the husband’s affair is like losing Daddy’s love all over again. Only much worse because she is a mature woman, but with the emotions of an adult arising from a child’s fragile and wounded foundation . The Freudians would posit that her wound as a child left her living with a huge sense of inadequacy . Overachievement would be one of her means of compensation for the inadequacy she must have felt after her brother’s birth. Her participation in the rougher women’s sports-- field hockey, and lacrosse as an adolescent would be explained as another means. Her episodes of promiscuity, drunkenness and public nudity in college would be viewed as others.

Her own children’s achievement and early self sufficiency on the surface are evidence of her success as a parent, but eventually help contribute to her emotional abandonment issues. Talk to them and you get the sense that emotionally, they are very aloof . Unusually reserved for young teens --expressively lukewarm at best. “

“Her fast tracking her kids to independence, from the Freudian perspective-- Could that be seen as a way of intimacy avoidance? “ the Captain inquired .

“ From that standpoint, it could aptly be seen as a facile fit.” opined the expert.

“What she cannot face--classically most of them can’t -- is that at the deepest level, there is nothing but emptiness inside. She could act out the necessary motions needed to physically raise and care for a child, even exhibit genuine warmth towards them, but never from the core level--That’s the place where she is most deeply wounded. Expressively needy offspring would become an eventual and inescapable reminder of the emptiness -- her inability to profoundly emote--a unceasing provocation for her core sense of inadequacy.

People like Terri have layered credentials, marriage, career, parenthood, homes, possessions, success of their offspring, success in general around their wounds like oysters constructing pearls to protect soft tissue from the extreme irritation sand grains supply.

The beast in the dark, the foreboding danger that has them trembling in the night-- is when it all unravels , when the veneer all collapses, and there’s nothing left protecting the soft tissue from the irritant --The pain becomes intolerable--And can lead to extreme responses. For the classic Wounded Personality, the means are justified by the ends accomplished--the cessation of the anguish from the inadequacy of their central nothingness. “

There was a pause after the psychologist finished his analysis. The weight of silence pressed down upon the three law enforcement professionals as if from words, the air had grown thick and almost too heavy to breathe.

The DA’s jaws ballooned as he puffed out a long sigh ,”Let’s offer her a plea, and hope she takes it. This goes to trial and her lawyers put on this defense in front of a jury , we lose this case --How do I look prosecuting this woman ? A poor child victimized by an insensitive father as a five year old--thirty three years later she’s an honest citizen victimized by drug crazed gunmen during a bank robbery--Victimized again by a conviction hungry District Attorney looking to build a ‘tough on crime’ reputation to launch a political career. Any prosecutor’d have to be a fool to take this case to trial. I lose credibility at all levels and look like a monster ‘persecuting’ this ‘poor’ woman.

“Besides, She didn’t kill anybody --she didn‘t do any of the shooting --just attempted manslaughter, assault with deadly intent, conspired to commit murder, robbed, burgled , committed bribery, forged documents and checks, bought and distributed controlled substances--that’s all she did. We’ll offer her a plea and hope to God she takes it. Good day gentlemen.”

The DA closed his file, stood up slowly as if he had left some of his vitality behind in the chair and shook Lawrence Harriman’s hand. The meeting was over.

Before leaving, he turned, and as an afterthought, from caprice he asked , “What do they predict these type personalities finally do if the ’pearl’ unravels and they can’t find anything else to stop the anguish ?”

The two detectives, still seated at the table simultaneously looked up to Dr. Harriman for the answer.

“In classic cases--if nothing can replace the layers of self that they have constructed and bound their wounds in to insulate them from the void --like Adolph Hitler, when nothing else remains --they often become a pitiful, raving, nonfunctional shell. No longer able to rationally function, or even care for themselves They detach totally from reality and then suicide. “

“Thank you Dr. Harriman“, both detectives said as he left.

The psychologist. saying nothing, donned his glasses, and threw a slight head nod in their direction. Without looking back, he fingered his tie pin as he exited.

Less than two days later, when Dr Harriman read in the news of how Terri Gentry had managed to puncture the veins in both her wrists using a sliver of broken plastic sharpened on the concrete wall of a jail cell, the corners of his mouth curled upwards in a thin, self-satisfied smirk.

Three months later when Detective Jennings read that Terri Gentry had escaped from the reduced security of the Raycraft Psychiatric Hospital, recovered a hidden cache of stolen weapons, gems and money, and was believed by FBI to have made a successful exodus from the country using forged documents--it was Jennings turn to smirk.

“ Well Larry, looks like that fucking bitch played you like a guitar. “

Shaking his head incredulously he tossed the newspaper onto the table, adding “Larry boy, it looks like she played us ALL."