He said, “I know teens are stupid. The problem is if we gave teen criminals special treatment, a lot of really vicious thugs would be getting off easy. And nothing in my experience matches the viciousness of this crime. They worked that poor baby over really bad.”

“I know. But you’ve seen Turner. He looks twelve. I’m trying to picture him at Quentin or a place like that and it’s not a pretty thought.”

“Small and smart, but he murdered a two-year-old, Alex. Why the hell would a smart kid do something like that?”

“That’s another question I can’t answer,” I said. “I.Q. and moral development are separate issues. Like Walker Percy said, ‘You can get straight A’s but still flunk life.’ ”

“Who’s he?”

“A novelist and a psychiatrist.”

“Interesting combo,” he said. “So you’re telling me I’ve got a dumb kid and a bright little sociopath and they just happened to murder a two-year-old. Any other antisocial history for either of them?”

“Not for Rand. Everyone who knows Troy describes him as cunning, and some people at the project called him cruel. He’s got a history of threatening younger kids. He’s also suspected of killing stray dogs and cats, but I couldn’t find any facts to back that up, so maybe the rumor mill’s working overtime because of the murder. One woman implied he’d molested her daughter but refused to talk to me about it. Given his upbringing, I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s been abused, himself.”

I gave him a capsule of both boys’ histories, including Rand Duchay’s head injury during infancy. “If you’re looking for mitigating factors, you’ve got plenty.”

“Prisoners of biology?”

“And sociology and just plain bad luck. Neither of these two had much in the way of nurturing, Tom.”

“Which doesn’t excuse what they did to that poor little girl.”

“Not in the least.”

“Have you picked up any possible motive?” he said. “Because no one’s put anything forward— including the cops.”

“From what I can tell, the abduction was impulsive. The two of them were headed to the park to smoke and drink when they saw Kristal wandering around. They thought it would be fun to watch Kristal smoke and drink. She got sick, started to fuss, threw up, and things got out of control. There’s no indication they were stalking her.”

“Bad luck for that little girl,” he said. “Okay, so it’s your basic senseless crime. I was hoping for something a little more . . . psychologically illuminating. But no beef, you were up-front about no promises. Forget the b.s. about cutting your fee. When the government wants to give you money, take it . . . there’s nothing at all you can give me about disposition?”

“What will happen if you certify them as adults?”