“And that was his choice. He doesn’t have to be up there. And that continues to strike me as extremely suspicious and cause me great concern about his mental stability. Whether we found the laptops or not, he must know we’d gain access to her e-mail once we determined her username or usernames, her provider. And that would lead us to his e-mail, because I can’t imagine he and Terri didn’t e-mail each other regularly. Yet he doesn’t seem to care. Were he not up here in isolation, he might have had a chance to rush home and start tampering. But he didn’t try that. Why?”

“He may not feel it’s necessary because he didn’t do anything wrong. Or maybe he’s not computer-savvy enough to tamper and get away with it. Or if he’s the killer and premeditated her murder, he did his tampering in advance.”

“Excellent point. Premeditation by someone who thinks he’s smarter than we are. He tampers in advance, then checks into Bellevue because he’s allegedly afraid the killer will get him next. In other words, he’s manipulating the hell out of everyone. And probably having a good time doing it.”

“I’m objectively presenting possibilities,” Benton said. “Here’s another one. He’s not the killer but knows everyone will suspect he is, and by checking into Bellevue, he earned the right to see me, to see Kay, and perhaps convince somebody who matters that he’s innocent and in danger.”

“Don’t tell me that’s what you really believe.”

“What I believe is he thinks Kay is his sanctuary. No matter what he did or didn’t do.”

“Yes, he has her because he can’t trust me. I believe my new moniker is ‘superbitch.’ ” Berger smiled. “Or at least I hope it’s new—the super part of it, anyway.”

“In his mind, you dissed him.”

“If you’re referring to when he called my office a month ago—like half the crazies in the city do every day? True. I wouldn’t talk to him. Nothing unusual about that. A lot of calls I never even hear about, much less take. He referred to me as a ‘superbitch.’ Adding if something bad happened, it would be my fault.”

“And who was it he said this to?” Benton said. “Marino? During their phone conversation last month?”

“It’s on tape,” she said.

“Hope that never makes its way into the press.”

“That certainly wouldn’t be helpful. Because something bad did happen. Very, very bad, indeed. There’s no question we have to be careful with Oscar Bane. Ordinarily, I’d be much more vigorous with someone in his situation. And by the way, I do suspect he murdered his girlfriend. It’s what makes the most sense. And that certainly would make his paranoia situational. He’s afraid of being caught.”