The two faced murderer

I met him for the first time in December 2010. He was suffering memorylosses. His name was Kyle Barton. He was an investment banker and asmost of them do, made a handsome salary working at the RBS. He was 25at that time, single, hard working and lived alone in an apartmentalone in Kensington. The first thing I noticed about him was that hewas a big time Arsenal fan. I myself being a Manchester Unitedsupporter, led to a clash of ideologies instantly. But I am aPsychiatrist and I don’t let such differences creep in. The urbanlifestyle brings a lot of such cases in our profession. Young mansuffering from stress in a hectic life starts to develop minorpsychological symptoms like memory loss, hallucinations, insomnia etc.But Kyle was different. He told me that he would sometimes just forgetwhat had happened in the last hour and how did he end up where he was.At first I thought it must be because of depression but how could thatbe possible when the guy was so lively and cheerful. Despite of thefact that he was there for something as serious as short term memoryloss, he just kept blabbering. He was so full of life that he couldmake one jealous.So I ruled out depression. Six months suggested drugs usage to me. Atfirst I thought it was his own notion and I didn’t believe him. I waslooking at drugs usage but each of his tests showed negative which ledme into the direction of Alzheimer’s.It was right about that time that I started to notice his growingfriendship with Keira, my receptionist. But I knew that she was havingan affair with someone else and thus it won’t go any farther. ButKeira proved me wrong as over time I saw their friendship swell intosomething more. I knew this was dangerous for Keira.I tried to broaden my horizons and from a person who wasn’t ready toaccept it as a rare condition, I tried to raise the other person inhim but I wasn’t sure of what I saw. I believed that the other guy wasa seeker of silence. That is mainly because I could take him to theother side, but the guy there never said anything. Just got up,started to walk and went to sit down in a corner. But that issomething I expected. With such a tight schedule that he lived in, hewas a quite wild as a person.Still it was dangerous for Keira. I warned her. She chose to ignoreme, but this time more discreetly. Surprisingly, when I told Kyleabout the Multiple personality disorder, he wasn’t distraught onhearing it. He rather seemed strangely cheerful. That was the firsttime the idea struck me, but seemed too farfetched and so I dismissedit.But within the next two months, I became witness to the growingproximities between Kyle and Keira. Though in the clinic Keira actedperfectly formal, but sometimes I saw them at a restaurant while atother times I saw them buying movie tickets. My fear was getting moreand more fearful.And my fear came true on 8th September when I was called by the localpolice to report the murder of Keira. I went to her apartment to findher in a pool of blood with her face smashed which made itunidentifiable. But there were several other things that gave away heridentity. I couldn’t stand the sight of my receptionist. The policelater found some of her medica reports which cemented her identity.I was called in for questioning where I was asked about her life and Imentioned that she had a lover named Kyle. They told me that the causeof death was a stab from a big knife from which they had picked up oneset of finger prints. I was asked my professional opinion as if whatkind of a person could have done a murder so brutally. I told a highlyviolent or mentally unstable person. The next question was veryobvious. ‘Was Keira in contact with any such person?’ And I told themhow Kyle was also being treated by me for multiple personalitydisorder.That gave a new direction to the investigation. Kyle’s fingerprintsand DNA matched with the evidence obtained from the apartment. Kylewas arrested.And that was how I met Mr.Wayne, one of the most sought after criminalLawyers in London and also the guy with whom I would become soattached that the police would find my last letter addressed to himwith my body at my home.Wayne was flamboyant to say the least. He didn’t mind believing instrange theories and that was something famous about him. A bigSherlock Holmes fan, he kept repeating the famous quote by Sir ArthurConan Doyle, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains,no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” It was inspired from himthat I myself started to read a Sherlock Holmes at that time.He made a revelation to me on our very first meeting that Kyle wasgoing to accept committing the crime. The strangely cheerful Kyle onthe day I told him about my diagnosis crossed my mind for a second.But I dismissed anything that could have subjected my mindset. He toldme that Kyle remembers going to bed in his apartment and standing withthe knife in front of Keira’s body. It was the other guy who killedher and hence legally as well, Kyle can be subjected to treatment in amental hospital, not punishment. That strategy seemed very logical tome in that scenario and I realized how important that made mystatement in the court.But I said the truth in the court the next day. I told how I think itwas Multiple personality disorder and how subjective the diagnosis ofthe condition was. Besides in my experience, the other guy in Kyle wasa very silent and peaceful person. Still things seemed to be goingKyle’s way when the prosecutor demanded for another confirmatorydiagnosis from a separate psychiatrist.My interaction with Wayne grew in this interval. We seemed to bebonding since we both somewhere knew that Kyle didn’t do it. On theother hand we were adversaries as well at some level. That made ourrelationship more and more interesting. He made another revelation tome the day before the final hearing. He told me that Kyle didn’tsuffer from Multiple Personality Disorder and what I saw was just asevere case of sleepwalking.I have to accept, it didn’t come as much of a shock to me. The nextday in the court, the prosecutor presented reports by three well knownpsychiatrists who converged on a diagnosis of sleepwalking and deniedany chance of a Multiple Personality disorder. After that, Wayne wentforward to conclude and what he said, I still remember word by word.“Your Honor, what we see here is a case of cold blooded murder. Iwould agree with my friend on that part. But it wasn’t Kyle. It was aman who had an affair with Keira prior to Kyle. It was a man who wasenraged to see his girl go away with someone else. It was the personwho made himself believes that Kyle suffered from MPD and thus saw achance in it. Who in Kyle’s sleepwalking, drove him to Keira’sapartment, murdered Keira and left Kyle holding the knife. The guy whosits right here during every hearing, corroborating every fact thatled us to believe either Kyle did it, or his alter ego, but his smartplay never let us into a different track. Your Honor, once weeliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable,must be the truth. And the truth is that the killer is Dr.Smith himself.”I didn’t have to say anything. What he said today in the court wasgood enough for the prosecutor and the Judge to retaliate. Hepresented a theory without any proof and the judge was completelypsyched by how it every time boiled down to one of his fantastictheories.I came home from that madhouse. Man has lost his ability to seethrough the truth even when it is presented to him on a platter. I amvery disappointed today. Wayne took away the only reason I had left tolive. I stand right now in my house, with my old revolver in my handas I get ready to do the inevitable. Yes, I am scared but I know itwill take just a moment. I take it as my punishment for the incorrectdiagnosis. Two more minutes as I smoke my last cigarette. Where shallI shoot myself? Head? Mouth? Or stomach?Head it shall be. My last letter to Wayne shall provide him with thetruth. He may regret losing me. But now it is time. Goodbye………