Perception

Subs created by: David Coleman.

Yeah we found him in town, no I.D., on some kind of rant...

Says the C.I.A. sent assassins to kill him.

Paranoid delusions, hallucinations... thanks.

Another Friday night, huh?

Hey, buddy. What's your name?

Oh, I can't tell you that. It's too dangerous.

For you, for me, for everyone in this building.

If you want to call me something, call me "Dan".

Okay, Dan.

You, uh... you want a stick of gum?

- Always calms my nerves. - And rots your teeth. No.

Welcome to Jerseyville Psychiatric.

We're gonna take you to your room now, okay?

Life can be awfully grim...

Death, taxes...

the Cubs out of contention by August.

It's all so inevitable...

Unless we have hope.

Then, the brain can envision what's possible.

Humanity... mind-blowing sex...

The World Series at Wrigley...

Now I'm pushing it. Maybe that's pushing it.

But hope abounds in the world of Neurotherapy,

thanks to embryonic cells in the brain known...

Known as Neuroblasts.

These tiny miracles form in the Subventricular zone after a stroke.

Then zip over to the damaged tissue and make repairs.

Amazing.

The brain has its own pit crew.

Now, Neuroblast research is still in its infancy.

But this weekend, Mr. Lewicki will getting together with some of

his fellow grad students in Ann Arbor to discuss the possibility.

Think about it...

Someday, instead of managing brain degeneration with medication...

We may be able to help the brain heal itself.

A lecture on optimism...

God, that makes me want to go back to college.

Endless nights in the dorm,

gorging ourselves on hoagies, so stoned that we could hardly...

Ruben, I'm sure you didn't come here to relive your wasted youth.

You're right. I need your help.

This is my client, Erica Beecher.

She's a patient at Jerseyville Psychiatric hospital.

She allegedly stabbed a nurse to death with a letter opener.

Jerseyville's a hellhole. State shut it down twice when I was in college...

Unsanitary conditions, patient abuse. Was that her motive?

I have no idea. She won't talk to me. She won't let me see her psych records.

- Why? - She's mentally ill?

I'll probably plead her guilty in exchange for psychiatric care but,

I can't go to the Judge without an expert diagnosis.

Well, I'll assess her, but if she hasn't talked to you, how do you know

she's even guilty, or that she's seriously mentally ill, for that matter?

They found her with the nurse's blood on her hands.

Oh, and I think this answers your second question.

She swallowed the murder weapon.

I want you closing out the register.

Pete can handle all the side work, except the garnish.

The kid has no attention to detail.

We'll be fine. Hey, did you pack a swimsuit?

- Aunt Sheila's got a pool. - I'm not going swimming.

Why not? Because she expects you to keep vigil by her bedside all weekend?

Dad, she's got a broken hip. She's not dying.

Besides, you're going to sunny Phoenix. You should pack a swimsuit.

Your opinion is noted.

Now, take me through it.

Are you quizzing me? How many summers did I work here?

That was years ago, kiddo.

Okay... print out the tape, check the sales,

count the cash, add up the credit-card receipts,

check the total against the printout.

Put the tape receipts and cash into the safe.

Combination's still my birthday?

The answer is to your question is five summers...

Best time of my life.

Do you, uh, remember me, Erica?

I'm Ruben Bauer, your lawyer,

and I've brought my friend Dr. Pierce to talk to you.

It's... it's Daniel.

How's your throat? Does it still hurt after the surgery?

You get used to it.

You've swallowed sharp objects before.

Pens and pencils are my bread and butter.

I've swallowed nails, too...

Some forks.

Do you know why you do it?

The thought comes into my head, and it won't leave me alone.

Once, I ripped the antenna off a car and swallowed that.

It's like I don't have a choice.

I've been where you are.

It's hard to know who to trust.

We are on your side. We want to get you out of here.

But you need to tell us what happened with the letter opener.

I stole it.

But I didn't kill Nurse Laurie.

I swear.

I was doing therapy in Dr. Poole's office.

He said I was making progress.

And then I noticed the letter opener on his desk.

And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Then, Nurse Laurie showed up.

She said there was a problem.

And when they stepped out, I just lifted it.

I don't know if Nurse Laurie saw me take it, but she must have seen me

hide it under my mattress, because she came to my bedroom that night...

Took it away.

But you must have gotten the letter opener back.

I couldn't get to sleep.

I kept thinking how disappointed Dr. Poole was gonna be once she told him what I did.

I just wanted to ask her if I could be the one to explain.

And then I found her.

She was laying in a...

Puddle of blood.

The letter opener was sticking out of her chest.

I should have run for help, but the thought was in my head, and I couldn't escape it.

What was that thought, exactly?

If I didn't swallow that letter opener, I was going to die.

Erica, you said that Nurse Laurie

had a problem with Dr. Poole earlier in the morning.

Do you remember what it was?

No... I mean, they were arguing, but...

Did it sound personal, or...

Daniel, could I have a word with you?

I'm not the F.B.I., Daniel.

I need you to make a diagnosis, not to play Detective.

Well, her diagnosis suggests she's innocent.

She swallowed the letter opener because she has an extreme case of O.C.D.

What, like someone who washes her hands over and over?

Yes, except Erica swallows sharp objects. It's a compulsion.

She didn't do it as part of some conscious plan to cover up a murder.

The charges are bogus.

Look, for all you know, Erica got mad when the nurse

took the letter opener away, and she stabbed her.

Then her O.C.D. kicked in, and she swallowed the thing.

I don't... I don't think that's what happened.

Yeah, but any semi-competent A.D.A., can convince a jury that it did.

Look, I can't risk it.

If we lose at trial, then Erica has no chance of getting the care that she needs.

But if we plead guilty...

Then she spends the rest of her life in a psychiatric hospital

when it's possible she could be cured.

Cured? Daniel, be realistic.

There's a procedure at Chicago General called gamma knife.

It's controversial, but it can ameliorate the effects of O.C.D.

If we can clear her of this murder, Erica has a shot at a normal life.

We'd need reasonable doubt...

Some alternative theory of the crime.

- So, let's start investigating. - How?

No psych hospital with a murder on their hands

is gonna open their doors to a defense attorney.

They'll open their doors to the F.B.I. I'll call Kate right now.

Look. I know she's your friend.

But the F.B.I. works with prosecutors, not defense attorneys.

We need a different way in.

Look, my point to her is, if I can watch her home-makeover shows...

She can wear the occasional, you know, slutty outfit to watch me play softball.

- Look, nothing obscene... - Help me! Please! Please!

Please, you have to help me. They're trying to kill me.

All right, take it easy. Who's trying to kill you?

The C.I.A. they had... they've had assassins tracking me for weeks.

I just lost two of them outside of town. But it's only a matter of time. Oh, God.

Okay, just calm down.

- We're gonna take you someplace safe. - Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Kate!

Hey! What, are you moonlighting?

Yeah, just for the weekend, but you don't have to hide.

My dad's out of town.

- He still want to break my face? - Oh, yeah. Cocktail?

- Pitcher of Blue Moon. - You got it.

Babysitting a couple of bigwigs from D.C...

They love this place.

Hey.

Speaking of infidelity, I ran into Ruben Bauer at the Courthouse.

And that was actually your segue?

He told me he's got Pierce on one of his cases.

Doesn't Daniel know better than to work for a defense attorney?

Daniel can do whatever he wants. Stop trying to make trouble.

Oh, come on. Bauer's the enemy.

That's got to bother you a little.

I don't know.

If my husband slept with my best friend,

that might bother me, but otherwise, I try not to sweat the small stuff.

I don't like this plan, Daniel.

Do you remember David Rosenhan from the 1970s?

The psychologist who checked himself into a mental institution,

pretending to be a schizophrenic.

And then he got stuck for two months because

they didn't believe he was faking it.

That's not gonna happen.

Ruben's springing me on Monday. You know, it's just...

It's a weekend we're talking about here. Please, try to relax.

It's nicer than you expected, isn't it? They must have renovated.

It's still Jerseyville.

And you're in a locked ward with a killer that you can't identify.

And on top of that, you've disrupted your routine.

I'm trying to help Erica.

How about a little less hand-wringing and a little more

helping me figure out who killed the nurse?

Good morning, Dan. This is Lex.

You're at Jerseyville Psychiatric hospital.