Treating With Silence Chapter 3

Alcestis is the heroine of a Greek myth. In this tear-jerking love story, when no one else was willing to sacrifice their own life to save King Admetus's life, Alcestis, as his wife, stepped forward. No one knew what this myth of self-sacrifice had to do with Alicia's murder. For a while, I was confused as to what this hint really meant. Until one day, the truth finally surfaced...

I have gone too fast, and it seems I am rushing through this story. I must start from the beginning and let the facts speak for themselves. I cannot deliberately embellish or distort, nor can I lie. I will proceed step by step, slowly and carefully. But where should I begin? I should first introduce myself, but perhaps not so quickly; after all, the protagonist of this story is not me, but Ava Alicia. I must begin with her - with her painting "Alcestis".

Alcestis is a self-portrait of Alicia working in her studio after the murder. She is naked, brush in hand, before her easel and canvas. Her body is on full display: red hair draped over bony shoulders, blue veins visible beneath her translucent skin, fresh scars on her wrists. She holds the brush between her fingers, and the red paint...or is it blood?...on the tip seems to be dripping. She freezes herself in the act of painting...but the canvas is blank, as is her facial expression. She turns her head and stares at us. Her lips are parted, as if she were about to say something, but nothing comes out.

In Soho, London, there is a small gallery that represents Alicia's works. During the trial, its manager Jean-Felix Martin made a controversial decision: to display Alicia's work "Alcestis". This move caused heated discussions. Many people thought it was deliberate hype, while others thought it was too horrible. During Alicia's house arrest for murdering her husband, a long queue formed at the entrance of this old gallery for the first time.

I waited in line outside with other painting lovers. Next door to the gallery was a neon-lit brothel. As we filed into the gallery, we were involuntarily moved toward the painting, like an excited crowd in a haunted house at a fairground. Finally, I found myself at the head of the line...face to face with Alcestis.

I stared at the painting, at Alicia's facial expression, trying to read her eyes, trying to decipher the meaning behind them - but I found myself unable to do so. Alicia's eyes looked at me - vague and incomprehensible - impossible to read. I couldn't tell from her expression whether she was conveying innocence or guilt.

Others think this is not difficult to interpret.

"Total evil," a lady behind me whispered.

"Isn't it?" her companions echoed. "Cold-blooded B!tch."

It was unfair, I thought to myself - Alicia's guilt had yet to be proven, and this conclusion was preconceived. The tabloids had already described her as a heinous criminal: a perpetrator, a black widow, a female demon.

The facts are very simple: when the police found Gabriel's body, only Alicia was at the scene, and only her fingerprints were on the gun. There is no doubt that she killed Gabriel. But her motive for the murder is a mystery.

A fierce debate ensued in the media, with opinions rife in newspapers, on the radio and on morning chat shows.

Experts were called in to explain, condemn or justify Alicia's behavior. Some thought she must have been a victim of domestic violence, that she must have been subjected to extreme abuse and finally exploded. Others thought it was a S3xual game gone wrong - wasn't her husband tied to a chair? Even worse, some thought it was good old-fashioned jealousy that drove Alicia to kill - maybe there was a third person? But at the trial, Gabriel's brother said his brother was a faithful husband who loved his wife. So was it for money? But her husband's death did not bring Alicia wealth - she inherited her father's estate and was much richer than her husband.

The debate continues, and all kinds of speculations are open to everyone - but these debates not only have no answers, but also increase doubts - Alicia's motive for killing and why she remained silent afterwards. Why did she refuse to speak? What does it mean? Is she hiding something else? Is she protecting someone else? If so, who is this person?

I remember thinking that, for all the talk and comment and debate about her, at the center of this mad tumult there was a silent vacuum...a silence, a sphinx.

During the trial, the judge also found her silence puzzling. Judge Elfstone pointed out that innocent people often cry out for their innocence and spare no effort to prove their innocence - and they never stop. Not only did she remain silent, but she also showed no obvious remorse. She did not shed a tear throughout the trial - there was a lot of comment in the newspapers - her expression was dull, cold and rigid.

The defense was forced to file an application for reduced criminal responsibility: the application said that Alicia had long-standing mental health problems, which were said to have started in her childhood. The judge dismissed this as hearsay - but he was eventually persuaded by a professor named Lazarus Nicholas. He was not only a professor of forensic psychiatry at Imperial College, but also the clinical director of the Grove Clinic, a reliable forensic unit in north London. Professor Nicholas believed that Alicia's silence itself proved that she had a serious psychological disorder - so this could be used as a reference for her sentencing.

This is what psychiatrists say in a euphemistic way to avoid speaking frankly.

What Nicholas really wanted to say was: Alicia is crazy.

That was the only explanation that made sense. Why else would you tie someone you love to a chair and shoot him in the face at point blank range? And why act as if nothing had happened, without any explanation or even a word? She must be crazy.

Definitely is.

Finally, Judge Elfstone accepted the defendant's request for a reduced sentence and suggested that the jury use it as a reference for sentencing. Alicia then entered the Grove Clinic to receive treatment from Professor Nicholas. The professor's testimony had a great impact on the judge.

In fact, if she wasn't crazy, that is, if her silence was just a show, just to deceive the jury, then her move was very effective. She avoided a long prison sentence. Moreover, if she showed signs of gradual recovery in the future, she could walk out of the clinic in a few years. So, wouldn't this be the best time for her to pretend to be gradually recovering? Wouldn't she be able to say one or two words from time to time, and then a few more after a while, and slowly show some regret? But she didn't. Week after week, month after month, year after year, she remained silent.