Alex Delaware—Richard Doss

Alex Delaware—Richard Doss is a professional relationship mediated by Richard’s family: Alex has been involved with the Dosses as a consultant, and Richard turns to him to see Stacy Doss. When Alex discloses that police have consulted him about Eldon Mate’s murder, the relationship acquires an immediate ethical complication. Richard does not ask him to withdraw from the investigation; instead, he welcomes the prospect that Alex’s police work might expose information about Mate. Their exchanges reveal a relationship in which care, professional boundaries, money, and Richard’s appetite for control continually intersect.

A renewed professional connection

Half a year has passed since Alex last spoke with Richard when they resume contact over Stacy’s care. The intervening months include the death of Richard’s wife, three months earlier, but Richard sounds alert and almost cheerful on the telephone. Alex understands that Richard has had time to prepare, and hears no sign of the resistance Judy Manitow had described. Richard is already approaching the renewed relationship as something to organize: he lays out expectations before Stacy begins seeing Alex.

The renewed contact also sits within an existing business arrangement. Richard notes that the payment is unchanged, while Alex acknowledges the difficulty of raising fees in an era of HMOs and agrees that billing can go through Richard’s office. That financial accommodation does not prevent Alex from naming the more consequential issue. Before seeing Stacy, he tells Richard that police have consulted him on Mate’s murder, explaining that his prior work for the department and his connection to the lead detective prompted an open-ended request for psychological consultation.

Disclosure and the conflict of roles

Alex has not told police that he has seen Richard’s family, but he recognizes that the overlap could create a conflict. He tells Richard that the police may try to reach him and explains that he wanted to discuss the situation before going further. His concern is not merely how to justify his own position: he does not want Richard to feel that Alex’s work for the police compromises their professional relationship.

Richard quickly recasts Alex’s disclosure as due diligence and asks what he plans to do. Alex’s answer is to step away from consulting on Mate’s murder now that Richard has asked him to see Stacy again. Stacy is an ongoing patient, he explains, so continuing as a consultant on the case is not an option. This is a boundary Alex states before beginning the renewed work with her, rather than a conflict he leaves for Richard or the police to discover later.

Richard accepts the decision, but not as a request for secrecy or distance. He says he will tell the police himself that Stacy has seen Alex and invites Alex to tell them as well. He presents the arrangement openly as a father obtaining help for suffering children. He also makes clear that the family connection will not, in his view, require Alex to give up his police consulting income. The conversation therefore resolves one question—whether Alex should continue on Mate’s case—while leaving the underlying conflict visible to everyone involved.

Richard’s interest in the investigation

Richard’s welcome for police scrutiny is sharpened by his hostility toward Mate. He says he has an alibi and is willing to tell investigators how he feels, describing his desire to dance on Mate’s grave. He goes further: Alex might, through police work, uncover material that reveals who Mate really was. Richard’s approval is therefore not neutral support for Alex’s professional independence. He specifically wants the investigation to bring damaging information about Mate into public view.

Alex asks why Richard would prefer him to stay involved, but Richard’s answer is consistent with the purpose he has just described. Even if Alex exercises discretion, Richard expects that anything entered into a police file could eventually become public. He imagines Alex performing what he calls double duty: serving the police while also helping expose Mate. The exchange leaves Alex feeling badly unsettled, yet Richard’s stated willingness to disclose the family’s connection means Alex is not being asked to conceal it on his behalf. Alex makes an appointment for the following morning.

Conditions of care and Alex’s limits

The next morning, Richard calls through a secretary at RTD Properties. His manner is eager, as if he is preparing for a new challenge, and he sets practical and procedural terms for Stacy’s treatment. Alex is to call him Richard rather than Mr. Doss; bills are to be sent monthly through the corporate office; and appointments must be in the late afternoon so Stacy will not miss school. Richard also wants Alex to define the proposed process, identify the treatment required and its expected duration, and submit preliminary findings to him in writing. Stacy has just turned seventeen.

Alex does not simply accept this managerial framework. When Richard suggests that Stacy can begin as soon as the next school day, Alex says he will see her only after speaking with Richard. He makes the condition explicit: if Richard does not agree, Alex will not be able to see his daughter. Richard’s response is a flat chuckle and a remark that Alex is unusually tough; Alex, in turn, wonders whether he has been too inflexible toward a man who has been through hell. He nevertheless holds to the sequence he has set. Their working relationship thus begins with cooperation, but not on terms Richard alone determines: Alex accommodates billing and scheduling while retaining authority over the professional conditions for Stacy’s care.