Malice Prepense // For the Defense — Kate Wilhelm

Teddy Wendover is a hulking twenty-eight-year-old with the mind of a child. An accident at eight left him severely retarded. But did it turn him into a cold-blooded killer?

Someone has bludgeoned Oregon congressman Harry Knecht to death. Knecht was the man who organized the ill-fated field trip that led to Teddy's injury. Two more murders convince defense attorney Barbara Holloway that there's a broader circle of guilt. Before staging a dramatic courtroom performance, she must sift through dead ends, hearsay, and veiled clues -- only to discover that truth is more dangerous than speculation...