Chapter 21
Snake Bit
Although Sarah was free and I had been cleared of any involvement in Marleen Wiggins’ death, I was still bothered by the thought of Doomsayer lurking about. I couldn't stand knowing that someone out there hated me enough to threaten me and my family. I felt reasonably sure that, now that the trial was over, I'd hear nothing further from Doomsayer. But what if I was wrong? I knew I couldn't sleep until Doomsayer had been caught. I wondered how I could find him. The police had been trying for months, but with no success. Then I thought, perhaps Mo could help. The next day I dug Mo's file out of storage and found his home phone number. I dialed it and Mo's wife answered. She explained he was at work but that she would have him call me. I waited. Several minutes later the phone rang.
"Hi Stan, how have you been?"
"Fine. Hey. I wanted to thank you for all your help in solving the Sarah Winter's case."
"What help?"
"You know, the reports you sent me on some of my suspects."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh. . . . That's right. . . . It's a secret. . . . You can't talk about it."
"No, seriously Stan, there's some mistake here. I didn't give you any help. I mean, I would have had you asked, but you didn't."
"Oh. . . . Okay, I guess I was a little confused, the concussion and everything. I'm sorry I bothered you."
I hung up the phone puzzled by Mo's response. About that time Jodie walked in with some papers for me to sign.
"What's wrong? You don't look so good."
"Mo didn’t send me a letter offering to help. The reports from him were bogus. What in the hell is going on? Someone has been manipulating me. Damn it!"
"Who would do something like that?"
"I don't know," I said.
"Who did you tell about Mo?" Jodie asked.
"Well, just you, Rebekah and Harry."
"I didn't send them. I promise you."
"And Rebekah obviously didn't."
"You don't think—?"
"Get Snake on the phone!"
"Right away."
Jodie left and, after a minute, announced over the intercom that Snake was on the line.
"Harry, you son of a bitch!"
"What? What are you so upset about?"
"I finally figured out who Doomsayer is."
“You're still worried about that? I told you to forget about Doomsayer. Doomsayer is history."
"You were Doomsayer, weren't you? You sleazy bastard!"
"Are you crazy? You must be smokin' dope."
"Don't lie to me. It had to have been you. Mo didn't do those reports, it was all just a charade, wasn't it?"
"Hey, I don't know what you're complaining about. Doomsayer did you a lot of good. You're a celebrity now. Look at all the criminal defense business you're going to be getting. I bet you get ten calls this week."
"How could you do that? My family was terrorized."
"Hey, nobody got hurt. Doomsayer just got you a little press."
"Oh my God. You were behind the National Examiner article too, weren't you."
He laughed. "It is one of my favorite newspapers. They'll believe any garbage you feed them."
"I should report you to the State Bar."
"I wouldn't do that, Stan. They'd never believe you knew nothing about it."
"You little shit! I can't believe this. I can't believe I've been a pawn in your little game!"
"Everybody's a pawn in somebody's game," Snake replied.
"What made you even conceive of something like this?"
"Everyone hated our client and they hated us for defending her. I thought she was guilty. There was no way Sarah could win unless we developed a little sympathy. Doomsayer was perfect, it created not only the sympathy we needed but also some doubt as to whether she was actually guilty. All the publicity that was generated was a bonus that didn't hurt anybody."
"What about the National Examiner article. That didn't get us any sympathy."
"Nobody believed the article. It just made a very dull local story into an exciting national news event."
"Why did you let me try to pin Doomsayer on Margie Westcott?"
"I had to, you were digging too deep and I was afraid you'd figure out what I had done. When you said you thought Margie was Doomsayer it was a perfect way to divert your attention away from the truth."
I shook my head. "I can't believe you would do something so low."
He laughed. "I really don't know why you are so surprised, Stan. You should have expected it. After all, why in the hell do you think they call me Snake?"
Epilogue
Mrs. Stone leaned back in her chair and gave me a wry smile. “Okay, you dodged another cluster bomb. You’re even a hero for godsakes. So tell me why are you here?”
“Well, there was one little matter yet to be dealt with.”
“What was that?”
“My contempt hearing.”
“Oh, right. Didn’t Judge Brooks drop that considering how everything worked out?”
“Im afraid not. At my contempt hearing he wasn’t the least bit forgiving. He said I showed disrespect for his court and contempt for the law. He explained that results don’t always justify the means and if he let me get away with what I had done, the entire judicial process would be weakened.
“In retrospect I guess he was probably right although at the time I was angry. After all if the goal of our legal process is to find the truth and to render justice then why should I be punished for my success? What if I hadn’t bent the rules and Sarah had ended up in prison for the rest of her life?”
“I agree. So how long is your sentence?”
“Thirty days.”
“Well, it’s not the exactly the Hilton but the Sheriff is sure going out of his way to make your stay feel like a vacation.”
“Yeah, he testified for me at the contempt hearing. He was pretty upset when the judge sentenced me to jail. He said it was an outrage considering what I had done for his men.”
“So, are you ready to go to your cell?”
“Yeah, now I’m kind of anxious to see it actually.”
“Well, I’ve got my story so I guess I better go and let you settle in.”
“Thanks for coming by,” I said.“You definitely made my day.”
Mrs. Stone smiled as she got up to leave. We embraced and then she left. The jailer walked in and motioned for me to follow him. He led me down a long corridor to a big metal door. He pushed a button and the door mechanism disengaged. The jailer pushed the door open and entered the cell block. Taking a deep breath I followed him inside.
Much to my shock the corridor to my cell was filled with Sheriff’s deputies and police officers. As I entered they all began to scream and yell, they threw confetti, slapped me on the back and shook my hand. Someone handed me a glass of champagne and then I noticed Rebekah sitting in my cell in the Laz-y-boy. I laughed and shook my head, incredulous at the spectacle before me. The Sheriff then began to speak.
“All right, settle down men. I have something to say. . . . Stan, it’s unfortunate that you have to be a guest here with us these next thirty days. You know how I feel about the judge’s decision. It was wrong and . . . well, anyway, since you’re gonna be with us for awhile we thought the least we could do was make your stay as pleasant as possible.”
“Thank you, Sheriff,” I said. “I don’t know what to say. This is all so overwhelming.”
The Sheriff put his arm around me and replied, “You don’t have to say a damn thing, Stan. You saved the life of one of our men and helped us catch a cop killer. Your acts speak for themselves. The Sheriff motioned to Rebekah. “Come here Rebekah. You must be proud of this boy.”
Rebekah came over and we embraced. She smiled, looked into my eyes and said, “I am very proud.”
The Sheriff raised his glass and said, “H
ere’s to Stan Turner, may his courage be an inspiration to us all.”
I laughed thinking back to how scared I was when bullets were flying around me back at the doublewide. Courage? Well, I wasn’t so sure about that, more like reckless abandon. But I did know one thing as I sipped my champagne and mingled with my new found friends. The Sheriff sure knew how to make an inmate feel at home.
*****
The Stan Turner Mysteries in chronological order:
Undaunted
Disillusioned
Brash Endeavor
Second Chair
Cash Call
Black Monday
Deadly Distractions
Cactus Island
Act Normal
Deadly Defiance
Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4 Page 31