Cactus Island, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 8

by William Manchee

CHAPTER 17

  MASS SIGHTING

  September 24, 1990

  The image of laughing jurors made me rethink my trial strategy. I decided it would be wise to continue to develop a more traditional defense in addition to the alien spacecraft theory. There was no need to commit to one or the other until the last minute. Paula and I would have to evaluate the situation at the time of trial and make a decision based on what evidence we had been able to gather.

  Steven's next appointment with Dr. Gerhardt was still a few days off, so I decided to check into the possibility that some sort of military aircraft had been flying over Possum Kingdom Lake on September 10, 1990. Dallas Naval Air Station was located not too far from Dallas, so I called out there and inquired if any of their aircraft might have been flying in that vicinity on that date. They declined to provide me that information over the phone so I made an appointment for the following week.

  As I was hanging up the telephone, Jodie came rushing in. "Stan, you won't believe this. Someone just called to tell us that Channel 4 news is reporting that hundreds of people out at Possum Kingdom Lake just spotted an alien spacecraft!"

  "What? Is it on the news now?"

  "I think so."

  We rushed into the conference room and turned on the television. Amy Tan was standing on the shore of Possum Kingdom Lake with Cactus Island prominently in the background. "Apparently a heavy thunderstorm went through here about an hour ago, and during the storm some sort of aircraft flew over Cactus Island. A lot of people saw it and believed they were seeing the same spacecraft that Steven Caldwell says caused his tragic accident three weeks ago. I have with me Laura Evans and Connie Marshall who are two of the witnesses who saw the craft just minutes ago."

  Tan turned to the two women who looked to be in their twenties. "Laura, would you tell our listeners what you saw?"

  Laura smiled at the camera. "Yes, it was so bizarre. We were cooking lunch over a fire and all of a sudden it got really dark like it was midnight. And uh, well, there was a bolt of lightning and then the wind got so strong it blew our tent clean off of the ground. There was stuff blowing everywhere and everyone was running for cover when I heard someone say, 'Look! Up in the sky.' "I looked up and there was some kind of aircraft gliding overhead going toward Cactus Island."

  "Laura, could you describe the craft?"

  "Well, it was so dark so, I'm not sure exactly, but I think it was dark green, thick, and shaped almost like a triangle."

  "Was it an airplane?" Tan pressed.

  "I don't think so. It wasn't like any airplane I've ever seen, but like I said, it was so dark and stormy I couldn't tell for sure."

  What about you, Connie? What do you remember about the aircraft you just saw?

  "It was huge—about the size of a baseball field," Connie replied. "It looked like a giant arrowhead."

  The camera went back to Amy Tan. "So there you have it. Some sort of aircraft or maybe even an alien spacecraft, just flew over Possum Kingdom Lake, and this place is a buzz of excitement. Will this give credence to Steven Caldwell's claim that he was distracted by an alien spacecraft, perhaps the same one seen here tonight by hundreds of witnesses? Only time will tell. Now back to our studios."

  Jodie turned off the TV. "Wow. What do think of that?"

  I shook my head. "Jesus, just when the media attention is starting to die down, this happens. I can't believe it."

  "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy," Jodie said.

  "No, I'm not. What happened tonight isn't necessarily relevant to what happened on September 10, and can you imagine how hard it's going to be to pick a jury now?"

  Jodie shrugged. I turned to go back to my office when Paula walked in.

  "You know what I just heard on the radio?"

  I smiled. "Yeah, we just saw it on TV."

  Paula shook her head. "I can't believe this. You know, I got a letter today from an inmate at Huntsville asking me to file a motion for a new trial because he's certain the evidence that convicted him was planted by men from Mars?"

  Jodie chuckled. "It's not funny," Paula said. "We're the laughingstocks of the country."

  "I don't know, Paula. Steven's defense is starting to shape up. I have three witnesses now who'll testify that back in 1958 they had a similar experience to Steven's. With what happened today, hell, we may have a viable defense."

  "You should withdraw. Let Steven find local counsel in Palo Pinto County."

  "Oh, come on. You know I can't do that."

  "Well, it's going to be hell around here with two murder trials going on at once. How are we going to manage that?"

  "I guess if we're sending Jodie out on foreign assignments, it's time to promote her to paralegal and hire a full-time secretary."

  Jodie's eyes lit up. "Oh, wow. That's wonderful. No more typing or bookkeeping."

  "Well, you certainly deserve it."

  "Yes," Paula agreed. "A promotion is overdue. Stan and I will talk about your compensation too. Obviously, we'll have to give you a raise."

  "We can get Paul Thayer to do any investigations we don't want to do ourselves and he can hire any help he needs."

  "What about the media and all the fanatics who are starting to hang around? I had one following me around today," Paula said.

  "Really? When did this start?" Stan asked.

  "He was outside my apartment this morning in a blue Chevy Malibu," Paula replied."I noticed him in my rearview mirror. He pulled out when I was about halfway down the street. I took two detours on the way to work just to be sure he was following me and sure enough he stuck to me like glue."

  "I had someone following me too," Stan said. "I guess we'll have to have Paul provide us some security. No telling what one of these nut jobs might try."

  "So, what do you want me to do?" Jodie asked.

  I thought for a moment. "Well, I've made an initial inquiry with the military to see if any of their planes might have flown over Possum Kingdom Lake on the day of the accident. I've got an appointment at the Dallas Naval Air Station next week. You can take that for me and also check at Carswell Air Force Base in Ft. Worth. Ask them about today's incident as well. Check all the airports within 100 miles of Possum Kingdom Lake too, and see if anyone filed a flight plan that would have taken them over the lake on that day. Also ask them if they've seen any unusual aircraft coming or going lately."

  Jodie nodded."Fine, I'll get right on it."

  I turned to Paula. "I'm sorry about this, but this case has a mind of its own. Every time I think I've got it under control weird stuff happens. Who would have thought—"

  "I know it's not your fault. At least your defense seems to be getting stronger and stronger. My case is going the opposite direction."

  "Maybe she's guilty," I said. "That's always a possibility."

  "If she is, she's a damn fine actress," Paula said.

  "If I can help in any way, let me know. In the meantime, show me the guy who's been following you. I'll call in his license number to Detective Besch and have him trace it."

  Paula went to the window and pointed toward a blue Chevy parked at the side of the building across the street. I couldn't see the driver's face very well so I went into my closet and pulled out a pair of binoculars. I was able to see the license number on the car and get a look at the man inside. He was medium build, dark hair, and had a deadly serious expression on his face. Somehow I didn't think this man was hanging around out of curiosity. He obviously had an agenda.