Cactus Island, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 8

by William Manchee

CHAPTER 51

  THE ESCAPE

  Stan looked a little frazzled when the judge asked him to make his opening statement. It was understandable for many reasons. Aside from the trauma of the whole matter of the truth serum, we stood at a turning point, a fork in the road where an important decision would have to be made. Which way would it be? Whichever way we went there would be no turning back. Would it be simply that Martin Windsor had faked his death and framed his wife in order to deprive her of her property and her children, or was this something larger, darker, and more sinister—an alien plot to infiltrate our world for some unimaginable purpose?

  Stan stood and faced the jury. He swallowed hard. "Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it is with great trepidation that I address you this morning. The defense we are about to present to you will seem strange if not bizarre, but I ask you not to pass judgement until the final witnesses are called and their testimony recorded. For it is our contention that Cheryl Windsor has been the victim of a complicated plot to take her money and steal her children and it is your duty to give our allegations fair consideration.

  "It has not been easy to uncover and make sense of this conspiracy, nor will it be easy to explain to you such an intricate plot, but I believe we will be able to do so, and in the end you'll recognize it to be the truth. So I ask you to pay close attention and think hard and long about everything you hear and see. Don't jump to conclusions or let your prejudices cloud your judgment. There is much more here than meets the eye.

  "Now, as the judge has instructed you, the state has the burden of proof. They must prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, that Cheryl Windsor intentionally or knowingly caused the death of Martin Windsor. To do that they must prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Martin Windsor is dead. This is where their case fails. They have a body they claim is that of Martin Windsor, yet they acknowledge that it can't be positively identified. We will show through the testimony of many witnesses and the introduction of certain tangible evidence that Martin Windsor is probably alive. Unlike the prosecution, we do not have to prove he is alive, but only that there is a reasonable chance that he is.

  "I know the next few days will be a trying experience. But we are confident you will persevere and in the end render a fair and just verdict. Thank you."

  "Thank you, Mr. Turner. You may call your first witness."

  Stan glanced down at his notes. "The defense calls Agent Doug Barnes."

  Agent Barnes walked deliberately to the witness stand and was sworn in. Stan asked him about his occupation, background, and education. Then he said, "Do you know the defendant, Cheryl Windsor?"

  "Yes, I do,"Barnes replied.

  "How did you meet her?"

  "Well, we were called when her children were kidnapped, and we've spent a lot of time together since then."

  "How did she take the kidnapping?"

  "She was, and is still, very distraught over it."

  "Do you believe her emotions are genuine?"

  "Yes."

  "Did you at any time consider Mrs. Windsor a suspect in this abduction?"

  "Yes, parents are always considered, particularly when there is a pending divorce."

  "So, in the course of investigating Mrs. Windsor as a possible suspect, did you find any evidence supporting that theory?"

  "No. We did not."

  "So, you've eliminated her as a suspect?"

  "Not entirely, but she's not at the top of our list."

  "You said parents are always prime suspects. So, did you ever consider Martin Windsor as a suspect?"

  "Yes, if he were alive, he'd certainly be a prime suspect."

  "Why is that?"

  "Because fathers, particularly busy fathers like Mr. Windsor, often have an uphill battle when it comes to getting custody of their children. The divorce courts tend to favor the mother, as you know. So, a father who is seeking custody of a child, and knows he isn't likely to get it, might resort to kidnapping."

  "Now in the course of your investigation, did you look into the Windsor's finances?"

  "Yes, we did?"

  "Was there anything unusual about them?"

  "Well, someone liquidated all of their holdings about the time of the kidnapping. We assumed it must have been Mrs. Windsor, but we were unable to confirm that."

  "So, if Mrs. Windsor didn't liquidate the assets, who did?"

  He shrugged. "We don't know for sure that she didn't cause them to be liquidated. Ultimately the money ended up in an account that she apparently controlled, but she denied liquidating the community assets and denied having anything to do with Zorcor, Inc. and its accounts. Now, of course, the money is gone and we don't know where it went."

  "How do you know it's gone?"

  "We acquired the account number and passwords from Ms. Windsor's attorney and checked on it. The account had only a few hundred dollars in it."

  "Isn't it true that Mr. Windsor managed the community investments prior to the date he went missing?"

  "Yes."

  "So, do you think Mrs. Windsor would have had the knowledge, skill, and access necessary to liquidate the several millions of dollars in assets and then channel them into a bank account at VP Bank in Tortola, British Virgin Islands?"

  Agent Barnes shook his head. "No, not really. She wasn't an officer in any of Mr. Windsor's companies nor was she active in the management of any of the various enterprises."

  "In the course of your investigation of the kidnapping of the Windsor children, have you run across anything else that might be relevant to the prosecution's case against the defendant?"

  "Well, there is one thing."

  "What's that?"

  "Mr. Windsor owned an interest in the Cocos Bay Resort in Tobago, and about the same time that he disappeared the manager of the Cocos Bay Resort also was reported missing."

  "Really?"

  "Objection, Your Honor," Wilkerson interjected. "The kidnapping of Mr. Quinlin from the Cocos Bay Resort is not relevant to this proceeding."

  "It is relevant, Your Honor, since Mr. Windsor was a major stockholder in the resort."

  "I'll allow it," the Judge ruled. "You may answer, Agent Barnes."

  "Okay. What is even more coincidental is that Mr. Quinlin's children were kidnapped as well."

  "Were these separate abductions?"

  "Yes, the father and the children were kidnapped at different times."

  "Any other similarities between these cases?"

  "Yes, the children who were abducted were all born in Dallas and the crime scenes were both remarkably well cleaned."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, normally a kidnapper would not hang around a crime scene long enough to thoroughly clean it, but in each instance the crime scene was so meticulously cleaned that there was absolutely no evidence left behind."

  "So, in your opinion, were these cases connected?"

  "I think they were. Leaving a crime scene without dust, dirt, fingerprints, fibers, or residue of any sort is odd—so odd it links the cases."

  "Thank you, Agent Barnes. Pass the witness."

  The judge said, "Mr. Wilkerson, your witness."

  "Thank you, Your Honor," Wilkerson replied. "Agent Barnes, did you search for Martin Windsor?"

  "Yes, we did."

  "Did you find him?"

  "No."

  "Did you interview anyone who saw him after the date of his disappearance?"

  "No."

  "Did you quit looking for Mr.Windsor when his body was found?"

  "Yes, we did."

  "Do you believe he's dead?"

  "I don't know. I was instructed by my superiors to quit looking for him."

  "But you don't know that he is alive?"

  "No, I don't."

  "Now, you said you didn't think Mrs. Windsor had the savvy to liquidate her husband's assets and funnel them into an offshore bank account."

  "Right, I don't think she would."

  "Did you know that she set up an elaborate array
of electronic surveillance equipment throughout Mr. Windsor's home so she could monitor his every move?"

  "Yes, I heard about that."

  "That took a lot of savvy didn't it?"

  Agent Barnes nodded. "True."

  "So, is it possible that you've misjudged her financial savvy?"

  "It's possible. It was just an impression I had from being around her for a while."

  "Could it be that she's an attractive woman and it is only natural to be attracted to her?"

  "No, I don't think that's it. And I didn't say she was attractive."

  "Well, she is though, right?" Wilkerson snorted. "I bet you liked spending time with her. In fact, isn't it true you've developed a romantic interest in her?"

  "Objection, Your Honor," Stan exclaimed. "Argumentative."

  "Sustained. Settle down, Mr. Wilkerson."

  Wilkerson shrugged. "Sorry, Your Honor."

  "Now, Agent Barnes, you're telling this jury that each of the four kidnappings that you mentioned was linked just because there was no physical evidence left behind by the kidnappers?"

  "Yes, the crime scenes were abnormally clean. Every surface must have been vacuumed or scrubbed down and, of course, there was the memory loss too."

  "The memory loss?"

  "Yes, in all four kidnappings all of the persons who were in a position to have witnessed the abductions suffered from a short-term memory loss."

  "Is that really so unusual? People don't like to get involved when a crime takes place, so they conveniently lose their memory. . . . Thank you, Agent Barnes. No further questions."

  After Stan and Wilkerson were done questioning Agent Barnes, the judge called a short recess. Stan said he was pleased with Agent Barnes's testimony and I agreed. A lot of questions had been raised that had to give the jury pause. On my way to the ladies room, I was intercepted by TV reporter Amy Tan.

  "Paula, what was all that about scrubbing down the crime scene and memory losses? I didn't get it."

  I shrugged. "Amy, we believe Martin Windsor is alive and he commands some kind of team or organization that can abduct people at will, sterilize the crime scenes, and somehow cause witnesses to have a short-term memory loss. That's why they are able to come and go without anyone realizing they were there."

  "And you think you can prove this?"

  "We don't have to prove it. All we have to do is prove reasonable doubt."

  "I know, but this is some really bizarre stuff. Do you think the jury will buy it?"

  I laughed. "You haven't heard the half of it, girl. Just wait. The best is yet to come."

    I left a puzzled Amy Tan and continued on to the ladies' room. I was sure she'd be on the phone soon and my quote would be all over the news. But it really didn't matter because, as they say, the train had left the station and there was no turning back.

  On my way back to the courtroom I saw Agent Barnes and a bailiff escorting Mr. Everett to the jury room where he would be kept until we called him as a witness. I started to think about how I was going lure Barnes and the bailiff out of the witness room so Jodie could deliver the truth serum. I went over to them.

  "Agent Barnes. I see you have our witness."

  He nodded. "Yes, I promised you'd I'd bring him by to testify. So, here he is."

  "Great. I think Stan has just one more witness and then Mr. Everett will be up. I'll tell Stan you're here."

  "Okay, but I'm not sure he's going to have much to say."

  I smiled. "Oh, don't worry about that. Stan has a way of relaxing a witness and getting him to open up."

  Barnes shook his head and replied, "Okay, whatever you say."

  When I got back into the courtroom, Barbara Falk was being sworn in. She took her seat and Stan began by asking, "What is your relationship with Martin Windsor?"

  "He's my ex-husband."

  There was a buzz in the courtroom. The judge looked disapprovingly at the gallery. They quickly quieted down. Stan continued.

  "Now everyone knows you recently lost your son, Jimmy Falk."

  "Yes."

  "Jimmy was Martin's son, right?"

  "Yes."

  "And coincidentally, he died the same day that Martin Windsor disappeared."

  "That's correct."

  "How would you characterize the relationship between Jimmy and his father?"

  "They were very close. Martin loved Jimmy very much."

  "Why did Martin and you get divorced?"

  "Infidelity. He started seeing Cheryl and they fell in love, I guess."

  "Cheryl? The defendant?"

  "Yes, Cheryl Windsor."

  "Do you and Cheryl get along?"

  "Yes. I'm over the bitterness. Cheryl and I are friends now."

  "So have you and Cheryl compared notes about life with Martin?"

  "Sure. Martin is an unusual man so we've had lots to talk about."

  "Can you explain some of those peculiarities?" Stan asked.

  "Sure. Let me see. I guess one thing that was odd was Martin's distrust of doctors. He made us go to a special clinic for all our medical care. All our children were born there too."

  "You didn't go to a hospital?"

  "No."

  "Huh? What was the name of the clinic?"

  "Ah, The Ujhazi Institute."

  "Did you and Cheryl discover anything similar about your deliveries at this clinics?"

  "Objection, Your Honor," Wilkerson said. "Where's the relevance of all this?"

  Stan replied, "If you'll indulge me, Your Honor. The relevance will soon be apparent."

  "Very well, objection overruled. The witness may answer the question."

  Barbara laughed. "Well, the one thing in common is neither of us have any memory of them."

  Chatter erupted in the gallery. The judge frowned and the bailiff stood up.

  "Excuse me? Would you repeat that?"

  "Neither of us can remember anything that went on while we were at the clinic. I couldn't even tell you what it looked like inside."

  "That is strange. Do you have any explanation for that?"

  "No, but our visits to the clinic weren't the only times we couldn't remember things. It was actually a fairly frequent occurrence. For a long time I thought it was just me, then I started talking to Cheryl and realized it was something that Martin had done to us."

  "But you don't know how he did it?"

  "Not exactly, but at night sometimes I'd dream of bright flashing lights and a loud piercing noise that was slowly driving me insane. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with any of this, but I feel like it does."

  Stan continued questioning Barbara Falk in great depth about Martin Windsor while Wilkerson fidgeted impatiently in his chair. He obviously didn't like our defense much, but he was powerless to do anything about it. I couldn't wait to see his face when Mr. Everett got on the stand full of truth serum and started spilling his guts. That would be interesting.

  By noon Stan and Wilkerson were done with Barbara Falk and the judge recessed for lunch. Stan advised the bailiff that Weldon Everett would be our next witness when we returned. He said he was taking him down to the cafeteria for lunch, but he'd have him back in plenty of time.

  After everyone had left the courtroom, Stan, Jodie, and I moved to the stairwell where we huddled to make last minute preparations to give Everett the truth serum. The jury room had two doors. One led to the hallway and the other one into the courtroom. I had decided I would simply knock on the jury room door and ask to speak to Agent Barnes. Jodie had been flirting with the bailiff all week so he wouldn't suspect anything when she dropped by offering a few extra cans of root beer. Her plan was to hand the can laced with truth serum to Everett, give one to the bailiff, and leave one for Agent Barnes.

  "That's fine," Stan said. "The simpler the better."

  Stan handed Jodie the bottle of truth serum and a syringe. "I think if you just pull the tab a little you can inject the serum without any trouble."

  Jodie nodded and took the bo
ttle. Her hands were shaking. I said, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

  She turned and forced a smile. "No. I'm okay. This is just a little scary, but I can handle it. Don't worry."

  Stan smiled and said, "Okay, let's make this canary sing."

  Stan left and Jodie and I went into the ladies' room to inject the truth serum in the can of root beer. Jodie went into a stall while I kept watch outside. When she was done, I took the bottle of truth serum to my car and Jodie took a seat in the hall where she could be on the lookout for the bailiff and Mr. Everett. When I returned from the parking garage Jodie told me the bailiff and Mr. Everett had returned and they were in the jury room with Agent Barnes. It was curtain time.

  The clock on the courtroom wall read 1:15 p.m. and we were due back at 1:30. There was no time to delay. I took a deep breath, walked across the courtroom to the jury room door and knocked.

  "Who is it?" the bailiff asked.

  "Is Agent Barnes in there?"

  Agent Barnes opened the door and stuck his head out. "Paula, what can I do for you?"

  "Ah. . . . Can I talk to you a minute?"

  "Sure," he said.

  While I was thanking Agent Barnes for his testimony on behalf of Cheryl, Jodie was knocking on the jury room door from the hallway.

  "You know. It's not true. I never had any romantic interest in Cheryl Windsor," Agent Barnes said.

  "Oh, I know. Wilkerson is just a jerk. He'll say anything to discredit a witness whether it's true or not."

  We continued to talk. When I was sure Jodie was finished delivering her root beer, I let Agent Barnes go back into the jury room. Then I went quickly to the stairwell where Jodie had agreed to meet me. She was standing just inside the door smoking a cigarette.

  "How did it go?"

  "Piece of cake. Now I just hope the truth serum works."

  "You don't think the bailiff suspected anything?"

  "No, he and Mr. Everett scoffed down the root beer like they hadn't drunk anything in a week."

  Our conversation was interrupted by excited conversation in the hallway. We pushed open the doors and saw a crowd of people around the door to the jury room. I could hear Agent Barnes yelling at the bailiff. "Call 911. He's having a seizure. We need an ambulance fast."

  We squeezed through the crowd so we could see what was happening. Everett was on the ground convulsing badly. Agent Barnes was struggling to keep something in his mouth so he wouldn't swallow his tongue. I rushed over.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  "Just help me hold him down. He's a strong son of a bitch."

  "What's wrong with him?"

  "I don't know. He's having a seizure or something."

  A jolt of fear shot through me. Was he allergic to the truth serum or was there something else in that bottle? Had Mo given us a deadly poison by mistake? If Weldon Everett died and they did an autopsy, they'd discover he'd been drugged and eventually our plan would be discovered. My stomach was in knots.

  The elevator door opened and two paramedics rushed out rolling a gurney. Agent Barnes and I got out of their way as they took his vitals and gave him oxygen. They called in his symptoms on the radio, put him on the gurney, and took him away. Agent Barnes followed them. I noticed Rob Wilkerson and his assistant watching from a distance. Wilkerson had a gleeful look on his face.

  Jodie whispered, "You think I gave him too large a dose?"

  I shrugged, "I don't know. He may have been allergic to whatever drug it was that Mo gave us. I'm sure he'll be okay."

  I went back to the courtroom to get ready for the afternoon session feeling very depressed and scared. Our plan to get Mr. Everett to tell the truth had not only been a complete and utter failure, but if Weldon Everett died from the truth serum, Stan, Jodie, and I could all be charged with murder! As we were reeling from this latest development, Stan rushed in, a frustrated look on his face.

  "You heard what happened, I guess?" I said.

  "Weldon Everett, just escaped!"

  "What? He escaped?"

  "Yeah, apparently he faked an illness and somewhere between the basement and the parking garage he disappeared."

  "Someone used the memory gun again. That so unfair!" I moaned. "Is Agent Barnes okay?"

  "Yeah, he's the one who told me what happened. He's very upset that he lost his prisoner, but physically he's fine."

  "Jesus! I can't believe this," I said. "Jodie and I thought we had poisoned him. I'm relieved we didn't, but now we don't have a witness."

  Stan sighed. "Well, we don't know if the truth serum would have worked anyway. Who knows? We'll just have to do without Everett."

  The disappointment in Stan's eyes was clear. He had been counting on Weldon Everett opening up under the influence of the truth serum and breaking the case wide open. Now he would be forced to continue chipping away at the prosecution's case, hoping that when the day was done he had cast enough doubt into at least one juror's mind to hang the jury.