In The Defendant's Chair

by Lynn Moon

  “Someone has to know something,” Strickland yelled before catching herself. “Someone is hiding something, and we must find out what that something is before it’s too late.”

  “And where do you suggest we begin?” Lewis asked, feeling vulnerable for the first time in years.

  “With that research facility being evacuated, all signs point in that direction. We should start there,” she said.

  “That will be hard to do once it’s blown up,” Greghardt added.

  “Then we’ll get there before it does,” Strickland said.

  “Madam President,” Tina yelled as she rushed into the room. “Sorry to disturb you but you need to see this.”

  Tina hit the on button on the television. They gasped as they watched a huge fireball roar above the treetops.

  “Where is this?” Strickland asked.

  “Washington, ma’am,” Tina replied.

  “But this can’t be from the volcano?”

  “No, it can’t,” Greghardt added. “It’s too small.”

  Lewis was already on his phone ordering a team to investigate the small explosion. They had to know what was going on.

  “Madam President,” Lewis said. “You just may be correct in your assumptions of where to focus our attention.”

  “God, I hope I’m right,” she replied, rubbing her hands vigorously against the side of her skirt. “Something is really bothering me,” Strickland mumbled to no one in particular.

  But Lewis heard her loud and clear. “What’s bothering you?”

  “Hold that thought,” Strickland said as she opened the door to the Oval Office. “Tina, can I see you for a moment, please?”

  Tina entered with her pad and pen.

  “Tina, I want to know where all my directors and congressmen are. Can you track them down … without anyone knowing? I also need to know where they’ve been over the last ninety days.”

  “Certainly, Madam President,” Tina said in a warm but professional manner. She then left the room.

  “What’s that all about?” Lewis asked.

  “I have a hunch some of mine are involved in all this. I’ve just got this feeling. And I’m afraid I’m the one that hired them.”

  “I have a feeling you may be on to something,” Greghardt added. “And I think we can help.”

  Greghardt got on the phone and called The Agency to help track down all the cabinet members, congressmen and directors of several US agencies.

  Chapter 84

  CARRIE DIDN’T WANT to leave them behind but she knew she had no choice. She’d come to know the small group as friends.

  “We’ll be back,” Lacey said hugging them one by one.

  “We will return,” Carrie promised wrapping her arms around Seith. “I will come to get all of you.”

  Seith’s eyes filled with tears as the two girls walked through the door in the small office. Learl and Seith pushed the cabinets back into place and sighed when finished.

  “They’ll be back,” Learl said trying to reassure Seith.

  “I hope they be safe,” Seith answered.

  “Me too,” Learl said leaving Seith alone in the small office.

  * * * * * *

  Carrie and Lacey walked for what seemed like hours down the long vacated track. Lacey was amazed at the size of the tunnel, it was all she talked about.

  “I can’t believe this tunnel never collapsed,” Lacey said.

  “I’m sure it was built to last.”

  They walked until Lacey stopped and yelled, “My God! What is that awful smell?”

  “Death,” Carrie whispered.

  Lacey fell to her knees gasping for air.

  “Lacey, are you all right?” Carrie remembered Lacey’s past and knew what was happening to her young partner. She had to get Lacey out of that tunnel. Carrie grabbed Lacey by the arm and dragged her through the carnage, not slowing down until they reached the outside.

  “Lacey, grab a hold of yourself,” Carrie ordered.

  “I’m trying,” Lacey cried out gasping. “I haven’t felt like this in a long time… I’d forgotten.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lacey said taking in another breath of fresh air. “It won’t happen again.”

  “You can’t help it,” Carrie replied. “It’s just the way it is. Certain things trigger feelings and memories from our past and we begin to re-live them. It’s just what is.”

  “I know but,” Lacey started to say then squinted her eyes. “Hey, there’s people over there.”

  “What?” Carrie asked turning around to see what Lacey was staring at.

  One adult and two children were walking through the trees.

  “How did they get way out here?” Lacey asked.

  “Not sure, but we’re about to find out,” Carrie replied dashing toward the hikers.

  “Hey, wait for me,” Lacey yelled running after Carrie.

  “Hello?” Carrie screamed and the small group of hikers stopped.

  It was a woman and two girls. The woman looked terrified and the girls looked exhausted.

  “Are you okay?” Carrie yelled still running toward the small group.

  After everything she’d just been through, Carrie refused to dismiss anything at this point. And to find a mother and her children walking through the wilderness only meant one thing— trouble.

  The mother started to run, and Carrie had to think fast. “Please stop, I can’t run after you. I’m too tired, please stop.”

  “We’re not here to hurt you,” Lacey yelled. “We can help, honest.”

  That seemed to work. The woman sat down on the ground and huddled the children close as they approached. Carrie noticed they were wearing tennis shoes and carrying small packs. Not one of them was prepared to be hiking in these woods.

  “Hi, I’m Carrie and this is Lacey,” Carrie panted as she spoke. “We were hiking and fell into a cave. We just found our way out. Why are you way out here?”

  “Yeah, did you fall into a hole too?” Lacey asked. “Like stupid us?”

  The little girls laughed at Lacey’s statement but the woman only shook her head. The girls sat on their packs and stared at their mother. Carrie and Lacey sat down on the damp earth next to them. It felt good to rest their legs after the long trek out of the damp cave.

  “Why are you way out here?” Lacey asked. “In fact, how did you get way out here?”

  Marty began to cry. The girls wrapped their arms around their mother. Carrie’s mind raced for answers. But Lacey knew what was wrong. She had been there before as a child and knew what they were feeling and thinking.

  “You’re running for your lives aren’t you?” Lacey said.

  “How did you know?” Marty asked between sobs.

  “She just does,” Carrie answered winking at Lacey. “Believe me, she knows.”

  “I have the T-Shirt at home,” Lacey mused. “You’re safe now, really.”

  “I need to find my backpack.” Carrie giggled and Lacey laughed.

  They laughed so hard their sides were burning. The girls laughed along with them even though they had no idea what was so funny. Then Marty began to giggle. All of them were soon laughing as hard as they could in the middle of a wild and vast wilderness.

  “What are we laughing at?” Marty asked.

  “Life,” Carrie replied and they all laughed until they cried.

  * * * * * *

  Carrie ran down the slope yelping.

  “I guess she found her pack,” Lacey mused.

  Marty smiled and nodded. “They’ll be coming for us soon. We have to go now.”

  “Who’ll be coming?” Lacey asked.

  “I have to find a place to hide and where the kids can rest. I can’t tell you everything now,” Marty answered.

  Panting, Carrie plopped down next to Lacey with a huge smile. “I think I know where we are… sort of.”

  “Marty needs to make camp,” Lacey added. “She needs to hide.”

  Carrie stared
at the children. “Have you eaten?”

  Marty shook her head.

  “We have to feed the kids.” As she spoke, Carrie noticed Marty’s jacket was moving. She glanced over at Lacey and nudged her with her elbow. When Lacey gave Carrie a glaring look of non-approval, Carrie tried to use her eyes to get Lacey to see the moving jacket. But Lacey wasn’t following her.

  “What?” Lacey asked.

  Carrie rolled her eyes and again pointed her head and turned in the direction of the moving jacket. Lacey shook her head as her eyes widened. She still wasn’t following Carrie’s clues. Carrie took in a gasp of air before leaning over until her head and body were between Lacey and Marty. Again Carrie jerked her head toward Marty and blinked her eyes several times.

  “You have something in your eyes?” Lacey asked. “I hate it when I get stuff in my eyes.”

  “I give up. Hello? Anybody home in there?” Carrie knocked on Lacey’s forehead with her knuckles.

  “Owe… that hurt,” Lacey complained, rubbing her head. “What’s the matter with you anyway?”

  “Nothing,” Carrie sighed. “I think I saw a good place to camp a little way up the slope. We can stay there for the night.”

  “Will they see us?” Marty asked.

  “No. It’s pretty secluded.” Carrie stood and brushed the leaves off her pants.

  “Thank you,” Marty said as she followed them.

  As the small group hiked up the mountain slope, Lacey leaned over to Carrie and asked, “What was all that about back there?”

  “Nothing, Ms. Dense,” Carrie smirked as she hurried her stride.

  * * * * * *

  Carrie stood at the cave entrance with her mind reeling. How in the world was she going to get the girls and the mother past the walls of the decaying human flesh? She glanced over at Lacey who looked green. Carrie knew this was probably not the smartest idea she’d ever had. But it was the best place to hide this family until she could figure out what to do.

  “Look,” she said to the group. “Through this cave is a warm and dry place where you can hide. There’s bathrooms and beds and a kitchen with food. But to get there I have to take you through this tunnel.”

  “And it stinks,” Lacey said almost crying.

  Carrie gave Lacey the evil eye and ignored her statement.

  “I’m really sorry about this,” Carrie said, “but I’m going to have to put my jacket over Macie’s head and Lacey will have to put hers over Eliza’s. We’ll guide you. It’s going to smell and I apologize. But it’ll be okay… I promise.”

  Marty stared at the girls and hugged her jacket. Carrie knew she was hiding something, but that didn’t matter right now. She just had to get them to safety. They guided the girls through the stench and Marty gagged all the way, but eventually, they made it to the door. The filing cabinets had been pushed back into place, but with Carrie and Lacey pushing together, they moved them out of the way.

  “Seith… Learl!” Carrie yelled. “Hello? We’re back.”

  Lacey pushed the cabinets back into place and followed everyone into the common area.

  “We were not excepting you so soon,” Learl said giving Carrie a hug. “Who’s this?”

  “We met some new friends outside,” Lacey said.

  “This is Marty,” Carrie said pulling her to the front. “And this is Macie and this is Eliza.”

  “You look funny,” Eliza said staring at Learl.

  “So do you,” Learl replied sticking out her tongue.

  “Okay,” Carrie interrupted. “Everybody looks funny. So can we feed these guys please?”

  “You want food?” Learl asked.

  Chapter 85

  AFTER DINNER, CHARLOTTE and Charlie decided to take a walk. She listened to his words but kept a cautious eye on the whole family. Nothing was making any sense. Why would he suddenly show up now? If they were her grandparents, why wasn’t she always in their lives?

  “I’m sure you’re confused, Charlotte, but once you’re here for a while you’ll see. Having a family is the greatest.” Charlie picked up a rock and tossed it through the trees.

  “Why don’t you have wings?” she asked.

  Charlie studied her for a few seconds then replied, “I don’t know.”

  “What makes you different?” Charlotte added.

  “Different?”

  “I know I’m different than everyone else. I know everyone doesn’t have wings. I’m not stupid. So if we’re really related, then why can’t you fly?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you should ask our grandparents. Maybe they’ll know.”

  Charlotte watched as Charlie threw a few more rocks before they headed home. But Charlie walked slowly, almost as if he was feeling guilty about something.

  * * * * * *

  The sound of the explosion ricocheted so violently through the small home the house was almost knocked off its foundation.

  “Grandpa?” Charlie screamed from his bedroom. “Grandpa… Grandma, is it an earthquake?

  Charlie ran into his grandparents’ room but it was empty. When he got to the living room, the front door was wide open and he could see his grandparents and Charlotte watching what looked like a fireball high over the treetops.

  “What is it?” Charlie asked running out to join them.

  “We think the home was demolished,” his grandmother replied stroking Charlotte’s head.

  “I want to see!” Charlotte’s bravery shocked everyone.

  “No, you can’t,” Charlie yelled. But it was too late.

  Charlotte ran into the wind. When the current caught her wings, she soared effortlessly into the sky. Exercises her grandfather taught her were making her stronger. Taking off from the ground was almost painless now. With a sense of pride, Charlotte flew around the house to gain height. As soon as she cleared the treetops, she could see the fireball in the distance. Being cautious, Charlotte didn’t get too close. All she needed was someone to see her.

  Charlie was running, yelling for her to come back. But she needed to know what was happening at the place she used to call home. A huge rock alongside the mountain gave her the perfect viewing spot. Charlotte aimed for the cliff and landed on the large boulder. From up here, she could see everything; the lake she first floated across, the large trees she first soared over, and the castle—or what was left of the castle. As the flames roared higher into the air, the tears ran down her face. She thought of the good people who cared for her. Charlotte hoped they would be okay and maybe they were not in the house when it blew up.

  The sounds of sirens filled the cool afternoon’s air and the different colors of flashing lights told Charlotte ambulances were already parked at the old castle. It didn’t look good. Charlotte lowered her head and said goodbye to her old life. She had seen enough and needed to be safe. She glided back toward her waiting grandparents. Charlie scolded her. But her grandfather scooped her up in his arms and gave her a big kiss.

  “You’re getting stronger, my tiny one,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes. “I have something you should see.”

  “What?” Charlotte asked.

  “A picture of your mother when she was about your age. You look so much like her,” he said planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

  “Grandpa?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes, my sweet,” he replied.

  “Can we leave tonight?” she whispered.

  “Leave?” he asked.

  Charlotte cried and between sobs said, “I’m afraid… if someone wants everyone dead, won’t they come after me next?”

  Chapter 86

  LEE STEPPED OFF the plane happy to finally be home. Her flight was delayed at two different airports, one in London and the other in New York. But all in all, she was glad to be away from those creepy men and their odd behavior. She wasn’t sure why she was sent there in the first place. But she had thirty days of leave and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

  “Lee!” Tabatha yelled as she grabbed hold almost knocking her ove
r.

  “My God, just kill me all ready. It’s good to be back in the states,” Lee said dropping her luggage at Tabatha’s feet to give her a hug. “I’m sorry I gave you such a fright.”

  “It’s okay, as long as you’re fine. But don’t do it again.”

  “I guess I’m fine. My side still hurts. That was the worst bug I’ve ever had… must have been a foreign one.”

  “Very funny. All you need to worry about is getting some long overdue rest.”

  As they left the airport, Lee couldn’t help but notice the man watching them from across the terminal. An eerie feeling ran up her spine, and for some unknown reason she felt personally violated.

  “Let’s get out of here and get some dinner,” Lee protested. “Where did you park the car?

  * * * * * *

  Lee and Tabatha munched on their dinner and only every once in a while did they glance up at each other. Both had bad thoughts running through their minds not knowing if they should share them with each other.

  “These pork chops are pretty good and you didn’t fry them?” Lee asked. “Really?”

  “No, just broiled with heavy seasoning,” Tabatha replied, picking up her glass of milk. “Was the hotel nice?”

  “It was beautiful. Too bad I was sick most of the time. I couldn’t really enjoy it,” Lee replied. “So how’s your case?”

  “You won’t believe what I have to tell you. Even if I painted you a picture. I just have to tell someone.”

  “Spill,” Lee said taking a bite of her baked potato.

  “We’re analyzing skeletal remains of what might be a true cross-breed between an animal and human. We believe it was part feline.”

  “Get real,” Lee sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “No, honest,” Tabatha replied leaning closer to Lee in order to whisper.

  “We had to go to a site where some strange bones were buried. But there was nothing left. We do have some samples that were taken before the whole skeleton was stolen.”

  “Stolen?” Lee asked surprised. “Who’d steal a thing like that? Grave-robbing lost its appeal years ago.”