by Ken Renshaw
We got to the old Williams' place, gave Cody the car, and joined Buster in his pickup and drove to the ranch.
At the ranch Tina and Sofia were sitting on the porch, sipping wine. As I got out of the car, Tina, dressed in a white jogging suit, ran over and gave me a welcoming kiss, stepped safely away and executed a series on punches in the air, orchestrated by guttural "Yah, Yahs," and made a head kick in the air. "He-ah!" Sofia was standing nearby, laughing.
"I can tell you ladies didn't spend the day sitting on the porch embroidering doilies," I observed.
"Go ahead, big boy, make your move!" snarled Tina.
Buster stepped forward, laughed and said, "I think we should change the topic of conversation. Steve drove home after his testimony and everybody else left on the afternoon plane."
Elizabeth interrupted, "I think I could use a good kick in the head about now. Do you have any whisky in the house?"
****
When we got to the old Williams' place on our drive to court on Thursday morning, Cody was not there to switch cars with us. There seemed to be several other dark colored cars in the driveway near the house.
Buster said, "I'm driving you to court today. Cody is fine. Everything is fine: actually, everything is really good. Keep your mind on your lawyering. I'll brief you later about this when I have all the facts."
Judge Cartright called the court to order and asked for me to give my closing argument.
I gave my closing argument, and Dean Buttress gave his. The Judge gave the jury his instructions, and the jury for left for deliberation. Court was adjourned at eleven o'clock.
Elizabeth commented after watching the jurors leave, "I think we are in good shape. The only jurors who looked at Buttress did so in apparent disgust. Several looked compassionately at the Sodastroms. I think they will elect the juror number five as foreman. That would be good because he looks like a gentle, reasonable person."
We retired to our conference room. I checked my text messages and found I had a message from Zaza. It said, "Highest priority emergency: Call Phil Bracken immediately."
I called Phil. He said, "We have a bad situation here. Sam Perris, the Chief Scientist at ChralMed, our major client, happened to be in Sacramento yesterday. He said he saw you on the evening news declining to comment on the Rocky Butte case. Then, he saw an interview of a woman, a mother who had participated in some sort of demonstration. According to Perris, you put on some kind if rigged demonstration proving that ESP works. Perris is threatening to fire us from Bob's ChralMed case because our firm lacks scientific integrity. Is this true?"
I said, "I did have the CIA psychic do a demonstration where he successfully located three children. The demo was absolutely not rigged."
Phil replied, "Well, settle the case. I'll take care of Vince Colson. Get it out of the news. We can't afford to lose ChralMed. It will ruin our credibility with other clients. You must realize how important ChralMed is to our future."
I answered, "It is too late. The case went to the jury this morning. I have no way to find the opposing counsel. He is probably in some bar around here. The verdict will be back before we could even begin negotiations. Too late to trigger a mistrial. The Judge wants this trial over once and for all. There is nothing I can do." I thought to myself, 'Except hunt for a new job.'
Phil still sounded mad when he said, "Well, I'll work on damage control. Goodbye!"
I thought, 'That really did sound like goodbye.'
"Your face is pale! What was that about?" Asked Elizabeth.
I explained.
Elizabeth, looking shocked and worried, peeked disdainfully into her lunch sack. "All this and we also get free sack lunches."
The door opened and Buster walked in a with a picnic hamper.
"No sack lunches today. Since you can't leave with all the media out there, Sofia made you something special."
Elizabeth grabbed the hamper and started unpacking it with little exclamations of delight.
Buster cheerily announced, "We have some really good news. Didn't you notice that Mr. S was not in court today? He is staying with our friends at the FBI. He will probably be under their care for a long time."
"Last night Cody was awakened about three o'clock when the infrared perimeter alarm went off, the one we installed around the whole Williams' place, He checked the surveillance video cameras and saw somebody, he didn't know who, entering the parking area in front of the house. The Camaro was parked a distance from the house to allow better video surveillance. The person, it later turned out to Mr. S., quickly jimmied the car door open, reached in and popped the hood. Cody woke up Billie, our second man staying at the Williams' house. We found out later that Curt, our man tailing Mr. S that night, was in the woods behind Mr. S. They all watched as Mr. S. placed a bomb under the hood connected to the ignition and then placed another device at the front of the hood. Mr. S. very gingerly closed the hood. He then went around and taped another device to the bottom of the gas tank. He did a little dance of apparent delight and then went into the woods.
"Curt was waiting for him and took him down without much of a fight. Billie was right there to help. They handcuffed S. and went through his pockets and found the detonator transmitter. Cody called his FBI contact in Sacramento. An FBI bomb specialist and investigative team got to the Williams' place by nine this morning. I joined them there after I dropped you off at the courthouse.
"The FBI bomb specialist, Eileen Wolf, is a short, stocky, determined looking lady. Good casting for a bomb specialist. She reviewed the surveillance tape, and then spent a half hour in Mr. S's van workshop studying his tools and bomb plans.
"When she returned to where everyone was gathered at a safe distance from the car, she said. "I can remove the gas tank bomb safely. In the van workshop, I found out that the perp used C-4 instead of dynamite in making his bombs. He left a spare bomb like that used under the gas tank in the van so I know what were up against there. I can remove that one safely with my robot. I found a block of C-4 in the van. I can tell that he used enough under the hood to be lethal to a driver, but not enough to make a big crater or do much damage to the house or knock trees down. I recommend we remove the gas tank bomb to preserve forensic evidence as much as possible and then blow the two other charges."
"I volunteered that it was a movie car and had many custom features, including a remote control starter. When the time came, and we were all safely in the woods, I pressed the remote control and blew the car. It didn't blow up like the ones in the movies in a ball of flame, it just sat there and made a disappointingly small noise, convulsed, and spit out the windows."
"The FBI took both the van and what remained of the Camaro away to their evidence lab. Cody's left, taking a few days on a fishing vacation. That part of the operation is over, and so is Mr. S.
"Now, let's celebrate" He produced four canned martinis and a six-pack of beer from the picnic basket. "You can have a two martini lunch, like attorneys in Beverly Hills attorney are supposed to have."
I smiled and said. "Only beer for me, thanks. Martinis are a wonderful idea, but I have some emails and reading to catch up on."
Elizabeth smiled and scooped up all four cans into her arms and said, "I'm through for the day, aren't I, boss?"
I smiled in approval.
Later, Buster drove us back to the ranch. When we went by the old Williams' place, the van was gone and all cars, including the Camaro, were missing from the driveway. As Elizabeth and I strained our necks to look back, Buster volunteered, "Someone will be up to brief us tomorrow, after they put the whole situation together."
"When we arrived at the ranch Tina and Sofia were again sitting on the porch in rocking chairs, wearing prim gingham dresses, apparently knitting. They demurely nodded and said, "Welcome home," without getting up.
"Actors!" said Buster as we went in and the screen door slammed behind us. "I'm sorry, Tina may never be the same after Rocky Butte."
I went upstairs and changed into my western clothes. W
hen I came down, Tina greeted me with a small curtsy and handed me tall drink. In a Texas accent she said, "A mint julep for you sir, after your hard days work." Everyone else was standing, laughing, with juleps in hand.
Elizabeth, looking a little bleary-eyed, interrupted. She opened her laptop and said, "Here is the closing statement as transcribed by the reporter in her report to Dore if anyone wants to read it.
Sofia took the laptop and sat down on a couch, joined by Tina.
They read:
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
We have seen that Lucy wandered from the vicinity of the cafe, walked down Bear Creek, and sought refuge in a log hut in a fishing camp. The coroner testified that she died of exposure between 11:00PM and 1:00 AM. She was not found until 2:00 AM.
We have heard Search and Rescue team members testify that they waited around in the parking lot of the cafe for several hours before they were deployed in the search. They characterized the management of the search effort as disorganized.
We have heard the testimony of Mr. Holtz that his bloodhounds had started tracking down the Bear Creek trail before he was called back, severely reprimanded and consigned to wait in the parking lot until he went home. Sheriff Bogend did not act on this critical indication of where Lucy could be found. He stated that he didn't want to employ Mr. Holtz in the search because he was not a contracted County resource, and his employment would require undesirable paperwork later.
We have heard Mr. Manteo's testimony that Sheriff Bogend refused to act in examining or considering his credentials as a person who could assist in the search. After marking the exact spot where Lucy would be later found on the Sheriff's map about 8:45PM, the Sheriff, at gunpoint, and with a threat of arrest, ordered Mr. Manteo off the premises and to not to make his own search.
The Sheriff decides not to act on these two corroborating indications on where Lucy was.
You have seen the folder containing Mr. Manteo credentials, including letters of commendation from law enforcement agencies, citing his success in locating people and crime scenes, and the Presidential citation awarding him a medal for his twenty years of psychic spy work for the US Government. This folder was presented to Sheriff Bogend on the night in question. If you had seen these credentials, would you, as reasonable people, refused Mr. Manteo's offer to help
You have hard testimony by Mathematics Professor from LA College and a Physics Professor from UCLA that the psychic things that Mr. Manteo does can be explained with modern university level mathematics and physics.
You have seen him demonstrate his abilities in this courtroom, locating classmates of Lucy's who were hiding somewhere in Rocky Butte.
Sheriff Bogend's failure to act on Mr. Manteo's information, and the bloodhound’s identification of a track, resulted in Lucy not being found until after he had died of exposure. We should expect a person in charge of a search and rescue effort to uphold the standards of conduct that require them to do everything in their power to find the lost person.
Mr. Manteo has testified that he has been employed or used by ten law enforcement agencies in the search for missing persons. Using psychics is within the standards of conduct of law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff Bogend should have acted on Mr. Manteo's information and sent a couple of the qualified search people standing idly in the parking lot on a half-hour walk down Bear Creek to check out the tip. Any reasonable man would have done that. It would not have been a strain on Sheriff Bogend's time or resources.
Sheriff Bogend failed to act according to the accepted standards of conduct to do what any reasonable man should do and use his excess personnel to perform an early search down Bear Creek and find Lucy alive. He was negligent.
Your verdict will be Rocky Butte telling all members of the California State Association of Counties that it can be negligent to ignore qualified psychics in emergency situations. Let Lucy be remembered. I urge you to speak loudly.
I thank you for your kind attention during the trial.
****
The next morning, as I went down for breakfast, Buster asked whether I could stay at the ranch for a couple of hours. He said someone was coming about ten o'clock to brief me about Mr. S.
Elizabeth volunteered to go to court to be available for jury questions.
I happily agreed to delay going to court and went back to bed.
At breakfast, Tina said, "Do you have the letter predicting the outcome of the trial that Steve sent you? You said you were not going to open it before the trial. Can't you open it now?"
I thought for a minute and then said, "I don't see why not. Seeing the letter can't change anything I did or might do in the trial." I went upstairs and got the unopened letter from my bag.
I came back to the table and theatrically paused, opening the letter and holding it to my forehead. I started to say, "I predict this letter says...."
Tina blurted, "Open the damn thing!"
I opened it and read, "I saw a pick."
I handed the letter to Tina.
"What does that mean, 'a pick'" Tina demanded.
"It means Steve foretold us winning the case."
Tina bounced up and down a shouted, "Whoopee!"
When I hadn't joined in, Tina scolded, "After convincing the jury of the validity of Steve's abilities, do I sense disbelief? You hypocrite!"
"Yippee!" I shouted. Tina and I danced around hugging each other.
"What's going on here?" Sofia asked as she ran out from the kitchen. "Everything OK? Tina, Is this man bothering you?"
"We won! Dave Willard won the case," Answered Tina.
"The jury is back so soon?"
"No, we were celebrating Steve's prediction."
Sofia didn't respond. I heard the front door screen bang and looked to see Buster come in.
"Dave, let's take a ride to the airstrip. We have a visitor coming in. Excuse us ladies?'
As we drove to the airstrip, Buster listened to his iPod and didn't volunteer any information on the visitor.
Soon after we arrived at the strip, we heard an airplane in the distance. When it circled over the strip to check the windsock, I noticed it was not the twin-engine Cessna that I and the other visitors had flown in on. It was a black, high winged, twin turbine jet. When it taxied up to us I saw, a company logo painted on the side and words that said, California Energy Transmission. I was puzzled until it stopped, the door opened, and I saw Mr. Burton get out. He was wearing a black suit, his reflecting aviator sunglasses, and his professional inscrutable expression.
He shook my hand and acknowledged Buster with a nod.
He said mechanically, "Mr. Willard, we trust you have had a pleasant and successful stay and that the arrangements were convenient."
"Yes, to all three questions." I replied.
"The FBI has our Mr. S in custody. On Wednesday night, the man you know as Cody was awakened by the peripheral alarm system we installed at the decoy house. He watched on the surveillance camera as Mr. S proceeded to open the door of the black sedan. He then opened the hood and installed three bombs in the car, one in the vicinity of the driver’s position. The bomb was rigged to go off when the car was started.
"Cody and two other men who work for me took Mr. S. into custody before he reached his white van parked hidden in the woods. They held him until the FBI arrived from the Sacramento office and took him to Sacramento detention facilities.
"The sedan you were using and the white van are in the custody of the FBI."
"Mr. S is being held and will be tried in Federal Court for his activity here and other places. All evidence points to him working alone. You need not worry about him anymore.
"With your permission, and the knowledge of Dan, your associate at CrystalAire, we placed your sailplane under surveillance. Surveillance video revealed that Mr. S entered your sailplane trailer and placed an explosive device within the sailplane. He also altered your parachute so that the ripcord wouldn't function if you bailed out."
> "Does the FBI have my sailplane in their big evidence locker with the white van and black sedan?"
"No, the FBI removed all the explosive devices. An FAA aircraft inspector has completely gone over your airplane to assure its safety and airworthiness. The parachute was examined at the FBI laboratories and then repacked at a certified FAA facility. It was placed back in your sailplane in its original location.
"We also had your mobile home under surveillance during the time your sailplane trailer was being monitored. Neither Mr. S. or any other person has entered your mobile home."
"Is the mobile home bugged now?" I asked.
"All our surveillance devices have been removed," he replied. "Since we did not enter inside the structure, we did not determine if other surveillance devices had been placed there. You might wish to make your own inspection.
"Any other questions?" Burton asked mechanically.
"No."
"Then, we thank you for your cooperation and indulgence in our assignment," Burton said as he shook my hand, nodded to Buster, and climbed back into his airplane.
"I'm glad he is on our side," I confided to Buster as the airplane taxied away.
Buster silently stood as though at attention, like a soldier in a military ceremony, until the airplane took off and was on it's way.
In the Jeep on the way back to the lodge, Buster confided that he had only met Burton in person three times, that this must have been an important job to get his attention.
I said, "I think Vince Colson thinks that getting these ideas of space-time out into the scientific community is important."
As we drove up to the lodge, Tina and Sofia were engaged in karate exercises on the lawn. I said to Buster, "Tina looks like a full–fledged karate expert. How did that happen in a few days?"
"Sofia has a black belt, sometimes teaches at an academy, and often works intensively with actors preparing for a movie role. She says Tina is a natural. I'd be careful to not get her really mad from now on. If you need to have an argument, do it over the telephone."