Love Story: In The Web of Life (19 page)

"If you tell me I won, and I relax in preparing
the case, I might lose. Isn't that altering the
outcome?"

"No. It might alter how or why you win the
case, but, you will win the case. That is the way it works," said
Steve with a shrug.

I thought for a minute and then replied, "Send
me the prediction and I will choose when to read it."

By this time, I was feeling like Steve and
Georgia were old friends of mine. I didn't want to leave this
intensely friendly place. Reluctantly, I said I must leave, and we
all had warm hugs, which are not a lawyer's normal way of saying
goodbye to potential witnesses. As I drove away, I felt an intense
pull to return.

I decided to stop by Bob's Cafe because I
wanted to make Agnes think I am a good guy, and have her
communicate it out the far reaches of the gossip grapevine. I
wanted to lose some of my "outsider, big city lawyer
status."

I was careful to sit at the same rotating stool
at the counter.

Agnes came over and said, "what’ll-y-have?"
This time she had a slight smile of recognition.

"Just coffee," I said.

"Ya-got-it," she replied.

The cafe was empty except for a booth of three
grey haired men, wearing their Stetson hats as they ate, exercising
what I have heard are "cowboy manners." One was kind of looking me
over.

"How do you like Rocky Butte, so far?" asked
Agnes.

"I like it a lot, so far," I said. "I am from a
small logging town like this in northern California. I like small
towns."

"Did your friend find you?" asked Agnes. "He
was in here yesterday asking where you might be. I sent him to the
courthouse. Millie, the clerk over there said he wanted to see
stuff about the court case you are here on."

"What did he look like?"

"He had a stocky build, like a farmhand, grey
crew cut hair, gold wire-rimmed glasses, like boy scouts
wear.

"Millie said you have a case against Sheriff
Bogend for roughing up some guy. Bogend is a real bastard. I hope
you fix him. He hassles people around here often. He is not much of
a tipper, either."

"I don't really know who the guy is. He is
probably an insurance investigator," I replied. "The judge isn't
giving much time for me before he hears the case. I might rent a
place up here for a combination of vacation and work. There are
many vacation rental homes around here, aren't there?"

"Lots. Most of them are managed by agencies in
Pine Mountain. There are several dude ranches around here. Are you
going to bring your family up with you?"

"No, I am unattached. I'll be alone. I like to
get a little solitude when I get away from LA. It brings me back to
my roots."

"Maybe you can find some time for a little gold
panning and meet some of the local girls. People are panning again
because of the current price of gold," said Agnes, looking at me
inquisitively to see whether my expression changed. "I can
introduce you to a beautiful widow-woman friend of
mine."

"I might try some prospecting for women and
gold if I have time. I will mostly sit around, sometimes coming in
here for your dinner special."

I looked at my watch and then said, "Good
coffee, but I'd better get going,"

As I started to drive away, I saw that Agnes
was on the cell phone. When I got to the edge of town, before I got
out of cell phone coverage, I stopped the car, and sent a secure
email to Dore. It said, "The man from Skeptemos was in Rocky Butte
inquiring about me and visiting the courthouse. I met with the
Sodastroms and Steve Manteo. Now returning to LA."

****

Chapter Six

BACK IN
LA

Monday morning, I was back at my office. As I
walked into the lobby, I noticed that Carolyn looked a little
disheveled. She didn't even greet me. I noticed a small overnight
bag behind her desk. I guess 'I'm available for the weekend,'
hadn't worked out as expected.

Zaza greeted me with, "If it isn't the mountain
man! How is rabbit hunting in Rocky Butte? I have heard stories
about those Sierra mining towns. Meet any dance-hall
girls?"

"All business. There is gourmet dinning at
Bob's Cafe. Here, I brought you a gold pan."

"A pretty yellow one, I have been wanting one
of these. Irving needs a new hobby. I have been trying to get him
away from our TV set."

"How was your weekend?"

"Irving watched TV. Period.

"You just had a call from someone named Dan at
CrystalAire." She handed me the slip of paper with his phone number
on it.

"He is one of the tow pilots. I hope nothing
has happened to my sailplane."

I called Dan. He explained, "Dave, I don't know
what this means, but, you remember that funny guy with the grey
crew cut and gold rimmed glasses I saw checking out your sailplane
trailer?"

"Yes, the one you told me about the day I flew
the wave."

Dan continued, "The other day I flew up to the
soaring operation on Ogden to deliver a tow plane that had been
down here for overhaul. While I was there, I saw Charlie Sears from
Santa Fe assembling his sailplane. You remember him from the
regional contest we had here at CrystalAire last year?"

I replied, "Yea, I talked to Charlie quite a
bit during the contest. How is he doing?"

"He was spending a week flying at Ogden. He was
taking his bird out of the trailer and putting it together. The
funny guy with the grey crew–cut was helping him. I went over and
talked to Charlie a while and got a good look at the guy. He is
really uptight, like a marine on guard duty. I couldn't figure out
why he was there. He positively didn't look like a pilot. You might
like to give Charlie a call and find out what the story on the guy
is."

"I will," I said, "I have Charlie's cell
number. Thanks. Let me know if you see the stranger
again."

I called Charlie and told him that Dan had seen
him in Ogden. We chatted about flying and Ogden weather and soaring
conditions. I asked him about the man Dan saw helping him assemble
the sailplane.

Charlie replied, "I had never seen the man
before in my life. He walked up and was just standing around so I
asked him whether he would like to help me put the wings on. He was
very interested in how everything went together, as though he was a
mechanical engineer, but didn't seem to know anything about flying,
and was not very interesting to talk to. After we got finished he
left and drove off in his white van."

"Did you find out any thing about him, where he
was from, or what he was doing there?"

"No, he was not a very personable guy. Why the
interest?"

"Dan saw him hanging around my glider trailer
at CrysalAire He thought he looked suspicious."

Charlie continued, "I think 'suspicious' is a
good description of him. Maybe 'creepy' is better."

I thanked Charlie and told him about my wave
flight before I said goodbye.

I emailed a report of the incident to EB
Services.

Zaza buzzed me and said, "Bracken wants an
update on the court case and is here this morning. Shall I see
whether he is free?"

"Yes."

After a short call Zaza said, "OK to go up
there now."

As I went in, Phil motioned me to sit at a
chair in front of his desk and said, "How is Sodastrom shaping
up?"

"We have a trial date in a month. The judge
warned me against any pre-trial publicity. He doesn't want the
tourist town of Rocky Butte to be publicized as a place where it
unsafe for families. The liability insurance company’s lawyer, who
will be defending the county, didn’t impress me.

"I think there is a good scientific case for
remote sensing and a trained psychic being able locate people. I'll
put the science argument first when the jury is fresh, so they can
absorb it as we go along. Colson has commissioned a video that
explains the theory in a way a lay jury can understand. Their
consultant, Dr. Montgomery is also an excellent witness.

"The Sodastroms will make good witnesses. They
look very tragic. I will put them up late in the trial."

"I visited with the psychic, Steve Manteo, and
he will also make an excellent witness. I will arrange for him to
make some sort of demonstration."

"I will present this differently from a logical
patent case. Instead of a 'you must logically find....' type of
case, I'll appeal to the jurors' feelings. As part of that, I will
rent a place up there and try to develop the idea that I am kind of
a local. Maybe, I'll even go to some local softball
games."

Phil picked up a piece of paper and handed it
to me. He showed some concern in his eyes.

"Dore sent me this email that shouldn't go out
of this office, about her security concerns. Apparently, some man
has been stalking you, and might try to intimidate you and some of
your witnesses. Her security consultants have found that the person
is on the FBI's radar. The suspect is Special Forces trained, with
experience in explosives. He is linked to bombings in other states,
and is considered very dangerous. He seems to be associated with a
group that makes it their duty to prevent acceptance of what they
consider unscientific theories, which will lead the world back into
superstition and fear.

"Dore gave me the link to their website. Here,
I will put it on the flat screen TV."

The website opened with a montage of heroic
medieval figures, knights wearing white tunics with red crosses
emblazoned on the front, carrying shields similarly decorated,
barbaric figures marching with firebrands, riding in fierce groups.
The montage ended with a heraldic crest with the same hieroglyph we
had seen drawn on Candice's windshield and into the dirt near my
sailplane trailer. The montage looked as though it had been lifted
from a Discovery Channel program, or similar special on the Knights
Templar.

The voiceover described how the group,
Skeptemos, was carrying on the ancient tradition of fighting the
forces of evil, this time the fake-scientific people, agents of
evil, who were destroying pure science with the impure theories
that promoted superstition and fear. Destroying pure science would
plunge us back into the chaos of the Dark Ages. The montage showed
violent scenes, probably from TV coverage of unrest in the Middle
East. It included 'villainous' clips of the bearded faces of
turbaned Iranian and Arab leaders.

"That is kind of scary," I said.

Phil responded, "The good news is the so-called
movement consists of only a few nuts, true–believer types. Someone
is adept at making a website. We are not dealing with an al–Qaeda
here. Skeptemos is probably only a few loners, at least one with
explosive training, probably addicted to medieval video
games.

"Colson has retained a high-end security firm
to develop a plan to protect you and your witnesses, the kind of
firm that might be hired to protect a visiting head of
state.

"Vince Colson told me he had some Pentagon jobs
that brushed against the classified world. He probably has some
friends who advise him about spooky matters. He has weighty
concerns about industrial espionage. We can be confident his
security consultants will know their job.

Phil looked concerned as he said, "Are you OK
with this kind of scenario?"

"As you know, our high-tech patent work has
made us the target of some professional industrial espionage
organizations, including some from foreign countries. If the
security firm can keep the bombers away. I can live with
it."

Phil seemed relieved as he said, "Good, I'll
tell Dore you are comfortable with the situation."

****

Back at my office, I texted Tina. "I am back
from the mountains. Dinner Saturday?"

I check my email and there was a message from
Candice saying she would have the first cut of the movie on a DVD
on Friday and wanted to get it to me.

I replied that I had to be at UCLA Friday at
noon. I could stop by Cal State in the afternoon and pick it
up.

Candice emailed back, 'I am going home at noon
on Friday because I have a light day. Why don't you come visit us
at home in the afternoon-Altadena isn't that much farther than
UCLA- and you can meet Tom. He is very interested in what you are
doing. He can give you some ideas about the space-time travel he
does with his clients.'

I replied that I could be there about
two-to-three, depending on the Friday afternoon traffic.

She texted me the car GPS navigation
information to get me to her house.

Tina texted me a message: "Dinner sounds great.
Pick me up at 7:00? Let's go to Hernando's for
margaritas."

I replied. ":-)"

She responded, ":-x"

****