Love Story: In The Web of Life (30 page)

"I don't know," he replied.

"Who published the study?"

"Our organization."

"The organization you described as dedicated to
'exposing frauds in claims of paranormal experience'?"

"Besides being 'dedicated to exposing frauds in
claims of paranormal experience' what were the author's academic
credentials?

"I don't know?"

"Was Mr. Manteo mentioned specifically in the
study?"

"Not that I remember."

"Does this study have anything to do with Mr.
Manteo?"

"Yes, it shows that all psychics are
frauds."

"Thank you," I said. "I would like to recall
Professor Charles Young,"

Dean Buttress looked as though he wanted to
object but couldn't think of why.

I asked Professor Young to listen while the
clerk read back the questions and answers of my cross–examination
of Altos Kozinsky.

Professor Young listened and then I asked him,
"From the testimony you heard, does this study provide scientific
proof of fraud, according to academic standards?"

Professor Young looked embarrassed as he said,
"No.'"

"Thank you."

Dean Buttress rested his case.

Judge Cartright said, "I will hear closing
arguments tomorrow morning. This court is adjourned."

As we walked down the courthouse steps,
reporters who pushed microphones in our faces and shouted questions
accosted us. We responded, "No comment," and explained that Judge
Cartright had asked us not to comment on the case to the media.
Both Elizabeth and I noticed that a TV reporter had Janice Cloud
on–camera in an interview.

As we drove home, Elizabeth reviewed how the
jury reacted to each point in the case and we talked over points to
be made in the closing statement.

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. When 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.