******
I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was 9:45. Sarah was at the counsel table with Greg sitting next to her. I scanned the gallery and was surprised to see Tom sitting with Joyce in the front row. I nodded at Tom and smiled. The prosecution table was deserted. I sat down and began to unpack my briefcase when Margie Westcott walked over and stood beside me.
"I want to compliment you on a brilliant piece of work yesterday. I've never seen anything like it since I've been a prosecutor. You must have spent hours practicing with Sarah. Did you hire an acting coach?"
I smiled and shook my head. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but, no, we didn't practice it at all. It was actually spontaneous."
"Well, I expected you to say that. But, anyway we think the jury will believe otherwise which leads me to the reason for this conversation."
"Okay, I'm listening."
"This Doomsayer business. You told someone in the press that you thought you knew who Doomsayer was."
My pulse quickened. "Yeah, I've got my suspicions."
"Well, if you have any information you better cough it up or we'll nail you for obstruction of justice."
"What? You got to be kidding," I said. "I'm supposed to tell you everything I know?"
"Exactly."
I shook my head. "It's inconclusive. That's why I haven't made it public."
"I don't care. Whatever you got I want to hear it," Miss Westcott said.
"Okay. Okay. You'll be the first to know if I find anything out."
Miss Westcott made no effort to leave. She just stared at me. “Oh, one other thing. I hate to break the news to you, but your second chair, Snake— ”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t count on him pulling this case out of the fire. He’s probably off drunk somewhere with one of his whores. It’s happened before.”
“You’re wrong,” I said. “He called me last night. He’s following up on some leads.”
Margie laughed. “Is that what he told you? You are so gullible, Stan Turner. Trust me. He’s off with a bottle and a piece of ass.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. Could she be right? Had my second chair deserted me in the heat of battle? Snake did like the Majestic Mansion a lot. He did try to set me up with one of his barmaid friends. He did drink a lot. What if he didn’t show up today. Oh God, I’d be screwed.
When the Judge took the bench his mood was solemn. He sat down and said, "All right, now the first item of business is the unauthorized filming of yesterday's court session. I understand it was a Channel 12 camera that was the source of the tape. Is the Channel 12 cameraman in the courtroom?"
All eyes turned to the rear of the courtroom where the Channel 12 camera was set up. A thin, dark-haired man of about thirty reluctantly raised his hand.
"Come forward, young man," the judge ordered.
The man slowly walked up to the courtroom. A man in a suit quickly joined him.
"Your Honor," the man in the suit said.
"And who are you?" the judge asked.
"I am Thomas Kingsley, attorney for Channel 12 news. Now the camera was turned on yesterday by mistake."
"All I asked was your identity! I didn't ask for any argument at this time. What is your name sir?"
"Jim Robb."
"Were you here when I ruled that there would be no TV coverage of this trial?"
"Yes, sir."
"And were you responsible for the camera that took the footage of yesterday's trial?"
"Yes, sir."
"Was it a mistake as your counsel suggests?"
"Oh, yes sir, I just accidentally hit the power button."
"And I suppose it was a mistake that it was played nationwide on the evening news?"
"Well, I don't know about that. . . . I just gave it to my boss."
"Who's your boss?"
"Arnold Vick."
"Mr. Robb, I find you in contempt of this court. Bailiff, take Mr. Robb to a jail cell and confiscate his camera. I'll deal with you and Mr. Vick after this trial is over."
The bailiff escorted Mr. Robb out of the courtroom. Several deputies began disassembling his camera. The judge then turned his attention to the gallery.
"Now if anyone so much as sneezes in my court today I'll have them removed. And if we have any kind of disorder like we did yesterday I'll clear the courtroom. Is that understood?"
There was silence as the judge glared at the spectators.
"All right, where were we?"
"Your Honor," Hudson said. "I would respectfully request a mistrial. Yesterday's events plus the illegal taping of portions of the trial have caused irreparable damage to the state's case."
"Motion denied, now where were we?"
I stood up. "I believe, Your Honor, Sarah Winters was on the stand testifying on direct examination."
"Oh yes, has she recovered from yesterday, is she prepared to continue?"
"Yes, Your Honor, I believe she has."
"She’s not under hypnosis is she?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Do you have any more questions for Miss Winters?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Continue then," the judge said.
"Ms. Winters, do you remember what happened the night of December 3rd?"
"Somewhat. I remember delivering my baby and wondering what to do with it."
"You must have had some plans for the baby, didn't you?"
"Yes, Richard Stein had arranged for it to be adopted."
"So, when you finally realized you were in labor did you call him and tell him what was happening?"
"Yes, I remember now I called his beeper but he didn't call back."
"Did you call anyone else?"
"No."
"Did anyone come by the apartment after you delivered?"
"Yes, I remember a man but I can't identify him. He has no face in my memory."
"Was there just one man?"
"I only saw one, but there might have been more."
"Was it someone you knew?"
"I think so, the voice was familiar."
"What happened?"
"The man took the baby away from me. I tried to stop him but he was too strong. He pushed me against the wall and that's all I remember."
"Did you kill your baby, Sarah?"
"No, absolutely not."
"Thank you, Miss Winters. No further questions."
"Mr. Hudson, since Miss Winters has testified under hypnosis do you want to cross examine her under hypnosis?"
"No Your Honor, we've seen enough theatrics for one trial. We'd just like to cross-examine her in her conscious state."
"Very well, proceed."
Hudson slowly walked toward Sarah and stopped directly in front of her.
"Ms. Winters, are you feeling better today?"
"A little," Sarah said.
"Have you ever taken acting lessons?"
"Objection!" I yelled. "That is irrelevant and argumentative."
"Sustained, Mr. Hudson, please," Judge Brooks said.
"Okay, Miss Winters, let's go to the night of December 3, 1981. Is it true you weren't feeling too well that evening?"
"That's right, I thought I had gotten food poisoning from the school cafeteria. It's not unusual you know."
"What time had you eaten?"
"About 5:30."
"So when did you first realize you were going to deliver?"
"I don't know, an hour or so after Michelle left."
"What made you realize it?"
"When I started feeling my insides move."
"When the baby started coming out?"
Sarah dropped her head. "Yes, then I knew I was about to deliver."
"How did you feel?"
"Huh?"
"How did you feel about being pregnant?"
"I was sick, I was in pain . . . I didn't have time to think."
"Come on, it doesn't take long to think. You must have had some thoughts."
"I couldn't t
hink, I was in too much pain."
"Didn't you think about the father? Didn't you wonder who the father was?"
"Well—"
"Was it Richard Stein?"
"I think so."
"Were you worried the baby would be defective?"
"No, that never occurred to me."
"Were you worried about Greg's reaction when he found out you were having Ricky's baby?"
"No. No . . . I didn't have time to think about that."
"Did you think about killing your baby?"
"No. Absolutely not. I couldn't do that."
"Did you love Greg?"
"Yes, of course."
"Did you want to marry him?"
"Yes, he's a wonderful person."
"How did you think he would like raising a drug addict's baby?"
"Objection! Calls for speculation. Counsel is badgering the witness."
"Sustained."
"Do you recall delivering your baby?"
"Yes."
"What was its sex?"
"It was a girl."
"Was it breathing?"
"Yes."
"Did it cry?"
"Yes."
"Did you hold it in your arms?"
"Yes."
"Did you hug it?"
"Yes."
"Did you put a pillow over its face and smother it to death?!"
"Y-no!"
"How did it feel to see your baby die?"
"Objection! Counsel is badgering the witness again!"
"Sustained."
"Okay, how did your baby die?"
"I remember now. Someone turned out the lights. It was a man's voice. He said it was the best thing for both of us. He grabbed my baby out of my arms. I screamed at him to give her back. He said he would take care of everything. No one would ever know I had delivered a child that night. Then he put her on the bed and picked up a pillow. I got up screaming at him. I ran over and fought with him. I was weak so he easily tossed me aside. He picked up a pillow. I pleaded for my baby's life, but he didn't listen."
Tears flowed from Sarah's eyes as the memory of the evening came flooding into her conscious mind. A dead silence overcame the courtroom. Margie Westcott squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.
"Then he put the pillow over her face. I got up and struggled with him again. He shoved me against the wall and I fell to the floor."
"What happened next?" Hudson asked.
"I don't remember anything else."
"You must have recognized who this alleged killer was?"
"No, it was dark."
"You didn't recognize the voice?"
"No, no I didn't."
"Come on Miss Winters, do you expect the jury to believe that? There wasn't a man, was there?"
"Yes there was!"
"You made the whole thing up, didn't you?"
"No, no there was a man."
He shook his head. "You are a pathetic excuse for a human being!"
"Objection! Argumentative," I screamed.
"No further questions."
I took Sarah briefly on redirect, but Hudson had drained her spirit. She seemed resigned to her defeat and I knew the jury would take that as a sign of guilt. After Sarah stepped down from the witness stand, the judge ordered a ten minute recess. I looked at the door to the courtroom praying Snake would show up and give me some advice, but all I saw were reporters and cameramen waiting to record Sarah's fate.
My mouth was dry so I drank some water. Watching Sarah as I drank, I wondered if she was really innocent or had she been lying to me all along. If she were convicted, I might never know the answer to that question and that would haunt me for years to come. I prayed for a miracle, I prayed for the truth and I prayed that my feeling that Sarah was innocent was correct.
It was almost fifteen minutes before the judge returned. I looked at my watch and saw it was 10:45. I had no more witnesses except for Nate, who I had subpoenaed as Snake had instructed, and I could recall Richard. I had no idea how Nate could help, so I didn't plan to call him. The judge took the bench and quieted the crowd by banging his gavel.
"All right, Mr. Turner . . . call your next witness."
I looked toward the courtroom doors but saw nothing but people staring at me, wondering what my next move would be. Sarah looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. She looked as if she had resigned herself to a dismal fate. I took her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"Mr. Turner, call your next witness!"
"Yes, sir. I'd like to recall Richard Stein."
"Very well, bailiff, find Mr. Stein and send him in here."
The bailiff went out the front door and soon returned with Richard Stein. He walked slowly up to the witness chair staring at me as he moved.
"Mr. Stein. You've testified that you did not arrange an adoption for Miss Winters."
"That's right, you got it," Stein said.
"Well, that's kind of hard to believe Mr. Stein since you're so good at setting up adoptions."
Stein glared at me but didn't respond.
I continued, "How many children have you fathered in the last three years?"
Stein looked over at his attorney who was signaling to him.
I looked at Stein's attorney. "You know the state has not granted you immunity from perjury," he said.
Stein took out a piece of paper and began to read it. "I refuse to answer the question on the grounds it may tend to incriminate me as is my right under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the State of Texas."
"You don't have to tell us Mr. Stein, I've got two witnesses outside ready to explain how you got them pregnant and then convinced them to give the baby up for adoption. . . . What I don't understand is why you killed the Winter's baby rather than just go through with the adoption?"
"Objection," Mr. Stein has an airtight alibi," Hudson said.
"I didn't kill anybody," Stein protested.
"Did you have someone do it for you?"
"No, I don't know who killed her. I assumed it was Sarah."
"Were you mad when you found out the baby was dead?"
Stein just stared at me obviously fuming. His attorney was signaling him to take the fifth again but he was wavering. He finally shook his head and said, "Okay, okay. Yes, as a matter of fact I did have a nice family lined up to take the baby. I couldn't believe it when I found out it was dead. What a waste."
"So you lied to the jury before?"
Richard shrugged. "Our plan for the baby was not relevant to this trial. We never talked about killing it."
"You never considered an abortion?" I asked.
"No, neither of us believed in abortions. An adoption was the only alternative," Stein said.
"How much were you getting paid for the Winter's baby, Mr. Stein?"
"Objection!" Hudson said. "Assumes facts not in evidence."
"Overruled," the judge said.
Stein's attorney began waiving at him furiously. He looked down at his paper. He took the Fifth Amendment.
I continued. "Isn't it true you were on the ASU campus for one purpose and one purpose only? In addition to selling drugs you preyed on young girls, getting them pregnant and then convincing them to put the babies up for adoption."
Stein took the fifth.
"How many babies have you sold in the past year? Two or three? A half dozen?"
Stein took the fifth again.
"What's a newborn baby going for these days? $10,000, $20,000."
Stein refused to answer.
"Do you know an ex-lawyer named Michael Simpson?"
Stein closed his eyes and then read his script one more time.
"Your Honor," Hudson said. "I object to Mr. Turner testifying for Mr. Stein. He's misleading the jury. Obviously Mr. Stein is through testifying."
"Sustained. Mr. Turner, I think you've got all the mileage out of this witness you're going to get. Let's move on."
"No further questions then," I said.
&nbs
p; "Cross, Mr. Hudson?" the judge said.
"No, Your Honor."
All right, then please call your next witness," Mr. Turner."
I called Paula Walsh and questioned her about her relationship with Richard Stein. Hudson objected on relevancy grounds but the judge overruled the objection. She explained how Stein had got her pregnant and then insisted on giving the baby up for a private adoption. She told the bizarre story of how she went to the doctor's office blindfolded, was put under a general anesthetic and never allowed to see her child. Then I called Bonnie Waits.
"Objection, Your Honor," Hudson said. "This witness was not on the witness list."
"Your Honor," I said. "I just met Miss Waits for the first time this morning. I only learned about her last night."
"Objection overruled," the Judge said.
"How did you meet Richard Stein?" I asked.
"He used to hang around my dorm. I thought he was a student. He was kind of cute, so when he asked me out I was delighted."
"How long did you go out before you became intimate?"
"Not long. A couple weeks."
"Again, Your Honor, I must object to this line of questioning as being totally irrelevant to this lawsuit."
"Your Honor, if my client was a victim of an illegal baby-selling operation that certainly would have a bearing on her culpability," I said.
"Overruled, I want to hear this," the judge said.
I nodded. "Thank you, Your Honor. Did you spend a lot of time with Mr. Stein?"
"No, he said he was taking 18 hours and working part time to make ends meet. That didn't leave much time for dating."
"When did you find out you were pregnant?"
"When I was about four months along," Bonnie said.
"How did Richard take the news?"
"He was upset at first, he said there was no way he could support me and a baby. I suggested an abortion but he said it was against his religion. He couldn't be a party to it."
"What religion was he?"
"He said he was a Baptist."
"Did he ever go to church?"
"No, I don't think so."
"So what was his plan?"
"To give the baby up for adoption. He had a lawyer friend who he said could make all the arrangements."
"Did you meet the lawyer?"
"Yes, at Richard's place. He explained how the adoption would take place and the need for secrecy. I was to call a number at the first sign of going into labor."
"So did you?"
"Yes. It was late one Sunday night when my water broke. I knew labor would start soon so I called the number. It wasn't ten minutes before two men dressed like paramedics showed up."
"Where did they take you?" I asked.
"They put me in the back of a closed van that had two banks of seats for transporting passengers. I couldn't see where they were taking me. Before we got to our destination, we got into a traffic accident. I was thrown to the ground. I screamed for help but nobody came for the longest time. Finally the police arrived and rescued me. I was rushed to the hospital where, thank God, I had a normal childbirth"
"Did the police find the men who were driving the van?"
"No, they ran off immediately after the accident and were never apprehended."
"Did you see Richard after all this happened?"
"Yes, he came to the hospital immediately. He said not to tell anyone about the adoption. It was illegal and if anyone found out we'd both go to jail."
"Did the police question you?"
"Yes, but I told them I had hitched a ride to the hospital because I couldn't locate my boyfriend to take me. Since the baby and I were okay they didn't pursue the incident any further."
"When Richard told you the adoption was illegal what did you do?"
"I was pissed. I asked him how much he was going to get for my baby on the open market?"
"Did he tell you?"
"Yes, he said he could get $25,000. He offered me $10,000 to keep my mouth shut."
"Did you take it?"
Bonnie began to weep. "Yes, I was certain that if I didn't Richard would kill me. I didn't think I had a choice."
"So why did you come to me and tell me all this?" I asked.
"I couldn't live with myself. When I read about this trial I knew I couldn't be silent. I couldn't let Sarah be convicted when what happened to her was not her fault."
"Thank you, Bonnie, you did the right thing," I said. "No further questions.”
"Mr. Hudson, cross?" the judge said.
"No, Your Honor, this testimony is totally irrelevant to this case. Mr. Stein has an alibi and this witness has no clue who picked her up in the van. It may be that Mr. Stein is involved in some kind of illegal activity but it has nothing to do with the facts of this case," Hudson said.
"Objection, Your Honor," I said. "I don't think the court has asked for closing arguments yet."
"Sustained. Do you have any more witnesses Mr. Turner?" the Judge asked.
"I don't have any more witnesses right this minute, Your Honor."
"Then do you rest?"
"Ah. . . . well . . . I am expecting Mr. Hertel to be here momentarily to examine our last witness."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know, Your Honor. He should be here."
"Well, I’m sorry Mr. Turner, but unless you—"
The door to the courtroom suddenly swung open and Snake appeared with his usual poker-faced expression. A sudden wave of relief washed over me. All eyes turned toward Snake as he briskly walked to the defense table. Hudson's mouth fell open and Margie threw her legal pad down on the table and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, Mr. Hertel we're so glad you could make it," the Judge said. "Now, do you have another witness or are you prepared to rest?"
"Yes, Your Honor, we have one more witness."
"And who might that be?"
"The defense calls Nate Winters."
I sat down and fell back into my chair. The bailiff went out in the hall and returned with Nate at his side. Nate walked up to the witness stand and took a seat.
"Mr. Winters, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" the judge said.
"I do."
"Proceed, Mr. Hertel."
"Please state your name for the court?"
"Nathan Alan Winters."
"And Mr. Winters, how are you related to the defendant?"
"She's my stepsister."
"How long has she been your stepsister?"
"About five years, she was thirteen and I was sixteen when our parents got married."
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a student at the University of Arizona."
"Are you on a scholarship?"
"Yes, a football scholarship."
"Do you come home very often during the year?"
"Well, usually just at Christmas and spring break, but this year I've come back quite a lot."
"Why is that?"
"Well, first Sarah got into this trouble and I came back to give her support. Then my Dad got arrested and I had to bail him out of jail."
"I understand you had to dip into your scholarship money to fund his bail, is that right?"
"Yeah, but it was no big deal, I've always considered him my real dad, you know. I haven't seen my natural father for years."
"Sarah tells me you are a model brother. She says you always are there when she needs you. Is that right?"
"Well, I try to be."
"You're a regular Boy Scout, aren't you?" Snake said.
"Excuse me?" Nate replied.
"What kind of a car do you drive?"
"At school I have a Chrysler Le Baron convertible."
"What about when you're home?"
"Well, I drive my Dad's pickup or Sarah lets me use her car."
"Do you have a friend who owns a Mustang?"
Nate didn't answer.
"It's a white Mustang, isn't it?"
"Objection! Assume
s facts not in evidence." Hudson said.
"Sustained."
"Do you have a friend who owns a white Mustang?"
"Yes."
"Who is this friend?"
"John Smith, he's my roommate at college."
"So if John is not home using his car then he lets you use it."
"That's right. That way the battery stays charged up."
"I see. When you came home to bail your father out of jail did you drive the white Mustang?"
"Yes, yes I did."
"Do you recall while you were home someone tried to run down Stan Turner with a white Mustang?"
The courtroom erupted in commotion. I sat up straight in my chair intrigued by this line of questioning. Sarah's face turned pale. The judge banged his gavel and demanded order.
"Please answer the question?" Snake said.
"Ah. Well I remember reading something about that."
"Were you driving that white Mustang?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Where were you on March 9, 1982 at 8:27 a.m.?"
"I have no idea, that was a long time ago?"
"Have you noticed that I have not been in attendance during the last couple of days of this trial?"
"Yes, I have."
"Well, I bet you're curious where I've been."
"A little."
"Let me tell you. I've been running around all over the country learning everything there is to know about you. Now, I have a forensic expert outside ready to walk through that door and testify that the tire marks left in the parking garage by the Mustang that nearly killed Stan Turner, belong to the Mustang you're driving. As a matter of fact, that Mustang is sitting out in the parking lot of this courthouse right now, isn't it?"
Nate slumped back in his seat and said nothing.
"Now I will ask you again, were you driving the Mustang that nearly killed Stan Turner?"
"Okay, I wanted to scare him."
"Why?"
"I thought by scaring him he might drop the case."
"Why would you want him to drop the case?"
"He was too expensive, Mom and Dad were fighting all the time. I just wanted them to stop fighting. Sarah didn't need such a high powered attorney. A public defender would have been fine."
"Of course. And when the assault with the Mustang didn't work you killed his dog."
"No, I didn't have anything to do with that."
"Come on Nate, the game is over. Nobody else had any motive to kill his dog. The assault with the Mustang hadn't worked so you decided to try something stronger, something Stan couldn't ignore."
"No, I wouldn't do that."
"You wouldn't? You were in town on the day Beauty died, weren't you?"
"I don't know. I might have been."
"How could you murder an innocent dog?" Snake asked.
"I didn't kill the dog!" Nate said.
"Did you know that it's very common for a criminal to go back to the scene of his crime?"
"Is it?"
"Yes, and one of the things I did in the last few days was to show a picture of you and your Mustang to all of Stan's neighbors. It’s funny but several of them saw you drive by Stan's house several times the day Beauty was poisoned. Do I need to bring one of those neighbors in to testify?"
"Okay, okay. . . . I didn't plan on killing the dog, I only wanted to make her sick so Mr. Turner would get the message and drop the case. I was worried that I had given the dog too much poison so I drove by a couple times hoping to see the dog alive or to hear her bark. I didn't mean to hurt the dog."
Nate hung his head and starred at the floor.
"One thing I'm curious about though. Why did you want to kill Stan?"
"I told you, I wasn't trying to kill him. I just wanted to scare him."
"And I suppose you didn't mean to kill Sarah's baby either?"
Several women in the courtroom cried out. Nate squirmed in his seat, cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"You were the father, weren't you?"
The courtroom was deadly silent.
"Your Honor, would you direct the witness to answer the question?"
"Mr. Wilson, answer the question."
"No, everybody knows Richard Stein was the father."
"Come on Nate, you didn't try to run down Stan Turner and then kill his dog just because he was a high-priced lawyer. You wanted Sarah to be convicted, didn't you? You thought if he withdrew she'd be forced to plea bargain and you'd be off the hook."
Nate became pale, closed his eyes and exhaled.
"No. . . . You've got it all wrong. I just wanted my mom and stepfather to stop arguing. They were driving me crazy."
"You raped Sarah the night before you left for school last fall, didn't you, Nate?"
"What! No way. That's a lie."
"Isn't it true you bragged to your roommate you could get all the pussy you wanted right at home?"
"No, it's not true."
Nate put his hands over his face again trying desperately to maintain his composure.
"When I visited Mr. Smith in Arizona last night, he tried to protect you but he wasn't a good liar. After I threatened to subpoena him and put him under oath, he told me everything. Do I need to bring him in here to testify?"
"Okay. Okay. . . . So what if I was the father?"
"That night wasn't the first time you raped Sarah, was it? How many times have you had your way with her? Five . . . ten . . . twenty . . . how many times?"
"I don't know what the big deal is, this wasn't the first time I've got a girl pregnant. We're not actually related."
"No, not by blood?" I said.
"So what if I killed a baby, millions of babies are killed every year and nobody gives a rat's ass. Why is this any different?"
Snake shook his head and then turned and looked at Sarah and me. I had my arm around Sarah to console her as she was crying.
"Oh my God!" Sarah screamed as she turned very pale. I looked down at her.
"Do you remember now?" I asked.
She nodded slowly as a look of horror came over her face. "Yes, I remember the delivery now, both of them."
“Both of them?” I said incredulous. I sat up in my chair, my mouth opened looking at Sarah. "You had twins?"
"Oh God, Mr. Turner. I had twins!".
The gallery erupted into chaos. Sarah was crying hysterically and I put my arm around her to try to comfort her. Hudson stared at Sarah in disbelief. Cameras began flashing in disregard of the judge's orders. Judge Brooks picked up his gavel and began banging it, but no one paid any attention. Finally, he ordered the courtroom cleared and the Sheriff's deputies began removing the spectators one by one. When order had been restored, the judge addressed the parties.
"Do you have any further questions, Mr. Hertel?"
"Just a couple, Your Honor."
"Proceed."
"Did you see another child when you visited Sarah that night?"
"No, there was just one child lying on the bed. I don't know anything about a second child."
"Why did you kill Sarah's baby? Was it the humiliation you'd face if the truth came out or was it because you would have lost your chance to play in the NFL?"
"I busted my butt for fifteen years to make it to the NFL. Do you think I'd let anything stop me?"
"No, I guess not. Did Sarah have anything to do with the murder?"
"No, she tried to stop me but she was too weak to put up much of a fight and then she passed out."
"No further questions."
"Mr. Hudson, cross?"
"Yes, Your Honor, one question. Mr. Wilson, just to clear up a loose end, are you Doomsayer?"
"No."
"You didn't send any messages to Mr. Turner?"
“No.”
"I see. No further questions," Hudson said.
When Hudson sat down Snake got up to address the Court. "The defense moves for a dismissal of all charges against Miss Winters."
"Mr. Hudson?"
"Your Honor, until we figure out what happened to the second child I must oppose the motion."
"I would tend to agree," the judge said. "I'm going to recess this case for a couple days to give both of you time to investigate the possibility that Sarah Winters had twins. I'm going to issue an order for the arrest of Nathan Winters for the murder he confessed to here today. I'm also ordering the detention of Richard Stein for questioning as to the allegations of the two young ladies who just testified. This has been a very disturbing day for me as I'm sure it has been for both of you. I think we all could use a break to contemplate what has happened here today and try to make some sense of it."
After the judge left, Richard Stein was escorted away by the bailiff and two policemen arrested Nathan Winters and took him to jail. Tom and Joyce followed Nate to the police station. Snake and I were alone with Sarah in the courtroom huddled around the counsel table. I took a deep breath and looked at her.
“Where’s Greg?”
“I don’t know. He got up and left during Nate’s testimony.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, he just probably went for some air.”
Sarah shrugged.
"Anyway. Now that your memory has come back tell us what happened that night," I said.
Sarah shifted in her chair. "I remember now, after Michelle left, I realized I was in labor so I called the number that Richard had given me. The person who answered asked me who it was. I told him and he said lie down and relax and they'd be there in just a few minutes. The next thing I remember the doorbell was ringing. I looked down and there was a precious little baby on the bed. The pain I was feeling was horrible. Somehow I managed to get to the door and let them in."
"Who did you let in?" I asked.
"Two men in white uniforms. They came in and straightened up the place. They took all the bloody towels and sheets and put them in a garbage bag. Then they wrapped the baby in a blanket and they were gone. I saw them throw the garbage bag in the dumpster as they were leaving."
"Did they say anything to you?" I said.
"Just that I should relax and get a good nights sleep. They had me drink something before they left."
"What was it?"
"I don't know but just as soon as they were gone I started getting horrible cramps again. It was terrible. I thought I was going to die. Then I realized I was delivering another baby."
"Oh Jesus," Greg said burying his face in his hands.
I shook my head and looked at Snake who was emotionless.
"Somehow I delivered the baby and put her on my bed. I don't know if it was just such a relief to get her out of me or the drugs the men had given me were beginning to affect me. Whatever it was caused my vision to blur and the room to spin.
"There was a voice, a familiar voice I'd come to dread. I'd hear it at night when I was at home asleep in my bed. 'Everything will be all right.' Then I'd feel Nate's cold clammy hands slide across my bosom. I let out a silent scream and then pretended I was comatose hoping he wouldn't want to screw a corpse. He didn't care. I was just a warm mindless body for practicing his mating ritual.
"By this time I was nearly unconscious. It was like I was in a cloud. He picked up the baby. He kept saying 'It will be all right. I'll take care of everything.' Then he picked up the pillow. I knew what he was going to do but I was so weak. Somehow I struggled to my feet and ran over to him but he just pushed me hard against the wall. From the floor I saw him take the pillow and press it hard against the baby's face. I screamed and that's all I remember."
There was a moment of silence and then Snake said, "Well I guess there's just one piece of the puzzle missing. Where did the two men take your other baby."
"That could be difficult to figure out," I said.
"I'm not so sure," Snake said. "Do you remember the night of Sarah's baby was murdered there was another baby discovered—a baby burnt beyond recognition?"
"Oh, shit. You don't think?" I said.
"Ah!" Sarah screamed "No, it can't be true. She has to be with a family by now. They both can't be dead."
I looked into Sarah's terror-stricken eyes. For the first time I realized the incredible pain she was feeling.
"I hope so, Sarah," I said, “but we've got to check out all the possibilities.”
"Find my baby, Mr. Turner. Please find my baby!"
"If she's alive, I'll find her, Sarah. I promise."
"You take Sarah home," Snake said. "I'll go visit the coroner."
"Okay, but you're wrong," I said turning to Snake.
"Wrong about what?" Snake asked.
"There are two pieces of the puzzle missing, not one. We still haven't identified Doomsayer."
"I wouldn't worry about him anymore, I am sure he's history," Snake said.
"He won't be history until I find out who he is and why he threatened me and my family. Until I find that out, I won't sleep."
Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4 Page 27
