The Shakespeare Incident

by Jonathan Miller

  She had a rule, no Asian restaurants in towns smaller than 10,000, but she was starving, and would make an exception for this converted Pizza Hut building. The dining room had a mural of the great land bridge between Asia and Alaska, with people in traditional costumes crossing back and forth. Denise noticed an interesting young couple in the back—an attractive Asian woman holding hands with a young Native American man sporting a turquoise bolo and matching turquoise pony-tail holder. He was on the phone.

  “Yeah, it’s Romeo and Juliet on the rez,” the man said. “Her dad was on the run from the Chinese mob and he took over a restaurant from his cousin in Shiprock to hide out. Then she fell in love with me. But like the triads found out and tried to take him out, then like our whole chapterhouse fought off the Chinese mob right there in Shiprock. Talk about multi-cultural—Asians and Indians. I see it on Netflix or maybe Hulu. It can even be a series.”

  The man listened to the response on the other end. “No, we’re not out in Hollywood, we got married and started another restaurant in Lordsburg. We named it after her dad’s restaurant on the Rez, Shiprock Wok. Hello? Hello?”

  Whoever was on the other line wasn’t interested in Romeo and Juliet on or off the Rez. Still, Shiprock Wok could indeed be the name of a multi-cultural thriller that the attorney-author might write if he ever had the time.

  The man dialed someone else and did the same pitch. Too bad no one in Hollywood would ever care about a story about a UFO legal thriller with a female protagonist of color.

  Denise scanned the room for an empty table and was shocked to see her former mock trial coach, Bebe Tran was slurping some pho with green chile. Tran was there with an extended family group, sitting next to a handsome Asian man. Denise couldn’t tell if it was her brother or her husband.

  “Denise Song, is that you?” Coach Tran said. “Where’s the time gone? What’s it been, nine years? Please come join us.”

  Denise walked over to their table. “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “The green chile chicken pho is to die for. We are moving my daughter out to Tucson to start at the U of A. She got a full ride on a soccer scholarship. This was on the way to campus.”

  Denise didn’t know Coach Bebe Tran had a daughter. The petite, but muscular looking young woman was texting someone.

  “Congratulations,” Denise said to the young girl. “Good luck with soccer.”

  The girl ignored her.

  “And you?” Tran asked. “You went off to Harvard Law School or something, right?”

  “Kinda.”

  Denise looked toward the buffet and saw a kindly Chinese woman, who must be the owner, smiling at her. The woman wore an exquisite traditional red outfit fit for an imperial empress. “Please sit,” she said. “We’ll cook you some real food.”

  Denise sat in an empty chair at Tran’s table and the owner brought her a cup of hot jasmine tea. As the other diners hit the buffet, with its chicken fried steak and spareribs mixed in with moo goo gai pan, a handsome young man came out of the kitchen bringing her a plate of specially prepared food.

  Denise recognized the waiter; he was the second student from the courthouse. He introduced himself as Wu as he set down the plate of food in front of her. “I’m stuck in this damn county. This is the only job I could get, but the food is really good. The chef had a place in Chinatown, back in LA, and another restaurant in ‘LA town,’ back in China.”

  Denise smiled at Wu. “I’ll eat here from now on,” Denise said. “Do you deliver?”

  * * *

  Back in her motel room, she received a text from Dr. Maryann Romero, the woman who would evaluate Denny. COMING TO LORDSBURG TOMORROW. YOU STILL THERE?

  WHERE ELSE WOULD I BE? Denise responded. I LIVE HERE NOW.

  Chapter 34

  Monday, July 27

  Monday morning, Dr. Maryann Romero called at dawn, waking Denise. The doctor had been involved with the extended family’s cases ever since the Rattlesnake Lawyer, Dan Shepard, had begun his career in the Aguilar County Public Defender’s office. Dr. Romero would probably keep doing their family cases long into the future.

  “Should I just meet you at your hotel?” the doctor asked.

  Denise looked around the Last Palm. “Let’s meet at Denny’s. The restaurant.”

  * * *

  As Denise was walked by the host to a back booth at the diner, several people from around town had given her polite nods.

  “I’m starting to fit in here,” Denise thought.

  A few minutes later, a tall woman arrived in a business suit and walked back to the booth. Everyone was tall to Denise.

  “You must be Denise all grown up,” she said, sitting down. “So good to work with you at last. I knew your mother. And your aunt. And the guy who married your aunt for a while. And…”

  “I know. I know.”

  “How are you doing, Denise? This must be hard on you.”

  They talked for a few minutes, catching up on the family. Dr. Romero had diagnosed her mother back in the day.

  “I do know that my mom once thought that she was an anime character or something like that,” Denise said.

  “Your mom is not as crazy as you think,” Dr. Romero said. “Of course, that would be confidential. Perhaps your brother isn’t that crazy either.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good thing. If he’s incompetent, maybe we can get the charges dropped.”

  Denise definitely wanted an hour’s therapy of her own with this nice doctor, but Dr. Romero was all business when she took out a tablet. “So, Denny is your twin? Isn’t that a conflict, you representing your brother?”

  “He said he wanted me to be his lawyer,” Denise said. She explained the case and Denny’s issues—and the librarian’s theory that Denny was projecting his own abuse onto the aliens.

  “I should be able to make my own conclusions after I talk with him.” Dr. Romero smiled. “And then I’ll see if he’s telling the truth when I see the military psychiatric records.”

  “The judge should be ruling on that any day now.” Denise checked the NM Courts website on her phone. She wilted when she saw that Jane Dark had objected to the subpoena of the records and filed a reply brief.

  Jane Dark was asking for restrictions on the defense access to classified records and whether a state court judge had the authority to order a Federal military entity to release them in the first place. That was way over her pay grade.

  There would have to be another hearing, Tuesday morning. And Luna was still at the trial in Truth or Consequences, right? Denise might have to do it herself.

  “Is everything OK?” the doctor asked. “You look like you’re in distress. Should I wait before I see your brother?”

  “I’ll know more tomorrow about the records, but you might as well see Denny today.”

  “Without those records, I’m writing my report blind.”

  * * *

  Denise spent the rest of the day back at the Last Palm, prepping for the hearing on the subpoena and the furlough. Luna called and explained that she had faith in Denise to handle it alone.

  “Put on your big girl panties,” Luna said and hung up.

  She called Hikaru who gave her a pep talk. “It’s a motion hearing, just regurgitate your brief back to the judge,” he said.

  “I’m not that good at regurgitating. Even though I’m getting lots of practice lately if I keep eating junk food.”

  They talked about movies. He wasn’t sure exactly what line she’d been referring to in The Player. “I suppose it’s not that important,” she said.

  After they hung up, he texted her a video of a young Bruce Willis carrying a young Julia Roberts out of the gas chamber, very much alive. Willis clearly quipped something, but Denise couldn’t get the audio to work. Oh well, it would come to her sometime.

  B
efore she went to bed, Denise checked in with Dr. Romero. “I’m not done with my analysis yet,” the doctor said.

  “We have a hearing tomorrow,” Denise replied.

  “I know. I’m subpoenaed to be there,” Dr. Romero said.

  “I didn’t file that.”

  “The State lawyer Jane Dark did.”

  The doctor hung up. Why would Jane Dark call her doctor as a witness?

  Chapter 35

  Tuesday, July 28

  When Denise arrived in court the next morning, the judge wasn’t in her robe and was already hearing some neighborhood dispute over a trespassing goat. The courtroom was otherwise empty.

  “Your client is in the holding cell with the shrink,” the sheriff said.

  Denise found the cramped holding cell and walked in to hear Denny going on a tirade to Dr. Romero.

  “The army did experiments on me,” Denny said. “I’ve told you that a million times already.”

  “And what were the experiments about again?”

  “To see if I could communicate directly with them aliens. Why don’t you believe me?”

  Dr. Romero finally looked over at Denise and cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know about this,” she said to Denise. “He might be malingering.”

  Malingering? Denise had to recollect exactly what that meant. Malingering meant faking symptoms to get out of something, right? She knew she had to win this simple hearing and get those records if she had any chance to save her brother.

  Moments later, the sheriff—still in his damn sunglasses—walked into the holding cell and roughly jerked Denny up out of his chair. Denise and the doctor followed them, like an entourage, into the courtroom.

  The judge scratched a fresh neck tattoo of the flaming scales of justice. Apparently, the scale tipped in favor of the plaintiff on the goat case. Jane Dark now sat at the State’s table and had three people in dark suits standing behind her. They reminded Denise of Men in Black.

  Dr. Romero joined Jane Dark at the State’s counsel table. “I have to testify by phone in Federal court in an hour. Don’t take too long.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jane Dark replied.

  “Are the parties ready?” the judge asked, rubbing the ink on her neck.

  It was time to do a hearing without training wheels. It was technically a defense motion, she expected to go first.

  “Your honor, Denise Song, clinical law student appearing under the auspices of Attorney Luna Cruz.”

  “Your honor, Jane Dark for the great State of New Mexico. Since our witness is in a bit of a time crunch, may the State proceed with its argument first?”

  Jane Dark didn’t bother to wait for the judge to decide. “Your honor, we call Dr. Maryann Romero.”

  Jane Dark had another one of those dossiers marked DR. ROMERO. After the doctor was sworn and gave her qualifications, Jane Dark got into it. “Have you completed your evaluation of Mr. Song?”

  “I interviewed him yesterday and today,” the doctor replied. “But I haven’t finished my report yet.”

  “How many of these reports have you done?”

  “Hundreds.”

  “Isn’t it true that you testified in the case of State v. Jesus V, a juvenile case?”

  “I did. That was twenty years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.”

  “And who was the defense attorney?”

  “Dan Shepard.”

  “In the case of State v. Jeremy Jones, did you testify on behalf of the state?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who called you in that case?”

  “The prosecutor, Luna Cruz herself.”

  “The same Luna Cruz who is now the defense lawyer in this case?”

  “Yes. I guess she’s changed sides.”

  “Are you familiar with Jen Song?”

  “I interviewed her for a case.”

  “Were you involved in the case of State v. Sam Marlow?”

  “I was. I interviewed the alleged victim, for her attorney, Luna Cruz.”

  “And a juvenile, Marley Cruz? Excused me, Marley C.”

  “Yes.”

  Denise winced. Why did Jane Dark bring her dead cousin Marley into this?

  “Relevance, your honor?” Denise said, rising. Was this an attempt to rattle her? Every single name the doctor mentioned had some connection to her family.

  “I’m getting there your honor.” Jane Dark put the dossier down and didn’t wait for the judge. “And in any of those cases, did you need top-secret, classified military psychiatric documents to complete your evaluation?”

  “No. Not in any of them.”

  “Pass the witness.”

  “Proceed Ms. Song,” the judge said. “By the way, apparently your umm… mentor, Ms. Cruz filed the appropriate paperwork with the Federal District Court up in Albuquerque to allow the base to release the records under certain circumstance and got the issue of the records custodian settled. But the base is deferring to my judgment whether to allow it at all. So why should I let you get classified records from our military?”

  “Dr. Romero,” Denise asked. “None of those people that you interviewed had any military service?”

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “None of those people you interviewed had been the subject of experiments in the military?”

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “Do you stipulate that Denny was in the military, our military, and claims to be the subject of experiments in the military?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think Denny might be telling the truth regarding these experiments?”

  “He might be. Or he might be malingering.”

  “And wouldn’t the presence of these military records, be helpful in making a final determination regarding competency or whether he is just umm… malingering?”

  “I guess they would be.”

  Jane Dark consulted with the men in the suits—who appeared to feed her questions—before striding to the podium. When it was her turn at the podium, she was her brutal self again. “You said he might be malingering, and not actually the subject of experiments?”

  “Yes, but I have no way of knowing.”

  “He might be malingering and not be totally truthful about the experiments even existing?”

  “He might be, I don’t know.”

  “If he’s merely a liar, that would require conscious thought on his part?”

  “It would.”

  “That might mean that he is competent to stand trial.” That was phrased as a statement, not as a question.

  “I won’t know without those records.”

  “So, if the military simply confirms or denies that he was the subject of some tests, wouldn’t that be enough?”

  “No, it would not.”

  “They did tests on me!” Denny yelled. “Put me on the stand.”

  Jane Dark smiled. “Pass the witness.”

  Denise was ready to go to the podium and gestured to Denny to be quiet. “You’ve received classified documents before, haven’t you, doctor?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how is that arranged?”

  “Usually there’s a way to let you look at them onsite with someone who has a clearance who looks at them first under custodian of records’ supervision.”

  The judge’s phone rang. Her ring tone was a K-pop song that Denise recognized and hoped that was a good sign. The judge abruptly left before the bailiff could tell them to rise.

  The judge returned a few moments later frowning. “That was the base commander. I’m going to take the discovery issue under advisement. Just wanted to check on one thing, you do have someone with a military clearance on your umm… team, correct?”

  “Yes, your honor,” Denise said. “Rayne Herring.”

  �
��Anyone else with a clearance?”

  She didn’t want to bring Hikaru in just yet to risk getting him in trouble at work. “Not at this time.”

  “OK, that’s what I was afraid of,” the judge said, she was leaning in, looking at her computer as if learning the law on the fly. “I’ll take this under advisement and get back to you.”

  Denise looked at Denny and Dr. Romero. “At least she didn’t deny us outright,” Denise said, hoping for the best.

  “Even if they give you the records, they won’t let you see the good stuff, the stuff about the UFOs,” Denny said.

  Denise shrugged. She was pretty sure that any good UFO material was not going to be released, if it existed at all. She would be happy if they could get Denny’s records of misconduct and a diagnosis for PTSD. If they could show that Denny scored highly on one of those psychic card reading tests that couldn’t hurt. But even with Luna’s Federal filings, a state judge wouldn’t be able to force a military base to release the good stuff.

  “We’ll see,” Denise said to Denny.

  “Anything else?” the judge asked.

  Denise drew a blank, before Denny tapped her in the arm. “The furlough to see my mom.”

  “Your honor, we have a pending motion for a furlough for my client to visit his mother in the hospital.”

  The furlough motion hearing was much easier, and no witnesses were called. Denise was well-prepared. She recited the facts about how her mom’s diagnosis might be fatal, and Denny still had the presumption of innocence, as he hadn’t been convicted of anything. The furlough would only be for a few hours, and the hospital was less than a two-hour drive away.

  Jane Dark didn’t even rise from her table for her say. She merely recited that she would defer to the court, but insisted that Denise Song be present in the hospital room as a third-party custodian.

  “What does that mean?” the judge asked.

  Jane Dark smiled. “Ms. Denise Song would be the third-party custodian of her brother during the hospital visit. She would literally be her brother’s keeper.”

  “Are you willing to do that, Ms. Song?” the judge asked.