The Shakespeare Incident

by Jonathan Miller

“Your friends? What relevance would your friends have to your brother’s mental health?”

  Denise was about to tell Dr. Romero that her friends had also had a similar experience to Denny, but she stopped. Her friends had never even met Denny, how could they help?

  And yet, Denise knew that she had to put something on in her part of the case. If only Rayne and Dew could testify about their experience, that would be something at least. If only Hikaru could confirm that these experiments did occur, that too would be helpful.

  After Dr. Romero hung up, Denise noticed a message from Dr. Schwartz that her mother could receive visitors in a few days; but would be moved soon to hospice. She called him back and didn’t bother with pleasantries.

  “Hospice?”

  “You might want to see her when she’s available next week. Before it’s too late.”

  “Does that mean…”

  There was no answer on the other end. There didn’t have to be…

  Chapter 49

  Tuesday, August 11

  Denise drove to the jail to meet with Denny again the next morning. The thermos in her car smelled even worse today. For a moment, she pondered throwing away the whole thermos, but relented. The contents had saved Rayne after all. Did the nasty fluid have some connection to saving Denny back when he was born?

  In the jail meeting room, she told her brother the bad news about their mother, stressing the ominous words “before it’s too late.”

  “I wish I’d gotten to know my mom,” he said.

  “I’m her daughter and I still don’t know her,” Denise said.

  “I feel she’s reaching out to us,” he said. “We can save her.”

  “How?”

  “By winning the case and getting me out,” he said.

  They touched their hands through the glass until the current increased so much that they had to break it off. “We can use the grail to save her,” he said.

  “Let’s see what happens at the hearing.”

  “You gotta tell them that the aliens made me do it. That would mean I’m not dangerous.”

  “I don’t know what happened when Rayne was with Dew. So why did it affect you and make you violent?”

  “Those drones affect people differently depending on brain waves or some shit like that. But Rayne and Dew together might be a whole different combination.”

  “But you’re the only one who became homicidal after contact with a drone, or grail or whatever. Why was that?”

  “Was I the only one on earth who did that? There have been grails all over the world, and people acting strangely, and no one makes the connection. Maybe some of those mass shooters got affected by the grails or the drones. It’s like a big experiment the aliens are doing for the government on how to like control minds.”

  “The aliens are doing this?”

  “No, probably just the government on behalf of the aliens. What do they call it, the military industrial matrix?”

  “Military industrial complex.”

  “Well, they’re like doing the beta testing for them aliens. Like I did beta testing for a video game once.”

  He was shaking worse now. Denise worried that she was losing her brother for good. The drugs, the paranoia, the madness had all taken their toll on him.

  “Are the aliens here in town?”

  “They’ve always been here. They look like us. There had been like a flying saucer crash near the Shakespeare ghost town like seventy years ago. But nobody knows about it. Maybe them aliens mated with locals. Since the place was called Shakespeare, they took up Shakespearean names to like fit in.”

  “Like Cordelia? That’s from King Lear.”

  “As I said, some of them don’t know because they’re only like half-blood aliens. They’re like regular people. They’re just as messed up as we are. They drink, they do drugs. Hell, they’re probably more susceptible because they came here with pure blood on one side and got no immunity to all our shit. And when they’re near someone with a spark, weird things happen. It’s like fifth dimensional consciousness shit.”

  “Thanks for letting me know,” she said. “See you in court tomorrow.”

  “Just remember, the cops, all of them are aliens, well at least they’re half-breeds. They all got them funny Shakespeare names too.”

  Denise walked to the parking lot. Shakespearean names? Wow. Denny was right. There sure had been a lot of them over the last few weeks.

  She was greeted at the Last Palm by Titus that was the main character from the Titus Andronicus, right? Not that she’d ever seen that play, no one had. There had been a Caliban at the Holiday Comfort, who was also a bailiff. That was from the Tempest. Titus was at his desk at the Last Palm, spitting tobacco in a cup while playing with his boomerang. Is that the best the aliens could do?

  Still, the way he looked at her made her nervous. She hurried back to her room.

  That night after some more Shiprock Wok take-out, bulgogi tacos, Denise tried to call all her friends yet again. Dew’s 28-day unavailability at Rancho Carrizozo had turned into six months. Rayne didn’t pick up. If the latest texted pics were to be believed, Hikaru was now biking in a white void. She hoped that it was White Sands and not heaven.

  Chapter 50

  Wednesday, August 12

  There was no new info about her mother when she woke up the next morning. She looked at her wardrobe with its dark contents. At least she wouldn’t have to buy clothes for the funeral.

  She wasn’t sure if the funeral would be for her mother, for Denny, or perhaps herself at the rate she was going.

  Today was the 1.5 dangerousness hearing. Her mom was holding on, day by day, and had made it to hump day without hospice at least. Susie had sent out a text with the same update: NO CHANGE.

  She tried Rayne, Dew, and Hikaru one last time.

  She typed a message on her phone and prepared to text. I NEED YOU GUYS. That was too needy. She erased that. THE FUTURE OF EARTH DEPENDS ON YOU! She erased that too, then typed a well-reasoned message on her phone about what was going on with Denny’s case and why their presence would be so crucial. Luna herself would be proud of her reasoning. Instead of hitting send, she closed her eyes and issued a psychic subpoena. When she opened her eyes, there was a notation on her phone under a blank space.

  MESSAGE SENT.

  The effort of sending this psychic subpoena totally drained her. Nausea hit her hard. She didn’t make it to the toilet. She began projectile vomiting into the sink and some of it splattered on to the mirror. She finally made it to the toilet and held her hair back with her left hand.

  This would be a very short hearing—the state would put on their witnesses to dangerousness, she would have nothing to counter and the judge would rule against them.

  She cleaned up after herself, and prayed she wouldn’t vomit again.

  * * *

  When she arrived at the courthouse, she was surprised to see the Groundlings walking outside holding picket signs. There must have been fifty of them, all dressed in their Sunday best. Unlike the tans and browns they’d worn in Roswell that made them look like a Church group, this time they’d gone with more somber colors as if attending a funeral for a gang leader.

  WATER IS LIFE! NMCOURTS TAKE WATER RIGHTS WITHOUT DUE PROCESS!

  The purple man was there, wearing the same suit. He must not have gotten the memo about wearing black. His sign merely said JUSTICE!!! and he kept bringing the justice sign up and down like a hammer.

  Inside the courtroom, Judge Shahrazad Sanchez was finishing up Wu’s case.

  “The review is over and I’m formally placing you on the diversion program,” the judge said to the young man who was in his chef’s outfit. “You will now be on unsupervised probation. I understand you wish to remain in town. In Lordsburg?”

  “Your honor, I’m taking over as executive
chef at Shiprock Wok, and we’re being featured in a reality series on Netflix—Wok the West!”

  After the judge left, Wu gave Denise a hug. “We need a waitress at the place,” he said. “You get to keep your tips.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Denise said. If Hikaru stayed missing…

  “We’ve got to do the water law case first,” Caliban said to the crowded courtroom. “We got some real lawyers here in town.”

  The “real lawyers” were dressed in Santa Fe chic—thousand-dollar glen plaid suits and turquoise bolo ties and pony-tail holders. They sat on the plaintiff’s side; the side usually reserved for the state. On the other side, Denise was surprised to see Fally and the Groundlings appearing pro se in the water rights case.

  “Don’t steal our water!” Fally yelled at the Santa Fe crew. “Locals only!”

  “Locals only!” the rest of Groundlings chimed in.

  How long could a water case go? They were in the desert after all.

  Denise resent her psychic subpoena every hour. No responses.

  The water case finally ended at 4:15. “We got hometowned,” one of the Santa Fe lawyers said in the hallway, head held low. “First time I’ve ever lost when the other side went pro se.”

  “One down, one to go,” Fally said under his breath. “We own this courthouse.”

  The judge took a five-minute recess. The three sheriff’s deputies followed Jane Dark into the courtroom and sat in the front row; they were the alleged victims. Dr. Romero came in behind the deputies and looked like a WNBA basketball coach—tall and lanky and ready to take off her suit, put on a jersey and get on the court.

  Denny was brought in by the jail guard who practically threw him down into the seat next to Denise. He scanned the empty rows of seats on their side. “What happened to our witnesses?”

  Denise looked downward then back up. She noticed a gigantic Mondo Pad set up in the far corner of the courtroom. A Mondo Pad looked like Darth Vader’s TV set with a 72 inch screen. There was a map of the state of New Mexico. The water lawyers must have brought it in and had forgotten about it in their haste to get the hell out of Lordsburg.

  “Order in the court,” the judge said. They hadn’t noticed her come in.

  “If the parties are ready,” the judge said. “I will let the State begin on the 1.5 hearing for State v. Song. Madam Dark, you look like you are about to explode. Are you sure you want to go forward?”

  “I talked to my daughter,” Jane Dark said, pointing down to her belly. “She said she would wait till this hearing is done.”

  The judge smiled. “We’ll get this done as expeditiously as possible.”

  Jane Dark called Dr. Romero first to the witness stand. The doctor gave a weak smile to Denise. She might have said that she was inconclusive about Denny’s competence, but she had sure come to a definite conclusion on his dangerousness.

  Fally and the boys were still in the back murmuring amongst themselves. “Glad I gave him up!” Fally said.

  Jane Dark began her questioning of the witness. “Your report didn’t make a conclusion regarding dangerousness, what is your expert opinion?” she asked the doctor.

  “Even a single count of attempted murder is by definition dangerous,” Dr. Romero said.

  “Can he be treated in the New Mexico Behavioral Health Unit so that he is not dangerous?”

  Dr. Romero didn’t hesitate. “No. Considering that he is an unreliable narrator, and a malingerer, it is unlikely that he would ever be amenable to any treatment.”

  “So, doctor, what is your recommendation?”

  “That the defendant be held in the locked facility of the Maximum-Security Unit of the Forensic Division at the New Mexico Behavior Health Unit for the extent of his possible sentence.”

  “Even if it’s fifty years? Seventy years if the court imposes additional time because of the aggravating circumstances?”

  “Yes. That is my understanding of the current state of the law.”

  “Pass the witness.”

  Denise rose. “Your report was only four pages, double-spaced, counting a title page.”

  “It was.”

  “How long did you spend on interviews?”

  “Probably an hour.”

  “An hour each or an hour total?”

  “An hour total.”

  “You only interviewed my client, not anyone else?”

  “Yes.”

  “You did some standard tests, correct?”

  The doctor listed some basic testing that she had performed on Denny.

  “You didn’t have access to all his military psychiatric records, did you?”

  “No. Ms. Song, you were unable to provide them for me.”

  “So, you don’t know if some external factor caused him to act the way he did?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You don’t know if he was the subject of scientific experiments while he was in the military? It says here on the first page of your report that the defendant recounted that he was the subject of military experiments.”

  “He said he was, but I couldn’t confirm that. I am sure that he is delusional.”

  “So, if these experiments did happen, could that have affected his mental state?”

  “I have no way of knowing.”

  “Could those experiments have affected his supposed delusions?”

  “I have no way of knowing.”

  “So, if those experiments did happen, he might not be delusional?”

  “I have no way of knowing.”

  “So, if he’s not delusional, he might not be dangerous?”

  “He is charged with several counts of attempted murder. That’s dangerous by definition.”

  “Denny told you that he encountered the so-called Omega Grail that was part of the 24 Grails Contest, correct?”

  “He did.”

  “Do you know how he could be affected by radiation coming from a grail?”

  “I have no way of knowing.”

  “You’re a psychiatrist not a physicist, correct.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Various police incident reports have stated that there was some kind of surveillance drone present at the incident.”

  “That’s what the reports say.”

  “Do you know how he could be affected by a drone?”

  “I have no way of knowing.”

  “Do you know how he could be affected by radiation from an extraterrestrial object, commonly known as a UFO?”

  “Objection!” Jane Dark said. “Calls for speculation!”

  The judge nodded. “That’s it, Ms. Song. You’re done with this witness. Keep your cross-examinations here on earth.”

  Denise stopped, unsure of what to do next. The judge banged her gavel. “Madam Dark, please call your next witness.”

  Denise walked back to the defense table, wondering about the next witness. The map of New Mexico on the Mondo Pad had gone black. One of the Santa Fe lawyers was muttering to Caliban about the Mondo Pad by the door.

  “We’ll just ship it to you in Santa Fe,” Caliban said. “When we have time.”

  Jane Dark was checking her own files, touched a few keys on her phone and nodded. “We call his mother to the stand,” Jane Dark said.

  Mother?

  Chapter 51

  Before Denise could regain her breath, Nastia entered the courtroom. Her flesh-colored makeup covered her neck tattoos. She was dressed in a gray flannel business suit, like a manager of a small-town bank.

  “She’s not my mother!” Denny shouted.

  “I’m sorry, Denny,” she said. “They made me come.”

  “Tell the truth!” Fally shouted.

  “Tell the truth!” the others echoed.

  Denise now understood why the Ground
lings had stayed for the second case. They were here to intimidate Nastia, to make sure she testified against Denny.

  “Your honor, there’s a conflict,” Denise objected. “I represented this witness in a recent matter, a restraining order in Roswell. And besides, we didn’t get notice of this witness appearing today.”

  Jane Dark didn’t bat an eye. She handed Denise a copy of a form and gave another copy to the bailiff. “Your honor, this witness signed a waiver of the attorney-client privilege and, as she is the holder of the privilege, she can testify if she wishes. And notice of witnesses is not required for dangerousness hearings because of the relaxed standards of the rule of evidence.”

  “Your honor,” Denise said. “I don’t believe her testimony would be relevant. She was not present during the incident.”

  “Your honor,” Jane Dark said, not missing a beat, “this witness will testify about the defendant’s history of violence.”

  “I’ll allow the testimony of this witness for that purpose,” the judge said.

  Jane Dark questioned Nastia about taking Denny at his birth but didn’t mention the presence of the grail. Denise certainly couldn’t bring that up since she had found out about that incident by entering the woman’s brain while she was sleeping.

  Nastia then related Denny’s lengthy juvenile history over Denise’s objections, which the judge shot down. Denny had a history of “acting up” and had numerous disciplinary write-ups between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

  “Your honor, these weren’t provided to me by counsel,” Denise said.

  “Then I won’t take his juvenile adjudications into account,” the judge said. Her smile as she wrote down notes, indicted that she most certainly would.

  “One more thing,” Jane Dark said. Nastia even produced a letter signed by Denny’s teacher, Yvette Castaneda, indicating that he put a tack under a classmate’s seat in a seventh grade English class.

  “Objection!”

  Jane Dark was ready. “The classmate developed tetanus. While not a crime per se, it does indicate that he does not care about other people.”