by R. J. Blacks
“Yes he did.”
“Tell us about it.”
“I met him at the state police barracks at about nine in the morning, and then, the three of us drove out to Wildlife State Park. I wanted to see the actual site of the incident.”
“The three of you?”
“It was me, Indigo, and Detective Bolt.”
“Then what?”
“There were about eight police cars in the clearing with lights flashing and there was this abandoned blue Camaro. Police investigators were combing through the underbrush looking for clues so I started poking around myself.”
“Did you see anything of interest?”
“Yes, I found these tracks in the sand, alligator tracks. Some of them had been stepped on by the investigators making them hard to see, but I’d guess there were around thirty or so.”
“Thirty alligators?”
“Approximately.”
“Your Honor, may I propose that it be stated in the record that both Fargo and Sandy Harris agree on thirty alligators.”
“Allowed. Please continue,” the judge says.
“Sandy Harris, in her testimony, characterized the alligators as acting weird. Based on your examination of the track prints, how would you characterize them?”
“Definitely not normal.”
“Could you elaborate?”
“Alligators are opportunistic. They grab at whatever they find. They don’t coordinate attacks like wolves or lions. But from the track prints, these gators appeared to be gathered around a single large alligator with eight toes, as if it was the leader.”
“Eight toes?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that significant?”
“Alligators only have five toes.”
“So would eight toes be considered a mutation?”
“Objection, leading,” Fullbright cries out.
Berkeley addresses the judge: “My intention is to determine whether the condition of having eight toes has influenced, in any way, its unusual behavior.”
“Overruled. Please answer the question,” the judge says.
“Alligators with eight toes have appeared in Indian folklore for centuries so I can’t say it’s a new thing. Someone sees one about every thirty years or so, but the trait is not carried on to offspring. I’m no biologist, but I think a mutation has to be permanent. All things considered, I wouldn’t say it’s a mutation.”
“So then, would you say the eight toes have any significance at all?”
“Legend says it’s an omen, a warning of death. Usually someone close, a loved one.”
“What do you think?
“I think it’s nonsense, an ancient superstition.”
“So it appears that the unusual behavior, reported by both you and Sandy, was probably caused by something else. Could that something else be Farm-eXia?”
“Objection, leading,” Fullbright cries out again.
“Sustained.”
“Okay, I’ll rephrase it. What do you suppose is the reason for the alligator’s unusual behavior?” Berkeley asks.
“I have no idea. It could be chemicals in the water, but I have no way of testing for that. All I can say is this: in the entire time I’ve been living around alligators, I’ve never seen them act like that.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Counsel for the defense, you may cross-examine.”
Fullbright gets up and takes the floor.
“Fargo Dane, you present yourself as an expert. Where did you learn your craft?”
“Picked it up from living around the swamp and talking to experts like Brad.”
“Brad?”
“Dr. Brad Kelly, PhD.”
“What is your relationship to Dr. Kelly?”
“He’s a friend of mine.”
“And I assume you talk about this stuff from time to time?”
“Yes. We both share an interest in wildlife.”
“Do you have a university degree?”
“No.”
“Have you taken courses in Herpetology?”
“No.”
“But nonetheless, you’ve deceived people into believing you are an expert?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Not relevant,” Berkeley says.
“Overruled. Please answer the question.”
“I’ve never deceived anyone nor did I tell them I was an expert. I’ve lived around alligators all my life and I know when I see one acting strange. You don’t need a doctor to tell you your arm’s bleeding.”
“But you might need a doctor to fix it.”
“I’ve never suggested a solution or even proposed a cause. I’m just saying it’s not business as usual. Something in that swamp is unnatural, and that’s a fact.”
“Thank you Mr. Dane. No further questions.”
Fargo gets up and goes back to the sequestered room.
The judge turns to Berkeley.
“Counsel for the plaintiff, you may call your next witness.”
Berkeley stands up and announces: “I would like to call Dr. Brad Kelly to the stand.”
The bailiff leaves the courtroom, returns with Dr. Kelly, and then, swears him in.
Berkeley takes the floor.
“For the record, would you state your name please.”
“Dr. Brad Kelly, PhD.”
“And where do you live?”
“Astor, Florida. That’s near Lake George.”
“What do you do in Astor?”
“I own an alligator farm, for tourists.”
“Could you briefly state your education.”
“I have a B.S. and Masters from Florida State and a PhD in Herpetology from Gainesville University.”
“And why are you here today?”
“I was asked to testify because I sponsored an experiment for Indigo Wells to determine whether contaminated lake water has any influence on the behavior of wild alligators.”
“Wild as opposed to alligators in captivity.”
“Yes. The alligators in the farm are only exposed to filtered water. They would not be affected by contaminated lake water.”
“How often do you sponsor students with field experiments?”
“About six per year. I have agreements with several universities.”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“Over twenty years.”
“And are the universities pleased with your work?”
Brad reaches into a manila envelope and produces a dozen papers.
“These are a few of the letters of appreciation I’ve received over the years from various universities.”
He hands the papers to the bailiff who hands them to the judge. The judge reviews them, and then orders the clerk to admit them as evidence.
Berkeley turns to the jury.
“I believe I have adequately demonstrated to the court that the witness is highly qualified to testify on behalf of these experiments.”
“Objection,” Fullbright squawks. “An opinion.”
“Overruled. The letters of recommendation support his suppositions. Please proceed counsel.”
“Dr. Kelly, please describe briefly your relationship with Indigo Wells.”
“She approached me with a theory that local lake water was contaminated with chemicals that may have caused aggressive behavior in alligators, and specifically, the death of Kevin Stewart.”
“What were your first impressions.”
“I thought it was a novel, although unproven, hypothesis. No one had ever proposed this before, as far as I know.”
“So you agreed to participate.”
“I’m always interested in new science."
“So what did you do?”
“We prepared two pens, one with ordinary lake water, the other with a similar solution of brand new Farm-eXia as a control group. Then we released three baby alligators in each one.”
“Why baby alligators.”
“Because they would show results sooner and would
n’t be influenced by prior exposures.”
“And your results?”
“After five weeks the results were undeniable. The three in lake water were unusually aggressive, climbing the walls and attacking each other.”
“In one word, how would you characterize their behavior?”
“Definitely, abnormal.”
“And the ones in brand new Farm-eXia?”
“They looked fine, completely normal.”
“So the lake water was causing a change in behavior?”
“Absolutely. It was obvious.”
“But the lake water contained the same concentration of Farm-eXia as the control group. Why would it act differently?”
“I have no idea. It could be anything.”
“My technical advisor, Indigo, believes the lake-borne Farm-eXia came from a defective batch. Does that sound plausible?”
“Leading,” Fullbright says.
“Sustained.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Berkeley says.
“Counsel for the defense, you may cross-examine,” the judge announces.
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
Fullbright approaches the witness stand.
“Dr. Kelly, your credentials are impressive.”
“Thank you sir.”
“During your testimony, you characterized Ms. Well’s hypothesis, namely that chemicals in lake water caused aggressive behavior in alligators, as novel. Isn’t that the same as saying it’s absurd?”
“Air conditioning was once considered novel. But no one ever thought it was absurd.”
“Okay, you said the control group of alligators acted normal, but the affected group was abnormal. Can you put numbers to that so we can have an idea ‘how’ abnormal.”
“That would be impossible. It was based on observation.”
“But isn’t observation based on opinion?”
“It can be. But I try to be as impartial as possible.”
“Well, our research has uncovered the fact you are an active member of the Sierra Club, the Conservation Society, and the Audubon. Wouldn’t that tend to blur your impartiality?”
“If, by active, you mean I subscribe to their magazines, yes, I do. But I’m only interested in the science, and keeping up with the latest research,” Brad says.
“I’d be willing to concede your impartiality if that’s all there was. But our research has uncovered a few things I find very worrisome. You’ve given talks at several universities on the overuse of pesticides. Do you recall that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You should, because it’s all over the Internet. But even more disturbing is your speech at a rally in Miami against GWI. You accused them of coercing South American farmers to use more pesticides on their crops.”
“I strongly believe farmers should be the ones to decide what pesticides to use and how much.”
“And we agree on that point. But let the court note that GWI never coerces farmers. They make a product available at the lowest possible price and it’s up to farmers to buy it.”
“Objection, Your Honor. Not relevant,” Berkeley says.
“Sustained.”
Fullbright approaches the jury, leans on the railing.
“My point is simply this: Dr. Kelly is predisposed to discredit GWI, so I believe that makes him unqualified to make an impartial judgement. Don’t you agree?”
“Objection, Your Honor.” Berkeley says.
“Sustained.”
“No further questions,” Fullbright says.
Brad gets up and returns to the sequestered room.
It’s late afternoon so the judge calls a recess until the following morning. Berkeley takes our group to an exquisite Spanish restaurant with a harbor view. The eight of us sit around a large table, tell tall tales, laugh, and enjoy a feast. After dinner, we had intended to walk the inner harbor, browsing through boutiques and gift shops, but the wine has made us all mellow and tired, so we just head back to the hotel and call it a day.
Berkeley asks me to join him in a vacant conference room near the lobby to go over strategy. We compare notes, and then I go over the science to make sure he is well prepared to present the issues. Up to now, it’s been a simple task of setting up the jury to understand the problem. The next phase will be to convince them all this happened because of a defective product. It won’t be easy to relate to them all the subtleties of microbiology, but we have to give it our all. Flub this and we have no case.
CHAPTER 34
The trial reconvenes promptly at 8:30 AM on Tuesday and I notice Dean Haas sitting next to Eldridge Broadhamton in the public viewing area. I know they are old friends, but I wonder what motivated her to drive the hour to be here. Does she have some perverted desire to witness my final undoing?
The judge greets everyone and then turns to Berkeley.
“Counsel for the plaintiff, you may call your next witness.”
Berkeley stands up and announces: “I would like to call Doug Carpenter, PhD, to the stand.”
Doug sits in the witness box and Berkeley begins.
“I have only a few questions. Would you explain to the jury how you test the water samples.”
“We use a technique called ‘High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry.’”
“And what does that do?”
“Basically, it allows us to look into complex compounds and determine what makes them up, the basic elements.”
“And how do you do that?”
“We use a machine called a MSQ 9000 EVO with Triple Quadrupole Sensitivity.”
“How do you know it’s accurate?”
“We are on a six-month calibration cycle. Twice a year, someone who is tied in with NIST checks the machine and makes sure it works correctly.”
“NIST?”
“National Institute of Standards and Technology. It’s a government agency that oversees calibration standards. They make sure everyone in the country is working to the same set of weights and measures.”
“Are you satisfied that the water samples Indigo processed and the results she obtained are accurate?”
“Absolutely.”
“No more questions, Your Honor.”
Berkeley takes his seat and then the judge addresses the court: “Counsel for the defense, you may cross-examine.”
Fullbright walks to the floor.
“Dr. Carpenter, my learned colleague may not be interested in your credentials, but I am. Would you briefly state your education for the record.”
“I did both my Masters and PhD at Stanford.”
“California?”
“Yes.”
“Why California?”
“That was the best place to get some experience.”
“Why did you go back to Florida?”
“My family and friends were there.”
“What else have you done that qualifies you as an expert witness?”
“I’ve performed analysis for billion dollar agri-businesses for over twenty years with no complaints. I’ve also published three papers on the subject.”
“I see. Okay then, I’m willing to concede you are well qualified to speak on these matters. Moving on, are you aware Indigo Wells has made some rather shocking allegations about GWI and its flag-ship product Farm-eXia?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“Are you also aware that sloppy lab practices can contaminate samples and give erroneous results?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So if Ms. Wells had used a dirty sample jar, or worked the machine incorrectly, the results she obtained could be bogus and her allegations would be completely without merit.”
“If that were the case, yes.”
“So you’re saying there’s room for doubt that her results are accurate?”
“What I’m saying is this: if she did what you said, yes, it’s possible. The results could be inaccurate.”
“This is not a trivial matter. On the line here is a
product that generates over fifty billion dollars in sales, every year. There’s no room for guess-work. What assurance do I have?”
“I personally supervised Indigo during her use of the machine and can say without question, her lab skills are impeccable. I have no doubt the results of her experiments are one-hundred percent valid.”
“One-hundred percent valid? That’s a remarkable statement. How do you know it’s not ninety-eight percent valid, or ninety-five percent valid? You’re saying she never makes mistakes? Is that reasonable?” Fullbright retorts.
“In my business, you have to be one-hundred percent accurate, all the time. Otherwise, companies could be liable for millions of dollars in fines. There’s no room for error, ever. I have had the privilege of supervising Ms. Wells for several months now, and in that time, never once observed a mistake. Yes, I reiterate, without qualification, her lab skills are impeccable.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Fullbright says, and shuffles back to his seat.
“Witness is excused,” the judge says, and then calls a fifteen minute recess.
Berkeley gathers us together in the break room and tells Fargo, Doug, Brad, and Sandy their testimony is complete and they may fly back if they choose. They take him up on it and promptly leave the courthouse for the next available flight.
We return to the courtroom and the judge tells Berkeley to call his next witness.
“I wish to call Dr. Tom Benson.”
The bailiff brings Benson into the room and swears him in. Berkeley approaches him.
“Dr. Benson, what is your position with GWI?”
“I’m Chief Scientist and Director of Product Development.”
“You already gave me your qualifications the last time we met so there’s no reason to repeat them here, that is, unless the judge has some objections.”
“No objections,” the judge says.
“You also told me last time, you tested Farm-eXia on aquatic wildlife at concentrations up to twenty times the safe limit without adverse effects. Would you confirm that.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Dr. Benson, what is an isomer?”
“I know where you’re going with this.”
The judge interjects: “Please answer the question.”
“Isomers are compounds with the same constituents and same formula, but with a slightly different structure.”
