"An identical twin brother?!" Molly nearly roared through the phone, "what kind of soap opera is that guy playing for?"
I only sighed as I had finished updating her on the days events. She had much the same reaction I did, but since she wasn't having to "sit on her hands" in a courtroom, Molly was quite free to express how she felt about the situation.
"I think he's desperate," I told her, "He knows that the bulk of the evidence is going to go against Beauregard himself, so this Jackson Lee is doing everything to try and take the blame away from Beauregard himself. If there is an identical twin brother listed on the birth certificate, the "manhunt" would go away from him... and if he's gone off the map, it could go on forever without it ever coming back to Beauregard. And if they find out that he's died recently, Beauregard gets away because they can not confirm or deny which man actually hired the Pit Bull gang."
"I'm still going with the idea that he's trying to play out some sick soap opera..." Molly growled back, "over hyped drama with little or no plot!"
"I'm not disagreeing with you Molly," I answered, "I'm just telling you why I think the guy was doing this."
"Beat him, George," Molly instructed.
"I'm not the prosecuting attorney, Molly," I told her.
"You know what I mean," Molly answered, "when you take the stand, give it to them straight. Tell them about what a jerk he is... what he has done."
"I'll try," I said with a soft chuckle, "I love you, Molly."
"I love you too, George," Molly answered.
I then hung up my cell-phone and placed it in my pocket as Officer Howard and I waited for our orders at a fairly large steakhouse to arrive. The place smelled of wood chips, which actually made it a rather attractive restaurant.
"I take it Molly didn't approve of Mr. Lee's defense," Officer Howard said with a chuckle.
"I'm sorry if she disturbed you, sir," I said slowly, "what Beauregard and R.A.M. have done, they've primarily done against her."
"Oh, there is no disturbance," Officer Howard chuckled, "I'd tend to agree with her that the defense used seems be more intended to create a distraction rather then to actually prove something."
"So all we can do is wait for the birth certificate to be brought in," I sighed heavily, to which Officer Howard only nodded.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The two days of recess went fairly quietly for everyone. I didn't know about the people who were charged with hunting down Beauregard's birth certificate, but for me, the two days were quiet. Officer Howard and I weren't needed for work with the Prosecution quite as much as Joey Barnes had needed us for Ebenezer Smith's trial. That left us with some free time. Officer Howard took the time to walk along some of the walking paths that Helena had set up for its citizens and I took advantage of the time to nap and follow the news. Nothing much was going on in that regard.
When the two days ended, everyone filed into the courtroom and waited patiently for the issue of Beauregard's siblings to be decided.
"All rise," the bailiff spoke when Judge Bastion Walker entered the room.
"Be seated," Judge Walker then spoke once he reached his seat, "when we finished our session two days ago we were presented with questions as to whether or not Beauregard or an unnamed brother were responsible for hiring the gang that attacked Peoria."
Isabelle Perkins and Jackson Lee both nodded as I watched on.
"Have both attorneys managed to get copies of Pierre Beauregard's birth certificate?" Judge Walker questioned.
"Yes, your honor," both Isabelle and Jackson spoke.
"Based on your analysis of the documents, do they lead the prosecution to believe there is an identical twin brother?" Judge Walker asked.
"No, your honor," Isabelle Perkins said firmly.
"And the defense's opinion?" Judge Walker asked, sounding fairly suspicious.
"The prosecution is correct," Jackson Walker sighed, "there is not identical twin... not even a fraternal twin. I move that my earlier questions be stricken from the record."
"May we even ask why they were asked in the first place?" Judge Walker questioned.
"My client had not given me information about his family beyond that he had a sibling," Jackson Lee admitted, "I assumed he meant an identical twin and could not allow the possibility to be ignored."
There was a brief silence for a moment.
"I apologize for the rather foolish nature of my questioning," Jackson Lee spoke, "I should have done more to figure out is Beauregard had an actual identical sibling."
"Yes, you should have," Judge Walker nodded, "the prosecution may call its next witness."
"Thank you, your honor," Isabelle Perkins steeped up, "we have displayed the racist attitude of Pierre Beauregard and we have shown just how far he was willing to go to to carry out that racist attitude toward two victims of the Animatrix Fun House who posed no threat to the people Columbia Falls."
Isabelle Perkins then stepped somewhat toward the witness stand.
"We now move onto the details of Pierre Beauregard's arrest," Isabelle spoke, "and we begin with an overall overview of the case from Columbia Falls' Chief of Police, Roger Harold."
Officer Harold stood up, took his place in the witness stand and took the oath and then waited for Isabelle Perkins to ask her questions.
"Now, when did your office begin to suspect actual involvement by Beauregard in the criminal activities that troubled those working to repair the damage done by the Animatrix Funhouse?" Isabelle Perkins asked.
"Actionable suspicion didn't occur until about a week ago when we caught and interrogated the three gang members that had participated in the raid on Leona Washburn's lab," Officer Howard answered, "they gave us a description of the man who hired them, which we identified as Beauregard. That allowed us to order a search of Beauregard's property for any possible evidence that might link Beauregard to the gang or to the attack. My officers Wayne and Barnes searched his property and found the evidence we believed made the connection, and the receipts that lead us to believe that Pierre Beauregard pocketed money that was supposed to be for the R.A.M. organization into his own pocket."
"Actionable suspicion?" Isabelle asked for clarification.
"Because Beauregard had blatantly attempted to make it impossible for George and Molly Wayne to remain in Columbia Falls at every possible turn, Officer Wayne has been very suspicious of the man," Officer Howard answered, "very suspicious. But he's been a good officer had has never just "gone off" as it were."
"Thank you, Officer Howard," Isabelle Perkins spoke.
"The defense may cross examine," Judge Walker spoke.
"Thank you, your honor," Jackson Lee answered and stood up, "Officer Howard, you say that your tiger officer, Officer Wayne has been suspicious of Beauregard's actions because his desire to protect his home and lifestyle seems to counter his animal instincts..."
"I said that Beauregard's actions of persecution have lead to some suspicion on Officer Wayne's part," Officer Howard answered, "not some argument of instincts being against simple protection of his ranch."
"All the same, you say that Officer Wayne was already suspicious of Pierre Beauregard, is that true?" Jackson Lee questioned.
"Yes," Officer Howard sighed.
"So... you sent an officer who has already determined Beauregard to be guilty to investigate a crime you're merely seeking to get information out of," Jackson Lee spoke with plenty of venom in his voice, "the whole issue of whether or not evidence is credible or not is moot. This is a case of corruption pure and simple. The Columbia Falls sends two officers to investigate my client, but both Officers have already determined he is guilty... It would not surprise me if George Wayne didn't write the manual himself to create the evidence he wanted to see."
"That did not happen," Officer Howard answered, "and while Officer Wayne may have been suspicious of Beauregard already, Officer Barnes was not, and they were the only officers available at the time."
"Can you be sure?" Jackson Lee answered, "where is Officer Barnes to confirm this?"
"Beauregard shot Officer Barnes, and he was unable to come here as he is still recovering," Officer Howard answered.
"No further questions."
"Very well, you may step down," Judge Walker spoke.
Officer Howard slowly made his way back to his seat.
"The defense may call its next witness," Judge Walker instructed.
Jackson Lee nodded, "We will get to the bottom of this corruptive investigation that was clearly looking to investigate an honest man. We call Officer George Wayne to the stand."
I then stood up and made my way forward.