Father's Day Ch. 01

Me: "The point I'm getting to is that what Elsie asked Michael and Paulina wasn't coincidental, it wasn't just ginning up gossip. No, it was an attack, carefully orchestrated to lay the groundwork to harm the Republican candidate for Solicitor, as well as attack me and my family through my daughter's mother."

"With respect, Commander," Virginia Madison said, "how do you know this?"

I replied: "As I said, I've been at all-out war with KXTC, and I'm suing them with your colleague Mike Todd as my attorney. I have observed them and all the rabidly biased, dishonest, and corrupt Mainstream Media... and those adjectives are not redundant... I have observed them for years as I have observed the Criminal World, and I've become very familiar with their patterns."

Me: "My point is that Elsie didn't just ask that. She -knew- to ask that. She had knowledge that allowed her to ask that. And where did such intimate knowledge of Paulina and Michael's relationship and potential future plans come from? The sources are limited, extremely limited... and my conclusion is that you here at Madison & Ives have a mole somewhere."

"Where?" Bernadette Gillem gasped.

"I don't know." I replied. "But you need to do a forensic security examination of your communications and computer systems, software and hardware. And I know someone who would be excellent in that capacity, but I cannot ask him to do it myself because it would be considered 'personal services', which is verboten. Lieutenant Myron Milton of the TCPD is his name."

Mike G. Todd said "All of my work for you is encrypted, especially the work on the libel lawsuit against KXTC. But you may be right in that the firm's systems need to be examined, and upgraded if called for."

"I agree." said Bernadette. "I'll personally handle that, and I'll talk to Myron Milton. And I need to speak with you, Michael... and if you would join us, Paulina, I would appreciate it."

"And in the meantime," said Mike G. Todd, "I'll get Don and Teresa up to speed on some things, if they won't mind Virginia sitting in with us..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile...

The women of the show 'Point Taken' filed into the studio to the raucous applause of the all-female audience and took their seats in the semi-circle of sofas on the set. "And we are liiiive!" said moderator Connie Chen. "As always, I am joined by Donna Roselle, Rosie Berkmar, Zara Zeigler, and Meredith Peller!"

Connie Chen: "Our first story today is the fallout of what happened at the far-right-wing event Sunday, held by the Town & County Republican Committee and the American Legion, and disguised as a D-Day remembrance. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Elsie Gringer's encounter with Michael McGill and Paulina Patterson. After it was done, Connie Chen said "Let's welcome KXTC Society Editor Elsie Gringer!" The audience applauded strongly as Elsie came out, mostly because the lighted 'APPLAUSE' signs told them to do so.

After Elsie was seated, Connie said "Welcome, Elsie. So the Republican nominee for Solicitor and an Assistant District Attorney are carrying on an illicit relationship?"

Speaking in her smooth, silky, society-gossipy voice, Elsie said "He's a single, handsome young man, and she's a single, lovely young woman, and they're seeing a lot of each other... both in their professional lives and their personal lives. But the interesting thing was his reaction when I asked him about possible marriage in their futures, and the possibility of him formally adopting her daughter Tasha. As you could see in that clip, he came nowhere near trying to deny it."

"But she did." said the beautiful Zara Zeigler. "And the look on her face was one of anger."

Meredith Peller stepped in and said "Elsie, was Paulina's anger because of the question, or because you were exposing her and Michael's plans to the world, and more specifically to the child's father, Donald Troy?"

Donna Roselle, the militant black on the panel exploded "Why would he want to adopt Donald Troy's *bleep* child!" She had said 'halfbreed', but the 7-second censor had caught it in time to bleep it out.

Zara Zeigler said "That child is a human being, Donna! She doesn't deserve that!"

Donna Roselle: "She is not a human being! She is the *bleep* (halfbreed) child of a hanky-headed house negro that spread her legs for the racist white cop Donald Troy! And now she's spreading her legs for Michael McGill, a racist White Nationalist who has said out loud that his reasons for running for Solicitor are to keep blacks down by denying Alvin Whitner his chance to help the Black man against the filthy White-run system of jailing blacks for no reason---"

Her microphone stopped transmitting, and Connie Chen whispered "Your mic has been cut, Donna." More loudly she said "Rosie what do you think of this illicit liaison and McGill's non-denial of plans to formally adopt Paulina's child by Don Troy?"

Rosie Berkmar: "Well, I can appreciate his desire to save that poor child from having the most racist, abusive cop in the world as a father." Applause, because the lights came on telling the audience to applaud. When the light went out, Rosie continued: "But the bottom line is that Michael McGill has no integrity, and that Voters should vote for an honest man like Alvin Whitner, who will rip away the curtain of the charade of a legal system that is fair and equitable to blacks."

More applause from the audience, then Connie said "Meredith, round this out and take us to break."

Meredith Peller said "I think Michael McGill needs to be pressed to either fully deny or fully admit his intentions to adopt Paulina's daughter Tasha if he and Paulina get married. I'd love to see and hear Donald Troy's reaction to that..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile...

9:00am. The Bailiff declared "Oyez, oyez, oyez. Please rise. Court is in session, the Honorable Rodney K. Watts presiding." As everyone stood, Superior Court Judge Rodney K. Watts came in from the side door serving the Bench and the (empty) Jury Box, sat down, and banged his gavel.

"Be seated." he said. As everyone sat down, he said "First case, please." The Court Reporter announced Moore v. Fredricson.

Laura was sitting at the Defense table, wearing a black dress trimmed in white, and matte black high-heel pumps. Sitting with her was her attorney, the formidable Agnes T. Spires, and also Dr. Clarence P. Chase, Dean of the University Law School. At the Prosecution table sat Dr, Jerry Moore in a surprisingly frumpy suit and tie, His and the University's representation was State Attorney Glenn Alberts, who'd badly lost Dr. Jan Camp's lawsuit against the University some years before.

Behind the Defense table were Callie Carrington, Command Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross, Town & County Councilman Edward R. Steele, and University Hospital Administrator Seth Warner. Behind the Prosecution table sat Dr. Jennifer Mallory, Dean of Biology School and Climate Change Center; Dr. Rohit Gupta, former Assistant Public Health Officer and now part of the Climate Change Center... and of course the odious Dr. Lionel Carmela.

The rest of the Courtroom chamber was over half-filled with reporters, most of them from around the State, a number of Journalism School students, and some of Dr. Carmela/s rabidly Leftist students.

"Okay, both sides have agreed to forego a Jury trial and accept a Bench trial?" Judge Watts asked. Everyone affirmed it, then the Judge said "I have here your complaint and the rebuttal and counter-complaint. I also have a copy of the law creating the State Medical College, as well as the contracts and covenants concerning the housing properties on the Campus. All of it is pretty simply written, and the language is clear. So what exactly is your problem, Dr. Moore?"

"We agree the language is clear, Your Honor." said Glenn Alberts. "We believe the language of the Covenants overseeing the home Dr. Fredricson owns is especially clear... that University Faculty were allowed to buy the homes, and now that Dr. Fredricson is no longer part of the University Faculty, the University has the right to claim the home and force her to sell it."

"That's not true, Your Honor." said Agnes T. Spires. "The language of the Covenant is indeed clear... and it states -only- that the University has first rights of refusal if Dr. Fredricson -chooses- to sell the home. That's all, nothing else."

Alberts was about to say something, but Judge Watts stopped him. "I want to hear the arguments on that last. Right now I want to get into the property dispute. I have the 'friend of the Court' briefs here, and Mr. Steele, who is a developer, is here and can testify to the numbers..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

11:45am, Monday, June 6th. The Sheriff, Teresa, and I were seated in the back 'Command Room' of the Cop Bar. After we placed our orders, the Sheriff said "How'd it go at Madison & Ives?"

I replied "I think it went okay. Bernadette Gillem called Myron Milton, and they're paying him a stipend to look into possible breaches of their servers."

Teresa asked "Do you really think that's the source of Elsie's information?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said "I dunno. At least they'll be more secure when all this is done."

Sheriff Griswold said "The County Republicans are very worried. They... we... think the D.A. and Solicitor races are the most important in the County, and maybe the most important in our history. And we think they'll be among the closest races, with the Democrats ready and willing to do anything, and I mean -anything- to win them. And if McGill doesn't get this under wraps, and quickly, it could go from a scratch to an infected wound."

Teresa and I nodded in agreement. Our food arrived and we spent a few minutes eating the delicious food As we finished, Teresa said "Okay... the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Was Michael McGill going to try to adopt Tasha? And was Paulina complicit, or did she at least have knowledge of it when Elsie asked that?

"I don't know." I replied. "I do know that Tasha was worried about it, and communicated that worry during a, shall we say, expert psychological evaluation. So I'm waiting to see what Myron finds before I theorize further on it and subsequently take action."

Sheriff Griswold did not let me off the hook. "To hell with the data, Crowbar. What do you think? Is there fire behind this smoke? And this could cause problems in the law firm... the firm you are using in your lawsuit against the filth that is KXTC?"

"Not to mention your relations with Paulina, and therefore all our relations with Paulina." Teresa added helpfully. She was not helping.

But I knew what she was really asking, and what the Sheriff really was worried about, so I said "Guys, right now it's like Schrödinger's Cat... I don't know for sure which way it is. And for now, I don't want to open that box and find out for sure if the cat is alive or dead..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

4:30pm. Laura, Callie, and Seth trudged into Laura's office at University Hospital after the exhausting day in Court. "Thank God that's over." Seth said. "Do lawyers string things out like that just so they can get the billable hours?"

"In this case, no." Laura said. "Agnes Spires was like a pitbull, and wasted no time in shredding Jerry Moore. Glenn Alberts is a State Attorney, and therefore getting a salary, not billable hours. Even so... yeah, he was stringing it out as much as he could."

"And it's probably not over." Laura continued. "We'll have the appeals process, and God knows how long Judge Leahy will try to delay it and string it out---"

"Oh, look at this!" Callie exclaimed, seeing the bouquet of roses in a vase on the desk.

Laura checked the card. "Oh, they're from my husband Don." she said, then read the card aloud: "Well done. I love you."

"Is that for the Court case?" Seth asked.

"No." said Laura with a smile. "It's about something else. I didn't expect it, but Don figured me out. Nothing gets past him..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

7:30pm. Dinner at the Mountain Nest. Edward and Stephanie Steele came over, as did Cindy and Callie, with Marie, Betsy, and Benjamin in tow. Betsy 'helped' Jim build a Lego structure while Carole and Marie and Benjamin participated in a Bowser and Buddy lovefest.

I'd cooked steaks and burgers on the grill, and Cindy and Callie had prepped the baked potatoes and salads. The kids were at the breakfast table, and consumed the burgers, some salad, and potato chips. As we adults ate in the formal dining room, Laura told us about her day in Court.

"We pretty much won everything." my wife said. "Judge Watts is a patient man, but he was getting irritated at Jerry Moore. Moore was all but bullying Glenn Alberts to keep fighting and objecting over settled, clear points, as well as the smallest minutiae. Alberts even argued with Moore a couple of times, so Moore started making the points himself, and Judge Watts shut him down."

"Is Dr. Moore a lawyer?" Cindy asked.

"He has a Law degree." Stephanie Steele said. "But he's never passed the Bar. I don't think he tried to. He got into Administration and Academia immediately after he graduated."

"That explains some things." I said. "He knows just enough to think he can argue against the clear text of the laws and the contracts of these cases, whereas real lawyers with real knowledge and experience know what's going to be losing for them."

Laura said "Yes, that explains a lot about his actions. Anyway, Judge Watts ruled definitively on just one thing: this house. In some of the strongest legal language I have ever heard, he said that I owned this house, that the only claim the University had was first right to buy or not buy it if and only if I put it up for sale, that neither my status nor the status of any of the homeowners under the Covenant were required to be Faculty nor University employees, and that the School could not in any way impede my access to the home via the road leading to it."

"Yayyy." Cindy said.

Laura: "Judge Watts has to have the deeds on the land behind the house here independently researched, but I'd bet he's going to grant the eminent domain, and at the fair market price Edward stated in his 'friend of the Court' filing."

Edward said "There was one issue, though. That strip of land leading from that plateau down to the Hospital. We're going to get it, and via eminent domain and not an easement, but Moore tried to keep it from us by saying a road could not be safely built on it. The Judge is going to take that into consideration."

Laura said "And that may be the 'poison pill' that Jerry Moore thinks he has in this... if he can stop us from building that road, then travel to and from the Hospital to the classrooms just above it on the plateau on the mountainside will become long and arduous. All the way around the mountain to Reservoir Road and back into Town."

Edward said "And Jerry Moore made a point to suggest another way... a road along the edge of this property, right along the line with Dr. Childers's property, then a sharp angle to the right and along the base of the mountain."

Laura said "Of course I objected to that... well, my lawyer Agnes Spires did, saying this was just another ploy by Moore to control my property and screw with me. Judge Watts agreed, but said he was duty-bound to consider it as an option."

I said "But that's also a long route around, taking the road by the Stadium to the north end of University Avenue and all that way south on the busiest road in this County to get to the Hospital."

Edward said "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Just having the piece of land is the first key."

Cindy gave a sly look towards Edward and said "In other words, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it?"

"Hmmm." replied Edward. "Now that is a particularly interesting choice of words, there..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The guests had left, except Marie; she was staying overnight. She, Carole, and Jim had brushed their teeth and made their way to bed. The dogs had been taken out, and while I was doing that, Laura poured us drinks. When I brought the dogs back inside, they rushed upstairs while Laura and I sat down on the sofa.

"Thank you for the flowers today." Laura said. "So you figured it out, huh?"

I grinned, then said "That it was -you- that leaked that information to Elsie Gringer? Yeah, I realized it when I asked myself at the coffee klatch how Elsie knew so much so quickly, -and- she was right there in a position to ambush McGill and Paulina. Someone had to tell her, and you had talked to Tasha. But I'm sure you didn't tell Elsie directly. So are you willing to tell your loving husband how you did it?"

"It depends on how loving you are tonight in bed." Laura said with a seductive smile. "So answer me this: why did you tell the MILF attorneys that they have a mole?"

"It was a dodge." I said. "With your help, Mike G. Todd had really upgraded MILF's electronic and computer security, but it didn't hurt to scare them into making sure by a forensic re-examination. And Myron will tell me what he finds out about Michael McGill contemplating adopting Tasha. Last, but not least, it keeps me from having to open the box and see if Schrödinger's Cat is alive or dead... and that may be very important, not only for my relations with Paulina and Tasha, but for the Elections. The Sheriff is very worried about how it will affect the McGill-Whitner race."

"And he should be worried." Laura said. "I've had to pay attention to the State Medical College stuff, but I'm still getting trickles of information about Fineman and Whitner. It's going to be close, and it could get very ugly."

"Let not your heart be troubled." I said cryptically. When Laura peered at me, I said "Why don't we go to bed, and I get started on being the loving husband you want me to be tonight..."

Part 6 - First Contacts

5:30pm, Saturday, June 11th. Laura and I drove to the home of Craig and Jenny Reynolds, who had moved to our Town & County after Todd Burke bought out Craig's company and licensed his patents. (Author's note: 'Reunion Fever'.) They lived in a modest, three-bedroom home on Cone Street in the Kensington District, at the northern edge of the City Limit line between the Town and the County.

The Reynolds were hosting a dinner party, to which Todd and Teresa were also invited. They arrived right behind us. We were in two vehicles, as usual, in case Teresa and I were called away to Police business. Their kids were staying with Carole, the boys, Tasha, and Marie at The Cabin, supervised by Molly Evans and Stephanie Steele, and of course the Redoubtable Ones, Bowser and Buddy.

"You didn't bring Tasha, Mister Crowbar?" young Agnes Reynolds said when we arrived.

"Not this time." I replied. "It's a grownup party today."

We went to the back patio in the backyard and sipped drinks: Laura and Jenny had some of the wine that Laura and I had brought as a gift; Teresa had Scotch, and Todd, Craig, and I had bourbon.

"Oh, I'm doing fine; very well, in fact." Craig said as we sat on the patio "Physically, my bodily functions are normal, and there have been no problems."

"And no problem with his 'performance' functions, either." Jenny said happily. "Thanks to Laura's surgical skills. We'll always be grateful to you for how well you fixed Craig up."

"I'm glad I was able to help." Laura said. "You did well with your rehab, too, Craig,"

I asked "So how have things gone with your family expansion, and the move here?"

Craig said "We moved here from Capitol City (in Apple Grove's State), and it's been really good. The people here are nice like people from a small town like Apple Grove, but the Town & County has all the good things larger towns do without having to endure the 'big city' feel."