CHAPTER 7
THE EVENING NEWS
As I was leaving Possum Kingdom Lake, I stopped and looked out at Cactus Island. Was it possible that aliens might have actually landed there? The idea seemed so ridiculous, yet at least four people claimed to have been witnesses to it. I was anxious to see if I could locate the two fishermen who had gone out with Doc Verner. Even if I found them, it was quite likely they wouldn't admit to what they had seen for fear of what people would think. If I were in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing. After ten minutes of watching the tranquil island and scanning the sky for anything unusual, I laughed at myself for even thinking it might be true, and headed back to Dallas.
When I drove into my garage the door to the house opened and Peter ran out. "Dad! Dad! Hurry up. You're on the news."
"Oh, God. Already," I muttered under my breath and quickly went inside.
Everyone was gathered in the living room intently watching the report when I walked in. Rebekah looked up. "Hurry. They're about to start."
I sat next to Rebekah as the news story began with Ramona Mitchell, "Next. Have alien spacecraft been using Cactus Island at Possum Kingdom Lake as a landing site? Well, one Dallas attorney apparently thinks so. We're going live to Possum Kingdom Lake in West Texas where Amy Tan has an interview with attorney Stan Turner who's been out tonight consulting with UFO expert, Doc Verner."
Mark and Peter looked over at me like I was a lunatic. Rebekah was having trouble controlling her laughter. Marcia seemed confused. I sank down in my chair and focused on the TV.
"Thank you, Ramona. Earlier tonight we caught Dallas attorney Stan Turner out at Possum Kingdom Lake at the home of Doc Verner, a local UFO expert. Apparently, Mr. Turner is taking his client's claim of being distracted by a UFO quite seriously."
They ran my brief interview and I immediately regretted having given it. What was I thinking? I could imagine what Paula would say about it the next day. The thought occurred to me that maybe I should call in sick.
Amy Tan continued, "Doc Verner claims that he too has seen the same or a similar spacecraft that accused murderer Steven Caldwell claims distracted him and caused the accident that took the life of a fifteen-year-old boy scout, Jimmy Falk. According to Verner, Cactus Island is a favorite landing site for spaceships because of its hard flat surface and isolation from the general populace.
"Verner doesn't know where these space visitors come from nor their purpose in visiting Texas, but he believes they mean us no harm. He says he's been trying to get the U.S. government to investigate Cactus Island for years but all his pleas have fallen on deaf ears."
Ramona cut in. "What's the mood of the community out there? Are they worried about these visitors from outer space?"
"No," Amy replied. "Most are just amused by the whole thing. They don't believe spaceships are really using the island as a landing strip, but they like the publicity they've been getting lately. They say tourism has tripled in the last week and the local state park and all motel rooms within fifty miles are 100 percent booked."
Amy Tan signed off and all eyes focused on me. "That was cool, Dad," Peter said. "Do you really think Steven saw a spaceship?"
I shrugged. "I don't know what he saw, but it's interesting that others saw the same thing."
"Stan, you've got to come up with another defense," Rebekah said. "This spaceship nonsense is a joke. People are going to think you and Steven are crazy."
"I know. I didn't plan to consider it, but then the media got hold of it. I can't just ignore it now."
"I believe it," Peter said with conviction.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I've been to Cactus Island and it looks like a giant ship landed there. It's big and flat like a football field."
"That's what I've heard," I said, "and I've checked with the Corps of Engineers and they claim they've never touched the island. So, how do you explain this 135,000 square feet footprint in the middle of the island?"
Rebekah shrugged, "I don't know, but no jury is going to buy it."
"Probably not, but I still need to investigate it. In fact, I want to go back there this weekend and go out to the island. I thought maybe I'd bring Peter along since he's been there before."
"I want to come," Mark said.
"Me too," Marcia added.
"We should all go," Rebekah said. "It will be a nice outing. Possum Kingdom Lake is such a beautiful place. Anyway, if I'm going to hear about Cactus Island for the next six months, I'd like to know what everyone is talking about."
"Good," I said. "How about you, Reggie? Are you going to come?"
Reggie was a sophomore at Southern Methodist University. He was still at home a lot since school was so close, but his official residence was a dorm on campus. His enthusiasm for family outings had naturally waned as he got older and the expression on his face showed outright disdain for this particular outing.
He rolled his eyes. "No, I think I'll pass."
I smiled. "Suit yourself."
After dinner Rebekah and I sat down to relax and watch TV. Just as I got comfortable, Paula called. As expected she was very distraught about the news report and said we were going to be the laughingstocks of the legal community. I apologized for embarrassing her but suggested this wouldn't be a fatal blow to Turner and Waters, P.C. When I told her about our planned trek to Possum Kingdom Lake to view Cactus Island, she had a fit.
"Stan! You can't go out there again! The press will be watching you. You'll just draw more attention to this ridiculous defense. You need to let this spaceship thing die down and come up with something more plausible."
Paula was so paranoid sometimes it got to be very annoying. If she started worrying about something it was next to impossible to allay her fears. She was stubborn and tenacious, but I guess that was one of the reasons she was so good at her job. Once she set out to prove someone innocent, she didn't sleep until it was done.
"I just want to see it," I said. "We'll get there early in the morning and just stay a few minutes. Why don't you and Bart come along? It'll be fun."
"Oh, Stan. Come on. Don't do this. We've come so far. Don't throw away everything we've worked for."
"It's just a little excursion. We owe it to our client. Besides, there's no such thing as bad publicity for a law firm. Any kind of publicity is good."
Paula sighed. "Okay. We'll come. But I think it's a big mistake."
"Good. It will be fun. You'll see."
"Hmm. . . .Oh, by the way, I may have a new murder case myself."
"Really? Who was murdered? I didn't hear about it on the news."
Paula told me about the call from Detective Bingo Besch and her client being interrogated about the disappearance of her estranged husband. It was a bizarre story but I told Paula it was probably premature to conclude Martin Windsor was dead. I told her about another divorce case where three days before the trial date my client, the husband, disappeared. We went to the police but they refused to do anything because of the divorce situation. They assumed the husband just got fed up and left town. The trial went forward without my client and he lost everything. Six months later he called me, upset that his wife had been awarded custody of the children and all the community property. I asked him what he thought would happen if he didn't show up for trial. He said he thought they'd postpone everything until he returned.
After Paula hung up I took a deep breath and prayed I was right about the impact of the Steven Caldwell case on our booming law practice. I liked practicing law and couldn't imagine doing anything else. What if Paula were right and everyone thought I was an idiot for believing Steven's outlandish story? What if the telephone stopped ringing? I couldn't imagine selling life insurance again. Suddenly I felt sick.