Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

this case by setting Walter Stanley free."

  A wave of relief swept over me as I sat down. It was over for me. Now all I had to do was listen and wait. Francis got up and finished his closing argument, but the jury wasn't paying much attention. I could see they were already deliberating. The weight of their task would weigh heavy on their souls until a decision was made. I didn't envy their job. When Francis was done, the judge gave his final instructions, admonished them to keep their deliberations confidential, and sent them to the jury room.

  "Nice job," Bart said smiling. "You knocked 'em dead."

  "I don't know. It was hard to read them," I said with genuine concern.

  "You did great, Paula," Stanley concurred. "Thank you so much for everything. No matter what happens, I couldn't have had a better attorney."

  "Thank you," Walter. "I'm glad you feel that way."

  The momentary relief I'd felt at the conclusion of my closing statement began to wane. Worry began to creep into my mind as I feared the jury would think our alternative theories were pure speculation and fiction as the prosecution claimed. A knot began to well in my stomach. Bart must have seen my crumbling confidence as he put his arm around me and squeezed me tightly.

  "Don't worry, honey, your theories make much more sense than the prosecution’s. The jurors aren't stupid. You don't kill someone over a barking dog. They'll acquit Stanley."

  Whether Bart really believed that or was just trying to make me feel better, I didn't know, but it was nice to hear. I took a deep breath and said a silent prayer for Walter Stanley. His life was in the hands of twelve strangers. That had to be scary. I looked over at him and noticed he was trembling. I couldn't imagine being in his position, all alone with his life in the balance.

 

  51

  Celebration

  Stan Turner

  After pondering the question of how to document Gabriel Wenzel's return, I picked up my cell phone and dialed Paula's friend at the Dallas Morning News, Jane Witherspoon. If she met us at Charlotte's home, she could bear witness to the fact that Gabriel and the children were alive. I dialed the number. After a long wait while they searched for her, Jane finally came on the line. She was obviously surprised to hear from me.

  "Stan. It's been a while. How are you?"

  "Wonderful. What are you doing right now?"

  "Right now? Ah, just finishing up a story."

  "How would you like a nice scoop on the Charlotte Wenzel case?"

  There was a pause. "Yeah, sure. What’s up?"

  "I can't talk about it on the phone. Meet me at Charlotte Wenzel's house in thirty minutes and bring a cameraman."

  Jane had lots of questions but finally agreed to hold them until we met. I wondered if I should call Gary Shepard or let him find out on the ten o'clock news that his case had disintegrated. I finally decided to go over his head and invite Bob Ralston to the party.

  Looking over at Gabriel Wenzel, I said, "You're going to need some kind of a story as to where you've been these last two months."

  He nodded. "Right. What do you suggest?"

  "We obviously can't tell the truth. That would be a disaster for both of us. There is one plausible explanation that might work."

  "What's that?"

  I explained my idea to Gabe. He didn't like it much because it cast him in a bad light, but since he couldn't think of a better explanation for his absence, he agreed to it.

  When we got to the Wenzels home, Charlotte was so shocked and excited to see Gabe and the children she nearly fainted. After she'd recovered and had a chance to hug and kiss all of her family, she thanked me profusely for bringing them home. As we were celebrating, the doorbell rang. I was sure it was Jane Witherspoon and her cameraman, so I motioned for Gabe to follow me to the door, which he did.

  "Jane, come in," I said. "I want you to meet someone."

  Jane smiled and stepped inside. "Okay."

  "You'll probably want to be rolling that camera," I said to the cameraman. The cameraman shouldered the camera and a green light came on. I stepped aside so that Jane could see Gabe and the children. "Jane, I'd like to introduce Gabriel Wenzel."

  Jane's mouth dropped, then a wide beaming smile appeared. She picked up the microphone, looked into the camera, and said, "I'm in the home of Charlotte Wenzel where a celebration is in progress. What's the occasion? Well, nothing less than the resurrection of Charlotte's husband, Gabriel Wenzel and two of her children."

  Jane moved up next to Gabe so they could both be seen on camera. "Mr. Wenzel. This is such a shock. Where have you been these past few months?"

  Gabe sighed. "Well, it's a long story and I'm embarrassed to tell it, but I guess I owe it to everyone to explain what happened."

  "Yes, we are all very interested. Your wife's been on trial for murder. Please tell us where you and kids have been."

  "Well, Charlotte had been complaining for a long time that I hadn't been spending enough time with the children, so I decided to take them hiking at the lake."

  "Lake Tawakoni?"

  "Yes. Charlotte had wanted to do some shopping so I called her from the office and told her I'd take pick up the kids on Friday so she could go shopping with her friends. She thought that was a great idea so I got kids from school and we went to the lake. Unfortunately—" Tears began to well up in Gabe's eyes and his voice cracked. "Unfortunately, Jill ran off when I was busy with other kids. She apparently saw a coyote and thought it was a dog. Oh, God. It was so terrible. The animal didn't like being chased and turned on her. By the time I got there she'd been mauled. I tried to save her but she died in my arms."

  "So, you couldn't get her to a hospital?"

  "No, she was dead. The coyote severed an artery and she bled to death in minutes. I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. All I could think about was how Charlotte was going to react to what had happened. I just couldn't face her, so I decided to run."

  "Where did you go?" Jane asked.

  "I hid out a while in a rundown motel in Longview but the case was getting so much publicity we moved on to Louisiana where we'd be less likely to be recognized."

  "So, what made you come back now?"

  "As time went on, I realized that I couldn't let Charlotte go on trial for my murder. I loved her and had to make things right. It was time for me to take responsibility for what happened and face the consequences."

  Jane shook her head, "Well, this is quite a shocking development. I'm speaking with Gabriel Wenzel who everyone presumed was dead since he and his children went missing last August. In fact, his wife Charlotte had been charged with his murder and was scheduled to go on trial in just a few weeks.

  Jane walked over to me and asked, "Mr. Turner. Have you advised the District Attorney of this development?"

  "Not yet. I did invite him to this interview but I haven't seen him yet."

  Just then the doorbell rang. Hoping it was Rob Ralston I strolled briskly to the door. It was Gary Shepard and Will Kramer, even better. I smiled and invited them in.

  "Gary, I don't know if you've met Gabriel Wenzel."

  Shepard's face contorted like he'd been hit with a Taser gun. I felt better at that moment than I had in years. Not only had I wrapped up a murder case, but I'd brought a family back together. To make it even more memorable, I'd seen Gary Shepard's look of shock and utter dismay when he realized Gabriel Wenzel was alive and his plans to oust Rob Walston as DA had just gone up in smoke.

  When I got back into my car I just sat there a moment and thanked God for bringing order to the chaos that had plagued me since Mo and the CIA had come into my life. For the first time since this horrible nightmare began, I felt confident it would all soon be over. Why it happened, I'd never know, but I was sure God had his reasons and would provide guidance for the challenges that still lay ahead.

 

  52

  Verdict

  Paula Waters

  The jury deliberated the rest of the day and it wasn't until six o'clock that evening
that the judge let them go home for the day. I figured a quick verdict would favor the prosecution. If they believed Francis had proven his case beyond all reasonable doubt, then they wouldn't have much to talk about and would come back with a quick guilty verdict. On the other hand, if they believed the prosecution's case was weak or that one of our alternative scenarios was plausible, they'd have lots to talk about and a decision might not come for days.

  The next morning Jodie and I brought Stanley and the Sheriff’s deputy guarding him a dozen Duncan Donuts and coffee for breakfast. We ate in the attorney’s conference room adjacent to the courtroom. Stanley looked pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. It was apparent he was beginning to crumble little by little under the gravity of the situation. Watching him pace back and forth like a caged animal made me uneasy and I prayed the jury would render their decision, one way or another, quickly before he had a nervous breakdown.

  For lunch we ordered pizza. It was hard just sitting around twiddling our thumbs while we waited for the jury to make a decision. Time crawled like a crippled snail. Stanley’s pacing was giving me a headache and Jodie looked like she was ready to hit him over the head to make him be still. Finally at three that afternoon we got word the jury had reached a verdict. Within minutes the courtroom was full of spectators and the judge ordered the jury be brought back in. Once they had been seated, the judge asked them if they had a verdict.

  The foreman stood up. “We do, Your Honor," the foreman replied.

  'What is your verdict, then?" the Judge asked.

  "On the