EJAX-472: Ch. 09

John shook his head. "No. That is absolutely ridiculous."

"Are you saying that they willingly offered themselves to you?"

"Some of them did," he replied, looking at Bridget and the other girls.

"And you encouraged them?"

"I didn't mean to. I didn'twant to! I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't help myself. The drug overpowered me."

"Are you blaming your behavior solely on the influence of EJAX-472?"

"No. That was only a part of it. But those girls threw themselves at me. Not all, but most of them. Those little sluts knew what they were doing."

His use of the word 'sluts' brought both laughter and reprobation from the audience.

"Because they saw you in a compromised position and took advantage of you?"

"Yes. I never threatened to hurt anyone. They made up that lie to save their own skins."

When Stephan had finished questioning John, he seemed nowhere closer to the truth than when he began. He returned to his seat looking perplexed. Gustafson, on the other hand, looked like a shark getting ready for the kill.

"Doctor Hellstrom testified earlier that EJAX-472 acts to, as she put it, 'override normal behavioral inhibitors in the brain," the prosecutor began. "Do you think your reckless behavior can be attributed to this fact?"

"In part. But the girls goading me on certainly didn't hurt."

"Let me ask you this. Would you have done what you did, let's say, if you were drunk for instance?"

"Possibly."

"So, even under the influence of alcohol, some part of your brain, the ethical part, can make the distinction between that which is morally acceptable and morally objectionable?"

"Yes."

"Yet this does not seem to be the case with EJAX-472. It seems to have overridden your built-in inhibitor mechanisms, those very same mechanisms, which most people rely upon to conduct themselves in a civilized fashion, and allowed you to behave in ways you might not consider, even if you were under the influence of a less potent stimulant."

"Look," John replied, feeling himself being led into a trap. "I'll be the first to admit that the drug is extremely powerful. But you can control the impulse to a certain degree. Some men have done it. Craig Lundquist for instance. But most men, me included, we kind of let our baser instincts take over. And when you're surrounded by a bunch of beautiful women, it's very difficult to resist the impulse to think and do immoral things."

"What you've said goes against the evidence concerning this drug. It is my belief that the drug exerted such an influence over your mind as to preclude you from behaving in any way other than the way you did."

"That's not true. The drug by itself cannot control your mind. It cannot make you act immoral."

"Again, what you say is contrary to the evidence. Let's face it, Mr. Cardelli, your higher brain functions were so muddled and confused from taking EJAX-472 that your only desire was to engage in sexual relations with those girls even if it meant employing physical violence to do so!"

"No! No!" John said angrily, as he brought his fist down upon the arm of the chair. "You're trying to make me into some kind of mindless monster, as if the drug had destroyed all my reason and judgment. If that were the case, and I had physically abused my students, as they falsely claim, then show me their cuts and bruises. Well you can look Mr. Gustafson, but you're not going to find anything. Look at them. Do you see pain in their eyes? Do you?"

"That will be enough, Mr. Cardelli."

"No, it's not enough!" John snapped, looking directly at Bridget and her associates. "Look at their faces. All so pristine and innocent. But not one of them had the moral rectitude to come forward and tell the truth about this whole damned thing. I say shame on you all!"

The students of St. Bridget's sat completely stunned and silent, as did the entire

audience, as John stared them down. He then cast a sidelong glance at his wife, Ann, who looked as if she were on the verge of tears. My heart went out to the distressed man, whose only crime was that he was a normal, healthy, red-blooded heterosexual with a powerful libido. He certainly had not deserved the treatment he received from his traitorous pupils, who were now forced to confront their own moral cowardice in light of his intimidating accusation.

Gustafson himself was taken aback, surprised at the vehemence displayed in John's impassioned speech, and stood silently to one side, waiting for the uncomfortable silence to end.

For a very long time I had believed that the involuntary ejaculation response did indeed override the higher brain functions to the point that the victim could not control his reactions. This was true in most cases, but Craig Lundquist had shown that the response could be forestalled—and for a very long period of time. This "mind over matter" approach was completely unacceptable to Gustafson, whose two-dimensional way of thinking would not have allowed him to see that the drug reacted differently with different people, which is what made it, in its current state, so insidious.

Someone coughed in the back of the room and the sound of feet shuffling quickly ensued. From behind me I heard someone tell somebody else to sit down. It sounded more like a command than a request.

"Your honor?" said a pretty girl with dark hair.

All eyes in the courtroom turned toward her. She was standing, alone and anxious-looking amidst her seated companions from St. Bridget's. Her voice was high-pitched and somewhat shrill, but it caught the judge's attention.

"Yes, young woman?" the judge replied.

"May I come up there and speak to you please. It's very important."

Gustafson shook his head and smirked.

"Does what you have to say relate to the case at hand?" the judge asked.

"Yes, sir, it does."

"Then you may approach the bench."

Stephan looked at me, then at the girl, neither of us knowing what to expect.

As she walked up the aisle I saw the consternation on the faces of her classmates, unprepared for this show of individualism. John followed her every movement; his handsome face, which had been clouded over with anguish, now reflecting a faint glimmer of anticipation. The girl smiled at him as she came to a halt before the bench.

"What is your name?" the judge asked her.

"Abigail Rylander, your honor. But most people call me Abby. Actually, Abby Gabby, because I tend to talk a lot."

She giggled a little bit and then resumed.

"I don't want you to put me on the witness stand sir. I just want to say something in defense of Mr. Cardelli."

Gustafson quickly interjected. "Your honor, it is a little late for..."

The judge raised his hand. "I want to hear what she has to say. Go ahead Ms. Rylander."

Looking straight at her beloved teacher, Abby took a deep breath and began.

"Your honor, everything Mr. Cardelli has told you is the truth."

A chorus of groans greeted the girl's statement as the audience absorbed the full impact of its implications. At first I thought the distraught cries were coming from the schoolgirls until I realized that it was the parents of these girls who were now reacting with anger and dismay over the possibility that their children might not be as innocent as they seemed.

"Settle down please," the judge said to the audience. "Please continue Ms. Rylander."

Abby looked at the other girls and was dismayed to find them all intently staring at her with looks of immense disapproval. I, myself, could feel the hate emanating from that little group of treacherous brats and felt like taking them in hand and administering a good old-fashioned spanking to each of them.

"Bridget started the whole thing, your honor," Abby began. "She knew, we all knew, that Mr. Cardelli liked to look at our legs. So she teased him because she's got very beautiful legs. And then he started to act strange, and I could tell that he was touching himself under the desk. Before you know it, he had taken his thing out, I mean his penis, and started to play with it in front of us. Then Helga and I joined in, then the rest of the girls. I guess we all got carried away because all of us were crazy about him. But I'm the only one who really loved him. And I still do Mr. Cardelli. That's why I had to tell the truth. I tried to lie about it and be like the others, but it's not right that you should suffer. I'm sorry that we hurt you. I'm sorry I hurt you."

As Abby related this story, the voices of upset parents and their children steadily rose in volume until by the time she finished the entire section was in an uproar. The judge ordered them to be silent or face charges of contempt, but it took several minutes for them to settle down just the same. I saw Bridget Veerhoft arguing with her distraught parents, her fist shaking in Abby's direction. Bridget's blonde friend, Helga, was quickly ushered out by her outraged mother, telling the bailiff that she would return as soon as she took matters in hand with her daughter. Several other stupefied parents and their children spoke in harsh whispers, but the disillusionment and anger in their voices was quite apparent. Several of the parents made threatening gestures at John, and some even accused Abby of betraying her friends, thinking such a betrayal to be a greater evil than withholding the truth. Abby's own father and mother were now coming under attack and Mr. Rylander, fearing an altercation, took his frightened wife by the arm and led her out into the aisle. By this time, the bailiff and three other court officers were attempting to quell the pandemonium.

"Your honor," said Mr. Rylander to the judge. "I'm Abby's father. I would like to take her out of here now."

Seeing that the girl and her parents would now be the constant target of insults and threats, the judge decided to let them leave.

"You may go young lady," the judge said. "Your testimony will be admitted into the record."

"Thank you, your honor," she said politely.

Abby looked at her teacher as she turned to go. For a moment it appeared as if she were going to reach out and touch him, but she held back.

"Thank you, Abby," he said. "That was very brave of you."

His words were to her like the fragrance of some exotic balm whose soothing essence seemed to help assuage her tormented conscience. She stood before him, her eyes full of sadness for her bittersweet victory.

"Goodbye Mr. Cardelli. I'll miss you."

The girl turned around and briskly walked down the aisle toward her waiting parents, who took her by the hand and escorted her out amidst a chorus of howls and jeers. Bridget Veerhoft was the most vocal among them, calling her a traitor and a bitch. Abby never looked back.

Several more minutes passed before the judge and his officers finally managed to bring order to the court.

"Do you have any other questions, Mr. Gustafson?" the judge asked.

"No, your honor," he replied gruffly.

"You may step down, Mr. Cardelli."

When John returned to his seat, Ann kissed him and spoke to him encouragingly. Ms. Stedman, who had hitherto treated him like an object of dread, walked across the aisle and sat next to him. She said a few things to him in a soft voice and he responded by nodding his head. They then shook hands and she returned to her seat, both she and John looking satisfied.

"I should like to call a recess at this point," the judge said. "This hearing will reconvene in one hour."

With that he swiftly rose and exited out the door behind him.

Stephan looked at me and held my hand in his.

"We found a gem underneath a rock. We can count ourselves lucky."

Abby's testimony had indeed proved fortunate, for now it raised serious doubt as to whether my drug could, solely of its own accord, be said to drive people to commit mindless acts. As with everything concerning EJAX-472, there was a very large gray area that had to be taken into account in any assessment of its efficacy, or lack thereof.

On the second floor of the building there was a cafeteria where Stephan took me, and the rest of our group, to lunch. I had a chance to talk with Michelle and my other colleagues during the recess and they all expressed their appreciation to Stephan for his efforts to help me. Michelle, Sheila, and Jennifer were all in high spirits, believing that the hearing was going in my favor. Dr. Hagstrom however, remained quiet, though she shook her head in acknowledgment several times in response to some of the more positive comments from my colleagues. Lynette and Maria told me how much they had enjoyed seeing the snotty brats from St. Bridget's brought down a few pegs. I noticed that those same girls and their parents had not decided to eat in the cafeteria, ostensibly because John and the others were eating there with us and they wanted to keep their wayward offspring away from him.

"My career as a teacher is ruined," he told me. "But Ms. Stedman is willing to drop charges against me based on Abby's testimony."

"It took a lot of guts for her to do what she did," I said.

"Her honesty paid off. Ms. Stedman is going to expel Bridget and Helga and several of the other girls, but Abby is going to graduate; valedictorian of her class no less."

"Beauty, brains, and a kind heart," Ann said. "Should I be jealous John?"

"But a voice like Mickey Mouse!" I joked.

They both laughed along with me.

"She really cared about you John."

"I will never forget her," he said with a touch of sadness.

Cheryl and Craig stopped at our table on the way to the snack bar. They were holding hands and Cheryl was all smiles. Craig, however, looked troubled.

"I want to apologize to you doctor Swensen," he began, "I should never have lied."

"It's all right Craig," I said. "I know you thought you were trying to help me. Don't fret over it."

Cheryl laughed. "Oh believe me, he's going to fret over it no matter what you say."

"If that prosecutor didn't have that tape, I would've gotten away with it."

"Speaking of that," Stephan said. "I don't recall getting a copy of that particular video, and I should have."

"Somebody obviously didn't want you to see it," I said.

"It's against the law to withhold any information like that. There's such a thing called 'disclosure,' in this country, which means that both the defense and the prosecution must divulge all their information to each other. There can be no surprises."

"It looks like some of the evil seeds I planted are still sprouting," Philip said.

"Could be Philip," Stephan replied. "But if it happens again, I'm going to ask the judge to dismiss the case and demand an inquiry."

"Why didn't you do that when you found out about the video?" Rebecca asked.

"Because I believe we're close to having these charges dropped. I'll deal with Gustafson later."

Stephan and I talked at length about the how the hearing was progressing, and some of our talk touched upon more personal matters. I got the feeling that he was trying to get to know me as a person, not the wild woman doctor I had been so callously represented as in the press, and I was glad of it. During the course of our conversation he managed to finish a heaping plate of spaghetti, but I ate very little. Unlike myself, it appeared that the stress of the hearing had not impaired his appetite one bit.

After he finished eating he returned to the courtroom, informing me that he had some business to attend to. I got up and walked across the room and looked out the window onto the grounds below. All around the front entrance to the building were reporters and media types still congregated just beyond the periphery of the police barricade. It seemed their ranks had swelled since we were first admitted, the mass of bodies extending outward beyond the line of trees that lay on the border of the perfectly manicured lawn. The thought of dodging all those reporters once again made me queasy.

"Penny for your thoughts, sis."

"Oh, Bonnie!" I said. "You startled me."

She looked out the window at the teeming mass of people below. "What a mess!"

"I dread having to deal with that," I said, echoing her sentiment.

"Philip and I have had a pretty tough time of it too. We're thinking of going to our summer residence up north. Want to come?"

"Maybe," I replied. "How do you think he's holding up?"

She looked somber. "He's depressed over this whole thing, but he has a lot of faith in Stephan. I do too."

"He's a good man. I think he'll do right by you."

"And you!" she said, pinching me playfully on the arm. "Oh, come on. I saw the way you looked at him, sis. You like the guy!"

"There's something about him that's different—unusual for a lawyer. I don't know what it is?"

"Humanity?" she laughed.

"He does have a great sense of compassion for others doesn't he?"

"Just like you, Chris," she replied.

"Of course he's very handsome too," I added.

"That's what I like to see," she said, raising her hand to adjust my hair. "Despite all the bad things that have happened to you, just remember that you have a lot of good people on your side who love you and care for you. In the end, that is what will pull you through this whole crazy situation."

Sometimes Bonnie had a way of saying things that went straight to my heart. Unlike me, she was neither analytical nor philosophical, but her simple heart-felt wisdom always shone through in dire times, and always made me feel better.

It was 1:00 PM when the hearing was resumed and Judge Carlsdotter came out of his chambers looking somewhat flustered. He sat down on his chair and spent the better part of a minute just trying to adjust his long, black robe. He seemed preoccupied.

"This hearing of the state versus Christiana Swensen is now rejoined," he began. "Mr. Ambrose, you may call your next witness."

Stephan's eyes fell on the little man seated between the two tall officers. It was the moment I had hoped would never come.

"I call Luis Ramon Hernandez to the stand."

Reluctantly, and casting an expression of contempt at Stephan, Luis swaggered over to the witness chair and sat down with his lower body thrust forward. He stretched his legs out before him as if he were sitting casually at home, in arrogant indifference to the decorum of the court.

"I understand that the police have exonerated you on all charges related to the theft of EJAX-472 in light of information you supplied that led to the conviction of Mr. Philip Olmstead. Is that correct?"

"Yeah, man. That's right," he replied, his body a bundle of nervous energy.

"However, the charge of robbery is still being held against you."

"They're gonna let that charge drop too. As soon as this farce is over."

"You seem pretty certain of that."

Luis made no reply. He simply sat there looking smug.

"Mr. Hernandez, you have made no secret of your hatred for Dr. Swensen. Was what she did to you not just recompense for your own abysmal behavior?"

"Objection your honor." Gustafson complained. "Hypothetical question."

"Sustained," the judge said.

"All right, let me put it this way," Stephan resumed. "You were paid a great deal of money by Mr. Olmstead to infiltrate the Clinic. Why didn't you just perform the robbery and leave? Why start an altercation?"

"I had to make it look good man. I had to play the part, you understand?"

"I understand. But you didn't have to hit people. That's what you did isn't it?"

"They humiliated me," he replied, throwing me a hostile look. "You don't do those things to somebody and expect to walk away."

"But you physically assaulted several women on her staff and threatened her as well. She could have easily had you arrested."

"Better she had done that than putting me through hell!" he said, raising his voice. "What kind of a doctor does those things to a man?"

"Obviously she felt she was justified."