CHAPTER 177: The Virgin and the Masters, Part 70
CHAPTER 177: The Virgin and the Masters, Part 70
MICHAEL
“I don’t know what the two of you said to Klempner, but he’s changed his plea.”
“Sorry?”
Will Stanton scratches his head. “He’s changed his plea. He’s saying that he’ll give a full statement and plead guilty.”
“Does he say why?”
“Yes. The other thing he says is, that he doesn’t want Charlotte to testify in court. If she makes a written statement of anything considered relevant, he will comment and confirm whatever is there.”
“What does he get out of this? A shorter sentence? A plea-bargain?”
“Hardly. We have him for murder, attempted murder, trafficking, assault; the lawyers are still arguing over exactly what the charge is over the business of the attack on the Haswell Building, but since he’s confessed, in writing and on tape, to being responsible for it, that hardly matters. With what we’ve got on him now, regardless of Charlotte’s testimony, he’ll not be coming out of prison again for a very long time, if at all. He’ll probably be sentenced to life-long imprisonment. In other times and places, he would certainly get a death sentence. Mind you, his lawyers are trying to argue that he’s not of sound mind and shouldn’t be tried at all. Or that he should be judged as not guilty by reason of insanity. But even if they got away with that, which I doubt, he’d still end up in a high-security psychiatric institution.”
Is this for real? Can it possibly be for real?
“So, why then?”
Will’s voice hovers between bafflement and misgiving. “He’s making the sounds of remorse...”
Go get your life back.
“You believe him? That Klempner’s trying to make amends?”
He shrugs. “Perhaps. But whatever the reason, if he does what he says, we don’t need Charlotte’s testimony.”
“You mean, she doesn’t need to appear in court? She can go home? We can all go home?”
“It’s looking good, yes.”
“Do you think he could possibly be sincere? After everything he did, you think he would simply give up? Forget his revenge, just like that?” James, sitting up in bed, radiates scepticism.
“I’ve got to say, no. But... if we don’t at least consider taking him at face value, what are our alternatives? We all have to disappear, like Charlotte’s mother? Change our identities? Give up our lives?”
James sits, silent. Lips pressed together in a hard, white line. Then, “We can take precautions of course.”
“Of course. I’m already on it. And this time, it’s more than just keeping an axe under the bed.”
“Oh?”
“The house is a complete renovation anyway. While it’s stripped to the foundations, it’s as good a time as any to install any extras we might think of.”
“Such as?”
“Cameras, security protection, fences, pressure detectors around the fences, vibration sensors on the windows...” James stares at me. “... And since we were digging out the cellars anyway for your...er... ‘Play Room’...” James grins. “... I’ve extended the excavations somewhat to give us some extra options for getting out undetected if we need to.”
“You’re kidding? Some sort of secret door?”
“More than that. A tunnel. A literal bolthole, in case we ever have gunmen turn up again in the night. Personally, I don’t want any more midnight escapes through the snow.”
“Does Charlotte know about all this?”
“I’ve not gone into details... She knows I’m doing something, but I think she’s trying not to think about it too hard right now... Listen, one other possibility does occur to me, about Klempner’s motives. He changed his mind when it was pointed out to him that he was retaliating against someone who was completely innocent of what had happened. Even if taking Charlotte from her mother as a baby was part of his reprisals, her mother wouldn’t know anything about everything that’s happened since... What kind of revenge is that?”
“So…?”
“So, Charlotte wants to know about her mother, probably to find her, and Klempner knows that. He’s in prison for God-knows-how-long. Suppose he intends to simply sit tight, and let Charlotte do his work for him, track her down? With everyone trying to help her because she’s the long-lost daughter, rather than the psycho she’s hiding from?”
“And then pick up where he left off? Sheesh... that’s an uncomfortable thought... you think he’s mad enough for that?”
“Yup. In fact, ‘mad’ is an interesting way of putting it. I’m told by Will Stanton that he may not end up in prison at all. He’s got doctors arguing that he’s psychotic, criminally insane; and lawyers on both sides saying he should be locked up for the good of the rest of the human race, but in a secure hospital. Personally, I think he’s just an evil bastard.
“So, we go for it? Try to get back to a normal life, but remain vigilant?”
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty? Yes, I think that’s about it...”