William Bernhardt - Dark Justice

“Oh, it’s too complicated to explain. And it’s all political. Nothing to do with this case.”

Is that right? Ben wondered. Then why didn’t you want Rick to tell me about her? “Where is she now?”

“I don’t know exactly. I heard she joined some kind of camp in Oregon. I could probably track down an address if it’s really important to you.”

Al interrupted. “Rick, we need to talk.” He glanced at Maureen. “About the woman. She’s here. I’ve got her in a tent.”

“Later.” Rick guided Ben and Christina toward the campfire. He pointed toward the nearest boulder and suggested that Ben sit down. Not exactly a recliner, Ben thought, but he could probably get used to it.

The rest of the group joined him around the campfire. Maureen took the lead in the conversation. “As most of you already know, the new kid in town is Ben Kincaid. He’s a lawyer, a right-minded activist, not to mention a distinguished published author, and he’s agreed to represent Zak in this upcoming trial. He’s represented Zak before; they have some history. He’s also considering doing some writing about our group and the efforts we’re making to prevent this whole forest from being leveled. I want every one of you to give him your utmost cooperation. Anything he needs, he gets.”

“Is he one of us?” The question came from Al, who was seated on the other side of the campfire.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Has he joined Green Rage? Is he standing with us or is he on the outside looking in?”

“I haven’t joined Green Rage,” Ben answered. “I’m sympathetic to the cause. But that’s really irrelevant to my work as a lawyer. I don’t have to agree with everything my client believes to represent him.”

Al threw down his cowboy hat. “Man, that’s just not good enough.”

Maureen cut in. “Al, listen for a minute.”

“I’m listening, Maureen, but I don’t like what I hear. There’s no way I’m going to spill my soul to someone I don’t know who isn’t even in the group. For all I know, he could be a Cabal plant. Or a Freddie.”

Ben glanced up at Maureen. “Freddie?”

“Forest ranger. It’s a nickname.” She glanced over at Al, who was on his feet and pacing. “Not a very flattering one.”

“Aren’t the rangers on your side?” Ben asked.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But no, the rangers side with the loggers almost every time. They’re part of the establishment. Do you realize that fifty percent of the clear-cutting in this country is taking place on national park land? True. The government is selling the country out from under us. And the rangers are being paid to go along with the sellout.” She looked back at Al. “Look, it’s this simple. Do you want Zak to go to prison? Or worse?”

Al pursed his lips together. “No.”

“Then cooperate with Ben. We’ve checked him out, and we think we’re damn lucky to have him. More important, we think he’s just about Zak’s only hope of beating this trumped-up charge. We have to do everything we can to help him.”

“You can do whatever you want to do,” Al said. “It ain’t gonna help.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, Zak’s got his dick in a ringer and he ain’t never gonna get it out.” There was a chorus of groans and disapproval. “You clowns are just kidding yourself. We all know what’s really going down here. Why are we afraid to say it?”

“I’d like to know,” Ben interjected. “What’s really going down here?”

“It’s the Cabal, man. They set this whole thing up. They’d do anything to get us out of the forest. They killed that logger and they framed Zak.”

Ben arched an eyebrow. “I see. It’s all a conspiracy.”

“Don’t patronize me, man. I don’t have to put up with that.” He took a step toward Ben, but a sharp look from Maureen stopped him in his tracks. “I’m not talking about alien abductions here. But it is a fact that the logging companies have poured a ton of money into stopping us and other groups like us. The Cabal has more operating cash than they know what to do with. Framing Zak would be a piece of cake for them. Put some money in the right hands, plant a little false evidence, and presto! Zak’s on his way to Death Row.”

Christina edged into the conversation. “But why would they go after Zak?”

“He’s been the driving force of this group since he joined, and they know that. Cut off the head, and the body withers.” He paused for breath. “Same reason the Mob killed Jack Kennedy.”

“Sit down, Al.” Maureen’s directive was echoed by several other groans and oh, mans . “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“I’d like to talk to each of you,” Ben said. “I’d like to know everything you know, everything there is to know about Zak. Who was with him the day of the murder, who saw him where. Did he ever talk about the loggers, the victim, planting explosives.”

“Zak talked about explosives every day of his life,” Doc said. “It’s what he did. More than once I had to treat him for a burn because he spilled some chemical or another on himself.”

“Of course,” Deirdre suggested, “that could be exactly why the Cabal would use that M.O. to kill the logger. The use of a bomb guaranteed the cops would come looking for Zak.”

“All this speculation is getting us nowhere,” Ben said. “I need to know the facts. Who knew Zak best?”

Ben noticed several false starts before Maureen finally spoke. “We all knew him, Ben. Intimately.”

Al swallowed a smile. “Yeah. Especially the women.”

Molly shot him a killing look.

Doc chimed in. “What about you, Deirdre? You knew Zak rather well, didn’t you?”

Deirdre flushed. “Zak and I spent a lot of time … talking.”

Ben saw Al cover his mouth, as if he was about to burst out laughing.

“I don’t know if you know this yet,” Deirdre continued, “but Zak has an enormous brain. He was always asking questions, helping me date trees, trying to learn something new. He was very interested in my work.”

Al’s laughter finally burst out explosively. “The only thing he was interested in was getting into your pants!”

“Al!” Maureen’s eyes were like lasers cutting across the camp. “If you can’t be helpful, maybe you should go for a walk. Preferably over a cliff.”

“All right, all right.” He waved his hand at her. “I know when I ain’t wanted, man.” He ambled over into the forest and in a matter of moments had disappeared.

“Zak isn’t the only subject I need to know about,” Ben explained. “I want to know everything there is to know-everything that’s factual-about this so-called Cabal you all seem so paranoid about.”

“The Cabal is hell on wheels,” Rick muttered. “And its leader, Slade, is the fuckin’ Prince of Darkness.”

That again. “Did you get that, Christina? Prince of Darkness.”

She nodded. “Do we have subpoena power over a foreign potentate?”

Ben smiled. “If you people want me to believe there’s some gigantic high-powered conspiracy out to get you, you’re going to have to work a lot harder. Why would anyone want to do this?”

Maureen looked at Ben squarely. “In a word, money.”

“The conspiracy you’re describing sounds like it would be expensive, not profitable.”

“You have to understand the big picture. Ben, what do you think is the main purpose of our monkeywrenching activities?”

He shrugged. “I assume you’re trying to scare people off. Threaten the loggers with their lives.”

“Wrong. That’s the way the media plays it, that’s the line the logging conglomerates feed them, but that isn’t the truth. We take every possible precaution to make sure no one is hurt by our activities, and so far we’ve been successful. Monkeywrenching is about money.”