Jeffery Deaver - Roadside Crosses

SUGGESTIONS, ANYONE?

We're coming up on our nineteenth anniversary, Pat and I. And I need ideas for presents! (Out of self-interest I've decided against getting her a high-speed fiber optic upgrade for the computer!) You ladies out there, send me your ideas. And, no, Tiffany's is not out of the question.

WE'RE GOING GLOBAL!

Am pleased to report that The Report has been getting raves from around the world. It's been selected as one of the lead blogs in a new RSS feed (we'll call it "Really Simple Syndication") that will link thousands of other blogs, websites and bulletin boards throughout the world. Kudos to you, my readers, for making The Report as popular as it is.

WELCOME HOME

Heard some news that made me smile. Those of you who've followed The Report may remember glowing comments over the years about this humble reporter's dear friend Donald Hawken-we were pioneers in this crazy computer world so many years ago I don't like to think about it. Donald escaped the Peninsula for greener pastures in San Diego. But I'm delighted to say that he's come to his senses and is returning, along with his bride, Lily, and his two wonderful children. Welcome home, Donald!

HEROES

Hats off to the brave firefighters of Monterey County… Pat and I happened to be downtown on Alvarado last Tuesday when calls for help rang out and smoke sprouted from a construction site. Flames blocked the exit…with two construction workers trapped on the upper floors. Within minutes two dozen firemen and-women were on the scene and a fire truck had stretched its ladder to the roof. The men were plucked from harm's way, and the flames were extinguished. No injuries, minimal damage.

In most of our lives bravery involves little more than arguing politics or, at the most physical, snorkeling at fancy resorts or mountain biking.

How rarely are we called on to exhibit true courage-the way the men and women of Monterey County Fire and Rescue do every single day, without a moment's hesitation or complaint.

Bravo to you all!

Accompanying this posting was a dramatic photo of a fire truck in downtown Monterey.

"Typical of blogs," Boling said. "Personal information, gossip. People like to read that."

Dance also clicked on a link called " Monterey."

She was taken to a page that extolled "Our Home: The Beautiful and Historic Monterey Peninsula," featuring artistic photos of the shoreline and boats near Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. There were a number of links to local sights.

Another link led them to maps of the area, including one that depicted her town: Pacific Grove.

Boling said, "This is all gingerbread. Let's look at the content of the blog…that's where we'll find the clues." He frowned. "Do you call them 'clues'? Or 'evidence'?"

"You can call 'em broccoli if it helps us find the perp."

"Let's see what the veggies reveal." He gave her another URL.

http://www.thechiltonreport.com/html/june26.html

This was the crux of the blog: Chilton's mini-essays.

Boling explained, "Chilton's the 'OP,' the original poster. Which, if you're interested, is derived from 'OG,' Original Gangsta, for the leaders of gangs, like Bloods and Crips. Anyway, he uploads his commentary and then leaves it there for people to respond to. They agree or disagree. Sometimes they go off on tangents."

The original comment by Chilton, Dance noticed, remained at the top, and below were the replies. Mostly people replied directly to the blogger's comment, but sometimes they responded to other posters.

"Each separate article and all the related posts are called a 'thread,' " Boling explained. "Sometimes the threads can go on for months or years."

Dance began skimming. Under the clever heading "HypoCHRISTcy," Chilton attacked the very man Dance had just seen at the hospital, the Reverend Fisk, and the Life First movement. Fisk, it seemed, had once said that murdering abortion doctors was justified. Chilton wrote that he was adamantly against abortion, but condemned Fisk for the statement. Two of Fisk's defenders, CrimsoninChrist and LukeB1734, viciously attacked Chilton. The former said the blogger himself should be crucified. With the reference to the color in his name, Dance wondered if CrimsoninChrist was the minister's large, redheaded bodyguard she'd seen earlier at the hospital protest.

The "Power to the People" thread was an exposé about a California state representative-Brandon Klevinger, who was head of the Nuclear Facilities Planning Committee. Chilton had found out that Klevinger had gone on a golfing junket with a developer who was proposing a new nuclear plant near Mendocino, when it would have been cheaper and more efficient to build it closer to Sacramento.

In "Desalinate…and Devastate" the blogger took on a plan to build a desalination plant near the Carmel River. The comment included a personal attack on the man behind the project, Arnold Brubaker, painted by Chilton as an interloper from Scottsdale, Arizona, a man with a sketchy past and possible underworld connections.

Two of the postings represented the citizens' two positions on the desalination issue.

Reply to Chilton, posted by Lyndon Strickland.

I have to say you've opened my eyes on this issue. Had no idea that somebody's ramrodding this through. I reviewed the filed proposal at the County Planning Office and must say that, though I am an attorney familiar with environmental issues, it was one of the most obfuscatory documents I've ever tried to wade through. I think we need considerably more transparency in order to have meaningful debate on this matter.

Reply to Chilton, posted by Howard Skelton.

Do you know that America will run out of freshwater by 2023? And 97 percent of the earth's water is salt water. Only an idiot would not take advantage of that. We need desalination for our survival, if we're to continue to maintain our position as the most productive and efficient country in the world.

In the " Yellow Brick Road " thread Chilton talked about a project by the state Department of Transportation-Caltrans. A new highway was being built from Highway 1 through Salinas and on to Hollister, through farm country. Chilton was questioning the lightning speed with which the project had been approved, as well as the meandering route, which would benefit some farmers far more than others. He hinted at payoffs.

Chilton's social conservative side shone through in "Just Say No," a thread condemning a proposal for increased sex education in middle schools. (Chilton called for abstinence.) A similar message could be found in "Caught in the Act…NOT," about a married state court judge caught leaving a motel with a young clerk, half his age. Chilton was incensed at the recent development that the judge had received a wrist slap from the judicial ethics committee. He felt the man should have been removed from the bench and disbarred.

Kathryn Dance then came to the crucial thread, beneath a sad picture of crosses, flowers and a stuffed animal.

ROADSIDE CROSSES

Posted by Chilton.

I recently drove past the spot on Highway 1 where two roadside crosses, and some bright bouquets, sit. They marked the site of that terrible accident on June 9, where two girls died following a graduation party. Lives ended…and lives of loved ones and friends changed forever.

I realized that I hadn't heard much about any police investigation into the crash. I made some calls and found there'd been no arrests. No citations were even issued.

That struck me as odd. Now, no ticket means a determination that the driver-a high school student, so no names-was not to blame. So then what was the cause of the accident? As I drove along the road I noticed it was windswept and sandy and had no lights or guardrails near the spot where the car veered off the road. A caution sign was weathered and would have been hard to see in the dark (the accident occurred around midnight). There was no drainage; I could see pools of standing water on the shoulder and on the highway itself.