Mr. Whitehead immediately stood up and approached the podium with Joel closely behind.

  "Sam Whitehead for the United States, Your Honor."

  "Joel Roberts for the defendant, Fred Fuller, Your Honor."

  Mr. Whitehead continued, "Your Honor, the government considers Mr. Fuller to be a flight risk and would ask that bail be denied. As the Court is aware, Mr. Fuller is charged with the murder of one Harvey Hamlin and the robbery of the San Bernadino Branch of Bank USA. The government has not yet recovered the 6.7 million dollars that was stolen. If Mr. Fuller is let out on bail there would be a strong likelihood that he would try to collect that money and flee the country."

  "Your Honor," Joel said, "Fred Fuller, was born and raised in Ventura, California, his mother and father live there, he's currently a student at UCLA and plans to go to law school. Over the years he has been an outstanding citizen, a school leader, and Eagle Scout and even worked one summer as a congressional intern for Congressman Bartlett. There is absolutely no flight risk here your honor and we request bail at $10,000."

  "Your Honor, the government has a witness who will testify that Mr. Fuller told him less than one week ago that he and a lady friend were planning to leave the country and go to Canada."

  "Bring on your witness, counsel," Judge Washington said.

  "The government calls Dr. Dennis Winston," Whitehead replied.

  From the crowd of reporters came Dr. Winston in a light gray suit. He was directed to the witness booth by the bailiff. The judge then said, "Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God."

  "I do," Dr. Winston replied.

  "Please state your name for the Court."

  "Dr. Dennis Winston."

  "How are you employed Sir?"

  "I am a resident at Barstow Memorial Hospital."

  "Did you have an occasion to meet Fred Fuller last week?"

  "Yes, I did."

  "And can you identify Mr. Fuller?"

  "Yes, that's Mr. Fuller over there at the table."

  "Let the record show that Dr. Winston is pointing to Fred Fuller. Now, Dr. Winston, what was the occasion that you met Fred Fuller last week?"

  "His girlfriend, Candy Clisby, had died from a series of snake bites and I had to break the news to him."

  "How did he take it?"

  "Not very well, he got very upset and started rambling about how they were going to go to Canada and start a new life."

  Whitehead continued this line of questioning for awhile and then said, "Pass the witness."

  Joel began, "Mr. Winston, did Fred Fuller say when he was going to Canada?"

  "No."

  "Did he say to what part of Canada he was going?

  "No."

  "I believe you testified that Mr. Fuller was grieving the loss of someone he loved and that he was not totally coherent."

  "That's true."

  "So you could have misunderstood what he said isn't that right?"

  "Yes, that's entirely possible."

  "Or Doctor, Mr. Fuller may not have realized what he was saying, isn't that possible?"

  "That’s possible, he was upset and confused."

  "Isn't it true that Miss Clisby and Mr. Fuller were camping in the Hackberry Mountains in the middle of the Mojave Desert when this snake attack occurred?"

  "Yes, I believe that is true."

  "If you were heading for Canada would you go via the Hackberry Mountains?"

  The crowd roared with laughter and the judge immediately slammed down his gavel, "I'll have order please."

  "No, it would be quite a bit out of the way actually."

  "Do you think Fred Fuller and his girlfriend were heading for Canada?"

  "No, not when this mishap occurred."

  "Pass the witness your honor," Joel concluded.

  "No further questions," Whitehead advised.

  "Call your next witness."

  "No further witnesses your honor."

  "Mr. Roberts, Do you have any witnesses?" the Judge asked.

  "Yes, Your Honor, the defense calls Margaret Thompson."

  A heavy set, well-dressed woman of about fifty-five years of age stood up and approached the witness box.

  "Please state your name for the record," Joel began.

  "Margaret Thompson."

  "Mrs. Thompson, how are you employed?"

  "I’m on the staff of Congressman Bartlett from Ventura, California."

  "And what are your duties for the Congressman?"

  "I run his local office."

  "Do you know the defendant, Fred Fuller?"

  "Yes, I certainly do."

  "How do you know him?"

  "The summer before last he was a congressional intern for the congressman and worked in our office. Besides that he's been helping Congressman Bartlett in his campaigns ever since he was twelve years old."

  "What is your opinion of Mr. Fuller?"

  "He is an outstanding young man and I am quite confident he had nothing to do with these heinous crimes."

  "Do you think that if bail is granted he might flee the country?"

  "Absolutely not, his mother and dad live in Ventura, he's going to school at UCLA. And besides it's an election year and he would never abandon the Congressman's campaign."

  The spectators erupted, once again, in laughter and the Judge again banged his gavel and demanded order.

  "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, no further questions. . . . Pass the witness."

  "No questions, Your Honor," Whitehead said.

  "All right then since Mr. Fuller apparently has an untarnished record as a young man and has strong family roots in the community I am going to allow bail. However, due to the severity of the charges against him I am going to set bail at $100,000.00. Accordingly, Mr. Fuller is remanded into the custody of the Federal Marshall until such time as he posts bond in the amount prescribed."

  Whitehead was visibly upset. He walked over to where Joel and I were standing and began lecturing us, "I just wanted you to know that just because your client got bail doesn’t mean you have a ghost of a chance walking away from this one. You might as well plead your man guilty and save the taxpayers a lot of money."

  "Oh, is that right?"

  "Yes, we've got enough evidence to put him away for life."

  "Well, since Fred here tells me he’s innocent I think we'll go ahead and have a trial if that's okay with you."

  "Suit yourself, but it's just a matter of time until we put him behind bars where he belongs."

  "I wouldn’t make any campaign promises on that score. Because if the jury finds Fred innocent your political career would be in the dumpster."

  "Okay, I’m trying to do you a favor, but I can see talking to you is like talking to a bowling ball," he said and stormed out of the courtroom with a dozen or so reporters scrambling to keep up with him. Joel turned to me and said, "What an asshole."

  "What does he have against me?" I asked.

  "It’s not personal. You're his ticket to the governor's mansion. He's been waiting for a high profile case to propel his political career. But forget Whitehead, now the hard part, where are we going to find $100,000 to bail you out of jail?"

  "That's a good question," I said. I thought to myself I could get $100,000 really easy if I could just get up to Devil's Canyon, but obviously that wasn't an option. "My parents don't have that kind of money."

  "Well you don't really need $100,000, you just need a good bail bondsman who is willing to put up the bond. Do you think your parents might have some real estate or something they could pledge as collateral?"

  "No. They don't have anything like that."

  "Well, I am afraid you'll have to spend the night at the county jail and hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to post bond."

  "I have to go all the way to the county jail? Why can't I just stay here in the Federal building?"

  "Where they have you now is just a holding cell, they don't keep prisoners there over night. I am sorry."

  "It's not your fault. . . . I'll survive I guess."

  "It won't be so bad, just hang in there."

  Joel left and the bailiff escorted me back to the Marshall's office. After a few minutes I was taken downstairs and loaded onto a bus to be taken to the LA County Jail.

  Chapter Twenty One

  So much had happened since morning I hadn't had time to really think. The situation changed abruptly, however, when I arrived at the LA County Jail. Suddenly a sick feeling overcame me as I realized I might never be free again. All the little things that I had taken for granted all of my life suddenly flashed through my mind. Would I ever jump in my car again and hit the open road as I so loved to do? Or hike in the mountains and smell the clear cool mountain air? Would I ever hold Maria's hand again and feel her sweet succulent lips?

  After they booked me, I was escorted with four or five other prisoners down a long hallway. Three solid lines, one red, one green and one blue had been painted on the floor. A sign along the way advised that the solid red line led to the main cell block. Two jailers led us along the red line until we came to a solid steel gate. One of the jailers rang a bell and then talked to someone inside though an intercom. After a few moments the steel gate began to retract clearing the way for us to enter. After we had entered the cell block, the gate began to close and the sound of the steel doors slamming shut sent shivers down my spine.

  We continued along the red line until finally we arrived at a door next to a glass window reinforced with steel mesh. Behind the glass sat another jailer in front of a control panel. As he saw us approach, he pushed a button that set off a buzzer that indicated the door was unlocked. They escorted us through the door and one by one assigned each of us to a cell. Each cell was designed to accommodate two inmates, however, I was placed in a cell alone. This was a great relief as I was afraid of many of the inmates I had seen and didn't relish being locked up with one of them.

  That night I couldn't sleep as my mind raced through the events of the day and the last few weeks. How could I have gotten myself into this mess? How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I just pick up the phone and call Sinclair like I did the first time? Why did I have to look into the vault? I should have got my ass up to Canada while I had the chance. Why can't I just turn back the clock and start over?

  Never in my worst melancholic state would I have ever thought that I would wind up in a jail cell facing life imprisonment or even the gas chamber. The worst part of my plight was the fact I couldn't tell anyone what really happened, not even my attorney. I had been taught all my life to be honest and truthful, but if I told the truth now I would surely end up on death row. Oh God! What have I done to my life?

  I guess anyone can eventually adjust to prison life and I was starting to resign myself to the fact that I might be compelled to make that adjustment.

  After staring in the dark for quite awhile, I finally fell into a shallow sleep and found myself in Devil's Canyon looking at a pond and hearing laughter. I saw myself with Candy making love, so full of life and happiness, then suddenly she was sitting on a rock. I yelled at her, "Watch out . . . there's a snake," but she couldn't hear me as I was in another dimension. Suddenly I saw the snake attack her and heard her screams of pain. The sight was unbearable and I began to moan and tremble in terror until I was jolted back into consciousness. As I looked around there was only the cold steel and the stark furnishings of my cell. The only sound that could be heard was a distant snoring from an inmate who had apparently made peace with his environment. I couldn't imagine ever being able to fall asleep in this junk yard of human misery.

  After what seemed an eternity the night did end. At 6 a.m. sharp they awakened us and took us by chain gang to the cafeteria for breakfast. The food looked tolerable but I had no appetite. My body was so exhausted and my depression so deep, food had no appeal. After thirty minutes of staring at my plate, they returned me to my cell. I laid down on my bunk, finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep. After a short time I was rudely awakened by a jailer calling my name.

  "Fuller! Get your ass up. You've made bail."

  I opened my eyes and stared at him, "What?"

  "Somebody came up with a hundred grand to bail your ass out of here."

  "Who was it?"

  "How the hell do I know. Just get your ass up and go find out before I lose this paperwork."

  "Okay," I jumped up and followed the jailer out of my cell. He led me back to the control room where outside the window I could see Joel Roberts pacing back and forth. After a minute the buzzer sounded and I was a free man. I eagerly pushed open the door and greeted Joel with a big smile. My depression had vanished and I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

  "Man, am I glad to see you!" I said.

  "I bet, I hate this place, it gives me the creeps."

  "It gives you the creeps? You ought to spend the night here."

  "No thanks. Come on let's get out of here."

  "You won't have to ask me twice."

  "Are you all right?"

  "Now I am."

  "Tough night?"

  "Horrible. . . . I didn't think it would ever end. How did you raise $100,000 for my bail?"

  "You'll see in a minute. There is someone waiting for you in the lobby."

  I was very anxious and curious to find out the identity of my mysterious benefactor. As we came to the end of the solid red line and turned the corner I was shocked to see Maria."

  Considering the way I had treated her, Maria was the last person I expected to see. Tears began pouring from my eyes as I embraced her, "I never thought I’d see you again."

  Maria also began to cry as she reacted to my emotional response to seeing her. "You underestimated me, I wouldn't let them keep you locked up."

  "But how did you get $100,000?"

  "I didn't, I just convinced my parents to guarantee your bond with our home."

  "What! Oh my God!"

  "You better not skip town."

  "How did you convince them to do that?"

  "I told them if they wanted to keep their daughter out of the lunatic asylum they would have to put up your bond."

  Suddenly an intense feeling of embarrassment and shame overcame me. "Maria. . . . You must have heard about-"

  "Yes, I did and we'll definitely talk about that later. For now let's just get out of this depressing place."

  I looked back at Joel and he waved me on and said, "Go with Maria but be in my office tomorrow at 9 a.m. to start work on your defense."

  "Okay. Thanks a lot."

  As we walked through the revolving doors in front of the jail a mob of reporters surrounded us.

  "Mr. Fuller, how were able to post your bond?" a short dark haired reporter yelled.

  "No comment, thank you."

  "What is your reaction to the U.S. Attorney's announcement that they found your fingerprints inside the vault?" a second reporter said.

  "That's not possible, no further comment. Let us through, please."

  "Ms. Shepard, how do feel about Mr. Fuller's affair with Candy Clisby?" a lady reporter asked.

  I glared at the reporter and shouted, "She has no comment."

  The crowd squeezed around us blocking our exit. We slowly pushed our way toward the parking garage. TV cameras ran as reporters continued demanding answers to their questions. Finally two uniformed policeman saw our plight and intervened to help us extricate ourselves from the mob. In a few moments I was driving Maria's car out of the parking garage and into downtown LA I headed immediately for the on ramp to the Ventura Freeway and headed North.

  "Oh it feels so great to be driving down the freeway. I was afraid I would never be able to do that again."

  "It must have been horrible last night," Maria said.

  "It was unbearable. I can't go back there."

  "Hopefully you won't have to."

  "I sure hope not."

  "Now that I got you out of jail are you going to tell me what in the hell is going on?"

  "What should I do? If I tell you the truth you may not be able to forgive me and I will lose you forever. If I lie to you then you will know it and surely abandon me. I don't know what to do."

  "Just tell me the truth, otherwise we're finished."

  "Okay, you're right, I owe you the truth."

  As I started to spill my guts a cold chill surged down my spine. I was about to confess my sins to Maria when it suddenly occurred to me that her car may be bugged. I almost blurted out a confession that may well have sent me to San Quentin and put Sam Whitehead in the governor's mansion.

  As we continued to drive down the freeway I turned on the car stereo louder than any normal person could stand. Maria looked at me strangely so I returned the look and said, "The bugs are sure thick tonight." She frowned at me trying to figure out what in the hell I was talking about and then suddenly she got the message."

  "Oh, I guess it's all the rain we got this spring, shall we go up to Griffith Park to look at the city lights."

  "Yeah, that's a good idea."

  Griffith Park Observatory was one of our favorite places to go and just talk. When we arrived we got out of Maria's car and strolled around the grounds.

  "Do you really think my car is bugged?"

  "Yeah, it probably is, the government wants my ass pretty bad."

  "I can't believe they would do that," Maria said.

  "Maria. . . . Thank you so much for getting me out of jail. I can't believe you made your parents pledge their house. I didn't expect to ever see you again after you heard about Candy."

  "Well you don't know how much that hurt me. For a while I wanted to break your neck. It was really a shock that you could betray me the way you did."

  "I am so ashamed. I don't know what to say."

  "But then I began to think. . . . We aren't married and you haven't actually asked me to marry you. Technically you were free to date other women and even screw them, . . . I guess."

  "I shouldn’t have gone out with Candy, I just don't know what happened to me."

  "And she is dead now so I won't have to worry about her stealing you away from me again."

  "I've learned my lesson, I promise I will always be faithful to you."

  "Good. I forgive you, now come over here," she said as she ducked into a dark doorway behind the observatory.

 

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