Chapter 4

The Black Bear Court House is on Main Street, Black Bear Mountain Village, opposite the Sherif's Office and lock up.

At nine-thirty Senior Warden Al Mazzard and Warden Maximilian Rodriguez escorted Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Kaiser and their daughter Juliette from the lock up, across the road, and up the broad steps, between the two early breech-loading rifled cannons, into the pre-civil war building. Inside they sat in a paneled "dock" and waited for Judge Jensen to finish his breakfast and declare the court in session.

Hack tried to say something to his wife and daughter, who he had not seen since their Ford slid off the trail the day before, but Max told him, "No fucking talking." Max hit him in the kidneys with a short night-stick he carried to reinforce the prohibition. Hack was wearing the same sack-like denim dress as the women.

The policewoman, who had been on duty when Al brought him in and charged him, had told him to strip for a full body-search. She had made him touch his toes and poked two fingers up his ass. The pressure triggered an involuntary erection and the policewoman commented, disparagingly, about its size. Hack had told her that he had been humiliated and would complain to the judge.

She had smiled at him briefly then kicked his legs from under him. As he lay stunned on the floor of the Sherif's office, the woman forced her night-stick between the cheeks of his tightly clenched ass had grabbed him by the balls. Hack suffered an agonizing few minutes protecting his virginity before the policewoman, with a laugh, let go of him.

She said, "You be glad you still got your balls, mister. Any more talk of humiliation and I'll rip them off."

When Hack's eyes had stopped streaming and he was again on his feet, she had given Hack a small blue sack dress to put on. It barely covered his rump. The policewoman had told him not to complain or she, Asa Lincoln, or one of the other officers, would ram a night-stick up his "fucking fundament." Without his underpants Hack decided not to test her resolve and spent the night in his cell in silence.

In the dock neither Fiona nor Juliette tried to communicate with him or with each other. They had been told they risked a beating, or worse, if they talked. Their night in the uncomfortable lock up had left them both tired and irritable.

Juliette had demonstrated her newfound skill at cunnilingus to Senior Warden Asa Lincoln's satisfaction. As a result, the dark-skinned officer told the teenager she believed the story Juliette and her mother had told. She warned the young woman, however, to say nothing about what she had been made to do by the arresting officers.

"It won't do you or your momma any damn good," she said. "Just give Jensen an excuse for a sermon and a reason for locking you up for a long time." Before Asa could explain further Al arrived with Hack and Asa returned to her duty at the desk.

Asa's replacement at midnight had been a young male officer who, in his own words, was a "a big-tit man." He spent the early part of his watch admiring Fiona's breasts. They invited inspection as they strained against the coarse blue cotton of the blue sack dress she had been given to wear. His hungry gaze though the cell door made her uncomfortable and she feared he might take advantage of her if she slept. The thought he might come into her cell and molest her during the night alarmed her but also induced a shameful feeling that, if he did, her body might again betray her into yet another sexual climax. She stayed awake most of the night.

Judge Jensen—a wiry-haired, bearded, little man—arrived promptly at ten. A few interested spectators had filed into the courtroom and stood, respectfully, when the judge took his position behind an imposing ornately carved desk at the front of the court. The judge glared at the three accused. He peered over his steel-framed glasses at Hack.

"I understand you own property in the Black Bear Mountain Precinct. Is that correct Mr"—Jensen consulted a file already placed on the desk—"Kaiser?"

Hack stood. "Yes," he said.

"You mean, 'yes, sir', Mr. Kaiser. Here on Black Bear Mountain we show respect for the bench."

"Yes, sir," amended Hack.

"You bought the old cabin on the Eldorado site from Mr. Thiler. That correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you are entitled to all the privileges and penalties associated with being a landholder in the Black Bear Special Precinct. Said privileges, etcetera, include the acceptance of any and all summary findings, orders, awards and corrective or coercive remedies, etcetera, as may be directed by the Black Bear Precinct Court, such summary findings, etcetera, taking precedence over state or national laws. Do you understand?"

"Er..." Hack began.

"Good. Let's hear the charges."

"Do I get a lawyer?" blurted Hack.

"Sir!" admonished the judge. The reprimand was accompanied by a tap from Max's night stick, now thrust between Hack's legs from the rear.

"Sir," said Hack.

"No. No lawyer. Black Bear Special Precinct Edict number 254. Landholders are expected to conduct their own defense. Officer, read the charges."

Al read a list of alleged crimes starting with damage to the drainage ditch into which Hack's clumsy vehicle had slid. The charges included breaking a number of saplings Hack and his "womenfolk" had uprooted to put under the vehicle's wildly spinning wheels in a vain attempt and get it out of the ditch. The recital of damage to the environment was followed by an allegation of a wild attack on the Black Bear Mountain Police and Environmental Authority patrol officers, as they proceeded about their routine duties and the subsequent discovery of a quantity of cocaine on Kaiser's person following his forcible restraint. The women were accused of being "accessories before and after the fact and using abusive language to said patrol officers when questioned." When Al had finished reading the indictment Judge Jensen glared at Hack.

"Well? How do you plead?" he barked.

Hack was speechless.

"I can't abide drug suppliers, dykes, faggots and folk who fuck family. Why is the prisoner wearing that cockamamie frock?"

"I understand the lock up was out of clean coveralls, Judge," said Al smoothly. "It does look kinda... queer."

There was subdued laughter from the growing number of spectators in the body of the courthouse. Judge Jensen used his gavel once and order was restored. Hack took a breath and was about to tell the Judge just why he was dressed in such a humiliating manner when he felt a tap on the underside of his balls from Max's night stick.

The big policeman whispered, "Not a word. Or we tell the judge 'bout your 'cigars'. He'll hang you."

"Well?" demanded the judge. "Guilty or not guilty?"

"G... guilty, sir," stammered Hack. Fiona glared at him. She could not believe he would cave in without a fight.

"You pleading guilty too, Mrs. Kaiser?" said Judge Jensen.

"No, I am not!' Fiona said. "These two officers attacked my husband without any provocation. They rendered him unconscious and locked him up in their wagon so they could rape me and my daughter."

There was a murmur of interest from the spectators and Judge Jensen banged his gavel twice to restore a respectful silence. He glared at Fiona over his glasses.