Chapter 5: Trip to a New Destination

"Calvin McDermott speaking," he answered after two rings.

"Hello, Calvin. It's Ruel Carter calling. How are you?"

"Ruel! Is that really you! It's been ages since we've talked. How are you, son? Where are you?"

"I'm fine and I'm still living in Washington State. I'm about to muster out of the army. I'll be going to work with a helicopter leasing company nearby."

"That's great news, Ruel. I'm glad you're doing well. I worried about you for a long time. I didn't know what might happen to you after what you went through."

"Didn't you get my cards and letters over that past years?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's no substitute for hearing your voice. You sound good. You sound happy. I hope that's the case."

"Pretty much, Calvin. But I have some very big news for you. Something you might not be ready for."

"What news? Don't tease me like that. What news?" he said, sounding frustrated.

"Mary Simpson is alive and living here in Washington."

"What! Are you serious? How? When did you find out?"

"It's an interesting story, but to keep it short, I spotted her in a nearby shopping mall and approached her. It was her, even though she'd changed quite a bit from the teenager I remembered. That was a week ago last Saturday. You won't believe what happened and how it came to be that I was accused of killing her."

"Tell me. Tell me everything," Calvin demanded.

"I'll try. The reason I called you will become pretty evident when I give you some of the details of what happened. I want to hire you to represent Mary and me. We are looking for some justice. When I tell you the whole thing, please tell me you'll represent us."

"Ruel, as long as what you want is legal and within the canons of my profession, I'll represent you. That award you gave me was more than enough, so you have a lot of my time coming for free."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. So ... if you've got some time, I'll tell you all the gory details."

"Go ahead. I'll make time for you ... and Mary."

I told him. I told him everything. What Mary's parents had done, the letters, the lies ... everything. Some of it he had suspected, but had no evidence. Some of it completely floored him. The wickedness of it by so many people was beyond his ability to understand. He interrupted now and then to clarify a point or ask a question, but twenty minutes later, he had the story.

"What do you want to do, Ruel? I think I can guess, but tell me what you want."

"I need for everyone, including the state attorney's office to know that Mary Simpson is alive and well. I want everyone to know what her parents did to her and to me. I want everyone to know what Mrs. Milligan and Rolland Biggs did to cover up the truth, hide evidence, and conspire to have them and others commit perjury."

"That's going to be a tall order if the state doesn't cooperate," Calvin said.

"Why wouldn't they?" I asked. "This is a pretty straightforward case of perversion of justice, isn't it?"

"Politics, son, politics. If it makes the boys in Lincoln look bad, they may want to drag their feet until after the gubernatorial election next fall. If some of their people were involved, they might even want to suppress the evidence. It might never see the light of day."

"They'd do that? They'd cover up a crime ... several crimes?"

"I'm not saying they would, but it could happen. I'd need to test the waters before charging in there on my big white horse."

"What happens if the worst is true? What will happen if we can't get justice?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Ruel. We'll get justice. I'd like to do it the proper way, through the front door. But if that isn't possible, then we'll do it the hard way. We'll go to the news media and tell them our story and see what happens then. I doubt even the state could suppress this story."

"Okay, what do we do next?" I asked.

"Give me some time to think about it. What are your plans in the next week or weeks?"

"I've got four more weeks to serve before I'm done. Then before I start my new job, I want to go to Pueblo and see my mother and sister. They know about my finding Mary, but they don't have all the details. I think they'll want to know."

"No! Don't say anything to them you haven't already told them. And tell them not to talk to anybody else about it. I'm already getting an idea of how we might handle this. But don't tell anyone else if you can help it. The less anyone knows about our plans, the better. The other thing is to make sure you have all your documents ... both yours and Mary's ... tucked away in a safe place. She'll need her birth certificate and some indisputable I.D. Has she talked about this to her aunt and uncle?"

"I don't think so, but I'll check. Do you want her to keep quiet about it too?"

"Yes, definitely. I don't want you or her put in danger. The fewer people who know, the better. We don't know what some of these people who were involved in the cover-up and perjury might do if their backs are against the wall. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Okay. I'll get a hold of Mary right away and warn her. Thanks, Calvin. I'm really glad I called you. I know you will help us do whatever we need to do to get a proper result."

"It's the least I can do for you and Mary, Ruel. It's a pretty small payback for all you two have suffered."

When I hung up, I called the number on the business card that Mary gave me. It turned out to be a direct line to her office and she picked up.

"Hi ... good morning. How are you?" I asked.

"Hi, and good morning to you, Ruel. I'm fine. I'm very fine, in fact," she said with a very cheerful tone.

"I just got off the phone with Calvin and he's gung-ho to help us. But he kind of worried me a bit when he warned us not to tell anyone about what we know and what happened to us. He doesn't want you to call your aunt and uncle just yet. The fewer people who know you are alive, the better and safer we are."

"Safer? What do you mean?" she asked, somewhat alarmed.

"We don't know how some of the people who were responsible for my conviction will react if they think they are threatened with jail. Calvin wants us to lie low for a while until he works up a strategy. Both you and I will be meeting with him to decide what we are going to do. You need to be in on this too."

"Yes, please. I do want to be involved. I haven't told anyone about you, and I haven't called my aunt or uncle either. I'll just leave that until Mr. McDermott tells me it's okay."

"Good. Can you get some time off in about four weeks? I have an idea I want to present to Calvin and it involves you, the children and me going to Pueblo to see my mother and sister as well as meeting with Calvin. We might even want to include Mom and Sis in the discussion."

"Yes. I have some time coming. How long will we be away?"

"I don't know, but I would guess a week. Just leave it open until I know more. Calvin is fully dedicated to getting the people who did this to us put on trial. He's determined to right this wrong."

"I'd like to meet him," Mary said. "He sounds like a very fine man."

"He is," I agreed quickly. "If there's anyone we can trust, it's him. In the meantime, I'll keep you informed of his plans."

"Are you still coming over on Friday?" she asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss one of your home-cooked meals for anything."

"Is that all you're coming for?" I caught the tone of her question right away.

"Well ... no ... but ... I didn't want to presume anything. Between us, I mean."

"I know," she said quietly. "You're still the same Ruel I remember from before. Despite what's happened to you, you're still the same guy."

"I wish that were true, Mary. I really do. I guess I'll have to let you decide if I'm still the same guy."

After I ended the call, I called Calvin back and let him know we had put a lid on information about our situation. He was pleased and promised to get back to me soon.