"Yes, so they are. Please take a look at page four. In particular, the lines I highlighted. What happened at that point in time?"

"It looks like I got a raise."

"Would it surprise you to know that your raise occurred exactly one week

after the summons for this case was served on Dr. Rutherford?"

Dubois shot out of his chair. "Your Honor, I fail to see how Mr. Jessup's

raise and the timing of this suit have anything to do with the cause of action in this case."

"Your Honor, these matters have to do with Mr. Jessup's bias in this case. I

wish to use this line of questioning to impeach him."

"Overruled, Mr. Dubois." The judge turned to the witness. "Answer the question, Mr. Jessup."

"Yes, it would surprise me," Jessup answered in an insolent tone.

Evan moved to admit the payroll records into evidence.

While Evan went through the routine of getting the exhibit admitted, Jessup's

wary eyes kept drifting toward Dubois, as if the defense counsel should give him some answers. Obviously, Evan's line of questioning hadn't been in the defense's script.

"Do most employees get a substantial raise -- what was it? almost double? -- within a year or so of employment?"

Jessup jumped visibly. "I was due a raise. I'm very good at my job."

"I'm sure." Evan pulled out another piece of paper. He didn't offer it to Jessup. "Is it also customary that one-year employees who've just doubled their pay also get two fully paid weeks of vacation in Acapulco at their boss's condo?"

Jessup mumbled something.

"I don't think the jury or the court reporter heard your answer, Mr. Jessup.

Could you repeat it, louder this time?"

"I said no," yelled Jessup.

"That's what I thought you said. I have no further questions for this witness."

"Rebuttal, Mr. Dubois?"

"No."

Dubois's abrupt negative was not his usual courtroom demeanor. He looked extremely unhappy. He either hadn't been told about the perks or hadn't expected anyone to find out about them.

The information about Jessup had been given to Evan courtesy of Drs. Payton and Warren, who'd heard rumors about Jessup's timely vacation windfall. Jeanette wondered if she should clue in the hapless nurse about Rutherford's little practice of eliminating people who failed him? Nah. She wasn't feeling that charitable.

Dr. Rutherford took the stand.

Jeanette glanced over at the jury. The six men and women leaned forward in their seats. They'd been waiting to hear from the accused. Once they heard from him, they would have all the pieces of the puzzle. They then could begin to figure out who was telling the truth.

Dubois breezed through Rutherford's background.

If she hadn't known about his misspent youth and his current penchant for murder and mayhem, she would've been impressed. It was sad in a way that all that talent and potential was twisted and riddled with Rutherford's hunger for power and money. Could Evan trip him up on cross-examination? Expose the doctor's dirty underbelly? Or would they have to wait for the post-trial press conference?

Jeanette sat up. She had to stop wool-gathering. They were talking about her now.

"Dr. Rutherford, wasn't it true that you hired Ms. LaFleur because she was an 'intimate friend'..." the look on Dubois's face clearly indicated he meant 'lover' "...of one of your fellow physicians, a, um, Dr. Shriver?"

Rutherford turned to the jury and flashed one of his toothy smiles.

As the doctor opened his mouth to answer, Evan overcame whatever had caused him to delay and objected.

Dubois held up his hands. "I withdraw the question."

But the damage had been done.

Anger burned through Jeanette like wildfire. The jerk had insinuated that she was Dr. Shriver's lover. Tony bristled beside her. Even he'd caught the implication. She chanced a peek at the jury. Several of them looked at her. What were they thinking? Could they actually believe Dr. Rutherford's lie?

Jeanette was afraid they could. So far nothing had been said or shown other than her evidence on the statistics that in any way depicted the true character of Rutherford.

The rest of Dr. Rutherford's direct testimony explained away the mistakes in files and data as the fault of employees in whom he'd placed his trust. No further mention was made of her.

Evan flowed out of his seat to start his cross-examination. Then, he paced. And as he paced, he fired questions at the speed of an automatic weapon. And, gradually, the darkness that had fallen over Jeanette began to lighten.

"Isn't it true, Dr. Rutherford, that Ms. LaFleur graduated at the top of her class and had one of the highest scores ever made on a standardized test? A test that is administered outside of the university by a national certifying organization?"

"Well, uh, yes."

"Then would you say that even if a close friend of yours hadn't recommended Ms. LaFleur, you still might have hired a graduate with such stellar grades and test scores?"

"I guess so."

"Now, let's look at your Epi Study. Isn't it true that the Eye Bank of New Orleans had cut off the donor tissue to your program right about the time Ms. LaFleur applied to your program, because they found your statistics and conclusions were flawed?"

"I wouldn't say that was accurate. I believe the Eye Bank Board's rationale was that the tissue could be used more appropriately for corneal transplants in patients with diseased eyes."

"Aha, then this report from the Eye Bank's Board of Directors is wrong when it stated that from their own local inquiries they found evidence that a majority of the corneal grafts had failed and that the living lens procedure was not indicated for patients with mere myopia. Wasn't that the real reason why they cut off your supply of tissue?"

"What report?"

Rutherford's urbane charm slipped as he grabbed at the paper in Evan's hand. He flipped a page, then said through gritted teeth, "Where did you get this?

This is an Executive Board decision. I wasn't aware that these were made

public."

"Your Honor, would you please instruct the witness that the lawyers ask questions, not the witnesses?"

"Dr. Rutherford, you will restrict yourself to answering questions. The jury

will disregard the unsolicited information volunteered by witness."

"Thank you, your Honor." Evan retrieved the paper from Rutherford. "Now, doctor, the Executive Board of the Eye Bank clearly stated that the reason they cut off your supply of tissue was because they concluded your project's outcomes were undesirable, isn't that correct?"

"That's what it says, but I say they were wrong."

"Fine." Evan walked back toward the plaintiff's table, then turned back to the

witness stand. "So, where did you get the tissue for the project after the Eye Bank cut off your supply?"

Dubois rose from his chair and waved his hand toward Evan. "I object, your

Honor. What has counsel's question got to do with Ms. Barrios and her specific procedure?"

"Counsel?" The judge looked at Evan.

"This line of questioning goes to Dr. Rutherford's veracity, your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Overruled. Answer the question, doctor."

"I bought it from Silver River Pharmaceuticals."

"Is this the same Silver River Pharmaceuticals in which you own a controlling interest?"

Dr. Rutherford's full lips thinned. He said nothing, but his eyes glittered with anger at the question. He shot his attorney a protect-me-or-I'll-deal-with-you-later look.

Dubois turned his eyes away from his client.

"Please answer my question, doctor."

"Yes."

"Isn't that a violation of federal law, doctor?"

Rutherford sought Dubois's eyes once more, but the defense counsel still

refused to look.

"Yes."

"Now, let's look at the billing records for the Epi Study. As Ms. LaFleur testified, these records were the most complete records kept by the project." Evan handed a copy of the previously admitted documents to Rutherford. "When the project started, patients were billed for processing charges on donated tissue from the Eye Bank. Correct?"

"Yes."

"What were those processing charges?"

"I don't know."

"I believe if you read the numbers in column two, you will see the processing charge was one thousand dollars."

Dr. Rutherford said nothing, just glared at Evan.

"So, let's flip ahead to when the Eye Bank cut off the donor tissue. My goodness, the charge for processing didn't change -- it's still one thousand dollars. If you are buying tissue, how can you justify the same processing charge? Shouldn't it be more, since you had to purchase tissue?"

"I don't know. It must be a bookkeeping error."