"Me too," chimed in Roz.

"James, Jennifer, Roz, will you tell that to the panel in addition to what you already plan to testify to?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Betchera.s.s!"

"That will really give this charge against you the deep six along with Sarah's testimony," Roz said excitedly as the whole bunch of happy people left their food and joined each other in a wild victory dance. Premature for sure, but the powerless and the innocent naively take their joy where they can find it.

When the hearing commenced again, the panel appeared subdued, and listlessly turned over pages of notes as Henry told Diana to call her next witness and cautioned her that, "they should be addressing the specific charge here."

"Just a moment," Jane demanded. "Before we have the next witness, I'd like to ask you a question, Diana. You said earlier that you were not free to call witnesses from your department. Why?"

Trenchant, who was on her way to the door to get her next witness, paused and said, "They asked me not to. They felt it would be impossible for them to testify since they most probably would contradict their chairman."

"You are saying they are afraid to testify?"

"That's correct. Just like you saw Jean was. Her knowledge and belief in me was the only thing that made it possible for her to overcome her fear of losing her position.

"It is much worse for people in my department and for that matter for medical students who have not been allowed to testify.

Things can be made very difficult for them."

Esther pursued, "Are you stating that Lyle has discussed this case with the department?"

"Oh, yes. Very definitely. After he accused me, he went in to Ann Biggot's office and told her. My job was offered to two people in the department around the same time.

Lyle has told others besides me that this hearing is only a formality.

Remember, he's the one that decides the raises."

"What sort of thing could people in your department testify about?"

"They could substantiate what I have said about the negligent, careless way the evaluation process is carried out and how little import is placed on it. They could confirm that the evaluations were often laying around on someone's desk or in the secretaries' office.

"They could explain that the evaluations got mixed together from year to year and unless one happened to be dated, there was no way to separate one year from the next."

"They could tell you the reason for the problems that occurred in the radiology course and affirm that my manual was plagiarized.

"Being right there where the business of the department is carried out, they could tell you that one of Lyle's first acts when he came into the department six years ago was to eliminate my position. When I protested this act of discrimination to the Attorney General's Office and they brought charges, he claimed that he had only told me that he would keep me if he had the funds. . ."

"You are saying. . .you are painting a picture of suspicion and allegation that are hearsay and unsubstantiated," a.n.u.se interrupted, bald pate aflame with anger.

"Correct. And we've heard tons of unsubstantiated hearsay in testimony from previous witnesses."

"That doesn't matter. We are only interested in these doc.u.ments, nothing else. Those are side issues and not a part of this investigation."

"They most certainly are a part of it. If what you say is true, the dean would have just written one sentence in his letter.

He would have written, 'I want her out of here because. . . .'

Instead, he wrote two pages filled with unsubstantiated hearsay and charges of insubordination and dishonesty based on Lyle's accusation and I want to answer them!"

"Nonsense, the charges are clear. You forged seven SmurFFs.

The rest was only a chronology of the events."

"But the chronology is untrue and biased."

"No. Everything is based on the testimony of the handwriting witness, we just filter through the rest of the material." a.n.u.se turned to the chair, a bored look on his face. "We waste time with this useless trivia."

He had just spent the last few minutes in full sneer, trying his best to beat Trenchant to her knees with the sheer force of his position of power. Forced to desist by the negative vibes he was getting from most of the panel, he took refuge in a.s.suming the victor's pose.

"The panel asked the question, 'why didn't I have witnesses from the department.' I merely answered it," retorted Trenchant, pugnaciously.

"Call your next witness." Henry fairly bellowed as he tried for the last word.

"I shall, but first I want to point out that the charges against me contain the words taken from the faculty handbook, 'serious breaches of generally accepted moral standards in the profession. . .'

"I submit to you that the copyright infringements committed by Ian and Randy were also serious breaches of generally accepted moral standard in the profession and Chairman Lyle Stone condoned them.

"Now I'll get my next witness." said Diana, heading once again for the door.

James Prouty walked into the hearing room and looked around.

"Take that seat there, please." Henry motioned toward the seat opposite the panel.

"Oh," said James, in a surprised tone of voice. "I understood from someone who had testified earlier that the witnesses sat across from Diana."

"Well. . ." the chair cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable.

"Things get shifted around, you know. Sit right there and be sworn in."

That James, thought Diana, barely stifling her laughter, trust him to say something disconcerting. He knew darn well that there was a different seating arrangement for the two sets of witnesses because she had told him about it.

Under questioning, James Prouty said that he had rented a room in Diana's home for four and one half years. He could and would affirm that she had written a radiology manual at her home computer.

He could also confirm the great animosity held against her by the former chair of NERD, Jimbo Jones, who was now one of the many a.s.sociate academic vice presidents. James had been a work/study student in NERD and had heard Jimbo yell and verbally hammer at Diana any number of times.

"As you all are aware," James said, smiling at the panel, "besides the five medical student SmurFFs, there are two SmurFFs that Dr. Jones is said to have found in the Nursing Nutrition course that he lectures in."

"And that the doc.u.ment examiners are sure Diana wrote,"

a.n.u.se crowed, breaking in triumphantly. "But all this tells us nothing new concerning the charge. This is repet.i.tive, time wasting information. Mr. Chairman, may we get on with it."

"James, were you living in my home last December?"

"Yes, I was."

"Would you please tell in your own words why I could not have printed or written the two 'suspicious' evaluations found by Lyle who claims they were written and submitted by me that year?"

James turned his agreeable, smiling face once more toward the panel and said clearly, "Because you sprained your right wrist and were unable to write or use it until shortly before Christmas Day, the 25th."

"How do you confirm that I could not write?"

"Several ways. For example, I saw the swollen condition of your wrist daily and observed your limited use of that hand.

Telephone messages for me were left on the printer when they used to be handwritten in notes."