"Hubbard, L. Ron - Mission Earth 10 - Doomed Planet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hubbard L. Ron)

He really laughed out loud when they gave him a look of awe. That wasn't all he was going to kill today. He was going to end this Gris situation and give Teenie her revenge. He was going to kill this trial by killing the status of Heller. Then he could really loose the dogs on Heller's trail.

Chapter 2

A very upset and confused Lord Turn was sitting in his chambers that morning, waiting to start yet another day of this horrible trial.

The headlines he had read about Heller and his sister had left him not knowing what to think. While he

was not about to let himself be influenced by what he read in the papers, it added to his distress.

Day after day, those confounded Gris attorneys had that vicious Gris confessing to every crime anyone ever heard of and Gris, while admitting guilt, kept stating that Heller had caused him to do it. And the attorneys kept saying they would explain how this was so only after they had given all the evidence. He could not possibly imagine how or why Jettero Heller had made Gris, as alleged, do these things. They were totally inhuman! Monstrous!

And Lord Turn himself had suffered. At first people had accused him of protecting Gris, and his family had stopped talking to him. Now these mobs were accusing him of delaying and stalling, again to protect Gris.

Lord Turn wished he had never heard of Gris. And, to put it bluntly as he sat there stewing, he didn't think his reputation as a judge would outlive Gris. Why, he couldn't even keep order in his courtroom anymore, though he had every man he could arm on duty there, even the warders. The audience with their shouts of horror at each new crime and hisses at Gris whenever he took the stand ignored completely every demand Lord Turn made upon them to be orderly. He had a trace of fear that those mobs outside and the audience within might very well take law into their own hands and wreck the prison.

His captain of guards came in and he looked up with a start, afraid that the wreckage may already have begun.

"Your Lordship," said the guard captain, "you gave an order earlier that a man named Madison was to report in if he had any news of one Jettero Heller. He's here."

"Oh, good," said Lord Turn in sudden hope.

"Maybe he can shed some light that will help end this awful case. Show him in!"

Madison entered, sleek and well groomed, smiling his most sincere and earnest smile.

"You've news of Jettero!" said Lord Turn eagerly. "Sit down, sit down and tell me!"

Madison bowed low and seated himself. "Jettero Heller is on Calabar, Your Lordship."

"Good, good," said Turn. "I read something about this Hero Plaza thing. Is he going to come in here and tell me what to do with his prisoner Gris?"

"I don't think he can, Your Lordship. I had something else to tell you. I have seen with my own eyes the cancellation of his Royal officer status. Jettero Heller is now an outlaw."

"WHAT?"

"Yes, and now that he is no longer a Royal officer, you are no longer bound to hold Gris for him. When you finish this bigamy trial, and it's certain that he's guilty-----"

"Now see here, young man, this trial is not finished. The evidence is not all in."

Madison smiled. He was playing this by the Earth court system: All charges and sentences there are arranged in the judges' chambers. The trials are just for public show. It's who tells the judge in private what to do or what secret deal is made that decides anything and everything about a case from beginning to end. He was confident he could make this work on Voltar.

"This parade of evidence," said Madison, "could be ended in a minute. Gris is admitting his guilt to every charge. The danger is that your reputation is going to suffer because of this Gris matter. Your image has been injured as a judge."

"It certainly has!" agreed Turn. "A dreadful affair!"

"Well, I don't think you will be able to hand out a sentence stiff enough to satisfy the mobs," said Madison.

"I can order him executed!" huffed Turn. Х* "Ah, that won't satisfy the mob."