Butch Karp: Bad Faith Part 22

"Well, I don't think the t.i.tle makes the man. I have made myself a student of the Bible, harkening back to my days as a boy growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, on the knee of my grandmother, a G.o.d-fearing woman if ever there was one," LaFontaine said. "And if I might add ..."

"Please," Rottingham said, encouraging him.

"I don't believe that Saint Paul or any of the apostles had divinity degrees either," LaFontaine finished with a chuckle.

"I believe you're correct there," Rottingham said with a smile. "But let's move on. Do you know Dr. Aronberg?"

"I do not," LaFontaine said.

"How about Dr. Holstein?"

"I saw him for the first time when he appeared on this witness stand."

"So how do you feel about the fact that Holstein testified that he met with you several times and that you asked him to identify sick children and give you private personal information regarding their families?"

A sad look crossed LaFontaine's rugged face. "I would swear to you that he was bearing false witness against me. I do not know the man. Nor have I ever spoken to him, until oddly, on the night of my arrest, I received a telephone call from a Memphis number I did not recognize. The caller made some sort of statement about an investigation, and I asked him not to call me again. I thought it was a wrong number, or perhaps someone calling for Mr. Bernsen on what he thought was a church telephone number, but I have since learned it was Dr. Holstein."

"Then why would he make such claims against you?"

LaFontaine thought about it, then shook his head. "I have prayed greatly over this, but I cannot say that I know what is in the man's heart. Maybe he is trying to escape punishment for his own sins by cooperating with those who would like to see me fail in my work. As I said before, some men, particularly nonbelievers"-he stopped and looked pointedly at Karp-"seek to bring down men of G.o.d. They hate the truth. So-called physicians, in particular, are threatened by someone who preaches that all healing comes from G.o.d, who also is the only judge of who shall live and who shall die."

"What about the allegations that, with the help of Dr. Holstein, you targeted families with seriously ill children for personal gain?"

"It's a lie," LaFontaine declared, his blue eyes flas.h.i.+ng with righteous indignation. "As I said, I do not know that man, nor have I specifically sought out families with ill children. I do believe that G.o.d gave me the gift of insight. Some might call it intuition, though I believe its origins are divine, but I sometimes 'know' when someone is suffering, to the point of even being able to decipher the physical cause. Or, for instance, when someone is down on their luck and needs a Christian hand out of the muck."

"Do you profit from this gift?" Rottingham asked.

LaFontaine again paused as if deep in thought. "I guess it would depend on what you mean by 'profit,'" he said. "I certainly profit spiritually by helping others find the Lord. I grow stronger with each sinner I turn toward the truth."

"I mean 'profit' more in the traditional sense," Rottingham said, "as in money or some other tangible a.s.sets."

"Again, it would depend on what you mean by 'profit,'" LaFontaine said. "I have been blessed that some believers donate to my ministry so that others may hear the Word and be saved. I try to live a simple life as I shepherd my flock."

"What about these insurance policies that the district attorney has alluded to?" Rottingham asked. "Were you aware of them?"

"I was," LaFontaine answered, "but only after the fact. My brother in Christ Frank Bernsen informed me after the unfortunate deaths of Micah Ellis and Natalie Hale that the families had taken out these policies and a.s.signed the benefits to the church."

"You did not ask them to do this?" Rottingham asked.

"I did not," LaFontaine replied. "I was certainly grateful for their gifts. But it isn't the sort of thing I would have even thought of requesting."

"So how did these come about?"

LaFontaine's big head dropped to his chest. He appeared to be speaking, or praying, under his breath. When he looked up, there were tears in his eyes. "I had believed that the families made these gifts of their own volition. However-it tears at my heart to reach this conclusion, and I still don't believe it-if such a thing was proposed to these good families, then I guess it would have had to have been by my brother Frank Bernsen."

"How long have you known Mr. Bernsen?"

"Many years," LaFontaine said. "We were both sinners on the street when I was saved. Through my example, Frank was saved, too. ... So I believed."

"How did you meet Monique and Charlie Hale?" Rottingham asked.

"I believe Frank told me that there was a family with a sick child in need of healing," LaFontaine said.

"So you didn't just appear out of the blue?"

"No. Frank gave me their address and said they asked me to stop by as they were disenchanted with the physicians attending their daughter."

"And what about the Ellis family?"

LaFontaine thought about it for a moment and then his face fell again as though he'd just reached another difficult conclusion. "I believe Frank told me about them as well. This was before I met the Hales. Yes, I'm sure Frank also informed me that they had a sick child and the father, David-a good, good man-was out of work and struggling."

Rottingham nodded and walked over to the evidence table, where he picked up a photograph. "The jury has heard about this woman, Sarah Westerberg, or as I believe Monique Hale referred to her, 'Sister Sarah.' Was she known to you?"

LaFontaine studied the photo but after several moments shook his head. "I'm sorry, I looked at that photograph when Mr. Karp showed it to the jury and I just can't place her," he said. "Of course, I meet many people in my ministry. Some come to the church once and never come back. Others I talk to on the street and may or may not see again. I don't just minister to families with sick children. I am called upon by our good Lord and Savior to seek out sinners wherever they may be. Perhaps I met her, but I don't recall."

"So if Monique Hale says that she would come with you to prayer sessions at her house ...?"

"I'm sorry, but she's mistaken."

"What about Nonie Ellis," Rottingham said, "did she go with you to prayer sessions at the Hale residence?"

"Yes, of course," LaFontaine said. "I've found it very beneficial for these families to comfort one another and encourage each other to seek the true road of Jesus Christ."

"Would you say there is a resemblance between Nonie Ellis and the woman identified as Sarah Westerberg?"

LaFontaine frowned and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I've never thought about it, but yes, there is. They are about the same age and build. Both have brown hair and brown eyes."

The defense attorney returned the photograph. "Reverend LaFontaine, you sat here patiently while Monique Hale described having had a s.e.xual relations.h.i.+p with you."

"Yes."

"Would you care to respond to that accusation now?"

LaFontaine's eyes flashed with anger. "I have never had s.e.x with that woman!"

Guma nudged Karp and whispered, "What's next? 'What's the meaning of "s.e.x"'?"

"Is this the first time you've heard that accusation?"

"No," LaFontaine answered. "After the death of Natalie Hale, Monique's husband approached me and accused me of having s.e.x with his wife and said he was going to expose me unless I returned the money paid by the insurance company."

"And what was your response?"

"I, of course, told him that it was untrue," LaFontaine said. "But I also said that I was not going to be blackmailed and that if he wanted the church to give him the money, he could request that in a civilized manner and I would see to it."

"What happened?"

LaFontaine shook his head. "I'm afraid that Mr. Hale was involved in some nefarious activities and my understanding is that he was murdered, possibly as a result."

"Did Monique Hale ask for the money back or attempt to blackmail you with this allegation of a s.e.xual liaison?"

"No," LaFontaine said. "To be honest, I thought we remained friends and brother and sister in Christ. I have no idea why she has chosen to say these things about me. But greed can be a powerful motivator."

Rottingham was quiet for a moment, as though absorbing the wisdom of his client. He walked thoughtfully over toward the jury box before turning back to face LaFontaine. "Reverend LaFontaine, did you ever tell the Hales or the Ellises to quit taking their children to see the physicians who were treating them?"

"I did not," LaFontaine replied.

"How do you talk to people who need spiritual help like the Hales and Ellises?"

LaFontaine looked from juror to juror before answering. "When someone invites me into their home to talk about the Good Word, I am careful to explain that I am just relaying my beliefs," he said. "I truly believe that all healing comes from G.o.d and that if we place our faith in G.o.d, He will reward us with His compa.s.sion and love. I do believe that you cannot say, 'I place my faith one hundred percent in G.o.d to heal my child,' and then turn around and hedge your bets. But that's just what I believe, and I don't demand that others believe as I do."

"What of those who place their faith in G.o.d, and yet their child still dies?"

LaFontaine looked sadly at his defense attorney and then up at the ceiling as he mouthed some words before looking down. "I do not claim to know why G.o.d sometimes calls these innocent angels back to Him even when we ask that they be saved. I am just a man and do not know His purposes; I can only help these families ask for His mercy."

"Thank you, Reverend LaFontaine," Rottingham said quietly before turning to the judge. "No further questions, Your Honor."

Judge Temple looked at the clock hanging over the entrance to the courtroom and then addressed counsel and the jurors. "We have reached the lunch hour," he said. "Mr. Karp, will you be cross-examining this witness?"

Karp rose from his seat to answer. "Without a doubt, Your Honor, without a doubt."

32.

KARP LOOKED AT HIS WATCH AS HE ENTERED HIS OFFICE. "Okay, gang," he announced. "I have forty-five minutes before I'm due back in court." He looked around the room at the people gathered there. Espey Jaxon. Jen Capers. Lucy. Ned Blanchett. Clay Fulton.

Jaxon shook his head. "Listen to the man," he said. "By tomorrow morning, the world may have gone to h.e.l.l in a handbasket with him first in line, but he's working on his summation."

"We all do what we can to fight the good fight, Espey," Karp replied. "Right now I'm trying to deal with one evil man. I'll leave it to you spooks to handle the hordes from h.e.l.l."

"We'll try," Jaxon said. "By the way, you okay?"

Karp frowned. "Yeah, sure, why?"

"The attack by David Grale," Jaxon replied. "I mean, it's not every day that a serial killer leaps out of the shadows and tries to knife the district attorney of New York County."

Feeling the eyes of the others boring into him, Karp shrugged. "He wrecked a favorite trench coat, that's about it. ... So I take it the reason for this visit has to do with tonight's festivities?"

"Nice deflection," Jaxon replied. "And yes, this has to do with tonight."

"But Malovo and her handler aren't part of the conversation?" Karp asked.

"They must not have seen the memo," Jaxon replied.

"I see," Karp replied, gathering more from the statement than was said. "So what's the memo regarding?"

"This has to do with a meeting Malovo had last night in Bed-Stuy with at least some of the elements of this threat," Jaxon said. "We know that there were at least eight men in the house. At some point, she broke away from the others with one, maybe two, of the men, who appear to be leaders of this cell, or cells, and carried on a conversation for about twenty minutes."

"They reveal any details?" Karp said.

"Some," Jaxon said, "which we were able to pick up with directional microphones, but we don't have a complete picture, and for some of it we have to rely on Malovo's observations, which are always suspect."

"Undoubtedly," Karp said. "For instance?"

"For instance, she claims that the attack will be made with exploding vests-suicide vests-packed with C4 and ball bearings," Jaxon said.

Karp grimaced. "I've been wondering how long it was going to take someone to pull a Tel Avivshopping mall attack here," he said. "A lot of casualties, indeterminate casualties. These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds don't care who they kill. What else?"

"Apparently, they'll be dressed as terrorists," Jaxon answered. "And the irony is that they'll probably walk right into the crowd on Halloween and n.o.body will think twice."

"So why don't we pick them up now?" Karp asked. "Disrupt their plans."

Jaxon shook his head. "I wish it was that simple," he said. "But some of what we heard indicated that there is more than one cell and that the Bed-Stuy group isn't alone. We're tracking them, of course. Anybody goes out of that house and we've got a tail on him. But as of a half hour ago, they were mostly lying low and there's been no other contact. If it's all we got, we'll grab these guys before they hit the street, but we're hoping there's a staging area where the cells will get together and we can round up the whole lot."

"One thing we picked up," Capers interjected, "is that they are all going to wait for a signal from Ajmaani, a.k.a. Malovo, who will be dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and standing on the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street."

"What's supposed to happen then?" Karp asked.

The others all exchanged a look. "They're supposed to rush the float you're on, and when they get close enough, blow themselves up."

"There could be a few thousand people in the area around the float," Karp noted.

No one said anything until Jaxon spoke again. "I think we have time to play the recording of this conversation," he said. "Then Lucy would like to say a few words." He pulled a small digital recorder from his coat pocket and pressed the Play b.u.t.ton.

Most of the recording had to do with Malovo asking if the preparations were complete and the attackers knew what to do.

"So what will you be wearing for Halloween?"

"Why, we will be dressed as terrorists. We hope the infidels will appreciate the irony."

"How many mujahideen?"

"Enough. We have spread out so in case one group is discovered, there will be more to carry out the glorious mission. They will wait for your signal and then begin the attack. You will be on the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street."

"Yes. Dressed as Little Red Riding Hood."

"Little Red Riding Hood?"

"Yes, a fairy tale. A hooded red cape, carrying a basket. I will be standing with a man dressed as a wolf. Never mind ... it is part of the fairy tale."

"Who is this 'wolf'?"