Wild Justice Part 24

"Oh that's because you haven't heard some other testimony."

a.n.u.se said happily and firmly back in control.

"I agree that I have not heard all of the testimony.

However, if that testimony was important, and it must be since you appear to believe it, why wasn't the hearing open as Diana requested? If it had been, I would have been here to hear the testimony you put such stock in and would be able to evaluate it for myself."

Chapter 21

Professor Diana Trenchant was sitting at her desk preparing for the evening laboratory. Roz had just left with Jennifer to talk to as many students as they could find. It had been Jennifer's idea and she had brought Roz along to help talk Diana into it.

Ever since Jennifer had asked her what was wrong and Diana had explained and shown her the copies of the SmurFF's she had been accused of writing, Jennifer had been pondering what to do.

She was older than most of the students and had seen enough of life to know that one had to fight or be trampled.

She didn't want to see a good teacher trampled.

"You mean they have accused you of writing these and demand that you resign?" She was dumbfounded. After she had looked at them more carefully, she asked, "Is this all of them?

Five medical radiology and two nursing nutrition?"

"That's it."

"This sucks! And this paper is the graphologist report?"

Jennifer used the scientific designation, graphologist, rather than the term doc.u.ment examiner. "Look here, these are what they call standards, did you write these?"

"I could have, I suppose, but the dates on them are so long ago that I just don't remember for sure."

"Well, two of these evaluations are printed. There is no printing among the standards. Look, I know a little about graphology and I know that they can't compare printing to writing standards.

This looks like a setup. We need to put a crimp in Lyle Stone's tail.

It's unconscionable that he would send student evaluations to a graphologist."

Later, when Roz had come in, she had asked Diana if they could tell the other students in the cla.s.s about the two nursing nutrition SmurFFs.

"We'll ask them to come up and see if they can identify if they wrote these.

Then we'll check with the med students and have them do the same.

Somebody must have written these and we need to find out who."

Diana agreed but only if no pressure was put on anyone.

"This must be absolutely voluntary. I will copy some completed forms from last year's cla.s.s and put them with these two to be identified. No one will know which two are critical."

Later in the day, several groups of students had wandered in to look at the pile of evaluations, shake their heads and wander out again.

That is until Jenny Smythe bubbled her way in. Jenny was from England. Her husband was a doctor a.s.sociated with the medical school and she was continuing her education while he was posted here. She pounced delightedly on one of the forms, "This looks just like Sarah's writing. Sarah and I sit together at all the lectures and I've seen her handwriting so many times.

I'll go get her!" And Jenny was off with that efficient British walking gait that one a.s.sociates with woolen socks and moors.

The next day, Sarah appeared at Diana's door, tentative and a bit apprehensive. Sarah was a shy young woman barely out of high school. Raised on a farm, she had not yet a.s.sumed the mask that so many of her more sophisticated cla.s.smates wore.

"Jenny said I should look at some evaluations because you have some trouble because of them."

"Yes, thanks for coming by. They are on the bench there."

Diana pointed.

Sarah put down her books and started to look through the SmurFFs.

"Jenny's right. This one is mine." Sarah said, mournfully.

"I was so hoping it wouldn't be."

She handed Diana one of the forms. It was one of the two that had been sent for a.n.a.lysis. With this proof that the graphologists had erred, Diana's hopes were raised and then quickly lowered when Sarah declared that she was afraid to testify at the hearing which was to be held soon. She was apologetic about it. Her folks had told her not to get involved; that it might mean trouble for her if she admitted to what she had written.

Roz and Jennifer, by this time, were well into their campaign protesting the sending off-campus of the student confidential evaluations.

They were unhappy that Sarah wouldn't testify, but they respected her feelings.

Later on in the week, Sarah appeared at Diana's office door again.

"You know," she said softly, "I think my parents are wrong on this.

I wrote something that got you into trouble and I should stand up and admit it. Only, I'm so scared. But I know I have to do it.

"I'll go to the hearing but that's all I'm going to do.

I don't want to get mixed up any further in this and I don't want anything at all to do with those. . .those. . .graph whatever people. You know, whoever it was that said this was your writing is nuts. . .I wrote this."

Sarah shuffled carefully into the hearing room, shaking with an advanced case of stage fright that threatened to upset her very balance.

As she had told Sarah she would, Diana got up from her chair, walked around the table and stood beside her after she had been identified and sworn. "Did you take the Nursing Nutrition course last school year, Sarah?"

"Yes."

"And did you make out a course evaluation for Dr. Jamison Jones?"

"Yes."

"Is this that evaluation?"

"Yes."

Diana turned to the panel. "This witness has just identified this evaluation from your evidence packet C, exhibit four."

Before Diana could continue, the panel erupted in a veritable frenzy of questions, all talking at once.

"What is that number?"

"What was she handed?"

"What is written on it?"

When there was a pause in the clamor, Sarah, holding exhibit four said again quietly, "Yes, this is mine."

"This is not one that went to the doc.u.ment examiners, right?"

Henry was frantic.

"The witness has just identified doc.u.ment number two of exhibit four,"

repeated Diana.