Manfred warned of Deuce, the Devil, and his unwitting servants here on Earth. Was Mr. Raman possessed by Deuce? The prosecution was about to make its case.
Mr. Jerad was a tall man with a receding hairline. He rose and addressed the judge and jury simultaneously, barely glancing at the defendant. "I'd like to introduce exhibit A, a recording of the defendant, made some four weeks ago."
"So noted." Judge Graham took the small memory chip and placed it in his playback. Soon Mr. Raman's voice could be heard throughout the courtroom.
"I'm telling you, the words of the Covenant make no sense. I'm one of the few people on Earth who can read ancient English, and I've read the Covenant again and again, in its original text, and it's gibberish!"
Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom. Even the jurors put their hands up to their mouths. Mrs. Raman placed her head in her hands, for her husband was as good as convicted. The prosecutor hammered his point home.
"I call your attention to the first line of the Covenant, Blinded by the light. This is explained in the book of Francis, verse 79. Hear the words of the prophet Francis." He fumbled through his notes for a moment, then found the appropriate piece of paper. "Those who are possessed by the Deuce cannot understand the words of Manfred. When presented with the truth, they are blinded by the light."
He snapped his notebook shut with an air of finality. "Ladies and gentlemen, this man, seated before you here today, is utterly baffled by the words of Manfred. He is blinded by the light, and is, therefore, possessed by Deuce."
"Care to cross examine?" asked the judge.
"Yes your honor." Mrs. Shelby had the unenviable task of defending Mr. Raman. "Are you certain that is Mr. Raman's voice we heard on the recording?"
"Expert witnesses have compared the voice on this recording to that of the defendant. I can call these witnesses to the stand if you wish."
There was no need, for her own witnesses had arrived at the same damning conclusion. She had hoped Mr. Jerad would forget to authenticate the voice, then she could plant a reasonable doubt; but she underestimated him, and now she looked like a fool. He claimed that was indeed Mr. Raman's voice, and she was in no position to contest the assertion. She had to move on, and quickly.
"How was the recording made?"
"We placed a laser recorder a block away from the Raman household and captured his voice."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, one certainly cannot hear and record a quiet conversation from a block away."
"I'm afraid we can, Mrs. Shelby. This is the latest technology. When Mr. Raman spoke, the glass in his window vibrated in sync with his words. A laser beam, reflected off that window, can record the vibrations of the glass, thus capturing his conversation. This technology is used by the government, and is admissible in a court of law."
Mrs. Shelby was stunned. If they had planted a bug in his home, with no warrant, she could have the case thrown out, but any information obtained from a public location is fair game. There was only one thing left to do, and it was a long shot. She hoped Mr. Raman would put on a good show.
"Your honor, each of us has hundreds of conversations every day. Words, sentences, even paragraphs can be taken out of context. Since Mr. Raman's words are being used against him, he must be given a chance to explain the context in which they were spoken."
Mr. Jerad, anxious to burn another heretic, was about to object, but Judge Graham concurred. "I quite agree."
Mr. Raman was sworn in, and Mrs. Shelby continued. "Mr. Raman, were those your words?"
"They were, but..." He cleared his throat and started again. "They were, but that's not what I meant."
"Can you explain?"
"I was telling my wife that the Covenant could not be understood without the interpretations of the prophets. It makes no sense, even in the original English, until Manfred revealed his meaning through the prophets."
"Then there was more to your conversation?"
"Yes, but they didn't bother to record the rest." Three or four jurors looked at him with some sympathy. This seemed to be a reasonable doubt.
Mr. Jerad went on the attack. "Mr. Raman, even without the interpretations, I don't think anyone in this courtroom would refer to the Covenant as gibberish. I think the words are pretty clear all by themselves."
"Then tell us, Mr. Jerad," Mrs. Shelby almost pounced on the opportunity, "why you yourself had to refer to the book of Francis to explain the first line of the Covenant. Your honor, would you read back that portion of the prosecutor's argument, where he invokes the book of Francis?"
The judge read Mr. Jerad's words back to the jury.
"So you see," she continued, "the Covenant is indeed unclear, without the explanations of the prophets. My client was having a casual conversation with his wife about the importance of the prophets, and you pulled a piece of that conversation out of context. You are trying to sentence an innocent man to the Month of Torment."
"Does the prosecution have any more evidence?" asked the judge.
"Indeed I do. The Covenant states that Go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather charts. This is explained in Paul, verse 25. Mozart was possess by Deuce, and those who are possessed are drawn to his music. Mr. Raman listens to Mozart almost every evening. Your honor, I have recordings of Mozart's piano concertos, taken from Mr. Raman's window. I'd rather not play such music here in the courtroom, but I have turned this evidence over to the court, and you, the members of the jury, can be sure that it is exactly as I have stated."
"Your cross Mrs. Shelby." The Judge wanted to move this along. He had two more Deuce trials on the docket, and he really wanted to get home before rush hour traffic.
"Did you find this music in Mr. Raman's home?" She already knew the answer to this question, for no such evidence was adduced.
"We believe he destroyed his disks before we had a chance to obtain a warrant and search his home."
"Then you found no such music in his home."
"That's correct, but as I say, we have the recording; the music was being played inside his home."
Mrs. Shelby was growing more confident by the minute. She adjusted her glasses and pushed a strand of dark brown hair back into place. "Mr. Jerad, on these recordings, is Mr. Raman singing to Mozart's music?"
"singing?" Mr. Jerad seemed a little nervous as he shuffled his papers. "These are not songs, they are instrumental pieces. It would be difficult to sing along."
"Then he is not singing."
"No."
"Can you prove that these Mozart pieces came from his house, rather than the library?"
"You can hear the sounds of his home in the background. Mr. and Mrs. Raman speak to each other, and to their children. They are preparing dinner, and so on."
"Is it possible, with today's technology, to add sounds together? Could you make a recording of his home, normal conversations, etc, and add Mozart's music underneath?"
"Yes, I suppose that's possible, but you are weaving a fantasy. I can assure you that this is a single recording, made with the laser recorder, from Mr. Raman's window."
"Members of the jury, before we sentence a man to the mutilation and the burning of the Torment, we must be sure, beyond a reasonable doubt. Today we have only heard a fragment of a conversation, taken out of context, and some music that cannot be connected in any way to Mr. Raman." Once again she scored a victory with several jurors. They had all seen the Torment, for it was broadcast on tv at midnight, when the children were asleep. People didn't make a habit of watching these grizzly exhibitions, but almost everyone tuned in now and then. The Torment, described in the book of Jordan, verses 329 through 657, was the only way to drive Deuce from the victim. There was no other way. Still, one should not inflict the Torment under false pretense. You dare not make a mistake in either direction. It was an awesome responsibility.
"Do you have anything else to present?" the Judge asked.
"Just one more thing your honor. Mr. Raman is obviously in good shape. In fact he runs. But here is the point - he runs at night. The Covenant says that possessed individuals are, ..." Again he flipped through his notebook searching for a specific piece of paper. "They are Revved up like a Deuce, another runner in the night." He put the piece of paper away. "I have several eye witnesses that will testify to Mr. Raman's nightly jogs."
Mrs. Shelby expected this, and she was prepared. "Mr. Raman, what time do you run?"
"Between 8 and 9. Then I come home, take a shower, and go to bed."
"Mr. Raman, when would you say night begins?"
They had rehearsed this earlier, and he knew to feign ignorance. "I really couldn't say."
"Mr. Jerad, when would you say night begins?"
"I'd say night begins at 8 o'clock. Mr. Raman is definitely a runner in the night."
"The book of Francis disagrees." Now it was her turn to fumble through her notebook, making a show for the jury's benefit. She had these passages memorized, but it was more impressive to read them off of a piece of paper.
"Francis, verse 235. And at the twenty first hour, night fell, and with it, the calliope crashed to the ground." She closed her notebook with a snap, as the prosecutor had done earlier. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the twenty first hour is 9 PM. Night begins at 9 PM. Mr. Raman is a runner in the evening; he is not a runner in the night." She turned to Mr. Jerad. "Have any of your witnesses seen Mr. Raman running after nine?"
Mr. Jerad paused for a moment. "I don't believe so."
"I rest my case."
The jury deliberated for 90 minutes, then returned their verdict. "We the people of Addison county find Mr. Raman not guilty of Deuce possession."
Mr. and Mrs. Raman sobbed with relief as they held each other in a tight embrace. They had mortgaged their home to pay Mrs. Shelby's fee, and it was worth it.
Mr. Raman would be more careful in the future. Never again would he utter a word about the Covenant, or listen to Mozart. These were dangerous times, and one could never be too careful.
He held his wife's hand as they left the courtroom together. tonight they would celebrate. There was almost no money in the bank, but they would go to the finest restaurant, and order a bottle of wine. His three children could have anything they like, anything at all. If his oldest daughter wanted lobster, that was fine with him. He was going to revel in his new-found freedom, but make no mistake, he would always be home by nine.