Michael Jackson (79 page)

Evan had heard enough about Michael Jackson in recent months. As soon as he had his son in his custody, he instructed his
attorney to draw up papers that stipulated that June would not be permitted to take Jordie out of Los Angeles county, meaning
she would not be able to see Michael at Neverland (in Santa Barbara county), and most certainly not on tour.

Surprisingly, when she got the news the next day, June wasn’t angry. She didn’t even fight the stipulation, mostly because
she no longer knew what to think about Michael. She needed time to figure it all out, especially after she and her attorney
had a meeting with two LAPD officers who claimed that they’d recently discovered a youngster who’d been molested by Michael
(even though they refused to identify him). Recalled June’s lawyer, Michael Freeman, ‘With serious expressions on their faces,
they said, “We’re convinced Michael Jackson molested this boy because he fits the classic profile of a paedophile, perfectly.”
June started getting scared. She was scared for her son.’

June decided to telephone Michael. Perhaps they could meet and discuss the matter; after all, they had been friends. When
she saw him face to face, she would be able to look into his eyes, she believed, and then know the truth. She finally got
Michael on the phone.

‘I’m sorry, June,’ he said, ‘but things are so out of hand now that my lawyer has told me that I can’t speak to you, or even
see you.’

‘But, Michael…’

‘Evan is the one who started this mess, not me,’ Michael said, his tone surprisingly cold and deliberate. ‘Evan ruined our
beautiful friendship, not me. I’ll have Bert call you and answer any further questions. Goodbye, June. I’m sorry.’

June couldn’t believe the way Michael had talked to her. Now, she didn’t know what to think of him. Because she still leaned
towards his innocence, perhaps he would have been better advised to have been less dismissive, if only to keep her as an ally.
However, he was so cold to her, he left her with no choice. She decided she had to agree with her ex-husband that Jordie not
be permitted to visit Michael, at least for the time being, and not accompany him on his tour, either. She even agreed to
allow Evan to keep custody of Jordie ‘for a while’.

Michael learned of June’s about-face from one of his staff members during a meeting in his bedroom at Neverland. Having just
finished with a costume-fitting, he hadn’t changed out of what he called his ‘uniform’: a glittery, red military outfit trimmed
across the shoulders with jet-bead embroidery. He was seated on his bed.

‘There had been a sadness about Michael in recent days, but after he learned of June’s decision, it was more acute than usual,’
recalled the employee. ‘After all, she was handing Jordie over to Evan, which would not bode well for Michael’s friendship
with him.’

After discussing the matter with his adviser for a few minutes, Michael fell back onto the bed heavily and began to cry. ‘Why
do people hurt the ones they say they love?’ he asked.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ said the staff member, now seated on the bed next to him. ‘Don’t cry, Mike.’

Then, typical of his mood swings, especially lately, Michael went from zero to ten in anger within seconds. ‘She betrayed
me,’ he said, bolting upright, his eyes ablaze. ‘I can’t believe June buckled like that, after all I did for her and her kids.
Now I’ll never get to see Jordie. I didn’t even do anything wrong,’ he insisted. Then, ashenfaced and his dark eyes raging,
Michael repeated: ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.
I didn’t
.’

The next day, Anthony Pellicano received a telephone call from Evan Chandler. He wanted to meet with Michael, ‘man to man’,
he said.

Anthony passed the message on to Michael. ‘No way,’ Michael said, according to Anthony’s memory. ‘I’m not meeting with the
guy and giving him more ammunition to use against me. His heart is filled with hatred, Anthony, and you know it’s the truth.
Tell him I said no way.’

‘But it might be a good idea,’ Anthony suggested. ‘Maybe we can work this thing out.’

Michael was adamant that he would not meet with Evan. He said that he had been thinking it over, and the truth had hit him
as if an epiphany. ‘Evan’s pissed off at me because I have the kind of relationship he
wishes
he had with Jordie,’ Michael said. ‘That’s what’s really going on here. He’s completely jealous of me.’

Anthony couldn’t disagree; to him, Michael’s analysis of the situation sounded plausible.

On 2 August, Evan Chandler extracted a troublesome tooth from his son, Jordie, in his Beverly Hills clinic. During the procedure,
he decided to intravenously administer the drug sodium Amytal. Mark Torbiner, a dental anaesthesiologist (who had been the
one to introduce Evan to his attorney, Barry Rothman in 1991 when Rothman needed dental work), was present during the surgery.
Evan has since confirmed that his son was given the drug, but only as a part of the dental procedure. While under the influence
of sodium Amytal, says Evan, Jordie finally began to speak openly about sexual activity he claimed had occurred between him
and Michael Jackson.

Sodium Amytal has erroneously been called a ‘truth serum’. Actually, most doctors agree that patients are extremely susceptible
to suggestion while under the influence of the drug. ‘You can’t trust it,’ said Dr Lewis Strong, a Los Angeles psychiatrist
(who does not know Evan or Jordie Chandler). ‘I never use it in my practice. I have found it to be unreliable. It’s certainly
not a truth serum. Sometimes it is used for the treatment of amnesia, but it often provides false memories.’

Why did Evan Chandler use sodium Amytal on his son in order to perform dental work on him?

‘It’s absolutely a psychiatric drug,’ observed Dr Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has administered sodium
Amytal to amnesia patients. ‘I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person’s unconscious unless there was no
other drug available,’ he added, ‘and I would not use it without resuscitating equipment, in case of allergic reaction, and
only with an MD anaesthesiologist present.’ (Mark Torbiner is a dental anaesthesiologist.)

Dr John Yagiela, the coordinator of the Anaesthesia and Pain Control department of UCLA’s school of dentistry, confirmed,
‘It’s unusual for it to be used for pulling a tooth. It makes no sense when better, safer alternatives are available. It would
not be my choice.’

Perhaps Evan felt that he had no choice but to administer the drug to his son in order to get him to finally open up about
the true nature of his relationship with Michael Jackson. ‘Did Michael ever touch your penis?’ Evan asked Jordie. Groggily,
Jordie said in a soft voice that, yes, Michael had done it. Evan then grabbed his son and hugged him tightly, as if never
wanting to let him go. ‘I’m sorry, Jordie,’ he said, according to a later recollection. ‘I’m so sorry.’

In his heart, Evan would later say, he always knew what was going on between his child and the pop star. He said that he only
needed confirmation from Jordie before he could, in good conscience, go up against Michael in such an explosive and life-ruining
campaign. It wasn’t much to go on, though if, in fact, it was even true that Michael had touched Jordie’s penis. However Evan
believed there was more to it. He didn’t need all of the details, anyway, he said. In the end, he had what he wanted: Michael
Jackson’s neck in a noose. But the question remained: how much of what Jordie had confessed while under the influence of a
psychiatric drug was the truth?

After obtaining what he believed to be the truth from Jordie, Evan Chandler demanded another meeting with Michael Jackson.
Anthony Pellicano managed to arrange it. The show-down between the teenager’s protective father and the man he believed had
molested his son would take place on 4 August 1993 at the Westwood Marquis Hotel. ‘No good can come of it,’ Michael predicted,
‘but I have to see Jordie, somehow, so let’s do it.’

At the appointed hour, Evan walked into the room, trailed by his anxious-looking son. As soon as Jordie saw Michael, he ran
to him and embraced him. They kissed each other on the cheeks. ‘Oh my God, how I’ve missed you,’ Michael said, visibly choked
up. He stroked Jordie’s hair. ‘How are you? Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay.’

‘I’ve missed you, too,’ Jordie said. ‘I can’t believe what’s going on, Michael. Yes, I’m okay,’ he said, ‘but you should know
that…’ The teenager’s voice trailed off.

‘What?’ Michael asked. ‘I should know what? Never mind,’ he decided, his tone now reassuring. ‘We’ll work it out, I promise.’

Evan then walked over to Michael and embraced him. ‘Nice to see you, Michael,’ Evan said. Michael stared at Evan with cold,
dark eyes. Under the circumstances, it was an odd greeting by Evan. Later, Anthony Pellicano would say, ‘If I believed somebody
molested my kid and I got that close to him, I’d be on death row right now.’

They were seated, Anthony next to Michael on one settee, Jordie next to his father on another.

Evan got to the point quickly. ‘I believe that Michael has acted inappropriately toward Jordie,’ he said. ‘In fact, I’m sure
of it.’

‘What’s he talking about, Jordie?’ Michael asked, turning to the youngster.

Jordie made eye contact with Michael and nodded his head slightly, as if trying to pass a secret message. Michael looked at
him, quizzically.

Evan then reached into his vest pocket, pulled out an envelope and took a document from it. He explained that it was a psychiatric
evaluation of Jordie’s relationship with Michael. He read from it; the last paragraph encapsulated the analysis: ‘The minor
is in danger whether the relationship continues or ends. The impact that would be caused in other family members of the minor
should also be considered. These circumstances create the possibility that there exists negligence toward the child, even
as far as prostitution.’

‘What does that mean, exactly?’ Michael wanted to know.

‘It means that this doctor thinks you had sex with my kid,’ Evan said, his temper rising. Michael remained calm, which seemed
to infuriate Evan all the more. ‘You and Jordie are having sex, aren’t you?’ he shouted at him. ‘Just fucking admit it, Michael.
Be a man. Admit it.’ By this time, Evan had tears in his eyes. ‘How could you do it, Michael?’ he asked. ‘My God. How could
you do it? How could you do this to Jordie?’

‘I already told you that I didn’t do it,’ Michael said, remaining composed. ‘That’s preposterous. It never happened. I don’t
even know that doctor.’ He turned to Anthony. ‘Do we even know that doctor?’

Anthony, now an irate contrast to Michael’s demeanour, said, ‘Hell no, we don’t know that doctor. This meeting is over,’ he
told Evan. ‘Get out of here. Now.’

‘Wait,’ Evan said. He then read from another document written by the same psychiatrist: ‘“A thirty-four-year-old man constantly
sleeping with a thirteen-year-old boy when other beds are available constitutes,” Evan raised his voice, “
perverse and lewd conduct
.” Perverse and lewd conduct, Michael. Do you hear what I’m saying?’

Michael seemed stunned. He looked at Jordie for help, but now the youngster wouldn’t make eye contact with him.

‘I said, that’s it,’ Anthony again insisted. ‘This is war, now,’ he added, using a favourite phrase. ‘Who do you think you
are, coming in here and accusing Michael Jackson of a crime? Are you crazy? Get the fuck out of here!’

‘Wait,’ Evan said, again. ‘Look, if he’s willing to take a lie detector test, then fine,’ he added, pointing at Michael. ‘If
it comes back that he didn’t do it, fine. I’ll be out of your lives for ever. He can take Jordie on tour with him and I won’t
have a thing to say about it.’

‘That’s fucking preposterous,’ Anthony shot back. ‘Michael will never take a lie detector test. And besides,’ he added, ‘I
was in army intelligence. Do you think I couldn’t teach him to pass a lie detector?’

It seemed an odd statement for one of Michael’s advisers to make during such an important discussion. For a second, Evan didn’t
know how to react to it. ‘Great,’ he finally said. ‘And maybe you can also teach Jordie to lie, too.’

Anthony stood up. ‘Hear me, and hear me good,’ he said, pointing aggressively at Evan. ‘Michael Jackson did not have sex with
your son, and he will not take a lie detector test.’

‘I hear you,’ Evan said. ‘But I don’t understand you. Why not?’

‘Because it’s an
insult
, that’s why,’ Anthony said loudly.

All eyes fell on Michael who was now looking straight ahead as if in a trance.

‘Then, there’s nothing more to say,’ Evan concluded. ‘This meeting is over.’ Evan didn’t mention that Jordie had said that
he and Michael had been intimate. Perhaps he didn’t want to play that hand, yet. ‘I’ll see you in court, Michael,’ he said.
Maddeningly, there was still no reaction from Michael.

Jordie stood up and followed his father out of the room. As he walked through the door, according to Anthony Pellicano, the
youngster turned to face Michael with a sad expression. Michael stared at Jordie, probably never dreaming that it would be
the last time he would ever lay eyes on him.