Missing Witness (37 page)

“That's exactly right.”

“Perhaps, Dr. Longfellow, you and I and the jury can agree on something. If any of the jurors need a ride home tonight after the trial, we can agree that you shouldn't drive any of them home…how about that?”

The president of the construction company was laughing now.

“On the other hand,” Will continued, “if the jury wants to arrive at a just and fair verdict based on historical fact, then can this jury rely on your opinions as a credible historian?”

“There they certainly can.” Longfellow was now sitting a little straighter in his chair.

“Lastly, let's talk about this issue of Isaac Joppa deserting from the ship
Intrepid
because of the brutality of Captain Zebulun Boughton. Would you address the jury as to how frequent, or infrequent, such desertion was among sailors in the early 1700s—both English and American?”

“Yes. Be happy to address that. If you read the literature of the times—mariners' and sailors' accounts, admiralty historians—it's often remarked that sailors during that period, despite unbearable and unbelievable hardships on board the vessels of the day, would rarely complain. The reason was that they had two very practical alternatives. The usual one was that they would desert at the first opportunity. The second—which fortunately was much more rare—was the choice to mutiny.”

“And Isaac Joppa chose to desert rather than be implicated in the mutiny of the crew, is that correct?”

“Yes. That's exactly right.”

MacPherson decided not to attempt re-cross with Longfellow, and he was excused.

Will's next witness was Susan Red Deer Williams. After pacing her through her qualifications, which were unchallenged by MacPherson, Will led her directly into her expert opinions.

“As an expert in Native American history primarily involving the Tuscaroras, my opinion, Mr. Chambers, is that, to a reasonable degree of historical probability, it was Isaac Joppa who had contact with Chief King Jim Blount, his Indian daughter, and his son, the warrior Great Hawk of the Tuscarora Tribe. My second opinion is that, during contact with them following the Battle of Ocracoke Inlet, he attempted to proselytize those Indians into the Christian religion. My last opinion is that, at the time of his contact, Isaac Joppa was carrying a small ceramic plate that bore information relating to his engagement and intended marriage to an Englishwoman.”

With that, Will felt he had accomplished everything he could through that witness. She had been called, after all, for a very limited purpose—to establish the religious piety of Isaac Joppa and his fidelity to his fiancée. That corroborated Longfellow's opinions that such religious beliefs on the part of Isaac Joppa would never have been countenanced by the pirate
crew aboard Teach's ship—had Joppa actually been active in their schemes of piracy. And his engagement to Abigail Merriwether was a strong motive against roaming the seas as a pirate.

Will sat down at counsel table, and MacPherson charged quickly to the podium with a look of relish on his face. Whatever his direction in cross-examination, Will was fairly confident of one thing. It was going to be a bumpy ride.

54

“M
S
. W
ILLIAMS, YOU REFERRED IN YOUR OPINIONS
to the likelihood that Isaac Joppa had attempted to—in your own words—‘proselytize' the Tuscarora Indians. Do you recall that testimony?”

“I do remember that. That was my testimony.”

“Do you have any historical evidence that Isaac Joppa attempted to—as you say—religiously proselytize the
pirates
when he was with them those many months?”

“No. There's no evidence of that at all.”

“So then, the only evidence of this religious zeal is after he has escaped from the Royal Navy by the skin his teeth, so to speak, and is temporarily staying with the Indians?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Is it possible that Isaac Joppa, during the time he was with the pirates aboard their ship, was just as much of a heathen and bloodthirsty pirate as they were—but after escaping death in the Ocracoke Inlet, he repented of his wicked ways and suddenly ‘got religion'—just in time for the Tuscarora Indians?”

“I'm not sure I follow your meaning…”

“The point is this—you don't know whether Mr. Joppa's religious zeal was gained
after
he left the pirates, or whether he had it
during
his time with Edward Teach and his crew?”

“I really can't answer that,” Williams said.

“You refer to a token—a ceramic plate that your Indian lore describes as a gift from an Englishwoman to Isaac Joppa, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is relatively well-established by several different sources in the Indian histories I've studied. That there was a plate. That it was taken from Mr. Joppa by Chief King Jim Blount, and was still with him when he joined the rest of the Tuscaroras in upper New York state. He then gave it to his son, Great Hawk, who returned, at some point, to the North
Carolina area. It was then handed down from Indian son to Indian son—until it ended up being returned to the possession of white men at some point during the early twentieth century.”

“Well, that's a whole lot of historical information. And it's certainly very fascinating. It's a great Indian story. But let me ask you this—have you ever seen the plate you're talking about?”

“No, unfortunately I haven't.”

“Have you ever personally talked to anyone who has seen it?”

“No, I can't say that I have.”

“Can you cite me a single scholarly historical journal, article, or book in which this ceramic plate has ever been referred to?”

“I'm afraid that there aren't any written records referring to it. This is all oral history—”

“Oral? In other words, a bunch of stories passed down around the campfire—that kind of thing?”

“I would dispute your characterization—”

“We'll strike the business about the campfire. The point is, it's a story that people have told other people who've told other people who've told other people…that's pretty much it, isn't it?”

“Bottom line—yes, it is.”

Will was contemplating whether or not he was going to attempt redirect examination of Williams, but was inclined not to attempt it. In the words of his Uncle Bull Chambers, the former judge,
This stick of wood has been whittled down about as far as it can go.

But then something caught Will's eye. He scanned the back of the courtroom and caught a glimpse of Blackjack Morgan sitting in the very last row. But that was not it.

Approximately five rows in front of Morgan was someone else. He was wearing a ship captain's hat, and he carried a large paper sack and was waving it furiously in Will's direction.

It was Possum Kooter.

Will rose to his feet and asked that Susan Red Deer Williams be excused.

“May I have just a minute before my next witness?” Will asked.

Judge Gadwell reluctantly nodded.

Will scurried across the courtroom to Possum Kooter, who was now standing in the aisle with his bag lifted shoulder-high.

“Mr. Chambers—got it right here—yes, sir. You and me. You put me on. One, two, three. I'll get right into this…”

“Mr. Kooter—”

“
Possum
. No
Mr. Kooter
stuff. Possum to you and everybody else. Just regular old Possum Kooter.”

“Yeah, Possum. Right. What do you have for me?”

Kooter thrust his hand into the paper bag, rustling it loudly. Suddenly, there it was. Will was looking into a finely painted, only slightly chipped, and mostly unfaded portrait of a beautiful blond young woman. The plate was only an inch or two in diameter. He turned it over. On the other side it read:

Isaac Joppa and Abigail Merriwether.

Betrothed May 1, 1717.

To Be Wed—May 1, 1718.

There was a smile, now, on Will's face. And a strange feeling of connection.

As Will gazed at the pretty painted face, he thought,
So this is what he was fighting for…you are who he survived for. How he must have loved you…

“Mr. Chambers, are you done yet? Are you ready to proceed?” Judge Gadwell said abruptly.

“Yes, Your Honor, I'm ready to proceed.”

“Sir,” Judge Gadwell said, motioning toward Possum Kooter, “I don't know who you are, but in my courtroom, everybody takes off their hat. That includes you.”

Kooter quickly snatched the captain's hat off his head. “No offense, Your Honor. No offense intended. Want to go by proper protocol here. Proper procedure.”

Will asked for a sidebar conference with counsel and the judge.

“Your Honor,” Will began, “there's been some testimony about an antique plate. It figures prominently in this case. And right now we have possession of it.”

He pulled the ceramic plate out of the paper bag and displayed it to the court and to Virgil MacPherson, who was barely able to contain his amazement and rage.

“Your Honor, I want you to order him to put that thing back in that bag. I don't want the jury to see that thing. That's not evidence. That's not going to be evidence. Mr. Chambers, you cover that up right now.”

“Your Honor, I know I didn't list this as a form of exhibit. And that's because this…well, we didn't have it before just now.”

“Your Honor,” MacPherson continued, his chin shaking with rage, “I am totally surprised by this new evidence…”

“You know what?” Will added. “So am I, Virgil. I'm surprised. The court's surprised. This Possum Kooter guy walks in with the plate right in the middle of trial. This is the first time I have seen this.”

“I want a mistrial, Judge. Right now. Right here. I am asking for a mistrial because Mr. Chambers here flashed this plate in front of the jurors.”

“Now just hold on, Virgil,” the judge said, trying to keep a firm hand on a case that was quickly spiraling out of control. “Now, Mr. Chambers, you just put in this evidence in an orderly fashion. I'll make my rulings accordingly. And, Virgil, you just have to sit down. You're going to have to wait your turn.”

MacPherson resumed his seat slowly, eyeing Will carefully all the time.

Will strode to the podium and called Oscar “Possum” Kooter to the stand.

After Kooter was sworn in, Will began.

“Do you prefer that people call you ‘Possum' Kooter?”

“I sure do. You're finally getting it at last, young man.”

“Okay. Possum, you brought a bag with you today?”

“Sure did. Here it is.” And he held it up high for everyone to see.

“And in that bag you have a plate, is that correct?”

“Oh, yes, I do.” And with that, Kooter thrust his hand back into the bag, pulling out the plate and displaying high so everyone could see it.

MacPherson jumped to his feet again, objected, and again moved for a mistrial.

“Now, Virgil, you sit down,” the judge said. “I hear you. I know where you're coming from. And I've got some concerns like you do. But we're going to have to do this in an orderly fashion…”

“Possum, would you explain how you came into possession of this plate?” Will asked.

With that, Kooter gave the litany of personal contacts that had brought the plate down to him. But in his rambling narrative, he also added several side trips of information pertaining to his sailing days, his fishing life, his accumulation of injuries and various medical maladies, and the worst hurricanes on record…

After Kooter had gone on for some ten minutes nonstop and Will had caught sight of Gadwell rolling his eyes and rocking in his chair with visible agitation, Will decided to rein his witness in.

“Possum, is it correct to say that the Tuscarora Indians, according to the information you received, passed this item down to a white man, who then gave it to a man who inherited it from his dead father and passed it down
to his nephew, a lighthouse keeper, who handed it down to his son, Frank, who sold it to you?”

MacPherson was on his feet, swinging his hands wildly. “Hearsay, hearsay, hearsay, and quadruple hearsay!”

“Well, I don't know exactly how many ‘hearsays' that makes,” the judge said, “but it makes enough for me to say it's hearsay. Mr. Chambers, I'm going to strike that question and that answer.”

Will thought for a moment. Then he took a few quick steps over to counsel table, grabbed the evidence code, and turned quickly to a specific page.

“Your Honor, I'm going to invoke Section 803, subparagraph 13, which permits, despite the fact that they're technically hearsay, ‘statements of fact concerning personal or family history contained in family Bibles, genealogies, charts, engravings on rings, inscriptions on family portraits, engravings on urns, crypts, or tombstones,
or the like.
'”