No, I was not ready for this. No jury would doubt her testi mony, especially when it came stuttering out through a fog of tears and obscene acid flashbacks. And the fact that she couldn’t recall precisely what we had done to her would make it impossible to deny. The jury would know what we’d done. They would have read about people like us in the $2.95 paper backs: Up To The Hilt and Only Skin Deep, . and seen your type in the $5 fuck-flicks.
And of course we could’nt possibly taking the stand in our own defense – not after they’d cleaned out the trunk of the Whale: “And I’d like to point out, Your Honor, that, our Prosecution Exhibits A through Y are available to the jury – yes, this incredible collection of illegal drugs and narcotics which the defendants had in their possession at the time of their arrests and forcible seizure by no less than nine officers, six of whom are still hospitalized . . . and also Exhibit Z, sworn testimony by three professional narcotics experts selected by the president of the National District Attorneys’ Conference – which was seriously embarrassed by the defendants’ attempts to infiltrate, disrupt and pervert their annual convention . . . these experts have testified that the drug cache in the possession of these defendants at the time of the arrests was enough to kill an entire platoon of United States Marines . . . and gentlemen, I use the word kill with all due respect for the fear and loathing I’m sure it provokes in every one of you when you reflect that these degenerate rapists used this galaxy of narcotics to completely destroy the mind and morals of this once-innocent teenager, this ruined and de graded young girl who now sits before you in shame . . . yes, they fed this girl enough drugs to scramble her brains so hor ribly that she can no longer even recall the filthy details of that orgy she was forced to endure . . . and then they used her, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, for their own unspeakable ends!”
5. A Terrible Experience with Extremely Dangerous Drugs.
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There was no way to cope with it. I stood up and gathered my luggage. It was important, I felt, to get out of town immediately.
My attorney seemed to finally grasp this. “Wait!” he shouted. “You can’t leave me alone in this snake pit! This room is in my name.”
I shrugged.
“OK, goddamnit,” he said, moving toward the phone.
“Look, I’ll call her. I’ll get her off our backs.” He nodded.
“You’re right. She’s my problem.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s gone too far.”
“You’d make a pisspoor lawyer,” he replied. “Relax. I’ll handle this.”
He dialed the Americana and asked for 1600. “Hi, Lucy,” he said. “Yeah, it’s me. I got your message . . . what? Hell no, I taught the bastard a lesson he’ll never forget.., what? . . . o, not dead, but he won’t be bothering anybody for a while – yeah, I left him out there; I stomped him, then pulled all teeth out..
Jesus, I thought. What a terrible thing to lay on somebody a head full of acid.
“But here’s the problem,” he was saying. “I have to leave here right away. That bastard cashed a bad check downstairs and gave you as a reference, so they’ll be looking for both of you . . . yeah, I know, but you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, Lucy; some people are just basically rotten . . . anyway, the pie as a reference, so they’ll be looking for both of us. The last thing in the world you want to do is call this hotel again; they’ll trace the call and put you straight behind bars . . . no, I’m moving to the Tropicana right away; I’ll call you from there when I know my room number . . . yeah, probably two hours; I have to act casual, or they’ll capture me too . . . I think I’ll probably use a different name, but I’ll let you know what it is . . . sure, just as soon as I check in . . . what? of course; we’ll go to the Circus-Circus and catch the polar bear act; it’ll freak you right out . .