Justice

This is a complete novel in more than 40 chapters. I will be supplying the chapters one at a time for your reading pleasure. They are separted into scenes, like a play. Indulge and if I am too slow supplying the next chapter, just keep in mind that suspense is one the best seasonings in life ...Here we go....

Sarah Bingham

It was a beautiful day. A typical summer day in Trebuchee, Indiana. The summers in this place were dear to Sarah Bingham. She was born in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, a small town with only 671 residents over seventy years ago. Over many years, she weathered brief but scorching summers and lengthy, frigid winters. Now, in the autumn of her life, God had given her a more temperate world to live in.
Sarah Bingham was directly related to William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphia banker during the Revolution. William Bingham, who had ownership of over two million acres of land in Maine, including the land on which Carrabassett Valley is situated today. On May 30, 1976, Sarah became the wife of Justice David Stone. Their commitment to their marriage vows has kept her as his wife all this time. They were both raised in Christian families that made it the focal point of their lives, and they carried on that devotion. It was a joyous marriage full of love and happiness.
At one point, Sarah was a junior high school teacher. In fact, she had taught all grades from first to eighth. Her students and their parents considered her to be one of the best. Sarah decided to retire from teaching as everything comes to an end.
Following that, an unfortunate incident occurred. Sarah's health began to deteriorate. She visited the family doctor to determine the issue, but he couldn't provide a definite diagnosis. He suggested she undergo some tests at the Trebuchee Medical Center. With hesitation, Sarah consented.
They diagnosed Sarah with Myelodysplastic Syndrome or MDS based on the test results. Despite the doctors' efforts to explain the syndrome and its remedies to Sarah, she was not listening. She couldn't do it, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn’t. Her thoughts were unclear, and she felt faint. The doctors recognized they were wasting their time and left the room. After she was alone, Sarah burst into tears and cried for almost an hour. Then depleted, she slept. It was peaceful, but there wouldn't be many like it in the future.
The Syndrome progressed rapidly and turned into a severe case of Myeloid Leukemia. The doctors had warned Sarah that this might happen and if it did, they were ready to treat it. Treatments were uncertain, yet they provided a greater chance of survival than without. After one session, Sarah decided the program wasn't for her. She told herself that it's not what God wishes. She discharged herself from the hospital against medical advice as soon as she was able. She contacted Justice, who drove her home using her own car. The car was an Audi Quattro A4 in powder blue. It had only been hers for a year, and now she might never get to drive it again.
After going home, she went straight to bed. She was exhausted and had little energy left for anything else, but Justice was angry with Sarah. Primarily for leaving the hospital against the wishes of her doctors. But also for putting her life in his hands as he saw it.
Justice said, “You are a Christian, not a Christian Scientist. As much as I wish it were true, you simply cannot pray disease away.”
Sarah said, “Dear, I know what I am. Do you? You profess to be a Christian, but at the first actual test of your faith, you fail miserably.”
Justice said, “Honey, please, I just don't want to lose you.”
Sarah said, “Dear Justice, I know. But you are only thinking of yourself. In that sense, you've already lost me.”
Justice started crying at her bedside. Tears of shame mixed with tears of rage. Soon, Sarah was crying with him, but not for the same reasons. Her tears poured out of the pain she felt and could no longer grasp.

Justice Stone

Justice Stone was born in the small town of Tippecanoe City, Ohio, in 1951. His family was a devoted Pentecostal one that held fast to their faith. His family attended church in Tipp City, and Justice went from Sunday school to church member in as short a period as possible. He could often quote Bible verse better than his father, and occasionally, even better than the pastor. The church was grooming Justice to become a church pastor himself, but something intervened. The Vietnam War.
Justice felt obliged to serve his country after he got drafted. His parents wept when he left, but he was one of the lucky ones. He made it home in one piece. He said that he had prayed every night and every morning, but not for himself. Justice prayed for the men around him. Especially those with the foul mouths and the even fouler behaviors. He was not judging, but he knew God was. Therefore, Justice prayed for benevolence from a most powerful Lord.
In the jungles of Vietnam, Justice would meet the man who would become his best friend, Staff Sergeant Ronald Ferris. Ferris had already had a previous tour in Vietnam and was not looking forward to going back. He called it “Charlie’s Roulette.”
Ferris was of the opinion that if you kept going back, sooner or later you would be shot and likely die. More probably sooner than later, too. He had already seen too many of his friends die, so Ronald decided that this tour, come what may, he would stick to himself and leave the friendship to others. That was before he met Corporal Justice Stone.
Justice had been in country almost long enough to get rotated back stateside when he met Ferris. Justice’s first impression was that the man had a stick up his rear. Corporals didn’t get to judge sergeants, though, and Justice knew he shouldn’t be judging the man, anyway. One day, out on patrol, Ferris was walking the right side of a path through the jungle while Justice was on the left. Ferris didn’t see the booby trap he was about to run into, but Justice did. Justice leaped across the path and knocked Ferris off his feet.
Ferris said, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Corporal?”
Justice said, “Let me show you, Sarge.” Justice got up and triggered the booby trap. The spikes of the trap would have impaled the Sergeant against one of the many trees. Justice reached out his hand to help the Sergeant up. They grasped hands, and Justice pulled him to his feet.
Ferris said, “Thank you, Corporal. I believe you saved my life.” Just then, a single shot rang out, hitting Justice in his arm right below his shoulder. Justice went down, and so did the rest of the patrol. Ferris said, “Scatter and find shelter. Return fire.”
By now, much more than one round had reached its goal. Screams of pain blended with the gunfire from both sides. Eventually, no one was firing except the Americans and Ferris called out, “Cease fire! Medic on me. Find the wounded and issue aid. Hang on. We’ll get to you.”
A flurry of activity ensued. Upon arrival, the medic asked the sergeant about his injury. Ferris said, “Not me, dammit, him,” pointing at Justice. The medics did their best to treat Justice, but his injuries along with those of some other men required them to call for an evacuation. Helicopter evacuation, while somewhat quick, was not without its risks. Until the chopper was off the ground, it was a disaster waiting to happen.
Ferris called for the evac, was told where to go, a nearby clearing. He popped smoke and waited. Less than a minute after Ferris called for the evac, they saw the gunship, and less than five minutes after that, they were in the air. The gunner in the chopper sprayed the area just in case any Viet Cong, or NVA, North Vietnam Army Regulars, had lingered.
Once in the air, Ferris grabbed Justice’s hand and held it tight. Ferris said, “I swore I would not make any friends this tour. I guess I was wrong.”
Justice couldn’t say anything intelligent right then, so he just smiled and nodded and gripped Ferris’ hand as tightly as he could.

Julia Stone

Julia was Justice’s younger sister. She was not much younger. Only a year and ten months. Her other brother was much younger than her. He was not a planned birth, but loved still, like the others. Julia, as the middle child, may have felt neglected in love, but that was not the case. She was her mother’s favorite. She herself had not gone to college but went straight out of high school into teaching at a commune in Michigan. There were no laws in the commune to make you have a teaching license, which Julia could not have received anyway because of her lack of college. This suited her fine for the time being. Eventually, though, she wanted more out of life and decided to move back home.
She met a man while applying for a job at Enfelco. His name was Regis Williams. She was taken in by the man’s ability to lead and thought that she would like to get to know him better. He, also, had the same notion. Regis had found his beautiful trophy wife. If he could only get close enough to propose marriage. She’d be foolish to refuse.
Julia wasn’t foolish, but Regis’s proposal of marriage enthralled her, and she accepted it. Her older brother Justice thought little of the man, but that was Justice’s problem. Julia was in love.
The marriage happened without a hitch and Julia was beautiful. Regis lacked any sort of transparency. Julia thought she had married a mannequin. However, he took her to Paris for a honeymoon. It turned out to be merely Regis’ half-baked attempt at normal social behavior. Regis spent the entire time on the phone making business calls. By the time they flew back to the states, Julia wondered why Regis had bothered to marry her at all.
It wouldn’t be the last time she would ask herself that question and she never would get an answer. However, shortly after their return to the states, something terrible occurred. Her parents had been on the first vacation they had seen in ages. They had flown to Florida to lie in the sun and enjoy the beaches. Upon their return, the plane had engine trouble somewhere over Tennessee and ended up crashing into the Earth near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. No one survived the crash, including the crew and Julia’s parents.
Julia was not the type of person who could handle death well. But are any of us when it’s family? Justice, fresh out of the service, and the jungles of Vietnam, was more capable, but of a different temperament. He couldn’t bring himself to console Julia. Although he did not know it yet, he was about to have his own problems. Justice went off to bereave by himself. The third member of the family, young Michael away in college at the time, had no way of dealing with the problem. Julia had to seek Regis’ shoulder to cry on.
Regis told her, “They’re dead now. Gone. They don’t have to deal with this world any more. Good for them. I’m happy for them. You should be too.”
Julia, turned away by even her husband, fell into a deep depression. This would, in time, drive her insane. A girl that had shown such promise when she was in her youth would now be turned into a blithering idiot thanks to a total lack of interest on her family’s part and a complete disregard for her feelings by her own husband. But she soldiered on, during which she would have to undergo more of the same. An unfeeling spouse and uncaring relatives. But she would not take her own life despite her depression. Her parents had brought her up right. Only God may give and take lives. So she endured. The depression would eventually kill her of its own accord. But not for a long time. A very long time.

Michael Stone

Michael was Justice’s youngest sibling. Justice had a younger sister as well, but there was a substantial difference in ages between the three. Justice was now seventy-two years old. Julia, his sister, was seventy, but Michael was only sixty-one. Michael was not a birth that anyone foresaw, at least prior to his mother’s pregnancy.
They took no special care during her pregnancy with Michael. Back then, people considered late births normal and did not take any special care during pregnancy, believing it would not harm the child or the mother. Fortunately, Michael came into the world whole and healthy. He was a bright child who displayed a love for science and history in school where he normally got straight As.
Michael attended college at Ohio University, but did not graduate. He was a business major, but he left school when his parents died in a plane crash in June 1981. Michael, Justice, and Julia attended the funeral even though Justice was still dealing with PTSD from his Army service. The three should have come together as siblings to mourn, but also to support each other. Michael needed to go back to college, but refused. His service to his nation had exhausted Justice and the PTSD resulting from that had left him incapable of dealing with stress. He had little left over for his family. Julia was never the type to console others and besides, she was freshly married when the plane went down. It was more than they could tolerate and they would not come together, so they fragmented, both socially and psychologically. Julia went off with her husband, who dominated her. Michael tried to stay as far away as he could from everyone, including the family. And Justice, well Justice, sat alone by himself, until he found his own love. Once Sarah came Into Justice’s life, he was the only one of the three able to make a decent life for himself. All too soon she too would be removed, leaving him back in the same position as the others, lost yet unable to find a compass.
Sarah had become ill and gone to the doctor to find out why. The doctor wanted to send her to the hospital for some tests. He tried to keep a smile on his face when discussing things with her, but she could see through him. She knew something serious was wrong. Sure enough, the test results were positive for Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MDS.
Michael had been a ne’er-do-well for most of his adult life. This had not endeared him to Sarah, but Justice could find no fault with his brother. When Sarah became sick with MDS, which then turned into acute Myeloid Leukemia, Michael became embroiled with Sarah over her desire to just remain home and die as opposed to hospitalization and a potential cure.
Although Michael had no intention of trying to impose his will upon her, he merely wanted her to have the best life possible. He kept reminding her that this was not God’s plan for her life, but an accident of fate.
Sarah became furious with Michael. She told him that everything that happened to everyone was part of God’s plan and he might as well get used to it. She told Michael to leave her home and never come back. It was a display of the pain she was feeling more than any genuine desire to separate herself from Michael, but he didn’t know that.
He was crestfallen and thoroughly lost. He just shook his head and told her he was leaving. At the door, he asked if she would say goodbye for him to Justice. Softening, Sarah said she would. Michael left and they would not see him again for a long time.

Regis Williams

In every story, there has to be a bad guy. Someone to hate. Someone evil. All of these things describe Regis Williams. Oh, he wasn’t always that way.
He was born on July 5, 1949, in Columbus, Ohio. He always used to say that America was born on Regis Eve. When he was in college at Ohio State, he was a fine human being. Charitable, even, one could say. But, like they say, all good things come to an end. Here, a sorry one. But don’t get me wrong. Evil didn’t creep up and seize Regis Williams. Oh, no. The opposite was true. He crept up and seized evil. And he shook it violently. Regis’ parents had been poor, and a scholarship got him through Ohio State. That and a lot of hard work. Work that he swore he would never have to do again. So, despite that disclaimer, he worked his way into the local mob. And then he took over the local mob and made it over in his own image. After that, things seemed to go along quite easy. Far easier than they should have.
Until one night, drunk from a recent victory over an opponent, he ran over a woman in the street on his way home. Well, he couldn’t stop, now could he. Even though he already owned the cops in this town. So, he never knew that he had killed her. Or, that her then unborn son, would be mute because of him. But that child would survive. Something Regis would live to discover and regret. Sometimes, you truly should abide by the law.
Regardless, Regis went home, sobered up, and said nothing to anyone about it. And as he expected, nothing came of it. It wasn’t even investigated like a normal hit-and-run. Regis went about his life, amassing his fortunes and his empire. When Enfelco, the fruit, and vegetable giant, moved their headquarters to Indiana, Regis was in on the ground floor. He bought shares in the company as soon as they became available. Eventually, Regis would own over 50% of Enfelco and they were doing what he wanted them to do when he wanted them to do it. Slaves to a former employee. How sad for American business. This should never have happened, but Regis often bought his shares through dummies and then merged them all after the fact. Something else that the Securities and Exchange Commission would have to talk with him about.
Regis would retire eventually. In other words, he let the American government think he was retired, while he continued to perform the same criminal activities he always had. Yet another check to stick in Regis Williams’ coffers. He gathered around him a group of much younger people who would do his bidding for him. But, like they say, sometimes you just have to do it yourself if you want it done right. To say that Regis was obsessive, and compulsive would be the understatement of the century. However, after a while he got lazy and didn’t clean up after himself as well as he might.
And behind the scenes, someone was taking notice. He was compiling data and getting the testimonies of those Regis had ruined over the years. He was also acquiring the testimony, when he could, of accomplices to Regis’ crimes and schemes. It would take years and lots of legwork, but this person was going to uncover all of Regis’ filthy scheming and outright crimes. He would finish the task and expose Regis to the world, even if it cost him his life. Knowing Regis as he did, it just might.