thought. We're calling her next and they have to be warned not to
pursue red herrings.

Chapter 16

After the formalities of swearing in were completed, the 'suspect'
evaluations were identified as being contained in packets called
exhibit 3 and 4 by the chair and Diana was asked if she wrote them.

Following her denial, Henry asked her why 'they' would suggest that she
had. She answered that she had no idea. Damn her, thought Henry. She
won't rise to the bait.

Next, the chair turned to exhibit 5, which he identified as some of the
standards used by the document examiners. Apparently, he had heard and
taken note when Trenchant had made a point of the fact that the
so-called standards were copies.

"One is an original, here on top--the rest are copies." Then he
continued, obliquely, asking, "have you seen these before?"

"Since these exhibits were passed around and discussed yesterday,"
Trenchant answered, "I have seen something that appears like this.

"If you are asking if I wrote them, the answer is that I couldn't say.
The one original in the packet looks like my signature but there is no
date on it. I don't know when it was written and do not recall writing
it.

"These others show dates of a long time ago. We're in the late
eighties now and these are dated '61, '69...."

"We have some dated more current that the document examiners used. I
can send over to Mark's office for them."

"Oh, you have additional evidence that I was not given before the
hearing? Is that correct?"

"No. Well, I mean no one has looked at it. No one on this committee
either. This was handled between Mark and the document examiners. I
will call Mark right now and have him bring them over."

Henry left the hearing room and headed up the stairs to the witness
waiting room where Mark was standing by for just such emergencies.
You'd think we were the ones on trial, he grumbled to himself. Why
does she persist in this inane manner when I've got everything so well
planned out? "Mark, Trenchant's called us on the remaining standards
that you sent but that we decided not to include in the material we
gave her. Please go and get them and bring them to the hearing room as
soon as possible."

As the men descended the stairs, Mark to leave and Henry to return to
the hearing, Mark asked, "how did she find out about them, Henry?"

"She was making such a fuss about all the standards having dates so far
back that sh