when he returned to the interrogation room and was introduced to his lawyer, the man calling himself rutherford b hayes requested to consult with the lawyer in a private room.
taft had no choice but to agree.
“it’s not getting any earlier here,” grundy told taft, when the lawyer and the man had left. “can i go home?”
taft hesitated. “no, the lawyer might want to ask you about your identification. you better stay.”
“but i already told you, i am not sure about him.”
“tell her whatever you want. it might just drag things out if she wants to talk to you.”
“can she ask him anything?” corelli put in. “this is not a courtroom.”
“i don’t really know,” taft admitted. “but i just want to move things along. the captain won’t like it if we get bogged down in a lot of back and fort.”
“then why not just let the guy go, and move on?” corelli asked.
“i think we are too far along to do that.”
“but can i go home?” corelli asked. “what do you need me for?”
“yes, you can go home. i will call the front desk to send a replacement for you.”
“thank you.”
“wait. before you leave, have a copy made of this.” taft handed corelli rutherford b hayes’s phone.
“and everything on it?”
“of course. why else would i have it copied?”
“you want me to wait for it?”
“no, no, just tell them to do it double quick and send it back to me.”
*
the room in which the lawyer, anne greenleaf, and rutherford b hayes found themselves was the size of a closet, with two hard chairs and a small table, and had a single small high window. it was much closer to rutherford’s idea of an interrogation room than the large windowed room he had been brought to by taft.
“all right, let’s get started,” greenleaf said. she switched her phone to record and put it on the small table. “i am anne greenleaf, an attorney for imperial city legal assistance. my id number is 78-628-h-52. and i am speaking with mr rutherford b hayes -“
“excuse me. that is not my real name.”
“ah. all right.” greenleaf showed no surprise. she switched off the phone. “why don’t you tell me your real name and then we can start over.”
“i don’t have a real name. or any name.”
“well, that must be awkward. “
“yes, it can be sometimes.”
“I tell you what, why don’t i turn the recorder back on and you can tell me about how and why the secret service picked you up. then we can go back later, and sort of fill in the blanks.”
“all right.”
the man no longer calling himself “rutherford b hayes” or anything else briefly recounted his encounter with taft and grundy.
“and that’s it?” greenleaf asked when he had finished. “you have no idea why they picked you up? none at all?”
“no, i do not.”
“tell me… rutherford .. you don’t mind if i still call you rutherford…?”
“it’s as good a name as any.”
“do you suffer from … blackouts… do you suddenly sort of wake up and not know where you are?”
“no, i don’t think so. it is just that i don’t know my name or who i an or where i came from.”
“you must get through the days somehow. you don’t even look like a bum. much. ”
“somehow is right. and i am not a bum. or a psycho or a criminal or a fake or a bad person. i am not any of those things.”
“you don’t have to convince me. i am sure you are not.”
22. the phone
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