October 17 Johnson Creek Road (south of Yellow Pine, east of Warm Lake, Idaho)

The moon was rising to the east as an Idaho Department of Fish and Game pickup truck sped up Johnson Creek Road kicking up dust from a dry fall that followed an even drier summer.

The white cloud of dust lingered several minutes after the truck drove by. It would settle on the vegetation along the road.

Game Warden Nathan Salmon was in a hurry. His window was down. The sound of the flapping blue tarp in the bed of the truck was unmerciful in the wind.

Salmon was transporting a carcass wrapped in the tarp. Blood droplets sprayed the tailgate. Only a few people knew that what he had in the back was at the very least controversial.

Nathan grabbed his satellite phone and punched in some numbers as he continued south up the grade toward Warm Lake Highway.

“It’s always got to be something out near Yellow Pine,” he muttered to himself as he pushed the send button on his phone.

The phone took a couple of seconds, but then he heard it ringing.

“Hello,” a female voice answered.

“Hey, Sandy is that you?” Nathan asked.

“It sure is Nathan, it’s been a long time, how are you?” Sandy said.

“I know it’s been a long time and I look forward to catching up with you soon, but I need to speak with your other half,” Nathan said. “Sandy, did you notice I said other half and not better?”

Nathan had known Sandy and Terry Freeman for several years. Their children grew up together.

“Terry, hey Terry it’s Nathan and he needs to talk to you, probably something official so I’ll be sure to listen in on the other phone,” Sandy said.

Nathan smiled briefly as he took a curve faster than he should. The tires spun a bit, but he stayed on the road.

“This is Terry,” Terry took the phone from his wife.

“Terry, it’s Nathan. Hey, listen I’ve got a carcass of a bear in the back of the truck, it was shot tonight by that famous writer fella out there near Yellow Pine.”

“Black bear?” Terry asked.

“By the looks of it, it’s a grizzly bear with a bad case of mange. Anyway, that being the case I need to burn this thing rather than dump it in a ditch somewhere,” Nathan said.

“And you want me to meet you at the crematory,” Terry asked.

“Yep,” Nathan said.

“How far out are you?” Terry asked.

“About 45 minutes,” Nathan said. “I’m about two miles from Warm Lake Highway now coming off Johnson Creek.”

"OK, it might take some time to get it up and running. I haven’t had to fire it up in two weeks,” Terry said.

“Well, thank you, I’ll meet you there.” Nathan said as he ended the call.

Nathan laid the phone down on the seat and slowed to a partial stop at the intersection of Johnson Creek and Warm Lake Highway.

Looking both ways, Nathan took a second to check his rearview mirror to look to see if the tarp was still covering the dead animal.

The tarp was wrapped pretty well as only a small clump of long hair matted in blood flapped outside it as he turned right onto the highway.

As he drove west down the Warm Lake Summit grade toward the South Fork of the Salmon River, he eyed a photo disk he confiscated from the camera of the man who shot the beast in the back.

“Better throw you into the fire, too,” Nathan said to himself.
           
Valley County Courthouse, Cascade, Idaho, six months later

“All rise, the honorable Judge Archibald Wagner Idaho’s Fourth District Court presiding,” the court bailiff announced.

“Please take your seats,” the judge said. “In the matter of the state of Idaho versus Jack Lafayette, I understand the state wishes to call one or two more witnesses to the stand, before we hear from Mr. Lafayette.”

“That is correct, your honor,” special prosecutor Blaine Pilch replied.

“I concur,” Lafayette’s attorney Justin Aho said.

“Before you start Mr. Pilch, Mr. Aho do you have any rebuttal witnesses planned for today or will you rely solely on your client’s testimony?” the judge asked.

“Your honor, our plan is to have my client testify, but maintain our right to call any rebuttal witnesses that may be necessary to refute anything new heard here today.”

A pair of local reporters sitting in the court benches whispered amongst themselves.

“Justin Aho has got to be the funniest name for a lawyer I have ever had the pleasure of writing up in an article,” one reporter said to the other.

“It’s Finnish, so leave it alone before you rub somebody up here the wrong way,” the other reporter said.

“There are a lot of Ahos up here.” Both reporters laughed.

The judge looked in their direction, but said nothing.

“Are you ready to call your next witness Mr. Pilch?”

“We are your honor, the state calls game warden Nathan Salmon to the stand.”

Officer Salmon was sworn in and took a seat.

“Could you state your name and occupation for the court?”

“Nathan Buford Salmon, I am a game warden for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.”

“How long have you worked as a game warden?”

“Twenty-two years.”

“And in that time, have you witnessed many unlawful takings of various big game animals.”

“I have.”

“Could you put a ballpark figure on the amount of big game wastings you have worked in your career.”

“It’s hard to put a number on it, but I would guess I have averaged about five cases a year that would fall under the category this case falls under.”

“Would you say that this case is typical or unusual?”

“This is a typical case that began with a certain amount of mystery that was soon cleared up through DNA testing at our state lab.”

“Mystery, how do you mean?”

“When I arrived on the scene at Mr. Lafayette’s house on the night of October 17, I witnessed a man holding a shotgun on his porch shaking considerably about five feet from the corpse of a large animal.”

“What did you initially suspect?”

“Initially, I suspected that a grizzly bear had gotten too close to Mr. Lafayette who happened to be armed with a 12-gauge shotgun on his porch.”

“Are grizzly bears known to live in these parts?”

“No, not generally, but it isn’t a stretch for one grizzly to wander his way from either northern Idaho or eastern Idaho through the Salmon River Mountains and find his way to a person’s home.”

“Has this ever happened before?”

“Yes, I have worked at least four similar cases within areas not known for the presence of grizzly bears during my career.”

“Initially, you said you believed that Mr. Lafayette, the defendant, appeared to be defending himself. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did you, during the course of your investigation change your initial belief that this was a simple matter of a man defending himself?”

“At first, no, but about a week later, we had received an anonymous tip that Mr. Lafayette had been baiting the bear closer and closer to his cabin. We obtained a search warrant and obtained video evidence at the defendant’s home where he had recorded several instances of his baiting the bear closer and closer to his cabin.”

“Objection, your honor,” Aho spoke up. “The video in question clearly does not show my client baiting a grizzly bear, in fact, if anything it shows my client shooing away a young black bear.”

“Overruled. Please continue.”

“Was there anything else mysterious about this case?”

“The only thing mysterious about this case was that Mr. Lafayette swore he had shot Bigfoot.”

“Bigfoot, you say?”

“Yes, he even reported to dispatch when he called in the incident that he had shot a large ape man that startled him on his porch. The dead animal’s face was blown completely away by the shotgun blast. Mr. Lafayette had unloaded both barrels on the animal from his side-by-side Remington shotgun. DNA samples at the scene were later tested, and they were a match for grizzly bears and were not classified as an unknown species or Bigfoot.”

“About how much time do you spend in the backcountry of Idaho during your job?”

“I spend a great deal of time during hunting seasons and during fishing seasons. I also spend a great deal of time in the backcountry on my days off.”

“Have you ever witnessed a creature similar to the descriptions and accounts of Bigfoot in the backcountry?”

“I have not.”

“Would you hold out the possibility such an animal exists?”

“I would not; no animal of that size could possibly lack a wealth of photo evidence in this age of cell phone cameras and remote game cameras. Nor could any animal of that size be absent from the fossil record. If such an animal existed, we would have come across a carcass at some point. A car would have long ago struck one of these creatures, and there would be solid evidence of that.”

“Did you uncover any evidence of alcohol or drug use at the scene?”

“In fact, I did. Initially, I had thought that Mr. Lafayette had drunk some Irish whisky to calm his nerves after the shooting, but we asked him to submit to a battery of blood alcohol tests and it was determined that he had a blood alcohol content of .24, three times the legal limit for a person who was driving a car. Upon questioning Mr. Lafayette, he had admitted to drinking several shots of Irish whisky before he came out on the porch, he said he had been drinking for at least two hours before he shot the animal.”

“In your estimation, what happened that night?”

“Our investigation led us to the conclusion that Mr. Lafayette, a writer of some acclaim, had been sitting on his cabin porch drinking Irish whisky in search of the motivation to write his next great book, when a bear he had been attracting to the house over the past couple of weeks got too close for comfort. Fortunately for Mr. Lafayette, he happened to have his loaded 12-gauge shotgun at his side or we would have held a funeral service for him back in October rather than charged him with killing an animal he had no right to kill.”

“What was the book he was writing?”

“Objection your honor, my client’s unpublished works are no business of this court.”

“Your honor, if you will please bear with me, the unpublished work is vitally important in establishing Mr. Lafayette’s motive for baiting the bear in the first place.”

“I’ll allow the question. You may answer.”

“During our investigation, we also obtained a rough draft or an outline of Mr. Lafayette’s next book. The outline described the story of a grizzly hunter in the backcountry coming to grips with his alcoholism and his lifelong quest to kill big game predators.”

“Are you saying that Mr. Lafayette, a world-famous writer of novels, was baiting this bear toward his cabin so he could kill the bear with his shotgun and thereby draw upon the experience for his next book?”

“Objection, your honor, speculation?”

“I’ll rephrase. Why do you believe Mr. Lafayette shot the bear based on the evidence you collected at the scene?”

“We determined Mr. Lafayette was indeed seeking to kill a bear from the safety of his cabin so that he could insert a certain amount of realism into his next novel.”

“No further questions.”

Mr. Aho stood up to address the witness.

“Was my client operating a motorized vehicle on the night in question?”

“No.”

“So, your testimony about his blood alcohol content is irrelevant?”

“No, his blood alcohol was a factor in his misguided act that evening.”

“Now, how could he on the one hand devilishly plan to draw a bear closer and closer to his cabin so he could shoot it and draw from the experience to sell millions of books, and on the other hand make sure he is so drunk he doesn’t remember the experience?”

“Objection, your honor, argumentative.”

“Sustained.”

“No further questions for this witness your honor.”

“Does the state have any more need of this witness?” the judge asked.

“No, your honor.”

“You are free to go. Thank you for your testimony.”

“Does the state have any more witnesses?”

“Your honor, we would like to withhold our final witness for the sake of brevity provided we can call him to the stand should his testimony be deemed necessary for rebuttal.”

“Does the defendant’s counsel have any objections to the state’s request?”

“No, your honor.”

“Mr. Aho, you may present your case.”

“Thank you, your honor. The defense calls Jack Lafayette to the stand.”

Mr. Lafayette was sworn in.

“Please state your full name for the court.”

“Jack Joseph Lafayette.”

“And what do you do for a living?”

“Not that it should matter in this case, but I am a writer of fiction and non-fiction. I occasionally dabble in magazine articles by writing news of national importance.”

“Where do you perform this work?”

“I perform this work everywhere though my fiction novels generally are generated at my cabin south of Yellow Pine. I generally write my nonfiction novels at my beach house located on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Magazine articles are generally produced while on assignment.”

“So why were you at your cabin on the night in question?”

“I was at my cabin writing a new work of fiction. I had come out to the cabin in early August and had been working on writing a new book and spending a lot of time fishing in nearby streams.”

“Do you own a firearm?”

“Yes, I own several guns, many of which I keep at my cabin south of Yellow Pine.”

“How often do you use your firearms?”

“Not as often as I used to. I used to hunt quite a bit, but now I only use my guns to shoot skeet and to protect myself.”

“How often have you needed a gun to protect yourself?”

“I’m not sure I understand the question.”

“How often have you discharged your gun to protect yourself?”

“One time.”

“Was that one time the night in question?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been face to face with a grizzly bear?”

“No, I have never been face to face with a grizzly bear.”

“Would you know a grizzly bear if you saw one?”

“I most certainly would, but grizzly bears don’t live around my cabin in Valley County nor do they frequent my beach house in Florida.”

“Have you ever been face to face with a bear of any kind?”

“Yes, black bears have a bad habit of coming around my cabin. They are especially prolific during fire season. I believe they come around during this time because food is scarce in the forest.”

“Have you ever shot one of these bears?”

“Not when they have come around my cabin, but I did at one time shoot a black bear during a hunting season where I had a tag to do such.”

“On the night in question, what were you doing that day?”

“I had spent the morning writing my next work of fiction.”

“How was that going for you?”

“It was going quite well, actually. I had been able to write one more chapter than I had set out to do. Some days are just better than others.”

“What did you do after writing in the morning?”

“I took a break for lunch, then went down to the stream in front of my cabin and fished for about two hours. Even caught five trout.”

“What did you do after fishing?”

“I went back to my cabin and made a couple of phone calls, then fixed supper.”

“What did you do after supper?”

“I walked out on my porch at about 7 p.m. and sat down to sip some Irish whisky.”

“About how much alcohol had you consumed?”

“I drank one small glass–It was not a shot glass–of whisky on the rocks, and then I dozed off in my rocking chair.”

“So you were taking a nap in your rocking chair. Did you have a gun at your side?”

“In fact, I did have my side-by-side double barrel shotgun sitting next to me on my porch.”

“Why did you have the gun next to you?”

“After I came back from fishing I thought I might shoot skeet in the afternoon if my neighbor Wallace Frank came over as he said he might.”

“Mr. Frank did not come over that afternoon, did he?”

“No.”
           
“Did he give you a reason for not coming over?”

“No, not to my recollection. He is my neighbor, and we don’t generally call each other before we visit. We simply make casual plans that are often times broken.”

“Was the gun loaded?”

“In fact, the gun was loaded, but not with the proper shot for skeet.”

“What was the gun loaded with?”

“The gun was loaded with slugs.”

“Why was it loaded with slugs?”

“There was a rather large black bear that had been hanging around the cabin that week. I decided the best course of action would be to have my shotgun loaded with slugs should that bear make a poor decision and enter my cabin.”

“Is this something you do often?”
           
“No, I generally leave the gun locked in a large gun safe with my other guns and it is generally unloaded.”

“What awakened you from your nap?”
           
“I was awakened by a loud noise?”
           
“Could you describe the noise?”
           
“It sounded like something was knocking over some metal pans I had stored on the south side of the cabin. The porch faces to the west.”
           
“So the sound came from your left?”
           
“Yes.”
           
“Did you go to investigate?”
           
“Yes, I grabbed my shotgun and walked over to the south side of the cabin.”
           
“What did you see?”
           
“I saw the metal pans had fallen over.”
           
“Did you know what had caused them to fall over?”
           
“At the time, I figured the pans fell over due to wind.”
           
“What did you do next?”
           
“I went back over to sit in my chair.”
           
“What happened next?”
           
“I tried to take another nap, but was startled by a loud scream.”
           
“Could you describe the scream?”
           
“No, frankly it was like no other scream that I have ever heard in my life.”
           
“Could you estimate where the scream was coming from?”
           
“Yes, it sounded like it was coming from the north side of the cabin to my right.”
           
“Did you go to investigate it?”
           
“In all honesty, no. It curdled my blood. I had no idea what could make such a noise and frankly I did not want to know. I hoped it would go away.”
           
“Did you think about going inside your cabin?”
           
“I thought about it, sure. I thought about a lot of things.”
           
“Such as?”
           
“I thought about running down my driveway to Wallace’s place. I thought about getting in the truck and driving into town. I thought about taking another drink.”
           
“What did you do?”
           
“I grabbed my shotgun and took the safety off.”
           
“What happened next?”
           
“A very large creature stepped into view to my right.”
           
“Could you describe this creature?”
           
Jack paused a moment. He then shook his head a little as to muster up the strength to answer.
           
“Go ahead, Mr. Lafayette,” Aho said.
           
“It was extremely hairy, long hair that was matted in places. There was a pungent odor about the place. It had large green eyes that seemed to glow. It stood tall like a man, had the face of a man or an ape. it was perhaps seven to eight feet tall. Its posture seemed strange, and I knew it was not a bear.”
           
“What did you think it was?”
           
“It was about 20 feet away from me, and I noticed that it fit the description to a T of a sasquatch.”
           
The courtroom filled with chuckles.
           
“Do you believe in Bigfoot?”
           
“I did not up until that point.”
           
“What did the creature do next?”
           
“Well, I hoped it would go away, but instead it looked at me and gave a few grunts and then a menacing growl. It started to come toward me.”
           
“What did you do then?”
           
“I was shocked at first and forgot I was holding a shotgun, but my reflexes were working and I stood up with the shotgun braced against my shoulder in the firing position.”
           
“What did the creature do then?”
           
“It came at me as if it were going to attack me.”
           
“What did you do then?”
           
“I unloaded both barrels on it. Head shots.”
           
“Did this stop the creature?”
           
“Yes, the creature’s head was blown off and it fell off my porch.”
           
“What did you do then?”
           
“I went inside and loaded my gun again with slugs and took a swig of whisky. Then I went back outside with a flashlight and walked over to inspect the creature to see if it was dead. I knew it was dead, so then I walked around the cabin to see if it had friends.”
           
“Did you see anything else?”
           
“I saw what appeared to be two similar looking creatures heading off into the woods. They made loud screeching noises similar to the scream I had heard earlier, but they soon disappeared into the trees.”
           
“What did you do then?”
           
“I went inside and called 9-1-1. After dialing, I had another, bigger swig of whisky. Then I grabbed my camera and took more than 100 photos of the headless creature lying dead in my yard.”
           
“Why did you take photos?”
           
“Because I figured no one would believe me. I didn’t even believe what I had seen.”
           
“Why did you not even believe what you saw?”
           
“Because I did not believe such a creature could exist.”
           
“About how long before the authorities arrived?”
           
“About 30 minutes.”
           
“What happened in the time between the authorities arriving?”
           
“I called Wallace over. He didn’t believe me either.”
           
“Did Mr. Frank come over to your cabin?”
           
“Yes.”
           
“Did he believe you when he saw the body?”
           
“No. I can’t say that I blame him, because I was having trouble believing it myself and I was there.”
           
“Did Mr. Frank stay until the sheriff’s department arrived?”
           
“No, he left when he saw the lights from the patrol cars coming over the ridge about two miles away.”
           
“Why did he leave?”
           
“He said he had dinner waiting for him.”
           
“Did he know what was lying dead on your property?”
           
“No, he thought I had killed a large bear.”
           
“What did the authorities do when they arrived?”
           
“Two deputies showed up first, and then a game warden arrived.”
           
“Was it Mr. Salmon?”

“No, it was Officer Don Tucker.”
           
“What was the initial response of the three authorities?”
           
“They were in disbelief, as I was.”
           
“What did they do next?”
           
“They confiscated my gun, laptop computer and my camera. Then they loaded the carcass onto Tucker’s truck bed. Mr. Salmon then arrived and began questioning me about how much I had had to drink. Then Mr. Salmon ordered them to take the carcass and wrap it in a tarp he handed them and then he had them place the carcass in the bed of his truck.”
           
Nathan tapped Pilch’s shoulder deliberately and said “that’s not how it happened.”
           
“Did you do anything with the photos prior to the authorities arriving?”
           
“I did not have a lot of time, but I did email three photos to the local newspapers.”
           
“What became of your photos?”
           
“As far as I could tell nothing.”
           
“These photos, what were they?”
           
“I sent a photo of the dead creature’s body, a photo of the creature’s foot and a photo of the creature’s hand.”
           
“And nothing ever came of these photos?”
           
“I never saw them published in either newspaper and as you know when we inquired about them, both editors said they had received no such photos.”
           
“Did the newspapers publish anything about this incident?”
           
“Yes, both newspapers published accounts of my arrest and my being charged with killing a grizzly bear, and they did publish photos of a dead grizzly bear that Mr. Salmon proudly sat for the photo.”
           
“Objection, your honor. The local media nor Officer Salmon are on trial here.”
           
“Overruled.”
           
 Aho restarted his examination of Lafayette.
           
“I would like you to identify some photographs for the court. What is this photo of?”
           
“That is a black bear.”
           
“And this?”
           
“A grizzly bear.”
           
“Let the record show my client has correctly identified both varieties of bear.”
           
“What is this?”
           
“That is a drawing of a Bigfoot.”
           
The answer made everyone in the courtroom laugh. Even the jurors were trying very hard to wipe the smiles off their faces.
           
“Is this the animal that you shot on the night in question?”
           
“That drawing bares a close likeness to the creature I shot on my porch.”
           
“Let the record show that my client has identified a drawing of a Bigfoot as the animal he shot on the night in question.”
           
“Objection, your honor. He can’t go about identifying cartoon characters.”
           
Pilch’s response got a big laugh.
           
“Let me see that drawing,” the judge said.
           
Aho handed the drawing to the judge.
           
“I’ll allow this.”
           
“Exception.”
           
“Duly noted.”
           
Aho went back to questioning his client.
           
“Tell the court what you shot that night.”
           
“I know it is hard to believe, but I shot Bigfoot.”
           
There were more chuckles from the audience.
           
“You shot, Bigfoot? Come on. Mr. Lafayette…Jack. Isn’t it more likely that you shot a grizzly bear.”
           
“That’s wholly untrue. I realize that I come off as some sort of crackpot, but I shot Bigfoot.”
           
“So you admit to shooting an animal out of season?”
           
“Well, there is no season for Bigfoot,” people all over the courtroom laughed at Jack’s response. ”It’s fantastic and unprecedented but I shot an animal the government does not admit exists, not because I wanted to shoot it but because I was afraid for my life. The fact that it wasn’t in season is irrelevant because the government does not claim the animal exists.”
           
“Should you be punished for your action?”
           
“Obviously, I don’t believe I should be punished for defending myself. And when this is all over, I do hope to have my shotgun and camera and my hunting privileges returned intact.”
           
“If you shot a grizzly bear charging you on your porch, do you think you should be punished if that is what happened?”
           
“No, a man has a right to defend himself; endangered species act be damned!”
           
“But what you shot was not a grizzly bear. It was an animal you believed to be charging you to attack you, and you did what any person who happened to be holding a shotgun at the time would do. You fired to protect yourself.”
           
“Indeed, I did.”
           
Aho nodded to Pilch.
           
“Your witness.”
           
Pilch turned to Lafayette.
           
“Mr. Lafayette, do you admit to shooting this animal?”
           
“Yes.”
           
“Do you also admit you had been luring the animal in closer and closer to your cabin by leaving food out for it?”
           
“That is a fabrication of Mr. Salmon’s after they discovered that indeed I had shot Bigfoot.”
           
“Now, why would Mr. Salmon, a respected game warden, fabricate evidence in order to put you, a famous and well-liked writer, in a sling? Why wouldn’t Mr. Salmon just admit to what would be the greatest discovery of a new species in North America?”
           
“I don’t know. You would have to ask Mr. Salmon that question.”
           
“Come on, you’re a writer. I know you think of these things all the time. What do you suspect Mr. Salmon hoped to accomplish by framing you for a grizzly bear shooting when you say you shot Bigfoot?”
           
“I don’t pretend to know the mind of anyone. All I know is that the story he told on the stand today was a fabrication and distortion of what happened. I would think this court might take it seriously that the only person who witnessed the event as it happened was me and that Mr. Salmon arrived late to the scene with his own agenda already in mind.”
           
“What’s the subject of the book you are currently writing?”
           
“You already know the answer to that.”
           
“Tell the court and these jurors the subject of your next work of fiction.”
           
“It’s a story about a man, a cowardly man, who finally works up the gumption to hunt a grizzly bear.”
           
“How does this man plan to kill the bear?”
           
“The fictional character in the story decides that he would be safer killing the bear if he lures it to his home and shoots it from the safety of his cabin.”
           
“That would sound like a good work of fiction, if it weren’t exactly what you did last October. No further questions.”
           
“You may step down, Mr. Lafayette,” the judge said.
           
“I would like to call to the stand Dr. Thomas Gregg,” Aho said.
           
Dr. Gregg walked up to be sworn in.
           
“State your name and profession for the court.”
           
“I am Dr. Thomas Gregg, a crypto-zoologist with the Bigfoot Investigative Group For Official Offbeat Truth.”
           
The courtroom burst into laughter.
           
“Order in the court,” the judge used his gavel.
           
“It’s an acronym, it spells out Bigfoot,” Dr. Gregg deadpanned. The courtroom crowd laughed again.
           
“Now, Dr. Gregg. You had a chance to hear the testimony; you even had a chance to go to the cabin two weeks after the incident happened to inspect the scene.”
           
“That is correct.”
           
“Did you find anything during your investigation?”
           
“I found very little, but I did find some long, interesting hairs stuck to a post not far from the porch. I also found a piece of wood with a nail sticking up that appeared to have dried blood on it.”
           
“What did you do with the evidence you found?”
           
“I bagged it and took it back to my lab to see if we could run DNA tests on the blood sample and the hair sample.”
           
“Were you successful?”
           
“We weren’t successful testing the DNA from the hair sample, but the blood sample, which admittedly was found on the wrong side of the cabin, was not the blood of Mr. Lafayette, nor his neighbor Mr. Frank, nor was it grizzly bear or black bear or mountain lion or elk. In fact it did not match any known animal, though it was close to human, perhaps between the ape and the human.”
           
“What about the hair samples?”
           
“We tested the hair by looking at it underneath a microscope. We tested it against the hair of several known animals, and it did not match them nor did it match human hair.”
           
“What can you say conclusively about the hair and blood samples you found at Mr. Lafayette’s cabin?”
           
“All I can say conclusively is that the hair and the blood belonged to no known animal.”
           
“Is it possible that the blood and hair samples were from a Bigfoot?”
           
“That is a possibility, though I cannot be sure. It would be helpful if the state would have released the carcass to our lab for testing.”
           
“You asked the state to release the carcass?”
           
“In fact, I made a formal request.”
           
“And what did they say?”
           
“They laughed at me and told me that was impossible.”
           
“Why was it impossible?”
           
“They told me they incinerated the body at a crematory.”
           
“Is this a common action of Fish and Game?”
           
“I do not know. It seems a strange thing to do. If the carcass were that of a grizzly bear, it would seem to me they would just dispose of it in the woods somewhere.”
           
“Do you believe the state destroyed evidence in this case?”
           
“I believe the state destroyed the evidence in this case before I could properly examine it, but I won’t go so far as to say the state did not perform its own tests.”
           
“No further questions.”
           
Pilch stepped forward, his eyes locked on Gregg.
           
“Crypto-zoology, now that’s not exactly a field a serious scientist goes into, is it?”
           
“I can assure you that it is indeed a very serious field of inquiry.”
           
“Aren’t you the guys who go around chasing werewolves, the Loch Ness monster–and Bigfoot?”
           
“We investigate strange creatures all over the world. Yes, that is a fact.”
           
“You believe there are large man-like apes roaming these woods?”
           
“I believe there is a strong possibility given the number of sightings that such a creature may exist in small numbers and should be found and studied.”
           
“Do you also believe in werewolves, shape shifters and dragons?”
           
“I believe that people have seen things that are not easily explained by mainstream science. I also believe, however, that there are plausible explanations for these sightings.”
           
“You mean like drunken men firing shotguns while their vision is blurred?”
           
“That could be the case for some of these sightings, but in many instances there is no evidence of alcohol use nor are a majority of sightings accompanied with a shooting.”
           
“Did you ever hold a job in an accepted field of scientific inquiry?”
           
“Yes, for 15 years I worked in a medical examiner’s office.”
           
“And why did you leave that line of work?”
           
“Changing jobs is irrelevant to this case.”
           
“Is it Dr. Gregg? Did you or did you not quit working in the Cody County Medical Examiner’s Office due to your prosecution in a sex crime?”
           
“That is total bullshit; she did not tell me she was seventeen!”
           
“No further questions.”
           
Pilch stepped away from the witness.
           
“Does the defense have any more witnesses?” the judge asked Aho.
           
“No, your honor.”
           
“Does the state wish to call any rebuttal witnesses?”
           
“I think we are good your honor.”
           
“Then I will accept final arguments now, if counsel agrees.”
           
“I accept,” Aho said.
           
“The state accepts.”
           
“Mr. Pilch, you may begin.”
           
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it brings my office no joy in prosecuting this man, this great writer of fiction. However, I must point out to you that you heard one nonfiction version of the events of October 17 and one fictional version. Try as my office might, we do not dabble in fiction. We deal in facts."
           
“Fact, Mr. Lafayette’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Fact, Mr. Lafayette discharged his firearm from his porch when he was three sheets to the wind. Fact, the state of Idaho testified to the fact that the animal that was killed was a grizzly bear. Fact, Mr. Lafayette has told you a boldfaced lie, a pathetic lie about killing a creature that only exists in our imagination. Fact, Mr. Lafayette must pay for his crime. Fact, you are charged with deciding if he is guilty of killing a grizzly bear. Fact, in Mr. Lafayette’s world he gets to be judge and jury of the characters he creates, but here you are the jury and here you have the power to tell the true story and not the fictional one.”
           
“I believe we have provided the only evidence in the case. We provided you with photos of the dead bear yesterday; we did not hand you drawings of fictional beasts. We provided you sworn testimony from officers from Fish and Game and the sheriff’s department who all corroborated the story of a man who lured a bear to his cabin so he could shoot it to provide his next novel with a realism his other novels lacked.”
           
“Finally, when you go back into that room to deliberate this case, please do not forget people’s exhibit D, the newspaper clipping from a review of Mr. Lafayette’s last fiction novel. The review where the highly sought-after critic Daniel S. Fullerton wrote that Mr. Lafayette should spend less time at his computer making things up and more time experiencing the subjects and characters he writes about so poorly. The critic took notice of Mr. Lafayette’s protagonists who are always flawless. He had to write a story with a flawed lead character to be taken seriously. He didn’t know how to do it without acting it out himself.”

“This is nothing more than a writer who has achieved great fame and fortune but no critical acclaim desperately looking for that one missing piece of his ego. Moreover, a protected animal paid the price of Mr. Lafayette’s ego.”

“Convict this man and show him that it is not acceptable to waste a great animal on the fringe of extinction just so he can receive the critical acclaim he so desperately needs to sleep at night without a bottle of whisky at his side.”

“Mr. Aho, I believe the state has finished,” the judge said.
           
“Regardless of whether or not you believe my client shot Bigfoot, when you go back into that room to deliberate this case, I want you to remember that nobody refuted that my client was standing face to face with a very large creature that he believed was going to attack him. Ask yourself: would you not do the same if confronted with a large creature? Would you just stand there and allow yourself to be devoured or would you act and save yourself to live another day as my client did?”
           
“We will never know, due to the state’s incompetence, if the beast in question was a new species or just a bear. Nevertheless, a human life is still more important than the life of another animal. I have faith in this jury that my client Jack Lafayette does not need to suffer anymore for his life-saving action. When you consider the facts in that room as we have presented them, it will be clear that my client is not guilty.”

Aho pointed at his client for effect.
           
“He is not guilty. Thank you.”
           
“Bailiff, if you would lead the jury back to the deliberation room.” The judge said.
           
“All rise.”
           
The jury left to deliberate. The judge went to his chambers.
           
Jack Lafayette continued sitting in his seat.
           
The reporters left the courtroom without asking any questions.
           
An hour later, the jury made its decision.
           
“Has the jury reached a verdict?”
           
“We have your honor. We the jury finds the defendant Jack Lafayette not guilty.”
           
“Thank you, jurors. I want to leave you with some closing advice...”
           
“Your honor, we have also decided to make a statement as to why we found the defendant not guilty. Is that permissible?”
           
“You seem to have something to say, so I’ll allow it.”
           
“This jury did not find Mr. Lafayette not guilty because we believe his story to be true, but we found him not guilty because it was an act of self-defense. His story about Bigfoot, while entertaining, we find to be totally unacceptable and hope that this court notes that in the final document.”
           
“So noted,” the judge said. “Now, at this time, normally I discharge the jury and tell them they are free to discuss the trial with anyone they choose, that you may talk to the media; you may talk to your family and friends about this trial for it is public record.”
           
“But the state has requested that this trial’s transcripts be sealed and you be placed under a gag order. Naturally, when I allowed the local media in to witness the trial, the state got my answer.”
           
“I want it known as well that this court, this nation, will not tolerate its own government acting in this manner. This case was not a matter of national security. That the state demonstrated fear in allowing the particulars of this case that unfolded in this trial to be released to the public, makes me more than wary of whatever shenanigans might have been perpetrated in the prosecution of this man. Therefore, this court is ordering a full investigation of the actions of the state in regards to this case.”
           
Pilch interrupted. “I strongly object your honor.”
           
“Your objection is noted and expected.”
           
“You are over stepping your authority, your honor.”
           
“Mr. Pilch, sit down. Within the next week, I will name a special prosecutor and I will expect your office’s full cooperation. This special prosecutor will investigate the actions of the prosecution, why we needed a special prosecutor, how the evidence was handled by your office, Fish and Game, and the sheriff’s department.”

”And this court demands that Mr. Lafayette’s camera, gun, manuscript and any photos he may or may not have taken be handed over to the court’s special prosecutor who will then inspect the items and return them to Mr. Lafayette. I will not stand for the kind of shenanigans I believe I have witnessed with this case. If any part of Mr. Lafayette’s story happens to be true, may God have mercy on you, because this court will not. That is all.”
           
“All rise.”

Twenty Minutes Later Outside

Jack shook the hand of his attorney and walked toward the stairwell to leave the courthouse.
           
As he approached the door, he could see a commotion going on outside on the sidewalk.
           
He pushed the door open to see a small band of protesters.
           
He looked up to read one of the signs.
           
“No Justice for Bigfoot,” it read.