After the table was cleared, Lonnie Shaver opened his laptop two chairs down from Herman, who had his braille machine plugged in and was typing away. The Colonel said to Herman, "Don't guess you need a translator for that testimony, do you?" To which Herman replied with a grunt and said, "Pretty amazing, I'd say." That was the nearest Herman Grimes came to discussing any aspect of the case.
Lonnie Shaver was not amazed or impressed by anything.
Phillip Savelle had politely asked for and received permission from Judge Harkin to spend part of his lunch break doing yoga under a large oak tree behind the courthouse. He was escorted by a deputy to the oak tree, where he removed his shirt, socks, and shoes, then sat on the soft grass and creased himself into a pretzel. When he began chanting, the deputy slid away to a nearby concrete bench and lowered his face so no one would recognize him.
CABLE SAID HELLO to Krigler as if the two were old friends. Krigler smiled and said "Good afternoon, Mr. Cable," with an abundance of confidence. Seven months earlier, in Rohr's office, Cable and company had spent three days taking a video deposition of Krigler. The video had been watched and studied by no fewer than two dozen lawyers and several jury experts and even two psychiatrists. Krigler was telling the truth, but the truth needed to be blurred at this point. This was a cross-examination, a crucial one, so to hell with the truth. The witness had to be discredited!
After hundreds of hours of plotting, a strategy had been developed. Cable began by asking Krigler if he was angry with his former employer.
"Yes," he answered.
"Do you hate the company?"
"The company is an entity. How do you hate a thing?"
"Do you hate war?"
"Never been."
"Do you hate child abuse?"
"I'm sure it's sickening, but luckily I've never had any connection with it."
"Do you hate violence?"
"I'm sure it's awful, but, again, I've been lucky."
"So you don't hate anything?"
"Broccoli."
A gentle laugh came from all quarters of the courtroom, and Cable knew he had his hands full.
"You don't hate Pynex?"
"No."
"Do you hate anyone who works there?"
"No. I dislike some of them."
"Did you hate anyone who worked there when you worked there?"
"No. I had some enemies, but I don't remember hating anyone."
"What about the people against whom you directed your lawsuit?"
"No. Again, they were enemies, but they were just doing their jobs."
"So you love your enemies?"
"Not really. I know I'm supposed to try, but it sure is difficult. I don't recall saying I loved them."
Cable had hoped to score a minor point by injecting the possibility of retribution or revenge on the part of Krigler. Maybe if he used the word "hate" enough, it might stick with some of the jurors.
"What is your motive for testifying here?"
"That's a complicated question."
"Is it money?"
"No."
"Are you being paid by Mr. Rohr or anyone working for the plaintiff to come and testify?"
"No. They've agreed to reimburse me for my travel expenses, but that's all."
The last thing Cable wanted was an open door for Krigler to expound upon his reasons for testifying. He had touched on them briefly during Milton's direct examination, and he'd spent five hours detailing them during the video deposition. It was crucial to keep him occupied with other matters.
"Have you ever smoked cigarettes, Mr. Krigler?"
"Yes. Unfortunately I smoked for twenty years."
"So you wished you'd never smoked?"
"Of course."
"When did you start?"
"When I went to work for the company, 1952. Back then they encouraged all their employees to smoke cigarettes. They still do."
"Do you believe you damaged your health by smoking for twenty years?"
"Of course. I feel lucky I'm not dead, like Mr. Wood."
"When did you quit?"
"In 1973. After I learned the truth about nicotine."
"Do you feel your present health has been diminished in some way because you smoked for twenty years?"
"Of course."
"In your opinion, was the company responsible in any way for your decision to smoke cigarettes?"
"Yes. As I said, it was encouraged. Everybody else smoked. We could purchase cigarettes at half price in the company store. Every meeting began with a bowl of cigarettes passed around. It was very much a part of the culture."
"Were your offices ventilated?"
"No."
"How bad was the secondhand smoke?"
"Very bad. There was always a blue fog hanging not far over your head."
"So you blame the company today because you're not as healthy as you think you should be?"
"The company had a lot to do with it. Fortunately, I was able to kick the habit. It wasn't easy."
"And you hold a grudge against the company for this?"
"Let's just say I wish I'd gone to work in another industry when I finished college.
"Industry? Do you carry a grudge against the entire industry?"
"I'm not a fan of the tobacco industry."
"Is that why you're here?"
"No."
Cable flipped his notes and quickly changed direction. "Now, you had a sister at one time, didn't you, Mr. Krigler?"
"I did."
"What happened to her?"
"She died in 1970."
"How'd she die?"
"Lung cancer. She smoked two packs a day for about twenty-three years. Smoking killed her, Mr. Cable, if that's what you want."
"Were you close to her?" Cable asked with enough compassion to deflect some of the ill will for bringing up the tragedy in the first place.
"We were very close. She was my only sibling."
"And you took her death very hard?"
"I did. She was a very special person, and I still miss her."
"I'm sorry to bring this up, Mr. Krigler, but it is relevant."
"Your compassion is overwhelming, Mr. Cable, but there's nothing relevant about it."
"How did she feel about your smoking?"
"She didn't like it. As she was dying she begged me to stop. Is that what you want to hear, Mr. Cable?"
"Only if it's the truth."
"Oh it's true, Mr. Cable. The day before she died I promised I would quit smoking. And I did, though it took me three long years to do it. I was hooked, you see, Mr. Cable, as was my sister, because the company that manufactured the cigarettes that killed her, and could've killed me, intentionally kept the nicotine at a high level."
"Now-"
"Don't interrupt me, Mr. Cable. Nicotine in itself is not a carcinogen, you know that, it's just a poison, a poison that gets you addicted so the carcinogens can one day take care of you. That's why cigarettes are inherently dangerous."
Cable watched him with complete composure. "Are you finished?"
"I'm ready for the next question. But don't interrupt me again."
"Certainly, and I apologize. Now, when did you first become convinced that cigarettes were inherently dangerous?"
"I don't know exactly. It's been known for some time, you know. It did not then and does not now take a genius to figure it out. But I'd say at some point in the early seventies, after I finished my study, after my sister had died, and shortly before I saw the infamous memo."