Episode 273, scene 1. Dr. Michael Rossi is testifying in judge Irwin A. Chester's court. Rodney is there. So are Betty, Elliot, Sandy, Chris and others. JF: So what you've told us, Dr. Rossi, is that your deepening friendship and eventual love for Ann Howard was checkered by a series of harassments. Harassments which were perpetrated on her by the accused, Lee Webber. Which indicated an attitude of bitter and unremitting hostility on his part. MR: Yes. JF: Your honor, at this time, I would like to examine these incidents and corroborate them with the witness. JC: Proceed, Mr. Fowler. JF: Thank you, your honor. LW: [Quietly to Steven] The man's pretty cool at that. SC: He's always cool. LW: Then again. So are you. JF: [In the background] Dr. Rossi, you stated that in mid April you drove your car to Rodney Harrington's garage . . . MR: Yes I did. JF: Did you talk to anyone there? MR: Yes. Lee Webber. JF: What was the substance of your conversation? MR: I brought my car in there to be serviced and it looked like it was going to take the better part of the day so he offered me his car. JF: Did you take him up on his offer? MR: Yes. Later on that day he brought me my car at the hospital. JF: Was Ann Howard employed at the hospital at that time? MR: Oh, yes, she was. JF: Did the accused leave the hospital directly after turning your car back over to you? MR: He went into the therapy room and he talked with Ann Howard. MR: Mr. Fowler, your honor. I don't want my answers to imply something that happened more than that. I . . . Well I have a very strong responsibility here. And I have a feeling that my anwers are adding up to something that they don't mean. JC: We appreciate your feeling of responsibility, Dr. Rossi. However, this court is experienced enough to draw conclusions only where they are warranted. JC: Proceed Mr. Fowler. JF: Dr. Rossi. After miss Howard's death did you, as her fiancée, pay off the balance of a sum of money she owed to Rodney Harrington's garage? MR: I did. JF: How had she contracted this debt? MR: Well, she bought a car at the garage. JF: Who sold her the car? MR: Lee Webber. JF: Your honor, I would like at this time to place before the court this garage statement. It itemizes repairs made on the car in question. Specifically, major repairs to the shock absorbers, ball joints, suspension, and the steering column. JC: Let the record show the statement was accepted as peoples' number 5. JF: Did Lee Webber ever mention to you that the car should be repaired before it could be driven safely? MR: No. No, he didn't. JF: To your knowledge, did he ever tell miss Howard of the unsafe condition of the car before he sold it to her? SC: [Rising to his feet] Objection. There is no way of establishing that. JC: Sustained. Please be careful, Mr. Fowler. JF: I'm sorry, your honor. JF: Did you have any subsequent conversations with the accused? MR: Yes, I did. At the garage. I gave him a warning. JF: A warning? MR: Yes, Ann Howard had come to me at the office at the hospital. She was upset. It seemed that Lee Webber had detained her at the hospital. SC: [Rising to his feet] Objection. The witness is continually relying on hearsay, your honor. JC: Objection sustained. Hearsay, Dr. Rossi is a category of inadmissible evidence. JF: Dr. Rossi, what was the nature of the warning you gave the accused? MR: Well, I told him to stop with his harassment of miss Howard. And if he didn't he would have to deal with me. JF: What was the accused response to your warning? MR: He didn't like it. He began to argue about it. JF: Was he hostile? MR: Yes. JF: Did he agree not to bother miss Howard again? MR: No. No, he never agreed to that. JF: I see. Doctor, did you shortly after this receive a phone call from Mrs. Elliot Carson? MR: Yes. Yes, I did. JF: What was the substance of the phone call? MR: Well, Mrs. Carson called me, to warn me that Lee Webber was out on some kind of a drunken spree. She thought there was a possibility that he might intend to harm Ann Howard. But I think it ought to should be stated, at this point, that on that day Lee Webber was fired from his job. And It might have been that he was out blowing off steam, or something. But, in any case he didn't approach miss Howard. LW: [Quietly to Steven] Hey, what's going on? SC: I don't know. He's kicking toward the wrong goal post. JF: Your honor, the concluding part of the witness's state was not responsive to my question. I move it be stricken from the record. JC: Strike it as non-nresponsive. JF: Dr. Rossi, did you talk with miss Howard on the day of her death? MR: Yes, I did. Twice. JF: What exactly did you talk about the first time? MR: Well, I was in my office and I told her that when she got off work, I wanted her to go to the beach cottage and wait there until I came home. JF: Why did you feel it necessary to issue such an ultimatum to miss Howard? JF: Dr. Rossi, shall I repeat the question? MR: No, Mr. Fowler, I heard you. I was concerned. I was very concerned about her welfare. JF: Please be more specific, doctor. MR: She didn't feel that she was in any danger. I couldn't convice her that she was. I tried. JF: What kind of danger? Are you referring to the threats made to her by the accused? SC: [Rising to his feet] Objection, your honor. Leading the witness. JC: Strike the question. JF: Dr. Rossi, I want to read to you a section of the statement that you made prior to this hearing. Quote. The day Ann died, she came to the hospital in the morning. After we talked, I instructed her to go directly to my place after work and to wait there for me. I didn't know what Lee Webber's frame of mind was and I didn't want her to take any chances. I thought she would be safe out at the beach. End quote. Are these your words, doctor? MR: Yes they are. JF: Then, in effect, you were more than just generally concerned about Ann Howard's welfare that day, weren't you? You were specifically worried about what might happen to her if she encountered Lee Webber, the man whose hatred for her had continued unabated ever since she first came back to town. Isn't that true, Dr. Rossi? [Bad tape edit] SC: [Rising to his feet] I object, your honor. JC: [Disgustedly] Mr. Fowler. JF: That's all, doctor. [Scene ends.] Episode 273, scene 1 HOME