with his skull if necessary to get it done.
I just hope he applies that same tenacity to my dilemma with Tabatha.
CHAPTER 21
ST. MARYS, PLEASANTS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 9:00 A.M.
Rikki slept later than anticipated, so she quickly walked down to the basement and jumped on the treadmill, trying to work up a good sweat before heading to work. Listening to her favorite workout mix via wireless Bluetooth earbuds, her running shoes rhythmically pounded the treadmill belt as the sculpted muscles in her long, dark brown legs stretched and contracted with each step.
The television mounted to the ceiling was tuned to CNN’s Sunday morning show. Although the music blocked out the talking heads, she followed the discussion via closed captioning. West Virginia’s fifty five counties were depicted on a map, variously colored blue or red and she noted with satisfaction that Pleasants County was depicted in blue. Then one county in the southern part of the state was expanded into a separate graphic by itself.
Rikki pressed a button on her earbuds and the music came to a halt. Grabbing the remote, she turned up the TV to drown out the treadmill’s whirring engine. The words “MINGO COUNTY” had morphed onto the screen along with a circle labeled “Williamson” on the west-central edge of the map.
“Mingo County is the only county that still has not completed its post-election canvass,” an off-screen male anchor reported. “Technical glitches in the county’s voting machines have delayed that process, and the two campaigns have waged a bitter battle over what the County Commission must do in this situation.
“Joining us today from Charleston, West Virginia, is Susan Mathis, the lead attorney for Senator Wilson’s campaign in Mingo County. And from Williamson, West Virginia, we also have David Anderson, Governor Royal’s chief legal advisor. Thank you both for being here.”
“Thank you for having me,” Mathis replied.
“It’s my pleasure,” Dave added. He stood in front of the boxy-looking county courthouse wearing a light blue dress shirt and a solid silver tie.
“Ms. Mathis,” the anchor opened. “Why do you want the commission to throw out the initial election returns in favor of this ‘backup data’ we’ve heard so much about?”
“Because it’s the most accurate reflection of the voters’ intentions. The memory cards in nine machines were malfunctioning when the tabulations were run on Election Night. The backup data was uploaded to the server before the malfunctions occurred. Using that data is the only way to determine how those people voted and we must make sure every vote is counted.”
Mathis disappeared and was replaced by a split-screen image of the anchor on the left side and Dave on the right. “How do you respond to that position, Mr. Anderson? Why shouldn’t every vote that was cast in this election be counted?”
Dave cracked an amused grin. “We agree that every vote cast must be counted. But there’s no evidence this so-called ‘backup data’ is any more accurate than the calculations which were made twice on Election Night …”
“The computer experts from AIS testified that the backup data is more accurate than those initial calculations,” Mathis loudly interjected from off-screen.
Anderson chuckled, and the look on his face was one Rikki instantly recognized as the likely precursor to some wickedly disdainful response.
“Ah,” Dave said, feigning enlightenment, “you mean the same bozos who didn’t detect any malfunctions in those nine machines on Election Night? Whose paychecks are signed by Dmitri Mazniashvili, an indicted criminal that Governor Royal wants to deport to face justice for defrauding his homeland of billions of dollars? Who has given millions from those ill-gotten gains to Senator Wilson’s party? You want us to take their word for it?” Dave laughed caustically. “For all we know, this ‘glitch’ is just a scam
I just hope he applies that same tenacity to my dilemma with Tabatha.
CHAPTER 21
ST. MARYS, PLEASANTS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 9:00 A.M.
Rikki slept later than anticipated, so she quickly walked down to the basement and jumped on the treadmill, trying to work up a good sweat before heading to work. Listening to her favorite workout mix via wireless Bluetooth earbuds, her running shoes rhythmically pounded the treadmill belt as the sculpted muscles in her long, dark brown legs stretched and contracted with each step.
The television mounted to the ceiling was tuned to CNN’s Sunday morning show. Although the music blocked out the talking heads, she followed the discussion via closed captioning. West Virginia’s fifty five counties were depicted on a map, variously colored blue or red and she noted with satisfaction that Pleasants County was depicted in blue. Then one county in the southern part of the state was expanded into a separate graphic by itself.
Rikki pressed a button on her earbuds and the music came to a halt. Grabbing the remote, she turned up the TV to drown out the treadmill’s whirring engine. The words “MINGO COUNTY” had morphed onto the screen along with a circle labeled “Williamson” on the west-central edge of the map.
“Mingo County is the only county that still has not completed its post-election canvass,” an off-screen male anchor reported. “Technical glitches in the county’s voting machines have delayed that process, and the two campaigns have waged a bitter battle over what the County Commission must do in this situation.
“Joining us today from Charleston, West Virginia, is Susan Mathis, the lead attorney for Senator Wilson’s campaign in Mingo County. And from Williamson, West Virginia, we also have David Anderson, Governor Royal’s chief legal advisor. Thank you both for being here.”
“Thank you for having me,” Mathis replied.
“It’s my pleasure,” Dave added. He stood in front of the boxy-looking county courthouse wearing a light blue dress shirt and a solid silver tie.
“Ms. Mathis,” the anchor opened. “Why do you want the commission to throw out the initial election returns in favor of this ‘backup data’ we’ve heard so much about?”
“Because it’s the most accurate reflection of the voters’ intentions. The memory cards in nine machines were malfunctioning when the tabulations were run on Election Night. The backup data was uploaded to the server before the malfunctions occurred. Using that data is the only way to determine how those people voted and we must make sure every vote is counted.”
Mathis disappeared and was replaced by a split-screen image of the anchor on the left side and Dave on the right. “How do you respond to that position, Mr. Anderson? Why shouldn’t every vote that was cast in this election be counted?”
Dave cracked an amused grin. “We agree that every vote cast must be counted. But there’s no evidence this so-called ‘backup data’ is any more accurate than the calculations which were made twice on Election Night …”
“The computer experts from AIS testified that the backup data is more accurate than those initial calculations,” Mathis loudly interjected from off-screen.
Anderson chuckled, and the look on his face was one Rikki instantly recognized as the likely precursor to some wickedly disdainful response.
“Ah,” Dave said, feigning enlightenment, “you mean the same bozos who didn’t detect any malfunctions in those nine machines on Election Night? Whose paychecks are signed by Dmitri Mazniashvili, an indicted criminal that Governor Royal wants to deport to face justice for defrauding his homeland of billions of dollars? Who has given millions from those ill-gotten gains to Senator Wilson’s party? You want us to take their word for it?” Dave laughed caustically. “For all we know, this ‘glitch’ is just a scam
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