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At this point, Special Agent Bradley intervened. "Dr. Phelps, we can appreciate you are very upset at having lost such close friends as Mr. and Mrs. Pratt. However, I hope you will understand we are coming into this situation blindly.

"We don't really know you, and we don't know much about your relationship with the Pratts. If we explore possibilities that, to you, seem preposterous, just remember, you have knowledge and information which we don't have.

"When we conduct investigations, we are trying to both eliminate some possibilities as well as to develop a plausible, tenable case with respect to various other theories or possibilities that we may be considering. We are trying to make sense of the data and information which we encounter or uncover.

"I believe you share our desire to see that whoever murdered the Pratts is brought to justice. You may have information or knowledge that could help us to figure out what is going on, and we are hoping you will share that material with us.

"As Special Agent Williams indicated earlier, we believe there may be a connection between the deaths of the Pratts and the disappearance of Brian Idaho. One of the reasons we believe this to be so is because you are a common factor in both cases.

"This doesn't mean we consider you to be behind these crimes, although, to be quite frank with you, we cannot, at least at this time, rule out such a possibility. On the other hand, if you are not responsible for these criminal acts, then, another hypothesis we are entertaining centers on things which may be going on in your life that might reveal other kinds of connection between the disappearance of Brian Idaho and the deaths of the Pratts.

"Why did you go to see the Pratts, Dr. Phelps? Did it have anything to do with Brian Idaho?"

"Not really," I indicated.

"I did discuss the situation with him, including Beth Idaho's abduction that took place around the same time as her brother's disappearance from prison. However, this was all done purely for the purposes of informing him about what had been happening in my life in the last several weeks.

"Aside from taking the opportunity of visiting with Ken and Pam for the first time in about a year and a half, I went to Washington in order to talk with Ken about a job offer which had come my way. I had asked Ken to find out what he could about the organization that was making the offer."

"What was the name of this organization, Dr. Phelps, and what kind of job proposal were they making?" Agent Bradley asked.

"They are registered as The Bettinger Foundation, but it is only one of a number of organizations that are owned and operated by a holding company known as Futures Unlimited. I'm not really sure about what the other organizations do which fall under the Futures Unlimited umbrella. The Bettinger Foundation seems to focus largely on trying to combat world terrorism.

"Dr. Timothy Jameson, who is an executive officer of some sort with Bettinger, invited me to lunch and made me a very attractive offer to serve as an external consultant for the organization. I wanted to discuss the situation with Ken Pratt before I made a decision about the job."

"I suppose," Agent Williams interjected, " you have objections to fighting against world terrorism, just like you had objections about fighting against the Communists in Vietnam."

Looking at Agent Williams, I found myself feeling sorry for him. He really couldn't help himself.

He had been conditioned and brainwashed to such an extent that he had lost the capacity for any kind of balanced, critical reflection in certain parts of his life. He had been wearing his made-in-America glasses since early childhood and saw the world through its colored lenses, uncorrected for political, economic and philosophical astigmatism.

"Agent Williams," I began, "if the background check you did on me has any depth to it, then you would know that my mother and sister were killed in a terrorist attack a number of years ago. I am most assuredly against world terrorism, but the issue of identifying who are the worst perpetrators of terrorism in the world is not the straightforward matter that is often delineated through our newspapers, magazines, books, televisions or law enforcement agencies.

"There were some questions in my mind about where The Bettinger Foundation stood on these issues. I value Ken Pratt's opinion, so I asked him to look into it for me.

"Even before members of my family died at the hands of terrorists, I was opposed to terrorism. This was at the heart of my opposition to Vietnam, for that war was merely a different face of terrorism.

"In fact, the Vietnam War was a turning point of sorts. For the very first time, through that war, the attention of the American people was being directed to processes of state-sponsored terrorism which had been taking place for decades on other fronts in South America, Central America, Africa, the Middle East and with our own Native Peoples and black communities."

Agent Williams waved his hand dismissively at my comments and stared out the window. He remained quiet and let Agent Bradley conduct the remainder of the interview.

"Dr. Phelps," Agent Bradley said, "you indicated earlier you had some questions about where the Bettinger Foundation stood on various issues of terrorism. Would you care to elaborate?"

"Let's just say," I remarked, "that I was uneasy about some of their connections with the defense industry, the military and the intelligence community. I was hoping Ken Pratt either would allay my concerns in this regard or provide me with a clearer picture of the situation so I could make an informed choice with respect to the job offer."

"Have you arrived at a decision concerning the job?" Agent Bradley asked.

"Yes," I replied. "I declined the offer. I informed Dr. Jameson this past Monday, the day after returning from Washington."

"How did Dr. Jameson react to your refusal?" Agent Bradley inquired.

"He was disappointed. Dr. Jameson said my decision saddened him more than I could know. I guess he had plans for me."

"Previously, Dr. Phelps, you alluded to a request that had been made of Ken Pratt. You mentioned, I believe, asking him to see what he could find out about The Bettinger Foundation.

"I'm wondering," Agent Bradley said, "if he had any success in his investigation into the matter. Moreover, I also am interested in knowing to what extent his findings, if any, played a formative part in your deliberations about the job offer."

"Ken wasn't able to find out a great deal," I asserted. "And, strangely enough, this fact, in and of itself, bothered him.

"The parent company, Futures Unlimited, banks through the Cayman Islands and seems to like to operate in the shadows and in anonymity. Yet, the corporation appears to have a great many contacts with all levels and branches of government, both on the domestic scene as well as internationally.

"Ken didn't like the combination of secrecy mixed with potential influence of government processes and policies. I must say, I don't care much for it myself.

"Practically the last thing Ken said to me before I left Washington was that there seemed to be some kind of religious angle to either Futures Unlimited or The Bettinger Foundation or both. He didn't elaborate on what the angle might involve.

"Ken said he would let me know what he discovered in that regard. I don't know if he had the chance to pursue the issue any further.

"As far as the other part of your question is concerned, Agent Bradley, I would say Ken's discussion with me on the various themes surrounding the job offer played a fundamental role in shaping my final decision. I might very well have accepted the position if not for what transpired during my exploration of the matter with Ken."

Agent Bradley paused briefly before continuing. "I'm sorry for having to raise the following question," he apologized, "but we need to know if there was anyone you encountered or spoke with after your visit to the donut shop on your way home from the movies.

"Our forensic experts place the time of death for both of the Pratts at somewhere between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.. Although, admittedly, the time line is rather congested, you still could have gone to the airport, caught a plane for Washington, traveled to the Pratt residence and committed the crime in the interval between roughly a little after 11:00 p.m. and the indicated time of death.

"If we are to completely eliminate you as a suspect in this case, Dr. Phelps, your situation would be helped considerably if somebody, anybody, could place you in the general vicinity of the greater Boston area between, say, 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.. Is there anything more which you can remember in this respect that you haven't touched upon already in your account?"

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