The sunset was a deep charcoal sea across the horizon, swirled into it were blood red veins. The makings of a haunting pallet which was indeed a perfect back drop for this bizarre afternoon.

It started with a phone call from a stranger with an innate, raspy voice. He wouldn't identify himself. He only said that it was of the gravest importance that I meet with him immediately. He wouldn't elaborate, except to say that they were listening so he wanted to meet where Lisa and I had spent our First Anniversary together and that I was not to repeat where that was. He went on to say that he would find me there at 9:00pm tonight; a room was waiting for me! He had left me both disturbed and intrigued!

I felt an intense need to find out what this man wanted to meet with me for? Who he was and how did he know where Lisa and I went? I had kept that a secret from everyone including family so Lisa would not find out! I wanted it to be a surprise.

I packed a change of clothing and my overnight bag and headed out the door. It was 4:00pm and I had a five-hour drive ahead of me. The last time I had made this drive Lisa had been with me. Now the seat beside me was empty. This time only memories rode along with. Beautifully, haunting reflections of a wonderful week spent in Wine Country at Chateau Le Belle on the South Side of Northern California's Clear Lake. The Chateau Le Belle was an exquisite Bed and Breakfast created from a gorgeous French Provincial Vineyard Estate. The owners spared no expense in making the Bed and Breakfast a luxurious, patron pampering, spa-type experience. I spared no expense in taking Lisa there for the week of our First Anniversary. She was a wonderful wife.

Lisa and I visited several Wine Tasting rooms, High Valley Vineyards and Shannon Ridge to name a few on the South side of the .Lake. Lisa purchased a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from High Valley Vineyards. She called it smooth textured and well balanced. She elaborated that the tannic blend went nicely with the dried currant flavors and hints of black cherry. Lisa said it would compliment a Steak or heavy meat dishes. She bought a Chardonnay from Shannon Ridge with a Creme Brule, and Citrus flavor that felt crisp and full in your mouth as Lisa described! She explained that it would go well with Chicken, Seafood and Veal Dishes. I just knew they tasted good!

We toured several Vineyards as well. You can never get a sense of how large a Vineyard is until you actually walk the rows of one! They are magnificent:; Everything from the colors to the smell. The Estates are some of the most stunning that you will ever see in your life-time. Many are complete with fine works of art, statues and fountains. Lisa took some amazing photos.

The entire week was a perfect balance of time alone and time spent in the presence of magnificent scenery, besides my beautiful wife of coarse! She loved every moment of her surprise vacation in Wine Country.

Then we returned to our mundane lives back in Sacramento. A little more than a year later Lisa was killed in a freak accident. She was on her way home from work at UC Avis Medical Center late one afternoon and had a seizure behind the wheel. She drove off the Capital City Freeway Bridge into the river. The strange thing was, she had never had a seizure before that I was aware of.

The Coroner at US Avis Medical Center, confirmed that she had a Grand Mal Seizure and later that week she was interred in the Sacramento City Cemetery. She was so badly injured that I had to have a closed casket memorial service.

I was so devastated at losing Lisa that I was given a mandatory leave of absence from work. Cain, Jensen and Layman were a good Law Group to work with, they allowed me the grieving time I needed.

There were many days I stayed in bed with the exception of going to the bathroom and eating a little here and there. I lost twenty pounds over the two months I was on the hiatus! I watched our Wedding Video over and over again until the images were so buried in my mind that when my eyes were closed, those were the pictures that I saw on the backs of my eye lids. I cried until all of my tears were spent. I simply had no more to give. One day, I got up, took a shower, put my suit on and said, it's time!

I've been back at work now for seven months. Lisa has been gone for eight months, now whoever this man is, is making me re-live all of this again! Why? What does Lisa have to do with him and why is all of this a big secret? Who are they?

I left a voice message on Steve Jensen's service, letting him know that I would not be in tomorrow. I asked him to have someone cover for me. They could ask for a continuance on all of my cases. I only had three scheduled for tomorrow and they were on my desk. The first being for 9:00am in Family Court, B3. I told him I would explain everything when I returned, that I had to make an emergency trip out of town.

It was 8:15 when I began the meandering drive up the mountain. It would have been a beautiful drive if the sun were still shining. It was dark and the fog was setting in making an already mysterious trip seem sinister. I began seeing lights ahead so I knew I would reach the Chateau soon. I was getting anxious now.

I pulled onto the long drive that cut through the Vineyard of the Estate and up to Chateau Le Belle. I parked and just sat there for a moment wondering what I was doing there? I could be meeting anyone. Including someone with less that moral intentions. My curiosity overpowered my common sense and I found myself standing at the registration desk.

"Do you have a reservation for Clifford Rassmussen?" I asked the Clerk. "Yes sir. All I need is your signature on this form right here. The steam room is reserved for you at 9:00pm per your request, for a party of two. Can we do anything else for you tonight, Sir?" She said with a smile. I thanked her and said, "No that will be all." She handed me a map of the Estate and a card key.

I headed for the steam room, then stripped down to my shorts, wrapped a towel around me, entered the chamber and waited!. It was thick and sweltering but felt good against my tense muscles. The steam made a cloudy curtain my host was hiding behind. Suddenly his voice, rough and low startled me as he began to speak. "Mr. Rassmussen, I have made sure that we are alone in here. What I am going to tell you is going to outrage you as it should. It is also going to stun you. When you leave here, you must do exactly what I tell you to do. Do you understand? If you don't, I won't be able to protect her anymore. Tell me that you clearly understand what I am telling you." I was disconcerted, I didn't know how to answer, when I didn't know what he wanted me to answer yes to! I answered yes just so he would let me in on the mystery! Then it hit me, he said he wouldn't be able to protect her anymore! Whom was he talking about?

"Eight months ago, Lisa's car drove off the Capital Freeway City Bridge and plunged into the river below. Clifford, Lisa was not in her car when that happened. She was safely tucked away where they could not get to her. Her death was feigned to keep her alive. Unfortunately, no one could know the truth, not her family, not even you. The Coroner was the only person who was privy to our operation. The casket you saw was empty." The struggling voice finished.

I was turning red with rage and at the same time my heart was aching. Tears began making their way down my tormented face. I had so many questions. The first, of coarse was, why? The mystery man, began to explain, " Lisa worked for The Department of Health and Human Services which is the principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans. It is comprised of the Office of the Secretary and 11 operating divisions including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Lisa stumbled on a dead-file that made a notation of inferior practices in the Research Department of UC Avis Medical Center. This file had no follow-up notations and she began questioning her superior as to why there had been no follow up done. She was clearly told that the case was closed and she was to shred the file! She told her boss that she would, but her conscience wouldn't allow it, at least not before she read it! What she came across startled her. There had been research trials done on patients without their knowledge at the hospital. Unproven medications had been used on humans. Several patients had died! Lisa had discovered a major medical cover up involving UC Avis Medical Center and The Department of Healthcare and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She couldn't leave it alone. That is when she called the Director of The Department of Health and Human Services in New York and involved him. She talked to Tim Walker and explained what she had found and what her boss, Jim Balford told her to do with the file. Tim Walker told her to act like she was shredding it, but to hide it, and to bring it to him at the Regional office in San Francisco that weekend. He said he would fly in from New York on Friday's red-eye and be there early Saturday morning. He would have two tickets waiting for her at Sacramento International Airport, the 6:00 hop to San Francisco. There would be a rental car ready at Avis and Friday night reservations pre-paid, in her name at the San Francisco Hilton for two nights. He said she and her husband might as well make a weekend out of it for her trouble. He would contact her by cell phone Saturday early afternoon."

I remember that weekend, Lisa said she had a short business trip to make to San Francisco and that her boss was nice enough to make it a weekend for two at the companies expense. We had a really nice time. She never gave me any details. Why was it such a big secret? "It was a government-funded research program and it's questionable practices were being covered up by a government office! There were people involved in Sacramento, New York and Washington! If the research trials and related deaths became known the impending investigation would crumble the image of the Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, UC Avis's Research Department, and Head's would roll in Washington." was the raspy man's reply.

So where did Tim Walker fit into the picture, was he a good guy or a bad guy? "Lisa was fortunate. Tim was a good guy. I mean, was posthumously. He was found dead in his New York condo two months before Lisa's accident! They had made it look like he had a heart attack. He had been given a lethal injection of Potassium.Chloride, just inside the rectum wall where no Coroner ever looks! He wasn't found for several day's as they planned, and the Potassium level was not high enough to raise any suspicion," he explained.

I remember Lisa flying to New York a few months before she died, I mean disappeared. She said she was attending the funeral of some co-worker there. I had asked her if she wanted me to go with her and she said no she would be fine, one of the girls in the office was attending with her. She seemed unnaturally distraught when she returned home. I asked her what was wrong and she said that she was just tired and suffering from jet lag! "Mr. Rassmussen, when Lisa was in New York she was faced with many of the cohorts who are covering up the Research atrocities. She was threatened by one of their thugs as well! Lisa is not a quitter though and she was even more convinced that she had to stop the Human Research.