The Plan

EPILOGUE:

Cole Harris won his third Pulitzer for the story he titled "The Plan." He had put Naomi Zur up posthumously, and her family shared the prize with him. He was o ffered a contract at NBC and he went to work every da y i n pleated pants and suspenders and quietly drove all o f h is coworkers crazy with his compulsive behavior. He sent Ryan and Lucinda a pen and pencil set. TO COLE HARRIS, THE BEST OF THE BEST. C. WALLACE LITMAN, the engrave d p laque said. He enclosed a note that said, "Not until I me t y ou guys. Have one on me." The expensive champagn e t hat was supposed to accompany the gift never arrived.

C. Wallace Litman was forced by the FCC to sell his broadcasting interests. He was indicted for election tampering and acquitted two months later by a New York jury.

Haze Richards was indicted for conspiracy to commit the murder of Anita Richards; A. J. Teagarden was indicted as a co-conspirator. Haze pled to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years; A. J. Teagarden sentenced himself to death. He bought a.45 at a Washington gu n s hop, rented a hotel room, and ended his life in a chipped, dirty bathroom. Nobody claimed his body.

Babbling John Baily remained at Madison Junior High. But Cole and Ryan gave him the funds to build a state-of-the-art video lab, which the RF engineer maintained and ran for the school.

Fudge Anderson was elected the forty-third President of the United States of America.

Ryan and Lucinda got married in June. Their first child was born in March 1998, a seven-pound, three-ounce girl. They named her Elizabeth.