Just about all of us have done it. We didn’t realize we were doing it, but we were.
Yes, nearly every one of us who follows this Kocis/Cuadra/Kerekes/
Lockhart/Roy fandango has his own theory on what exactly happened. Not a broadly drawn theory either—such as one finds in the ‘camps’ (Corrigan vs. Kocis)—but a specific, unique theory of the crime (or of its aftermath, or of its antecedents.) Those pet theories are, of course, backed up by corresponding pet pieces of evidence.
Furthermore, we seem to think we can find a comprehensive sort of explanation of things unknown within that pet fact, that fact that we and we alone have ‘uncovered.’ And that’s when what was once an insight becomes a canard.
What in blazes am I on about?
Consider those of us who find ultimate solace in the words of the affidavit. We know its information is months old; we know that it’s incomplete, but it’s a document, baby, and in a case whose facts flutter from Truthful to Untruthful like a horny hummingbird... that document becomes Scripture. Examine the timeline; follow the bouncing IPs; Harlow was there... or was Joe beside him? He lied; they lied; for once one told the truth.... No, it’s in the phone calls! All certainty shall be found in the phone calls!
There are others among us whose hearts remain forever on Black’s Beach, certain that whatever was said there, it holds the key to the whole morass. We haven’t heard the tape, but we sure act as if we have, don’t we? Why did Harlow seem to ‘apologize’ to Sean and Grant? The glasses were bugged; Sean and Grant were in on it; they tricked Harlow and Joe. What complete bastards!
There’s any number of other canards. A short list:
-It was Aaron; the Danny Moulin appointment proves it.
-It was Lee Bergeron; he was in cahoots with Bryan... after Lee was in cahoots with Sean... that’s after Sean was in cahoots with Bryan... remember, before Sean was in cahoots with Grant... got all that?
-It was Sean and Grant; the angry emails from Joe/Mark/Trent prove he and Harlow were hired to do the deed.
-It was an unnamed ‘Mr. Big,’ someone disturbed by all the legal fuss surrounding Mr. Kocis; that’s proven by... well, you just have to trust me, ‘cause I know. Dude, don’t press it. You trying to get me killed?
Okay. By now, anyone who holds one of these ducky opinions is probably pretty steamed. Don’t be. PC and I are hardly immune.
I count myself as the proud owner of a couple of robust canards, ideas firmly held without much proof: that the affidavit was prepared by someone other than the State Police, a Federal someone; and, that regardless of the facts, prosecutors are more likely to offer Harlow a deal than they are Joe.
Can I prove either statement? Certainly not. They are canards.
What are yours?
-KM
