Bob Wallace quickly had Grant ushered out of the court- room and put Neal back in the witness seat.
"You are still under oath," Bob told him.
Neal nodded to indicate that he understood.
"We heard your earlier testimony about how you didn't mean to seriously injure Drew Thomas and how Mrs. Miller coerced you into going along with her plan," Bob said. "Why didn't you go to the police instead?"
"When Mrs. Miller showed up in the utility room to break up the argument between Drew and me, I told her that my dad was Walker Lewis. I could tell right away that she knew he was a Washington bigwig," Neal said.
"I knew that was why she said I could stay at the party but Drew had to leave.
"She supervised me as I rolled Drew's body in some pool tarp and lifted it onto a delivery cart in the utility room. As she watched for guests, I rolled the cart to her SUV and put Drew in the back. Mrs. Miller drove along some back roads to a secluded spot, and along the way told me that she and her husband had chatted with my parents on several occasions, during social events hosted by the D.C. chapter of Stanford’s alumni association.
"Mrs. Miller had graduated from the university as well, but since there wasn't a chapter in Richmond, she and her husband would participate in the D.C. functions, for networking purposes."
Neal recounted the information as if he were delivering a school report.
Bob interrupted. "So you were intimidated by this woman because she might run into your parents at an alumni event and 'tell' on you?"
Neal shook his head.
"She knew that my dad was under consideration by the President of the United States to join the Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors. After a presidential appointment, Dad would still have to be confirmed by the Senate, which would mean the entire family would be under scrutiny.
"If the media or political officials inside the Washington Beltway got wind of what I had done, my dad's career could be over," Neal said. "Mrs. Miller promised to make that happen if I didn't do as she said."
Neal looked into the courtroom gallery at his father, who sat just behind the defense table with his lips pursed and his arms folded, glaring at his son.
"Go on," Bob prodded.
Neal was visibly shaken by his father's demeanor, but returned his focus to his attorney.
"Mrs. Miller had talked to my mom at one of the alumni functions and knew that I had been accepted to Stanford. She said her brother was a Stanford grad and San Franscisco-based plastic surgeon who sat on the university's admissions board. She didn't come right out and threaten me, but I took what she did say to mean that he could get my admission to the college revoked," Neal said. "That would kill my parents."
"She knew so much about my family that I believed her threats," he said. "She had my dad's dream job and my future in her hands. She promised me that if I kept quiet and went along with her plan, we'd never get caught."
"But you did," Bob said.
Earlier testimony from Richmond detectives revealed that a silver pendant bearing the Seward School emblem had been found in Drew's shallow grave. Strands of auburn hair were lifted from his clothing.
Neal continued with his testimony, stating that Bethany Miller didn't relent.
"She visited me in jail and promised that if I insisted I was innocent, there would be enough reasonable doubt to get me off," Neal said. "She came back a few weeks later and told me she had some dirt on one of my attorneys that we could use to secure my freedom or to get the charge against me lessened.
"Mrs. Miller said that Elise's real name was Tawana and that she had come close to breaking the law herself. She was counting on the fact that Elise would help us out to save her own skin." Neal shook his head. "At that point, I just didn't trust her anymore.
"My mom came to visit me and told me she would stand by me no matter what happened. I decided to come clean."
Neal looked at his father. "I'm sorry it cost me the love of my dad. But at least now I can sleep at night."