"Well, sir," Dan said after he swore to the oath and took his seat in the witness chair beside the judge's stand, "guess I should start with the first time I saw Miss Allen...I mean....Judge, do you think it would be all right for us to call the defendant Shanna? Seems a little awkward, trying to get used to her new name."
Judge Howard looked over at Ed Curley to see him listening to a whispered comment from Christian Van Alstyne. Curley glanced at the bench and nodded his agreement, but Cody frowned as he caught the gleam in Van Alstyne's eyes before he hooded them.
"You may refer to the defendant by her given name," Judge Howard said, though he cast a warning glance at Cody.
While Dan recounted his first meeting with Shanna and his subsequent notification by telegram that she was wanted for charges brought against her in New York, Cody mulled over Van Alstyne's actions in his mind. He hadn't come to any conclusion by the time Dan informed the judge that he had nothing further to say at this time.
"Mr. Garret?" Judge Howard prodded after Dan fell quiet. "Do you have any questions for the sheriff?"
Cody rose to his feet. "Not at this time, Your Honor. However, as I mentioned before, I intend to call the sheriff at a later time."
"Mr. Curley?"
"I do have a few questions for the sheriff," Curley said in a mild voice, rising to his feet.
"Go ahead."
"Sheriff," Curley said. "You brought up something in your very first remarks that I feel needs clarification. Why did you ask that you be allowed to refer to the defendant as Shanna, instead of Miss Van Alstyne?"
"Well, like I said, it's hard to change when you're used to referring to someone by a different name," Dan said with a puzzled look.
Cody immediately grasped the thrust of Curley's questions and jumped to his feet. "I object, Your Honor."
"On what grounds?" Judge Howard questioned.
"I...on the grounds...." Cody's shoulders slumped and he sat down. "I guess I don't have any grounds for that objection," he said in a disheartened voice.
Shanna glanced at Cody in confusion. He shook his head and motioned for her not to interrupt as he turned his attention back to the front of the courtroom.
"May I proceed, Your Honor?"
"Yes, Mr. Curley."
Curley placed his hands behind his back and strode toward Dan. "If I'm reading you right then, Sheriff, when you first met Miss Van Alstyne you knew her by a different name. What was that name?"
"Miss Allen. But...."
"Thank you, Sheriff. Now, do people you meet sometimes lie to you and give you a false name, even knowing you are an officer of the law?"
"Yeah, sometimes."
"Why do they do this, Sheriff?"
"Well," Dan said reluctantly, "they don't want me to know their real name, of course."
"I repeat, Sheriff. Why? Could it be they have something to hide? Something you would find out, if you knew their real name?"
"Yeah," Dan said grumpily. "But Shanna...."
"When did Miss Van Alstyne first tell you that her name was Allen, Sheriff?"
"When she came to my office to report that she had lost the money she had with her, the day after she arrived in Liberty. She seemed to think it might have fallen out of her carpetbag when the stage driver tossed it in the street, and she wanted to describe it, in case someone turned it in."
"At that time, she told you her name was Shanna Allen?"
"Yes."
"Did anyone ever turn in this money Miss Van Alstyne supposedly lost?"
"No."
"And what were your thoughts when you received the telegram from the Pinkerton Detective Agency describing Miss Van Alstyne and her brother and informing you that she had kidnapped her brother from New York? Were you, as we would think an officer of the law would be, shocked and dismayed that she had given you a false name? Or did you somehow qualify her deceit in your mind?"
"Objection," Cody said from his seat. "Does Mr. Curley want answers to his questions as he asks them, or does he wish to take this opportunity to pontificate and insinuate things for which he doesn't have evidence?"
"Sustained," Judge Howard said.
"Then," Curley continued, "let me go back to another question you were allowed to answer and ask you to repeat that answer. Was Miss Van Alstyne's money ever turned in to you?"
"No. I already told you that."
"Yes, I remember," Curley said. "And might I ask what Miss Van Alstyne did when she found herself out of funds and with no means of support for her and her small brother?"
"Why, she took a job, like we all do when we need to earn money to live on," Dan said stoutly. "She earned her way."
"Who did she find employment with, Sheriff?"
"The Garrets," Dan responded instantly. "Aunt Bessie needed a teacher for Melinda. She'd been looking for someone for quite a while."
"Aunt Bessie? Melinda? Will you please explain who they are?"
"Why, you know who they are, Mr. Curley. Everyone in town does."
"For the record. Please, Sheriff?"
"Aunt Bessie's Cody's aunt. And Melinda's his daughter."
""You're referring to Mr. Garret, the defense attorney?"
"Yes, I am."
"And what happened after Miss Van Alstyne took up her duties for Mr. Garret's daughter?"
"Well, it was something, I can tell you. First thing we knew, Shanna agreed to teach a lot of the other kids who needed schooling around here. Didn't even ask for any pay. Folks were mighty grateful, I can tell you."
Shanna glanced at Cody as he bowed his head and shook it sadly. "What is it?" she whispered, grasping his arm to get his attention. "He's only telling the truth."
"Just listen," Cody said in an irritated voice.
Curley let the silence linger in the courtroom as he paced back and forth in front of Dan's seat. He paused once and glanced at the sheriff, then shook his head and resumed his pacing.
"Mr. Curley," Judge Howard said finally. "Are you finished?"
"No, Your Honor. I'm just trying to sort this out in my mind."
"Well, sort it out during recess instead of holding up my proceedings," Judge Howard warned.
"All right, Your Honor. But I just want to make sure I've got my facts straight. Sheriff, please confirm what I'm saying. You met Miss Van Alstyne here in Liberty shortly after she arrived. She gave you a false name, and told you that she had lost the money she had brought with her to survive on. Then, she quickly liaisoned herself with one of the prominent families in the county, the head of which happens to be a lawyer. After that, she proceeded to insinuate herself in the good graces of as many others as she could by offering to teach any child of school age without charge. Is that what happened?"
The courtroom erupted in discord as Shanna gasped and sprang to her feet. She tried to shake off Cody's restraining arm and gain Judge Howard's attention, but Cody pulled her firmly back into her seat. As Judge Howard pounded his gavel in an attempt to restore order, Cody frantically whispered to Shanna, "For God's sake, he's playing you! Don't lose control, or you'll do just what he wants you to."
"He's lying!" Shanna gasped. "That's not how it was!"
"He's not lying, Shanna. He's twisting and misrepresenting the facts. There's a difference."
Shanna shot him a disgruntled look, then glanced over her shoulder at the faces behind her. The spectators were still muttering furiously, despite Judge Howard's banging gavel. Here and there she caught a look of support from several women, but she quickly realized a few of the men were staring at her with a contemplating frown on their faces. When Toby scrambled under the railing separating them, she caught him to her and held him close.
"Don't worry, Shanna," Toby said firmly. "The judge can see that he's just trying to make something look like it's not. Cody will fix him, won't you, Cody?"
"I'm going to try, son," Cody said as the spectators yielded at last to Judge Howard's shouted orders. "Now, you go sit down again."
After a final hug from Shanna, Toby ducked under the railing and resumed his seat.
"No further questions of this witness at this time," Curley said, taking his seat as soon as the room settled into silence.
"Mr. Garret?"
"Your Honor, I would like a short recess to consult with a few of my witnesses."
"You should have had your witnesses prepared before the trial, Mr. Garret. However, I will grant you ten minutes. Don't try to prolong it."
Judge Howard swept out of the courtroom, his robe trailing behind as he hastened his steps.
"Father's trying to wreck everything before we even get a chance to tell our side, isn't he, Cody?" Shanna said as soon as the door closed behind Judge Howard. "He's trying to make it look like I planned all of this ahead of time, knowing that I'd finally get caught with Toby and need people to support my side of the story."
"I should have foreseen it," Cody admitted. "That's what a defense attorney is supposed to do. I should have anticipated how he would twist the facts and turn them to his own advantage. I'm too rusty. I haven't been in court for too many years."
"You're doing the best you can, Cody," Shanna comforted. "We're just going to have to come up with a way to counteract what he's done. Anyone you put on the stand now to attest to my character is going to be suspect. How can we deal with that?"
Neither one of them saw Toby slip away and when Shanna glanced up to see Patty's seat vacant, she assumed Toby had gone with her. They were quickly embroiled in a host of outraged witnesses, who demanded Cody still put them on the stand to refute Ed Curley's insinuations.
"We can't let that man suggest we're hicks who can't see through an obvious attempt to defraud us," Mrs. Toggins told Cody with an apologetic glance at Shanna.
Shanna clasped the other woman's arm in a gesture of understanding and turned her attention to the hastily called conference around Cody.
Toby glanced behind him, then turned the knob on the door before him without knocking. It opened easily, and he slipped inside, holding his breath as he gazed around until his eyes fell on the black-robed figure standing in the corner of the room.
"Can I help you, son?" Judge Howard asked.
"I think you're the only person who can help me, sir," Toby said. "I'm Toby Van Alstyne and my sister is accused of taking me from New York without me agreeing to it."
"Son, I'm not really supposed to be talking to you outside the courtroom."
"Not really, sir? You mean, there might be a way around that rule, so I can say something to you?"
"Pretty smart, aren't you, son? How old are you?"
"Six. Well, six in a few days."
"Sit down, Toby," Judge Howard said with a laugh. "I think I'll stick my head out and tell the lawyers I've decided to make that a fifteen-minute recess."
A second later, Judge Howard settled himself into the desk chair and poured a glass of water from the pitcher someone had left on his desk. "Would you like a drink, Toby?"
"No, sir. I'm fine."
"All right, then. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"About tes...." Toby frowned in concentration. "About testifying in Shanna's trial. Cody...Mr. Garret explained to me that you would be the one who decided if I could, and that I would have to show you how matu...grown up I am. And that I'm smart enough to know what's going on. I am, sir. Why, Melinda and I talked about it a lot, and I even practiced."
"Melinda Garret?" Judge Howard asked.
"Uh huh. She's my best friend. Cody's her father and he's been real nice to me, too. Melinda and me, well, we didn't like each other much at first, but we're real good friends now."
"How old is Melinda?"
"She'll be five that same day I'm six."
"And how did you do this practicing for what you would say if I let you testify?"
"Well, sir, we asked Cody how it worked at a trial, and he told me that you don't just get up in the chair and tell what happened. That people ask you questions and you have to answer them with the truth. I didn't think that was right, but I practiced the way Cody told me it would have to be."
Judge Howard studied Toby behind a hand raised to hide the slight smile on his lips. "Just what did you think was wrong about how we do things at a trial, Toby?" he asked after a moment.
"Why, the judge might not get to hear the whole story," Toby said logically, his intense gaze fixed on the judge. "Like it happened out there a little while ago, when Mr. Curley asked the sheriff questions and then didn't let the sheriff explain what he had said. You might just get asked questions that show someone else's side of the story — the side that makes them look right."
"That was only the beginning of the trial, son. We'll get to hear both sides before it's over. Believe me, your sister will have a fair hearing."
Toby swung his legs back and forth and looked around the room. His small hands gripped the armrests in the huge chair, and he bit his bottom lip as he tried to decide what to say next.
"Son, I think I know what's going through your mind," Judge Howard said. "What they're saying out there is making your sister look bad, and you don't like people hearing that."
"Yes, sir. But that's not all of it. I mean, I know it could look to some people like maybe Shanna did take me with her without me wanting to go, her being older than me and all. And I'm used to people thinking Shanna is my mom instead of my sister at first, 'cause it's always just been Shanna and me for the most part. But...."
"Go on, son," Judge Howard prodded.
"Well, it don't seem fair that these people get to ask their questions first and make it look like that. When kids get in trouble, it's usually the kid who gets to tell his side first that has the best chance to be believed. The other kid, 'less he's got someone to back him up, has to do some tall talking to make the grownups believe he's right instead of the other kid."
Judge Howard shifted in his chair and took a drink of water.
"Oh, not Shanna, sir," Toby quickly said before the judge could speak. "She's not like that. But some of my friends back in New York, well, I've seen that happen to them."
"So you think your sister should get to tell her story first so she would be believed first?"
"No, sir. Not exactly. What I really mean is that Shanna's going to have a harder time making you believe her after Pop makes her look bad. And Shanna and I are the only other two people here who know what really happened. That's why I have to be able to tell about it, too, so she will have someone to back her up. That's why I have to show you that I'm smart enough to tes...testify."
Judge Howard leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of him, his shaggy brows drawing together as he studied the small figure in front of him. Toby sat quietly, returning his gaze, not shifting nervously as though he were trying to escape the scrutiny.
"Toby, you do realize that if I let you testify, you'll also have to answer questions from Mr. Curley. That might not be pleasant."
"Yes, sir. But that's something that will be over with when he gets done. If I lose Shanna, it might be for the rest of my life."
A long moment later, Judge Howard straightened in his chair. "Go on back out to your sister, Toby," he said quietly. "I promise you, I'll think hard on what you've told me. If I feel letting you testify is the right thing to do, that's the way it will be."
"Thank you, sir." Toby slid from his chair. At the door, he turned around. "Sir," he said. "Are your mom and pop still alive?"
"My mother is, son," Judge Howard admitted. "My dad died years ago, when I was about your age. My mother married again and I had a stepfather after that."
"Did you like him, sir?"
Judge Howard was silent for a moment. "Yes, I even came to love him. He was a fair man, who taught me right from wrong and what it means to be a man."
Toby nodded his head thoughtfully and opened the door. Glancing around the courtroom before he walked out of the office, he saw his father's back to him, where he stood deep in conversation with Mr. Curley. He breathed a sigh of relief and scurried across the room to stand behind Shanna's skirts.
"Toby," Shanna said immediately. "Where have you been? I thought you were with Patty."
"No, I...."
Judge Howard opened his door again and stuck his head out. "Five more minutes," he called, then shut the door again.