Sally looked young on the witness stand. She was dressed demurely in a white cotton sweater with a round collar and a blue skirt. The sweater was loose enough to avoid drawing attention to her chest. Her full hair was pulled back and tied neatly behind her head. Her face was pink, but without makeup. She didn’t wear any jewelry, just a plain gold watch.
Stride looked at her. Was he wrong? He allowed a shadow of doubt to pass over him, considering the crazy possibility that they had all misjudged the case. Sally was jealous and possessive. Could she have crossed over the line into murder?
Twice?
He simply didn’t believe it.
“Sally, I’d like you to tell the jury about an incident that happened to you last summer. Can you describe it for us?”
Sally nodded. Her face was serious and composed. “It was a Sunday morning in July. I drove my car north of the city and turned off on one of the rural highways. I parked there and began biking.”
“How long did you bike?” Dan asked.
“Maybe half an hour, I guess. I was listening to my iPod and not really paying attention to the time. But then the chain on my bike broke. I was probably ten or fifteen miles from my car. So I turned around and started pushing it back.”
“Did you go all the way to your car?”
Sally shook her head. “No. A minivan passed me on the road. The driver stopped and honked at me. It was Rachel’s stepfather. Graeme Stoner.”
“How well did you know Mr. Stoner?”
Sally shrugged. “Oh, we knew each other enough to talk. I had been over to Rachel’s house a few times with my boyfriend. Kevin.”
“Go on, Sally.”
“He offered to drive me and my bike to my car.”
“Did you accept?”
“Yes. I was tired. It sounded great to have a ride back to the car. So I got in the van, but then we sat there for several minutes. He didn’t make any effort to start the van. It was a little weird. He just asked me a lot of questions. Personal stuff.”
“Tell us what he asked you.”
Sally hesitated. “He said he saw me with Kevin a lot. He asked whether he was my boyfriend.”
“What did you say?”
“I said yes, he was. Then he asked me whether Kevin and I were being careful. He was kind of grinning.”
“What did you take that to mean?”
Gale stood up. “Objection, Your Honor. Assuming this conversation ever took place, the witness is not in a position to act as a mind reader.”
“Sustained, but leave out the aside next time, Mr. Gale,” Judge Kassel instructed him.
Gale, with a tiny smile, sat down.
“Were you uncomfortable?”
“Well, not at first. But it dragged on. We must have been sitting there for five minutes or so, with him just firing all these questions at me. I started dropping hints, you know? I said we’d better go. I told him I needed to get back to the city. Finally, he started the engine, and we headed off. But I realized he was going very slowly. I looked over, and he was only doing forty. Most people usually do sixty or seventy on those roads.”
“Did Mr. Stoner continue talking to you as he drove?”
“Yes. He told me that I was very pretty. That he liked my hair. That I had such nice skin. All the time, he was looking at me. But not really at my face, you know?”
“Tell us what he was looking at, Sally.”
She glanced nervously at the jury. “He was staring at my breasts. He kept sneaking looks at them. I tried crossing my arms, but it looked funny. Instead, I kind of twisted my body so he didn’t have much of a view.”
“How did you feel?”
“It made me uncomfortable.”
“Did you say anything?”
Sally shook her head. “No, I just wanted to get to my car and get out of there.”
“What happened next?” Dan asked.
“He asked me if I had ever been to the barn.”
A murmur rustled through the courtroom, and Judge Kassel tapped her gavel, restoring silence. Stride saw the faces of the jurors, intent on Sally’s words.
“Go on, Sally,” Dan said.
“He told me he had heard there was some real hot make-out spot nearby, and he wondered if I had been there with Kevin,” she continued.
“What did you say?”
“I said no. He was really surprised. He thought I was kidding. But I really hadn’t been there.”
“Where were you at this point?”
“We were at a crossroads. I knew the barn was nearby. Everyone knows where it is. He stopped the van at the intersection.”
Dan leaned forward. “Just to clarify, Sally, is this the same barn where evidence about Rachel—her bracelet, her blood—was discovered?”
“Yes. The same place.”
“So what happened then?”
“He asked me if the barn was just down this road. I said yes, I thought so. He got this gleam in his eyes, like he was trying to flirt with me, and he asked if I thought anyone was there now, making out.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I didn’t know. I said we should really get going.”
“Did he do what you asked?”
“No.” Sally grimaced. “He said we should check it out. He was insistent. He turned and headed toward the barn. I was really scared.”
“What did you think was going to happen?”
“Objection,” Gale snapped. “Calls for speculation.”
“I’m asking the witness for her own perception of the situation, Your Honor, not what was in the defendant’s mind,” Dan countered.
Judge Kassel paused. “I’ll allow the question. You may answer.”
“I don’t really know what I thought. I was just so freaked out. The way he was talking, I guess I thought he was coming on to me. Like he was going to try something.”
“Did he take you to the barn?”
Sally nodded. “Yes. He pulled in behind the barn and parked. I was getting ready to make a break for it, you know? I mean, he had me spooked. There was nobody around, and he kept looking at me and telling me I was really pretty.”
“Did he touch you?”
“No. Well, he didn’t have a chance to. We were hardly there a minute or two before another car pulled in behind us. I’ve never been so happy in my life.”
“What did Mr. Stoner do?”
“He hauled ass out of there.” Sally hesitated. “I’m sorry. But that was really what he did. As soon as that other car came up, he hit the accelerator, and we peeled out.”
“Did he say anything further to you?”
Sally shook her head. “No, hardly a word. He just headed back to the main road, doing sixty this time. We reached my car in just a couple minutes. He dropped me off, and that was that. I was glad to get out of there.”
“Did you tell anyone about this incident?” Dan asked.
“No. Not then, anyway. I was embarrassed, and I felt kind of stupid. I tried to tell myself I had just misinterpreted what had happened. But it all took place just like I told you.”
“That’s all I have, Sally. Thanks.” Dan turned to Gale. “Your witness.”
Now, thought Stride, the fireworks start.
He leaned over to whisper to Maggie. That was when he realized that Maggie was gone.