Gale removed his reading glasses, shoved them into the breast pocket of his suit coat, and gave Sally an avuncular smile.
“This won’t take long, Sally,” he told her. “I just have a few questions for you.”
Bullshit, Stride thought.
“You were out biking on the country roads several miles from town, is that right?” Gale asked. “Weren’t you scared?”
“No,” Sally said. “I go out there at least once a month.”
Gale frowned. “And yet only a few months earlier, another girl in your school was abducted while jogging on the back roads. Didn’t that worry you?”
“Objection,” Dan snapped. “What the witness was thinking about or not thinking about is irrelevant.”
“Your Honor, if the jury is to decide whether this incident really took place, they deserve to hear the full context,” Gale said.
Judge Kassel nodded. “Overruled. The witness will answer the question.”
Sally shrugged. “I suppose it should have worried me, but I didn’t really think about it.”
“So you weren’t concerned at all that whoever abducted Kerry might abduct you, too?”
“Objection, asked and answered,” Dan interrupted.
“Sustained.”
“All right, Sally, you claim that Mr. Stoner picked you up while you were pushing your bike back, is that right?” Gale asked.
“Yes.”
“And the event was very traumatic for you.”
“Yes.”
Gale paused. “But you didn’t tell anyone about it?”
“No, I didn’t. Not then.”
“You didn’t tell anyone?” Gale asked. “Not your parents? Or Kevin? Or a teacher?”
“No. I was scared. And I thought maybe I overreacted.”
“You overreacted. In other words, you began to realize you had leaped to the wrong conclusions, right?”
Sally hesitated. “I didn’t know what to think. I mean, I was just glad it was over. I didn’t want to get him into trouble.”
“The first time you told anyone about this alleged incident was when the police were questioning you, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But it wasn’t the first time you were questioned, was it?” Gale asked.
“No.”
“In fact, the police talked to you several times before you suddenly blurted out this story. Isn’t that correct?”
“I told you, I was scared,” Sally said.
“Yes or no, Sally, please.”
“Yes.” She raced on before Gale could stop her. “It wasn’t until I found out about the evidence the police found at the barn that I realized it was important.”
“It never occurred to you to bring it up before then?”
“Not really, no.”
Gale changed directions. “You’re in love with our previous witness, Kevin Lowry, aren’t you?”
Dan stood up. “This is irrelevant and outside the scope of direct examination, Your Honor.”
Judge Kassel pursed her lips. “No, I’ll allow it.”
Sally was pleased to answer. “Yes, we’re very close,” she said firmly.
“He’s a good-looking boy. I bet other girls go after him from time to time,” Gale said.
“Kevin loves me.”
“He never looks at other girls?”
“No.”
“No? But other girls do check him out, right? Didn’t Kerry McGrath do that?”
Dan was immediately on his feet again. “Same objection, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Gale?” the judge inquired.
“Your Honor, this line of questioning goes to the credibility of the witness.”
“Very well, overruled. But I expect to see relevance very quickly, Mr. Gale.” Judge Kassel offered the defense attorney an impatient frown.
“Didn’t Kerry ask Kevin out?” Gale repeated.
“Kevin said she did once, yes.”
“Didn’t that upset you?”
“Kevin told her no,” Sally said. “If he had said yes, that would have upset me.”
“You weren’t mad at Kerry for poaching on your turf?” Gale asked, smiling.
“No.”
“You weren’t? You didn’t talk to her about it?”
Sally hesitated. “No.”
“You don’t sound so sure, Sally.”
“Well, I may have mentioned to her that Kevin was off-limits. It was no big deal.”
“You mentioned it? Was this sort of a good-natured girl thing, or a ‘stay away from my man or I’ll rip your hair out’ kind of thing?”
Sally’s eyes widened. She was catching on now. Stride could almost see the message sinking into her brain. He’s trying to pin this on me.
“Objection,” Dan called. “Your Honor, I’m confused. Who is on trial here, and which crime is at issue?”
Judge Kassel sighed. “Mr. Gale, I’m confused, too. Would you care to explain the relevance? I’ve been more than patient.”
Dan came around in front of the counsel table and spoke before Gale could open his mouth. “Your Honor, may we discuss this issue in chambers? With all due respect to defense counsel, I don’t want him getting in through the back door what you disallow through the front door.”
“Your Honor, that’s offensive,” Gale retorted.
The judge took a long look at both men. Then she nodded. “Ten minute recess. In my chambers, gentlemen.”
Seated behind her neatly organized walnut desk, Judge Kassel leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wood. Gale was comfortably seated in front of her. Dan paced.
“Well, Archie?” the judge asked pleasantly. “Let’s talk relevance.”
Gale spread his arms, as if the explanation were obvious. “Your Honor, I’m trying to demonstrate that an alternate and reasonable theory of Rachel’s disappearance exists, and this line of questioning will add to the credibility of that theory. In addition, it will give the jury reasonable cause to believe the witness invented the entire story of Mr. Stoner taking her to the barn. She has no independent corroboration, so all the jury can rely on is her word. I’m entitled to challenge it.”
Dan responded angrily. “Your Honor, what this witness said or didn’t say to Kerry McGrath has no bearing on her credibility. All Mr. Gale is trying to do is use innuendo to smear the witness and suggest the wild notion that she was involved in the previous girl’s disappearance. He hasn’t a shred of evidence to back it up, because none exists. He simply wants to confuse the jury. It’s outrageous.”
Gale shook his head. “I’ve already established a circumstantial connection between the two disappearances—namely, both girls asked out the same boy shortly before they vanished. And we have a jealous girlfriend in the middle. I’m entitled to explore this connection, because it contributes to reasonable doubt that my client was involved in the second disappearance and impeaches the witness’s credibility.”
“It impeaches nothing,” Dan insisted. “The only way to imply that Sally had reason to lie about the incident at the barn is to suggest that she killed two girls. That’s absurd. The so-called circumstantial connection is nothing but coincidence. How many other students and teachers at the same school had dealings with both girls shortly before they disappeared? Does Mr. Gale intend to question them all? The fact is, we have nothing whatsoever to link this witness to either Kerry’s or Rachel’s disappearance. Nothing. It’s a smoke screen.”
“Mr. Gale?” Judge Kassel asked coolly. “Do you have any evidence other than coincidences and wishful thinking?”
Gale nodded. “I believe I do, Your Honor, with respect to Rachel’s disappearance.”
The judge frowned, twisting a pen in her hand. “How nice for you, since this trial is about Rachel’s disappearance. But what about Kerry McGrath?”
Gale hesitated. “Nothing direct, Your Honor.”
Judge Kassel glowered at him. “Then your line of questioning in this regard is over. Move on to the real issue in this trial, Mr. Gale. I will instruct the jury to ignore all references to Kerry McGrath in your questioning of both witnesses today, and I don’t expect to hear her name again. Is that clear? I don’t appreciate having my courtroom taken on a fishing expedition.”
“I don’t believe it is, Your Honor.”
“I’ve made my ruling, Mr. Gale. Now let’s get going.”
The time stewing in the courtroom had not been good for Sally. Her determined composure was gone, and in its place was the unease of a confused, scared teenager who didn’t know what was going to hit her next. Stride wondered if that had been the whole point of Gale’s gambit over Kerry McGrath—to soften Sally up for what came next.
Gale gave up his pleasant demeanor. His voice was sharp, like a razor. He zeroed in on Sally but waited for a few agonizing seconds before questioning her again.
Stride, watching this melodrama play out, was briefly distracted, seeing Maggie glide back into the row next to him. She sat down, their legs touching. Stride bent and cupped one hand near her ear.
“Anything going on?” he whispered.
Maggie nodded. She glanced behind her, making sure no one from the media was nearby. “Guppo paged me. He’s chasing down something north of town. Could be important, he says.”
From the defense counsel’s table, Gale began again, his voice like ice.
“Sally, where do you live?”
Sally, surprised, gave him the address.
“Where is that in connection to Rachel’s house?” Gale asked.
“About a mile, I guess.”
“Within walking distance?”
“Sure.”
“Have you ever walked from your house to Rachel’s house?”
Sally nodded. “A couple times, yes.”
“And you’ve been inside her house?”
“Yes, a couple times. With Kevin.”
“What kind of car do your parents drive?” he asked.
Dan stood up. “Objection, relevance.”
Judge Kassel sighed. “Overruled. But time is running out, Mr. Gale.”
“Please answer,” Gale told Sally.
“A Chevy minivan.”
“Similar to what the Stoners own?” Gale asked.
“I guess.”
“Have you ever driven your parents’ minivan?”
Sally nodded. “Yes.”
“So you’re familiar with the controls?”
“Objection,” Dan said. “Asked and answered.”
“Sustained. Move on, Mr. Gale.”
“All right, Sally, let’s talk about the last night you and Kevin saw Rachel. The three of you were in Canal Park together?”
“That’s right.”
“Can you tell me what you were wearing that night?” Gale asked.
Sally hesitated. She glanced nervously at Dan, who leaned back and shot Stride a confused look. “What was I wearing? I don’t remember.”
Gale nodded. “Maybe I can refresh your memory.” He found his glasses in his pocket and adjusted them at the end of his nose. He flipped through several pages of his notepad. “Could it have been a red plaid shirt, jeans, and a red parka? Does that sound right?”
“Maybe,” Sally said. “I’m really not sure.”
“But you do own such an outfit, don’t you?”
Sally nodded. “Yes.”
Gale crossed his arms, studying the girl. “Now, you didn’t stay at Canal Park the entire time that Kevin and Rachel did, is that right?”
“No, I left about nine-thirty or so.”
“What did you do then?” Gale asked.
“I drove home.”
“Did you stop anywhere?”
Sally shook her head. “No, I went straight home.”
Gale flipped through his notepad again. “Did you go out again after that?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Gale smiled coldly. “You’re absolutely sure about that?”
“Yes,” Sally said.
“All right, then. Tell me, Sally, why did you go home early? Why didn’t you stay with Kevin? He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is.”
“But you left him alone with Rachel?” Gale asked.
Sally smiled weakly. “I was tired.”
“Oh, come on, Sally. You know what Kevin testified, don’t you? He told us that Rachel made sexual advances to him on the bridge.”
Sally said nothing. She bit her lower lip and avoided Gale’s eyes.
“The fact is, you saw them together, didn’t you? You saw what they were doing?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Gale arched his eyebrows. “You weren’t watching? Your boyfriend was riding the bridge with a beautiful girl, and you paid no attention? You simply left?”
“I told you, I was tired,” Sally repeated.
“Actually, you were furious, weren’t you? Your boyfriend was cheating on you in front of your eyes. This girl was kissing him and fondling him right there so you could watch.” Gale paused. “You stormed away, didn’t you, Sally? You were enraged and humiliated. Isn’t that right?”
Sally blinked. A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. “I was hurt,” she said softly.
“So you did see them.”
Sally nodded.
“You were angry at both of them,” Gale said.
“No, not at Kevin,” Sally blurted out.
“You were mad at Rachel,” Gale said.
Sally frowned. “It was like she could cast a spell over him. She did that with all the guys. But she didn’t care about any of them. She just used them.”
“And that really upset you, didn’t it?” Gale asked.
“She was cruel,” Sally said. “I knew she was just toying with Kevin. I knew she wasn’t really interested in him.”
“But how did Kevin feel about Rachel? Doesn’t he have a crush on her?”
Sally flushed. “It was nothing. Just a crush. He loves me.”
“And yet, Sally, wouldn’t he throw you over in a second for a chance to be with Rachel?”
“No!” Sally shouted.
“But isn’t that what he did that night?”
“That’s not what happened!”
“What did happen?” Gale asked. “What did Rachel do that night?”
Sally looked down. “She kissed him.”
“What else?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t? You already said you saw them. What did Rachel do to your boyfriend in front of your eyes?”
Sally hesitated. “She put her hand inside his pants.”
“She’s up there making out with your boyfriend, and you’re left alone on the sidewalk?”
“Yes.”
“And you think she was just playing games with him? She wasn’t serious?” Gale asked.
“Yes! That was how she was! She didn’t care about him at all.”
“But Kevin cared. He was always secretly in love with her, wasn’t he? And you knew it. And now here was his fantasy girl coming on to him. You were afraid he was going to dump you, weren’t you?”
“Kevin would never do that.”
“We know he made a date with Rachel for the following night. He broke a date with you. Didn’t he?”
Sally bit her lip. She looked like she wanted to escape. “He called and canceled our date.”
“And all this was Rachel’s fault?”
“Yes!”
“So, after seeing the two of them on the bridge, you went home?”
“That’s right.”
“That was it, you just went home?”
“Yes, I did. I was upset.”
“Didn’t you want to confront them?”
“Not then, no, I couldn’t. I couldn’t look at them.”
“And what time was this again?”
“About nine-thirty.”
Gale took off his glasses. He ruffled the pages of his notepad as he closed it. Sally’s eyes followed him. She started to get up, as if she thought Gale was finished, but as she stood, Gale turned back. Sally swallowed and sat back down. Gale tugged at his goatee and studied the girl thoughtfully.
“What did you do when you got home?”
“I talked to my parents for a few minutes, then I went to bed.”
Gale nodded. “Did you call Kevin?”
“No.”
“Did you call Rachel?”
“No.”
“It must have been hard to sleep, since you were so angry.”
“I don’t remember,” Sally said. Her lower lip bulged from her mouth. She was getting belligerent.
“Is your bedroom on the first floor?” Gale asked.
“Yes.”
“So if you wanted to, couldn’t you sneak out without your parents knowing?”
“I didn’t do that,” Sally said.
“You didn’t walk over to Rachel’s house to confront her? To have it out with her?”
“Objection, asked and answered,” Dan snapped.
“Sustained.”
Gale tried a different approach. “All right, let’s be very clear about this, Sally. Did you see Rachel that night after you went home?”
Before Dan could object, Sally’s eyes flew wide open. “No!”
Several of the jurors inched forward in their seats. Dan watched Sally suspiciously, then turned to Stride with an inquisitive and hostile stare.
Stride leaned down and whispered to Maggie. “What the hell is this about? Where’s he going?”
Maggie’s honey skin looked several shades paler. “I think you’re going to kill me, boss.”
“Tell me,” Stride said.
Maggie whispered, “Her clothes.”
Gale waited until the courtroom was hushed. Then, in a quiet voice, he said, “Sally, explain this to us. If you didn’t go confront Rachel—if you didn’t leave your room that night—why were you seen on the street just a few blocks from Rachel’s house at a few minutes after ten o’clock that night?”
Judge Kassel banged her gavel as another wave of noise rippled through the courtroom.
Sally seemed to wilt in front of their eyes. “That’s impossible. I wasn’t there.”
Gale sighed. He extracted a white piece of paper from his notes and approached the witness stand. “This is a police report, Sally, from the night Rachel disappeared. It’s an interview with a Mrs. Carla Duke, who lives four blocks from the Stoner house. Would you please read the passage that’s highlighted, Sally?”
Sally took the paper as if it were on fire, holding it at the corners with her fingertips. Her voice was almost inaudible.
“‘I did see a girl going by a little bit after ten. I saw her in the streetlight. But she didn’t look anything like this girl you’re trying to find. She had bushy brown hair and was wearing jeans and a red parka.’”
Gale retrieved the paper from her hands. “Sure sounds like you, Sally.”
“It wasn’t,” she murmured. “It wasn’t me.”
Stride murmured, too. “Son of a bitch, how did we miss that?”
“We were looking for people who saw Rachel,” Maggie said. “Not other girls.”
Gale shook his head in disbelief. “Someone wearing the same clothes as you, same hair as you, near Rachel’s house on the night she disappeared, just a few minutes after Rachel humiliated you in the park. But it wasn’t you.”
Sally was crumbling. “No.”
“I say you’re lying, Sally,” Gale snapped.
“Objection!” Dan said.
Judge Kassel nodded. “Sustained.”
Gale wasn’t bothered. “If we bring in Mrs. Duke as a witness, do you think she’ll identify you?”
“Objection, calls for speculation.”
“Sustained.”
But the message was getting through.
“What did you say to Rachel?” Gale asked. “Did you warn her to stay away from Kevin?”
“I didn’t see her.”
“Did she answer the door? Were the keys to the van right there inside the door? Did the two of you go for a ride?”
“No!”
“You were seen, Sally. Kevin’s going to know it was you. It’s time you tell him and all of us the truth. Now, for the last time: Did you go to Rachel’s house that night?”
“Objection,” Dan repeated. “He’s badgering the witness, Your Honor.”
But Judge Kassel was staring at Sally, like everyone else. She shook her head slowly. “Overruled. Please answer the question, young lady.”
Sally stared at the judge, then at Gale, then at the jury. She swallowed hard and nervously ran her hand back through her hair. She twisted a lock in her fingers. Tears began seeping down her face.
Then, with a sigh, she said it. “Yes, I did.”
The courtroom erupted, and the judge tried in vain to quiet the crowd. Sally’s next words were almost drowned out as she screamed, “But I didn’t kill her! I didn’t! I didn’t!”
Gale waited until the chaos subsided. “You’ve been lying all day, Sally. Why should we believe you now?”
“Redirect, Your Honor.”
Dan had no choice. He couldn’t leave the jury wondering what happened next. He had to pry the truth out of her.
“Tell us what you did that night, Sally,” Dan said calmly.
Sally seemed anxious to talk now. “I did sneak out of my bedroom. I was so mad at Rachel. She was being cruel, playing with Kevin like that, when I knew she didn’t care about him. So I walked over to her house. I wanted to tell her off, tell her that was a mean thing she was doing to him.”
“Then what?” Dan asked.
“Her car was already there when I got to the house. So I figured she was home.”
“What did you do?”
“I went up to the door. I wanted to talk with her.”
“And did you?”
Sally shook her head. “No.”
“Why not? Had she already disappeared?”
“No, that’s not it. I was about to ring the doorbell, but I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
Sally stared triumphantly at Archie Gale. “I heard voices inside. People shouting. I could hear Rachel screaming. She sounded really upset. And I could hear—I could hear Mr. Stoner, too. I recognized his voice. He was shouting at Rachel. They were having a huge fight. So I left.”
Graeme Stoner leaned over to Gale and began whispering furiously.
Even Dan looked stunned. He stared at Sally and then simply said, “That’s all, no more questions.”
Stride shook his head. What a fucking mess.
Gale stood up again. If he was disturbed by Sally’s sudden revelation, which was as good as a nail in Graeme Stoner’s coffin if the jury believed her, he didn’t show it.
“Sally, Sally, Sally,” he murmured gently. “So many lies, what’s one more?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
Gale shrugged. “You ask us to believe you had information pivotal to this case and you chose not to reveal it at all? Not until now?”
“I was scared,” Sally retorted.
“Of what, Sally?” Gale asked, looking bewildered.
“Of him. Of Mr. Stoner.”
“Even after he was arrested?”
Sally stuttered, “Well, yes.”
“And yet you weren’t so scared that you held back on your little story about the barn. If you told that story to the police, why not the rest, Sally?”
“I wasn’t sure they’d believe me.”
“So you lied. Nice strategy.”
“I didn’t want my parents to know I went out again,” Sally said. “Or Kevin. I was afraid of what they’d think.”
“They’d think you killed Rachel.”
“No!” Sally shouted. “That’s not it at all.”
“The fact is, you didn’t tell anyone about this phantom argument between Rachel and Graeme because it never happened, right? You just made it up here and now.”
“No, that’s not true!”
“No? Come on, Sally. You now admit you went over to Rachel’s house, after lying about this for months. What really happened there?”
“Objection, asked and answered,” Dan interjected.
“Overruled,” Judge Kassel said crisply.
It was a disaster. Even the judge didn’t believe her.
“It happened just like I said,” Sally insisted. “I heard them.”
Gale sighed. “Really? What were they saying?”
“I couldn’t make out the words,” Sally said.
“I see. You just heard voices.”
“Yes.”
“And so, furious and humiliated, after walking a mile to confront her, you just left without seeing her. Because you heard voices.”
Sally nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“And you never thought to mention this to anyone before? You supposedly have the crucial piece of evidence in a murder investigation, and you say nothing because you think your parents will ground you for sneaking out?”
“No, it wasn’t—I mean, that wasn’t it.”
Gale was relentless. “Sally, can you give us one single reason why we should believe this story?”
Sally opened her mouth and closed it. She wet her lips with her tongue and didn’t say a word.
“I’m finished, Your Honor,” Gale said.