Part 38 (1/2)

He had little more to ask, however, and Koenig was excused.

”The court will be in recess for ten minutes,” Judge Mac said. He stalked out angrily. The second he was gone, Novak hurried out; Rachel was scheduled to be his next and last witness. Barbara hurried out after him, and they both came to a halt in the corridor.

On a bench some feet away from the courtroom, Ruth Dufault was sitting with Rachel, holding the girl in her arms. Daniel was nearby looking helpless and frightened. Dr. Minick was squatting before Ruth Dufault and Rachel, talking, one hand on Rachel's head. Slowly he rose and looked around. He saw Barbara and Novak and came toward them.

”That child can't take the stand today,” he said. ”She's ill.”

”She can pull herself together in the next few minutes,” Novak said.

Minick shook his head. ”She can't. I want to see the judge.”

”You can't just barge in on him,” Novak said. ”We'll have a doctor look at her.”

Ignoring him, Minick said to Barbara. ”If I can't see him, you have to. That girl is near the breaking point. Don't let her take the stand until she's had professional help. She needs help now, not tomorrow or next week. Now.”

”Oh, for Christ's sake!” Novak said. ”You're trying to derail the trial. You're stalling. What's she got to worry about? A few questions, and she's out of there.”

”Mr. Novak,” Dr. Minick said in a hard voice, ”in my years working with adolescents, I saw a lot of kids in the state she's in. We lost some of them. I say she's not fit to take the stand, and that's a professional opinion. If you force her up there, she'll crack wide open and she'll end up in an inst.i.tution or dead. Do I make myself absolutely clear?” He turned again to Barbara. ”I gave her aunt the names of three competent professionals here in town. And I told her that if she calls one of them, to let me speak to him or her and stress that this is an emergency that must be attended to without delay. She's talking to Rachel now, explaining that she has the option of choosing her own doctor or having the state choose one for her. I won't return to the courtroom until this is seen to.”

Barbara realized she had to recategorize Dr. Minick; he had become a formidable figure speaking with authority. Even his stoop seemed to have vanished.

”Come on, Novak,” she said. ”You want to go with me or not? I'm going to collect Dad and pay a call on the judge.”

He glared at the girl huddled with her aunt, then at Minick, but he turned and walked at Barbara's side back into the courtroom muttering, ”This is a f.u.c.king three-ring circus. Complete with freaks.”

40.

Minutes later Barbara, Frank, and Novak were ushered into Judge Mac's chambers. He was at his handsome desk, frowning as they arranged themselves in front of him. ”What now?”

”Judge, Rachel Marchand has been taken ill and is on her way to see a doctor,” Novak said. ”We ask for a recess until the morning.”

”Will she be with us then?” Judge Mac asked.

”I sent an a.s.sistant along with her and her aunt to find out how bad she is. But we a.s.sume she will be well enough to testify tomorrow. And at that time the state will rest its case.”

The judge looked at Barbara. ”Will the defense be prepared to open its case tomorrow?”

”Yes,” Barbara said, then added, ”But, Your Honor, today, during this afternoon recess I would like to give a preview of my opening statement to the court.”

”A rehearsal?” Novak said. ”Preposterous!”

She directed her comments to Judge Mac as if she had not heard. ”I reserved my right to make my opening statement until after the defense presents its case. I would like to give you a preview of that statement.”

”Why?” Judge Mac asked.

”Your Honor, we all know that when the state rests, I'll ask for a dismissal of charges without prejudice. The state's two key witnesses, Daniel Marchand and Isaac Wrigley, perjured themselves, and when Rachel Marchand takes the stand, she will also commit perjury. I will call her back as a hostile defense witness exactly as I will call back her brother, and I will force both of them to admit to the truth on the stand in public. Daniel can't explain the discrepancy between his story and the stopwatch except by telling the truth. And to save her sanity, Rachel must recant her accusation of stalking. I am very much afraid that Rachel in particular is near the point of no return emotionally and psychologically. Dr. Minick has been observing her closely, and he is of the opinion that she is near psychological collapse. I don't want to be the one to precipitate a crisis. Nevertheless, my first duty is to my client, and I will do whatever is necessary to safeguard him, even if it puts Rachel at risk.”

Novak was sputtering angrily. ”This is blackmail. You can't try your case in chambers!” He swung around to face the judge. ”The girl's afraid of Alexander Feldman. She's afraid to speak out because he's running around loose instead of being locked up. We'll rea.s.sure her, post guards for her, whatever it takes to calm her down.”

Barbara ignored him and kept her gaze on the judge, who looked troubled.

He was silent for a moment, then he said, ”Ms. Holloway, this is a highly irregular procedure, but I also have been observing the girl and I am also disturbed about her mental state. It may be that Mr. Novak is correct and she is simply afraid, but she may also be seriously ill. With the understanding that anything you disclose here may have an influence on whether the state rests following the testimony of Rachel Marchand, we will return to court and I'll announce a recess until nine in the morning, following which you may give us a preview of your opening statement.”

After leaving him, they hurried back to their tables in the courtroom, where Barbara's group opted for going to Frank's house to await them. Novak huddled with two of his a.s.sistants, who scurried away before the judge returned to the bench.

Then, ten minutes later, they were back in chambers once more. This time there was a pitcher of iced tea with gla.s.ses on a low table. Judge Mac stood up and came around his desk to pour himself tea, then sat in one of the upholstered chairs as if to emphasize how unofficial this was going to be. ”Please, help yourselves,” he said, motioning toward the tea. No one moved, and he nodded at Barbara to begin.

Briefly she spoke of Alex's childhood and youth. ”Without intervention, if he had lived, he probably would have become a dangerously violent man, but he had intervention from a leading authority in the field of juvenile violence. And today he is a gentle, reclusive artist who avoids contact with strangers altogether. He has come to terms with his appearance and his life.

”But others see only his face and react with pity, revulsion, hatred, or fear. Gus Marchand hated and feared him, and taught his children to hate and fear him.”

She described the incident with the s.e.x-education book, and the reason for the meeting between Hilde and Leona. ”Witnesses will testify about Rachel's makeup, her clothing, her skipping cla.s.s to go out with her boyfriend. We will introduce photographic evidence to substantiate their claims. Witnesses will testify that on two occasions she spent the entire day with him in his parents' home while they were both at work. Then Gus learned something of her behavior; to save herself, she accused Alex of spying on her and claimed that she had accepted rides out of fear of the devil next door.

”Gus called his friend, Deputy Calvin Strohm, to confront Alex. But Gus Marchand did not press charges or ask for an official investigation.”

She was on her feet with no recollection of having stood up. She poured a little tea and took a sip, then continued with recounting the incident of the s.e.x-education book and Gus's reaction when he found it. Witnesses from the middle school would testify to the scene, she said.

”He had forbidden Rachel's attending s.e.x-education cla.s.ses, and said publicly that fornication led to h.e.l.l and that's all children needed to know about s.e.x before marriage.”

She repeated what Dr. Minick had said about Leona's plea for birth-control pills. ”I have a copy of the receipt from a pharmacy in West Eugene for the prescription and a package of condoms. It is dated June fourth.”

”This is all background for the day of the murder,” she said then. ”That morning after the children went to school, Leona prepared Gus's dinner and put it in the refrigerator. Then she went to school to help prepare for the graduation. She returned home at five-thirty to reheat the food, put the ca.s.serole in the oven, the chops and gravy in the skillet. While they were heating, she made a salad, set the table, and even poured his milk.

”Gus liked to eat at six, and no doubt she had it all ready by six; then she went upstairs to bathe and change her clothes. When she went down again, she saw at a glance that he had not touched the food. And on the table she saw the birth-control pills, the condoms, and a leather belt. Gus had switched the legs of the children when they were small, and later used a strap, but this was a heavy leather belt, and she knew instantly what his intention was. He planned to punish Rachel.”

Novak jerked up from his chair and headed for the table with the tea. ”I think this has gone far enough,” he said. ”You're making up a story that works for your client, not because the facts are there.”

”They are there,” Barbara said heatedly. ”After Rachel was born, Leona underwent a tubal ligation. She had her tubes tied to prevent another pregnancy. She had no need for birth-control pills or condoms. They were for Rachel.”

Novak had reached for the tea and stopped his motion. He completed it slowly, his back to her. ”The condoms were Daniel's,” he said.

She shook her head. ”A mother doesn't buy her son condoms. He can buy them himself. Leona bought them. And they were not on that table from June fourth until the ninth, not in that household. Gus found them and put them there and she knew the reason.”

She took another sip of tea. It was tepid and evil tasting. She put it down. ”Leona killed him to save Rachel. To save her soul, Gus Marchand certainly would have scarred her, damaged her, but he might have gone beyond that and killed her. I think Leona acted by pure reflex.”

”And collected her thoughts enough to wipe off the hammer,” Novak said meanly. ”It won't work.” He sat down again, scowling at her.

”I don't think she gave the hammer a thought. She probably walked out in deep shock. I have statements from people at school describing her as strange, fearful, not quite there. They believed she was afraid that Gus would come later and make another scene.

”As she drove away from the house, Daniel ran toward it. He went in by the back door, the way he always went in. And he came across his father's body. He had seen his mother leave only moments earlier; he knew what had happened. He wiped her fingerprints off the hammer with the dish towel, then tossed it on the counter. He turned on the stove burner, took the lid off the skillet, and probably prayed for a fire to destroy all the evidence of murder. He did what he had to do to save his mother.”

”You can't prove a thing you're saying!”

She took a deep breath and sat down, cradling the terrible tea in her hands, just to have something to do with them. ”This is my opening statement, Mr. Novak. Let me finish it.”