"No."
"And was this the car she was driving on the last night you saw her?"
"Yes."
"Okay, Kevin, let's talk about that night Tell us what happened."
Kevin described the events in Canal Park with Rachel and Sally the way he had originally told them to Stride.
"Please describe Rachel's emotional state. How did she seem to you?"
"Normal. Happy. Not upset or anything."
"Was it just an ordinary evening?"
"Sure."
"Okay, what about the next day, Kevin?" Dan asked.
"Well, Rachel asked if I wanted to go out on Saturday night. But when I showed up at her house, she had disappeared."
"Did you talk to the defendant?"
"Yes. I told him I had a date with Rachel. He said he didn't know where she was. He told me he hadn't seen her that day."
"And where was Rachel's car?"
"It was parked right outside. I couldn't understand where Rachel would be if she didn't have her car."
Dan nodded. "Did you tell Mr. Stoner this?"
"Sure. I said that was really strange. It wasn't like Rachel at all. I asked if we should call someone."
"What did he say?"
Kevin shot an angry look at Graeme. "He said no, there was no reason for concern. He said Rachel was probably just playing games with me like she did with everyone else."
"When Rachel made the date with you on Friday, did it feel like a game?"
"No, she was serious. We were planning to go out."
"When Rachel left you that night, what did she say?"
"She said she was going home. She was tired."
"Did she mention going anywhere else or meeting anyone else?"
"No."
"Did she seem upset, anxious, distraught?"
"No."
"So once again, as far as you were concerned, it was an ordinary night"
Kevin nodded. "That's right."
"Thank you, Kevin."
Gale stood up.
"Kevin, you called this an ordinary night. Is that right?" Gale asked, allowing a faint rumor of disbelief into his voice.
"Sure."
"Okay. Now let's see, you said when you first saw Rachel, she was standing on the railing of the bridge."
"Yes."
"It was windy and rainy."
Kevin nodded. "It was an awful night"
"So Rachel was standing on a narrow railing, with the icy water below her, and the wind blowing like crazy? Do I have the picture?"
That's right."
"She could easily have been killed, couldn't she?"
"I guess."
Gale's eyebrows rose. "You guess? Kevin, you were terrified, weren't you? You ran to save her."
"Yes, I did."
"Had she ever climbed up on the bridge like that before, that you know of?" Gale asked.
"No."
"Why, on that night of all nights, would she have been risking death?"
"I don't know," Kevin said.
Gale continued. "You said Rachel made sexual advances toward you that night?"
"Yes."
"In front of your girlfriend?"
Kevin frowned. "Well, Sally was on the ground. We were up on the bridge."
"But she could see you, couldn't she?"
"I suppose."
"Had Rachel ever done something like this to you before?"
Kevin shook his head. "No."
"So, on this night of all nights, she makes a sexual advance on her oldest friend, someone she's known her whole life, for the first and only time?"
"Yes." Kevin's voice was almost inaudible.
"I see. Now, about the date. Was this the first time Rachel had asked you out?"
Kevin nodded. "Yes."
"The first time ever?"
"Yes."
"So again, on this night of all nights, Rachel decides for the first and only time to ask you out on a date."
"That's right."
Gale smiled. "So really, there wasn't anything ordinary about that night, was there?"
Kevin hesitated. "I guess not"
"Why was Rachel behaving so strangely?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, Kevin. Let's talk about something else. You knew Kerry McGrath, didn't you? The other girl who disappeared two years ago?"
"Objection!" Dan practically screamed. "Counsel's question is irrelevant and outside the scope of direct examination."
Judge Kassel slammed her gavel down, and Stride thought she enjoyed the opportunity to do so. She eyed Dan impatiently. "Settle down, Mr. Erickson."
Then the judge stared down at Gale. Her attractive jaw settled in a hard line, but her eyes were intrigued. "Now, Mr. Gale, please tell me you have a point to this question. Because, despite counsel's outburst, I'm inclined to sustain his objection."
Gale knew he had piqued her interest-and the jury's, too.
"I hope the court will indulge me a little while on this line, Your Honor. I want to explore some facts that will play a vital role in my defense. The prosecution's witnesses have testified that there is no link between Kerry's and Rachel's disappearances. I wish to impeach those conclusions, and that is certainly relevant. What's more, Mr. Erickson opened the door by exploring the witness's personal relationship with Rachel. I'm entitled to explore whether he had a personal relationship with another girl who disappeared under similar circumstances."
Kassel 's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile. Stride couldn't tell whether she was enjoying the drama or savoring the possibility that Gale might have an ace up his sleeve with which to embarrass Dan.
"We'll indulge you briefly, Mr. Gale. Very briefly."
"Thank you, Your Honor," Gale said.
In the silence that followed, the whole courtroom focused its cold attention on Kevin, squirming in the witness stand. Gale repeated the question.
"Sure, I knew her. We were in the same class."
"Did the two of you ever go out on a date?"
"No," Kevin said.
"Did you ask her out, and she said no?"
"No." His voice was a whisper.
"Your Honor," Dan pleaded.
"Mr. Gale?" Judge Kassel demanded. "Our indulgence is running out."
Gale shot his next question in quickly. "Did she ever ask you out?"
Dan rose to object again, but before he could open his mouth, Kevin let out a giant sigh and said, "Yes."
Dan slowly sank back into his seat. The jury and the rest of the courtroom were transfixed. Judge Kassel put her gavel down and eased back into her chair.
"When did Kerry ask you out?" Gale asked.
"It was the week before she disappeared."
A murmur swept through the courtroom.
Stride glanced at Maggie. She looked back at him in confusion. They had worked the McGrath case inside and out, and Kevin's name had never come up. There was no evidence the two of them had ever been together. Then, a second later, they understood.
"Did you say yes?" Gale asked.
Kevin shook his head. "No. I told her I was already seeing Sally."
"So you never actually went out together?"
"No."
"How did Kerry take the rejection?" Gale asked.
"She was okay about it She said maybe another time."
Gale nodded. "How about Sally? How did she like the idea of another girl asking you out? Just like Rachel did that night."
"She was kind of pissed off. I told her it was nothing. We didn't talk about it again."
"And a week later, Kerry disappeared, just like Rachel did."
Kevin swallowed. "Yes."
"You don't have very good luck with girls asking you out do you, Kevin?"
Dan shouted another objection, and this time Kassel directed her anger at Gale, sustaining the objection and instructing the jury to ignore the question. Gale raised his arms in surrender.