"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?"