Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

It seemed to Robert that nearly half the population of Milford Town had managed to squeeze themselves into the court hearing at Norton.What is certain is that there are many Norton locals who hang around the court, vociferous and angry; they believe that a case that has become national news is tried in "their" circuit court, and they should be there to witness, not be Outsiders flocking from Milford town blocked the door.Those out-of-towners, cunning and deceitful, had somehow bid Norton's youths to help them stand in line—a ruse that Norton's local adults had never thought of.

The weather was fairly warm, and the crowded courtroom remained restless as the preliminaries proceeded, even as Prosecutor Miles Ellison reported the crime.Allison and Kevin McDermot are completely polarized and different typical people. He has a white, sensitive and elegant face; his voice sounds weak but almost ruthless without fluctuations in emotion; , as it stands.However, since he was describing details that were already familiar to the audience and had already been discussed in detail, the gallery diverted their attention for a moment and began to recognize people or friends they knew in the courtroom. .

Robert sat there, reaching into his pocket and flicking over and over the rectangular bookmark that Christina had slipped him when he left the house yesterday, while repeating in his mind what he would use later. statement.The piece of paper was bright blue and read in gold writing: Not a single sparrow will fall.There is also a sketch in the upper right corner of a robin with an oversized red breast.Robert subconsciously flicked the little piece of paper at his fingertips, repeating in his mind, how should he convey to others that they have no home to return to? Then from the corner of his eye, he felt hundreds of bodies turning at the same time, and the following The silence that came brought him back to reality from his own meditation.It turned out that Betty Kane was taking the oath before giving her testimony. "Never kissed anything other than a book," was what Ben Carley said of her in the court of inquiry.And that's exactly how she came across again today.The blue dress still conjures up images of girlhood and innocence, country flowers and campfires and bluebells.Under the rolled-up hat was still a childish forehead with charming locks of hair.And Robert, knowing exactly what she had done during those weeks of disappearance, could not help being surprised when he faced her again.Pretending to be nice and attractive should be the criminal's first gift; but until now the appearance of being nice to him was just an old trick, easily discernible, and amateurish.For the first time, he realizes that he can finally get to the truth behind the mask.

Once again she presented her testimony with impeccable style, her youthful voice reaching everyone in the courtroom with clarity.Once again she made her listeners hold their breath and listen intently without moving.The only difference was that this time the judge didn't have that doting look on his face.Really, this judge—if you judge the case by the look on Judge Saya's face at all—has nothing to do with coddling.Robert wondered how much of the critical look in the judge's eyes was due to his disdain for the case itself; and wondered how likely it was that Kevin McDermot would still be willing to sit there and defend the case if it weren't for such an astounding discovery of evidence. The woman defended.

The girl's account of her own ordeal sparked a reaction her defenders had not: an emotional uproar in the audience.More than once they sighed together and grunted indignantly; not public enough to warrant a court reprimand for obstruction of procedure, but enough to show where their sympathy was going.It was in that atmosphere of public conviction that Kevin stood up to execute his questioning. "Miss Kean," began Kevin in his gentlest, drawn-out tone, "you said it was dark when you arrived in Franchise. Was it really-re-dark?" This question, with a coaxing tone, made her think that he was trying to trick her into saying that it wasn't very dark, so she reacted exactly as he expected.

"Yes, quite dark," she said. "Too dark to see outside?" "Yes, it's too dark." He appears to abandon that question and turn to another fact. "So, the night you escaped—maybe it wasn't too dark?" "Yes, it was even darker that night." "So you don't have any chance of seeing the outside?" "Never." "Never. Okay, that's clear, let's think about what you said you saw when you were imprisoned in the attic. In your statement to the police, when you talked about your love for the imprisoned you When I have never been to a place I have never been to, I mentioned that the driveway from the iron gate to the main gate of the house "first goes straight, then diverges into a Y shape, and the two separate lines form a circle and connect in front of the house."

"yes." "How do you know that driveway is like this?" "How do I know? I can see it." "from where? " "From the attic window. Outside that window is the courtyard directly in front of the house." "But you can only see the straight part of the driveway from the attic window. The parapet at the edge of the roof hides the rest of the driveway. How do you know that the driveway branched and formed an arc. It broke into a circle in front of the house ? "I saw it!" "How did you see it?" "From that window."

"You want us to believe that you can see things normal people can't? Like bullets can turn?" “It was exactly as I described it!” "It is exactly as you describe it; but you describe, say, the view from the other side of the fence, not from the garret window—and from the garret window you have repeatedly assured us it is Your only chance to see what's outside." "I suppose," said the judge, "that you have witnesses for the view from that window." "Two, in court." "One witness with normal eyesight will suffice," said the judge dryly.

"So you can't explain how you know; if your story is true, then when you told the police the other day at Ellsbury you described bizarre incidents that you couldn't possibly have known about. You've been abroad huh, Miss Kean?" "Going abroad?" she said, surprised by the turn of the question. "No." "Never?" "No, never." "Haven't you been to, say, Denmark recently? Like Copenhagen." "No." Her tone and expression didn't change, but Robert thought there was a slight uncertainty in her tone. "Do you know a man named Bernard Chadwick?"

She was suddenly alert.Han reminded Robert of a subtle change in animals that suddenly become focused after a period of relaxation; not manifested in posture, no substantial change in physiology.Only slightly stiff, if anything. "No." It was a disinterested tone. "He's not your friend" "no,." "You didn't. Stay at the Copenhagen Hotel with him, for example?" "No." "Have you ever stayed in a hotel in Copenhagen with anyone?" "No, I've never been abroad." "So I'd be wrong if I suggested that you were staying in a hotel in Copenhagen, rather than a garret in Franchise, at the time of your disappearance."

"Crazy wrong." "Thank you." At this time, Miles Allison stood up and protested to the court just as Kevin expected. "Miss Kean," he said, "you came to Franchise by car." "yes." "And that car, according to your account, drove directly to the front of the house. Now, if it's dark, as you say, the car must have lights, either the headlights or the side lights; that not only illuminates the driveway, but probably most of the garden. "Yes," she interjected, before he could finish his questioning, "yes, of course I saw the circle of driveways then.I know I've seen it, I know it. She gave Kevin a look that took Robert back to her first visit to the Franchise; the look on her face when she knew she had guessed correctly the pattern of the chest in the cupboard. If she Knowing what Kevin had in store for her, Robert thought, she wouldn't have time to think she was victorious. After her on the witness stand was the girl whom Calley described as a "canvas print" who had apparently bought new clothes and hats for her appearance at Norton -- a tomato red dress and a purple-brown one with dark blue embellishments. Ribbons, a hat with a pink rose—it seemed more sensual, more obnoxious.Robert still noticed, as before, that she added spice to her account, detracting from the credibility of her story even in the face of a more impulsive audience in front of her.They didn't like her, and though they were prejudiced against her, they were cooled to her by an English distrust of malevolence.And when Kevin, in the process of cross-examining her, said that she was actually fired instead of "handing out the notice of resignation" as she herself called it, everyone in the court showed unanimous "So it is! " expression.At this stage, Kevin just wanted to weaken her evidentiary ability, and had no other purpose, so he let her leave the meeting like this. He waits for her poor puppet partner. When the puppet companion appeared, he looked even less happy than the court of inquiry in Milford Town.The stately array of court gowns and wigs evidently frightened her.The police uniforms were bad enough, but in retrospect, compared with the solemn and ceremonial atmosphere of the present, they still feel somewhat everyday familiar.If in Milford she felt like she was soaked in cold water, here she was clearly drowning.Robert saw Kevin looking at her thoughtfully, as if he was trying to understand and analyze, and decide the way he would take.She has been Myles.Alison froze there with fear, and although Allison was quite patient with her, to her the wig and court gown represented hostility and the ability to punish.So Kevin adopts a flattering, protective questioning method. Listening to what Kevin began to say to her, Robert couldn't help but think that it was obscenely rude for Kevin to deliberately add hugging and fondling to his tone.But the soft, unhurried syllables convinced her.She listened for a while and began to relax.Robert saw the pair of slender and thin hands, originally tightly tangled, clutching the railing in front of the witness stand, began to relax, and slowly opened back to the natural flat posture with the palms down.He was asking her about school.The horror and horror receded from her eyes, and she was able to answer smoothly.At this moment, she obviously felt that she was facing a friend. "Now, Gretty, I'm going to start suggesting that you really don't want to be here today to testify against the two women who live in the Franchise." "Yes, I don't want to. Really don't want to!" "But you came anyway," he said, but without accusation, simply stating the facts. "Yes," she said, with guilt and embarrassment. "Why? Because you think it's your duty?" "no no." "Is that because someone forced you to come?" Rob saw the judge reacting immediately to this, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Kevin even faster. "What did someone say to you?" Kevin finished fluently, and the judge stopped the almost audible check. "Someone said to you: 'You do what I say, or I'm going to tell people about you? ...She looked hopeful and overwhelmed.' I don't know. ’ she said, retreating behind a curtain of little education. "Because if someone actually coerces you into lying with, 'I'll do something to you if you don't do this', they're doing something illegal and they're going to be punished." This was obviously a new idea for her. "Judge. And everyone here, gathered in this court today to find out the truth of a case. And the judge in this court will have no mercy for the man who uses violence to force you to give these false testimony. Also, the law provides severe penalties for people who lie when they testify that they will tell the truth to the best of their ability; People. Do you understand?" "Yes." She whispered. "Now I'm going to simulate a real situation, and you tell me if it's real." He waited for her to agree, but she didn't say anything, so he continued. "Someone - perhaps a friend of yours - took something from the Franchise. Let's assume it's a watch.She probably didn't want the watch herself, so she gave it to you.You may not want to accept it at first, but your friend is used to being domineering, and you don't want to offend her by saying no.So you accept it.Now let me go further and point out that the friend suggested to you that you support her story in court and you said no to her because you hate lying.Then she said: 'If you won't help me, I'll say you came to me in Franchise one day and took that watch away. '—or similar threatening words. " He paused for a moment, but she just looked rather confused, not knowing what to do. "Now, I'm going to say that because of all the intimidation and intimidation, you actually went to Yuancha court, and you really helped your friend testify in support of her false story, but when you came home, you were full of shame and shame. Just Because of the shame and shame you couldn't bear to keep that watch. So you packed it up and sent it back to Franchise by post with a note saying: I don't want it." He paused. "Let me tell you, Gretty, this is what really happened." But she was beginning to feel terrified again. "No," she said. "No, I never owned that watch." He ignored the acknowledgment and went on evenly, "Am I mistaken about that?" "Yes. I did not send that watch back." He picked up the note and said softly, "When you were studying at the school we mentioned at the beginning, you were very good at drawing. Because you drew so well, you were featured in a school achievement exhibition." A work of yours. "I have a map of Canada here - a pretty neat map - that you exhibited and you won an award for. You signed it in the right-hand corner, and you should be proud to be in this I have no doubts about signing neat works. I think you remember." It was brought to her, and Kevin told the jury at this point: "Ladies and gentlemen, that's a map of Canada drawn up by Gretty Reese in her final year of school. When the judge examines it in court, he will Let me pass it on to you." Then, he turned to Gretty: "Is that the map you drew yourself?" "yes." "You still signed in the corner?" "yes." "And across the bottom in large block letters: CANADIAN TERRITORIES?" "yes." "You have in block letters at the bottom: Canadian Territory. Now, I have that note I just mentioned, on which someone wrote: I don't want it. This note in block letters, It was with the watch that had been brought back to the Franchise - and that watch had been lost by Rose Green while she was working there. I'm going to propose that the 'I don't want it' capitalization is exactly the same as the capitalization of 'Canada Territory'.That is to say, it was from the same hand.And that hand is yours. " "No," she said, and when the note was handed to her, she let it drop in a panic, as if it would stab her. "I didn't, I never sent back a watch." "Didn't you write the words 'I don't want it'?" "No." "But you wrote the words 'Canada Territory'?" "yes." "Then, later on I will have someone testify that the two writings are the same hand. In the meantime, the jurors can examine the two writings as best they can and draw their own conclusions. Thank you." "My learned friend advises you," said Attorney Miles Allison, "that you came here to testify under oppression. Is that true?" "no." "You didn't come to testify out of fear of what someone might do to you if you didn't come, did you?" She spends some time on the issue, visibly fighting mentally. "No," she ventured at last. "Is what you said on the investigative bench, and today, true?" "yes." "Isn't it because someone asked you to say that?" "no." But the jury was left with the impression that she was not a witness who voluntarily testified in support of someone else's statement. The prosecutor finished the interview, and Kevin continued to wrap up the part about Gretty Reese-like the principle of ordinary housewives, before starting the real work of the day, clean your feet first. A handwriting expert testified that the two handwritings presented in court were from the same hand.Not only does he have no doubts about it, he also claims that he is rarely given such an easy job.In these two papers, not only the letters themselves can be clearly seen to be the same, but also the combination lines between letters and letters are similar, such as the combination styles between DO, AN and 0N.Among the jury, it was evident that they thought this beyond doubt; indeed, no one who had seen the two handwritings doubted the conclusion that they were from the same hand. Allison's defense that experts make mistakes is a reflex mechanism, and he himself does not seem to be entirely convinced by that defense. Kevin then passed his fingerprints to witnesses, dispelling all other possible doubts; the fingerprinting expert testified under oath that the same fingerprints were taken on both pieces of evidence.Allison then argued that the fingerprints might not belong to Gretty Reese, but were just a dying struggle, and he himself had no intention of asking the court to confirm it.When the name of Bernard William Chadwick was called, everyone in the audience stretched their necks, and the chatter of mutual inquiries rose and fell.It was an unfamiliar name that had never been heard by newspaper readers.Why was he in this case? What was he going to say? He took the stand and said he was in charge of buying pottery, fine china and other specialty goods for a wholesale company in London.Married and currently lives in Ouning with his wife. "Are you running business for your company?" Kevin said. "yes." "Did you come to Rabolo in March this year?" "yes." "Did you see Betty Kane when you were at Labolo?" "yes." "How did you know her?" "She struck up a conversation with me." The judges on the bench immediately stopped this.No matter how Rose Green and her allies were attacked, Betty Kane remained sacrosanct.Betty Kane, the girl once described as a saint, could not be treated with such dismissive language. The judge chastised them for such an argument, but it sounded reluctant.He also reprimanded the witness.He alleged that he did not quite understand what the "strike-up" meant, and expressed the hope that witnesses could answer questions in standard English. "Please tell us how you met her," Kevin said. "I was having tea in the lobby of the Midland Hotel one day, and she—well—started talking to me. She was having tea there, too." "one person? " "one person." "You didn't speak to her first?" "I didn't notice her at all at first." "How did she get your attention?" "She smiled at me and I smiled at her and continued to bury my papers, I was busy. Then she talked to me and asked me what those papers were and all that." "So you start exchanging topics and talking." "Yes. She said she was going to the movies and asked if I wanted to go with her. At that time I also wanted to take a break from the day's work, and she was a very cute child, so I said yes. And then, she met me the next day and went out into the country with my car. "You mean, traveling with you?" "Yeah, she sat in the car with me and walked around and had dinner or tea or something until she got back to her aunt's." "Did she tell you about her family?" "Yes, she told me how unhappy she was at home and no one cared about her. She had a long list of complaints about her home, but I didn't pay much attention to them.She looks like a nice shiny outfit to me. "A set of what?" said the judge. "A well-cared-for young girl, my lord." "Really?" Kevin said. "How long has this been going on in Laboreau?" "We found out later that we would be leaving Rabolo on the same day. She was going back to her adoptive home because her holiday was over - she had given her family an extension so she could run around with me - and I was going for work. I had to fly to Copenhagen. Then she said she didn't want to go home at all, and asked if I could take her with me. I said no, I no longer thought of her as an innocent child, like I saw in the lobby of the Midland Hotel As far as she was--by then, I knew her somewhat--but I still don't think she's experienced. She's only sixteen, after all." "She told you she was sixteen?" "She had her sixteenth birthday at La Bolo," Chadwick's mouth cocked sarcastically under a small black beard, "that cost me a fortune for a golden lipstick. " Robert looked towards Mrs. Wooyin, who was covering her face with her hands.Leslie Uyin, sitting next to her, disbelief and emptiness written all over her face. "Don't you know she's actually only fifteen years old?" "I didn't know until a few days ago." "So when she asked you to take her with you, you thought she was an inexperienced sixteen-year-old?" "yes." "Why did you change your mind later?" "She—convinced me she wasn't." "Not what?" "lack of experience." "So you later took her abroad with you without a conscience being condemned?" "I was insecure and skeptical, but I knew then - she could be a fun partner and I didn't want to keep her when I got the chance." "So you took her abroad with you?" "yes." "In your wife's name?" "Yes, in my wife's name." "Have you ever thought that her family might be very anxious and worried?" "No. Because she said she had two weeks' leave and her family would think she was still at her aunt's in Laboreau. She told her aunt she was home and told her family she was staying on. Come down. They never communicate with each other, so no one will know." "Do you remember when you left labolo?" "Remember; I drove to pick her up at the bus plate at Menskia, on the London road, on the 28th of March. She usually catches the bus home there." Kevin paused deliberately after this answer so that the message could be fully absorbed.Robert listened carefully to the brief silence, thinking that even a needle falling to the ground would be very loud now. "So you took her to Copenhagen. Where do you live?" "At a hotel called the Red Shoes." "How long have you lived?" "Two weeks." There were whispered comments, and surprise, from the audience. "and then? " "We went back to the UK together on the 15th of April. She told me she was supposed to be home on the 16th, but on the plane back to the UK, she told me she was actually supposed to be home on the 11th, so yes As far as her family is concerned, she has been missing for four days." "She misled you like this on purpose?" "yes." "Did she ever tell you why she misled you so?" "Yes. Because then she would have a reason not to come home. She said she would write to her family that she had found a job and was happy, and asked them not to look for her or worry about her. " "She doesn't care at all about the anxiety and sadness of her adoptive parents who take care of and love her wholeheartedly?" "Yes. She said the house was so boring that she almost screamed at times." Robert looked involuntarily at Mrs. Wuyin, and then turned his head quickly.This is really a cruel test for Mrs. Wuyin. "How do you react to this new development?" "I was angry at first. It was hard for me." "Is it because you're worried about the girl?" "That's not true." "why? " "At that time, it was clear to me that she was very good at taking care of herself." "What do you really mean?" "I'm saying: It could be anybody who suffers in whatever situation she creates, but it's never Betty Kane herself." The mention of the name immediately caused another commotion among the audience, who suddenly understood that the heroine of the story they had heard all the way here was the very Betty Kane.That "their" Betty Kane.The one they call the saint.Everyone became uneasy, changed their sitting positions awkwardly, and took a hard breath. "and then? " "After a tedious bit of chewing on a strip of cloth—" "A paragraph of what?" the judge asked. "A lengthy discussion, my lord." "Go ahead," said the judge, "but explain in standard or basic English." "After some discussion, I decided the best way would be to take her to my little cottage by a river. We only stay there for summer weekends or vacations and rarely at other times. " "When you say 'we' do you mean you and your wife?" "Yes. And she quickly agreed to it, so I drove her there." "Did you spend the night with her there?" "yes." "What about the next night?" "I'm going home the next night." "Go back to Erin's house." "yes." "What's next?" "I slept in that villa for the most part for a week after that." "Didn't your wife say anything about your absence?" "Just a few complaints." "Then how did the situation at the villa end?" "I went there one night and found she had left." "What do you think happened?" "Well, she got bored the last few days - she found housekeeping fun for the first three days, but it got boring pretty quickly, and there wasn't really much fun there - so when I found out she was gone, I just thought She got tired of me and found someone or something more interesting." "You didn't find out where she went and why until later, didn't you?" "yes." "You heard Betty Kane was testifying today?" "yes." "And it has been heard that she will testify that she has been forcibly detained in a house near the town of Milford." "yes." "And that girl is the one who went to Copenhagen with you, stayed there for two weeks, and then went back to your villa in England with you?" Yes, that girl. ""Are you sure?" "yes." "Thank you." When Kevin sat down, Bernard Chadwick waited for Miles.Allison's question, the auditorium let out a big sigh at this moment.Robert was amazed to see that Betty Kane seemed to have no expression on her face but the wince of fear and the triumphant triumph of a cunning.Twice already he had seen chuckles on her face, and once—when Mrs Sharp approached her the first time she appeared in the Franchise drawing-room—she showed a look of frightened recoil.But at this moment, her expression was as if what she just heard was a long list of boring stock numbers.He thought that her introverted thick skin might be due to her own biological structure.Those wide-set eyes, straight eyebrows, and that small, emotionless mouth make the whole face always look like a child's.It was that physical structure that, over the years, had completely concealed the real Betty Kane from even those closest to her.It had been a perfect disguise, under which she could do whatever she wanted.The mask, there, in front of his eyes, was as childish, as serene, as the girl in school uniform he had first seen in the Franchise sitting-room; The real master under the "mask" must have indescribable emotions in his heart. "Mr. Chadwick," said Miles Allison, "that's a long overdue story, isn't it?" "too late?" "Yes. This case has become major news and public commentary over the past three weeks. You must have heard that the two women were framed - assuming of course your story is true.If, as you say, Betty.Ken was with you during that time, and not at the two women's house as she said, why didn't you go directly to the police station and tell them" "Because I have never heard of the case at all." "what? " "I didn't know the two women were charged, and I didn't know the story Betty 'Kane told." "why? " "Because I went abroad on business again at that time, I didn't hear about it until two days ago." "Well. You've heard about the girl's testimony and the doctor's account of how she was beaten when she first got home. How do you explain that?" "have no idea." "You didn't beat her?" "No." "You said you arrived at the villa one night and found she had left." "yes." "She packed her bags and left?" "Yes, it seemed so at the time." "Does that mean that her belongings and luggage disappeared with her?" "yes." "But when she came home, she didn't bring any belongings with her, and she was only wearing a tight-fitting dress and shoes." "I didn't know until much later." "You want us to know that when you returned to the villa, it was neat and tidy, no one was there, and there was nothing messy or suspicious." "Yes. That's exactly what I saw." There was an uproar in the courtroom when the name of Mary Frances Chadwick was called as the next witness.Apparently it was the so-called "that wife"; it was the best appetizer that even the most eventful and prying audience could not have guessed. Frances Chadwick was a tall, rather good-looking woman, naturally blond, dressed like a model in a magazine; She doesn't seem to be the kind of person who is considerate enough to think of others. She said she was indeed married to the previous witness and lived with him in Earning.They have no children.She currently works occasionally in the clothing industry - not because she has to work to make a living, but because she wants more pocket money, and she likes it.Yes, she remembered that her husband went to Rabelo and then to Copenhagen.He came home a day later than scheduled.During the following week she began to suspect that her husband was having an affair.That suspicion was confirmed by a friend who was told that her husband had brought someone to live at their riverside villa. "Have you talked to your husband about this?" Kevin asked. "No. That won't solve the problem. He's to them what sweets are to flies." "So, what did you do? Or what do you plan to do?" "Like I do with flies." "how is that?" "I beat them hard." "So you set off to the villa with the intention of beating up any kind of fly?" "That's right, that's it." "And what did you find at the villa?" "I went there late at night, hoping to catch Barney there too..." "barney is your husband?" "Why—well, I mean, yes," she said hastily, seeing the Judge's look. "and then? " "The door wasn't locked, so I just walked in, straight to the living room. A woman's voice came from the bedroom: 'Is that you, Barney? I've been waiting so lonely for you. ’ I went into the bedroom and she was lying on the bed in the pajamas I used to see in one of those slut movies ten years ago.She looked disheveled and filthy, and I was a little taken aback by Barney's gaze.She was eating a huge box of chocolates that lay next to her on the bed.The whole scene, like the bad thirties. " "Just get to the point, Mrs. Chadwick, please." "Yes. I'm sorry. Then we bickered, as usual..." "usually? " "Yeah. It's all about what you're doing here and all. You know, the kind of spat between the wronged wife and the favored new love. But for some reason, she doesn't like my eyes. I don't know why .I've never bothered too much with stuff like this before. I mean, we just had a big fight, called each other names, and that was it. But this little slut just made me puke. So..." "Mrs. Chadwick!" "Well, sorry. But you did tell me to speak in my own words. Well, then I couldn't take it any longer—I mean, I got so pissed off by her that I dragged her out of bed and slapped her on the head.Funny how surprised she looked.Apparently she had never been hit by anyone growing up.She said: "You hit me!" That's it; I said: "From now on, many people will hit you like this, little boy." 'Punch her again.What follows is a fight.To be honest I had the upper hand.First I am stronger than her, and second I am really annoyed.I ripped that stupid pajamas off her, and with a jingle she tripped over one of her slippers, fell to the floor, and lay there sprawled.I waited for her to stand up, but she didn't, I thought she passed out.So I ran to the bathroom to get a wet towel and wiped her face.Then I went to the kitchen to make coffee.I had calmed down by then, and thought she would calm down when she woke up.我煮了水等它开。可是当我回到卧室时，我才知道那个晕倒是假装的，是作戏。 那个小——那个女孩跑掉了。她有足够的时间穿上衣服，所以我直觉认为她已穿上衣服走了。““然后你也离开了吗? ” “我等了一个小时，想巴尼也许会来——我先生。那女孩的东西满室满地都是，我把它们全丢到她的衣箱里去，把它塞到上阁楼的楼梯旁的柜子里。然后我把所有的窗户都打开，把她的味道赶走。巴尼一直没有回来，我也就走了。我可能刚好跟他错过，因为他那晚上的确回到那儿去了。一两天后我才告诉他那晚的事。” “他怎么反应? ” “他说她妈妈十年以前就该好好地打她一顿。” “他没有担心那女孩有可能出什么事? ” “没有。倒是我有一点，直到他告诉我她家就在埃尔斯伯瑞附近而已。她可以很轻易地就搭上便车回家去。” “所以他就理所当然地以为她回家了? ” “是的。我说，他是不是最好确定一下——因为毕竟她只是个孩子。” “他怎么回答呢? ” “他说：'法兰西丝，亲爱的，那个”女孩“比反覆无常的人还懂得自我保护。” '“所以你就把这事情抛到脑后了? ” "yes." “但是当你读到发生在法兰柴思的事件时应该又想起来呀? ” "No." “怎么会呢? ” “首先，我从来就不知道那女孩的名字。巴尼喊她丽兹。而且简单地说我就是没有把一个十五岁的在校女生，被绑架又被殴打的，跟那个巴尼的小女人联想起来过。我是指，跟那个躺在我床上吃巧克力的人比。” “但是如果你早知道那女孩的真实身份，你会同警方联络吗? ” “绝对会。” “即使是你殴打那个女孩的，你也会毫不犹豫地报案? ” “是的。因为如果我有机会，我会再做。” “我帮我们检察官问你个问题：你打算跟你丈夫离婚吗? ” "No, of course not." “这个你和他所作的证词会不会是串通勾结好的呢? ” “不是，我根本就没有串通的需要。但我跟巴尼离婚的意思一点都没有。他很有趣，而且能养家。对一个丈夫，你还能再要求什么? ” “我真不知道。”罗勃听到凯文喃喃地说。然后用他正常语调请她指认她谈的那个女孩就是那个刚刚出庭作证的女孩，那个现在就坐在法庭里的女孩。接着他谢谢她，回到座位坐下。 而迈尔斯。艾立森根本就放弃诘问。凯文则准备请他下个证人出庭。但陪审团的主席先他一步。 那主席说，陪审团希望法官知道他们已经得到他们需要的所有证据了。 “麦克德默先生，你下一个证人是谁? ”法官问。 “庭上，他是哥本哈根一家旅馆的经营者。为他们曾在那段相关时间住在那里作证。” 法官转头询问陪审团主席的意见。 主席和所有陪审员商量了一下。 “不需要了，庭上，我们想那不再需要了，如果得到你的认同，我们不需要再多的证人了。” “如果你们觉得已经听到足够的证据来审判的话——而我自己也觉得没有需要以更多的证据来证明疑点——那么就这样。你们要检察官做结论吗? ” “也不需要，庭上，谢谢你。我们已经做出判决了。” “在这种情况下，我做总结也就太多余了。你们需要时间退席审酌吗? ” “不需要，庭上，我们没有人有任何不同的意见。”