Scorched to Ash Beneath the Blazing Sun novel · Chapter 11 of 24
Chapter 11: The Preliminary Hearing
The courtroom was set to sixty-two degrees for one man.
Lance's lawyer had asked for it in writing, and the judge had agreed, so every other person in the gallery sat in a coat.
Reporters filled four rows.
Rhonda sat in the front row, and Mr. and Mrs. Lyle sat directly behind her, glaring at the back of her head.
Lance sat at the defense table in a charcoal suit and a scarf.
He had lost weight in five days.
His eyes were red, and he did not look at me once.
Callie sat at the prosecution's side of the room with a lawyer of her own and her hands folded over her knees.
I took the stand at ten past nine.
The prosecutor was a tired woman with a quiet voice.
She walked me through the hike in thirty questions, and I answered every one.
Who had taken the bottle.
Who had said seven.
Who had been silent.
"Ms. Hartwell," she said at the end. "Why did you not call for help on the group channel?"
"I did," I said. "At 12:40 and again at 1:41. After that my throat closed."
"Was anyone listening?"
"Everyone was listening," I said. "Nobody answered."
I heard a woman in the gallery draw a breath.
Then the prosecutor played the second channel for the court.
*If she's still talking at three, she's fine.*
*Don't unmute her.*
Nobody coughed.
Nobody moved.
At the defense table, Lance's lawyer put a hand on his client's arm, and Lance pulled away from it.
The defense attorney stood up for cross.
He was the man in the gray suit from the hospital hall, and he smiled at me warmly.
"Ms. Hartwell. You've had a difficult week."
"Yes."
"And a difficult three years, I understand. Isn't it true that you've been transported by ambulance more than forty times since you began dating my client?"
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