Tears came easily, and her voice had a halting quality she was quite
proud of, and by the time her story ended, she was sure there wasn't a
dry eye in the courtroom.
The judge was as shaken as the jury by her gut-wrenching recollection
of the murders. He sat hunched over his desk, leaning toward her as
though he thought his nearness would somehow comfort her.
"All right, then, " he said. "I know how hard it was for you to go
through it again, and I appreciate it. Now, I want you to look at the
man shackled to the table over on your right and tell me if he was one
of the men in the bank." Rebecca stared at Bell for several seconds
before shaking her head.
"No, " she cried out. "He wasn't there." The judge's face betrayed
his disappointment. His frustration was palpable, but he wasn't ready
to give up. "Take your time and look him over real good before you
make up your mind." She did as he instructed. "I'm so sorry, Your
Honor. I wish he were one of the Blackwater gang, but he isn't. I
swear to you he wasn't there." Bell's attorney was grinning from ear
to ear, and that offended the judge almost as much as her devastating
testimony.
"Don't even think about getting to your feet again, Proctor. You keep
your seat glued to your chair until I'm finished. I've got a couple of
nagging points I want to clear up before I let this young lady leave
the stand." Rebecca bowed her head and pretended she was desperately
trying to compose herself. She knew the judge was watching her
closely, and when she looked up at him again, she felt a burst of
gloating satisfaction over Rafferty's compassionate gaze.
"I'm going to make this quick, " he promised. "I just have a couple of
questions. Are you up to answering them now, or would you like a
recess? " "I'd like to finish now, please." He immediately asked his
first question. "I ordered three women brought here, and I'm curious
to know where the other two are. Do you have any information about
their whereabouts? " "No, I don't. When Marshal Cooper told me Grace
and Jessica were also being brought here I felt terrible, just
terrible. Their lives have been uprooted because of me. If I had told
the truth from the beginning, none of this would be happening to
them.
They've become dear friends. I expected them to be here when I
arrived, and I was looking forward to seeing them and telling them how
sorry I am. I'm sure they were just delayed. Grace wasn't feeling
well when I left her. She might have had a relapse."
"Let's move on to the next question. You said you got on the train
with Marshal Cooper and that he left your compartment and didn't come
back.
Why did he leave? " "I had a pounding headache and my medicine was in
my suitcase. Because Marshal Cooper was such a gentleman, he insisted
on going to the baggage compartment to fetch it for me. If I hadn't
complained . . . if I had suffered in silence . . . he would still be
alive. It's my fault he's dead, all . . . my . . . fault." She
buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Rafferty looked at the