Chương 10
The forensic examiner testified that the file was authentic. The laboratory scientist explained the residue. The camera-company engineer described the backup archive. Dr. Kent, Lily’s obstetrician, testified that Lily’s episodes were not typical and that her symptoms improved after hospitalization, when she stopped taking the vitamins from home.
On cross-examination, the defense displayed records showing Lily had reported anxiety before the pregnancy.
“Yes,” Dr. Kent said.
“And fatigue?”
“Yes.”
“And difficulty sleeping?”
“She was pregnant.”
“Those symptoms can also result from anxiety?”
“They can result from many things.”
“So you cannot tell this jury that every symptom Mrs. Reed experienced came from the substance in that jar.”
“No.”
The defense attorney nodded as though she had won more than the doctor had given.
Grace testified on the sixth day.
She wore a blue blouse Lily had lent her because Grace’s only court-appropriate jacket still carried a hospital logo. On direct examination, she described Lily’s confusion, the grocery-store incident, and the call to the hospital.
“Did you believe your sister might harm herself or her baby?” the prosecutor asked.
“At that moment, I believed something was seriously wrong and I didn’t know what.”
“Did you know someone was administering medication to her?”
“No.”
“Did you later see evidence that changed your understanding?”
“Yes.”
The defense attorney played the emergency call.
Grace’s recorded voice filled the courtroom: My sister is paranoid and confused. I’m scared she’ll hurt herself or the baby.
Evan finally looked at Lily.
The defense attorney let the silence after the recording linger.
“Ms. Cole, you were frightened of your sister before anyone discovered the vitamin jar, correct?”
“I was frightened for her.”
“That is not what you told the hospital.”
“I was trying to get help.”
“You used the word paranoid.”
“Yes.”
“Because Mrs. Reed believed people were moving her belongings.”
“They were.”
“You did not know that at the time.”
“No.”
“She accused you of siding with her husband.”
“Yes.”
“She tried to drive despite your efforts to stop her.”
“Yes.”
“She nearly struck a pedestrian.”
“She backed toward a woman who moved away.”
“Because the woman was in danger.”
Grace swallowed. “Yes.”
The attorney walked closer to the witness stand.
“You gave Mr. Reed your sister’s car keys.”
“Yes.”
“Because you believed he was the safer person.”
Grace looked at Lily.
Lily wanted her to deny it. The desire was immediate and ugly.
“At the time,” Grace said, “yes.”
The defense attorney returned to his table.
No further questions.
During the recess, Grace locked herself in a bathroom stall. Lily waited outside.
“I helped him,” Grace said through the door.
“You were wrong.”
“I helped him.”
“You didn’t know.”
“That does not make the effect disappear.”
“No.”
Grace opened the door. Her eyes were red, but her face remained dry.
“Do you hate me for it?”
“Sometimes.”
Grace nodded once.
The answer wounded her. Lily saw it and did not take it back.
“I love you too,” Lily said.
“That’s a terrible sentence.”
“It’s the true one.”
Grace laughed once, wiping beneath her eye with the side of her thumb. “You could have lied in a bathroom.”
“I’m trying to quit.”
Vanessa testified next.
She wore a dark gray suit with no jewelry. Her voice was lower than Lily remembered and less polished than it had been in company videos. She admitted the affair, the custody presentation, and the bracelet.
The prosecutor held up the sealed evidence bag.
“Did this belong to you?”
“No.”
“Why did you wear it to the custody hearing?”
“Evan gave it to me.”
“Did you know it belonged to Lily Reed?”
“He told me she didn’t want it.”
“That was not my question.”
Vanessa looked toward the jury. “I suspected.”
“Why cover it when the recording played?”
“I was ashamed.”
“Of the bracelet?”
“Of all of it.”
On cross-examination, Evan’s attorney displayed messages in which Vanessa insulted Claudia and complained that Evan would never leave Lily.
“You were angry,” he said.
“Yes.”
“You wanted Mr. Reed punished.”
“I wanted him to choose me.”
“And when he did not, you chose the prosecution.”
Vanessa looked at Evan for the first time.
“He chose himself,” she said.
The attorney waited, perhaps expecting more. Vanessa gave him nothing.
Marcus testified for most of a day.
He described the custody preparation, the files he failed to review, and Evan’s questions about psychiatric episodes after childbirth. His voice remained controlled until the defense suggested he had fabricated concerns to protect his license.
Marcus removed his glasses.
“I am testifying to conduct that may end my career,” he said. “That is an unusual method of protecting it.”
It was too perfect a line. Lily saw several jurors react. Marcus seemed to recognize the same thing and looked irritated with himself.
The defense attacked his memory, his billing records, and his decision to speak with Naomi. Marcus admitted he had wanted Lily to hear his regret.
“Because you hoped she would forgive you?”
“No.”
“Because you hoped the public would?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Marcus paused.
“Because guilt makes people selfish,” he said. “I wanted her to know I was not ignorant of what I had done.”
That answer sounded less rehearsed.
Claudia entered under guard.
She wore a plain black dress and no pearls.
Without the necklace, her hands seemed to have nowhere to go. She folded them on the witness stand, unfolded them, then pressed one palm against the other.
She described Evan’s fear that Lily would move away. She described their discussions about custody. She admitted supplying the pills and helping create situations designed to make Lily doubt herself.
“Whose idea was the medication?” the prosecutor asked.
Claudia looked at Evan.
“Mine.”
“Who crushed it?”
“He did.”
“Who placed it in the vitamins?”
“He did.”
“Did Mr. Reed understand why?”
“Yes.”
“What was the intended result?”
“That Lily would appear impaired.”
“For what purpose?”
“To obtain medical documentation and custody.”
Evan’s face did not change.
May you like
The prosecutor played the recording.
“Whose voice says, ‘Not too much. We need her unstable, not dead’?”
