Chapter 7

She arrived at the courtroom twenty minutes before the hour. Holding a brief conversation with Verdis and Šhedrhen she assured them that Lana Northwood would be the one going to jail for perjury. Verdis held her paw briefly, licked her cheek while her daughter wedged in for a hug.

At precisely two o’clock Daniel Kingsley strode to his bench, called the court to order. “Sendrhea, I believe Miss Northwood is your witness, so please continue with your questioning. Miss Northwood, please take the stand, and remember that you are still under oath.”

Lana walked past Sendrhea’s table, didn’t glance at her as she headed for the witness stand.

Sendrhea stood for a moment, paw on her papers, not looking at anyone. The question, the most important question in her mind, would change the course of this trial.

“Sendrhea,” Kingsley said, “if I’m not mistaken, you were going to ask a question before I called a recess. Do you still wish to ask this question?”

“I do, Your Honor.”

“What could you possibly ask me?” Lana scoffed.

Sendrhea strode up to the witness stand, stepped right so she stood in front of Kingsley’s bench. “Please answer the following question: If, as you say, I scratched you, why are you still alive?”

Quite a few humans in the gallery gasped, but some of the jury members showed recognition on their faces. They knew, quite a lot of them knew.

She turned her back, eyes on the gallery. She looked at her mate and daughter, sitting at the front. Verdis touched his temple, told her through their whistling dragons that she couldn’t possibly lose now.

Even though, so many humans watching didn’t appeal to her. Most of them had their built-in opinions that favored another human being, despite the overwhelming facts and the witnesses’ blatant lies.

She walked to her chair, sat down. She had done her part; she wouldn’t ask the question again.

“Is that your question, Sendrhea?” Kingsley asked.

“Objection, Your Honor.” Farrow remained seated.

Kingsley scratched behind his left ear, looked at his fingers as if a new species of insect had made a home there. “What is it this time?”

“Sendrhea’s question makes no sense. I’m sure the jury is as puzzled as I am.”

“Don’t make assumptions, Mr. Farrow. I’m sure Sendrhea has a very good reason for asking that question. Overruled.”

“Your Honor...”

“Overruled. I want to see where this is heading.”

“Permission to approach the Bench.”

Kingsley waved him over, nodded at Sendrhea. She stood beside Farrow in front of the Bench. “I’m giving you one minute to have your say, Mr. Farrow. Better make it worth my while.”

“You seem to favor this alien,” Farrow said.

Kingsley cupped his large hairy hand over the microphone. “Is that your opinion?”

A slight hesitation before he said, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“You know what, Mr. Farrow? You better be careful how you conduct yourself in my court. I do not favor Sendrhea, neither do I favor Miss Northwood. But after listening to Miss Northwood’s friends perjure themselves so blatantly, her testimony is going to be rather suspect. Right now, Sendrhea has asked that question, even if, at the moment, it doesn’t make sense to us. I am waiting for a satisfactory answer on Miss Northwood’s part. If Miss Northwood...”

“Your Honor...”

“If Miss Northwood,” Kingsley said, cutting him off emphatically, “refuses to answer the question, I will give Sendrhea permission to pursue the subject further. You understand what I’m saying, Sendrhea?”

“Yes, Your Honor?”

“Sendrhea isn’t qualified to defend herself in this courtroom,” Farrow said. “She was advised to seek legal counsel, but for some reason...”

“She’s doing a pretty good job, if you ask me,” Kingsley cut him off.

“So you’re going to let it go.

“That’s my prerogative, Mr. Farrow.”

Farrow returned to his table while Sendrhea faced her accuser. Lana sat ramrod straight, picked at something on her arm.

She glanced at the judge. If Kingsley had read the book, even the portion relevant to this trial, he’d dismiss the charges, hold Lana Northwood for perjury, and maybe apologize on behalf of the city for putting her through this.He’s not going to apologize, Fharezhan sent.Maybe not. It didn’t really matter. What mattered most right now was Lana’s testimony, her answer to what should have been a simple question.She won’t answer.I’m a patient Tereskàdian.How long can she keep this up?I think court ends at four, maybe five, so we have a few hours.She’s stubborn.Not for long.I thought everyone read all the literature we brought. Ship’s computer translated everything into the English language.Apparently not everyone. The length and complexity of a book like ‘The Tereskàdians’ puts some people off, and they don’t learn about us.Pity.

“Sendrhea,” Kingsley said, “are you still with us?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” She turned to Lana. “You heard the question, now you provide the answer.”

“I don’t have an answer.”

‘Why not?”

“I’m still alive, so why would you ask me a question like that? They gave me a tetanus shot, so I guess I’m not going to drop dead.”

“I wish you’d stop lying. I want you to come out right now, and tell this court the truth because if you don’t...”

“Objection,” Farrow said as he rose. “Sendrhea is badgering the witness.”What did they think I was going to do, use my claws?You have to be careful what you say, Fharezhan sent. You don’t know how they’ll interpret it.

“Objection sustained,” Kingsley said. “Watch your line of questioning, Sendrhea.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” She picked up the book waiting on the table, took it to the witness stand.

Farrow, still standing, said, “Objection. That book has not been entered into evidence. Neither Miss Northwood nor myself is aware of this.”

“Of course you’re not aware of this,” she said. “If you were aware of this book, we wouldn’t even be here. I don’t know what kind of game Miss Northwood is playing, but I assure this court that I am not a participant in her charade.”

“Is this book relevant to this case, Sendrhea?” Kingsley asked.

“Very much so, Your Honor. The only thing I want Miss Northwood to do is read a few sentences that will have a bearing on this case, especially the question I asked earlier. If Your Honor wishes to see, I have marked the passages I’d like Miss Northwood to read.”

He waved her over, and she handed the book up. He took it, looked at it, grunted a few meaningless words, handed it back. “I will allow it, but do not veer too far, or I will cut you off.”

“I still object, Your Honor,” Farrow said.

“Duly noted. Proceed, Sendrhea.”

She placed the open book on the flat surface in front of Lana, beside the microphone. “Here, read page 141 ... the part I’ve marked. Read it loud and clear so everyone here and out there can hear you. And then tell me why you can’t answer my question.”

“‘Each other sixteen claws in both the forepaws and the hindpaws of an adult Tereskàdian contains a highly lethal poison called... ‘ I don’t know how to pronounce that.”

“It’s the name of the poison. I means ‘death quite sudden,’ for a good reason. Read on, Miss Northwood.”

“‘This volatile substance rushes through the bloodstream, and the victim suffers death in ... seconds. One drop is deadly enough to kill an animal the size of a ... a... ‘ She shrugged. “I don’t know...”

“That’s enough, Miss Northwood.”

“Whatever,” Lana said, dismissing the book with a casual wave. “What’re you trying to do?”

“Are you nervous? I can smell your nervousness. Are you worried about something?”

“I was just wondering...”

“What’s the point? I’ll get right to it. Unless you’re a Tereskàdian or a whistling dragon, you shouldn’t be sitting there.”

“Miss Northwood,” Kingsley said, glaring at Lana like an Olympic god, “I’m waiting. It seems you don’t understand the situation here. If you don’t answer Sendrhea’s question I will hold you in contempt of court.”

“She scratched me.” Lana held out her right arm. “You can still see the marks. Right here. Almost three months later. You think I did these myself?”

“Your friends helped you,” Sendrhea said.

“That’s ... that’s ... They weren’t even there.”

“So you’re confirming their absence. And I can assume that the only one who was there was Marie Beauchamp.”

“That’s right.”

“So Miss Beauchamp helped you with those scratches.”

“I did not,” Marie called from the gallery.

“Silence.” Kingsley banged his gavel.

“I ... I ... I don’t know why...” Lana was groping for words.

“You’re stumbling over your words. Getting a little hard telling lies, isn’t it?”

“I’m not lying.” She stood up, pulled up her top to reveal a belly still showing scars. “There. Look what you did. You’re not going to get away with it. I don’t care what that book says.”

“I’m a Tereskàdian. We know when someone is lying, just like that. Maybe it’s built into our genes. Right now I don’t think anyone cares.”She won’t budge, Fharezhan sent.She’s not going to walk out of here with a lie.I’m full.After the trial.

“I may not have read the book,” Kingsley said, “but when somebody reads about a deadly poison in the claws of an alien species, I pay attention. Miss Northwood, if you refuse to answer I will have you removed from the courtroom. I will hold you in contempt and ... you will be charged with perjury. Not only that, but I will release Sendrhea, and drop the charges because, unlike you, I have listened. So what’s it going to be?”

“So you’re taking the side of an alien over a member of the human race,” Lana said.

Sendrhea’s tailtip flicked, and her ears lay flat against her head. “You’re lying, and everyone in this courtroom knows it. Even those who haven’t read the book have heard you read from it. Tereskàdians do not go around scratching someone just because they feel like it. We can only defend ourselves if we’re attacked. If you had attacked me, I would have scratched you, but then we come back to the same old question: Why are you still alive?”

Lana fumbled with the pages of the book, turning to the back, flipping to the front. She stopped on the same page where she had read about the poison. “Here ... right here. It says that the poison appears when the Tereskàdian is...”

“You’re grasping at ... what do the humans say? Straws, is it? I’m definitely mature. I am nineteen years old, I have a mate, and a four-year-old daughter. But we’re not talking about that, are we?”

“I guess I did this myself ... just scratched my arms, and my cheeks, and my belly. Do you think I’m that crazy? You scratched me, but you don’t want to admit it. It would look bad for you aliens, wouldn’t it? The government will go up to your village, and take you all away, so you can’t scratch innocent humans anymore.”

“Have you read the book?” Sendrhea tapped the open page.

“Why?” A little dismissive snort. “I don’t read stuff like that. Too boring.”

Those words stuck in Sendrhea’s mind, words that would further destroy Lana’s testimony, if it hadn’t already done so. She turned to the jury. “Too boring, she says. She doesn’t read ... stuff like that because it’s too boring. You know something, Miss Northwood, I find the labels on house cleaning products pretty boring, but I have to read them. I read the instructions before handling any tools, but they can be pretty boring. If you had read this book, even that section you read earlier, we wouldn’t be in this courtroom, would we? You know what I think? Your life is ... what’s the word? Humdrum? Ordinary? You might say ... boring. You go to college, right? Day in, day out, same old, same old, as you humans say. So you hatch this plot that will get you on the front page, the top item on the local news, the national news. What if I accuse one of the aliens of scratching me? Accuse her of assault? Who wouldn’t believe it?” She paused, head down, tail waving as if touched by a gentle breeze. A moment later she looked up again. “If adult Tereskàdians didn’t have the poison in their claws I would have come to the same conclusion. But there is that poison.”

“I hate to break in here,” Farrow said, “but is Sendrhea making her closing statement, or is she cross-examining the witness?”

“Counsel has a point, Sendrhea,” Kingsley said. “Ask another question, or sit down.”

“Sorry, Your Honor.” She turned to Lana. “You must have a great tolerance for pain. Didn’t it hurt when you made all those scratches?”

“Objection.” Farrow, on his feet again. “It has not been established that Miss Northwood did this to herself.”

“I’m still waiting for Miss Northwood to tell this court why she is still alive,” Kingsley said. “I haven’t forgotten that point, and I’m sure neither has the jury.”

“No further questions,” she said as she sat down. “Like you, Your Honor, I too am waiting for an answer.”

“I’ll sue you for what you did to me,” Lana said, leaning forward. “My ... my father ... He’s going to see his attorney ... and you’ll ... you’ll find out...” She looked at her hands, jittering like a trapped mouse.

“Why were you so hesitant?” Sendrhea didn’t bother getting up. “When you mentioned your father, I detected ... fear ... apprehension.”

“I’m nervous, all right? You ... you’re scaring me.” She rubbed the back of her hand, traveled up to scratch her nose.

“There’s more to it than that. I’d like to recall the witnesses who testified on your behalf, but we know now they were all lying. It was all rehearsed, wasn’t it? Your friends may not have been with you in the park, and they certainly didn’t visit you in the hospital. You hatched this scheme earlier, prior to your walk in the park. When you ... uh, messaged ... texted your friends, they told you they’ll comd to see you, but they never did. Unfortunately, by telling this court they had come to see you in order to confirm your injuries, they perjured themselves. What a way to ruin a life.” She stood up again. “In case Mr. Farrow is wondering if I’m going to ask a question, here it is: When are you going to stop lying?”

“You dismissed the witness,” Farrow said. “You told the court you had no more questions for Miss Northwood.”