Chapter 38
Mom pats my hip as I climb over her and then Amelia. The weight of everything that’s at risk presses down on me, and my legs feel stiff and heavy walking toward the bench.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
The whole truth. “Yes.”
Last Christmas, my family went to Florida on vacation. We ate at a restaurant that had this humongous Adirondack chair outside. Dad took a picture of Andrew and me sitting in it. We look like miniature people. That’s how I feel sitting in the witness seat. My feet dangle as the lady lawyer smiles.
“Good morning,” she says. “Darcie, right?”
“Yes Ma’am. Good morning.” My foot swings back and forth like it’s about to take off running and leave the rest of me behind.
“Do you remember having a conversation with Officer Briggs at the hospital?”
“Yes.” Should I tell her now that he didn’t let me tell the entire story?
“Did you listen to his account of your testimony earlier?”
The room sits silent, and I nod.
“Let the record show that the witness nodded her head.” The judge addresses me, “Miss Reynolds, the clerk must write everything that is said. You’ll need to speak your responses aloud.”
“Oh, sorry, ma’am.” Taking a deep breath, I glance at Ms. Kendrick; she smiles, and I relax a little. “Yes. I was listening to his account.”
“Did his testimony paint an accurate picture of your encounter with the defendant?”
“Objection,” the prosecutor raises his hand. “Leading the witness.”
“Over-ruled. It’s a fair question.”
The lady lawyer clasps her hands, waiting for my reply like it’s going to be a while.
“Well,” I say. “It was the truth, but not the whole truth—like your oath says.”
She nods. “Can you explain what you mean?”
“When Officer Briggs asked me those questions, he didn’t give me a chance to explain.” The whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of my pant leg rubbing against the leg of the chair makes me stop abruptly. “Not everything is totally one way or the other. Like…yes, Grover took Andrew from the cabin, but there were some things that happened right before that, that were…” I glance up at Amelia. She won’t meet my eyes. “…pretty bad. If Grover saw all of that, he probably thought Andrew was in danger. Actually, he told me he thought that.”
Ms. Smith takes a few steps to the side, then turns back. “Huh. Was Andrew in danger?”
I pull my lip between my teeth. “I’m…not sure. I mean, I don’t really know what would have happened if Grover hadn’t shown up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble, but I need to tell what really happened, right?”
“That’s right,” she says, placing a hand on the barrier between us. She smiles. “Take your time.”
The entire room waits while I’m trying to breathe. My chin drops toward my chest. “I thought I was there to join their group, but they just wanted to humiliate me.” My hands rub against my jeans. The denim’s cool and soft, and it calms me a little, so I raise my head. This part should be embarrassing, but it actually feels good to finally talk about it. “They—the girls tied me up, blindfolded me, and then just…left.” People’s faces in the gallery are mostly sympathetic. Amelia’s head is down, but her grandmother is scowling at me.
“Oh my. What did you do?”
“The ropes weren’t that tight—got myself untangled pretty quickly, but then when I tore the blindfold off, Andrew wasn’t there anymore. I couldn’t find him and…the door was locked. I was yelling for him, and then tripped and hit my head.”
Amelia raises her head. Her eyes are wet and sad. She mouths, “I’m sorry.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away. “Amelia came back, though. She had Andrew with her. I was so relieved, but so mad at her too. We were fighting—arguing.”
Grover’s chair squeaks loudly as he shifts.
“…And that’s when the door swung open, and this huge guy with hair and fur everywhere stood there. Andrew called him Chewbacca.” I turn to the judge. “He did look a lot like the Chewbacca at Hollywood Studios. We went there last year.” My face warms as people from the gallery chuckle.
The attorney tucks hair behind her ear. “We might revisit this part later, but for now, let’s continue with the original question. Is there anything else in your testimony to Officer Briggs that needs additional information?”
“He asked me if Grover took us to the cave. I said yes. Then he asked if we could leave the cave if we wanted. I said no. He was asking so many questions so fast that…” Stuart’s face stands out in the gallery, telling me I can do this.
“Grover saved us, because that tree that fell on Amelia? I couldn’t get it off her. We would have died out there.”
“You were very brave, Darcie.”
My fingers find the place on my head where the stitches were as the lawyer checks her notes again.
“What about being held against your will inside the cave?”
“Well, it’s not like we were tied up or anything, but we were stuck there—that’s why I answered no. First, Amelia was really sick. She had a fever because of the infection in her leg, and she couldn’t walk that far. And…there was no way I was leaving without my brother.”
“Why couldn’t you take him and come back later with help for Amelia?” She bites her lip.
“Because…” My eyes meet Grover’s. They’re sad and tired. “Grover’s mommy thought Andrew was her baby.”
This stirs up a bunch of murmuring among the people sitting in the gallery, and the gavel silences them.
Ms. Smith walks back to the table and whispers something to Grover. He covers his mouth as he answers.
“How do you know this?” she asks.
“Well, number one, it was obvious. She kept calling Andrew her baby and telling him how much she missed him. But number two, Grover told me.”
Grover stirs in his seat, but he won’t meet my gaze.
“I didn’t know what was going on at first. His mom was kind of scary, and she didn’t make much sense. But she loved Andrew.”
“Kind of scary and not making sense—in what way?”
“Like the way she looked, and held him and rocked him.” I turn to the judge, “It’s a good thing my brother loves attention—he was great with her.”
“Do you know why she thought Andrew was her baby?”
“He wouldn’t tell me at first, but I kept bugging him. Mommy was so scared someone was going to take Andrew—I couldn’t even be around them when she was awake because she was so protective.”
Andrew’s sound asleep now, sucking away on his thumb. Dad shifts him to his other shoulder.
“It turns out, he got put in foster care when he was really little. I guess she never got over losing him.”
“Your Honor, may I have a moment to confer with my client?”
“Very well.”
There’s a back-and-forth conversation between Grover and the lady lawyer where Grover does a lot of head shaking. People in the crowd fidget, and my leg starts the swing again, but Stuart gives me a wink, and my foot goes still.
“Darcie, let’s take a fresh track for a minute, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You called our office Wednesday afternoon to report a series of incidents where someone warned you about giving testimony on behalf of Mr. Daniels. Is that accurate?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
"Can you give us an overview?” She smiles and presses her palms together. “Start anywhere.”
“Well, Wednesday was a very bad day. The worst, really.”
“What happened?”
“Someone stole my civics notebook with all my research and flushed it in the toilet, then wrote stuff all over the mirror about me.”
She holds up the notebook and walks the pictures over to the judge. “Exhibit A. That does sound like a terrible day.”
“That’s only half of it. Later, when I got home, I got my face shoved in the snow.” I turn my cheek toward the judge. “I still have scratches from the ice. I couldn’t breathe!”
“Did you recognize the attacker?”
“Well, their faces were covered with ski masks, but I know who the main one was. He smells a certain way.”
“Objection! Your Honor, this is getting ridiculous! Who’s this hearing for, the defendant or a kid pulling a prank? Come on!”
“I’ll allow it. Please continue, counselor.”
“What do you mean by the smell?”
“Like, every time he’s around me, there’s a wet dog smell.” My nose wrinkles. “Plus, he should have a pretty nasty scrape down his shin on account I raked my boot down his leg.”
She raises her eyebrows and pauses to jot something down on her legal pad. “Wasn’t there a closet incident earlier in the week?”
“Yeah. Someone shoved me into the janitor’s closet.”
“Oh, my. What did you do?”
“At first, I lost it. It was dark and crowded, and I couldn’t breathe with all the cleaning products. I found the light switch and tried the doorknob; it turned, but someone heavy was leaning against the door. It wouldn’t budge. I looked down and saw a note on the floor.”
“Is this the note?” she says, holding up a plastic sleeve containing a piece of notebook paper.
“Yes.”
“Please note exhibit B.” She hands it to me. “Darcie, can you read this aloud, please?”
I clear my throat. “I found the old memes on Instagram. Stop trying to free the Shadow Man, and they’ll stay hidden. If you don’t, more memes to come.”
“Have there been any memes?”
“Yes ma’am. There are dozens of memes floating around on Instagram and in texts.” I drop my head and stare at my fingers. Heat rises in my cheeks.
“I’m really impressed with your integrity in spite of all the harrassment.” She winks. “Anything else?”
“Well, there’s just the name-calling and kissing noises behind my back.”
“Kissing noises?”
"Yeah. People are saying I’m in love with the Shadow Man.”
The lawyer turns away, walking a few paces toward her table. “Why do you think these kids are targeting you?”
“I’m not sure, but kids don’t usually care about stuff like this. Usually you get picked on for your looks, or you’re clumsy or something. I don’t know. It’s weird.”
“Indeed.” Grover’s attorney smiles at me. “Nothing further, Your Honor.”
The prosecutor stands, buttoning his suit coat. “Miss Reynolds. You like the defendant, don’t you?”
Where’s he going with this? I lean into the microphone. “Yes, sir.”
“But he took your little brother from the cabin without permission. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And he kept you separated from Andrew inside the cave, correct?”
“Only at first. He—”
“So regardless of what happened to him as a child, Mr. Daniels broke the law. He removed a three-year-old child from the care of his sister, keeping them separated for an extended amount of time.”
I glare at him. How can you tell the whole truth if they won't let you talk?.
“Miss Reynolds, the note passed to you implies you experienced bullying in Oregon, and now you claim that you have also experienced bullying here. Isn’t it possible you’re interpreting ordinary conflicts as something more?”
“Objection. Badgering.”
“Yes, counselor. What’s your point?” The judge leans forward, one eyebrow raised.
“My point is that this witness, along with the public defender, is turning this hearing into a schoolyard drama. What does a twelve-year-old girl and her memes have to do with the defendant?”
“I’d like to find out, counselor. Wouldn’t you? If you’re finished, the defense may call its next witness.”
“I’m finished, Your Honor.”
“Thank you, Darcie. You may step down.”
“The defense calls Ezra Pitts.”