The sole defence witness stood up and began shuffling his way towards the witness stand: as he did so, his lawyer whispered to him:
"Please, Dave, remember to keep your temper".
Trampler gave a resentful grunt in response before sitting down and taking the oath. Clara willed herself to look at him, determined not to be intimidated by him again.
"Did you abduct Ms. Clara Hewson?", was Conti's first question.
"No", replied Trampler in a flat voice.
"Did you attempt to murder Ms. Hewson?"
"No."
"Have you ever met Ms. Hewson?"
"No."
In answer to further questions, Trampler told the court that he had indeed hired the van and bought the ropes and spade found at the scene, but that these were to help a friend fill in a hole near his driveway: the rope was to be used to lower himself into the hole.
Clara felt her anger beginning to build once again, but was startled out of her thoughts by a strange noise. She turned her head, and saw that Lily was uncontrollably laughing out loud: she was rocking back and forth in her seat, and tears were streaming down her face. Soon it seemed the whole courtroom was staring at her.
"Enough!", shouted Judge Scales, angrily banging his gavel. "Ms. Watkins, how dare you make such an exhibition in my courtroom! You will stop right now or you will be removed from the court!"
With great difficulty, Lily managed to stop herself laughing, though she had to cover her mouth to do so.
Clara's fury returned.
"How can he tell such lies!", she whispered to Devi. "Come up with such garbage like that!"
"Be hopeful, Clara", Devi assured her. "His story is so ridiculous the jury is bound to see through it."
Monica got to her feet and inched her way towards Trampler.
"Mr. Trampler", she began, speaking slowly and methodically, "did you and Mr. Conti hold meetings in the County Line?"
"Yes", replied Trampler, in the same monotone he had used in his answers to Conti.
"The bar where Ms. Hewson works?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"So how is it then that you have never met her?"
Trampler did not answer.
"Did you ever get angry with Ms. Hewson when you were in the County Line?", Monica pressed him.
"I was angry that she was poking her nose in", said Trampler, the slightest note of irritation starting to creep into his voice.
"Did you ever come up with a plan to silence Ms. Hewson?"
"I did not."
"Mr. Trampler, you are aware, are you not, that Ms. Hewson, Ms. Bose, Ms. Brown and Ms. Watkins have all told this court that Ms. Hewson never went out during the six-week period when she claims you abused her?"
"Of course", said Trampler, with slightly more irritation.
"And that the defence has not challenged this evidence?"
"Yes."
"And that you apparently accept that during this same period Ms. Hewson was uncharacteristically shy and subdued?"
"Yes."
"What explanation can you think of for such unusual behaviour?"
"How am I supposed to know that? Ask her instead". Trampler glared at Clara as he said those words: Clara determinedly stared back, though her heart began to beat a little faster.
Monica turned round to face the prosecution table for a moment or two, then she turned round and asked:
"Now, regarding your journey to Virginia, why would you drive to such a remote location if you were going to a friend's house?"
"I must have lost my way."
"Why did you set out at night if you were going to do a repair job?"
"How can you prove that?", asked Trampler defiantly.
"It is confirmed by the timing of your phone call to the President", replied Monica: Trampler was open mouthed.
"Why would the van end up 10 feet from the roadside?", Monica next asked.
"I can only repeat, I lost my way." Trampler's annoyance was getting increasingly obvious.
"How likely is it, Mr. Trampler, that you would not know the location of your friend's house?"
No answer.
"If you will not answer that question, maybe you can tell the jury why you have not called anyone to back up your story?"
Again, no answer: Trampler merely scowled at Monica.
Clara was beginning to feel increasingly optimistic. Monica was doing a splendid job, easily exposing Trampler's lies. Clara could not help but feel a good deal of schadenfreude over his failure to answer the last two questions.
Monica next led Trampler, point by point, through Clara's testimony, repeatedly asking Trampler if it was really plausible that all the details Clara had given - his loud knocks on her door, the feeling of his stubble brushing against her, the tightness of the rope that had bound her - could be lies. As she did so, Trampler became increasingly angry, snapping at Monica as he answered her questions and throwing threatening looks at Clara, earning him repeated warnings from the judge. Clara found herself struggling to remain collected.
Finally, Monica reached her last question:
"Mr. Trampler, Ms. Hewson's testimony is corroborated in certain aspects by Ms. Bose, Ms. Brown, Ms. Watkins and Mr. Morris. How do you think their stories could match up if it were all lies?"
"Bullshit!", bellowed Trampler at the top of his voice. "Utter fucking bullshit! That little bitch just wants compensation from me! She's a fucking no-good liar with no respect for me or the President! Something needs to be done about her!" He glared at Clara and shouted, "I'm coming for you, bitch! Just you wait!"
"Mr. Trampler", said the judge sternly, "what a disgraceful performance! I will not have such disrespectful, threatening behaviour in my courtroom! You will stand down immediately."
"Wow", mocked Lily, "he thinks he's King of the World or something! Any louder and he would've broken the windows!"
Clara was shaking: images of a triumphant Trampler, walking free from court and then strangling her, stabbing her, shooting her, whatever he might choose to do, ran through her mind.
"It's OK, Clara", said Angela, embracing her. "We'll always be there for you, no matter what that scumbag does."
"Don't worry, Clara, he'll definitely get convicted now", said Devi, stroking Clara's hair. "After that horrible rant . . . juries just don't like that kind of behaviour. You got him, Clara."
Clara tried to smile, but she could not.
At the back of the courtoom, Clementina had been shocked by Trampler's behaviour. To threaten Clara like that, what a horrible man he truly was. And what a ridiculous story he had told. He had to be guilty, he just had to.
A nervous-looking Conti got to his feet to deliver his closing speech, insisting that that Clara's story was riddled with inconsistencies and so could not be true. Then it was Monica's turn, methodically going through all the evidence the jury had heard, and pouring scorn on Trampler's defence. She ended by reminding the jury of his threatening outburst:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, however the defence may wish to convince you otherwise, I think you have seen for yourselves the type of man that Mr. Trampler is."
Finally the judge summed up.
"The most important prosecution witness by far is Ms. Hewson", he emphasised. "Unless you are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she is telling the truth, you cannot convict the defendant."
After reminding the jury that any verdict must be unanimous, he sent them into the jury room to begin their deliberations. Clara was trembling: even searching on her phone for stories about exoplanets, even her friends' best efforts to comfort her, could not calm her nerves.
After less than an hour, it was announced that the jury was returning. Clara looked up from her phone, with the same horrible feeling as on the night Trampler had tried to kill her.
"Have you reached a verdict?", Judge Scales asked.
"Yes, Your Honour", replied the foreman, speaking very slowly. "We the jury find the defendant, David Ronald Trampler, guilty as charged."
Clara broke down in tears. After everything she had suffered, she had done it, she had been proved right, she had been vindicated, she had at last got justice. Angela held her arms out and Clara fell into them, crying on Angela's shoulder. She could hear Trampler shouting something, and the banging of the gavel and the annoyed shouts of the judge, but she could not make out what they were saying, nor did she care. Angela hugged Clara tightly, before Clara broke off and hugged Lily, who was dancing a jig. Then Clara turned and looked into the smiling face of Devi: Clara squeezed Devi to her and kissed her with all the passion and the energy that she could muster.
"You did it, Clara", whispered Devi, once Clara could kiss her no more.
"No, we did it", Clara corrected her, before beginning another bout of kissing.
After Clara once again had to pause for breath, she noticed Monica holding out her hand.
"Congratulations, Clara", she said: Clara vigorously shook her hand and thanked her profusely.
She also shook hands with and thanked Officers Grundy and Rodriguez. She was now feeling exhausted, both physically and emotionally: Devi embraced Clara and rolled her around in her arms, something Clara enjoyed very much.
After about five minutes, order was finally restored to the courtroom. Judge Scales sentenced Trampler to 50 years to life in prison. As the convicted man was led down the aisle, Lily pointed at him.
"You're not so big now are you?", she mocked.
"She beat you! She beat you!", shouted Angela, giving Trampler a look of hatred and satisfaction.
"She hit you for six!", Devi chimed in, a condescending expression on her face.
Unlike her friends, Clara did not look at Trampler. Why should she? He was nothing to her now, nothing at all. She was now safe from him forever.
Clara and Devi left the courtroom hand in hand, Angela and Lily closely behind. Just outside the entrance, Clara gasped: her mother was standing there. Devi noticed her too, and there was a long, uncomfortable silence.
"What are you here for?", demanded Devi haughtily.
"Well", answered Clementina awkwardly, "I'm here to make up to Clara."
Clara stared at her mother.
"I know now you were telling the truth", Clementina continued. "That story he told, no one could believe that, and that horrible moment when he attacked you. Also, the jury has found him guilty, so your story must be true."
"You've taken a long time to come round to it", said Devi scornfully, but Clara flung herself around her mother's neck. That her mother finally believed her, that they could talk to each other again, just made the moment even sweeter. Her happiness was complete.
