'Then why aren't you sitting? ' The crowd burst into laughter when
Proctor tripped in his hurry to take his seat.
The judge wasn't amused. He slammed his gavel on the desk and demanded
silence. 'I'll have order in my court. If I hear another sound out of
any of you, I'll clear you out.
'Like I said before, I make the rules here, not you. Sit.' He
bellowed the command, but by the time he swung around to Rebecca, he
had mellowed considerably.
'I sure would like to cut to the chase and ask you plain out, but I'm
not going to do that. First, I want you to tell the jury who you are
and what happened to you.' Her moment had finally arrived. Gripping
her hands together on the railing so the jury could see them, she took
a shuddering breath and began. She told them why she had been in the
bank and what she had seen.
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.
