Salem Falls Part 50

6, 7.

17, 17.

100 + New 6, (7).

17, (15).

Item D16 S539.

D7 S820.

New N/A.

8, 12.

100.

12, 14.

9, 12.

100 + New N/A.

12, (8), (9).

Item D13 S317.

D5 S818.

New 11, 13.

10, 12.

100.

9, 13.

12, 12.

New + 100 13, (9), 11.

12, (10).

"Ms. Martine," Jordan asked, "what does that line remind you of?"

"The s.e.m.e.n profile."

"So could the person who gave this hypothetical blood sample have been a contributor to the s.e.m.e.n mixture?"

"Yes, this person would not be ruled out, either."

"Then it's possible that there's someone other other than Jack St. Bride walking around out there ... someone with this particular DNA makeup, for example ... who might be included as a suspect?" than Jack St. Bride walking around out there ... someone with this particular DNA makeup, for example ... who might be included as a suspect?"

Frankie met his eye. "Anything's possible, Mr. McAfee, but my lab deals with concrete evidence. I didn't have this hypothetical blood sample, and I don't know this hypothetical suspect. But when you find him? You give me a call ... and I'll run the tests."

As Charlie tried to concentrate on the prosecutor's questions, his attention kept straying to Addie Peabody.

She sat behind the defense, almost in a direct line from Jack St. Bride, her eyes boring a hole into the back of the man's neck. Her hair was slipping out of a bun, and her suit-the only one she had, he'd bet-was wrinkled as a newborn's skin.

He didn't want to be there. He wanted to be home, unraveling the mystery that was his daughter. He wanted to grab Addie and shake her until all the truths Meg had confessed to her spilled onto the floor at Charlie's feet.

"What was her demeanor at that time?" Matt was asking, the words swimming to Charlie from a long tunnel.

Frightened. Withdrawn. Numb.

He had wanted to run home after Chelsea's testimony, to grab Meg and ask her if she, too, was a witch. But he had already accused her once, and look at where it had gotten him. What if he did it a second time? How much damage could be done before the bond between a father and his daughter was irretrievably broken?

Broken.

He didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until Matt asked another question. "After you took her statement, what did you do?"

"I went to the station and typed up an affidavit for an arrest warrant," Charlie said.

"Did you obtain this warrant?"

"Yes."

"Where did you go to serve it?"

"Addie Peabody's house," Charlie answered, and although he did not look her way, he could feel her straighten in her seat. "I asked for Mr. St. Bride and told him he was under arrest for the aggravated felonious s.e.xual a.s.sault of Gillian Duncan the previous evening."

"What happened?"

"He said he was nowhere near her that night."

"Did you ever go back to the clearing behind the cemetery?"

"Yes, the next morning."

"What did you find?"

"The remnants of a bonfire," Charlie said. "Some spots where leaves were kicked around. A boot print."

"Did you find a condom?"

"No."

"A condom wrapper?"

"No."

"Did you see Gillian again the next day?"

"Yeah," Charlie murmured. "I stopped in to check up on her."

"How did she look?"

The way Meg does now, Charlie realized, and as he stared into the dark, empty eyes of Jack St. Bride, he could feel himself drowning. Charlie realized, and as he stared into the dark, empty eyes of Jack St. Bride, he could feel himself drowning.

Jordan stalked toward the witness before the prosecutor had even settled in his chair. "The search you did at the cemetery wasn't the only search you did in conjunction with this case, was it?"

"No."

"In fact, Detective, you searched your own daughter's room and found evidence that you believed was connected, correct?"

A memory flashed between them: Jordan sitting on the edge of Charlie's couch, as he awkwardly confessed his suspicions to the policeman. "Yes."

Jordan took an item from the prosecutor's table, one he'd requested to have brought along. "Do you recognize this?"

"Yes. It's a ribbon I found."

"Where?"

"In my daughter's closet."

"What else did you find with this ribbon?" Jordan asked.

"Some plastic cups, and a thermos."

"Was there a powdery residue in them?"

"Yes."

"Which you had tested."

Charlie nodded. "Yes."

"That powder was atropine, wasn't it?"

"That's what I was told," he admitted.

"Do you know what atropine is?"

"A drug," Charlie said.

"Isn't it true that atropine can occasionally produce side effects consistent with more traditional recreational drugs?"

"Yes."

"So, in fact, Detective, the only evidence you found of a criminal act was in your own daughter's room, wasn't it? Because you didn't find anything at the cemetery that would indicate a s.e.xual a.s.sault happened there, did you?"

"Not specifically."

"Isn't it true that you asked Ms. Duncan to look at several condoms to see if she could pick out the one used that night?"

"Yes."

"Yet she couldn't identify it, could she?"

"No ... but I imagine she wasn't comparison-shopping at the time of the rape."

The judge frowned at Charlie. "Just answer the question, Detective."

"When you found the girls that night, they were at the edge of the cemetery?"

"Yes."

"How far was that from the spot where the bonfire had been lit?"

"The clearing is about fifty yards away," Charlie said.