Page 44 of In the Air Tonight

“Yes. That’s what he said, but it’s not true. I have a boyfriend I love very much. We’ve been together for years. I’ve never wanted anyone but him. Everyone in school also knew that Ryder was involved with Louisa, so it was shocking to me when he said the things he did.”

“Objection.” The defense attorney leaps to his feet. “The witness is editorializing.”

“Overruled. The whole reason we’re here is to determine what happened that night and whether we have grounds to go to trial. I want to hear what Ms. Sutton has to say.”

The defense attorney sits down, but he’s pissed.

I refuse to look at Ryder, but I can feel him and everyone else staring at me with barely concealed hostility.

“Ms. Sutton,” Neil says, “when Mr. Elliott asked you if he could speak to you in private, were you afraid to leave the party with him?”

“No. I had no reason to be. He’d said it was about his girlfriend, Louisa. We’d had a class together before she left school. I liked her and felt like she liked me, too. And when he said the things he did… About the way I looked at him… I was shocked.”

“What happened after that night?”

“A couple of weeks later, I learned I was pregnant.”

The courtroom erupts in pandemonium as the judge bangs her gavel and calls for order.

“Who was the father of your child?” Neil asks.

“Ryder Elliott.”

“Objection!”

“Overruled.”

“Are you still pregnant?”

“No, I miscarried at five weeks.”

“Have you told the truth today about what happened that night?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing further,” Neil says.

The defense attorney stands. “Is it true that you had a reputation at school for being promiscuous?”

“I did nothing to earn that reputation.”

“But is it true that people said that about you?”

“They said a lot of things about me, but they didn’t know me.”

“Please confine your answers to the questions you’re asked. Is it true that you had intimate relations with members of the football team?”

“No, that’s not true.”

“Your honor, we have a sworn affidavit to the contrary from ten members of the team.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Ms. Sutton, please control your outbursts in my court.”

“They’re lying! I never slept with any of them!” What if Kane believes them? How can they swear I did that when it’s not true? I look to Neil, hoping he’ll do something about this vicious smear. I shouldn’t be surprised that Ryder’s friends came together to defend him this way, but still… I’m shocked that they’d lie under oath.

“Objection!” Neil says after he’s handed a copy of the document. “They are the defendant’s brother and closest friends. Of course they’d lie to protect him.”

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