"Sure. In fact, Saturday night they're in town. If you don't mind, I'll give him a call."

  "Please do. I'll mention it to him, too. I'll encourage him. He can't spend his whole life in front of his computer. That's not healthy."

  "You know what, it's not unhealthy, either, considering the other, less acceptable crap kids can get into. I don't think I'd try to micromanage that part of his life right now. But that's just me. What do I know? I haven't got any kids."

  "Yes, maybe you're right. I've kind of taken the approach of 'don't rock the boat' so far. They're amazingly resilient, it appears. Much more so than I am."

  "Isn't that how it always is? Kids are incredibly strong. And astute, when it comes to judging character."

  "Okay, well, yes, please do call him. I'm sure he'd love it."

  "I'll get the tickets lined up before I leave here tonight. Then I'll give him a buzz. I'm really anxious to catch one of the playoff games. Hey, you could come too, if you like."

  "Oh? Well, I've got Janny. I need to spend some time with her. It'll give us some good girl time together. But after the game, when you bring Jamie home, be sure to come inside. We'll have coffee and hot chocolate and you guys can tell us all about your night."

  "Excellent." He stood to leave. "Talk to you later, Christine."

  "Later. And thanks again."

  "Don't mention it."

  26

  "What defense counsel and I are about to tell you isn't evidence," Christine admonished the jurors, supplying the stock phrase that is delivered in all jury trials. "What I will be doing right now is called an opening statement. This is the State's opportunity to present to you what we believe the evidence will show.

  "First, we will put on the stand Winona Lindsey, the chief law enforcement officer on the case. Winona is a twenty-two-year veteran of the CPD and a detective who heads up the CPD's sex crimes unit. She will present you with a big picture view of our case."

  Christine then spent thirty minutes reviewing the witnesses and interpreting what the physical and scientific evidence would prove.

  When she was finished, she thanked the jury and took her seat, at which time the defense asked the court for a brief recess. The court granted the recess and defense counsel immediately approached Christine. They wanted to talk.

  The five lawyers retreated to the private conference room off the north end of the courtroom. Winona accompanied them as well.

  Albert Adelman was one of Miscont's two lawyers and he went first.

  "We would like to propose a resolution to the case. All four of us met last night and we think we know how to construct a plea bargain that will satisfy everyone."

  "Mr. Adelman, that's fine. But let me tell you," said Christine, "I'm not here to satisfy either you or your clients. I'm here to put as many of their deranged asses behind bars as I possibly can for as long as I can. Do you read me?”

  Adelman had been rocked back on his heels, but quickly recovered. "I didn't mean to say we were looking to satisfy our clients. Just that we want to satisfy the justice this case cries out for."

  "I don't even understand what the hell that means, sir."

  "We want to satisfy you," said the second of Miscont's lawyers, as the first was now visibly flustered. His name was Xavier Delfino and he was an Argentine who had immigrated to America in his early teens. He was handsome, soft-spoken, and a plant meant to lure the ladies into a defense mindset.

  "I'll be satisfied when your clients are single-celled with violent men who think date rape is something you do to your cellmate. Nothing would make me happier."

  "Of course," said Delfino the smoothie. "Of course you want that."

  By now Adelman had reconstituted himself and came roaring back.

  "Your case is full of holes," he began. "We want to give you the opportunity to get some of that jail time you're aching for, and to not risk a defense verdict."

  "You didn't just seriously tell me you might walk these three morons out of here?"

  "I wouldn't call them morons."

  "I would. Only morons would spread a young girl's nude pictures across the Internet for the entire world to see. Your clients are morons. And that's being nice."

  At which point Winona touched Christine's sleeve. It was time to let them have their say, her look said. Christine decided to back off for a moment and hear what deal these gentlemen had decided to offer.

  "We're thinking ten years in prison, with the possibility of good time or two-for, with a plea to aggravated assault."

  Christine couldn't help herself; she laughed and shook her head. Laughter tears came, genuine tears. "You're screwing with me, you guys," she managed to get out. "C'mon, Winona, let's get back to our jury."

  "Wait, please," said Delfino. "One more item."

  "Which is?"

  "The three boys would also ask for pleas to lesser offenses than attempted murder when it comes time to be heard on Bussie's murder case. In other words, our boys won't be looking for attempted murder convictions but assault pleas instead."

  Christine had to admit, that offer had some merit.

  "I can't speak for the prosecutor on the murder case, and I don't know who defense counsel will be. How do you propose we bind two unknown people to such a strange deal?"

  "We don't. We're only saying what we would recommend to the court when pleas are being discussed."

  "Well, that can't be all bad, so thanks for playing. But frankly, I don't think Bussie is guilty of a damn thing except being driven momentarily insane by these asshole clients you're all stuck with. End of conversation."

  "That's it? No counteroffer?"

  "No, nada, none. Now I'm headed back to court. Winona?"

  "Right behind you, Christine. Let's get some fresh air. The air in here reeks of privilege."

  The two women banged out of the room and left the four lawyers to nurse their hurt feelings. Not even a counter? they said. How could that be?

  The remainder of the day was consumed with the defense attorneys explaining why their clients wouldn't testify. They also took a swing at Christine's case, but the jury was ignoring all the lawyers by then, waiting for the testimony and evidence.

  Recess for the day was called at four o'clock.

  27

  Then trial began.

  "State calls Winona Lindsey!" Christine said to the court.

  Winona pushed away from the counsel table and crossed to the witness stand. She was the picture of health for a forty-year-old. Her hair had been freshly bleached and her small nose gave her the air of a middle-aged movie actress who had been taking good care of herself. Rather than the usual dangly turquoise earrings, she was wearing small gold studs, and a single gold bracelet adorned her left wrist. She sat down in the witness chair, nodded ever so slightly to the jury with a small smile, then turned her attention to Christine.

  "Tell us your name and the city where you live."

  "Winona Lindsey. Chicago, Illinois."

  "What is your occupation?"

  "I'm the chief investigator for sex crimes, District Attorney's Office, Cook County."

  "How long in that position?"

  "Sworn law enforcement nineteen years."

  "You are the lead investigator on the Bussie Speers case?"

  "I am."

  "What kind of case is that?"

  "It stems from a very common occurrence on college campuses which is called, in the press, date rape. I prefer to call it what it really is, which is Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault."

  "Tell us what that means."

  "Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault in Illinois is a Class X felony. Broadly speaking, it requires delivery of a controlled substance to the victim. A first conviction calls for six to thirty years of mandatory incarceration. For a second conviction the mandatory incarceration is for life."

  "So date rape in Illinois isn't some laughable little problem that happens at college, but because it happens at college the legislature treated it as less than it really is?"

  "Not by a long shot. Unless you call thirty years' mandatory incarceration a laughable little problem."

  "Tell us about the administration of a controlled substance in this case."

  "Objection!" one of the defense attorneys called out. "Foundation."

  "Overruled," the judge replied. "She can tell us what she has learned from any reports. Counsel, I'm assuming you're going to introduce lab reports?"

  Christine said, "I am, Your Honor."

  "And they will provide foundation for what the witness is about to testify to?"

  "They will."

  "Then proceed, please."

  Christine went on, "The question asked that you tell us about the administration of a controlled substance in this case."

  Winona nodded. "Laboratory analysis was done of the victim's blood from samples drawn the next morning."

  "Who drew those samples?"

  "I did."

  "In what capacity?"

  "I'm a licensed phlebotomist."

  "Why is that?"

  "Because the collection of blood samples in my job is so common. It was decided a good dozen years ago that I should be licensed."

  "And what did you do with the blood samples you drew?"

  "They remained in my custody until I delivered them to the Illinois Crime Lab in Chicago."

  "Were they analyzed there?"

  "They were."

  "Can you tell us generally about the results?"

  "Certainly," Winona said. "The victim had ingested gamma hydroxybutyrate, a CNS depressant. It's commonly known on college campuses as Cherry Meth. It has that peculiar sweetening added."

  "Did Bussie Speers knowingly ingest Cherry Meth?"

  "She did not."

  "How do you know that?"

  "She told me in our first interview, the morning after. She said she had had part of one beer and then woke up hours later."

  "Woke up where?"

  "On a couch in a fraternity house. She was nude but someone had covered her with an old blanket."

  Christine continued, "Going back to your investigation, tell us what you know about the events surrounding the alleged rape of Bussie Speers."

  "It was the night of November eighteenth-nineteenth last year. That was homecoming weekend at Chicago University."

  "What occurred that night and the next day?"

  "It was a Saturday night. Bussie Speers hadn't planned on going out that night. She had finals less than a month away in several of her science classes and she wanted to spend the time studying. Her roommate had a date that night with one of the defendants, Steven Emel. Her roommate's friend was supposed to tag along but came down sick. So the roommate begged Bussie to go in her place. Bussie said okay."

  "So Bussie went out with Steven Emel?"

  "And her roommate. They walked across campus to the TKA house."

  "Theta Kappa Alpha?"

  "Yes."

  "What is that?"

  "A social fraternity. As near as I have been able to pin down, the sole reason for its existence is to throw parties. There are no community services provided, no good works, no special regard for scholarship or any other worthy expenditure of student time. It is a party-hearty place."

  "What happened after they arrived there?" Christine asked.

  "Several boys began dancing with Bussie at once. A boy she recalls as Jackson-something or something-Jackson went to get her a cup of beer. He returned with two, one for himself and one for Bussie. He handed her the one in his right hand and raised his own like they were making a toast."

  "Toasting what?"

  "God only knows. The next thing she knows, she's waking up downstairs on the couch and it's very early morning, before sunrise."

  "Does she recall what happened to her during the night?"

  "Not at all. She has zero memory, which isn't unusual with gamma hydroxybutyrate. That's why they call it a date rape drug. The date is knocked out and remembers nothing."

  "What happened next?"

  "After she woke up? Somehow she winds up back at the student union with her roommate. Somebody texts her nude pictures of herself dated the same date, her roommate takes her back to their room, and about nine-thirty she calls her father, in tears and desperate for help."

  "Objection! Move to strike 'desperate for help.' Attempts to describe state of mind, no foundation," shouted Charlene Abboud, Emel's attorney.

  "Sustained," the judge agreed. "The jury will disregard 'desperate for help.'"

  Christine nodded and studied her notes momentarily.

  "Did you see Bussie that morning?"

  "I did. Her father called me from home. He had her there.”

  "Who is her father?"

  "John Speers, District Attorney of Cook County."

  "He's your boss?"

  "I guess you could say that. I'm actually pretty much independent of stuff that goes on in the office."

  "What did you do?"

  "Drew blood and took her for a rape exam."

  "Where?"

  "University Hospital."

  "Was a rape exam done?"

  "Yes."

  "Swabs of the vaginal area?"

  "Yes."

  "DNA tests run on those swabs?"

  "Yes."

  "Saying what, the DNA tests?"

  "Objection," said Xavier Delfino. "Calls for hearsay. Your Honor, we've been pretty patient about a continuing string of hearsay problems, but this we must object to. This calls for a scientific background and this witness isn't qualified to be cross-examined on that issue."

  "Sustained. Move along, counsel."

  "Yes, Your Honor, thank you," Christine said. "I believe at this point I'm finished with this witness except I reserve the right to recall for purposes of impeaching other testimony that may be produced during the trial."

  "Very well. Defense may cross-examine."

  Albert Adelman, Hanley Miscont's lead counsel number 1, strode confidently up to the podium. He rubbed his hands together and straightened his tortoise-shell glasses. He then removed them, blew across the lenses, and held them up to the light, peering through the glass as he waited for the tension to build.

  Then he said, "Ms. Lindsey, my name is Albert Adelman and I'm the attorney for Hanley Miscont the Third. One of his attorneys."

  "I know who you are," Winona replied. "We met on break yesterday. You must have forgotten."

  "Thank you for reminding me," said Adelman with a winning smile. "Now. Down to business."

  "Yes, let's."

  "You say the victim has absolutely no recollection of what happened to her that night?"

  "None."

  "Then how does she know she was raped? Penetrated?"

  "Semen was found in her vagina."

  "Semen. Do we know whose semen it was?"

  "No."

  "Was it my client's semen?"

  "We don't know."

  "Yet you've helped organize a lynching party against my client even though you don't know if he even had sex with the so-called victim?"

  "Objection!" Christine called out. "A grand jury is not a lynching party. I can explain why that is true if the court would like."

  "The court is well aware, counsel," said Judge Duchamps. She twisted a lock of red-orange hair, thinking. "Please re-ask your question. Please substitute 'grand jury' for 'lynching party.'"

  "Very well," Adelman agreed. "My question is asking, even though you didn't know whether my client had had sex with the so-called victim, you still testified before the grand jury that he had?"

  "Grand jury testimony is secret, sir."

  "It is secret," said Christine. "Object on that basis."

  "Sustained."

  "Well, let me ask it this way. Is there any scientific or medical proof that my client had sexual relations with Bussie Speers? Yes or no, please."

  "No."

  Adelman turned from the witness and slowly made eye contact with every juror. "Are you listening?" his gaze asked. Notes were being furiously inscribed in notepads and several jurors nodded at him.

  Then he said, "So it's somebody's word you're relying on to prove that my client violated your client. Rather, your victim?"

  "Yes, that's correct."

  "I take it the so-called victim has no memory of who did what?"

  "True," Winona said.

  "Was DNA testing performed?"

  "Yes, it was."

  "How about DNA testing results? Did my client's name swim up?"

  He already knew the answer, having been given copies of all the lab reports two months ago. Christine knew he was using it to exonerate his client; she had known this moment was coming, but it still hurt.

  "No," Winona admitted.

  "Results of DNA testing?"

  "Inconclusive."

  "Why inconclusive?"

  "The samples contained many different DNA types, as I understand it. No one of them could be attributed to any of the defendants we took samples from."

  "You took hair samples from all of the defendants?"

  "Yes."

  "And none of them returned positive for DNA, not even the dead boys?"

  "No."

  "So you have no proof my client had sexual relations with the so-called victim?"

  "Just testimony."

  "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. That's all for now." Adelman paused, then said, "Oh, one more thing. Do you have any proof my client was even there that night?"

  Winona hesitated. "No."

  "Do you have any proof that Ms. Speers didn't consent to having sex that night? Perhaps she had an alcoholic blackout that is preventing her recall?"

  "No proof."

  "That is all. Thank you very much, Detective Lindsey."

  "Mr. Knoell?" said the judge. "Any questions on behalf of Noah Adams?"

  Knoell replied, "Can we stipulate that if I asked the same questions regarding my client the answers would be the same?"

  The judge turned and looked at Christine. She saw no reason not to stipulate. It would be one way of avoiding the painful repeat of the process that had just been completed.

  "So stipulated, Your Honor," she said, rising briefly to her feet.