Grand Testing Tale -- page 21188

Wait for the cross-examination

You know that Miss Boleyn shouldn't have been allowed to get away with that, but since you don't have any concrete proof of this, there's not much you can do about it. Therefore, you nod, sit down, and listen closely to everything else Miss Boleyn says.

"Were you there at the time of the fire?" the prosecuting attorney asks then.

"Yes, I was."

"Tell the court what you saw and heard."

"Well," begins the history teacher, "I heard someone yell, 'Fire, fire'! Half the school rushed toward the kitchen to see what was happening, but I stayed where I was. I heard someone use the fire extinguisher, and then everyone who had jumped up returned to their seats. But I saw something most of the others didn't--Anderson ran out of there before the fire extinguisher was ever used!"

"No further questions." Miss Mursome turns to you, saying, "Your witness, Maria."*

"Thank you," you say. "Miss Boleyn," you begin, "you testified that you saw Mr. Anderson run out of the kitchen even before the fire extinguisher was used, correct?"

"Correct."

"Did you actually see his face?"

Miss Boleyn won't look you in the eye, which tells you that she's lying, but says,

"Yes."

You can't prove she lied without causing a ruckus, so you pretend to believer her and ask,

"How much of his face did you actually see?"

"I don't remember."

You mentally note that as evidence of false testimony, but try a new tack.

"Your Honor," you say, "I would request that the court--judge, jury, attorneys, and spectators--be dismissed and reconvene in the dining hall, for the purpose of showing evidence."

None too happy about it, Ms. Fishburn agrees. In the dining hall, you ask Miss Boleyn,

"On the night of the fire, Miss Boleyn, where were you sitting?"

Miss Boleyn points to a back table that does not face the kitchen door.

"Ah!" you exclaim. "That table doesn't face the kitchen." You then motion to Mr. Anderson, saying,

"Sir, if you would be so kind, please enter the kitchen. Rosa Doyle," you address your friend, "please sit where Miss Boleyn was sitting."

You wait for everyone to get settled and then call to Mr. Anderson,

"Mr. Anderson, please run out of the kitchen. Stop at the table where you were sitting that evening."

Mr. Anderson does so.

"Rosa," you ask your friend, "just now, did you see Mr. Anderson's face?"

"No--the way the table's facing, I could only see his back."

"But," protests Miss Boleyn, "he DID run out of the kitchen, and he DID have something in his hand..."

"Could the reason he ran out," you ask, "be because he is afraid of fire?"

Miss Boleyn doesn't answer, so you call,

"Somebody find me a match."

Nurse Johnson finds one, and you motion to the English teacher again, saying,

"Mr. Anderson, please stand in front of me, toe to toe. Look directly at me--don't let your eyes wander, and don't blink."

"Objection!" calls Miss Mursome. "This courtroom has turned into a circus...matches, staring contests..."

"Sustained," Ms. Fishburn says. "This is irrelevant."

"I will show the relevance," you argue. Ms. Fishburn grunts and motions for you to go on.

"Now," you call, "would someone please light this match?"

A spectator steps forward and lights the match. You hold the match out and bring it about six inches from Mr. Anderson's hand. As you expected, Mr. Anderson is looking at you as if you're holding a lethal weapon. He flinches, steps back, wobbles, leans against a chair, and tries to get his breath back. You blow out the match and throw it away.

"As you can see," you address the court, "the defendant is afraid of fire. So then why would he start one? No...I believe that what actually happened is that Mr. Anderson went into the kitchen to get the saltshaker, just as he testified, but when someone yelled 'fire', he instinctively rushed away from the scene. The defense rests."

On this evidence, the jury asks to deliberate. They all come up with the same verdict--not guilty. Mr. Anderson and Nurse Johnson hug you in gratitude, but Ms. Fishburn stops the celebration by asking,

"But if he didn't start that fire, who did?"

"Mrs. Kent," you say. "It all fits together...she was the only one in the kitchen, she didn't recognize the fireworks, and she had grounds to frame Mr. Anderson..."

"Stop!" Ms. Fishburn yells. "Slander! Let me hear no more of it! Case closed...and if I ever hear of you accusing Mrs. Kent again, you will be expelled, young lady!"

Hmmm...you think. Something's wrong here. Why is Ms. Fishburn defending the cook when you can tell by her face that you know she's guilty? You...

*If your name is not Maria, you can mentally change it to your own name or another name. "Maria" is used to fulfill the need for a name of the main character in this story.