Chapter 13 - RACHEL DOES NOT LIE FOR ETHAN
By the time the preliminary hearing arrived, Rachel walked without a brace.
Her ribs had healed.
Her wrist still hurt when rain approached.
She hated the courtroom before she entered it.
Not because she feared Daniel.
Because both men she had once considered family would be discussed as possible architects of her death.
Ethan sat separately.
Juvenile proceedings remained partially protected, but his cooperation mattered to Daniel’s case.
Rachel did not look at him before taking the stand.
The prosecutor asked about her relationship with Ethan.
Rachel answered truthfully.
“Complicated.”
“Did he resent you?”
“Yes.”
“Had he expressed anger toward you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you consider him capable of hurting you before this?”
“No.”
Daniel’s attorney stood later.
He was not cruel.
That made him more effective.
“Mrs. Ward, Ethan once told you he hated you. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“He damaged property in your home?”
“He punched a bedroom door.”
“He sent a message wishing you would disappear?”
“Yes.”
“Your husband did not send that message?”
“No.”
“Your husband did not physically cut the brake line?”
Rachel paused.
“I didn’t see who physically cut it.”
“So you cannot testify that Daniel Ward cut it.”
“No.”
The attorney nodded.
“Ethan admitted he did.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
It hurt because every answer was true.
At lunch, Rachel sat alone on a courthouse bench.
Ethan’s advocate approached.
“He heard.”
Rachel looked up.
“He should.”
“He’s upset.”
“He should be.”
The woman studied Rachel.
“You could have softened some of it.”
Rachel’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“I’m not criticizing you.”
“Good.”
Rachel looked toward the courthouse lawn.
“I won’t become another adult who teaches him that loving someone means changing the truth for them.”
The advocate was silent.
Then nodded.
That afternoon prosecutors introduced Daniel’s messages.
DONE?
ANSWER ME.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Then the business-manager messages written in advance.
HE’S BEEN MESSED UP SINCE HIS MOM.
I’M WORRIED HE’S DOING SOMETHING STUPID.
The judge’s expression changed.
Then Walter testified.
He described Daniel handing Ethan the red tool case.
The boy’s hesitation.
The SUV leaving.
Rachel’s crash.
Daniel returning.
And Daniel asking:
Did she say anything?
Daniel’s attorney tried to shake him.
“Mr. Boone, you were some distance away.”
“Yes.”
“You were working on your own vehicle.”
“Yes.”
“You did not see Daniel Ward cut any brake line.”
“No.”
“You did not hear their conversation.”
“No.”
“So much of what you believe is interpretation.”
Walter looked at him.
“Much of what everybody believes is interpretation.”
The attorney smiled slightly.
“Exactly.”
Walter continued.
“But I know what I saw.”
Then he looked toward Daniel.
“And I know what a husband usually asks when he sees his wife folded inside a wreck.”
The courtroom went quiet.
“He didn’t ask if she was okay.”
May you like
Walter paused.
“He asked if she said anything.”
