Chapter 36

  THE BAILIFF CALLED MY NAME and I got up from the bench in the hallway, stiff-armed the double doors of the vestibule to the courtroom, and strode up the aisle¹. Heads turned as I approached the witness stand. And I was reminded again that the case against Junie Moon would hang in large part on my testimony². And that L. Diana Davis was going to do her best to crush me.

  I swore to tell the truth and took my seat, and my good friend Yuki asked me preliminary questions, setting up my time and grade as a police officer.

  Then she asked, “Sergeant Boxer³, did you interview the defendant⁴ on April nineteenth?”

  “Yes. Inspector⁵ Richard Conklin and I first interviewed her in her house, and then later at the southern division of the SFPD, on the third floor of this building.

  “Did she seem afraid or anxious or intimidated⁶?”

  “Actually, no. She seemed quite comfortable. In fact, she agreed to come to the Hall for questioning.”

  “At that time, did you ask her about Michael Campion?”

  “We did.”

  “And what was her response?” Yuki asked.

  “At first she told us that she had never met Michael Campion. Approximately two hours later, she asked us to shut off the video camera.”

  “And what happened after that?”

  In answer to Yuki’s questions, I told the jury what Junie had told me and Conklin - how the victim had expired, that she had called Ricky Malcolm, and what the two of them had done with Michael Campion’s body.

  “Did you have any reason to doubt this story?” Yuki asked.

  “No. I found her quite credible⁷.”

  “Did you interview the defendant at any other time?”

  “Yes. We met with Ms. Moon a few days later at the women’s jail. We hoped Ms. Moon might remember the name of the town where she and her boyfriend disposed of Mr. Campion’s remains⁸.”

  “And did she remember?”

  “Yes. The town of Jackson, about three and a half hours northeast, in Amador County.”

  “So to be clear, this was a second interview?”

  “Correct.”

  “Was the defendant under duress⁹?”

  “Objection. Calls for speculation,” Davis sang out.

  “Sustained,” Judge Bendinger snapped.

  “I’ll rephrase,” Yuki said. “Did you threaten the defendant? Deny her food or water or sleep?”

  “No.”

  “She gave you this information of her own volition¹⁰?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant,” Yuki said to me. “I have no further questions.”

  And then L. Diana Davis was in my face.

1 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

5 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

6 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 duress   

n.胁迫

参考例句：

• He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。
• These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

10 volition   

n.意志；决意

参考例句：

• We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.我们常常认为我们所做和所想的一切都出自自己的意愿。
• Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.梅金说库姆斯先生是主动去投案的。