The Trial of Callista Blake

the woman perched in the witness chair, a sparrow ready for fligh

s the woman's skin. Merciless morning light played on Maud's wr

nvincible paperweight holding down the remainder of Herb's polite life. Maud Welsh had evidently done much to keep that memory functional. By the power of the meek, and because she was useful and a cousin, she just stayed, a small household tyrant given to vigorous church attendance and good works, enlarging on the time when the Professor was alive as a golden age to keep his degenerate son in line, dusting and sweeping intensely at unseasonable hours, putting up interminable preserves, and carrying on a picayune war with Victoria Chalmers, a war of sniffle

mployed at prese

ee, I'm

inkles. "Just my question, please. You k

, I live in with the Chalmerses, I mean Dr.

an academic deg

D." Her voice ma

kempt after a bad night. Aspirin, insomnia, a dripping faucet i

et number on the

The Professor was alive and we live

d. Just limit you

rry. I'

dden by Cecil Warner, who looked a little better this morning with a fresh shave. The flowers last night, the rather elaborate too-expensive dining out, the antique gallantry-very sweet of him, Edith thought, and in his idiom not at all strange.

her Bland. Jim did not acknowledge her glance either, but probably because he didn't see it, a man alone on an island and hurt, trying to i

housekeeper fairly g

avy cleaning, we have a woman on Tues

way on va

ine two weeks every su

d so th

e of the trouble, I thought I

ille on Friday, Augu

the picnic.

y your presence on certain dates. Were you at Shanesv

enched on her hand

ho beside yourself was present, to your knowle

s. Chalmers'd gone to the supermarket in Sh

ly were you

ch fixing snap b

grounds could you

h side of the house, between it and the grov

path through

r house to Do

scribe that

les." Maud Welsh swallowed. "Goes near a po

could you see the o

es

Chalmers at 10:30

e talked some. Weather mostly I gues

do after your

h though: he went into it at a place beyond the garden, where our brook go

you next

d to me. I dropped the beans and went to him. I saw his clothes were wringin' wet, and

on, please. That is, if he explained

y explain, exa

hat you did next. Just what you did, you understand. Aft

out poor Herb's first addled words, whatever they were, in cross examination? Would they help, if he did? And if he testified for the defense, what would Herb him

o the pond. His clot

wait a minute. We'll go back a little at this point, Miss Welsh

ope-I'm sorry,

you first

in that year. Good ne

lease the Court, the defense is not concerned with the character of

The witness's last remark beginning with t

the same, the defense had spoken. She also recalled unhappily other words Cecil had spoken to that Martini: "Why did I order that thing? I was going to m

Mrs. Doherty one of close acquai

We'd-oh, visit

t time you saw Mr

ugust 15th. She came over for some

ce, call each other

fact. I'm a mite old-f

morning. You went to the pond. Wh

water-I coul

jury never knew these people. Now: when you came to the p

dy of a woman

s she d

der-blue skirt, bl

ead co

, that real pretty

ach the body

a few steps.

feel all

touched her, the w

u turned the body until you could see the fa

her out, anyway she was-cold. I went and c

again with D

t said I'd called the police, said I'd go b

ernourished-Ann pestered herself with diets now and then-and insipid. You couldn't quite imagine the angelic face distorted or transfigured by extremes of passion, or wrinkled by thought. With no overtone of spite, Callista had said once: "Ann isn't vain. I think she likes to share h

he police you didn't mo

t sat there and

blank as a church door on Monday morning. Edith could not see Callista, for Warner leaning forward a

as those that Ann Doherty was wearing when y

e the blouse agai

identify them as the ones

mean, that type,

e heel. Now as near as I can manage it, my wrist is ab

le! Yes, it

om the water, you saw a hole like thi

, I

you know dressmakin

ould s

this hole strike you

see how you'd get it unless you bumped

this hole visible above the

ght shoe w

ight one, y

was wearin

per I'm now holding.

nts on the State's table, the mud-spotted frilly blouse, crumpled blue skirt and jacket, the single water-streaked shoe, by contemplating the dark green tweed suit that she herself was wearing. Less than perfect. Needed pressing. A small spot, maybe watercolor paint, near the bottom of the skirt (well, hell!)-but having thought

f Sunday, August 16th, about nine o'clock.

my sewing things aside some time before. I'd gone out there a

r anything you part

rd a car stop, on Walton Road, ou

any glow from

t think

tive about the so

y thing, and

motor s

rattle, while the motor was running, loose

d conference; Cal seemed unexcited, but the Old Man wa

ff right away-how

before the car doo

h the time you he

ting anyone, didn't think they were. Anyhow, all the talk you hear about juvenile delinquents in

d the pines, or maybe in the grove,

for half

e light on the Chal

right down

n that evening,

, about

the car stopped. D

n the porch about half past nine. He was t

sounds from that direction for half an hour

the driveway-it had just the dimmer lights on, I remember-and that's when Her

the car? You read the license

e shape, and the maroon color. Anyhow C'lista herself was driving it,

all to you

he turn and scooted off aga

rs standing in

Hunter. That porch light, it's r

a Blake before that appearance

day. She came out to t

dinary

what was ordinar

." Warner had risen; Edith could see the heavy tremor of his thick hand o

last remark will be

circumstances of Callista Blake's vi

y taken my things out to the porch before she came. We went out there, were setting there when C'lista drove up to the house alone, walked right by us, not a word except to ask kind of sharp where her mother was. An

al necessities, inability to suffer a fool with patience. On that black evening Maud Welsh and Ann had not even been fools, just harmless little people acting as u

lista Blake agai

. I did hear her, talking to her mot

u mean quarr

. Chalmers' bedroom happens to be right over the porch where I was. Ann had gone home then and I couldn't help

s We

being no sort of way to talk to her

nervous uproar, quickly subdued by Judge Mann's gavel,

house on August 7th, ten days before Mrs. Doherty's deat

erses gave a picni

for

the college, but that one was more for Shanesville folks. Hot dogs, hamburg

who was prese

e of Shanesville and their two kids Billy and Doris. Billy's nine, Doris going-on-twelve.

e was the

fternoon to about

hen Callista B

near two

id she

Noticed her car was

dressed, if

nyway I'm sure of the green blouse, s

ccessories tha

of style, but C'lista liked that one because it was roomy, she could carry h

her field glas

em, Mr. Hunter

s for birds or nests, near the part of

wild area. Things planted there that more or less take care of themselves-groun

ith the perennials

cleared her throat and swallowed

hood growing there,

e ought to keep it, spite of the pretty flower it has. Yes, it

rnoon of August 7th, did you see C

d

earing that sho

e w

she a

es

did she re

wanted her to lend a hand with the grill. I called her. Wh

e still

inging to that fool Jim Doherty, she was alone. Th

was a

ness, Mr.