One week later, we were back in the courtroom. Everything looked almost exactly the same inside, but outside was pandemonium with reporters and citizens practically rioting and law enforcement officials doing their absolute best to keep the peace.

One addition to the courtroom was Chief Waters, now wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. When Theodore came in with his lawyer, he didn't even acknowledge the chief although the rest of us knew he'd be dead in a second if Theodore could have his way with him.

When the judge entered and we'd gone through the formalities, he spoke to the jury. "Ladies and Gentlemen, as you know, there has been new evidence added to this case. The prosecution will be calling an additional witness after we hear from Anne Styles Blake. Theodore Blake now faces two additional charges: one count of murder in the first degree and one count of being an accessory to murder." He took a seat and said, "Prosecution, your witness."

Nathan stood and called Anne to the witness stand. "Anne, what is your relationship to the defendant?"

"He is my late husband's son, adopted through marriage," she answered.

"How old was Theodore when you first became involved with William?"

"He was sixteen when I first met William. We were just friends for a long time but as we became closer, I spent more time getting to know Theodore and Benjamin." Theodore looked like he wanted to spit venom at her.

"How would you describe your relationship with Theodore?" Nathan asked.

"It was cordial for a long time. We acknowledged each other and that was about it. I do have to say it was a bit awkward since I was the other woman. I...never intended for it to be like that," she said apologetically. Theodore's face was the color of a tomato. I wished he would just bust an artery and save us the hassle of going through this trial.

"How was it when you moved in with William?"

"It got worse, of course. I knew Theodore and I would never be close and that was fine. He was an adult and although he lived at home, he had his own life. He didn't make much effort to get to know me and vice versa."

"Can you tell me what happened the day of the accident?" Nathan asked and we could see that Anne was already getting emotional.

"He...William wanted to take a drive with just me and Harry. Harry was, oh, around twenty months old at the time. As Clive mentioned, I liked to sit in the back with Harry to keep him company. Anyway, William wanted to drive up the coast to enjoy the fall colors and then get a bite to eat at a quaint little restaurant he'd found." She swallowed thickly and continued in a voice that became progressively hoarse, "We never reached the restaurant. An oncoming truck swerved into our lane and clipped the front of the car. I can remember leaning over Harry to protect him and that's all I remember. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed in Vancouver."

"You were in a coma, is that correct?" Nathan asked.

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"One hundred days exactly. Isn't that odd?" She said with a funny little smile. "When I woke up, Theodore was beside my bed. My first thought was that it was lovely of him to visit me in the hospital. I had some vague memory of the accident but I had no idea how long it had been." I felt awful for Anne in those moments, reliving the worst days of her life.

"What did Theodore say to you when you woke up?"

"He...well, first I asked him where William was. He just shook his head and I knew..." She choked on a sob. "I knew he was gone. But my baby, my poor baby Harry...." She stopped there and broke down into terrible heartbreaking wails. Nathan handed her some tissue and a guard brought her some water. She eventually found her voice again, although it was cracked and dismal. "When he told me that Harry had died, too, I wanted to die. I couldn't imagine going on without the two loves of my life."

"What did you do after you were released from the hospital?"

"I asked Theodore to make arrangements for me to fly back to my home in England. I couldn't bring myself to go back to the house. William and I had only been married a few months and I hadn't really accumulated many of my own things even though I'd lived there a few years. When I had moved in, I had sold all of my furnishings and everything because I didn't need them at William's house." She stopped and blew her nose. "I asked him to pack a suitcase for me and to make sure he included some of Harry's things. I just wanted...." She started sobbing again. Nathan patted her arm gently and rubbed her back. "I just wanted to smell his sweet baby smell. And his baby books and photos. I had to keep some memory of him alive. But I just couldn't go back to that house, knowing William and Harry were no longer there. Or at least thinking they weren't," she said with a vicious edge to her voice as she stared at Theodore.

"So you went back to England and you never returned?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Friends and counselors told me I needed to come back and get closure, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. By the time I was past the grief enough to function and move on with my life, I just couldn't imagine having to dredge it all up again. If only I had known," she said and once again, tears were streaming down her face.

Judge Stoneridge spoke up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a brief recess. Court will reconvene in fifteen minutes."

Harry rushed to his mom's side and she hugged him like her life depended on it. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mum," he cried into her shoulder.

"Oh, darling you have nothing to be sorry for," she comforted him.

"I know, I'm just sorry for what you went through," he said.

Clive had slipped in next to the chair in the box and had his arm around Anne's shoulder. When she and Harry parted, he pulled her up to standing and enveloped her in his embrace. I glanced over at Theodore who happened to be staring in our direction. I hope he realized that for all of his scheming and selfishness, all he had done was to bring this group of people closer together than we ever thought possible.

I gave him a cocky glance, nodding just slightly towards Anne and Clive who were still locked in an embrace. He just rolled his eyes and looked away.

Soon the judge called everyone back to the session. Anne was much more collected and calm once again. "Does the prosecution have any more questions?"

Nathan replied, "Only one, sir. Anne, how did you feel when you finally found Harry again, after learning that he was still alive?"

"I got part of my life back," she said joyfully. "No, I got part of myself back. I'd never been happier in my entire life."

"Thank you," he said.

"Defense, do you wish to cross examine?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honor," Klinefeld answered and zeroed in on Anne like a hawk.

"Anne, can you please tell me about your childhood. Did you have a loving home, a mother and a father who cared for your needs?" 

"Yes," she answered. "My parents were very good to me. It was only because of a fight we'd had when I was much older that I left and didn't tell them where I was going."

"So you can't necessarily relate to Theodore. William adopted him as his own, raised him as his own, promised him the family inheritance, only to rip it away when your son was born!"

"Objection," Nathan called. "He's badgering the witness."

"Sustained," the judge said.

"What about Theodore's mother, Julia? You said you never intended to be the other woman. But you were."

"Objection!" Nathan called more strongly. "Still badgering the witness! He's pulling a guilt trip on her."

"Sustained," the judge said again. "Counselor, please begin your questions." 

"How long did you know William before you two began your romantic affair?" Klinefeld asked.

"Four years. We were friends for four years before we had any kind of romantic contact. And at that point, William's marriage was already failing."

"Liar!" Theodore stood up and screamed. "My mother left because of you, you whore!"

The judge pounded his gavel and sternly said, "Mr. Blake, you are in contempt of this court. But thank you for revealing your motive for what you've done to Ms. Styles and her son. Now have a seat and if there are any more outbursts from you, I will drive you to the federal penitentiary myself!"

"Understood," Theodore answered, trying with all his might to bridle  his anger, and sat down.

Anne had stayed remarkably calm at Theodore's outburst. Klinefeld continued, "Tell me, Anne, did you really never think about coming back to Victoria?"

I could tell that Nathan was going to object again, but he held his tongue.

"I never did," she answered.

"So you never cared about the estate, the business, the money? None of that mattered to you?"

"No, it didn't. I had lost what I truly loved. The money didn't matter to me at all. And I knew Theodore would likely be running the company anyway since I didn't know the first thing about business."

"So it didn't matter to you for 19 years, yet here you are, claiming your share of the wealth after all," Klinefeld muttered. "Do you expect us to believe that you didn't plan all of this in an attempt to come back and humiliate Theodore when the time was right?"

Again, Nathan was bouncing in his seat, wanting to object but Anne spoke too quickly. "Are you seriously insinuating that I knew my son was still alive before now? Are you suggesting that I would neglect him and leave him in the hands of that monster because I wanted to figure out how to get my share of the wealth? Mr. Klinefeld, with all due respect, how are you even qualified to practice law?" We held back a few chuckles and I could see that the judge was even holding back a snicker. "If I'd had any indication whatsoever that Harry was alive, at any time during these past nineteen years, I would have been here in a heartbeat. I'm telling you now that money means nothing to me. I'm the rightful beneficiary because it was my husband's money; why would I have to scheme and connive to get it? And believe me, Julia received plenty in the divorce settlement, so don't you dare accuse me of being motivated by dollar signs when your disgusting excuse for a client was the one who ruined mine and my son's lives all for the sake of money!" She was livid by the time she finished and rightly so.

The courtroom erupted in applause. It was pretty clear which way the trial was leaning. Judge Stoneridge allowed it for about five seconds before he called us back to order.

"Your honor, I have no further questions," Samuel Klinefeld said softly and went back to his seat.

"Prosecution, call your last witness," the judge said.

Nathan stood and called Chief Henry Waters to the stand. After he was sworn in, Nathan wasted no time. "Chief Waters, can you tell me what you know about the relationship between Theodore Blake and Mary Lemke?"

"Theodore hired Mary to be Harry's nanny shortly after...the accident that killed William Blake. She was a pretty young lady, long dark hair - it was almost black - and beautiful green eyes." Harry nodded in remembrance as Henry spoke. He continued, "Theodore was smitten with her. She didn't return his advances at first, but eventually something grew between 'em. The two of them were in love and everyone could see it." He paused as if he was recalling a particularly pleasant moment. It was kind of creepy actually.

"Go on," Nathan urged.

"After the accident, he cleaned house, so to speak. Fired all but two of his household employees. One of those who stayed was Clive," he nodded in Clive's direction. "I don't even recall the other fella's name, but he's been gone a few years now anyway. So when he hired on new staff, he lied to them, sayin' William and Anne had both died and that poor young Harry was orphaned. When Mary came along, he told her the same story but as they grew closer, he revealed the truth to her and he wanted Mary to pretend that Harry was her boy. Theodore and I've known each other a long time but I never quite understood his reasoning on that one. I think he wanted a way out of the mess he had created for himself, ya know?" He looked at the judge and then back at Nathan. "Like maybe if Mary said Harry was her son, then it freed him from the responsibility of raising a kid and having to keep explaining to people who he was while still tryin' to keep him a secret." He shook his head as if he just couldn't figure it out. "'Course Mary was scared outta her wits, knowin' Theodore had done something so low but she was hesitant to leave since she loved Harry like he really was her own child." He looked over at Harry whose eyes were damp now. "She really did, son. She loved you somethin' fierce." Harry bit his lip and let the tears stream down his face while I squeezed one hand and Anne squeezed the other.

"What happened next?" Nathan questioned.

"Mary gave Theodore an ultimatum: either he contact Anne and come clean or she would do it for him. Well, Theodore didn't like that too much. So, uh, he...." Chief Waters looked around at everyone in the court room and blubbered, "He slit her throat in her sleep." Then he buried his head in his hands and wept. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Nathan handed him some tissue and he blew his nose loudly. "Can you tell us how you were involved?"

"I was new on the force then, just getting to know the Blake family. I never met William but I knew he was a good man. Anyway, Theodore called me up in a panic and I don't rightly know what came over me, but he offered me an ungodly sum of money to help him cover up the murder. And he promised..." Waters continued crying, his voice reaching a high and awkward pitch. "He promised he'd get me promoted to chief within five years....and that's what happened. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said over and over again.

Finally he wiped his eyes on his sleeve and blew his nose again. "I take full responsibility for my actions but that man," he pointed at Theodore, "anyone who knows that man knows he's beyond persuasive. He just has a way of gettin' you to do what he wants. And if you don't do what he wants, look out!" Boy, did I know that from first-hand experience! "Anyhow, I helped him bury her body and I helped him clean up every last bit of evidence. No one was any wiser. When mornin' came, he just told everyone Mary had left in the night with a note tellin' him she was leaving. And everybody bought it because of that...that mind control. I'm tellin' ya."

"So you knew that Anne was still alive?" Nathan asked.

"I didn't know till that night. He told me what he and Mary had fought about; in fact, he revealed the entire story. But of course, he threatened me to never tell nobody about it." Then he looked at Anne and repeated the same thing he had been saying, "I'm so sorry, Anne. You have no idea how sorry I am that I didn't have the courage to come and find ya myself." Anne looked at him stoically and I found it odd. She usually displayed more emotion but this was an incredibly trying time for all of us.

"Did Theodore use that incident against you over the years?" Nathan asked.

"Of course," he answered. "Every time I disagreed with him, every time he wanted me to cover up his dirty deeds, he would just tell me that he'd make up some story about how I had murdered Mary and convinced him to help me get rid of the body. He always had something on me."

"When did Theodore ask you to kill AnnaMae Watson?" Nathan asked.

"The night those kids set that fire," he said. "Hell, Theodore even tried to shoot me and I was still too stupid to realize what a fine mess I'd gotten myself into. I accused them kids of arson and trespassing when I knew very well who they were. I knew who Harry was and I knew Theodore had kept him locked up all those years. But I went through all the motions," He stopped and looked at Harry and me. "I'm sorry I lied to both of you. I've done so many things I'm sorry for," he said, shaking his head. He was crying again but he just kept talking through the tears. "I called the household staff over and asked if any of them knew Harry and Juliette, if they'd ever seen them before. Of course they had! You can't live under the same roof as someone and not know about 'em. But no one dared to cross Theodore, even after he'd already been shot and arrested. Except AnnaMae," he said. His lip trembled, "That girl was the only one who had the courage to stand up against Theodore. And I killed her for it. For loyalty to a man who, it turns out, ruined my life, too."

"I'm sorry, Chief, but can you please tell us exactly when Theodore asked you to kill AnnaMae?"

"That night, after everyone had been questioned and processed. Well, it was early morning by that time. I went to his holding cell and told him what had happened, and he told me to kill her."

"Thank you," Nathan told him. "I'm finished with my questions, your honor."

Judge Stoneridge invited Samuel Klinefeld to cross examine. By the look on Klinefeld's face, he knew he didn't have a prayer. Even so, he began by asking, "Did you take an oath when you joined the police force?"

"Of course I did," Waters answered.

"What did you promise to do?" Klinefeld asked.

"I solemnly swear that I will be loyal to Canada, and that I will uphold the Constitution of Canada and that I will, to the best of my ability, preserve the peace, prevent offenses and discharge my other duties as a police officer faithfully, impartially and according to law. So help me God." He shrugged. "I memorized it," he said with a little chuckle.

"So did you do those things?" Klinefeld answered. "Preserve the peace? Prevent offenses?"

"Of course not," Waters spat back at him. "Haven't you been listening? I'm going to prison. But the only difference between me and that...that lunatic sitting over there," he nodded his head in Theodore's direction, "is that I wish I could go back to the start and do everything differently. I'm truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for all the hurt I've caused." He turned towards us and said, "I'm sorry, Harry and Juliette, that I didn't stick up for you that night. You two had been through hell and still I maintained my insane loyalty to Theodore. And I'm sorry again, Anne, for lettin' your son be raised by Theodore. I'm sorry for helpin' Theodore to cover up Mary's murder. If I had done the right thing, he would have been in prison a long time ago. And I looked into the grief-stricken faces of AnnaMae's family at my own trial and it didn't matter how many times I told them I was sorry for taking her life, I could never undo it, I couldn't do nothin' to bring her back. I just had to let their looks of hatred and disgust sink into my soul. But at least I'm going to prison with a clean conscience." He pointed to Theodore one more time. "But that man, that man right there...he has no conscience."

* * * * *

The next chapter will be the verdict!

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