"Alette Peters was more Italian, and she had an Italian accent.. . and she seemed younger than the defendant."

"That's exactly right, Mr. Hill. The person you saw in San Francisco was an alter of Ashley Patterson. She was born in Rome, she was eight years younger-"

Brennan was on his feet, furious. "Objection."

David turned to Judge Williams. "Your Honor, I was-" "Will counsel approach the bench, please?" David and Brennan walked over to Judge Williams. "I don't want to have to tell you this again, Mr. Singer. The defense will have its chance when the prosecution rests. Until then, stop pleading your case."

Bernice Jenkins was on the stand.

"Would you tell us your occupation, Miss Jenkins?"

"I'm a waitress."

"And where do you work?"

"The cafe at the De Young Museum."

"What was your relationship with Richard Melton?"

"We were good friends."

"Could you elaborate on that?"

"Well, at one time we had a romantic relationship and then things kind of cooled off. Those things happen."

"I'm sure they do. And then what?"

"Then we became like brother and sister. I mean, I-I told him about all my problems, and he told me about all his problems."

"Did he ever discuss the defendant with you?"

"Well, yeah, but she called herself by a different name."

"And that name was?"

"Alette Peters."

"But he knew her name was really Ashley Patterson?"

"No. He thought her name was Alette Peters."

"You mean she deceived him?"

David sprang to his feet, furious. "Objection."

"Sustained. You will stop leading the witness, Mr. Brennan."

"Sorry, Your Honor." Brennan turned back to the witness box. "He spoke to you about this Alette Peters, but did you ever see the two of them together?"

"Yes, I did. He brought her into the restaurant one day and introduced us."

"And you're speaking of the defendant, Ashley Patterson?"

"Yeah. Only she called herself Alette Peters."

Gary King was on the stand.

Brennan asked, "You were Richard Melton's roommate?"

"Yes."

"Were you also friends? Did you go out with him socially?"

"Sure. We double-dated a lot together."

"Was Mr. Melton interested in any young lady in particular?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know her name?"

"She called herself Alette Peters."

"Do you see her in this courtroom?"

"Yeah. She's sitting over there."

"For the record, you are pointing to the defendant, Ashley Patterson?"

"Right."

"When you came home on the night of the murder, you found Richard Melton's body in the apartment?"

"I sure did."

"What was the condition of the body?"

"b.l.o.o.d.y."

"The body had been castrated?"

A shudder. "Yeah. Man, it was awful."

Brennan looked over at the jury for their reaction. It was exactly what he hoped for.

"What did you do next, Mr. King?"

"I called the police."

"Thank you." Brennan turned to David. "Your witness."

David rose and walked over to Gary King.

"Tell us about Richard Melton. What kind of man was he?"

"He was great."

"Was he argumentative? Did he like to get into fights?"

"Richard? No. Just the opposite. He was very quiet, laid back."

"But he liked to be around women who were tough and kind of physical?"

Gary was looking at him strangely. "Not at all. Richard liked nice, quiet women."

"Did he and Alette have a lot of fights? Did she yell at him a lot?"

Gary was puzzled. "You've got it all wrong. They never yelled at each other. They were great together."

"Did you ever see anything that would lead you to believe that Alette Peters would do anything to harm-?"

"Objection. He's leading the witness."

"Sustained."

"No more questions," David said.

When David sat down, he said to Ashley, "Don't worry. They're building up our case for us."

He sounded more confident than he felt.

David and Sandra were having dinner at San Fresco, the restaurant in the Wyndham Hotel, when the maitre d' came up to David and said, "There's an urgent telephone call for you, Mr. Singer."

"Thank you." David said to Sandra, "I'll be right back."

He followed the maitre d' to a telephone. "This is David Singer."

"David-Jesse. Go up to your room and call me back. The G.o.dd.a.m.n roof is falling in!"

Chapter Seventeen.

JESSE-?"

"David, I know I'm not supposed to interfere, but I think you should ask for a mistrial."

"What's happened?"

"Have you been on the Internet in the past few days?"

"No. I've been a little busy."

"Well, the trial is all over the d.a.m.ned Internet. That's all they're talking about in the chat rooms."

"That figures," David said. "But what's the-?"

"It's all negative, David. They're saying that Ashley is guilty and that she should be executed. And they're saying it in very colorful ways. You can't believe how vicious they are."

David, suddenly realizing, said, "Oh, my G.o.d! If any of the jurors are on the Internet-"

"The odds are pretty good that some of them are, and they'll be influenced. I would ask for a mistrial, or at the very least, to have the jurors sequestered."

"Thanks, Jesse. Will do." David replaced the receiver. When he returned to the restaurant where Sandra was waiting, she asked, "Bad?"

"Bad."

Before court convened the following morning, David asked to see Judge Williams. He was ushered into her chambers, along with Mickey Brennan.

"You asked to see me?"

"Yes, Your Honor. I learned last night that this trial is the number one subject on the Internet. It's what all the chat rooms are discussing, and they've already convicted the defendant. It's very prejudicial. And since I'm sure that some of the jurors have computers with on-line access, or talk to friends who have online access, it could seriously damage the defense. Therefore, I'm making a motion for a mistrial."

She was thoughtful for a moment. "Motion denied."

David sat there, fighting to control himself. "Then I make a motion to immediately sequester the jury so that-"

"Mr. Singer, every day the press is at this courtroom in full force. This trial is the number one topic on television, on radio and in the newspapers all over the world. I warned you that this was going to turn into a circus, and you wouldn't listen." She leaned forward. "Well, it's your your circus. If you wanted the jury sequestered, you should have made that motion before the trial. And I probably would not have granted it. Is there anything else?" circus. If you wanted the jury sequestered, you should have made that motion before the trial. And I probably would not have granted it. Is there anything else?"

David sat there, his stomach churning. "No, Your Honor."

"Then let's get into the courtroom."

Mickey Brennan was questioning Sheriff Dowling.

"Deputy Sam Blake called to tell you that he was going to spend the night at the defendant's apartment in order to protect her? She told him that someone was threatening her life?"

"That is correct."

"When did you hear from Deputy Blake again?"

"I-I didn't. I got a call in the morning that his-his body had been found in the alley in back of Miss Patterson's apartment building."

"And of course you went there immediately?"