Chapter 3

Tiffany’s face flushed red.

She clearly hadn’t expected me to challenge her so directly.

“How… how can you say that?” she stammered, her voice thick with anger. “I almost died!”

“But you didn’t,” I said calmly, watching her reaction. “And you’re able to stand here and testify in perfect detail.”

“Because I was lucky!” Tiffany was almost screaming now. “If my neighbor hadn’t heard…”

She paused. A flicker of cunning in her eyes.

“Actually… this wasn’t the first time.”

The entire room refocused on her.

“Ever since they moved in, he’s been following me. At the community gym, at the pool, even outside my house.” She took a deep breath, making herself look weaker again. “The way he looked at me… it was predatory. Like… like he wanted to tear me to pieces.”

Angry whispers erupted from the jury box.

“A total creep!”

“A kid like that is a danger to everyone!”

“He should be locked up!”

I remained expressionless.

“Cooper doesn’t go to the community gym.”

"You're lying!" Tiffany shrieked. "I have witnesses! People saw him!"

“Name one.”

Her mouth opened, but no names came out.

Just then, Brenda shot up from her seat in the gallery.

“That’s enough!” her voice was a piercing shriek. “Harper, you will not humiliate my daughter like this!”

“You want proof?” Brenda held up her phone. “This is a recording from that night. I heard a noise and hit record.”

Brenda connected her phone to the court’s audio system.

A muffled sound filled the speakers.

Heavy breathing.

The thud of an impact.

Some other unidentifiable noises.

And then, Tiffany’s faint whimper: “No… please, stop…”

The room fell silent.

The recording was more powerful than any testimony.

The jury’s faces grew darker with anger and pity.

Gavin nodded, satisfied. “That is a live recording of that night. Ladies and gentlemen, what do you hear? Violence, pain, and the cries of an innocent girl begging for her life.”

I listened closely to the recording, catching every detail.

The heavy breathing…

The thuds…

The background noise…

Wait.

“Can you play that again?” I asked suddenly.

“Why?” Gavin asked, on guard.

“I want to listen to the details.”

The recording played again.

This time, I focused on the background sounds.

The breathing… the impacts… Tiffany’s whimpers…

And… a bird call.

A nocturnal bird.

“Interesting,” I said under my breath.

“What’s interesting?” the judge asked.

I stood and addressed the jury. “Everyone, please pay attention to the bird call in the background of that recording. That is the call of a night thrush, a bird that is only active late at night.”

I turned to Tiffany. “But your testimony placed the attack around six p.m. In broad daylight. That bird is nocturnal. It doesn't sing until well after midnight.”

Tiffany’s face paled. “I… I might have gotten the time wrong…”

“Did you get the time wrong, or was this recording not made at that time at all?”

Gavin jumped to his feet. “Objection! The defendant is making baseless speculations!”

But that small point of doubt did little to calm the mob.

The live-stream comments were still flying.

“She could have been wrong about the time, but the recording is real!”

“Harper’s just making excuses!”

“This kind of legal trick is disgusting!”

I glanced at the stock alert on my phone.

Down another two percent.

Gavin clearly realized he needed something stronger to shut me down.

He walked to his table and picked up a clear evidence bag.

Inside was a lock of golden fur.

“Your Honor, I would like to submit the final nail in the coffin.”

He held the bag high for everyone to see.

“We found this on Miss Tiffany’s clothes.” He held the bag higher. “Golden hair. And semen. We ran the DNA. It’s a perfect match to your son, Cooper!”

The room erupted.

Gavin’s voice boomed, turning to the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, that is the nail in the coffin!”