Paper Dolls (15 page)

He shook his head. “No.” His voice was weak and shaken.

“In September of last year, five ribbons matching the ribbons worn by the abductees were found under a loose floorboard in your home. Can you explain why you hid these ribbons there?”

“I don’t know…” Seth seemed dazed. “Did I put them there?”

“Please answer yes or no.”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Seth McAllister doesn’t seem to be able to give us a straight answer. I understand forgetting small everyday things. But hiding girls’ ribbons under a floorboard—that is a very deliberate act and certainly not an everyday event. And remember, these ribbons are an exact match. They are almost a century old. There is only one place from which they could have come.” He stepped back from the stand. “No more questions for now.”

Ethan was next to be brought to the stand. He had remained thin and gaunt, as though he'd barely been eating. He gazed down as he was sworn in.

Mr. Lydon strode up to Ethan. "Ethan McAllister, on the morning of June 6th of this year, you took a school trip into Barrington Tops, together with Aisha Dumaj, Cassandra Claiborne and Lacey Dougherty. Correct?"

"Yes."

The sound of his voice sent a shock wave through my body. It was Ethan, but not Ethan. This was a very different Ethan to the one I’d known on that school trip to Barrington Tops.

"Nearing the conclusion of that trip,” continued Mr. Lydon, “you led the girls off the track and into an area close to the Fiveash house, correct?"

"That was because—"

"Please just answer yes or no."

"The answer is yes."

"So, you took the girls deep into a remote part of the forests, almost directly to the Fiveash house?"

"Yes,” said Ethan through gritted teeth.

"Hmmm. Let's orient ourselves. At the point that you all discover the house, your party of four stands within meters of the entry point to the underground, correct?"

"I didn't know that at the time, but yes."

"Strike that from the record,” he said. He turned back to Ethan. "You have been instructed to answer simply yes or no."

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “Yes.”

"Now, within an hour of bringing the girls to this particular part of the forests, you and Aisha Dumaj argue. Aisha is upset and she runs off. Correct?"

"Correct."

"You are then the one to pursue Aisha. Cassandra and Lacey don't see either you or Aisha for a period of at least the next fifteen minutes. Is that correct?"

"Correct, yes."

"Now, you, Cassandra and Lacey search for a period of thirty minutes. After which time, you send the girls off the mountains, telling them you'll stay and search by yourself. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We all know what happened. Aisha Dumaj disappeared. An enormous search failed to find any trace of her. Of course, we now know that she was taken to the underground prison underneath the Fiveash house."

He turned to the jury. “Now, did Ethan McAllister have time to physically carry Aisha back to the house during the initial fifteen minutes? Perhaps not. But he did have time to knock her out—"

"Objection. Prosecution is wildly speculating,” said Miss Fletcher.

"Overruled. Investigation into what was physically possible during the time periods may be warranted,” said the judge.

"Thank you,” said Mr. Lydon. “As I was saying, Ethan did have time to apply the chloroform we now know was used to subdue the females taken into the underground. And during the hours in between Cassandra and Lacey exiting the forests and the police arriving— a period of at least two hours—there would have been ample time to move Aisha into the underground space."

The prosecutor stopped for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. "Ethan, two weeks after the disappearance of Aisha Dumaj, you flee from the police, at first concealing yourself overnight in the bedroom of Cassandra Claiborne and then taking up camp in the forest."

"Objection,” called Miss Fletcher. “There were no charges laid at this point.”

"Sustained,” said the judge.

The prosecutor nodded at the judge then turned back to Ethan. "Okay, so you flee back to Barrington Tops. Back to the area next to the Fiveash house. But first, just before you leave, you travel to the house of Cassandra Claiborne, breaking into the house through a window, and insisting you be allowed to hide there overnight. Correct?"

Ethan’s head turned slightly, and his eyes met mine. My chest tightened.

"Yes. Correct."

"You tell Cassandra of your plans, perhaps hoping she'll follow you?"

"No. I didn't want her to follow me. It was night and even I know it’s crazy to take off into those forests at night. I wanted to wait until it was light.”

Mr. Lydon sighed. “Let's take the story back a few years, back to when the first girl was captured—Molly Parkes. You were a child of nine when Molly Parkes was taken. Weeks earlier, your parents had died in an unfortunate car accident. You were sent to live with your grandfather. Your grandfather was well-acquainted with the forests was he not?”

"Yes."

"Did you know of the existence of the Fiveash house prior to the school excursion when Aisha Dumaj was abducted?"

"No."

"No? I have recorded evidence here that Cassandra Claiborne states that upon finding hessian bags in one of the underground tunnels, you knew exactly what was inside the bags. Correct?”

"I could guess. But—"

He held up a hand. "So how it is that you could guess?”

“My granddad has been talking to himself a lot over the past year. I heard him talk about an old inheritance of gold and diamonds hidden in bags in the forests. I spent many weekends looking but didn’t find anything. Granddad had been sick for a long time and I thought if I could find the inheritance, I’d have enough money to pay for someone to care for him, without him having to be taken away to—“

“Nice story,” Mr. Lydon cut in. “But it hardly sounds believable. Your grandfather mentioned the inheritance but not the house? We’ve already heard from his testimony that he knew about the Fiveash house.” He shook his head at the jury. “We’ll continue. Upon finding the hessian bags, you then proceeded to cut them open and fill your pockets with the diamonds and gold that were inside. Yes?"

Ethan dropped his head. "Yes."

"And whilst Cassandra returned to her fellow abductees, you deserted the girls and went to find your own way out of the underground. Am I correct?"

"I didn't desert them."

"Did you return to them?"

"No."

He turned to face the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have just heard from Ethan himself that he knew of an inheritance at the Fiveash estate and upon finding it, at a time when the circumstances for the abductees was at its most dire, he filled his pockets with the spoils. He then abandoned his supposed girlfriend—Aisha—and in fact all of the girls.” His voice rose to a harsh, accusatory tone.

“Objection,” called Miss Fletcher. “That’s conjecture.”

“Overruled,” said the judge. “Although Mr. Lydon did color his language somewhat, he was stating a version of events that is consistent with what we know thus far.”

"Thank you your honor. That is all. No further questions at this time,” said Mr. Lydon.

I jumped when my name was called next. I knew it was coming, but I still wasn’t prepared. My back was stiff as I left my seat.

I gazed down at my seat in the witness box as I was sworn in. I could feel Ethan’s eyes on me and the last thing I wanted to see those eyes.

“Cassandra,” said Mr. Lydon, “you were one of the captives held in the underground, and you were the one to escape and bring rescue to the others. Correct?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind telling us how you managed to escape?"

"I found a passage—a tunnel—one that went all the way through the mountains."

"And how did you find this tunnel?"

"After the... after the earth disturbance, the statue that was fixed to the cave wall shattered. Behind the statue was the tunnel."

"At this time, things were at their most dire. Could you please educate the jury on the exact circumstances...?”

"We... there was no food left. Nothing. We were starving."

"At that point, a decision was made. Can you tell us what that decision was?"

"The decision was made that was all should drug ourselves and slip into an endless sleep. To die.”

There was a collective gasp from the jury.

"Men and women of the jury, let me repeat what Cassandra has just told us. The situation was so desperate and dire that these children—yes mere children, including a five-year-old— had to make the decision to end their lives. Cassandra, tell us how you managed to find the escape tunnel?"

"We heard, felt... wind blowing in the underground. We wanted to know where it was coming from. There hadn't been wind like that in the underground before."

"And what did you do then?"

"Ethan and I went to find the source of the wind. The others stayed behind and waited."

"And you found the source of the wind?”

"Yes. The entrance to the tunnel that I just spoke of. There were... hessian sacks inside the opening."

"Can I stop you there to ask what was said at this point between you and Ethan?"

"Ethan saw the bags and said, ‘The inheritance’.”

"Men and women of the jury,” said Mr. Lydon, “there is no mistake that Ethan McAllister knew about the contents of these sacks—something he couldn't possibly have known unless he knew about the underground—"

"Objection,” said Miss. Fletcher. “Mr. Lydon is making wild connections."

"Sustained. Barrister please contain yourself to the facts at hand,” said the judge.

“Yes your honor. Cassandra, what did Ethan do when he saw these sacks?”

I bowed my head. "He cut the sacks open. Diamonds and gold spilled everywhere. Ethan... filled his pockets."

"With the diamonds and gold?"

"Yes."

"Then what happened?"

"He said he was going to try to blast open the wall—there was a metal wall at the other end of the underground. He asked me to come with him."

“Did you go?”

“No. I was angry and confused.”

“Did you ask Ethan to explain himself?”

“Yes, but he said he didn’t have time for that.”

"Where did you go after Ethan left you?"

"I returned to the bed chamber."

"To the other girls?"

"Yes."

"Tell us what happened next?"

"The girls... had all taken the tea. They were all sleeping. I... went to fetch myself the last cup of tea."

"And then?"

"I thought of the wind, that it must have come from the outside world. I had a thought to give escape one last try."

"And what did you do?"

"I put on the wetsuit from my backpack—the one I’d brought in on the first day I’d come to the underground—and whatever else warm clothing I could find. And I went back to the tunnel."

"Where the gold and diamonds were?"

"Yes."

"Did you see Ethan again?"

"No."

"Men and women of the jury, I have some slides to show you."

A screen overhead flickered on.

"This first image is an artist's impression of the tunnel Cassandra crawled through,” said Mr. Lydon. “As you can see, for many kilometers, it is barely wide enough for a human being to pass through. You can also see the great distance she managed to travel.”

The next slide was of me after I’d emerged into the forest, standing in the river. The jury gasped.

“As you can see from the myriad injuries she sustained, it is miraculous that she managed to pass through that tunnel at all.” Mr. Lydon coughed and cleared his throat.

He next showed police photos of the McAllister house and the ribbons found underneath the floorboards.

Last, he showed a series of images of the abductees after rescue and photos of the underground itself.

The jury stared with disturbed expressions at the screen.

Ethan’s grandfather began shaking in his seat, gazing at the pictures and then turning his face away, his body wracked with silent sobs. He steadied himself, gripping the bench and breathing erratically. Ethan jumped to his feet and went to his grandfather.

Ethan was held back by two guards. “No!” he yelled. “He’s sick. Can’t you see that?”

Seth was escorted from the courtroom by the same guards that had brought him in.

The judge called for order.

Ethan refused to sit. “He shouldn’t have even been here!” he yelled at the judge.

She lowered her glasses and reminded him that he would be in contempt of court if he said another thing.

Ethan was called to the stand again—this time by his defense, Miss Fletcher.

“Ethan, I know this case has been very hard on you,” she said. “Your grandfather has been called to the stand and there has been all kinds of speculation presented by the prosecution. Now, we’ve heard that you were just a child of nine when Molly Parkes was abducted and it is ludicrous for anyone to believe that you had a part in—“

“It was me.” Ethan spoke with loud determination, his dark eyes flashing. “Henry Fiveash paid me to be his helper. I knew about the underground. I helped with all the abductions. I hid the ribbons. My grandfather had nothing to do with any of it.”

“Ethan—you’re upset,” the defense lawyer cried. “Retract your statement!”

He stared out with glazed eyes. “I can’t do that... because I’m guilty.”

A figure stood still amongst the milling people. She wore a dark green scarf, her head bowed.

Molly
.