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“I make a motion to strike Priestess Margaret Weber’s testimony regarding Nicholas Tucker’s execution from the record,” Verla said.
The judge nodded. “Sustained.”
It seemed the judge was playing fair, which was a relief. Verla was making a risky move, but she’d already done the damage she intended. She’d planted a seed of doubt in the jury’s mind.
“No further questions, your honor.” Verla sat back down. Her expression gave nothing away. She’d had a few good questions, but I didn’t think it was enough to convince the jury.
Olivia called her next witness—Sheriff Baker. Oh, this would be a joy. Baker wore a smug expression as he approached the witness stand. I knew it in my gut he would say whatever he had to in order to please the priestesses. This man was like a child seeking validation.
Olivia began pacing in front of him. “Sheriff Mitchel Baker, can you state for the jury your occupation?”
He straightened in his chair, looking proud. “I am the sheriff at the Miriamic Police Department.”
“Sheriff Baker, where were you the night of May twenty-first, during the raid of The Coven’s Shield headquarters?”
“I was at Miriam College, heading the raid,” he answered.
“And it was there that you found evidence of The Coven’s Shield’s conspiracy to overthrow the Imperium Council?” Olivia asked.
“Objection!” Verla cried.
“Sustained. Attorney Sinclair, please reword the question,” the judge said.
“Sheriff Baker, can you describe the evidence the Miriamic Police Department gathered that night?” Olivia asked.
He turned toward the jury. “You have already seen evidence of secretly coded messages. We also found evidence of unauthorized intercast spellwork.”
“Please bring up evidence file number two-one-seven,” Olivia said.
A side-by-side photo came on the screen. The first photo showed a black and white image of the storage room before we’d performed the space-bending spell on it. It looked like it’d been scanned from an old newspaper. The photo beside it showed the room as it was today.
“Can you describe what we’re looking at here?” Olivia asked.
“We are looking at the same room,” Sheriff Baker explained. “The photo on the left shows the room ten years ago, and the picture on the right shows the room yesterday.”
“Can you explain to the jury what this evidence suggests?” Olivia asked.
“This photo comparison proves that a space-bending spell was performed on the storage room, of which no records of authorization exist,” Baker said.
“And how does one perform a space-bending spell?” Olivia asked.
“Space-bending spells can only be performed by a member of all five Casts. Since there were no Curse Breakers ten years ago, the evidence shows that the space-bending spell must have been performed within the last year, after Nadine Evers obtained her powers.”
Olivia looked pleased. “No further questions, your honor.”
She sat back down, and Verla stood to cross-examine Sheriff Baker. “Sheriff Baker, you testified that Nadine Evers performed an unauthorized space-bending spell. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Baker said confidently.
Verla held up a thick book. “Sheriff Baker, can you tell the jury what I’m holding here?”
He narrowed his eyes on the book, then answered, “That is the Miriamic Law Code, third edition.”
“Can you state for the jury where you have seen this book before?”
“Every officer is required to read this book and take a written test on it before being placed on the police force. As part of our ongoing training, we review the book frequently in order to uphold Miriamic law.”
Verla flipped the book open to a page she’d bookmarked. “Sheriff Baker, are you familiar with section twenty-nine, subsection three?”
