Note 1: Yay! We're back in business! :-))))) Now, here they come: the prosecution witnesses.

Note 2: You know, I really missed writing for you guys. It's not the same without the reviews.

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The prosecutor gives Cole a suspicious look and says:

"The prosecution calls Chalky the Furrier."

A stocky, bald troll, with a curly dark beard and thick eyebrows stands up and goes take the witness chair. After the usual questions about his name and occupation, the prosecutor asks him:

"Have you ever seen the defendant before?"

"Yes," says Chalky, eyeing Sarsour, "at the Market Square. Lots of times."

"Near the granary?"

"Yes."

"Was he selling anything at the Market Square?" the prosecutor asks, glancing at Cole.

"No," says Chalky.

"Was he buying anything?" -- the prosecutor is slowly pacing back and forth before the witness chair.

"No."

"Trading, bargaining, signing a contract?" -- once again he glances in Cole's direction.

"No."

Cole shifts position, annoyed, but says nothing. The prosecutor is clearly daring him to raise another objection. Actually, he could raise one: strictly speaking, the prosecutor should be asking if Chalky has seen Sarsour do those things. Still, Cole refrains from saying anything and saves his comments for the re-examination, afraid that he'll lose any sympathy his opening speech may have earned him from the jurors if he keeps interrupting the prosecutor, who -- unlike him -- is one of them.

The prosecutor casts a defiant look at Cole and asks his final question:

"What was the defendant doing at the Market Square?"

"Just wandering around and asking questions," states Chalky.

"No further questions," says the prosecutor, going back to his seat.

Cole stands up and walks towards the witness; even though he refuses to make eye contact with the prosecutor, he can almost feel his stare.

"So," he says to Chalky, "you're a furrier."

"Objection!" says the prosecutor. "The question has been already asked and answered."

Cole turns on his heels, irritated, and is all the more surprised when the judge says, frowning at him:

"Sustained. You should pay more attention to the inquiry, counsel."

"It wasn't a qu..." Cole starts, but then he thinks again. The prosecutor is trying to make him lose his composure; if he does, Sarsour will be doomed. So he takes a deep breath and turns to the judge again: he has to keep in mind that this court is nothing like a human court. They're not here to prove anything beyond reasonable doubt; in fact, reason has little to do with it. Each attorney will tell his story the best he can, and do his best to make sure the other can't tell his. Each one will try to charm the jurors, while sabotaging the other's attempts to do the same.

With great effort he manages to keep a straight face as he says:

"I'm sorry, Your Honor. It won't happen again."

Cole turns back to Chalky, purposefully ignoring the amused look in his eyes, and says:

"I've heard you're one of the best in your business." -- this is a blatant lie, but hopefully no one will know -- "You must have lots of customers."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Chalky says, proudly.

"Do you have an assistant? Anyone that helps you with the customers?"

"No."

"So, you deal with all your customers personally?" says Cole, looking very impressed.

"Yes, I do. All of them," Chalky states.

"I see," says Cole. "It seems like a handful to me, even for a talented furrier like you. You don't have much time to yourself while you're at the Market Square, do you?"

"Not much," says Chalky, shrugging. "I work hard."

"So," Cole proceeds, still looking as nonchalant as possible, "when you said that the defendant did nothing at the Market Square but wander around and ask questions, I assume you were referring only to what you could see during your scarce free time. Am I correct?"

"Hum!" grunted the troll, giving him a dirty look. "Yes."

"Thanks, Chalky," says Cole, politely. "No further questions, Your Honor," he adds, addressing the judge.

Fortunately to Cole, the next witness isn't a troll: Garak the Redhead is a muscular ogre with arms as thick as a strong man's thigh. His testimony is supposed to reinforce Chalky's, but he doesn't seem to care much for the results of this trial, so if on one hand he allows the prosecutor to conduct him the same way he did with Chalky, on the other hand he doesn't make any effort to fight Cole as this one repeats his own routine, thus making sure those two testimonies don't contradict Sarsour's claim that he had a perfectly good reason to be at the Market Square.

After Garak is dismissed, the prosecution calls Moraine. Having being summoned as a prosecution witness, he couldn't also be summoned by the defense, so Cole could only summon Cliff as a defense witness, and will have to settle with the cross examination for Moraine. He watches as the prosecutor inquires Moraine about the safety measures used at the granary, showing the jury that the thieves wouldn't have been able to enter without the help of a spy. Cole raises no objections, as the information Moraine is giving fits in perfectly in his own strategy, only checking the notes he took while inside the granary every now and then, to make sure Moraine's testimony is accurate.

When the prosecutor tells the judge he's done with the witness, Cole stands up and walks towards the witness chair. He skips the part about the granary functioning and leaves his questions about this matter to Cliff. There's no point in letting the prosecution know the defense's strategy now; in fact, the later the prosecutor learns about his intentions, the better for him.

Cole stops in front of Cliff, puts his hands in his pockets and asks:

"Cliff, were you on duty when the defendant was arrested?"

"No," says Cliff, eyeing him suspiciously. Cole knows that, after Chalky's testimony, it'll be much more difficult to lure another witness. Then again, if it was an easy job anyone could do it, he thinks, mentally shrugging.

"So, you didn't see him enter the granary that day, did you?"

"Objection, the question is leading!" says the prosecutor.

"Sustained," says the juror.

Cole cleans his throat and tries again:

"Did you see the defendant at the granary on the day after the robbery?"

"No," says Cliff.

"What about the days before?" Cole asks. "Had you ever seen the defendant at the granary before the robbery?"

"Yes," says Cliff, shifting position on his seat. With the corner of his eye, Cole can see the prosecutor lean forward and frown at him, and he wonders how long he'll be able to proceed before the troll finds a pretext to object again.

"What was he doing there?" he asks.

"Talking to Flint."

"Flint," says Cole. "Right. Does he work at the granary, too?"

"Yup," grunts Cliff; he's visibly uneasy with the human's odd course of questions.

"What did they talk about?"

"The demon..."

"Excuse me, who?" -- Cole raises his eyebrows, looking as innocent as possible.

"The defendant," Cliff spits, "he kept babbling about Flint owning him money. Of course, Flint never..."

"That's okay," says Cole, holding up his hand. "I'll take Flint's word for that."

Cliff stares at him, mildly surprised, as Cole proceeds:

"Let me see if I got it right: is it correct to say that the defendant visited the granary at least five times on the two weeks before the robbery, looking for Flint?"

"Yes," says Cliff.

"And is it correct to say that at all those times he asked for the money he alleged Flint owned him?"

"Yes."

"And is it correct to say that Flint always said he owned the defendant nothing?"

"Yes."

"So, is it correct to say that the defendant always left empty handed?"

"Yes."

Cole can almost feel the prosecutor stare. The troll knows Cole is up to something, and he obviously intends to stop him the minute he tries it. Knowing he won't have another chance, Cole asks, as nonchalantly as possible:

"So is it correct to say that it's likely that the defendant showed up at the granary in the morning after the robbery just to ask for his money again?"

Cole has just pronounced the last word and the prosecutor is already on his feet, exclaiming:

"Objection, counsel's question calls for a conclusion!"

"Sustained," grunts the judge, frowning.

Cole gives the judge his most innocent look and says, contritely:

"I'm sorry, Your Honor. No further questions."

As he goes back to his seat, he's smiling innerly. He couldn't care less about the witness' conclusions, but he does care a lot about the jurors' conclusions, and he knows that he has given them something to think about: they can still believe that Sarsour was at the granary to cover his tracks as the prosecutor claims he was, if they choose so; but if they choose to believe the contrary, he has given them a reasonable explanation for Sarsour's presence at the granary.

The last prosecution witness is Rocky, one of the guards that arrested Sarsour at the granary. He's as intimidating as Cole hoped he'd be, with big haired arms covered with scars and a long dark mane that goes down to his broad shoulders.

Cole watches with great attention as the prosecutor inquiries Rocky about the circumstances of Sarsour's arrest.

"We intended to go after him after we had finished examining the scene of the crime," says Rocky, "but when we arrived at the granary he was already there."

"What did you do then?" asks the prosecutor.

"We tried to arrest him."

"And what did the defendant do?"

"He tried to run away," snorts Rocky.

"Did he ask you what you wanted with him?"

"No," says Rocky, "the minute he saw us walking towards him he started to run."

"The kind of behavior one would expect of someone with a heavy conscience, isn't it?" says the prosecutor.

Before Rocky can answer that, Cole stands up, exclaiming:

"Objection! This is speculation, Your Honor."

The judge seems to hesitate, but he finally mutters, unwillingly:

"Sustained."

"I'm sorry, Your Honor," says the prosecutor, keeping a straight face as he repeats Cole's words. "No further questions."

As he turns around to go back to his seat, he gives Cole a look that says "Two can play this game". Cole refuses to respond to the taunting as he prepares to start the re-examination of the witness. It doesn't really matter if his objection was sustained: the damage has already been caused: you can't erase an idea from the mind of a juror just by saying "objection".

"Oh well," he sighs innerly, "it's time for some damage control."

"Rocky," he says, "how many guards were at the granary when the defendant was arrested?"

"There were three of us," says Rocky.

"And I assume that the other two guards match you in strength?"

"I guess," says Rocky, shrugging.

"I see," says Cole. "Rocky, would you mind standing up?"

Rocky looks at Cole, surprised, them gives the judge an interrogative look. This one motions him to oblige, while saying to Cole:

"Counsel, this better be relevant."

"It is, Your Honor," says Cole, before walking towards Rocky. Cole is a tall man, but as he stands before the twelve-foot-high troll he looks like a child before a grown up. Looking up at Rocky, he says:

"I'd say you could break me in two at any given moment, without shedding one single drop of sweat. Am I right?"

"You'll bet," says Rocky with a sneer, and Phoebe tenses up as he measures Cole with his eyes, as if actually considering the idea. "Can I sit now?" he asks, with a hint of impatience.

"Sure," says Cole, politely. "I was just wondering... what exactly did you say when you saw the defendant at the granary?"

As Rocky hesitates, Cole takes a cardboard from his pocket.

"Would it've been..." -- he reads it out loud -- "There he is! Catch him!'?"

"Might've been. I don't remember the exact words."

"Right," says Cole. "Still, even if you don't remember your exact words, can you state for the records that it was something like that?"

"Objection!" says the prosecutor. "'Something like that' is totally subjective."

Cole raises his eyebrows, surprised that not only a troll knows the word "subjective", but also he can use it in the right context.

"Sustained," says the judge.

"Let me rephrase my question," says Cole, turning back to Rocky. "When you saw the defendant, did you or did you not point at him and tell your fellow guards to capture him?"

"I did," says Rocky.

"And then, did the three of you run towards him?"

"Hum, yes."

"And when the defendant," says Cole, poiting at Sarsour, "found himself surrounded by three very enraged guys with twice his size, he panicked and tried to run away." -- Cole bites his lower lip in mocking puzzlement -- "Go figure why..."

"Objection!" says the prosecutor, standing up. "The defendant's attorney will have plenty of time to express his thoughts during his closure speech."

"Sustained," says the judge, frowning at Cole. "Counsel, I'm getting tired of your attitude." He thinks a while and proceeds, matter-of-factly: "Also, I'm hungry. There'll be a one hour recess, and when we come back to this court I expect to see a more appropriate behavior."

Cole nods respectfully, but as the judge turns around to leave the courtroom, he gives the prosecutor a look that says 'current score: 2-1'."

When he joins Sarsour this one asks, anxiously:

"So, how are we doing?"

"Well," says Cole, "so far I have showed the jurors that the prosecution's allegations may be a possible explanation, but they're not the only possible explanation. After the recess, I'll have to convince them that my explanation is better than the prosecutor's is. You know how it works, Sarsour: the prosecution doesn't have to prove you guilty beyond reasonable doubt, they just have to be convincing enough."

"And do you think you can be more convincing than he?"

"Well," says Cole with a sly smile, "you know I used to have a reputation of being able to charm almost anyone into doing anything... I like to think that I haven't lost it. Come on," -- he says, patting Sarsour's back -- "you're allowed to join us outside during the recess, aren't you? 'Cause Piper has brought enough food to feed the entire village, we could use some help eating it."

"Has she brought lemon ice cream?" Sarsour asks.

"I'm afraid she didn't," says Cole, chuckling.

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In the vicinity of the courtroom there is a park where most of the trolls watching the trial gather to kill time during the recess. Most of them are sitting on the ground in fours and fives, talking and having a snack. Not surprisingly, Piper takes a red/white checker cloth from the thermal bag she brought and spreads it on the ground. The food she has brought may not be enough for the entire village, but it sure is more than enough for the whole family, plus Sarsour, Tadrien, his sister Delilia -- the one Cole and Leo met while visiting Sarsour in prison -- and another male elf that he introduces as their cousin Rolad.

Phoebe has taken a blanket from the baby bag and spread it next to the cloth. That's where Ben is lying now, having been fed with smashed banana. He's laughing heartily at the faces Delilia is making at him: even though she only speaks elfish, she has no trouble letting Phoebe know she finds her baby adorable, and that's all it takes to win the proud mom's heart.

Taking an apple, Rolad shows it to Tadrien and asks:

"Mani naa sina?"

Tadrien looks at him with some confusion and says:

"En caryave."

Rolad gives him an impatient look and Tadrien finally gets it.

"A!" he says, rolling his eyes. "Sina naa..." -- he turns to Paige -- "Excuse me, how do you call this fruit?"

"Apple," she says.

"Abble?" says Rolad.

"No," she says, giggling. "Apple."

"Apple," he pronounces, mindfully.

"Apple," Paige repeats, smiling.

"Caryave," says Rolad, smiling back at her. Then, pointing at the orange she's peeling: "Ar' mani naa sina?"

"Orange," she says, getting the idea.

"Kuluma," he translates.

As they happily play this game, Piper leans towards Phoebe and whispers, smirking:

"Should we worry?"

"I think the question is, are we entitled to say anything, considering the ones we married?" says Phoebe, smiling and pointing her chin towards Cole and Leo. As the two sisters giggle, Leo raises his eyes from his sandwich and gives them a curious look. He considers asking them what the joke was, but then he thinks again, waves his head and turns his attention back to Cole, who's talking to Tadrien and Sarsour about the trial.

"So," Sarsour is saying, "you're not gonna call me to testify?"

"I'd rather not," says Cole. "First, if I inquired you, the prosecutor would have the right to re-examine you, and I'm afraid he'd slice you and dice you. Second, you may be half elf, but you've got the looks from your father's side of the family. The least we remind the jury of your demonic nature, the best. That's why I want them to take a good look at Tadrien here," -- he points Tadrien and the elf nods in silence -- "I want to make sure they don't forget you're half elf."

"It makes sense," says Sarsour, struggling with a soda can.

"You'll bet," says Cole, taking the can from his hand, opening it and giving it back to him. "Neither the defense nor the prosecution can actually prove anything here, which means the one with the best story will win."

"Is your story good?" Tadrien asks, gravely.

"It is," says Cole, confidently.

"You know," says Leo, "I thought you'd spend a lot more time with that Rocky fellow. I mean, considering..."

"... the strategy I've told you about at home, while we weren't surrounded by trolls?" says Cole, interrupting him and giving him a warning look.

Leo blushes and gives him an apologizing look as he realizes that he almost gave Cole's strategy away, but Cole dismisses him with a gesture before proceeding:

"I have summoned another guard as a defense witness," says Cole. "So, I saved my questions to him. That," he says, pointing at the courtroom, "is not just about evidences and testimonies; it has a more to do with dramatic sense than with anything else."

He nimbly peels an orange, letting the peel fall on his lap in just one piece, and proceeds:

"I didn't want to give my strategy away that soon; I'll present my ideas in a progression, until the grand finale. Hopefully, the prosecutor won't see what I'm doing until it's too late. And then", he adds with a smile, "he'll never know what hit him."