"All right, Officer Edmondson, take this group to the courthouse. I'll get the two suspects," Officer MacRae called from the back of the building.

Skweeker, who was standing beside me, bristled. I shot her a look and followed behind Edmondson. Twiggy, Cheater, and Mush all tried to walk beside me at once, trying to talk with me about my impending testimony, but McCain shoved them all aside. "You listen here, McCartney," she whispered, "you let one thing fly about my association with Marconi and you've had it."

Not in the mood for playing games, I snapped, "No promises, McCain. I'm not going to lie under oath, so deal with it."

"It won't be lyin', it'll just be leavin' out details," she argued.

"Listen, I'm going to do the best I can, all right? I'm going to try my hardest to get Marconi out of this mess," I said, falling behind her to walk beside Twiggy and Cheater.

"Yeah, you'd better," I heard her mutter.

Cheater rested his hand on my shoulder. "You'll do fine, Monk."

"Thank you for the thought, Cheater, but I'm starting to doubt myself," I whispered, looking down at the ground.

Twiggy, who had been silent until then, said, "Do you think Cowboy'll buckle under the pressure? I mean, after you tell the truth and all."

"I don't really know," I sighed. "He's put up with it for this long."

We were silent all the way to the courthouse. Edmondson led us inside and showed us to our seats, which were on the front row right behind the table at which Marconi's attorney sat. "Oh, just great," McCain muttered. "Front row seats to the event of the century."

The four of us ignored her as we took our respective seats: me on the end of the row by the aisle, Twiggy to my right, Mush to her right, Cheater to his right, and McCain in the fifth seat. The rest of the seats in the courtroom were already taken, and it was hot in there. Very hot. My palms began sweating and I attempted to dry them on my pants; no luck. Oddly enough, I hadn't been very nervous at all until that moment. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. When I opened them again, Marconi was seated in front of us and Jack was seated with his attorney on the other side of the courtroom. Judge Barlow took his seat and called the court to order.

Marconi's attorney stood, resting his fingertips on the table before him. "Your Honor, allow me to call to the stand our first witness - "

I thought I was going to die.

" - Miss Margaret McCartney."

My heart stopped. The entire courtroom turned to stare at me. I couldn't breathe. After a futile attempt at calming myself, I stood shakily. Officer MacRae took me by the arm and led me to the witness stand. It was then that the bailiff, a man by the name of Wagner, I think, swore me in.

Holding up a Bible, he instructed, "Place your left hand on the Good Book."

I did so.

"Now, raise your right hand."

I followed orders shakily.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

I stole a glance at McCain. She was giving me a murderous glare. Averting my eyes from her to the bailiff, I answered, "I do solemnly swear."

He nodded, taking the Bible and holding it to his chest. "Very well, Miss McCartney. Be seated. Questioning will begin."

The next hour or so was a blur to me. I answered question after question from both Jack and Marconi's attorneys, and to this day I remember not one. I breathed a sigh of relief and whispered a thankful prayer when they finally let me leave the witness stand. As I took my seat, Twiggy looked over and smiled at me. Cheater reached over and patted my shoulder. Mush, however, had leaned up and was whispering something into Marconi's attorney's ear. When he leaned back into his chair, the attorney stood.

"Your Honor, I would like to call to the stand Mr. Samuel Meyers."

My eyes widened as I looked to Mush. "I think I may be able to help you," he whispered as he passed, allowing MacRae to lead him to the witness stand.

Bailiff Wagner swore Mush in, and he sat down. Marconi's attorney spoke. "Your Honor, Mr. Meyers has asked that he be able to speak freely before we begin questioning."

Judge Barlow nodded his head.

Taking a deep breath, Mush began. "I didn't know that Jack was involved in Dirk Galloway's murder until today. I should have put the peices together. Jack had been leaving to meet some guy he called Renzo down at Central Park every day. That alone shouldn't have made me suspicious, 'cause all of us have friends all over the city. What should have made me open my eyes was the fact that right after it happened, Jack started gettin' real violent.

"The morning after Dirk was killed, Jack started threatening - "

"All right! I admit it!"

All heads turned toward Jack Kelly, who stood, handcuffed, a distraught look on his face. "It was me, it wasn't Marconi!" He dropped his head. "Renzo hired me on to kill the Galloway kid and frame Marconi for it."

The entire courtroom was deathly silent. Finally, Judge Barlow, flustered, tapped the podium with his gavel. "Court is adjourned for one hour while the jury reaches a verdict."