“Confront?”
“Yes, if someone says something about you, you have the right to say whether that is true or not,” she told him gently.
He frowned and said, “Oh. Some people get mad when you tell them they’re wrong.”
“I know, Danny, but you won’t have to talk to the witnesses. Your attorney will talk to them for you.”
“Good. I don’t like yelling.”
“The judge will also tell you that you have a right to a speedy jury trial. You have the right not to incriminate yourself.”
“I don’t know some big words.”
“Like incriminate?”
“Yes. That’s a big word.”
“Incriminate means that you don’t have to tell your side of the story if it will show that you are guilty.”
“So, I can lie silently.”
She smiled as his naiveté. “Sort of, Danny.”
“But I’m not lying.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about.” Kate smiled to reassure him. “Danny, I need to ask you a question. Did you hit Mrs. LePlante?”
Danny ducked his head and refused to meet her eyes. “She was a mean lady.”
“I know. But did you hit her?”
Danny’s face contorted and he covered his face. Kate’s stomach clenched. She put her arm around his shoulders.
“You can tell me, Danny. Did you hit her?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean to. She was yelling at me because there was water all over her floor, and she was expecting her daughter for dinner. I didn’t do anything wrong when I fixed the sink. She shoved something too hard against the pipes and it made a leak. She tried to blame it on me. She told me that she was going to tell Mr. Mitchell that I was good for nothing. I tried to leave, but she wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t get out of my way. So, I hit her and I ran when she fell.”
“Was there anyone else in the apartment?”
“No, she was just coming home from the store, and she was running late, she said. She called me on the phone and made me come to her apartment. Her face was red because she was really mad.”
“You’re absolutely sure no one else was there?”
“Not that I saw. I was trying to get away from her.”
“Were you ever in her bathroom?”
“No. I didn’t like working there very much, so I tried to do her jobs fast.”
“So, she never had any bathroom problems and you were never in there?”
“No. Never. Can I go home now?”
“No, not yet, Danny. I’m going to call a friend of mine to help you. His name is Stephen Castle and he’s a very good defense attorney.”
“Thank you, Miss Kate. You won’t forget to bring something from my place, will you?”
“I won’t forget, Danny. I’ll come back to see you soon.”