He whirled to his advocate, determined to save his own life.
“How do I prove he dropped her?”
“We ask questions about what happened,” Pouya said. “But I warn you … you must get the words directly from the mouths of the witnesses. I will not sully my own reputation to lie for you.”
Doubt. He needed to cast doubt. What doubt could he create that would make Shahla's claim he had conspired with the Halifians sound preposterous?
“We will hear testimony first from the victim,” Rakhshan spoke for the tribunal. “Where is Shahla?”
“She is here,” Needa lead Shahla into the square. Her hair was unkempt and she carried a tattered rag doll from when she'd been a little girl. She did not walk like a proud strumpet now, but a lost child, stopping to whisper to her dolly and tilt her head up to speak
