“THE PEOPLE CALL Mr. Travis Cook,” Yuki said.

  Heads swung toward the double doors at the back of the courtroom, and a young man about eighteen years old, wearing a gray prep school blazer with a crest over the breast pocket, walked up the aisle, came through the gate.

  Cook’s bushy hair looked patted down rather than combed, and his shoes needed a polish. He looked uneasy as he swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but. Then he stepped up to the witness stand.

  Yuki said good morning to her witness and then asked, “How did you know Michael Campion?”

  “We went to Newkirk Prep together.”

  “And when did you meet Michael?”

  “I knew him in our freshman year, but, uh, we became better friends last year.”

  “In your opinion, what caused this friendship to grow?”

  “Uh, Michael didn’t have many friends, really,” Travis Cook said, meeting Yuki’s eyes briefly, then looking down again at his hands. “People liked him, but they didn’t get too close to him ’cause he couldn’t play any sports or hang out or anything. Because of his heart condition.”

  “But you didn’t have the same problem becoming friends with Michael?”

  “I have severe asthma.”

  “And how did that affect your friendship?”

  Travis Cook said, “What he had was worse, but I could relate. We talked about how bad it sucked living with these things hanging over us all the time.”

  “Now, did there come a time when you told Michael about the defendant, Ms. Moon?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Travis, I realize this may be a little uncomfortable, but you’ve sworn to tell the truth.”

  “I know.”

  &ldq............