A Darkness More Than Night

movements. This mixture made her seem old and young at the same time and even more attractive. Langwiser would do the questioning. She waited until Crowe was seated before disturbing the room’s vibe and getting up to go to the lectern.
    Bosch had barely noticed the entrance of the final witness for the prosecution. He sat at the prosecution table with his eyes down, deep in thought about his visit from the two FBI agents. He had sized them up quickly. They smelled blood in the water and knew if they bagged Bosch on the Gunn case that there would be no end to the media ride they would get from it. He expected them to make their move at any moment.
    Langwiser quickly moved through a series of general questions with Crowe, establishing that she was a neophyte actress with a few plays and commercials on her résumé as well as one line in a feature film that had yet to be released. Her story seemed to confirm the difficulties of making it in Hollywood – a knock-down beauty who was only one in a town full of them. She still lived on stipends sent from her parents in Albuquerque.
    Langwiser moved on to more salient testimony, keying in on the night of April 14 of the previous year when Annabelle Crowe went out on a date with David Storey. After quickly drawing brief descriptions of the dinner and drinks the couple enjoyed at Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood, Langwiser moved to the latter half of the evening, when Annabelle accompanied Storey to his home on Mulholland Drive.
    Crow testified that she and Storey shared a whole pitcher of margaritas on the back deck of his house before they went to his bedroom.
    “And did you go willingly, Ms. Crowe?”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “You engaged in sexual relations with the defendant?”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “And this was consensual sexual intercourse?”
    “Yes, it was.”
    “Did anything happen that was unusual once you began having sexual relations with the defendant?”
    “Yes, he started to choke me.”
    “He started to choke you. How did that occur?”
    “Well, I guess I closed my eyes at one point and it felt like he was changing positions or moving. He was on top of me and I felt his hand slide behind my neck and he sort of lifted my head off the pillow. Then I felt him slide something down…”
    She stopped and put her hand to her mouth as she appeared to fight to maintain her composure.
    “Take your time, Ms. Crowe. “
    The witness looked as though she was genuinely trying to hold back tears. She finally dropped her hand and picked up her cup of water. She sipped from it and then looked up at Langwiser, a new resolve in her eyes.
    “I felt him slide something down over my head and around my neck. I opened my eyes and he was tightening a necktie around my neck.”
    She stopped and took another sip of water.
    “Can you describe this necktie?”
    “It had a pattern. It was blue diamonds on a field of purple. I remember it exactly.”
    “What happened when the defendant pulled the tie tightly around your neck?”
    “It was choking me!” Crowe replied shrilly, as if the question was stupid and the answer was obvious. “He was choking me. And he kept… moving in me… and I tried to fight him but he was too strong for me.”
    “Did he say anything at this time?”
    “He just kept saying, ‘I have to do this, I have to do this’ and he was breathing really hard and he kept on having sex with me. His teeth were clenched tight when he said it. I…”
    She stopped again and this time single tears slid down both her cheeks, one slightly behind the other. Langwiser went to the prosecution table and took a box of tissues from her spot. She held them up and said, “Your Honor, may I?”
    The judge allowed her to approach the witness with the tissues. Langwiser made the delivery and then went back to the lectern. The courtroom was silent save for the crying sounds of the witness. Langwiser broke the moment.
    “Ms. Crowe, do you need a minute?”
    “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
    “Did you pass out when the defendant choked you?”
    “Yes.”
    “What do you remember next?”
    “I woke up in his bed.”
    “Was he there?”
    “No, but I could hear the shower running. In the bathroom next to the bedroom.”
    “What did you do?”
    “I got up to get dressed. I wanted to leave before he came out of the shower.”
    “Were your clothes where you had left them?”
    “No. I found them in a bag – like a grocery bag – by the bedroom door. I put on my