51. Waning Moon

Summary

• Kya observes the courtroom scene, comparing it to the nature world she's familiar with. She identifies each character's position and stature: the judge as an alpha male, Tom Milton as a powerful buck, the prosecutor as a lesser male trying to assert dominance, and the bailiff as the lowest-ranking male.
• The prosecutor, wearing a bright red tie, calls his next witness - a thin 28-year-old man named Hal Miller. He testifies that he and Allen Hunt were returning to Barkley Cove Harbor late at night and spotted Kya (referred to as Miz Clark) boating in the direction of the fire tower not long before Chase Andrews death occurred there.
• A house cat named Sunday Justice rubs against Kya, showing her overt affection for the first time in the courtroom. Eric considers objecting due to the alleged bias but ultimately doesn’t.
• Hal confirms that Kya’s boat didn’t have lights, which was illegal. Nonetheless, he maintains that they recognized her and her boat, insisting that Kya was the one they saw.
• Tom challenges Hal, getting him to admit that they were about 60 yards away from Kya's boat, which would be a long distance to confidently identify her. Hal states they could identify her by the shape she cuts in the boat, though he acknowledges someone else tall and thin could look like her. Finally, Tom gets Hal to admit that he can't be completely sure the individual they saw that night was Kya.
• On redirect, Eric gets Hal to confirm that in his three years of familiarity with Kya and her boat, he has never mistaken another boat for hers. The prosecution rests.