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walk and I met Olympia Biddeford on the porch.
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fortune s rocks
 What time was this?
 It cannot yet have been eight o clock.
 How did she appear to you?
 Well, I must say I was quite shocked by her appearance. She ap-
peared. . . how shall I say . . . disheveled?
 Did you speak to her?
 Yes, I did. I attempted to engage her in conversation.
 And how did she respond to this attempt?
 I thought her impudent. She refused my invitation to breakfast
and rather ran off, I am afraid.
 Mr. Cote, did you know Catherine Haskell?
 Yes, I knew her well as a matter of fact. A lovely woman. An ex-
cellent wife and mother.
 Did you and Catherine Haskell ever have occasion to catch
Olympia Biddeford in a compromising position with Dr. John
Haskell?
 Yes, I am afraid we did.
 Can you tell us about that?
 Well, sir, it is a delicate matter. It was on the occasion of an
evening dinner dance at the home of Phillip Biddeford, August
tenth, 1899. While I was with Mrs. Haskell on the porch, she hap-
pened to look into a telescope that had been set up there and inad-
vertently pointed it through a window in the chapel, which was
attached to the cottage. And there she saw a most disturbing, not to
say shocking, sight.
 Did you see this sight as well?
 Yes, sir, I did. Noticing Mrs. Haskell s considerable shock, I bent
down to have a look myself.
 And what did you see?
 I saw Olympia Biddeford and Dr. John Haskell in a state of . . .
how shall I put this . . . in flagrante delicto?
 In the chapel, Mr. Cote?
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anita shreve
 Yes, sir, in the chapel. And if I may offer a further detail, on the
altar, sir.
 The altar, Mr. Cote?
 Yes, sir.
 And what was Mrs. Haskell s reaction?
 She went white in the face.
" " "
Counsel for the relator wishes to put some questions to Zachariah Cote:
 Mr. Cote, you are a poet, are you not?
 Yes, Mr. Tucker, I have said that.
 Of some reputation?
 Of no small reputation, I am bound to say.
 And were you possessed of this not entirely modest reputation
during the summer of 1899?
 I trust I was.
 Mr. Cote, in June of 1899, did you submit a half dozen poems to
Mr. Phillip Biddeford, editor of The Bay Quarterly, in hopes that he
would publish them?
 I may have. Is this relevant?
 Judge Littlefield will determine what is relevant, Mr. Cote. Your
answer, please?
 I am not sure.
 Think, Mr. Cote.
 As I say, I may have.
 Would it be correct to say that Mr. Biddeford rejected these po-
ems for publication?
 If you must put it that way.
 I am not a poet, Mr. Cote; I prefer to speak the plain truth.
 I do not recall exactly.
 Perhaps this will refresh your memory, Mr. Cote. Is this not a
copy of a letter Mr. Phillip Biddeford sent to you?
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fortune s rocks
 I am not sure.
 Take your time.
 It appears to be.
 And what is the date?
 August fourth, 1899.
 Which means you would have received it shortly before the
evening of August tenth, the night of the dinner dance at Phillip
Biddeford s house?
 I may have done.
 Mr. Cote, would you be kind enough to read the letter aloud?
 Really, Your Honor. Must I?
 Mr. Tucker, is this necessary?
 Your Honor, I wish to show that Mr. Cote may not be an im-
partial witness in this matter.
 Very well, then. Proceed.
 Mr. Cote?
 Yes?
 The letter?
 Yes, very well, Mr. Tucker. I shall read the letter if I must. But I
should like to lodge my considerable protest at this invasion of pri-
vacy.
 Mr. Cote, a custody hearing is nothing if not an invasion of
everyone s privacy.
  Dear Mr. Cote. I am returning your several poems to you, since I
find I cannot publish them in The Bay Quarterly as I had hoped.
Though certainly unique in their style and content, they are not suitable
for this publication. In future, you may want to consider a modest rein-
ing in of your descriptive powers, the result of which might be, I believe,
less sentiment in your verse. Yours sincerely, Phillip Biddeford. 
 Mr. Cote, did this letter make you angry?
 It was disappointing, surely. And wrongheaded in its judgment,
I might add.
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anita shreve
 But you went to Biddeford s gala on August the tenth nevertheless.
 Yes, I did. I had written that I would go, and I am a man of my
word.
 I am sure that you are. Mr. Cote, to your knowledge, was
Olympia Biddeford ever wanton in public?
 How do you mean?
 Were she and Dr. Haskell ever demonstrative in public?
 No, not unless you count that time in the chapel.
 Was the chapel at all visible from any of the public rooms of the
dinner dance?
 No.
 Did anyone else besides you and Mrs. Haskell see Olympia Bid-
deford and Dr. John Haskell together that night?
 I do not know.
 Mr. Cote, is it not a fact that Catherine Haskell did not just hap-
pen to look into the telescope the night of the dinner dance, but
rather was invited to do so by you?
 Certainly not, sir.
 You who had been watching the couple all night and knew they
had gone into the chapel?
 No, Mr. Tucker.
 And had, in fact, adjusted the telescope so that it was pointed di-
rectly into a window of the chapel?
 No, Mr. Tucker, most certainly not! And I resent your scurrilous
suggestion!
 Your Honor, I have no further questions for this witness.
 Very well, Mr. Cote, you may step down.
 But, Your Honor, I should like to respond to the completely un-
founded insinuation of Mr. Tucker.
 I am sure you would. You may step down now.
 Very well, but I do not like what has been said here.
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fortune s rocks
 No, I am sure you do not. Since it is so late in the afternoon, we
will recess for the day and, if this dreadful weather permits, go to our
homes. Mr. Sears, you have other witnesses?
 Yes, Your Honor, tomorrow I shall have Mrs. Bolduc to the
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