Chapter 9 Summary

Pieter is already there when she arrives and he refuses to let her sit in the public seats, instead leading her to a seat next to his own. She tells him that she has just met the new Social Welfare Officer and makes him guess who it is. She is disappointed that, after a small hint from herself, he is able to guess who it is so easily. The trial begins.

Stephanie is found guilty of the liquor charge, and in fact pleads as much, but the judge rules that there is no proof that she meant to run away from Venterspan and not return and so hands down only the two-week sentence for the liquor infraction, a crime she has been found guilty of repeatedly. At the mention of her child, however, her demeanor changes: she is alert and wary, even suspicious...