Chapter 136
The Empty Witness Seat
The court announced a witness could come from either side.
Elise sat with Priya and Bell in the witness corridor, hearing every footstep as if it were a clue.
The seat was marked with tape and one of the chairs had been moved backward.
"Why is this chair crooked?" Priya asked.
Elise looked at the room.
"Because whoever sat here did not stay to be seen."
The clerk asked whether she could provide a direct person witness.
Bell had already printed a package of digital logs showing no direct witness existed after the first hour.
Elise stepped forward.
She laid out a timeline where no one existed in the witness seat yet every action had been triggered by the seat’s authorization code.
W-S had no recorded user.
The clerk frowned at the code and called the gallery.
"This seat code was never linked to an employee," he said.
Elise said, "It was linked to the room."
Someone at the back row whispered.
Bell watched the exits.
Outside, sunlight crossed the floor exactly where the chair had been moved.
On the table, Elise placed the photograph from chapter 135.
The prosecution asked why not file this as a mere technical irregularity.
Elise answered, "An empty seat that can trigger testimony is no longer empty."
The judge asked for one additional technical affidavit.
Priya submitted the timestamp, and for the first time in her process history, the line moved from "pending" to "accepted."
Elise was allowed to continue.
When they returned home, the seat’s audio cue pinged in her phone.
Seat can be opened without witness.
Priya read the line and stood.
Elise put out a cup of tea and said, "We’re not waiting for witnesses.
We’re waiting for openings."