Read By Reason of Insanity for Free Online

crime. Gates was bald, midforties, and a bulldog during trials.
    Catherine looked at William Jacobs, the lawyer hired by the newspaper. Jacobs was a bookish man with thin gray hair and a worried look on his face. The reporters hated it when the conservative Jacobs got involved in libel-proofing their stories. Scared to death of getting the paper sued, he would always make the reporters water down the good stuff. Jacobs gave Catherine a curt nod.
    "Catherine O'Rourke. I'm a reporter for the Tidewater Times. "
    "Is this an article you wrote for this morning's paper?" Gates handed a copy to Catherine and a second copy to the judge.
    "Yes," Catherine said. "That's generally what it means when we put our name on it."
    Jacobs shot Catherine a disapproving look.
    "Do you think this is funny?" Gates demanded. "Do you find something humorous in the kidnapping of the Carver twins?"
    "No," Catherine fired back. "I don't think this is funny at all. I'm being threatened with jail time if I don't reveal a confidential source."
    "Read the last paragraph to the court."
    Catherine wanted to say that she thought the judge could read those big words all by herself, but she thought better of it.
    She read in a slow monotone, her voice trembling just a little. "According to a law-enforcement source familiar with the investigation, the Carver kidnapping may be linked to a similar kidnapping two months ago in Washington, D.C., in which the three-month-old child of Clarence Milburn and Sherita Johnson was abducted in a parking garage. Investigators are reviewing a host of other kidnappings nationwide to determine if other occurrences fit a similar pattern."
    "Who was that source, Ms. O'Rourke?"
    William Jacobs stood and lodged a halfhearted objection. "For the reasons I explained at the start of this hearing, Your Honor, we don't think Ms. O'Rourke should be required to testify at all, much less reveal a confidential source."
    "A reporter's privilege is not absolute," Gates countered. He spoke curtly, as if lecturing the judge. "A compelling governmental interest can override the qualified privilege in a case like this. We are dealing with an extremely sensitive investigation in a high-profile case. As with any investigation, the police held back certain details so they could filter out frauds and trip up the real perpetrator." Gates motioned to the front row of the courtroom at an athletic African-American detective named Jamarcus Webb. "As Mr. Webb testified earlier, the link with another kidnapping was one of the facts held back. And for good reason--"
    Judge Amelia Rosencrance cut him off with an impatient flip of her wrist. "Yes, yes, I know how the argument goes, Mr. Gates. And, for the reasons stated earlier, I tend to agree with you. I'm going to overrule Mr. Jacobs's objection and instruct the witness to answer. The government's interest in finding a leak on an investigation of this magnitude overrides Ms. O'Rourke's right to protect her sources."
    "Note my objection," Jacobs said politely. When he sat down, all eyes turned to Catherine O'Rourke.
    She folded her clammy hands in her lap and swallowed hard. She felt alone in the courtroom as the prospect of facing jail became real.
    "Ms. O'Rourke," Judge Rosencrance said, "I've overruled the objection. Please state your source."
    "I can't say," Catherine testified. "With respect, Your Honor, I'm not willing to reveal my source."
    Judge Rosencrance leaned toward the witness box and seemed to hover over Catherine, like an eagle ready to swoop in for a field mouse. "Your counsel has made his argument," the judge said tersely. "I have overruled it. The law does not protect your right to withhold critical information in the midst of a kidnapping investigation."
    Gates took a few steps closer to the witness box, hemming Catherine in. She cast a pleading look toward her own lawyer, motionless at counsel table. Her eyes darted toward the judge, then down at her hands.
    "I won't," Catherine said