John was amused by Cooper’s maneuver, and he enjoyed seeing Quill’s outrage. “Are you saying, Mr. Quill, that you are not planning to try Mistress Purity on the basis of the same evidence?”

“I’m saying it’s irrelevant to this trial.”

“I believe that Mistress Purity should have the rights of a defendant in this courtroom,” said Cooper, “since the evidence she gives here should not then be able to be turned against her in her own trial.”

Before Quill could answer, John asked him sharply, “Mr. Quill, I’m inclined to grant this motion, unless you are prepared to grant an irrevocable dismissal of all charges against Mistress Purity that might arise from her testimony in this trial.”

Quill was speechless, but only for a moment. It was easy to guess what he was thinking during his hesitation: Was it more important to keep the trials separate, or to be able to try Purity at all? “I have no intention of dismissing on a confessed witch.”

John banged his gavel. “Motion granted. Is Mistress Purity in the court?”

A timid, weary-looking young woman rose from her place behind the prosecutor’s bench.

“Mistress Purity,” said John, “do you consent to a joint trial? And, if you do, do you consent to having Mr. Verily Cooper represent you and Alvin Smith together?”

Quill objected. “Her interests are different from those of Alvin Smith!”

“No, they’re not,” said Purity. Her voice was surprisingly bold. “I consent to both, sir.”

“Take your place at the defense table,” said John.

They waited while she seated herself on the other side of Verily Cooper. John gave them a moment or two to whisper together. It was Quill who broke the silence. “Your Honor, I feel I must protest this irregular procedure.”

“I’m sorry to hear that you feel that way. Let me know if the feeling becomes irresistible.”

Quill frowned. “Very well, Your Honor, I do protest.”

“Protest noted. Note also, however, that the court takes exception to the practice of deceiving a witness into testifying in someone else’s trial, only to find his own testimony used against him in his own trial. I believe this is standard in witch trials.”

“It is a practice justified by the difficulty of obtaining evidence of the doings of Satan.”

“Yes,” said John. “That well-known difficulty. So much depends upon it, don’t you think? Next motion, Mr. Cooper.”

“I move that because Mr. Quill has openly and publicly violated the laws against extracting testimony under torture, all evidence obtained from interrogation of either of my clients during and after that torture be barred from these proceedings.”

Quill bounded to his feet. “No physical pain was inflicted on either defendant, Your Honor! Nor was there threat of such pain! The law was strictly adhered to!”

Quill was right, John knew, according to more than a century of precedents since the anti-torture law was adopted after the Salem debacle. The witchers all made sure they didn’t cross the line.

“Your Honor,” said Cooper, “I submit that the practice of running an accused person until a state of utter exhaustion is reached is, in fact, torture, and that it is well known to be such and falls under the same strictures as the forms of torture specifically banned by the statute.”