Part 3: Chapters 17-18 Summary

In chapter 17, Connie comes home late one night and sneaks in through a window in her mother's office. Connie sees her mother's private notebook open on the desk. Connie reads the current entry and when she sees a reference to March 15's entry, Connie turns back the pages to read that as well. Soon Connie finds herself reading all the entries from the day Charlotte died to the present. The following day, the trial continues with the state's first witness, a state trooper. The state trooper describes the bloody scene within the Bedford's bedroom and how the knife had been washed clean in the sink downstairs. Tanner calls a nurse-midwife, who testifies that her personal belief is that home births are dangerous. Stephen gets her to admit, however, that many women in her own profession disagree and often deliver...