Dead in the Water (26 page)

"It is all we need," the barrister replied.

Stone was dissatisfied with only the taxi driver, who looked at Allison with something like contempt, as if he had seen her kind before, but only in his rearview mirror. But on the whole, he thought, he had tried cases before worse juries.

"The foreman is good for us," Hewitt whispered. "He is a very kind man and will not hang a woman lightly. The others will respect his opinion because he is so well dressed."

Stone hoped so.

"The bailiff will read the charges," the judge said. The bailiff stood and read from a single sheet of paper. "The prisoner, Mrs. Allison Manning, is charged with murder, willfully taking the life of Mr. Paul Manning, her husband, on a date unknown between January first of this year and the present day, on the high seas, having departed the port of Puerto Rico, in the Canary Islands, a Spanish possession, and not yet having arrived at the port of English Harbour, in St. Marks. Be it known to all present that the crime of murder is a capital offense in St. Marks, and that if convicted, the prisoner will suffer death in the prescribed manner, which is hanging." He sat down.

Short, but not very sweet, Stone thought.

"Now," the judge said, addressing the jurors, "I will explain how we will proceed in this courtroom. The pros aio

barrister, Sir Winston, will make an opening of his case, then he will be followed by Sir who will make an opening statement in defense of prisoner. Thereafter, Sir Winston will call witnesses question them, followed by a cross-examination by Leslie. When the government has completed its case, Leslie may call witnesses and question them, and Sir may cross-examine them. Items may be entered evidence by either side. When the defense has con-eluded its case, Sir Leslie will make a closing statement,

statement from Sir Winston. When he has concluded I will charge the jury, and the jury will retire to the jury room to consider their verdict, which be a majority verdict. While we are in the courtroom bench will make all rulings on the admissibility of and other evidence, and the decisipn of the bench will be final in all matters. Is there any one of you who does not understand what will take place?"

No member of the jury moved, let alone spoke.

"In that case, we will begin with the opening statement of the people of St. Marks, who are represented by Sir Winston Sutherland. Sir Winston?"

Sir Winston rose, smoothed his robes, adjusted his wig, shot his cuffs, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

CHAPTER

Sir Winston bowed to the bench, and his voice boomed over the courtroom, stentorian and didactic. He might have been instructing the jury without waiting for the judge to do so. "Gentlemen of the jury," he began, though he was looking at the packed gallery rather than at the jurors, "we come here this day to avenge the death of a human being. Paul Manning was a gentleman in the prime of life who had made for himself a successful career, becoming famous and rich. He owned a large house; he owned an expensive yacht; he owned a life insurance policy with a death benefit of twelve million dollars. It was for this wealth that he was murdered by his wife." He gestured dramatically at Allison in the dock.

"You might not think that she looks the part of the murderess, being demure in appearance, but we will show today how she took the life of her husband, how cruelly and heartlessly consigned him to the depths of the ocean and watched him die as his yacht sailed away from him. You will hear Paul Manning speak from the grave," he intoned, and the apprentice shoemaker's became large and round. "His words recorded in ii his own handwriting." He held up the leather-bound t, and the juror looked relieved.

hear how she plotted his death over many biding her time until the moment came when he was helpless, and then she took his life." He paused and looked witheringly at Allison, as though his eyes were

Sufficient to punish her. Allison returned his gaze and shook her head slowly.

Good girl, Stone thought. '

"When you have heard the evidence against Allison Manning," Sutherland continued, "you will reach-the only verdict that the evidence will permit: you will find her guilty of willful and deliberate murder." Sir Winston bowed to the bench and sat down.

The judge turned toward the defense table. "Sir Leslie Hewitt will make the opening statement for the defense," he said.

Stone turned and looked at Hewitt. The little man appeared to be dozing. "Leslie!" Stone whispered sharply.

Hewitt's eyes popped open. "Eh?"

"Do you want me to give the opening statement?" "Certainly not," Hewitt replied, looking around the courtroom. He rose to his feet and bowed to the bench, then, ignoring the gallery, turned his full attention to the jury. "Good morning, gentlemen," he said pleasantly. Two or three of them nodded in-response. "I trust Sir

Winston has not clouded your minds," he said with a chuckle. "The defense has quite a different view of his so-called evidence, as you might imagine, and as you will come to see during the course of this trial."

He indicated Allison with a warm smile. "Here we have a young woman who, with her much-loved husband, set off on the adventure of a lifetime, sailing across the Atlantic from America to Europe, just the two of them. This is not the act of two people who do not love each other--to be confined for weeks at a time at sea with only each other for company. This was a positive act, showing that these two people were happy together. You will hear from her own lips how they enjoyed their adventure and how, on the voyage back to the Americas, her husband suddenly fl ill and died, struck with an illness about which he had been warned by his doctors, but which he had taken none of the prescribed steps to prevent. You will hear how his death endangered the life of his young wife and how with courage and fortitude she managed to sail a large yacht alone across the sea, to make landfall on our island."

Sir Leslie cleared his throat and rearranged his robes. "Finally," he said, "when this trial has been concluded, you will see how this charge of murder is spurious and should never have been brought." He gestured toward Sir Winston. "You will wonder at the motives of the prosecution in bringing it. And you will have the opportunity to set things right, to return this dear young woman to freedom and her native country, to live out her life as best she can without the sorely missed companionship of her beloved husband." With a flourish he

to the bench, returned to the defense table, and down.

Not bad, Stone thought, for a periodically senile old who had recently been asleep in the courtroom.

V'while it may not have been all he had wished, Hewitt's opening was at least the equal of Sir Winston's, maybe a little better. He was relieved that Sir Winston not mentioned any witnesses or evidence in his opening stfitement that the defense didn't know about. The playing field was level, and that was as much as he

:ould wish for at this point.

The judge turned to the prosecution table. "Sir Winston, call your first witness."

Sir Winston rose and spoke. "Call Mr? Frank Stendahl," he said.

Stone sat up straight. "What the hell?" he-said aloud.

The judge looked at him sharply.

Stone tried to look ashamed of his outburst. He turned to look at the gallery as Stendahl left his seat and walked toward the witness box. He caught a glimpse of Hilary Kramer and Jim Forrester watching him, looking as puzzled as Stone was.

Stendahl stood in the witness box.

"Take the book," the bailiff said, offering a Bible and a card, "and read from the card."

Stendahl grasped the Bible and read, "I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give in this court will be the truth."

The bailiff relieved him of the Bible and the card.

Sir Winston turned to the witness box. "State your name, address, and occupation for the record," he said.

"Frank Stendahl, 1202 Old Brook Road, Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.A. I am the chief claims investigator for the Boston Mutual insurance company."

"Oh, Christ," Stone whispered to himself, earning a rebuking glance from Sir Leslie. He hadn't seen this coming.

"Mr. Stendahl, did your company, Boston Mutual,

insure the life of Paul Manning?"

"Yes, we did."

"In what amount?"

"In the amount of twelve million dollars."

There was a stir in the jury box and raised eyebrows among the men who sat there.

"Is this, in your experience, a large sum of life insurance?"

"Indeed it is," Stendahl replied. "In fact, it is the largest policy my company has ever written on an indiv/dual life."

"And how old is your company? Was it recently formed?"

"Boston Mutual was founded in 1798."

"And in the nearly two hundred years since its founding, it has never written a policy as large as this?"

"Not on an individual life, when the individual was himself paying the premiums. We have had corporate policies that were larger, when a company was insuring the life of, say, its chief executive."

"What steps did your company take before insuring the life of a person for such a large sum?

"We did what we do for any large policy, that is, we investigate the background, the reputation, and the net worth of the applicant, and we have him examined by a

)ur choosing. I personally conducted the back-investigation of Mr. Manning."

"And what did you learn about Paul Manning during your investigations?"

"I learned that Mr. Manning was an important with a large income; that he had an excellent credit record; and that he was known to be a person of good reputation in his community."

"And what did the medical evaluation of Mr. i Manning reveal about his health?"

"May I consult notes?"

"Yes."

Stendahl took a sheet of paper from his inside pocket and read from it. "I quote from the report: "Paul Manning is a forty-year-old writer who is in excellent health and who does not have any history of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or any other serious illness. Neither is there any history of serious disease in either of his parents, both of whom died accidentally in their sixties, in an automobile accident." "What was Mr. Manning's height and weight?"

He consulted his notes. "Six feet, two inches, two hundred and nineteen pounds."

"Did the examination include a test for serum blood cholesterol and triglycerides?"

"Yes, it did."

"What was the result?"

Stendahl checked his notes again. "His cholesterol count was one hundred ninety-nine, and his triglycerides were one hundred forty-seven."

"Did your company consider these to be within the normal range for a man of Mr. Manning's size?"

"Yes. We would expect the cholesterol count to be under two hundred and twenty, and the triglycerides to be under one hundred and fifty, in order to be insurable. Mr. Manning qualified on both counts." "Did your company's medical examiner think of Mr.

Manning as a heart attack waiting to happen?" "Certainly not. If he had thought that, we would never have insured him." "Mr. Stendahl, has your company paid the death benefit of the insurance policy?" "Yes, we have." "In full?" "Yes." "Without investigation?" "Oh, we investigated, all right; we'd never pay a sum that larg without an investigation. We sent a man down here to talk to Mrs. Manning last week." "And he found all was in order?" "He did, but there was something he didn't know until later." "What was that?" "That Mrs. Manning was about to be tried for the murder of her husband." "She didn't tell your investigator that?" "No. He learned about it from the newspapers, but by that time we had already paid the money into Mrs. Manning's bank account." "And is that money still in her account?" "I am advised that it is not." "Where is that money now?" "I am advised that it was wire-transferred into an account in the Cayman Islands, so by now it could be in any bank in the world." sis

"I have no further questions for this witness, Your

," Sir Winston said, then sat down.

The judge turned to the defense table. "You may

Stone stood up. "Your Lordship, may I have a for a few minutes in order to consult with my

The judge stifled a yawn. "You may not."

looked at Allison, who sent him a sympa-glance. He was going to have to wing it with this

CHAPTER

tone took some papers from a file folder and rose to address the witness. "Mr. Stendahl, how long ago did Paul Manning undergo the physical examination for his insurance policy?"

Stendahl consulted his notes." "Two years ago last week."

"And did your company's doctors see Mr. Manning after that date?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Had they seen him before that date?"

"Not that I'm aware of. He had no earlier policies with us."

Stone was getting into shallow water now, and he hoped he would not run aground. "Did he have any earlier policies with any other company?"

Stendahl consulted his notes. "None."

"Mr. Stendahl, when you are investigating an appli t for life insurance, is there a central record of health t you can consult?" "Yes. If the applicant has had medical problems, we find out about them." "But if he hasn't had health problems, and if he previously applied for life insurance, there would no record of his height, weight, or blood studies, there?" "No." "Did you find any earlier medical records of Paul "So you don't know what occurred with regard to Manning'S weight' and various blood studies either before the examination or between the date of that examination and the date of his death?" " Stone breathed easier. He held up the documents for' the bailiff. "May the witness read from these, Your "Lordship?" "The bailiff took the documents and handed them to Stendahl. "Mr. Stendahl," Stone continued, "what are the documents you have just been handed?" Stendahl flipped quickly through them. "They appear to be the results of another physical exartlination taken by Mr. Manning." "On what date?" "A year after our company's doctors examined him." "Would you read the first paragraph, which has been highlighted?"

Stendahl found the paragraph. ""Paul Manning is a forty-year-old author who has come in for a physical examination prior to an extensive sea voyage. Mr. Manning has no complaints, but he is desirous of being examined and taking a copy of his medical records on his journey. Mr. Manning is six feet, two inches tall and weighs..."" Stendahl paused. "Go on, Mr. Stendahl." "'... weighs two hundred and sixty-one pounds, rather too much for a man of his frame, The results of blood tests show a serum cholesterol count of three hundred twenty-five and serum triglycerides are four hundred and ten. These are both dangerously elevated, the high end of normal being two hundred and twenty for cholesterol al one hundred and fifty for triglycerides. Because of these numbers, in conjunction with Mr. Manning's lack of regular exercise, I have advised Mr. Manning to immediately undertake a program of exercise, a diet low in cholesterol and other fats, and to bring his weight down to a max{ mum of two hundred pounds."" "Does this sound like the man your doctors examined?" Stone asked. "No. It would appear that Mr. Manning changed his eating habits after our exam." "Do you think it possible that Mr. Manning might have lost weight and watched his consumption of fats prior to your examination, so that he would have been insurable, then reverted to his old ways after the exam?" Sir Winston was on his feet. "I object, Your Lordship. This calls for a conclusion on the part of the witness."

"Sustained," the judge said. "Let me put it another way, Mr. Stendahl," Stone "Would you think that the man described in this exam was, and I quote, 'a heart attack waiting to ,?"

Sir Winston was up again. "I withdraw the question, Your Lordship," Stone cutting him off. "We would like the medical examination report to be Exhibit Number One for the defense." Now he had to wade further into shallow water, violating the rule of every that attorney: He was going to ask a question he didn't know the answer to. "Mr. Stendahl," he. said "was there a provision in Mr. Manning's insurance policy covering double indemnity?" Stendahl hesitated a moment, then answered, "Yes, there was." Thank God, Stone thought. "Would you explain to the court the meaning of the term' double indemnity'?" "It means that if the insured suffers accidental death, then the death benefit is doubled."" "So if Paul Manning had died accidentally, the death benefit would have been twenty-four million dollars?" "That is correct." "Now, Mr. Stendahl, I ask you to imagine the circumstances surrounding Paul Manning's death: he is alone with his wife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Let us say, merely for the purposes of argument, that Mrs. Manning has decided to kill her husband. Having done so, would it not then be very profitable for her to claim that he had died as a result of an accident at sea?" "Yes, I suppose it would."