Don Gutteridge - The Widow's Demise

“Good morning, Mr. Macy,” McBride said with abroad smile that made his Old Testament beard look even moreintimidating. “Just a few questions. First, did you attend thisyear’s Charity Ball?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And during the course of that evening, didyou have occasion to observe Mrs. Cardiff-Jones and the defendantdancing together as a couple in a set?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Where were you at the time?”

“I was dancing in the next set, only a fewfeet away.”

“How would you describe their behaviour?”

“They couldn’t take their eyes off eachother.”

“Would you describe their behaviour as morethan mere courtliness?” McBride glanced over at Marc and gave him aquick half-grin.

Marc was on his feet. “Milord, the answercalls for a personal opinion.”

“Since you introduced the point, Mr.Edwards,” said the judge, “I’ll allow it.”

Macy answered the question: “If you mean werethey more than polite, I’d have to say yes.”

“Did you hear them converse at any timeduring the dance?”

“I did. Whenever they came together, theytalked briefly – in French.”

“Could you hear what was said?”

“Only once, when Mr. Gagnon spoke English. Hetold Mrs. Cardiff-Jones that she was a most attractivehostess.”

“Most attractive, eh?” McBride said, andturned to the jury with what might have been described as aleer.

“He also said, in English, she would be mostwelcome in Montreal society, where they had the grandest ofballs.”

“Most welcome, you say? And all the timestaring into her eyes.” McBride turned and stared at the jury. Thenhe said, “And how did the lady react?”

Macy’s lip curled down as he said, “Sheseemed flattered by all this attention. She smiled, and, I think,encouraged him.”

“What happened after the dance?’

“I saw them go over to the drinks table, andthey kept on talking.”

“But you were too far away to hear?”

“Yes, except to hear that they were jabberingaway in French.”

“What happened next?”

“The defendant suddenly turned away andstrode across the room to his friends.”

“‘Strode’, you say? Was he angry?”

“He may have been. He left awfully fast.”

“As if he had been rejected?”

“Milord,” said Marc. “Mr. Bride is puttingwords into the witness’s mouth, again.”

“I agree,” said the judge. “The jury willdisregard that last remark.”

But ‘rejected’ had already been planted inthe jury’s mind. It was too late to take it back.

The witness was now turned over to Marc.

“You say you were in the set next to thecouple?” Marc began.

“That’s right,” Macy said, looking wary.

“How is it you were able to observe theirbehaviour so minutely if you yourself were dancing, and thus movingin several directions?”

“I couldn’t watch them all the time, butwhenever I was turned their way, I took a good, hard look.”

“You seemed inordinately interested in thelady and her behaviour.”

“I must admit that I was myself attracted tothe lady.”

And we’ll get back to that a little later inthe trial, Marc thought.

“Do gentlemen not often say flattering thingsto their hostess as a matter of chivalry or courtliness?” Marcsaid.

“They may.”

“With only intermittent glimpses of thecouple, how could you determine if what transpired between them wasmore than a bit of harmless wordplay? And some of it in French?With a bit of flirting on both sides?”

“They looked awfully intent to me.”

“That is your opinion, sir, not a fact. Andcould be the result of jealousy on your part.”

“He was playing up to her in my book,” Macysaid with a trace of bitterness in his tone.

“Now, about this abrupt departure. You saidthat Mr. Gagnon strode across the room?”

“That’s correct.”

“Could he not merely have been anxious toreturn to his friends?”

“It’s possible. But he looked angry tome.”

“Again, sir, that is merely youropinion.”

After Marc requested permission to recallMacy, he sat down, happy with his cross-examination. The Crown’sefforts to establish motive were flimsy indeed. But then, withWilkie’s testimony, they really didn’t need a strong motive. The‘crazy’ Frenchman would do.

The Crown next called Cecil Denfield to thestand.

“Mr. Denfield, were you at the Charity Ball?”McBride began.

“I was,” Denfield said in a calm andconfident manner.

“Did you see the accused dancing with Mrs.Cardiff-Jones?”

“Only briefly. I was otherwise engaged.”

“Did you observe the couple at any othertime?”

“I did. After their dance they came over tothe drinks table, and Mr. Gagnon fetched the lady a glass ofchampagne.”

“Were you close enough to hear theirconversation?”

“I was.”

“What did they talk about?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Why is that?”

“They were speaking mostly in French.”

“And you don’t speak French?”

“No, sir.”

“Could you describe their manner?”

“It looked like an intimate sort of talk.They were smiling at each other and jabbering away.”

“Then what happened?”

“He asked her, in English, if she would danceagain with him. And she said she couldn’t because her dance-cardwas full.”

“And how did Mr. Gagnon, the defendant,react?”

“He said something sharply in French, thenturned and walked across the room.”

“Would you say he was angry?”

“I’d say he was disappointed, surely. He hadpaid a lot of attention to her and she had turned him down.”

“So Mrs. Cardiff-Jones danced with many menthat evening?”

“Yes. She was very popular.”

“And very much observed. Thank you.” McBridesat down.

Marc then began his cross-examination. “Mr.Denfield, you said the couple was speaking in French.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And that they were discussing somethingintimate?”

“It seemed so.”

“But since you don’t speak French, they couldhave been talking about the weather, could they not?”

“I suppose so,” Denfield said grudgingly.

“Was there any particular reason you wereeavesdropping on this conversation in French?”

“I just happened to be nearby,” Denfieldsaid.

And you just happen to be the lady’s lover,thought Marc. But we’ll get to that in due course.

Denfield was dismissed with the right ofrecall. The Crown rested its case and the court was adjourned forlunch.

***

Cobb began to wonder about the alibi of CecilDenfield. He had been certain that Audrey Denfield was lying whenshe said he had been home with her all evening. But how to proveit? Then he thought of the servants. They always knew what wasgoing on. So over the lunch hour he devised a plan. He walked tothe Denfield residence, where he was sure the couple had gone fortheir luncheon. He situated himself behind a neighbour’s hedge andwaited. Sure enough, about one-thirty, the door of the Denfieldhouse opened, and the Denfields emerged. They headed south towardsthe Court House. Cobb then went around to the back door andknocked. A uniformed maid answered his knock.

“Good afternoon, miss. I’mDetective-Constable Cobb of the Toronto police. I’d like to ask youa couple of questions.”

The maid relaxed a little, but still seemedwary.

“May I come in?” Cobb said.

“Oh, of course.”

Cobb followed her into the kitchen, which wasquite warm, the fire in the cooking stove not having gone out yet.The maid motioned Cobb to a chair, and sat opposite him.

“What’s this all about?” she said.

“What’s your name, miss?”