Stuart Woods - Dead In The Water

"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.

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 eyes became large and round. "His words recorded in his own handwriting." He held up the leather-bound diary, and the juror looked relieved.

"You will hear how she plotted his death over many months, 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 fell 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 bowed to the bench, returned to the defense table, and sat down.

Not bad, Stone thought, for a periodically senile old who had recently been asleep in the courtroom. 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 had not mentioned any witnesses or evidence in his opening statement that the defense didn't know about. The playing field was level, and that was as much as he could 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 indivdual 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 doctor of our choosing. I personally conducted the background investigation of Mr.Manning."

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

"I learned that Mr.Manning was an important author 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.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."