Sidney Sheldon - Nothing lasts forever

The jury sat in silence, unmoved but expectant.

Gus Venable turned to the judge. “If it please your honor, I would like to call Gary Williams as the State's first witness.”

When the witness was sworn in, Gus Venable said, “You're an orderly at Embarcadero County Hospital?”

“Yes, that's right.”

“Were you working in Ward Three when John Cronin was brought in last year?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell us who the doctor in charge of his case was?”

“Dr. Taylor.”

“How would you characterize the relationship between Dr. Taylor and John Cronin?”

“Objection!” Alan Penn was on his feet. “He's calling for a conclusion from the witness.”

“Sustained.”

“Let me phrase it another way. Did you ever hear any conversations between Dr. Taylor and John Cronin?”

“Oh, sure. I couldn't help it. I worked that ward all the time.”

“Would you describe those conversations as friendly?”

“No, sir.”

“Really? Why do you say that?”

“Well, I remember the first day Mr. Cronin was brought in, and Dr. Taylor started to examine him, he said to keep her …”He hesitated. “I don't know if I can repeat his language.”

“Go ahead, Mr. Williams. I don't think there are any children in this courtroom.”

“Well, he told her to keep her fucking hands off him.”

“He said that to Dr. Taylor?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Please tell the court what else you may have seen or heard.”

“Well, he always called her 'that bitch.' He didn't want her to go near him. Whenever she came into his room, he would say things like 'Here comes that bitch again!' and 'Tell that bitch to leave me alone' and 'Why don't they get me a real doctor?' ”

Gus Venable paused to look over to where Dr. Taylor was seated. The jurors' eyes followed him. Venable shook his head, as though saddened, then turned back to the witness. “Did Mr. Cronin seem to you to be a man who wanted to give a million dollars to Dr. Taylor?”

Alan Penn was on his.feet again. “Objection! He's calling for an opinion again.”

Judge Young said, “Overruled. The witness may answer the question.”

Alan Penn looked at Paige Taylor and sank back in his seat.

“Hell, no. He hated her guts.”

* * *

Dr. Arthur Kane was in the witness box. Gus Venable said, “Dr. Kane, you were the staff doctor in charge when it was discovered that John Cronin was mur…” He looked at Judge Young. “… killed by insulin being introduced into his IV. Is that correct?”

“It is.”

“And you subsequently discovered that Dr. Taylor was responsible.”

“That's correct.”

“Dr. Kane, I'm going to show you the official hospital death form signed by Dr. Taylor.” He picked up a paper and handed it to Kane. “Would you read it aloud, please?”

Kane began to read. “John Cronin. Cause of Death: Respiratory arrest occurred as a complication of myocardial infarction occurring as a complication of pulmonary embolus.' ”

“And in layman's language?”

“The report says that the patient died of a heart attack.”

“And that paper is signed by Dr. Taylor?”

“Yes.”

“Dr. Kane, was that the true cause of John Cronin's death?”

“No. The insulin injection caused his death.”

“So, Dr. Taylor administered a fatal dose of insulin and then falsified the report?”

“Yes.”

“And you reported it to Dr. Wallace, the hospital administrator, who then reported it to the authorities?”

“Yes. I felt it was my duty.” His voice rang with righteous indignation. “I'm a doctor. I don't believe in taking the life of another human being under any circumstances.”

The next witness called was John Cronin's widow. Hazel Cronin was in her late thirties, with flaming red hair, and a voluptuous figure that her plain black dress failed to conceal.

Gus Venable said, “I know how painful this is for you, Mrs. Cronin, but I must ask you to describe to the jury your relationship with your late husband.”

The widow Cronin dabbed at her eyes with a large lace handkerchief. “John and I had a loving marriage. He was a wonderful man. He often told me I had brought him the only real happiness he had ever known.”

“How long were you married to John Cronin?”

“Two years, but John always said it was like two years in heaven.”

“Mrs. Cronin, did your husband ever discuss Dr. Taylor with you? Tell you what a great doctor he thought she was? Or how helpful she had been to him? Or how much he liked her?”

“He never mentioned her.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Did John ever discuss cutting you and your brothers out of his will?”

“Absolutely not. He was the most generous man in the world. He always told me that there was nothing I couldn't have, and that when he died …” Her voice broke. “… that when he died, I would be a wealthy woman, and …” She could not go on.

Judge Young said, “We'll have a fifteen-minute recess.”

Seated in the back of the courtroom, Jason Curtis was filled with anger. He could not believe what the witnesses were saying about Paige. This is the woman I love, he thought. The woman I'm going to marry.

Immediately after Paige's arrest, Jason Curtis had gone to visit her in jail.

“We'll fight this,” he assured her. “I'll get you the best criminal lawyer in the country.” A name immediately sprang to mind. Alan Penn. Jason had gone to see him.

“I've been following the case in the papers,” Penn said. “The press has already tried and convicted her of murdering John Cronin for a bundle. What's more, she admits she killed him.”

“I know her,” Jason Curtis told him. “Believe me, there's no way Paige could have done what she did for money.”

“Since she admits she killed him,” Penn said, “what we're dealing with here then is euthanasia. Mercy killings are against the law in California, as in most states, but there are a lot of mixed feelings about them. I can make a pretty good case for Florence Nightingale listening to a Higher Voice and all that shit, but the problem is that your lady love killed a patient who left her a million dollars in his will. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did she know about the million before she killed him, or after?”

“Paige didn't know a thing about the money,” Jason said firmly.

Penn's tone was noncommittal. “Right. It was just a happy coincidence. The DA is calling for Murder One, and he wants the death penalty.”

“Will you take the case?”

Penn hesitated. It was obvious that Jason Curtis believed in Dr. Taylor. The way Samson believed in Delilah. He looked at Jason and thought: I wonder if the poor son of a bitch had a haircut and doesn't know it.

Jason was waiting for an answer.

“I'll take the case, as long as you know it's all uphill. It's going to be a tough one to win.”

Alan Penn's statement turned out to be overly optimistic.

When the trial resumed the following morning, Gus Venable called a string of new witnesses.

A nurse was on the stand. “I heard John Cronin say, 'I know I'll die on the operating table. You're going to kill me. I hope they get you for murder.' ”

An attorney, Roderick Pelham, was on the stand. Gus Venable said, “When you told Dr. Taylor about the million dollars from John Cronin's estate, what did she say?”

“She said something like 'It seems unethical. He was my patient.' ”

“She admitted it was unethical?”

“Yes.”

“But she agreed to take the money?”

“Oh, yes. Absolutely.”

Alan Penn was cross-examining.

“Mr. Pelham, was Dr. Taylor expecting your visit?”

“Why, no, I …”