Dead In The Water

CHAPTER 43

Stone parked Thomas's car in its usual place and left the keys in it, as Thomas often did. His business with Leslie Hewitt apparently concluded for the time being, he wanted now to talk with Jim Forrester again, and he was lucky enough to find him at the bar, talking to Thomas.

"Hi, Jim; have you got a few minutes for me?"

"Sure, Stone, what's up?"

"I want to go through your testimony with you; make sure we're both on the same page."

"Great, let's get a table."

Thomas held up an envelope. "Fax for you," he said to Stone.

"Thanks, Thomas," he said, stuffing the envelope into his pocket. He'd read it when he was through with Forrester. He followed the reporter to a table, and they got comfortable. "Jim, I'll just ask you some questions, the way I will at the trial, and you answer them as you see fit. If I don't like the way you answer a question, we'll talk about rephrasing."

"Okay, shoot."

"Have you ever testified in court before?"

"No."

"They'll ask you your name for the record."

"Right."

"Now I'm on my feet in my robe and my wig, and…"

"Wig? You have to wear a wig?"

"I'm afraid so. You'll have to try not to laugh; it wouldn't look good for me in front of the jury."

"I'll do my best, but I'm not promising anything."

"All right, Mr.Forrester, what is your occupation?"

"I'm a magazine writer."

"And what brings you to St.Marks?"

"I intend to write an article about this trial for an American magazine."

"I see. Now, were you acquainted with Paul Manning?"

"Yes, I knew him in college."

"Tell us how you met him."

"We were on the same basketball team."

"Hang on, Jim; I thought you told me you played against him."

Forrester shook his head and raised the glass from which he was drinking. "I'm sorry, Stone; the booze must be going to my head."

"Let's start again; tell the court how you and Mr.Manning first met."

"We went to college in nearby towns-he to Cornell, I to Syracuse."

"Spell it out for them; say Cornell University and University in New York State."

"Okay."

"Go on."

"We were both members of the same fraternity, Alpha Epsilon, and we had an interfraternity basketball league that included both universities."

"Just say club, and don't bother with the Greek; this jury isn't likely to know much about American college. In fact, just say you played in the same league."

"Right. Paul Manning and I both played on basketball teams and we sometimes played against each other."

"And how well did you know him?"

"Fairly well, but we were not close."

"Just say fairly well, don't say you weren't close. Sir Winston may worm that out of you on cross-examination, though. Don't lie about it."

"Right. I knew him fairly well."

"How would you describe his personality?"

"He was friendly and outgoing. We got along well."

"Did there then pass a number of years when you did not meet?"

"Yes; I didn't meet him again until recently."

"Please tell the court of those circumstances."

"I was in the Canary Islands, working on a magazine piece, and I met him at the local marina."

"Not the yacht club?"

"Right, the yacht club; it has its own marina."

"Start again."

"I ran into him at the bar at the yacht club in Las Palmas, and we renewed our acquaintance."

"Had he changed much in the years since you'd seen him?"

"Well, he'd gained a lot of weight, but he was still the same friendly guy."

"Did he mention his wife while you were at the bar?"

"Yes, he said he was married to a beautiful girl that he was crazy about."

"You didn't mention that before," Stone said. "That he was crazy about her."

"Sorry; there were words to that effect."

"Good, that will help. Now, how much time did you spend with him on this occasion, at the yacht club bar?"

"We were there an hour or so, and then he invited me to dinner on his yacht."

"Did you accept?"

"Yes."

"Did you then go down to the marina and have dinner on his yacht?"

"Yes."

"Did he introduce you to Mrs.Manning?"

"Yes. She was already on the yacht, cooking dinner."

"How long did you spend with them that evening?"

"Oh, I guess four or five hours."

"And on that occasion did you form an opinion of the sort of relationship these two people had?"

"Yes."

"How would you describe that relationship?"

"They were good together; they obviously loved each other. They touched each other a lot, and always with affection."

"Good, I like that, the part about the touching; remembert to say it."

"Okay."

"Would you say these people were happily married?"

"Yes, I would. Very happily."

"And how long was it before they sailed across the Atlantic?"

"I believe they sailed the next day for another island, then started across the Atlantic the day after that."

"Did you see them again?"

"Yes. I went to another island called Puerto Rico, and I happened to see them as they sailed out of the harbor into the Atlantic."

"Did they see you?"

"Yes, they waved and shouted goodbye."

"Were they in good spirits?"

"Yes, they were laughing and smiling."

"Did they still seem to be the happy couple you had met only two days before?"

"Very much so. They were holding hands."

"Great!" Stone said. "I like that as a memory to leave the jury with."

"What do you think Sir Winston will ask me on cross?"

"Oh, he may play up the fact that you didn't know them intimately. I can't think what else he might ask you. He may not cross-examine at all."

"Good. The sooner I'm off the stand, the better."

Stone stood up. "Don't worry about it, you'll do fine. I've got to go over Allison's testimony with her."

"See you later, then." Stone walked down to the marina, greeted the two policemen on guard, and boarded Expansive.

"That you, Stone?" Allison called from the aft cabin.

"It's me."

She came into the saloon, wearing her usual tight shorts and shirt tied under her breasts.

She couldn't be a murderer, he thought; she just couldn't be.

"Are we going over my testimony?"

"Ready when you are."

"Would you like a beer?"

"Sure, why not." She went to the fridge and got them both a cold bottle of Heineken.

Stone remembered that he had a fax in his pocket. He pulled it out, opened the envelope, and unfolded the sheet of paper. He thought it was odd that Thomas had put the fax in an envelope; he had never done that before. He read the letter.

"Stone," Allison said, concern in her voice, "what's wrong? You look awful."

He felt more numb than awful. He handed her the fax.