‘I didn’t kill him.’
‘Then who did? Because it can’t have been Mr Cartwright, as he left some time before the second shot was fired. I feel sure you recall his words when confronted by the chief — “he was still alive when I left him”, and by the way, Mr Cartwright didn’t find it necessary to change out of the suit he’d been wearing earlier that evening.’ Once again Fletcher turned to face the jury, but they were now all staring at Mrs Elliot.
She buried her head in her hands and whispered, ‘Ralph’s the one who should be on trial. He was responsible for his own death.’
However firmly Judge Kravats called the court to order, it was still some time before he was able to restore calm. Fletcher waited until he had complete silence, before he delivered his next sentence.
‘But how is that possible, Mrs Elliot?’ he asked. ‘After all, it was Detective Petrowski who pointed out that it’s quite difficult to shoot yourself from four feet away.’
‘He made me do it.’
Ebden leapt to his feet as the public began repeating the sentence to each other.
‘Objection, your honour, the witness is being...’
‘Overruled,’ said Judge Kravats firmly. ‘Sit down, Mr Ebden, and remain seated.’ The judge turned his attention back to the witness. ‘What did you mean, Mrs Elliot, by “he made me do it”?’
Rebecca turned to the judge, who looked down at her with concern. ‘You honour, Ralph was desperate to win the election at any cost, and after Nat told him that Luke had committed suicide, he knew he no longer had any hope of becoming governor. He kept pacing around the room repeating the words, “I will still kill you”, then he snapped his fingers and said, “I’ve got the solution, you’re going to have to do it”.’
‘What did he mean by that?’ asked the judge.
‘To begin with I didn’t understand myself, your honour, then he started shouting at me. He said, “There’s no time to argue, otherwise he’ll get away, and then we’ll never be able to pin it on him, so I’ll tell you exactly what you’re going to do. First, you’ll shoot me in the shoulder, and then you’ll call the chief at home and tell him that you were in the bedroom when you heard the first shot. You came rushing downstairs when you heard the second shot, and that’s when you saw Cartwright running out of the front door.”’
‘But why did you agree to go along with this outrageous suggestion?’ asked the judge.
‘I didn’t,’ said Rebecca. ‘I told him if there was any shooting to be done, he could do it himself, because I wasn’t going to get involved.’
‘And what did he say to that?’ asked the judge.
‘That he couldn’t shoot himself because the police would be able to work that out, but if I did it, they would never know.’
‘But that still doesn’t explain why you agreed to go through with it?’
‘I didn’t,’ repeated Rebecca quietly. ‘I told him I would have nothing to do with it, Nat had never done me any harm. But then Ralph grabbed the gun and said, “If you’re not willing to go through with it, then there’s only one alternative, I’ll have to shoot you.” I was terrified, but all he said was, “I’ll tell everyone that it was Nat Cartwright who killed my wife when she tried to come to my rescue, then they’ll be even more sympathetic when I play the part of the grieving widower.” He laughed, and added, “Don’t think I wouldn’t do it.” He then took a handkerchief out of his pocket and said, “Wrap this around your hand, so your fingerprints won’t be on the gun.” ’ Rebecca was silent for some time before she whispered, ‘I remember picking up the gun and pointing it at Ralph’s shoulder, but I closed my eyes just as I pulled the trigger. When I opened them, Ralph was slumped in the corner. I didn’t need to check to know that he was dead. I panicked, dropped the gun, ran upstairs and called the chief at home just as Ralph had told me to. Then I started to undress. I’d just put on my robe when I heard the siren. I looked through the curtains and saw a police car turning into the driveway. I ran back downstairs as the car was pulling up outside the house, which didn’t leave me enough time to close the front door. I slumped down in the hallway just before Detective Petrowski came rushing in.’ She bowed her head and this time the weeping was genuine and unrehearsed. Whispering turned to chattering as everyone in the courtroom began to discuss Rebecca’s testimony.
Fletcher turned to face the state’s attorney, who was in a huddle, consulting his team. He made no attempt to hurry them, and returned to take his seat next to Nat. It was some time before Ebden eventually rose from his place. ‘Your honour.’
‘Yes, Mr Ebden?’ said the judge.
‘The state withdraws all charges against the defendant.’ He paused for some time. ‘On a personal note,’ he added as he turned to face Nat and Fletcher, ‘having watched you as a team, I can’t wait to see what will happen when you’re up against each other.’
Spontaneous applause broke out from the public benches, and the noise was such that they did not hear the judge release the prisoner, dismiss the jury, and declare the case closed.
Nat leant across and almost had to shout, ‘Thank you,’ before adding, ‘two inadequate words as I’ll spend the rest of my fife in your debt without ever being able to properly repay you. But nevertheless, thank you.’
Fletcher smiled. ‘Clients,’ he said, ‘fall into two categories; those you hope never to see again, and just occasionally those who you know will be friends for the rest...’
Su Ling suddenly appeared by her husband’s side and threw her arms around him.
‘Thank God,’ she said.
‘Governor will do,’ said Fletcher, as Nat and Su Ling laughed for the first time in weeks. Before Nat could respond, Lucy came bursting through the barrier and greeted her father with the words, ‘Well done, Dad, I’m very proud of you.’
‘Praise indeed,’ said Fletcher. ‘Nat, this is my daughter Lucy, who fortunately isn’t yet old enough to vote for you, but if she were...’ Fletcher looked around, ‘so where’s the woman who caused all this trouble in the first place?’
‘Mom’s at home,’ replied Lucy. ‘After all, you did tell her it would be at least another week before Mr Cartwright would be on the stand.’
‘True,’ said Fletcher.
‘And please pass on my thanks to your wife,’ said Su Ling. ‘We will always remember that it was Annie who persuaded you to represent my husband. Perhaps we can all get together in the near future, and...’
‘Not until after the election,’ said Fletcher firmly, ‘as I’m still hoping that at least one member of my family will be voting for me.’ He paused, and turning to Nat said, ‘Do you know the real reason I worked so hard on this case?’
‘You couldn’t face the thought of having to spend the next few weeks with Barbara Hunter,’ said Nat.