Page 114 of Dissection of a Murder
“But you remember telling your lover to leave so she wouldn’t get into trouble. What else did you talk about?”
“Nothing. There wasn’t time. She got her stuff and left.”
“And then you called 999 from the club landline?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Smythe opened up FaceTime at 10:39 p.m. but you didn’t call 999 until 11:07 p.m. What on earth were you—and your lover—doing for twenty-eight minutes?”
“As I said, I can’t remember. We were in shock.”
“Isn’t it right that the reason you didn’t call an ambulance straightaway is because you wanted Anton Smythe to die?”
“No,” he reaffirms.
“Something else happened in the room that night that doesn’t add up here, and you needed to ensure that whatever it was didn’t leave that room. Isn’t that right?”
“No, I’ve told you everything.”
“There’s no reason why you wouldn’t call an ambulance straightaway. The only reason would be that you wanted him dead.”
“That’s not true.”
“And you needed him dead so he wouldn’t be able to tell the police what happened, and that you attempted to kill him.”
“No,” he says, looking up at the ceiling. His tone is defensive now. His voice, louder.Careful, Jack.
“As for this lover of yours, she doesn’t exist, does she? Or if she does, she wasn’t there.”
“Yes, she was.” He nods, the faintest hint of irritation coming through.
“It’s frankly absurd to suggest that you’d go through all of this for someone else. To put your liberty on the line without any guarantee it would work out in the end.”
“That’s your opinion,” he tells Julian.
Please let this be over soon.
“Isn’t it fair to say that you care more about protecting yourself or thiswomanof yours than carrying out justice for Anton Smythe’s family?”
“True justice would be having Quinn Smythe take responsibility for what he’s done. If he had, his father wouldn’t be dead,” Jack snaps.
It’s a bold statement, and I see why he made it, but it doesn’t land well. It comes across as cold, uncaring, and, well, the kind of thing a killer would say. Julian got what he went in for. While Jack was calm and collected for the most part, all it takes is one sentence to throw the rest of the evidence off. One sentence the prosecution can hang their entire closing speech on. And that was it.
“No further questions, Your Ladyship,” Julian declares. He doesn’t even bother trying to hide the smirk on his face.
“Reexamination, Miss Reynolds?”
No, thank you. I’m not making this worse than it is.
“None, My Lady,” I reply.
Jack is taken back into the dock as Julian sits quietly a few benches away. I refuse to look at him directly. He thinks he’s decimated us.
Well, I’m not done yet.
“Who is your next defense witness, Miss Reynolds?”
“Your Ladyship, the defense asks for leave to recall Quinn Smythe to the witness box.”
