Dead in the Water

the rule of every trial attorney: He was going to ask a question he didn’t know the answer to. “Mr. Stendahl,” he said, “was there a provision in Mr. Manning’s insurance policy covering double indemnity?”
    Stendahl hesitated a moment, then answered, “Yes, there was.”
    Thank God , Stone thought. “Would you explain to the court the meaning of the term ‘double indemnity’?”
    “It means that if the insured suffers accidental death, then the death benefit is doubled.”
    “So if Paul Manning had died accidentally, the death benefit would have been twenty-four million dollars?”
    “That is correct.”
    “Now, Mr. Stendahl, I ask you to imagine the circumstances surrounding Paul Manning’s death: he is alone with his wife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Let us say, merely for the purposes of argument, that Mrs. Manning has decided to kill her husband. Having done so, would it not then be very profitable for her to claim that he had died as a result of an accident at sea?”
    “Yes, I suppose it would.”
    “Profitable to the extent of an additional twelve million dollars?”
    “Yes.”
    “But instead, she has asserted that he died as the result of a heart attack, has she not?”
    Sir Winston was up. “Objection; no testimony to that effect thus far.”
    “Sustained,” the judge said.
    “Let me put it this way, Mr. Stendahl. In your experience as an insurance investigator, would a person who had decided to murder an insured do so under conditions of maximum profitability?”
    “Yes.”
    “Not under conditions which would pay only half the available money?”
    “No.”
    “Then, as an experienced investigator, when determining the facts of this case, would you say that Mrs. Manning is more likely or less likely to have murdered her husband?”
    Stendahl sighed. “Less likely.”
    “One final question, Mr. Stendahl,” Stone said. “As a witness in this trial, you are not entirely objective, are you?”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “What I mean is, you have an ax to grind in this case, do you not?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.” But he looked as though he knew exactly what was meant.
    “Mr. Stendahl, can a person murder another, then collect on his life insurance?”
    “No. A murderer is not legally entitled to benefit from his crime.”
    “So if Mrs. Manning should be convicted in this court, what would be the next action of you and your company?”
    The ax fell on Stendahl. “Ah, we would of course endeavor to recover the money already paid.”
    “So, you and your company have a twelve-million-dollar ax to grind, do you not?”
    “I, ah, see your point,” Stendahl said softly.
    “I’ll take that as a yes. Thank you, Mr. Stendahl; no further questions.” Stone sat down and gripped the edge of the table so that his hands would not be seen to tremble. Now the playing field was better than even; it was tilting his way.
    Sir Winston had no redirect. He was not looking happy. He called his next witness. “The prosecution calls Captain Harold Beane of the St. Marks Constabulary.” A well-starched officer took the stand and the oath.
    Now , Stone thought, we find out what, besides the diary, the police might have found on the Expansive.

Chapter
52
    S ir Winston shuffled some notes, then addressed his witness. “Captain Beane, in the pursuit of your duties did you have occasion to visit the yacht Expansive at the marina in English Harbour?”
    “I did.”
    “For what reason?”
    “I received a call from the customs officer at English Harbour saying that a death had occurred on a yacht which had just sailed into the harbour.”
    “What did you find when you arrived at the marina?”
    “I found Mrs. Allison Manning alone on the yacht. She told me that her husband had died aboard while they were en route from the Canary Islands to St. Marks.”
    “Did she mention a cause of death?”
    “She said he had died of natural causes; she strongly suspected a heart attack.”
    “Did you later have occasion to search the yacht?”
    “I did, after the preliminary questioning of Mrs. Manning.”
    “Did you find any evidence aboard the yacht to support Mrs. Manning’s contention that her husband had died of natural causes?”
    “No, I did not.”
    “Did you find any evidence aboard the yacht to suggest that Mr. Manning might not have died of natural causes?”
    “I did.”
    Sir Winston held up the leather-bound diary for the jury to see, then handed it to the