Stone tried to look ashamed of his outburst. He turned to look at the gallery as Stendahl left his seat and walked toward the witness box. He caught a glimpse of Hilary Kramer and Jim Forrester watching him, looking as puzzled as Stone was.

Stendahl stood in the witness box.

“Take the book,” the bailiff said, offering a Bible and a card, “and read from the card.”

Stendahl grasped the Bible and read, “I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give in this court will be the truth.”

The bailiff relieved him of the Bible and the card.

Sir Winston turned to the witness box. “State your name, address, and occupation for the record,” he said.

“Frank Stendahl, 1202 Old Brook Road, Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.A. I am the chief claims investigator for the Boston Mutual insurance company.”

“Oh, Christ,” Stone whispered to himself, earning a rebuking glance from Sir Leslie. He hadn’t seen this coming.

“Mr. Stendahl, did your company, Boston Mutual, insure the life of Paul Manning?”

“Yes, we did.”

“In what amount?”

“In the amount of twelve million dollars.”

There was a stir in the jury box and raised eyebrows among the men who sat there.

“Is this, in your experience, a large sum of life insurance?”

“Indeed it is,” Stendahl replied. “In fact, it is the largest policy my company has ever written on an individual life.”

“And how old is your company? Was it recently formed?”

“Boston Mutual was founded in 1798.”

“And in the nearly two hundred years since its founding, it has never written a policy as large as this?”

“Not on an individual life, when the individual was himself paying the premiums. We have had corporate policies that were larger, when a company was insuring the life of, say, its chief executive.”

“What steps did your company take before insuring the life of a person for such a large sum?”

“We did what we do for any large policy, that is, we investigate the background, the reputation, and the net worth of the applicant, and we have him examined by a doctor of our choosing. I personally conducted the background investigation of Mr. Manning.”

“And what did you learn about Paul Manning during your investigations?”

“I learned that Mr. Manning was an important author with a large income; that he had an excellent credit record; and that he was known to be a person of good reputation in his community.”

“And what did the medical evaluation of Mr. Manning reveal about his health?”

“May I consult notes?”

“Yes.”