The captain stepped down from the box, and another officer entered with a sheet of plywood, leaning it against a wall. The captain loaded the spear gun, aimed it at the plywood, and fired. The spear buried itself solidly into the wood with a loud thunk. There was a stirring in the jury box as the members imagined the spear entering Paul Manning’s body.

“The defense wishes the spear recorded as Exhibit Number Two for the prosecution,” Sir Winston said. “I have no further questions for the witness at this time.”

“Mr. Barrington?” the judge said.

Stone rose. He wanted to address the spear first. “Thank you, Your Lordship. Captain Beane, have you had occasion to go aboard other yachts at English Harbour?”

“On many occasions,” the officer replied.

“Did any of them have knives aboard?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Did all of them have knives aboard?”

“I suppose so.”

“Did any of them have spear guns aboard?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“So knives and spear guns are quite common, if not universal equipment aboard yachts, are they not?”

“Yes, they are.”

“Did you find any specific evidence that the spear or any of the knives aboard the yacht Expansive was used in the commission of a murder?”

“Well, no.”

“No blood on the spear or any of the knives?”

“No.”

“No blood on the decks?”

“Well, blood could have been washed off.”

“Did you find any evidence that blood had been washed off anything?”

“No.”

“Then what made you conclude that a murder had taken place at all?”

“Oh, the diary,” the captain replied. “I found the diary very incriminating.”

“Have you read the diaries of any other men besides Paul Manning?”

“One or two.”

“Were they written in the third person?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Mr. Manning’s diary was written to say, ‘He did or she did,’ not ‘I did,’ is that not so?”

“That is so.”

“So it was written in the third person?”

“Ah, yes, I see. Yes, the third person.”

“Were any of the other diaries you read written in the third person? Or were they written in the first person, where the diarist describes himself as ‘I’?”

“They were written in the first person.”

“In your experience as a police officer, would you say that diaries are generally written in the first person?”

“Generally, I suppose.”

“Are you aware of how Mr. Manning earned his living?”

“Yes, he was a writer.”

“Do you know what his specialty was as a writer?”

“No.”

“We have heard evidence that he was a writer of thrillers and mystery stories. Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Have you ever before seen the notes a writer makes before he begins writing a book?”

“No.”

“Can you understand how a writer might write notes and scenes that he might later incorporate into a book?”

“Yes, I suppose.”