“No, she did not. Everything she told me had the absolute ring of truth.”

“Thank you, Mr. Forrester; no further questions.”

“Sir Winston?” the judge said.

“Thank you, Your Lordship. Mr. Forrester, do you consider yourself to be an expert on marriage?”

“No, hardly.”

“Are you not presently involved in a divorce from your own wife?”

“Yes, I am.”

“So do you think that, on the basis of two brief meetings, you could pronounce their marriage a happy and successful one?”

“That was my impression.”

“I ask you again, do you think you are qualified to judge the Mannings’ marriage, one way or the other, after meeting them for only a few hours?”

“Well, I’m certainly no marriage counselor, but…”

“Mr. Forrester, I ask you again: are you qualified to judge the state of their marriage?”

“Well, I’m certainly no marriage counselor.”

“Answer the question: are you qualified? Yes or no?”

“No,” Forrester admitted.

“Did you ever see the couple again after they sailed from the Canaries?”

“No, just Mrs. Manning.”

“You were not aboard the yacht with them when it sailed, were you?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“So you have no personal knowledge of what occurred aboard that yacht when Paul Manning died?”

“I have Mrs. Manning’s account.”

“But you have no personal knowledge of these events, do you?”

“No.”

“I have no further questions of this witness.” Sir Winston sat down.

Stone stood. “Your Lordship, I have a brief redirect.”

“Proceed.”

“Mr. Forrester, you saw Mr. and Mrs. Manning together in the Canaries, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And you were the last person alive to see them together?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Relying on your judgment as a journalist and as a human being, do you believe them to have been happily married?”

“I certainly do.”

“Do you believe Allison Manning’s account of her husband’s death to be true?”

“Yes, I certainly do.”

“Thank you, Mr. Forrester, I have no further questions.”

“You may step down, Mr. Forrester,” the judge said. “Mr. Barrington, do you wish to call any other witnesses?”

“Yes, Your Lordship. The defense calls Mrs. Allison Manning.”

Stone watched Allison as she left the dock and walked to the witness box. She seemed relaxed, serene; she certainly looked beautiful. If I can just get her through this, he thought, and if she stands up under cross without losing it, I can win this case.

Allison took hold of the Bible and swore to tell the truth.

Chapter
55

Stone waited while Allison arranged herself in the witness chair and recited her full name and address. He began questioning her slowly about her family background and education, letting her settle down and deal with easy questions. She was following his instruction, making eye contact with the jurors as she answered. Then he began to get to the meat of the matter.

“Mrs. Manning, when and how did you first meet your husband, Paul?”