“Oh, but you did, Mrs. Manning,” he replied. “There were many times aboard the yacht when Mr. Manning was vulnerable, weren’t there?”

“Vulnerable?”

“Times when a small shove would have put this large man overboard. Weren’t there such times?”

“I did not push him overboard!”

“Answer me, Mrs. Manning! Were there not opportunities?”

“If that was what I wanted, I suppose so. But…”

“As when your husband stepped outside the lifelines to urinate, holding on to the yacht with only one hand?”

“Perhaps, but I didn’t…”

“You could have stabbed that one hand with a knife, couldn’t you?”

“No. I…”

“You could have bitten that hand, couldn’t you?”

“I didn’t!”

“That hand that had fed and clothed and given you every luxury!”

“I did not do that!” Tears were streaming down her face again.

“Oh, yes, you did, Mrs. Manning. This jury can look into those angry eyes and see that you did!”

“You’re mad!” she screamed at him. “Completely mad!”

“But not as mad as you were with your husband. So mad that you could abandon him to his fate in the middle of a huge ocean.”

“I did not!” she bawled. “As God is my witness…”

“Yes, you did!”

Stone was on his feet. “Your Lordship, Sir Winston is badgering the witness, not offering evidence.”

The judge held up a hand to quiet him. “Sir Winston…” he said.

“I am finished with this witness, Your Lordship,” Sir Winston said, looking at her once again with contempt. “I think the jury can see through this performance.” He sat down.

Allison sat in the witness chair, sobbing.

“You may step down, Mrs. Manning,” the judge said quietly.

The bailiff helped her down and back to the dock, where she continued to weep.

Chapter
56

The judge looked up at the jury. “Gentlemen, we will now move to closing arguments. Sir Winston, may we have your closing?”

Sir Winston Sutherland rose and faced the jury, offering Stone and Sir Leslie Hewitt his back. “Gentlemen,” Sir Winston said. “Today you have seen evil incarnate in the form of a pretty woman, not the first time the devil has used this form. You have heard how Paul Manning, a successful writer, gave his wife everything—a big house, expensive cars and clothes, a dream trip on a glorious yacht—and how she showed her gratitude by ending his life so that she could have all his money for herself.

“Think of it, gentlemen: a yacht filled with the utensils of death—knives, harpoons, and, no doubt, other weapons since disposed of at sea.”

Stone was halfway to his feet, but Sir Leslie put out a hand and stopped him. He held a finger to his lips, and Stone sank back into his chair.