"Ladies and gentlemen, my client, Angus Wallace, admits he was arguing with his friend and one-time business partner, Mr. John Cialino Jr., on that tragic 15 day of February last. He confesses that yes, he did strike his friend, much as one might strike a mate in a pub over a pint of ale. But Mr. Wallace did not kill John Cialino, neither by accident nor intention, for Mr. Cialino was quite alive after he hit the water. We intend to prove that Mr. Cialino's death was, in fact, caused by his own negligence, and not by the hand of his friend, Mr. Angus Wallace."

The judge made a few notes, then turned to his Court Macer. "You may call the first Crown witness."

"The High Court calls Mr. Paul Garrison of Las Vegas, Nevada to the stand."

A middle-aged American with light brown hair, graying at the temples, entered the witness box and was sworn in.

Jennifer Shaw questioned him from her seat. "Please state your full name and occupation for the record."

"Paul Garrison. I work for a large, high-end resort casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada."

"What brought you to Scotland last February, Mr. Garrison?"

"Vacation mostly. Nice of you to fly me back like this."

"Were you at Urquhart's Castle on the evening of February 15?"

"Uh, yes… yes, I was."

"And what did you see?"

"Well, it was winter, so it grew dark pretty fast. Looking over from the ruins, I saw that big silver-bearded guy—"

"Let the record show Mr. Garrison has identified the accused."

"Right, that's him. Anyway, I saw that guy with the silver beard punch the other little guy—"

"Mr. Cialino?"

"Right, Mr. Cialino, right in the face. Anyway, this Cialino guy stumbled, then took a nosedive right into the Loch."

"No further questions."

The judge turned to Max. "Mr. Rael, your witness."

Max looked up from his notes. "Mr. Garrison, from your vantage, were you able to see Mr. Cialino as he fell?"

"Yes."

"Did you actually see him hit the water?"

"I saw the splash, but the drop's too steep."

"So you never actually saw him in the water?"

"No. Like I said, the angle was wrong, me being close to the castle tower. With that drop, you'd have to be right near the edge to see straight down into the water."

"So then, you had no way of knowing if Mr. Cialino was still alive after he fell into Loch Ness?"

"Yeah, I mean no, there's no way I could see him."

"Thank you, Mr. Garrison. No further questions."

And that's the way it continued for the entire first day. The prosecution would present its eyewitnesses, and Max would establish that none of them actually saw John Cialino in the water after Angus had hit him.

At 4:22 that afternoon, the prosecution rested. Max would present his defense on Monday.

Reporters hustled to transmit their stories.

The best was yet to come.

The Diary of Sir Adam Wallace