Promise Me Eternity (42 page)

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“I had to see Anita,” Jerry whispered. “I
wanted to see her.”

“But not while you were on duty. How—”

“Then I found her with …”

A terrible thought made Dr. Horras’s jaw
drop. “What, you’re not trying to tell me ….” He was unable to
complete the sentence.

“Yes, I found her in the bedroom, with
Lawson.”

“Oh my God. And then you attacked him.”

“Yes, something like that,” Jerry said with
sadness.

“That’s just too much. Not only did you leave
the hospital while on duty, but you attacked your superior and
broke his jaw. Do you know at all …”

Jerry couldn’t believe his ears. “Didn’t you
get what I said? Lawson was in bed with Anita. Has nobody told you
that Anita and I …”

“Yes, I have heard that you were seeing each
other. Listen, Jerry, I really don’t know what to do with you.”

“With me? What about Lawson? You haven’t
mentioned him once. Is it right for him to cheat on his own wife
and sleep with my future wife?”

“Stop overdramatizing. Dr. Lawson is a highly
respected neurosurgeon and you attacked him. I don’t know how you
two can still work together. Have you thought of that?”

Jerry was at the end of his tether. “So I’m
completely unimportant.”

“That’s not what I said, but …”

Jerry smiled to himself. “Life has a funny
way of turning, doesn’t it? My superior seduces the woman I love.”
He waved with his hand. “There’s nothing left for me at this
hospital anyway. Good-bye, Dr. Horras. I think you’ll manage
without me.”

“Wait, what are you saying?”

“I quit. I’ll write my resignation letter
immediately.”

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere.
Now you’ve disabled my chief surgeon, you’re not going anywhere.
Who else do you think will do the operations?”

“OK, I’ll stay until Dr. Lawson
recovers.”

Dr. Horras wiped his face with a handkerchief
and said, “Good. Listen, don’t write your resignation. I understand
you’re angry, but think it over again. This hospital needs you.” He
was regretting the things he had said, but he only wanted to
frighten Jerry so that he’d never leave while on duty again.

“No, there’s no future for me at this
hospital. How can I work with Anita and Lawson? You must understand
I won’t be able to do that. Anita meant the world to me and now
…”

Watching Jerry walk out the door, Dr. Horras
said, “All I ask is that you think about it. Sleep on it. Don’t
rush into anything.”

In the hallway Jerry collapsed into the
nearest chair and put his head in his hands.
I’m going to lose
my mind!

Chapter 91

_______________________

“Order! Order in the court!” Judge Josepha
Alford shouted, banging her gavel. “Order, please!”

Dr. Patterson had just been escorted into the
courtroom. All those present were shouting angrily. Two cameras at
each side of the courtroom were filming the trial, which was being
broadcast on a number of television channels.

The judge, an older woman, banged the gavel a
few more times before beginning the proceedings. “Before us is the
case of People of the State of Oregon against Dr. Simon Patterson.
Let the trial begin.” She turned to the prosecutor. “I call on you
to submit your opening statement.”

Ormond Kirkwood got up and positioned himself
to face both the jury and the people in the courtroom. “Ladies and
gentlemen, as you know, we have gathered here today because Dr.
Simon Patterson is charged with a violent and brutal murder.” He
turned toward the defendant and gave him a reproachful look. “The
prosecution is going to prove that the defendant murdered his wife,
Helen Patterson, deliberately and in full conscience. During the
trial we will submit evidence which will convince you that that
seemingly calm and friendly man is in fact a cold-blooded and
deliberate murderer. We will endeavor to ensure that he receives
the highest possible sentence. Thank you.” He returned to his
chair.

The judge addressed the defense attorneys:
“Is the defense ready for its opening statement?”

“Of course, Your Honor.” Leonard Hopkins rose
and moved slowly, stopping about two yards from where the judge was
sitting. “Your Honor,” he said, and bowed. “Honorable jurors.” He
bowed again. “Members of the public.” He turned to the numerous
people watching. “Dr. Patterson is a respectable man who has
dedicated his whole life to the cause of medicine and to helping
people. Of course he didn’t kill his wife. We vehemently deny all
the accusations against him in relation to the murder of Helen
Patterson. We will prove to you that Dr. Patterson is not capable
of killing an ant, let alone his own wife. Thank you.”

The hall erupted again. The judge pounded her
gavel once more and shouted, “Order! Order in the courtroom!” After
a while, she said, “Is the prosecution ready to proceed?”

“Of course, Your Honor.” The prosecutor got
up. “I call the prosecution’s first witness, Mr. John Melton.”

Simon Patterson looked at his neighbor in
astonishment as he walked to the witness box with an impassive
face. He then swore to speak the truth and nothing but the
truth.

The prosecutor started questioning the
witness. “Mr. Melton, where do you know Dr. Patterson from?”

“Dr. Patterson is my neighbor. He and his
wife have been to my house for dinner on a number of occasions, and
my wife and I have had dinner at their house a few times.”

“So you were friends?”

John Melton nodded. “In a way, yes. But I’ve
always known there was something wrong with him.”

The jury and everyone else became more
alert.

“What do you mean?” the prosecutor asked.

“They kept arguing. Sometimes they even
shouted at each other in front of me and my wife.”

“Can you tell us about one such
instance?”

“Yes, I can. Not long ago they argued about
their vacation. Helen wanted to go to Dubai to a seven-star hotel,
while Simon told her in front of us that they didn’t have the
money. Helen became very angry. She told him that they would go on
a vacation even if they had to sell the house. I believe she also
mentioned a microscope. All in all, she completely lost it and she
got up and went to the bathroom.”

“What did Dr. Patterson have to say then?”
the prosecutor asked.

“He said that sometimes she gets him so
worked up that he could cut her throat.”

A ruckus erupted in the courtroom and the
judge needed nearly a minute to restore order. Dr. Patterson shook
his head, he was so shocked at his neighbor’s words.

“So you think that Dr. Patterson was quite an
aggressive man?” the prosecutor asked.

The defense attorney Leonard Hopkins got up,
saying, “Objection.”

“Objection sustained,” the judge said. “Don’t
lead the witness, please, Mr. Kirkwood.”

The prosecutor spent some time looking down,
and then he went on. “Did you also witness arguments in the
Pattersons’ home?”

“Yes, I did. On the night of July 6 I was
unable to sleep so I went out for a walk. They were having such a
fight that the whole street could hear them. It was terrible.”

“Was Dr. Patterson shouting at her?”

“Yes, and I heard him hit her, too.”

Sounds of surprise went around the courtroom.
Simon remembered the day he hit her. It had happened only once.

“Thank you. I have no more questions.”

The defense attorney started by saying, “Mr.
Melton, do you happen to know the reason for their argument?”

“Yes, I do. She kept going on about
money.”

“How did Dr. Patterson seem to you when he
wasn’t arguing with his wife? How would you describe his character,
generally?”

“He is quite a calm man.”

“Thank you, that’ll be all.”

The judge said, “The witness may stand down.”
She turned to the prosecution. “Who is your next witness?”

“I call Dr. Ferman, a forensics expert.”

After he was sworn in, the prosecutor said,
“It was you who examined the body of Helen Patterson? Can you tell
us the cause of death?”

Dr. Ferman was an elderly man with deep-set
eyes and thin lips, the corners of which permanently turned down.
He blinked and adjusted his thick-rimmed, heavy glasses. “Yes, Mrs.
Patterson died due to a deep cut to her throat. The main carotid
artery was severed.”

“Does that happen often?”

“No, the cut was precise and in just the
right spot. In my opinion, it had to be made by an expert, somebody
who knew exactly where to cut to cause immediate and certain
death.”

“Thank you. I have no more questions.”

An appalled murmur increased in the
courtroom.

The defense attorney got up with difficulty.
“Dr. Ferman, how many cases in which the murderer has cut the
victim’s throat have you examined?”

“What do you mean? In the whole of my
career?”

“Yes.”

“Thirty, perhaps.”

“Only thirty. And in all those cases, the cut
was different from the one on Mrs. Patterson?”

“Yes, I could say that.”

“Thank you, I have no more questions.”

The next witness was Special Agent Steven
West.

The prosecutor said, “Can you introduce
yourself, please.”

“Special Agent Steven West. I worked on Dr.
Patterson’s case.”

“Good. What was Dr. Patterson’s first
statement when you asked him where he was the night his wife
died?”

“He said he was taking a walk in City Park.
Then he came home and went for another short walk.”

“So after he’d already been for a walk, he
took another short one?”

“Yes, that’s what he said initially.”

“And what did he say later?”

“Later he said that he had been with Mrs.
Vucci.” The courtroom became noisy again. When the noise died down,
Steven said, “We checked his alibi. We visited Mrs. Vucci and she
told us Dr. Patterson had made it up. A few days later he admitted
that it wasn’t the truth.”

“Did you find out anything else?”

“Yes, we found out that the Pattersons both
had life insurance. Dr. Patterson gets around sixty thousand
dollars in the case of his wife’s death.”

Again, a loud murmuring.

“Thank you, that is all.”

The judge looked at Simon’s defense attorney.
“Do you have any questions?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Then we shall finish for today. The trial
continues the day after tomorrow.”

Chapter 92

_______________________

Christine was driving her new Mercedes along
a badly paved road, through a small town. Only a few yards past the
town, where there were no houses, she turned right and drove into a
dark field. There, she waited for an old white vehicle to appear
and park next to her. A thickset man with a crooked nose, mustache,
and protruding ears got out of his vehicle and into the
Mercedes.

“Are you satisfied with my services, Mrs.
Vucci?”

“More than satisfied. I don’t know how you
managed to cut her throat in such an expert way.”

The man smoothed his mustache in a
self-satisfied manner. “My father made me study medicine. I did two
years and then got fed up. I preferred to get down to business, if
you get my meaning.”

Christine smiled coldly. “I won’t detain you.
Here’s the money.”

He opened his eyes wide and, from atop the
instrument panel, took the leather bag she pointed to. “I don’t
have to count it, do I? I can trust you?”

“I think you can.” She turned the ignition
key and the engine started roaring. “Good-bye.”

“Good-bye, Mrs. Vucci. If you ever need me
again, you know where to find me.”

Chapter 93

_______________________

Dr. Ina Holeman had just sat down in the
witness box. She was a tall, elegant woman with jet-black hair and
alabaster skin.

The prosecutor said, “If I’m not mistaken,
you’re a DNA expert. Can you explain to us what that means?”

Dr. Holeman said proudly, “DNA is the genetic
code that can be found in cells in saliva, skin, hair, and other
parts of the body.”

“What is the probability of two people having
the same DNA?”

“The possibility is almost nonexistent.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will
tell you why I am asking this. The scalpel used to kill the victim
was taken for forensic analysis.” He looked at Dr. Holeman. “What
did you find?”

“On the scalpel we found some saliva, the DNA
of which matched Dr. Patterson’s.”

The noise in the courtroom became unbearable.
The judge banged her gavel. All eyes were on Dr. Patterson, who was
as surprised and horrified at the last sentence as everyone
else.

How can this be?
he wondered, shaking
his head.
They must have set me up. It’s impossible
otherwise.

Unless ….
He now recalled Christine
pushing her fingers into his mouth. It was during their lovemaking
on the table where he kept the tray of scalpels.
I don’t believe
it. While I was in ecstasy, she deliberately put my saliva on the
scalpels and later stole one. How could she?

Because of all the noise in the courtroom,
Simon had to cover his ears. This was the moment of realization
that they did in fact have all the necessary evidence against him
and he had no chance of acquittal. He wanted to tell the truth. If
they brought in Christine Vucci, he could point his finger at the
real murderer. But of course he couldn’t say anything. So he sat
there waiting for the sentence.

He started wondering how many years he would
get. For a moment he took his hands from his ears and the noise
descended on him like a thick fog that wouldn’t lift.