In Self Defense by Susan Sloan (phonics books .TXT) 📕

in very much in love with her husband.  There was never any doubt about that.”

“But you won’t venture an opinion on whether her husband was very much in love with her?”

Hartstone shifted somewhat uncomfortably in the witness chair.  “Let’s just say that the opportunity to run Nicolaidis Industries was a powerful motivator.”

“Are you saying that Gus promised Durant the reins only if his daughter was part of the bargain?”

“There are worse reasons to marry,” Hartstone said.

“Well then, let me ask you this, sir -- what would have happened, professionally, that is, if the Durants had divorced?”

“I guess it would have depended on the divorce,” Hartstone said.

“What do you mean?”

“Specifically, it would have depended on who was seeking the divorce,” the witness clarified for the jury.  “If Clare wanted the divorce, or if it were mutual, I expect Richard could have made his continuing employment a condition.  However, if Richard wanted the divorce, I suspect it would have been something else entirely.  And that’s what I told him?”

“Him?  You mean Richard Durant?”

“Yes.  About ten months or so before he died, Richard came to me with much the same question.”

“And what was it you told him?”

“I told him I couldn’t advise him in any legal manner, but that Gus’s wishes were clear.”

“And they were?”

“Contract or no contract, Richard stayed at Nicolaidis Industries at the pleasure of his wife.”

***

Erin made a beeline for police headquarters as soon as court adjourned for the day.

“What are you doing here?” Dusty asked.

“I just want to check on something,” she murmured.

“What something?” her partner wanted to know.

She looked at him for a long moment.  “Something we may have missed,” she said finally.

***

“Defense calls Dr. Susan Bridges,” David announced, and a petite woman in her mid-forties with hazel eyes and short brown hair walked to the stand.  “Dr. Bridges, will you please tell the jury what your specialty is and what your credentials are?”

“I’m a doctor of psychiatry,” the witness responded.  “I earned my bachelor of science degree from Northwestern University and my medical degree from Stanford University.  I’m currently in private practice here in Seattle, I’m associated with the Swedish Medical Center, and I also teach classes in trauma rehabilitation at the University of Washington.  I’m a member of both the American Psychiatric Association and the Washington State Psychiatric Association, and I’m certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.”

“Will you describe what you mean by trauma rehabilitation?”

“Certainly,” the psychiatrist said agreeably.  “Many people experience trauma of one kind or another, at one time or another, and for some, it’s a life-altering event.  I help trauma victims work through their issues.”

“Did you have occasion to meet and work with Clare Durant, the defendant in this case?”

“Yes, I did,” Bridges replied.  “We met on a number of occasions.”

“Doctor, Mrs. Durant has waived privilege here, so will you please tell the jury what your sessions were about?”

“Mrs. Durant had endured a series of traumatic events in a very short period of time, in this case, less than a year,” the psychiatrist responded, “beginning with a potentially lethal bout of arsenic poisoning, and then an almost fatal fall off a mountain, and then an equally dangerous run-in with a reckless driver, and it all culminated in the untimely death of her husband at her own hand.  Quite justifiably, she was emotionally destroyed.  We spent a number of sessions working on getting her to understand that some things are simply beyond our control, and we shouldn’t always hold ourselves responsible.”

“What did Mrs. Durant feel responsible for?” David asked.

“For the death of her husband, of course,” Dr. Bridges said.

“In what way?”

“She felt -- and I believe still does feel -- that everything that had happened to her leading up to the night in her bedroom was what caused her to react the way she did.  And she’s right.  We act and react based on what happens to us.  A culminating act is based on everything that came before it.  In this case, her close calls with death, the stalker, the police setting up their trap -- all of that played right into what happened.  If none of those things had occurred, the outcome would almost certainly have been quite different.”

“Thank you,” David said.

***

“What about premeditated murder, Dr. Bridges?” Sundstrom asked.

“What about it?”

“Doesn’t that occur because of a set of circumstances that precede it?”

“Of course.”

“So, would it be fair to say that if a set of circumstances existed that had nothing whatsoever to do with Mrs. Durant’s close calls with death, this could have influenced the outcome?”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” the psychiatrist replied, “So I’m not sure how to respond.”

“You treated Mrs. Durant in regard to one set of circumstances, and I just want to know if that was the only set of circumstances that could have been in play here,” the prosecutor clarified.  “For example, what if her trauma was caused, not by her close encounters with death, but by the threat of a messy public divorce, the subsequent damage to her prominent position in the community, and the acute embarrassment of being so callously discarded -- could that series of circumstances have triggered the same result?”

Susan Bridges shrugged.  “Hypothetically, sure,” she said.

***

“Did the issue of a messy public divorce or acute embarrassment ever come up in any of your sessions with Mrs. Durant, Doctor?” David asked on redirect.

“No,” the psychiatrist testified.

“Are you easily fooled?”

The doctor smiled.  “All of us can be fooled,” she said, speaking the absolute truth.  “But we’re specifically trained to detect subterfuge.  In my sessions with Clare Durant, I found no hint of subterfuge, no deception of any kind.”

“Nothing further,” David said, quite satisfied with her testimony.  She had said exactly what he had hoped she would, nothing more, nothing less.

***

“How are you holding up?” Nina asked during her regular nightly telephone call since the trial had begun.

“I suppose I’ve been better,” Clare admitted.

“I’m testifying tomorrow,” the editor told her.

“Yes, I know,” Clare said.  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am to have