course. Once the jury had seen that scar on your back they were never going to believe that I had sleptwith you and to quote Mr Kersley, ‘A jury that has doubts will never send a man to gaol for the rest of his life.’
Sherwood You were brilliant in the witness box, in fact, Sir James only got the better of you once.
Mitchell And when was that?
Sherwood When he tricked you into writing your signature on the Usher’s notepad, to show that you’d lied when you claimed you were right-handed.
Mitchell But I am right-handed. I worked out exactly what Sir James was up to and realised that the image of me signing that pad with my left hand would remain fixed in the jury’s minds.
Sherwood Then why didn’t you try on the rubber glove?
Mitchell I did, at the police station, and I just couldn’t get it on, Elizabeth must have had very small hands.
Sherwood You thought of everything.
Mitchell Yes, and if only Webster hadn’t walked in just before I’ finished injecting her we could have been married a year ago.
Sherwood No, I’m afraid not, Jennifer. You see that was something else Mr Kersley was right about… I never intended to marry you in the first place. (
He turns to walk away as the lights fade
.)
CURTAIN
IF THE AUDIENCE DELIVERS THE VERDICT GUILTY:
Usher Silence in court. Bring up the prisoner.
Sherwood
returns to the dock
.
Judge Will the foreman please rise. Mr Foreman, have you reached a verdict?
Foreman Yes, we have, My Lord.
Judge Do you find the prisoner at the bar, Patrick Hugh Sherwood, guilty or not guilty of the murder of Elizabeth Sherwood?
Foreman Guilty.
The
Judge
turns to face the prisoner in the dock
.
Judge Patrick Hugh Sherwood, you stand convicted of murder by a jury of your peers. You undoubtedly poisoned your young wife, taking advantage of your special knowledge and training, and in so doing dishonoured your profession. You murdered Elizabeth Sherwood in order to be rid of her and inherit a milion pounds. As the law requires, I sentence you to life imprisonment, with the recommendation that you serve a minimum of seventeen years. You may be curious, Mr Sherwood, to discover why I have recommended this particular sentence. Seventeen years is the period of time that was left on the life insurance policy, the profits of which you had planned to enjoy by spending the rest of your life in the luxury of a penthouse apartment in Chelsea with money to spare. You will instead spend those seventeen years in custody at Her Majesty’s pleasure, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Sherwood ’s
head drops into his hand. The attention moves to
Barrington
and
Jarvis .
Barrington God help the poor man.
Jarvis What do you imagine tipped the balance? It must have been a close-run thing.
Barrington We’ll never know, but it can’t have helped that we couldn’t explain why he’d left his bag behind, when he went on insisting that he was with a patient in Westminster.
Jarvis (
nods
) I know it’s the jury’s responsibility to decide the verdict, not ours, but I’m still not sure if the man is guilty.
Barrington Neither am I. (
Watches as
Mitchell
enters the courtroom and stares at
Sherwood .) But I have a feeling that woman is the one person who knows the answer to your question.
Guard
approaches the dock
,
motions
Sherwood
to follow him. They walk halfway across the stage
.
Ashton Well, at least this time you beat the old buzzard.
Kersley Did I? (
Stares at
Barrington .) I’m not so sure. There’s something about this case that doesn’t ring true.
Ashton In what way?
Kersley Nothing I can prove, but I have a feeling we would discover what really took place on the night on March the twenty-first if we could only overhear …
Sherwood
leaves the witness box and begins to walk across the stage
.
Guard Wait there. (
He goes over to another
Guard
who completes the paperwork, as
Mitchell
walks up behind
Sherwood .)
Sherwood You know I didn’t kill Elizabeth.
Mitchell
Sherwood You were brilliant in the witness box, in fact, Sir James only got the better of you once.
Mitchell And when was that?
Sherwood When he tricked you into writing your signature on the Usher’s notepad, to show that you’d lied when you claimed you were right-handed.
Mitchell But I am right-handed. I worked out exactly what Sir James was up to and realised that the image of me signing that pad with my left hand would remain fixed in the jury’s minds.
Sherwood Then why didn’t you try on the rubber glove?
Mitchell I did, at the police station, and I just couldn’t get it on, Elizabeth must have had very small hands.
Sherwood You thought of everything.
Mitchell Yes, and if only Webster hadn’t walked in just before I’ finished injecting her we could have been married a year ago.
Sherwood No, I’m afraid not, Jennifer. You see that was something else Mr Kersley was right about… I never intended to marry you in the first place. (
He turns to walk away as the lights fade
.)
CURTAIN
IF THE AUDIENCE DELIVERS THE VERDICT GUILTY:
Usher Silence in court. Bring up the prisoner.
Sherwood
returns to the dock
.
Judge Will the foreman please rise. Mr Foreman, have you reached a verdict?
Foreman Yes, we have, My Lord.
Judge Do you find the prisoner at the bar, Patrick Hugh Sherwood, guilty or not guilty of the murder of Elizabeth Sherwood?
Foreman Guilty.
The
Judge
turns to face the prisoner in the dock
.
Judge Patrick Hugh Sherwood, you stand convicted of murder by a jury of your peers. You undoubtedly poisoned your young wife, taking advantage of your special knowledge and training, and in so doing dishonoured your profession. You murdered Elizabeth Sherwood in order to be rid of her and inherit a milion pounds. As the law requires, I sentence you to life imprisonment, with the recommendation that you serve a minimum of seventeen years. You may be curious, Mr Sherwood, to discover why I have recommended this particular sentence. Seventeen years is the period of time that was left on the life insurance policy, the profits of which you had planned to enjoy by spending the rest of your life in the luxury of a penthouse apartment in Chelsea with money to spare. You will instead spend those seventeen years in custody at Her Majesty’s pleasure, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Sherwood ’s
head drops into his hand. The attention moves to
Barrington
and
Jarvis .
Barrington God help the poor man.
Jarvis What do you imagine tipped the balance? It must have been a close-run thing.
Barrington We’ll never know, but it can’t have helped that we couldn’t explain why he’d left his bag behind, when he went on insisting that he was with a patient in Westminster.
Jarvis (
nods
) I know it’s the jury’s responsibility to decide the verdict, not ours, but I’m still not sure if the man is guilty.
Barrington Neither am I. (
Watches as
Mitchell
enters the courtroom and stares at
Sherwood .) But I have a feeling that woman is the one person who knows the answer to your question.
Guard
approaches the dock
,
motions
Sherwood
to follow him. They walk halfway across the stage
.
Ashton Well, at least this time you beat the old buzzard.
Kersley Did I? (
Stares at
Barrington .) I’m not so sure. There’s something about this case that doesn’t ring true.
Ashton In what way?
Kersley Nothing I can prove, but I have a feeling we would discover what really took place on the night on March the twenty-first if we could only overhear …
Sherwood
leaves the witness box and begins to walk across the stage
.
Guard Wait there. (
He goes over to another
Guard
who completes the paperwork, as
Mitchell
walks up behind
Sherwood .)
Sherwood You know I didn’t kill Elizabeth.
Mitchell
Similar Books
