Chapter 30: Unfavourable Witness
Jane lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her mind consumed by the revelations from Dr. Walsham’s session with Sylvester. She yearned to turn back time, desperate for the chance to uncover the truth and set things right. But did Sylvester’s alter ever tell her the truth directly? Everything had always been so subtle and indirect.
"Hermosa."
"Just a little longer," Jane whispered to herself, determination laced with uncertainty in her voice. She would continue to assist Sylvester. But once that task was accomplished, she vowed she would remove herself from his life, sparing herself further entanglement in his turmoil.
When morning dawned, Jane’s coachman delivered the newspaper to her. Unrolling the paper, her eyes were immediately drawn to another headline: "Justice Yet to Be Served! Will the Cold-blooded Murderer Be Hanged or Electrocuted?"
In the following days, Jane helped the Buttons with the lawyer by recommending her friend, Charles Leary, who had attended school with her. The only problem was that he had little experience.
Charles had been in love with Jane for a long time, and he had taken the case only because she had requested it. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel that he would have to choose another profession with the case he had been given. Because the public was in rage!
"Your opposing lawyer is Rowan Hamilton," Jane let Charles know, who was sitting in the library as he didn’t have his own firm. "Apparently, he’s related to one of the victims’ families. And he’s friends with Sergeant Grugger."
"I am worried, Jane," Charles confessed, because these were powerful people. They would rip him to shreds.
"You are going to be fine, Charles," Jane assured him. After all, she and Addison had been helping him prepare for the case.
When the day of the trial finally arrived, Sylvester was brought to court in the carriage. He was ushered inside the court and made to sit next to Charles Leary, who was his defence lawyer.
His sister Elizabeth and her husband were already seated in the room. Next to them sat Jane and her assistant, Addison. When the judge finally appeared, the courtroom went quiet.
"Mr. Hamilton, would you like to proceed?" Judge Reynolds inquired.
Rowan Hamilton stood up. He had a reputation for winning nearly every case he took on and was well aware of which side the odds favoured. He cast a disdainful glance at his opponent, whom he considered to be little more than a nuisance threatening his illustrious career.
"Yes, Your Honour," Hamilton began.
"Everyone. I intend to present the facts that Mr. Crowley is not innocent by any means, and I will soon prove to you that he is a murderer, responsible for innocent women’s death, all with a chilling lack of remorse. Allow me to call upon our first witness. Sylvester Crowley’s neighbour, Joe Parker."
The witness was none other than ’Grumpy’, who took the stand. Sylvester, knowing his neighbour disliked him, felt a growing sense of unease. Hamilton inquired,
"Mr. Parker, I understand that you were the first to discover Margot Brooks’s body?"
"Yes," Joe replied, his displeasure evident. He clearly disliked public settings and was only present to report what he had witnessed.
"Could you please explain how you came upon Ms. Brooks’s body, given that you reside on a floor above hers?" Hamilton probed further.
Joe looked uneasy, as he didn’t look at the prosecutor directly and pursed his lips. As if recounting what happened a few days ago, he then started,
"I usually like to buy my things early in the morning, when I don’t have to meet or see people. That morning, I went to get milk and the newspaper, when I noticed Margot’s door slightly open. A couple of days before, she had been upset."
"Do you know what she was upset about?" Mr. Hamilton inquired.
Joe’s gaze drifted to where Sylvester sat, and he nodded, "About him. Sylvester Crowley. She was hurt that he was seeing another woman. She had confronted him, but it didn’t go well."
"So you are saying they had a spat?" Mr. Hamilton raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, something along those lines," Joe replied and Mr. Hamilton raised his hands.
"Please note that Mr. Crowley and Ms. Brooks had a fight a couple of days before her death, which shows there could be an action—"
"Objection, Your Honour!" Charles stood up from his seat.
"Sustained," Judge Reynolds said, before sending a glare at the prosecutor. "Mr. Hamilton, I hope this is the last time or you will face consequences for your implications."
"Forgive me, Your Honour," Mr. Hamilton bowed, and then turned back to his witness. "Mr. Parker, could you please recount how you discovered Ms. Brooks?" Charles knew he had little control over the procedure, despite his awareness of his opposing lawyer’s tactics.
"Well, Margot... she... she left her door ajar, and I noticed something spilled near the entrance," Joe Parker began, his voice trembling slightly. "I don’t usually interfere, but knowing she was upset, I decided to check on her. That’s when I found her... lifeless. Eyes gouged out... chest hollow..."
"Ah, similar to the other murders we’ve read about in the newspapers, I presume?" Mr. Hamilton interjected, earning a nod from Joe. "That will be all, Your Honour. Your witness," he concluded, directing the last words at Charles.
Charles rose swiftly, ready to question the witness. "Mr. Parker, how long have you been neighbours with Mr. Crowley?"
"About three years, give or take. Can’t say for certain," Joe replied.
"And during those years, did Mr. Crowley ever display any interest in Ms. Brooks?" Charles inquired further.
"No," Joe answered bluntly.
"Was Ms. Brooks persistent in her advances towards Mr. Crowley?" Charles pressed on.
"She had a thing for him since the day he moved in," Joe admitted.
"Your Honour, I fail to see the relevance of Mr. Leary’s line of questioning," Mr. Hamilton interjected impatiently.
"It is relevant, and I will soon get to the point," Charles assured, before redirecting his attention back to the witness and asking, "Mr. Parker, it is said that Ms. Margot saw a woman go up the stairs to visit Mr. Crowley. Do you know how she looked?"
"No, but Margot said the woman had thick hair that she had let down."
"And you have never seen this woman?" Charles persisted. "Not even once in the last three years?"
Joe stayed quiet for two seconds, before he answered, "Maybe a couple of times, but I didn’t care whom he was seeing. I have other things to do than stalk people."
"Was Mr. Crowley a good neighbour?" Charles asked and Joe frowned.
"Not really. He could get noisy when he had women over or sometimes he would play the music too loud for me to concentrate on my work," Joe wore a scowl at the disturbance caused.
"You never asked him to lower it?"
"Every time I did, he would lie right to my face that he didn’t play any," Joe responded in exasperation.
Charles nodded, and stated, "As you can tell, Mr. Crowley had no recollection, when the music was played loudly. You will see that he is innocent—"
"Mr. Leary, is this your closing statement?" Judge Reynolds looked annoyed at both the lawyers. He then said, "If not, it would do you well to refrain from leading the all of us."