Page 141 of One of Us Is Guilty

The next few minutes would decide Vanessa’s fate.

59

Vanessa

Vanessa was good at hiding her feelings.

She’d had plenty of practice now.

Her heart was beating fast, and her mouth was so dry, yet she knew if she took even one sip of water she would be sick, right here, in front of the whole courtroom.

She crossed her legs, and locked her fingers together over her knee, and pulled, as if she was anchoring her body to that seat, bracing her body, and her mind, for the storm to come.

‘Mrs. Vanderpool, what is the current state of your relationship with Patrick Vanderpool?’

‘He has filed for divorce. We haven’t seen each other in some time.’

‘But you’re still married?’

‘Yes, we’re still legally married.’

‘Do you understand that, because of your marriage, certain legal protections apply to what you can and can’t testify about in this courtroom?’

‘That has been explained to me, and I understand marital privilege.’

‘The security footage shows that your husband left Molly Green’s building at twenty-two eighteen, on the night of the murder, andyou entered the building at twenty-two thirty-two. What did you see when you entered Molly Green’s apartment?’

Vanessa let go of her knee, uncrossed her legs.

Leaned forward and spoke directly into the microphone in front of her.

‘On legal advice, I assert my right to silence on the basis that my answer might incriminate my husband.’

She leaned back, away from the microphone, as if it was a fire she had just lit.

The DA leaned over his desk, shaking his head, and began to sift through the pages of case law that Harry Ford had given to him. He wasn’t expecting this.

Flynn was a clever son of a bitch. He had found a way for her to saynothing, but in a way that saideverything.

‘Mrs. Vanderpool, was your husband having an affair with the victim, Molly Green?’

Vanessa slowly closed her eyes, and opened them again, leaned into the mic.

‘I refuse to answer on the basis that my answer may incriminate my husband.’

Thump, the sound of Riley’s fist hitting the desk.

She craned her neck to the side, saw the judge making notes, and giving Flynn a look of utter contempt.

‘Mrs. Vanderpool, is your husband a violent man?’

‘I refuse to answer, as the answer may incriminate my husband.’

‘Would you please roll up your shirtsleeves and show the jury your arms?’

‘Object—’ began Riley, shooting up from his seat, but with a look of confusion on his face. He didn’t want this to happen. He had objected on pure instinct, but before he could get the full sentence out of his mouth, his brain told him that this was an area he didn’t want to venture into. He didn’t know what was coming next, and he didn’t want to get into an argument about relevance.

‘Apologies, withdrawn,’ he said.