VENABLE: And you don't know what the numbers mean?

STAMPLER: I'm not sure.

VENABLE: You mark passages in books that appeal to you, do you not?

STAMPLER: Sometimes.

VENABLE: You marked passages in the books in the bishop's library, didn't you?

STAMPLER: Sometimes.

VENABLE: Your Honour, I'd like this marked as state's exhibit thirty-two, please. State's 32, a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter from Bishop Rushman's library, was so marked.

VAIL: No objection.

VENABLE: Recognize this book, Mr Stampler?

STAMPLER: I reckon that's from the bishop's library.

VENABLE: Mr Stampler, I ask you, did you or did you not mark a passage on pate 156 of this copy of The Scarlet Letter - indexed by the number B32?

STAMPLER: Uh.

VENABLE: I'll be a little more direct, Mr Stampler. Are you familiar with this quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter: 'No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true'? Do you recognize that, Mr Stampler?

STAMPLER: Uh.

VENABLE: Do you recognize it? B32.156. Doesn't that strike a bell, Mr Stampler?

STAMPLER: I don't.

VENABLE: Mr Stampler, did you memorize that passage and print those numbers on the back of the bishop's head when you killed him?

VAIL: Objection.

The defendant Stampler suddenly screamed and jumped over the railing separating witness from examiner, attacking Ms Venable.

STAMPLER: You lying bitch! Try to kill me.

At this point, defendant Stampler has to be overpowered by guards and the bailiff. There was general disorder in the courtroom.

JUDGE SHOAT. Order! Order in this courtroom!

So it was the symbol on the back of Rushman's head that had set Stampler off on the witness stand. The case had obviously been settled in the judge's chambers. When the trial reconvened, Shoat had announced that an agreement had been reached between the state and Vail. Aaron Stampler was sent to the state mental hospital at Daisyland until such time as the state rules that he is capable of returning to society.'

What was settled in chambers and why? St Claire wondered as he started to gather up his notes. A methodical man, he arranged them in order, scanning each of the pages as he put them in a file folder. Then he stopped for a moment, staring down at a section from early in the testimony. Suddenly his mouth went dry.

My God, he thought, how could I have missed that!

And where the hell is Aaron Stampler now?

Thirteen

Jane Venable stared south from her thirtieth-floor office window in the glass and steel spire towards the courthouse and thought about Martin Vail. It had been a long time since she felt such passion or been as comfortable with a man. Throughout the day she kept having flashbacks of the night before, fleeting moments that blocked out everything else for an instant or two. Now, staring into the late-afternoon mist in the direction of the courthouse, she wondered if Vail was having the same kind of day.

Вы читаете Show of Evil
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату