had a superior witness, the shrimper, who testified that he had seen Miss Clark headed to the tower by boat.
“Do you have any evidence whatsoever that Miss Clark went by land to the tower, Sheriff?”
“No. But going by land is a good theory.”
“Theory!” Tom turned to the jury. “The time for theories was before you arrested Miss Clark, before you held her in jail for two months. The fact is you cannot prove that she went by land, and there was not enough time for her to go by sea. No more questions.”
Eric faced the sheriff for the cross. “Sheriff, isn’t it true that the waters near Barkley Cove are subjected to strong currents, riptides, and undertows that can influence the speed of a boat?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Everybody lives here knows that.”
“Someone who knew how to take advantage of such a current could boat very quickly to the tower from the harbor. In such a case, it would be very feasible to cut twenty minutes off the round trip. Isn’t that correct?” Eric was annoyed that he had to suggest yet another theory, but all he needed was some plausible concept the jurors could latch on to and pull them in.
“Yeah, that’s correct.”
“Thank you.” As soon as Eric turned from the witness stand, Tom stood for the redirect.
“Sheriff, yes or no, do you have any evidence that a current, riptide, or strong wind occurred on the night of October 29 to the 30 that could have decreased the time for someone to boat from the Barkley Cove Harbor to the fire tower, or any evidence that Miss Clark went to the tower by land?”
“No, but I’m sure there—”
“Sheriff, it doesn’t make any difference what you’re sure of or not. Do you have any evidence that a strong riptide was flowing the night of October 29, 1969?”
“No, I don’t.”
53.
Missing Link
1970
The next morning, Tom had only one more witness. His last card.
He called Tim O’Neal, who had operated his own shrimping boat in the waters off Barkley Cove for thirty-eight years. Tim, nearing sixty-five, tall yet stout, had thick brown hair with only whispers of gray, yet a full beard, nearly white. Folks knew him to be quiet and serious, honest and gracious, always opening doors for ladies. The perfect last witness.
“Tim, is it correct that on the night of October 29 to the 30 of last year, you were skippering your boat into Barkley Cove Harbor at approximately 1:45 to 2:00 A.M.?”
“Yes.”
“Two of your crew members, Mr. Hal Miller, who testified here, and Mr. Allen Hunt, who signed an affidavit, both claim they saw Miss Clark motoring north past the harbor in her boat at approximately the times mentioned. Are you aware of their declarations?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see the same boat, at that time and place, that both Mr. Miller and Mr. Hunt saw?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And do you agree with their statements that it was Miss Clark in her boat that you saw motoring north?”
“No. I do not.”
“Why not?”
“It was dark. There was no moon until later. And that boat was too far away to recognize with any certainty. I know everybody ’round here with that kinda boat, and I’ve seen Miss Clark in hers plenty a’ times, and known right away it was her. But that night, it was too dark to recognize that boat or who was in it.”
“Thank you, Tim. No more questions.”
Eric walked up close to the witness stand. “Tim, even if you could not identify that boat, or who exactly was in it, do you agree that a rig about the same size and shape as Miss Clark’s boat was headed toward the Barkley Cove Fire Tower at approximately 1:45 A.M. the night Chase Andrews died at the fire tower around that time?”
“Yes, I can say the boat was a similar shape and size as Miss Clark’s.”
“Thank you very much.”
On redirect, Tom rose and spoke from where he stood. “Tim, to confirm, you testified that you have recognized Miss Clark in her boat many times, but on that evening, you saw nothing at all to identify that boat or boater to be Miss Clark in her rig. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“And can you tell us, are there very many boats the same size and shape as Miss Clark’s boat operating in this area?”
“Oh yes, hers is one of the most common types of boat around. There’s lots of boats just like hers operating here.”
“So the boater you saw that night could have been any number of other persons in a