laid out on the snow.’ He clears his throat. ‘I observed the heightened colour indicative of carbon monoxide poisoning and declared her dead at the scene.’
‘Can you tell us what you did then?’
‘I spoke to the woman’s husband, Patrick Kilgour. He was obviously distraught. I asked him what had happened and he told me that his wife had been waiting inside the running car while he shovelled it out. It had been snowing heavily for a couple of days before. I immediately examined the vehicle. It was parked at the end of a cul-de-sac, backed almost into a snowbank. The exhaust pipe was packed with snow. From this I determined that it was most likely the victim had died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but I ordered an autopsy, to be sure.’
‘And who performed the autopsy?’
‘I contracted it out to one of the forensic pathologists we use, Karen Soley.’
‘Did you make any further investigations into the death of Lindsey Kilgour?’
Yancik shifts uncomfortably in his chair. ‘Well, as coroner, it is my responsibility to investigate deaths. I took charge of the scene, ordered the body to be taken away and autopsied. The sheriff at the time, Mike Bewdly, questioned the husband, Patrick Kilgour, down at the Sheriff’s Office, as he appeared to be the only actual witness. The sheriff spoke to me afterwards about that conversation.’
‘And what did the autopsy show?’
‘The autopsy confirmed that the victim died of carbon monoxide poisoning.’
‘And was there anything revealed in the questioning of Patrick Kilgour, as reported to you by the sheriff, that led you to have any suspicions as to the manner of death?’
‘No, not at all.’
‘And based on your observations, your investigation, and the autopsy, what was your conclusion?’
‘I concluded that the death had been accidental.’
‘Thank you.’
Patrick’s attorney stands and says, ‘No questions, your honour.’
The coroner leaves the stand and retakes his seat.
Susan Spellman says, ‘I call Michael Bewdly to the stand.’
Michael Bewdly rises and moves heavily to the witness stand. Patrick watches him closely.
‘You were the Grant County sheriff at the time of the death of Lindsey Kilgour, is that right?’ the attorney asks, once the witness has been sworn in.
‘Yes.’
‘Tell us what happened after the coroner arrived.’
‘The coroner arrived and took control of the scene, as was proper. Once that was done, I escorted Patrick Kilgour to the Sheriff’s Office to speak to him about what had happened.’
‘And what did he tell you?’
‘He told us – myself and my investigating officer at the time, Dan Abbott – that his wife had got in the car to stay warm until he’d finished shovelling. When questioned, he said he was unaware that the exhaust pipe of the car was plugged, and unaware of the dangers of such an occurrence.’ The former sheriff clears his throat and volunteers, ‘This happens every year somewhere in the United States after a heavy snowfall – people aren’t as aware of the dangers as they should be.’
‘Did you have any suspicion at all that it might have been deliberate?’
‘None at all.’
‘Did you ask him if he had a policy of life insurance on his wife?’
‘No.’
‘Did you ask him about the state of his marriage?’
‘No.’
‘Thank you.’
Again, Lange stands up and says, ‘Why did you not ask Patrick Kilgour about his marriage, or about possible life insurance?’
‘It – it was just so obviously a tragic accident, I didn’t think it was necessary.’
‘No more questions, your honour,’ Lange says and sits down.
So far, everything is going their way, of course. Patrick has nothing to worry about until Erica takes the stand. He tries to relax, but knowing she will appear makes that impossible.
Ms Spellman says, ‘Next I’d like to call Ken Dingwall.’
Once the witness is sworn in, the attorney asks, ‘Mr Dingwall, did you underwrite a life insurance policy on Lindsey Kilgour?’
‘Yes.’
‘And what were the circumstances surrounding the purchase of that policy?’
‘The two of them, Patrick and Lindsey Kilgour, came into the office in November of 2008. They explained that they were newlyweds – they were obviously expecting a baby – and wanted life insurance policies on both of them.’
‘And how much were these policies for?’
‘One hundred thousand dollars each, with a further one hundred thousand each in the event of accidental death.’
Patrick hears a buzz of excitement travel around the courtroom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
STEPHANIE HEARS THE whispers and feels anger at everyone in the courtroom. They all want her husband to be guilty.
Ms Spellman asks, ‘Is it … unusual to have an additional amount in the event of accidental death?’
The insurance professional is