wait in the house, but she was so eager to get going.’
‘Did you notice that the exhaust pipe was plugged with snow?’
‘No. It didn’t even occur to me to look. I didn’t know that it could cause carbon monoxide to build up in the car. I blame myself for that every day.’
Spellman asks, ‘Did you have an affair with Erica Voss before the death of your wife?’
Patrick takes a breath and says, ‘I did not have an affair with her. I slept with her exactly twice. Once at her apartment after we’d been drinking – that was the first time. And another time when she asked me to come over to her apartment on my lunch hour to fix something. We wound up in bed together. I ended it after that.’
‘So you dispute what Erica Voss has said.’
‘I dispute it wholeheartedly. We had casual sex. Twice. That’s it. We were not in love. She never indicated that she had any feelings for me. I loved my wife. I felt that Erica had deliberately seduced me both times. I was twenty-three years old. I’m not proud of cheating on my wife. I put an end to it. Quickly. I didn’t want to jeopardize what I had with Lindsey.’
‘So your marriage was a good one?’
‘Yes, absolutely.’
‘You didn’t argue?’
‘No. Certainly not much, anyway. We got along well.’
‘Did you try to talk to Erica after the death of your wife?’
‘No. I’d been avoiding her since the second time in her apartment. I did approach her at the funeral – I tried to speak to everyone, to thank them for coming – but she turned her back on me. I was relieved, frankly. I didn’t want anything to do with her.’
‘Did Erica Voss ever threaten you and demand money from you in return for her silence?’
‘Yes, on several occasions, in August of this year.’
‘Did you ever pay her any money?’
‘No.’
‘Did you ever offer her any money?’
‘No.’
‘Thank you.’
Patrick’s own attorney stands and says, ‘No questions, your honour.’
Stephanie watches her husband leave the witness box. He had conducted himself well. He’d been believable, perhaps even slightly more believable than Erica. But she doesn’t know what the jurors are thinking. He sits down beside her and she clutches his hand and squeezes it fiercely. He squeezes her hand in return.
‘Your honour, I call Dr Karen Soley.’
A heavy woman makes her way to the witness stand and is sworn in.
‘State your name, please, and your credentials,’ Spellman says.
‘My name is Karen Soley. I’m a forensic pathologist with Grant County.’
‘And did you perform the autopsy on Lindsey Kilgour?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘What were your findings?’
‘I found that Lindsey had died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning. The baby had died in utero.’
‘Was there anything else of interest in the autopsy?’
‘No, not at all.’
Next, Ms Spellman says, ‘I’d like to call Dr Joseph Chang.’
Stephanie feels Patrick start beside her. She glances at him, but he is facing forward. She wonders who this other doctor is. She doesn’t have to wait long to find out.
‘Can you state your qualifications?’
‘I am an emergency doctor at Saint Brigid Hospital in Denver. ‘I’ve been there over twelve years now.’
‘And in the course of your work, did you ever have occasion to see Lindsey Kilgour in the emergency room at Saint Brigid Hospital?’
‘Yes. I saw her late on the night’ – he consults his notes – ‘of November 24, 2008. She had fallen down a flight of stairs and wanted the baby checked. She was about six and a half months pregnant at the time.’
‘She’d fallen down the stairs?’
‘That’s what she said.’
A murmur runs through the audience.
‘And did you examine her?’
‘Yes. We performed an ultrasound and found that the baby was unharmed. But she – Lindsey – had fresh, extensive bruising along her back, as well as bruising and a contusion on the back of her head, under her hair – injuries consistent with a fall down a flight of stairs.’
‘And did you have any suspicions about this fall?’
‘She insisted it was an accident. There was no reason – at that time – not to believe her.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
STEPHANIE SINKS BACK into her seat. She tries to breathe through the intensifying pain of a panic attack. She doesn’t want anyone to see that she is in distress. Patrick is staring stoically straight ahead, but she can detect the tension in his clenched jaw. He looks stunned. She knows she shouldn’t, but she dares to turn around and look at Erica. Erica’s face shows shock. She didn’t know about this, Stephanie