Promise Me Eternity

by Ian Fox

  “No, there’s no future for me at this hospital. How can I work with Anita and Lawson? You must understand I won’t be able to do that. Anita meant the world to me and now …”

  Watching Jerry walk out the door, Dr. Horras said, “All I ask is that you think about it. Sleep on it. Don’t rush into anything.”

  In the hallway Jerry collapsed into the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. I’m going to lose my mind!

  Chapter 91

  _______________________

  “Order! Order in the court!” Judge Josepha Alford shouted, banging her gavel. “Order, please!”

  Dr. Patterson had just been escorted into the courtroom. All those present were shouting angrily. Two cameras at each side of the courtroom were filming the trial, which was being broadcast on a number of television channels.

  The judge, an older woman, banged the gavel a few more times before beginning the proceedings. “Before us is the case of People of the State of Oregon against Dr. Simon Patterson. Let the trial begin.” She turned to the prosecutor. “I call on you to submit your opening statement.”

  Ormond Kirkwood got up and positioned himself to face both the jury and the people in the courtroom. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we have gathered here today because Dr. Simon Patterson is charged with a violent and brutal murder.” He turned toward the defendant and gave him a reproachful look. “The prosecution is going to prove that the defendant murdered his wife, Helen Patterson, deliberately and in full conscience. During the trial we will submit evidence which will convince you that that seemingly calm and friendly man is in fact a cold-blooded and deliberate murderer. We will endeavor to ensure that he receives the highest possible sentence. Thank you.” He returned to his chair.

  The judge addressed the defense attorneys: “Is the defense ready for its opening statement?”

  “Of course, Your Honor.” Leonard Hopkins rose and moved slowly, stopping about two yards from where the judge was sitting. “Your Honor,” he said, and bowed. “Honorable jurors.” He bowed again. “Members of the public.” He turned to the numerous people watching. “Dr. Patterson is a respectable man who has dedicated his whole life to the cause of medicine and to helping people. Of course he didn’t kill his wife. We vehemently deny all the accusations against him in relation to the murder of Helen Patterson. We will prove to you that Dr. Patterson is not capable of killing an ant, let alone his own wife. Thank you.”

  The hall erupted again. The judge pounded her gavel once more and shouted, “Order! Order in the courtroom!” After a while, she said, “Is the prosecution ready to proceed?”

  “Of course, Your Honor.” The prosecutor got up. “I call the prosecution’s first witness, Mr. John Melton.”

  Simon Patterson looked at his neighbor in astonishment as he walked to the witness box with an impassive face. He then swore to speak the truth and nothing but the truth.

  The prosecutor started questioning the witness. “Mr. Melton, where do you know Dr. Patterson from?”

  “Dr. Patterson is my neighbor. He and his wife have been to my house for dinner on a number of occasions, and my wife and I have had dinner at their house a few times.”

  “So you were friends?”

  John Melton nodded. “In a way, yes. But I’ve always known there was something wrong with him.”

  The jury and everyone else became more alert.

  “What do you mean?” the prosecutor asked.

  “They kept arguing. Sometimes they even shouted at each other in front of me and my wife.”

  “Can you tell us about one such instance?”

  “Yes, I can. Not long ago they argued about their vacation. Helen wanted to go to Dubai to a seven-star hotel, while Simon told her in front of us that they didn’t have the money. Helen became very angry. She told him that they would go on a vacation even if they had to sell the house. I believe she also mentioned a microscope. All in all, she completely lost it and she got up and went to the bathroom.”

  “What did Dr. Patterson have to say then?” the prosecutor asked.

  “He said that sometimes she gets him so worked up that he could cut her throat.”

  A ruckus erupted in the courtroom and the judge needed nearly a minute to restore order. Dr. Patterson shook his head, he was so shocked at his neighbor’s words.

  “So you think that Dr. Patterson was quite an aggressive man?” the prosecutor asked.

  The defense attorney Leonard Hopkins got up, saying, “Objection.”

  “Objection sustained,” the judge said. “Don’t lead the witness, please, Mr. Kirkwood.”

  The prosecutor spent some time looking down, and then he went on. “Did you also witness arguments in the Pattersons’ home?”

  “Yes, I did. On the night of July 6 I was unable to sleep so I went out for a walk. They were having such a fight that the whole street could hear them. It was terrible.”

  “Was Dr. Patterson shouting at her?”

  “Yes, and I heard him hit her, too.”

  Sounds of surprise went around the courtroom. Simon remembered the day he hit her. It had happened only once.

  “Thank you. I have no more questions.”

  The defense attorney started by saying, “Mr. Melton, do you happen to know the reason for their argument?”

  “Yes, I do. She kept going on about money.”

  “How did Dr. Patterson seem to you when he wasn’t arguing with his wife? How would you describe his character, generally?”

  “He is quite a calm man.”

  “Thank you, that’ll be all.”

  The judge said, “The witness may stand down.” She turned to the prosecution. “Who is your next witness?”

  “I call Dr. Ferman, a forensics expert.”

  After he was sworn in, the prosecutor said, “It was you who examined the body of Helen Patterson? Can you tell us the cause of death?”

  Dr. Ferman was an elderly man with deep-set eyes and thin lips, the corners of which permanently turned down. He blinked and adjusted his thick-rimmed, heavy glasses. “Yes, Mrs. Patterson died due to a deep cut to her throat. The main carotid artery was severed.”

  “Does that happen often?”

  “No, the cut was precise and in just the right spot. In my opinion, it had to be made by an expert, somebody who knew exactly where to cut to cause immediate and certain death.”

  “Thank you. I have no more questions.”

  An appalled murmur increased in the courtroom.

  The defense attorney got up with difficulty. “Dr. Ferman, how many cases in which the murderer has cut the victim’s throat have you examined?”

  “What do you mean? In the whole of my career?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thirty, perhaps.”

  “Only thirty. And in all those cases, the cut was different from the one on Mrs. Patterson?”

  “Yes, I could say that.”

  “Thank you, I have no more questions.”

  The next witness was Special Agent Steven West.

  The prosecutor said, “Can you introduce yourself, please.”

  “Special Agent Steven West. I worked on Dr. Patterson’s case.”

  “Good. What was Dr. Patterson’s first statement when you asked him where he was the night his wife died?”

  “He said he was taking a walk in City Park. Then he came home and went for another short walk.”

  “So after he’d already been for a walk, he took another short one?”

  “Yes, that’s what he said initially.”

  “And what did he say later?”

  “Later he said that he had been with Mrs. Vucci.” The courtroom became noisy again. When the noise died down, Steven said, “We checked his alibi. We visited Mrs. Vucci and she told us Dr. Patterson had made it up. A few days later he admitted that it wasn’t the truth.”

  “Did you find out anything else?”

  “Yes, we found out that the Pattersons both had life insurance. Dr. Patterson gets around
sixty thousand dollars in the case of his wife’s death.”

  Again, a loud murmuring.

  “Thank you, that is all.”

  The judge looked at Simon’s defense attorney. “Do you have any questions?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  “Then we shall finish for today. The trial continues the day after tomorrow.”

  Chapter 92

  _______________________

  Christine was driving her new Mercedes along a badly paved road, through a small town. Only a few yards past the town, where there were no houses, she turned right and drove into a dark field. There, she waited for an old white vehicle to appear and park next to her. A thickset man with a crooked nose, mustache, and protruding ears got out of his vehicle and into the Mercedes.

  “Are you satisfied with my services, Mrs. Vucci?”

  “More than satisfied. I don’t know how you managed to cut her throat in such an expert way.”

  The man smoothed his mustache in a self-satisfied manner. “My father made me study medicine. I did two years and then got fed up. I preferred to get down to business, if you get my meaning.”

  Christine smiled coldly. “I won’t detain you. Here’s the money.”

  He opened his eyes wide and, from atop the instrument panel, took the leather bag she pointed to. “I don’t have to count it, do I? I can trust you?”

  “I think you can.” She turned the ignition key and the engine started roaring. “Good-bye.”

  “Good-bye, Mrs. Vucci. If you ever need me again, you know where to find me.”

  Chapter 93

  _______________________

  Dr. Ina Holeman had just sat down in the witness box. She was a tall, elegant woman with jet-black hair and alabaster skin.

  The prosecutor said, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a DNA expert. Can you explain to us what that means?”

  Dr. Holeman said proudly, “DNA is the genetic code that can be found in cells in saliva, skin, hair, and other parts of the body.”

  “What is the probability of two people having the same DNA?”

  “The possibility is almost nonexistent.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will tell you why I am asking this. The scalpel used to kill the victim was taken for forensic analysis.” He looked at Dr. Holeman. “What did you find?”

  “On the scalpel we found some saliva, the DNA of which matched Dr. Patterson’s.”

  The noise in the courtroom became unbearable. The judge banged her gavel. All eyes were on Dr. Patterson, who was as surprised and horrified at the last sentence as everyone else.

  How can this be? he wondered, shaking his head. They must have set me up. It’s impossible otherwise.

  Unless …. He now recalled Christine pushing her fingers into his mouth. It was during their lovemaking on the table where he kept the tray of scalpels. I don’t believe it. While I was in ecstasy, she deliberately put my saliva on the scalpels and later stole one. How could she?

  Because of all the noise in the courtroom, Simon had to cover his ears. This was the moment of realization that they did in fact have all the necessary evidence against him and he had no chance of acquittal. He wanted to tell the truth. If they brought in Christine Vucci, he could point his finger at the real murderer. But of course he couldn’t say anything. So he sat there waiting for the sentence.

  He started wondering how many years he would get. For a moment he took his hands from his ears and the noise descended on him like a thick fog that wouldn’t lift.

  Chapter 94

  _______________________

  At six o’clock in the morning Dr. Miner was woken by a rattling noise. He opened his eyes in fright, wondering what it could be. Remembering Caroline, his heart skipped a beat.

  He greeted her in the kitchen, which smelled of grilled bacon and freshly made coffee.

  “Good morning, Dr. Miner. It’s time we went to work.”

  She was dressed in her uniform. Embarrassed, Robert Miner straightened his pajamas.

  She clapped her hands together. “To the bathroom, quick! Don’t stand there like a statue.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he said as he came to.

  When he got back from the bathroom, she inspected him. “I thought so. Men don’t know how to shave. You’ll have to do the left side again.”

  “Am I in the Army or something?” Dr. Miner joked.

  “I don’t really care. If you want, you can go to work unshaven.”

  “No, no, of course. I’ll go back to the bathroom. Thanks for mentioning it.”

  He didn’t tell her he had shaven badly because his hand was shaking. Caroline had unsettled him. He wanted her like he’d wanted no other woman, but at the same time she intimidated him. He could never conquer her, he told himself; she was so much stronger than him.

  She apologized to Dr. Miner later that afternoon when they met up. “I’m sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have stuck my nose into your business.”

  “Oh, Caroline, it doesn’t matter. I really had shaven badly and I’m thankful you told me. My wife used to tell me about things like that when necessary.” He made the last bit up.

  She replied, “I need to go home and change into some fresh clothes. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, of course not. Tell me where to take you.”

  She showed him the way as they drove along. When they arrived, she invited him up. “I can show you my apartment if you want.”

  “Yes, of course. I’d love to see where you live.”

  The tall building was old and gray plaster was peeling off parts of the façade like bark off a tree. The hallways were dirty and needed painting, the wooden staircase creaked with every step. Following her, Dr. Miner made a face.

  Caroline said, “Don’t be surprised, it’s a mess.”

  In her modestly furnished two-room apartment, everything was in its place. It reminded him of a military room, with plain furniture and no unnecessary clutter. It didn’t look untidy to him.

  While waiting for her to get ready, he noticed some heavy weights on the balcony. Going to the gym isn’t enough, she has to work out at home too. God, I like her.

  When they went out to dinner, Dr. Miner was astonished by the amount of food Caroline managed to put away. He didn’t finish even half of his.

  “If I want my muscle mass to increase, I need to eat well,” she explained. “I run every day so that the fat doesn’t start building around my stomach. That way I get to keep the muscle and get rid of the fat.”

  After dinner, he presented her with a gold brooch he had brought from home.

  She was surprised and pleased at the same time. “You really shouldn’t have. I’m just doing my job.”

  “Nothing but a little gift to show my gratitude to you for sacrificing your free time to help me,” he said. He was disappointed by her remark, ‘I’m just doing my job,’ hoping it wasn’t true and that she liked him at least a little.

  “The dinner was wonderful,” Caroline said. “Of course, for that kind of money, I couldn’t afford it.”

  Again he told her the story about how he and his wife often ate out. Caroline smiled at him the entire time.

  Then they went to his home and, in the living room, talked late into the night. Dr. Miner didn’t pluck up the courage to get any closer to her. They each fell asleep in their own bed.

  Chapter 95

  _______________________

  The next day, Dr. Anita Carter was the first to take the witness stand. She had put on an extremely elegant gray outfit because she knew a lot of people would be watching the trial. To the question of where she knew Dr. Patterson from, she answered that they had been colleagues for quite a number of years.

  The prosecutor asked her if Dr. Patterson was a good surgeon. She shook her head and cited the case where the patient had almost died because he was allergic to iodine.

  Dr. Patterson turned around angrily and searched for Jerry. If he, too, testified against him, then
…. Simon couldn’t see Jerry Duncan in the crowd.

  The prosecutor and Anita Carter talked for the next twenty minutes before they achieved what they wanted. The jury and the public got the feeling that Dr. Patterson was a careless surgeon who should have had his license taken from him years ago.

  Then Dr. Brad Horras appeared, saying that Dr. Patterson had asked him many times if he could change his position.

  “Dr. Patterson wanted to become a researcher. Of course, I wasn’t able to satisfy his request because we needed him as a neurosurgeon. Once he also said, ‘I guess I’ll have to let someone die. Maybe that will help you change your mind.’ I know he didn’t mean it, but I got scared anyhow.”

  At that, there was a lot of muttering in the courtroom.

  The defense called on Edna Weiss, to talk in Dr. Patterson’s favor. She introduced herself and said that she had been cleaning his house for several years. She said Helen was a very difficult woman, obsessed with money. Then she added that Dr. Patterson was an extremely kind person who never raised his voice to his wife. Finally, she said she was sure that Dr. Patterson wasn’t a murderer and that it must have been someone else.

  Simon looked at her with tears in his eyes and was glad that at least one person didn’t testify against him. Where are all my friends? he asked himself. Why isn’t there anyone and why am I all alone? Where are all those people that I have saved? Why doesn’t someone come and say how grateful they are?

  When, after two days, they called Simon Patterson to the witness stand, he looked very unwell. Because of the sleepless nights he had bags under his eyes, his face was strained, and touches of gray had appeared on his temples. Of course he denied all the charges. He told the truth: that he had not killed his wife, that he loved her, and didn’t know how he would live without her. In spite of the tears that ran down his face, he knew that no one in the courtroom believed him. He poured out his heart anyway. He also mentioned the argument at the neighbors’.