“Well, he told her to keep her fucking hands off him.”
“He said that to Dr. Taylor?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Please tell the court what else you may have seen or heard.”
“Well, he always called her ‘that bitch.’ He didn’t want her to go near him. Whenever she came into his room, he would say things like ‘Here comes that bitch again!’ and ‘Tell that bitch to leave me alone’ and ‘Why don’t they get me a real doctor?’”
Gus Venable paused to look over to where Dr. Taylor was seated. The jurors’ eyes followed him. Venable shook his head, as though saddened, then turned back to the witness. “Did Mr. Cronin seem to you to be a man who wanted to give a million dollars to Dr. Taylor?”
Alan Penn was on his feet again. “Objection! He’s calling for an opinion again.”
Judge Young said, “Overruled. The witness may answer the question.”
Alan Penn looked at Paige Taylor and sank back in his seat.
“Hell, no. He hated her guts.”
Dr. Arthur Kane was in the witness box.
Gus Venable said, “Dr. Kane, you were the staff doctor in charge when it was discovered that John Cronin was mur—” He looked at Judge Young. “…killed by insulin being introduced into his TV. Is that correct?”
“It is.”
“And you subsequently discovered that Dr. Taylor was responsible.”
“That’s correct.”
“Dr. Kane, I’m going to show you the official hospital death form signed by Dr. Taylor.” He picked up a paper and handed it to Kane. “Would you read it aloud, please?”
Kane began to read. “ ‘John Cronin. Cause of Death: Respiratory arrest occurred as a complication of myocardial infarction occurring as a complication of pulmonary embolus.’”
“And in layman’s language?”
“The report says that the patient died of a heart attack.”
“And that paper is signed by Dr. Taylor?”
“Yes.”
“Dr. Kane, was that the true cause of John Cronin’s death?”
“No. The insulin injection caused his death.”
“So, Dr. Taylor administered a fatal dose of insulin and then falsified the report?”
“Yes.”
“And you reported it to Dr. Wallace, the hospital administrator, who then reported it to the authorities?”
“Yes. I felt it was my duty.” His voice rang with righteous indignation. “I’m a doctor. I don’t believe in taking the life of another human being under any circumstances.”
The next witness called was John Cronin’s widow. Hazel Cronin was in her late thirties, with flaming red hair, and a voluptuous figure that her plain black dress failed to conceal.
Gus Venable said, “I know how painful this is for you, Mrs. Cronin, but I must ask you to describe to the jury your relationship with your late husband.”
The widow Cronin dabbed at her eyes with a large lace handkerchief. “John and I had a loving marriage. He was a wonderful man. He often told me I had brought him the only real happiness he had ever known.”
“How long were you married to John Cronin?”
“Two years, but John always said it was like two years in heaven.”
“Mrs. Cronin, did your husband ever discuss Dr. Taylor with you? Tell you what a great doctor he thought she was? Or how helpful she had been to him? Or how much he liked her?”
“He never mentioned her.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
“Did John ever discuss cutting you and your brothers out of his will?”
“Absolutely not. He was the most generous man in the world. He always told me that there was nothing I couldn’t have, and that when he died…” Her voice broke. “…that when he died, I would be a wealthy woman, and…” She could not go on.
Judge Young said, “We’ll have a fifteen-minute recess.”
Seated in the back of the courtroom, Jason Curtis was filled with anger. He could not believe what the witnesses were saying about Paige. This is the woman I love, he thought. The woman I’m going to marry.
Immediately after Paige’s arrest, Jason Curtis had gone to visit her in jail.
“We’ll fight this,” he assured her. “I’ll get you the best criminal lawyer in the country.” A name immediately sprang to mind. Alan Penn. Jason had gone to see him.