Clifford Irving's Legal Novels - 03 - THE SPRING -- a Legal Thriller by Clifford Irving

Author:Clifford Irving [Irving, Clifford]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Law, Criminal Law, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Thrillers, Professional & Technical
Amazon: B00J27406C
Published: 1995-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

A Russian Novel

THE ROARING FORK Valley was on its way toward one of the record winter snowfalls of the century It had snowed every day for two weeks, and more was on the way from California. On the flats the snow would melt quickly, but in the cold mountain air it piled higher and higher. Avalanche warnings were posted. Cornices above crosscountry trails were blasted by explosives three times a week. The entire Elk Range was designated as dangerous, off-limits to recreational skiers. The slopes of Aspen were meant to close for the season on the day after Easter Sunday, but SkiCo was already talking of weekend skiing through Memorial Day.

Sophie had fed the children; now they were upstairs watching television. Once again she was curled on the window seat.

“Henry and Susan Lovell were friends of your parents,” Dennis said. “You knew them pretty well, didn’t you?”

Sophie stared at the ceaseless, silent snow. Even if you stood outside it made no sound as it bonded to the earth.

“How old were they?”

Startled, Sophie swung up smoothly to a sitting position and looked him in the eye.

“Why?”

“Because there’s a mystery about it. And it may have bearing on the case.”

He told her Howard Keating’s story, and the theories based on the gold foil and the dental amalgam. Sophie’s eyes moved away once again, toward the drifting whiteness.

“It may not have been the Lovells’ bodies that were found up there,” she said.

“Come on, Sophie, we know it was them. I’ll ask you again. Do you know how old they were?”

“A few years older than my parents.”

“How many is a few?”

“Four or five. Six at the most.”

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes.”

He remembered his father’s questioning how Sophie could have studied under the English professor who had later gone off to Cambridge. He remembered how she had lied to him about the ages of her grandfather and the woman named Ellen Hapgood. They had seemed innocent lies or even mistakes. Now, in the light of what Keating had told them, he wondered if that were so. And what did it mean? How old were the two dead people in the communal grave at Pearl Pass? Did it matter at all whether they were in their nineties, eighties, or sixties?

Yes, Dennis thought, it matters, and it matters a lot. But I can’t figure out why.

In the Pitkin County Courthouse, at 9:30 A.M. on April 10, Judge Florian struck his gavel and said, “This court will be in order.”

Spectators shuffled their feet and adjusted their buttocks on the wooden benches to find a position of the least discomfort. Veteran trial watchers, sitting on cushions they had brought from home, placed their water bottles on the floor.

Judge Florian intoned: “The People versus Scott Henderson and Beatrice Henderson. Mr. Raymond Bond for the People, Mr. Dennis Conway and Mr. Scott Henderson for the defense. Are the People ready?”

“We are, Your Honor.” Ray Bond’s nostrils quivered like a racehorse being led into the starting gate.

The defense was ready too, affirmed Dennis and Scott, in that order.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.