The Unfit Heiress by Audrey Clare Farley

Author:Audrey Clare Farley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2021-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

13

The Criminal Trial

On Friday, August 14, 1936, the long-awaited criminal mayhem trial of Drs. Boyd and Tillman commenced. Well before the clerk opened the doors to the San Francisco courthouse, reporters and onlookers had gathered by the hundreds, placing bets on everything from the heiress’s wardrobe to the outcome of the trial.

Ann did not disappoint, arriving that first day in a tailored satin dress and matching pillbox hat. As soon as her chauffeur opened the car door and a jeweled heel extended to the pavement, the crowds swarmed around her. “Ann, what do you expect to happen?”

“I expect that justice will be served,” said the young woman, releasing the arm of her driver to smooth the wrinkles from her skirt.

“And what is justice to you, Ann? A maximum sentence of fourteen years?”

“That’s not for me to decide,” said the heiress, straightening her shoulders as photographers angled for shots. “But I have full faith in the court to deliver the appropriate punishment.”

“What about your mother? Have you spoken with her?”

“I haven’t spoken with Mother since I moved out of our apartment about a year ago,” said Ann.

“So you don’t know her whereabouts?”

Ann looked around for her attorney, remembering that she’d promised not to answer any questions without Tyler at her side. “I don’t have a clue where or with whom Mother is. All I know is that she’s not where she’s supposed to be, which is here in California, answering for her crime.”

“Do you believe your mother may make another attempt on her life?”

“Mother has always tried to avoid reckoning with the things she’s done to people. But I pray she won’t take such extreme measures again. I only wish for her to answer for what’s she done.”

“So you won’t blame yourself if she succeeds?”

Ann winced, before taking her driver’s arm again and pressing through the crowd.

Once inside, she spotted Tyler in the bench behind the prosecution, where she’d been promised a seat. She walked toward him with her chin high, pretending not to notice as heads turned and fingers pointed. A few minutes later, a clerk escorted the two physicians to the table where I. M. Golden and Harry McKenzie, the trial lawyer appointed to assist Golden, were shuffling papers.

Ann marveled at the grins on each doctor’s face and the ease with which they awaited the proceedings, exchanging thoughts and chuckles. Tillman, especially, looked as though he didn’t have a care in the world. This led her to wonder if they knew something she didn’t. Had her mother taken action to influence the outcome of the trial? She knew for a fact that Maryon had recently tried to lure Tyler away from her. Was it possible that she’d tried to sway the judge, too?

When Judge Raglan Tuttle entered the courtroom, she scanned his face for evidence of something sinister. But all she saw was a man who seemed emboldened by the scene before him, sitting as tall as he could and clutching his gavel with an air of self-importance.

The first task of the day was to select the jury.

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