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‘Why not?’
‘That has nothing to do with me,’ she said, looking away.
‘But you’re his solicitor.’
‘I’m representing him in suing Maxton-Schwarz. Whether he killed Stephanie or not is of no consequence to me.’
I was shocked. How could she possibly say that with such coldness?
‘Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that he is guilty,’ I began. ‘Doesn’t it worry you that you’re helping a convicted killer be released from prison before his time, possibly get his conviction quashed and receive a life-changing amount of money?’
Clare smiled and leaned back in her seat. ‘Dawn, if he’s guilty, we are still presented with the question of whether or not he killed her because the balance of his mind was disturbed due to the drug he was taking. Would he have killed her if he wasn’t taking Fenadine? Who knows?’ She shrugged. ‘It’s the fact that he was convicted of a crime, and he was taking a drug which has been proven to alter people’s state of mind, that makes his sentence unsound.’
‘But he could have still killed Stephanie, even if he wasn’t taking Fenadine.’
Clare squeezed her lips tightly closed. She had no intention of replying to that.
‘This is a lot to take in,’ I said.
‘Let me tell you something,’ Clare said, leaning forwards on her desk once again. ‘In January 1992, Joshua Clarke was made redundant from a car manufacturer in Austin, Texas. He applied for other jobs, but his age went against him – he was in his mid-fifties. He spent his days at home and his wife was the sole wage-earner. She started working more hours to cover the shortfall in income and was eventually promoted at the hospital where she worked in administration. Her wages increased considerably, and although they were still earning less, with a few cutbacks, they were solvent once again.
‘Joshua Clarke, however, couldn’t get a job. He received rejection after rejection, and it got to the point where he rarely left the house. He became depressed. His wife took him to the doctor, and he was prescribed Fenadine. At first, there was no change, so his dosage was increased. He eventually began to feel better and started to leave the house more. Unfortunately, he became paranoid and suspected that his wife was having an affair with someone at work. She had started wearing nicer clothes, make-up and perfume than she had before. She said being in management meant she needed to look the part, but he was convinced she was cheating on him. One night, she was late home from work. There had been a power cut at the hospital and the automatic doors had failed, trapping the staff inside. When she arrived home at eleven o’clock that night, she found her husband waiting in the living room with a loaded shotgun in his hands. He shot her twice in the chest. She was dead before she hit the floor.’
‘Oh my God.’
‘He was sentenced to life in prison. Seven years later, he was released with a cheque for two million dollars in his back pocket, signed by Maxton-Schwarz.’
‘So, even though he killed his wife, he was released from prison?’
‘He hadn’t been in his right frame of mind, because he was taking Fenadine,’ Clare stated clearly.
‘But he killed his wife.’
‘Yes, he did. And it’s tragic,’ she said, without emotion in her voice. ‘But he wouldn’t have done that had he not been taking Fenadine.’
‘But he might have done.’
‘We can spend eternity arguing what someone may or may not do, depending on what was or was not happening at any particular time. All we have to go on is facts, and in the case of Joshua Clarke and your father, they both committed murder when they were taking Fenadine.’
I felt conflicted. Suddenly, I understood what Mum had been talking about. Even if Dominic hadn’t meant to kill Stephanie, he still did, and by releasing him early, it was a slap in the face to Stephanie’s memory and her parents who deserved justice.
‘Dawn, have you spoken to your father?’
The question snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked up. ‘No.’
‘I think you should,’ she said, with a glint in her eye. ‘I think it could be beneficial for both of you. You obviously have a great many questions, and I can’t answer all of them. He, however, can. And I believe he will, if you’re the one asking them. I think you should write to him.’
‘Maybe. I’ll give it some thought.’
‘The thing is—’ Clare said. She stood up from her chair and walked slowly around her desk, perching herself on the edge, crossing her legs. She was inches away from me and loomed over me like a lion in the jungle glaring down at its trapped prey. ‘Although there is no statute of limitation against bringing a case against Maxton-Schwarz, there is a moral angle we need to consider.’
‘In what way?’
‘Like you said, your father said he didn’t kill Stephanie, but he did plead guilty to hiding the body. It’s a grey area and one that we could do with adding a dash of colour to, so that when Dominic is released, and the story hits the press, we can draw a line under the case and the public won’t be in uproar.’
‘But you said the conviction would be quashed. He wouldn’t be a murderer then.’
‘I was getting a little ahead of myself there,’ she said, with another twinkle in her eye. ‘The case would go under review. If the panel was to prove Dominic killed Stephanie, the conviction would still stand. Our argument is that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind, couldn’t be held responsible, but he’d still be a killer in the eyes of the law.’
