The Question Quill Left
“Did Mr. Quill ask you to find out whether Jonas Pell had given the ring to Sera Lindqvist?”
Petra Vance held her hands together on the witness stand. “Yes.”
For a moment the courtroom seemed to lose its small, restless sounds. Imogen watched the prosecutor take a step away from the evidence table, as if the answer had given him firmer ground.
“You did not tell this court that yesterday.”
“I was not asked.”
The prosecutor let that answer settle. “When you were asked why Mr. Quill wanted you to trace the ring’s ownership, you said he wanted to establish its provenance.”
“That was accurate.”
“Was it complete?”
“No.”
Imogen’s pencil stopped above her notes. Petra had chosen the word herself. No reluctance, no visible apology. She looked toward the magistrate, not at Sera, who sat beside Imogen with her shoulders squared and her hands flat on the table.
The prosecutor asked when Quill had made the request.
“About three weeks before his death.”
“And he named Sera Lindqvist?”
“He asked whether Pell had given the ring to her.”
“Why?”
“He did not say.”
“What did you do?”
“I looked for records of a transfer. I reviewed the papers Quill had kept and made inquiries where I could. I found nothing that established the ring had passed from Pell to Miss Lindqvist.”
The prosecutor glanced at the magistrate, then at Imogen. “But Mr. Quill believed it might have.”
“Objection. The witness has not testified to what he believed.”
The magistrate looked down at his notes. “Sustained. The witness may report what Mr. Quill asked her to do. His purpose cannot be turned into proof of a transfer.”
“Understood.” The prosecutor’s voice was mild. “Did Mr. Quill tell you what led him to ask about Miss Lindqvist?”
“No.”
“Did you ask?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He said the question had arisen.”
The prosecutor paused, perhaps hoping Petra would fill the silence. She did not. Behind him, Chief Ferro had folded his arms. His attention stayed on the witness, but his expression had tightened at the magistrate’s ruling.
Next
Sera has denied that Pell ever gave her a ring; can she explain her precise memory of its stones without letting the prosecution turn that knowledge into evidence against her?