PICTURE FOUR WOMEN on vacation, strolling into the lobby of a gorgeous hotel in their sundresses, cigarettes dangling from their fingers and full of anticipation for a four-day weekend in Monte Carlo. At the reception desk, the well-groomed hotel clerk says something to the redheaded woman and the other three women react, making faces and raising mock complaints to the redhead.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVVYG0b3cc
This was a scene everyone in the courtroom was watching on a large projection screen, courtesy of a digital surveillance tape from the Hotel Metropole made on the day they arrived. Mischa remembered the moment captured there; the reception had mentioned Egor's name because he'd booked the suite for Lindsay, and they'd all recoiled at the mention of Egor, one of the boyfriends, on a trip that was supposed to be about everything but their boyfriends. Well, they'd certainly managed to make it about something else, hadn't they?
"This was twenty hundred and forty hours," said Colonel Picard, gesturing to the screen. "This was the moment on seventeen June when the four accused at the hotel."
He meant 8:40 p.m., near dusk, which jibed with her memory. Picard pointed to a stack of small black boxes that were contained in the glass evidence case. "Mr. President, we reviewed surveillance tapes for the entire week surrounding the morning of nineteen June, the day that the bodies of President Diderot and Captain Tissot were discovered. As you can see, we were able to clearly see whenever hotel staff created a new key card for guests to enter their rooms."
"And what did your review show?" asked the presiding judge.
"We identified every single person on the surveillance tapes who received a key card during that one-week time period. We were then able to interview guests at the hotel from that time period as well, to match names to those faces."
"Tell us what your investigation yield."
"Mr. President," said Picard, "from the moment the four accused arrived at the Hotel Metropole until the discovery of the bodies, nobody but these four women received key cards to their suite, the Carre d'Or."
"Is it possible, Colonel, that one of the four women misplaced her key card and someone else picked it up and used it?"
"No, Mr. President. Each of the accused, when arrested, was in possession of her key card."
"Very good, Colonel. And did you conduct any further investigation?"
"We did, Mr. President." Picard drank from his water glass. "We considered other claims the women argued during the investigation: that someone might have bribed hotel staff for a key card, so he wouldn't have to walk up to the front desk and be caught on camera; or that one of the hotel staff broke in."
The presiding judge turned to a page in the dossier and referenced it for the record. "Proceed, Colonel."
"Mr. President, as the dossier indicates, the Hotel Metropole interviewed each member of its staff in my presence. We focused most particularly on staff members who entered that suite during the time period for turndown service or cleaning. But every single staff member was thoroughly investigated. Each one submitted to a lie-detector test. And everyone passed the test. We are confident that no staff member, either intentionally or accidentally, permitted anyone other than those four women to enter their suite, and that those employees who did enter the suite committed no wrongdoing whatsoever."
"Let us be clear, then." The presiding judge closed the dossier and paused a moment. "During the investigation, the accused claimed that physical evidence found at the scene of the murders was planted."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJaLOrgBF5
"Yes, sir."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5i1IaUzQJp
"That mucus belonging to Ms. Fenty was taken from a used tissue found in the hotel suite. That Ms. Fenty's cerumen---earwax---came from a cotton swab in the hotel room. That the blood droplet belonging to Ms. Richie was taken from the hotel suite. You are aware of these claims."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9dTFvHm3B
"Yes, sir."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSP7aazmux
"What would you say to those claims?"338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCP27ky7wT
Picard nodded triumphantly. "Mr. President, I can say with utmost certainty that nobody received a key card to the Carre d'Or suite other than those four women. And no staff member from the hotel allowed anyone else into that suite during that time period."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAf1DHOSam
"Mr. President," he concluded, "there is no way anyone else that room to steal evidence and plant it at the murder scene. The defense's claims are more than just absurd. They are impossible."338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9B2iMO7jpo
