The Rich Life

28

The Defence Rests

The final day in court. And it was going to be long. The case was at its end. After 6 weeks. Today we will find out about the fate of Adam Dervishi. And I pray that it is good.

"The Defence rises,"

"Thank you, your honour. As I was continuing from yesterday. Anthony Blanco killed himself. He kept a fairly comprehensive diary that I found in his floorboards, evidence that Scotland Yard missed due to their incompetency and the instantaneous belief that my client was guilty. The victim had a bad mental state and often abused substances. The first witness I'd like to call to the stand is Dr Ben Shapiro,"

He was sworn into oath with the Torah.

"Mr Shapiro, how long were you Mr Blanco's psychiatrist for?"

"15 years,"

"What illnesses did Mr Blanco have for him to have visited you over such a long period of time,"

"Depression and Anorexia. Yes, men can get anorexia too. He was suffering from a particularly long episode when he died. He hadn't eaten for days and he spent long hours on call with me,"

"Did you prescribe him anything?"

"Prozac, Valium, Xanax and Lexapro. Anti-depressants and tranquilisers to help calm him down from when he forgot how to live. He was doing fine previously. He had never needed to use medication. But his mental state worsened in August of 2016, which is when I prescribed him with these medicines,"

August 2016. When I had met him in Dubai, 2 and a half years ago. When Adam and Maribelle's marriage had collapsed.

"What about his substance abuse?"

"He was clean for 8 years, He relapsed in January last year. Adam's constant berating and his own isolation had let his demons fall inwards. He was going in a downward spiral very quickly, refusing to check himself into rehab, throwing up every other day. But then he made himself clean in October. No apparent reason. But the depression became ten times worse,"

"How would you describe the victim's feelings?"

"He followed his heart a lot in his personal life. He always thought about consequences later, very impulsive. He loved Adam and Amara Mughal and Maribelle Priest. His entire life revolved around his sister's children. But during his depressive episodes, he often lashed out violently, his hair would fall out and would confine himself into his bedroom,"

"Was he suicidal?"

"Yes. He always planned it, but never went through with it. He would usually calm down by then and realise he was making a terrible mistake,"

"That's all your honour,"

The prosecution cross-examined him but the jury had already believed my story- I had presented Anthony Blanco as an unstable person.

"Your honour. I always thought that Rafael Gonzalez had murdered Anthony Blanco, but the evidence is right here. I have CCTV footage of the victim bribing the owner of a shooting range to give him a gun- that exact gun that had Adam Dervish's prints on it. If the jury turns to exhibit 7, then the images prove that. You may ask yourself, how can a man use a gun without leaving prints on it. The answer is a crutch. Anthony Blanco had broken leg a week prior to his suicide and needed a crutch to support himself. He positioned the gun in such a way that it faced towards him and he used the crutch to pull the trigger,"

Murmurings were taking place around me, "If the Jury turns to exhibit 8, you'll see the gunpowder residue on the bottom. The voice recording was made himself to implicate my client. I had it checked by an audio engineer. Rafael Gonzalez was bribed and brought in by Mr Blanco to prove Adam was guilty. . He was on anti-depressants, and the main side-effect was suicidal thoughts. He had made himself clean, for 95 days so drugs wouldn't appear in the autopsy report but you may ask why,"