LN Cronan

Next to Eva herself, Magdalene probably knows Gideon better than any other woman. Though all the time she was hoping for more, Maggie actually was a good friend of his, and apparently he still trusts her. She's probably been one of the few women he's been relaxed enough around to drop that shield he always raises when he's out in public.

 

On her own, Maggie already figured out Corrine wasn't working out. When she went to see Gideon at his office to warn him Deanna was sniffing around her (Maggie) looking for info on him, obviously Maggie asked about Corrine. Because why else would Gideon have mentioned he's told Corrine it's best to be long-distance friends, not social ones (meaning no more him and Corrine spending his free time together.)

 

But she also knew him well enough to see that whatever misery had plagued him for weeks was gone. I'll bet it was the first time she'd seen him laugh in a while. Do the math: he doesn't want to spend time with Corrine anymore, but something has made him happy (and that something isn't her). The vase of flowers was the clincher - has to mean he and Eva are at the very least on speaking terms again.

 

Thus she went right downstairs to Eva's office on the excuse to ask if Deanna has been bugging Eva too -- to try to make sure Eva wasn't tempted to actually talk to Deanna. But really, Maggie was there to check her hunch about what Gideon is happy again.

How do we know that Magdalene knows Gideon's history?  I get the impression that Gideon didn't share his abuse with anyone before Eva.  I am positive the Vidal's didn't tell anyone because they thought Gideon lied.  I think Magdalene knows the family and she moves in the same social circles because of that Gideon felt comfortable inviting her to be his +1 to social events but he never felt attracted to her sexually.

 

She knows his "outside" history, like his family, because she's been around to see events herself as their families spent time together. She's been around him for years, in other words, so they've actually got a shared history of sorts. Their social lives and the social lives of their families have been entwined.

 

That's different from knowing his "secrets".

 

No way would Maggie, or even her mother (Lizzie's best friend) know about the "lies" he supposedly spun at around age 10-11 when they tried getting him help for anger management and he ended up claiming he'd been abused. Lizzie would have swept that under the rug -- because it never happened to begin with.

Favorite line from Chapter 9 is Eva shouting "Let's do shots and dance!"

 

Seriously. I know, I know, how could that be a favorite, given how dirty Gideon talks to her (squeeeeeing.) Because .... it's the first time since she started dating Gideon that she's been carefree enough to be a regular 20-something. And she's spending some very healthy hours apart from Gideon, something Dr. Petersen will be happy about when he does hear. Because weeks ago, some of the advice he gave the two of them is they needed to spend time with other people.

 

The early weeks of the relationship were all highs and lows, including four days estranged. And "dancing" involved a pair of red-carpet high society functions with Gideon, both of which ended up being really bad nights (his head trip the first time, and Corrine showing up the second time.) About the nearest they got to regular fun with other people was dinner with Arnoldo and Shawna followed by the Six-Ninths concert -- which was another night gone bad.

 

Then came the awful two-plus weeks of Eva crying every night.

 

In this chapter, she's more carefree than she's been in at least a month (well as carefree as she can be under the circumstances, still so afraid the cops are after Gideon.) She's having fun with friends, and she knows that for the third night in a row, she'll be going "home" to Gideon at their love nest.

 

New Eva is kinda Normal Eva when she's saying "Let's do shots and dance!"

Graves figured out the kitchen fire is what made it possible for Gideon to sneak off from the party hotel, go to Nathan's hotel to kill him, then sneak back to the party hotel. And thus he actually could have done so. He had an "opportunity" to get at Nathan.

 

But because of all the coming and going at the party hotel during the fire and then the clean-up afterward, she'd have a bear of a time trying to prove he left the party hotel for any length of time. Because there were all kinds of witnesses who could say they'd seen him around, but couldn't say exactly what time. There were even people who could testify they talked to him there (firefighters, insurance people, hotel employees, etc.) but they'd only be able to estimate around what time that was. Because he kept moving around, it was impossible to keep constant track of where he was at every single minute.

 

So there's the doubt. The doubt works both ways -- Graves could actually argue her theory the confusion gave him an opportunity to slip away for a time. BUT just because she figured it out, doesn't mean she can actually prove it beyond reasonable doubt. And her side (cops/prosecution) is the side that's got to prove he actually did slip off. To do it, they'd have to find someone who saw him elsewhere, most especially at or near Nathan's hotel. Unless she could find an eyewitness placing him elsewhere, well then the jury could reasonably doubt it. Especially because the defense would have a slew of witnesses who could prove he was at the party/fire.

I have a question.  On the night Gideon told Eva No more Corinne, Gideon told Eva that the kitchen fire was his alibi.  Eva thought Corinne was the alibi, and so did I.  I also got the impression from Graves that the kitchen fire is what convinced her Gideon killed Nathan.  Gideon believed that enough people saw him dealing with the FDNY, insurance, etc. that they couldn't pin the murder on him.  Do you think his lawyers are convinced that they could prove reasonable doubt because of the fire?

 

Corrine served a different purpose than being an alibi witness. 

 

An "alibi" simply is proof that Gideon happened to be in one particular place (the party hotel) and he could  actually prove he was there because witnesses saw him. Lots of witnesses -- people at the party, hotel employees, and best of all, a press photographer. Can't get proof better than that he was at the party -- the picture ran on the famous "Page Six" gossip column in the newspaper.

 

If he was at the party hotel, and he could prove it, then how can the cops say he was at Nathan's hotel? Can't be two places at one time.

 

Gideon used the kitchen fire at the party hotel as his excuse to have to hang out there practically all night.  Which was a very smart thing to do. Gideon needed to be seen around people for hours and hours Thursday into Friday. To just go home alone after the party was too risky. Because at best, the time of death estimate from the autopsy was going to have wiggle room of a couple of hours. So Gideon needed his own wiggle room of even more hours -- starting Thursday afternoon in that business meeting, leaving work to pick up Corrine, hanging out at the party -- then ending up "stuck" for hours at the party hotel dealing with the situation the fire caused.

 

If after the party, Gideon had gone off alone with Corrine to continue their "date", then she would have been his alibi, because she would be the only witness who could say "he was with me at such and such place." If he was with Corrine at such and such place, she's be the proof he couldn't have been somewhere else (at Nathan's hotel.)

 

Eva knew Gideon had to have his entire night accounted for in order to be safe. She was paranoid that he continued his "date" with Corrine past the party, spending hours and hours with her. Even though Eva now understands Gideon wouldn't have been f***** Corrine all night, just the mere thought of them spending many hours probably alone together agonized her. But Gideon didn't do that. Instead, he did crisis management for hours and hours at the hotel; his witnesses were people there, like employees, insurance people, food delivery, fire fighters. Corrine gave up after a while and went home, figuring out she wasn't going to get lucky that night.

 

So what purpose did Corrine serve? To protect him from motive. She was at the party so that the press photographer could get a picture of her and Gideon as a couple. To make everyone believe they were back together. The way Gideon set up that picture -- them standing way too close together with him touching her and her laughing -- would make anyone believe the two of them were more than friends. Even Eva herself believed it.

 

Gideon's true motive was he loved Eva so much he'd even resort to killing to protect her. Corrine was part of a lie to make it appear he didn't love Eva, period -- so why would he kill for a woman he didn't love, a woman he already dumped in favor of another women he'd once been engaged to and who had just left her husband to be with Gideon again.

OK-so now I'm in a what if mode.

What if Angus got worried about Gid doing the deed (getting caught) and sought help from Clancy to point police in another direction?

Come on Book 4!!!

 

This is a distinct possibility. Because if Gideon and the Stantons were cooperating on the problem of Nathan's extortion attempts and those rape photos, then their head bodyguards (Angus and Clancy) had to have been having contact with one another. Clancy, we now know, was the main person keeping an eye on Nathan. Meanwhile, Angus had actually become Eva's bodyguard (she just thought Gideon was having Angus offer to drive her out of guilt when in actuality Angus was watching her back.)

 

Gideon is so sure Angus couldn't have been the one to steal the bracelet off the body. Why is that? Because maybe as soon as Gideon left Nathan's hotel, Angus was waiting there with the "getaway car" -- when Gideon left, Angus left too. But Angus could have gone back while Gideon was busy all those hours handling the aftermath of the "kitchen fire." Or Angus could have called Clancy to go steal the bracelet plus some stalker photos from the hotel room in the wee hours of the morning, before the body was officially "discovered" probably by a housekeeper.

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Eva hasn't told Cary the truth about Nathan. In fact, she's planning on keeping it secret from Cary forever. She's doing this for the exact same reason Gideon kept her in the dark, had been hoping/planning Eva would never find out the truth either. Because to know the truth and help protect Gideon too could possibly make Cary an accessory too.

 

It's also why for much of the book, Eva lied to Cary about where she was spending her nights, who she was sleeping with, telling Cary it was some new guy she met when in fact all along it was Gideon and her back together. As long as it wasn't yet "safe" for Eva and Gideon to get back together, it wasn't safe for anyone to know they were a couple again. Not Cary. Not Dr. Petersen either.

 

Of course, Angus knew they were back together. Angus has known all along Gideon loved Eva and that Corrine was nothing more than a lie to fool the police. Angus is at the very least some sort of accessory too. I believe he's more than an accessory -- that he's an actual accomplice. I think he helped get Gideon to and from Nathan's hotel (drove the "getaway car" so to speak), might have stood as look-out while Gideon was in the room stabbing Nathan, and probably got rid of the knife while Gideon rushed back to the party that was part of his alibi cover.

 

What's the difference between an accessory and an accomplice? An accomplice charge is far more serious -- and it could carry the same prison term as the one the main defendant himself/herself faces. In Angus' case, if he actively helped Gideon pull of the killing itself, he too could face life in prison.

 

A crew of bank robbers is a common example of how the legal concept "accomplice" works. Technically, only the robbers who point the guns at the tellers and force the tellers to give them money are actually "robbing." The guy outside behind the wheel of the getaway car isn't forcing anyone with a gun to give him money. But he is acting an accomplice. And so if the bank robber crew gets caught, that driver faces the same prison term as the guys with the weapons forcing the tellers to hand over money.

Hi Michelle ,thank you for your answer but where I was going with this and I see I may be wrong is that although Gideon did in fact kill Nathan and we as the readers know it and so does Eva is that he never came out and said "I killed Nathan " and I was asking the question because if Eva were questioned or was in court about statements made by Gideon before they were married and the cops asked a yes or no answer about whether or not Gideon confessed to killing Nathan to her the answer would have to be no .They have talked about/around it but he hasn't made a definitive statement about it .He said he killed a man never who (could be metaphorically )can you live with what I've done ,even when she said you killed a man for me he never agreed clearly he had etc perhaps I'm splitting hairs but my thinking was that all of that would be her protection against being an accessory after the fact to the murder and that anything said after marriage would be protected by the sanctity of that union.English is not a first language for me and I may not be coming across very clearly .

 

You come across really well with your English. It amazes me how there are posters here, like you, that read and write in a second language: not only read the books in the original language but actually then write about them in the original English language here.

 

About his confessions: he didn't actually need to say Nathan's actual name --  "I killed Nathan" -- for it to count as a confession. Detective Graves already told Eva that he'd killed Nathan. Gideon confirmed it was true, he had killed -- and even admitted he'd do it again. Gideon seems to try to be avoiding using that monster's name any more, but he's still using the word "kill".

 

Gideon used to be protecting Eva from ever being suspected of being an accessory. That's exactly why he pushed her away. He asked her to "wait" for him to come back, but he was never going to tell her why he'd cut her off in the first place. He was just going to "wait" himself until the police left him alone.

 

But someone else told her the truth instead -- the detective -- so now she knows. And because she's decided to protect Gideon, she now is an accessory to the cover-up. She knows that too. So they're "in it together."

I don't think Gideon thinks she is so innocent anymore. After hearing what she said to Eva.

 

Gideon's illusions Corrine was this sweet person who "never had an unkind word for anyone" (the face she presented to him starting in college) ought to have been shattered when he saw that photo on Eva's cell phone, Corrine coming out of the Crossfire looking like she'd just had a nooner. But it would seem he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt -- maybe she did get some action somewhere else in the building. Mr. Idiot just couldn't see the obvious -- Corrine had been expressly warned by he himself Eva has real issues about jealousy and insecurity, and now the very next day, Corrine was using that knowledge to fight dirty. This was war.

 

His illusions finally were shattered when he heard the whole story about what Corrine pulled the second time, from making Eva wait 20 minutes to answering the door looking like Gideon had just finished f***** her and had probably sent Corrine to the door to get rid of Eva. During that confrontation, Corrine again tried to trick Eva into thinking she (Corrine) actually did have a nooner with Gideon. Unfortunately for Corrine, her eyes gave her away and Eva knew Corrine was a liar. So when he heard about Stunt #2 (the apartment) he also got proof that Stunt #1 (the nooner) had in fact been all an act by Corrine to exploit Eva's weaknesses in order to  ruin the relationship between Eva and Gideon.

 

Then and there, in their love nest apartment when Eva finished telling him what happened, he decided he wanted nothing more to do with Corrine. "Well, that changes things considerably," he said (to Eva). "There's nothing more she and I need to say to each other." (page 144)

 

Unfortunately, though it wasn't that easy. When he stopped returning Corrine's messages, she responded by leaving even more -- calling his cell, calling his office, calling his family. Then she showed up unannounced at the Crossfire. Gideon went downstairs to the lobby to try to get rid of her. It was lunchtime (no accident, I'm sure) and as Corrine probably hoped would happen, Eva came through the lobby. That wench tried Stunt #3 -- kissing Gideon right in front of Eva -- but he put a stop to that and left Corrine standing there as he ran after Eva. (I wonder how that felt for Corrine. Because the only two times all three of them have been in close physical proximity, it's always ended with Gideon literally chasing after Eva.)

 

He ultimately did go see Corrine at her apartment, but only because by then her behavior had turned so crazy that even he himself could no longer deny she literally was going nuts. He went there to verify for himself she actually had crossed over the line into mentally ill and it was high time to call Jean-Francois to come do something about her, given that technically JFG was still her husband and thus legal next of kin. Something that proved true ultimately at the hospital -- Corrine's parents tried to jump in to call the shots with the doctor, but the doctor knew JFG was the husband.

Your right on all counts. From the outset of this book, Gideon is guilty as charged

 

Gideon committed a form of justifiable homicide in my book. It is OK to kill in one's own self defense or the defense of another person -- to prevent an innocent third party from being killed.

 

Nathan was going to murder Eva sooner or later -- probably sooner. He was a dangerously mentally ill monster actively stalking her and his crazy was escalating. He'd already crossed over the line into extreme violence. He beat Cary with a deadly weapon, inflicting injuries that could have been fatal (the skull fracture and the broken ribs.)

 

Cary being beaten half to death convinced Gideon that Eva's life was in very real, immediate danger. Yes, he had some other options, but he felt the only guaranteed way to prevent Nathan from murdering Eva some day was to kill Nathan, and do it as soon as possible.

Gideon confessed to Eva on Wednesday night, the night they got back together after she found out the truth about how Nathan died from Detective Graves. He did so when they talked in her bedroom. They also talked about whether or not she could live with that knowledge, and she agreed she believed she could. As a cop's daughter she knew full well even as she promised Gideon she could live with the truth (in other words, she wasn't going to "turn him in") that she herself was now an active part of his ongoing plan to cover up what he'd done. It's all in Chapter 1.

 

The subject of his having killed Nathan came up directly again on Friday night (Chapter 8), this time in the context of Gideon's nightmares. The fact he'd killed someone, and now is having nightmares about that on top of his rape nightmares, has now made it even more risky for him to sleep next to Eva, given his parasomnia condition that sometimes makes him actually start acting out for real the imaginary violence going on inside his head during a bad nightmare.

 

The fact the pair of them are letting the dead Russian "take the fall" is more of their ongoing co-conspiracy to keep him from ever being charged with Nathan's killing. The subject first came up in Chapter 12 and is more fully-blown-out in Chapter 14.

 

Gideon did it, my friends, and he's confessed to Eva, and she's now protecting him. Whatever plot twists are coming in Books 4 and 5, they're not going to include revelations that someone else did it. Sylvia herself has made clear repeatedly that Gideon did do it, and she has explained as an author why the character of Gideon did what he did.

 

I know it kills (pun intended) some fans to believe our hero could take the ultimate extreme measure to save Eva's own life. But it was most definitely HIM, not whoever subsequently tampered with evidence by stealing that bracelet off Nathan's corpse, plus some of Nathan's recent stalker photos of Eva, later planting that evidence to try to make it look like the Russian gangster was the killer. That bracelet was still on Nathan when Gideon left the body in the hotel room, and Gideon told Eva so (in Chapter 14.)

What sweet memories of my early twenties Chap. 9 has brought to my mind!!! Girls nigths, club hopping, manhunting.... it was fun!!!!

 

here are my picks...  Perhaps it's too early for Gedeon's dirty talk....

I'd better post them later on, when I come back from my Acquagym class.

 

Gabri, it is never too early for Gideon dirty talk. First thing in the morning isn't too early when it comes to him (pun intended). He's considerate, though, about serving coffee in bed. 

This is terrible. It's 4o'clock on a Friday afternoon. What a bunch of husseys we are. Lol

 

Over in the U.K. you ladies are almost ready for after-business-hours partying! Across "The Pond" it's approaching 12 noon in New York City. Nooner time!!! 

I'm actually not getting my hopes up about it...

Movie stars once they reach that status of the role he just got rarely make the move back to television.

Yet recently I read an interview Steven Spielberg did with a panel along with George Lucas and says he foresees that the movie industry is about to implode because of big changes coming in the industry so maybe more a list actors will take the chance of being on tv because let's face it television has taken a lot or risks lately and they've been very successful. Look at Claire Danes in Homeland but she's also doing films so we never know... Sorry about going off in a tangent lol

 

A lot is going to depend on just how huge a hit Man of Steel becomes. The film opened nationwide in the United States today, and the most important numbers will be the first weekend box office receipts (i.e. how much money does it rake in for ticket sales opening weekend.) 

 

If it turns out to be THE blockbuster movie of the summer, Henry Cavill's star power will rise considerably, and thus competition for his next project will be fierce. Lionsgate might end up having to fight other film/TV studios over him, and certainly he'll be a lot more expensive to sign.

 

P.S. I'm going to see the film on Sunday. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE

Like Mrs. C mentioned SD said in a twitter Q&A that snapshots and snippets are forthcoming. She also said that the fourth book should be out by the end of this year. Lastly someone asked about Gideon's sex swing fantasy and she said "it's coming true at some point"

 

No way!!!! Sex swing?!!! HAH!!!! Take that Mr. and Mrs. Christian Grey!

I love his eyes Julie!!

I'm actually dating a guy who's part British, his grandfather's eyes are that blue but unfortunately for me he didn't get those gorgeous blue eyes

I'm a sucker for blue eyes lol

 

The one thing every guy I've ever been serious about has had in common is that all have had blue eyes. I've always been a sucker for blue eyes.

 

I did once develop a terrible college crush on some guy who had the most amazing green eyes. But he liked me only as a friend ;(

I'm in for group dinner at Tableau One, probably near my office...(LOL)

 

Come with us to Primal afterward! There will be shots and hots (guys). How could you say no to that!

Hey, I just cracked the 2,000-post mark. So like Julie before me, I'm required to pick up the tab for dinner at Tableau One.

 

I'll put in our group reservation with Arnoldo. Plus I'll arrange for us to get in the VIP line for Primal afterward, where we can all toss back cranberry-and-Kingsman, do tequila shots, then go dirty dancing up on the skywalk.

 

Raul has agreed to be my date again. The last time we all went out to Tableau One, I did get to ride in the DB9 but didn't get the chance to give the shocks a workout. Maybe Raul was worried about the car's upholstery. I wonder, though, if I might have better luck "getting lucky" in that office up there on the skywalk level.

 

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I'm thinking that at the time Corrine was 'dating' and engaged to Gideon, he wasn't fooling around with any other women.  I think he stated that she was his 1st real 'normal' sexual relationship.  After the end of the engagement, he started this pattern of one-night stands with random women thinking he would never be able to have a successful relationship or marriage due to his nightmares.  Not until Eva had he even spent the entire night with anyone.  As he has stated on a couple of occasions he had dreamed of a woman like Eva but never thought he would find one.  

 

Taking all that into considertion there is no way that Corrine knows him at all whereas Magdalena has been around him all these years and knows his history with other women.  

 

 

Yes and here in lies the difference Magdalene knows Gideon's history and also was a childhood friend, and Corinne knew Gideon sexually but not his history...and then Eva comes along and knows him sexually and his history in a matter of weeks ... No wonder Gideon is desperate in his attempts to CAPTURE his ANGEL and for everyone to know she is his ....she was that lightning in the dark that he was waiting his whole life for...

 

Even within the context of the three-year-relationship with Corrine, all it really was sexually was one long string of the same thing he was doing for one night or maybe a few nights with random partners -- f****** in the hotel room. About the only difference, I think was that after they were done, Gideon was the one who left, citing the "early class the next morning" excuse. Later, Gideon probably was the one asking the women to leave once he was done -- most certainly, he did so with Deanna.

 

Magdalene has had a deeper connection with Gideon -- they have been friends a long time. Still are, as evidenced by Magdalene visiting Gideon in his office a little earlier in the book, in order to talk to him about Deanna sniffing around her (Magdalene) as part of Deanna trying to drum up allies in the "Dumped By Gideon Cross Sisterhood."

 

Corrine is no friend. All along, she was using the "friendship" as a cover to "stalk" Gideon -- first by phone and then in person. Corrine wants what Corrine wants -- Gideon for herself. Magdalene wants what Gideon wants -- happiness. She'd have liked to have made Gideon happy herself; God knows she tried. But once she figured out she couldn't, she gave up.

 

Now that she's figured Eva actually DOES make Gideon happy (Maggie knows him enough to know he was happy around Eva and has been miserable lately with Corrine) Maggie is definitely on Team Eva. Because really, Maggie is on Team Gideon. 

I knew she said that Yes, she was on birth control.  I was just curious as to what type.  She never mentions taking any pills and sometimes she stays over at Gideon's and only has her purse.   Just curious that's all.

 

My guess is she's on the birth control shot -- like "The Pill" it's hormones to stop ovulation. But the shot is needed only once every three months, a lot less complicated than birth control pills, which need to be taken every day.

Hiya.

Because Nathan was being watched by Clancy to protect Eva, to me he is the man to have seen what Gideon did. I'm still going with this theory, with his brothers FBI connections.

Then there was his comments to Eva. "You'll be alright" He was also covering his boss's(Stanton's) back. They had motive too.

 

I believe, too, Clancy is the one who planted the evidence (bracelet, stalking photos of Eva) on the gangster -- to protect her and Gideon, and by extension Monica/Stanton and even himself. Up until the point where Gideon on his own decided to kill Nathan, the whole lot of them (Gideon, Stanton, Monica, Clancy, Angus, probably Raul too) were all actively conspiring to control the Nathan extortion situation. Who's to say that only Gideon himself planned and committed the killing? Not even Eva herself was safe from false accusations she had any sort of hand in the killing. It's one of the reasons Gideon drove her away from him as part of the plot -- for her own protection.

 

I still think though Angus was somehow involved in the actual killing. Gideon is assuming Angus had nothing to do with the gangster situation, but I'm not so sure. To Angus, Gideon is almost a son, and I can see Angus willing to do anything to protect Gideon. Clancy has got that FBI connection (and thus Mafia organization activity within the United States inside information possible) but Angus used to work for British Foreign Intelligence -- MI6 -- (and thus Russian inside information about the international spread of Russian gangs after the Cold War ended possible)

One follow-up to the legal lesson .... as it applies to a real-life trial in general and the very clever way Sylvia twisted the plot here with the Nathan-bracelet-on-the-dead-gangster.

 

In the now remote possibility a prosecutor decided to bring Gideon to trial, that prosecutor has to convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt Gideon did it. Gideon does NOT have to prove himself innocent -- the prosecutor HAS to prove the case "beyond reasonable doubt." So really, all Gideon's defense team would need to do is to punch holes in the prosecution's version of the story.

 

It'd be a slam dunk to punch a hole "big enough to drive a truck through" right now (to use some lawyer snark) by telling the jury about the dead gangster. The defense lawyers would get to cross-examine Detective Graves and her partner all about that. The defense wouldn't even need to come up with witnessed of their own, because the prosecution witnesses themselves (the cops) would be practically a gift to the defense.

 

In the end, the jury would go into deliberations with two different versions of what might have happened:

Gideon Cross killed Nathan Barker because he decided Barker might possibly kill Eva Trammell some day.

The Russian gangster killed Nathan Barker over some sort of criminal deal gone bad.

 

How could the jury decide beyond reasonable doubt Gideon did it when it is actually reasonable to believe it was the Russian? Bingo -- there's the reasonable doubt, so the verdict would have to be not guilty.

 

And if the verdict came back not guilty, it is over forever. The prosecution cannot "appeal" that verdict and ask for a new trial to get another shot at convicting Gideon. The U.S. Constitution forbids something called "double-jeopardy" -- forbids the government from repeatedly trying to convict a citizen of a crime after a jury of other ordinary citizens decided "peers" already decided once the defendant was not guilty. 

 

Really the only option -- well the only smart option -- is for the cops and prosecutors to sit on their hands for now, maybe forever. Unless the cops can come up with proof the Russian gangster didn't do it,  that someone attempted to "frame" the Russian for a crime he didn't commit. This worries them -- and ironically, it's got GidEva concerned too. What if the person trying to frame the gangster is an enemy of Gideon, not someone trying to protect him? Whoever did plant evidence against the Russian does know what Gideon did -- because that bracelet was on Nathan's dead body when Gideon left the hotel room.

 

OK, chapter-per-day spoiler discussion has reach Chapter 9. Everything in this chapter plus any and everything that came before it is fair game. The goal is to avoid jumping ahead to anything in Chapter 10 and beyond. That way, a fan still in the middle of reading the book can jump in early without having later plot twists and especially the ending of the book "spoiled". They system has been working almost perfectly this week ;) !!!!

 

Sylvia loves to know which quotes fans like best. So everyone is encouraged to pick them -- pick as many as they want.

 

As for this particular chapter, with one of the hottest sex scenes EVAH thus far ... well ... picking favorite quotes should be -- um -- fun, to say the least.

It is Friday, here's a wee treat

 

 

"Wee" is not a word I'd apply to Gideon. His -- um -- is definitely not wee. It is, however, quite a treat.

 

Regarding the thorny question of could Eva ever be forced to testify against Gideon, it's a complicated area of U.S. law with some gray areas.

 

I'm the forum's resident expert on criminal trials, including murder trials, having spent a dozen years as a journalist covering crime cases from the start of investigations to the verdicts and beyond. Plus my college education has included courses covering aspects of the U.S. Constitution that cover the rights of citizens suspected/accused of crimes (right to silence, right to a lawyer, etc.).

 

Here are some of the real-world things that could apply to a case such as Gideon and Eva. This stuff is based on some of the things I learned in college and actually saw being applied by the police and the courts. If you can bear a mini law lesson, here it is ....

 

Criminal law and the ways trials are handled in the United States are a hodge-podge. Each of the 50 states has its own set of laws and its own state court system. The VAST majority of criminal cases are handled by the state courts, not the U.S. Federal government courts. The investigation into Nathan's death is being handled under the laws of the State of New York.

 

However, some very important basic things about police investigations and criminal trials apply in every single state, things that are covered under the U.S. Constitution. Both Gideon and Eva have certain constitutional rights. Why Eva too? Because an argument could be made she had been involved before the killing (such as she asked Gideon to do it.) She's definitely involved now after the fact (in helping to protect Gideon, she is now committing the crime of being an accessory after the fact.)

 

There are two kinds of spousal privileges.  The spousal testimonial privilege provides that a spouse may not be compelled to testify against a defendant-spouse in a criminal prosecution.  A second privilege involves confidential communications between spouses and applies in both civil and criminal cases.

 

The spousal testimonial privilege (also known as "spousal immunity") covers all testimony, including testimony concerning events that predated the marriage. Because Gideon and Eva are now married, there is some legal protection over the stuff that happened before the wedding.

 

The spousal confidential communications privilege applied to private conversations between spouses -- but only the conversations that took place during the marriage itself, not before it. Gideon admitted to Eva when they got back together he'd done it -- for example, top of page 107 "I killed a man ..." -- confessions that happened before they got married. Those confessions are not protected as a confidential communication between husband and wife.

 

There are important exceptions to both the testimonial privilege and the communications privilege in criminal cases. For example, the most obvious are cases where one spouse commits a crime against the other -- or commits a crime against their children. I've actually seen cases where one spouse beat up the other and got charged with assault or abused one of their children. The victim later decides he/she doesn't want to press charges. Or the spouse doesn't want to testify against the other in a child abuse case. The prosecution can force the spouse to have to do so anyway -- no dropping the charges or withdrawing statements made to the police. I've seen this done numerous times.

 

Another one of the exceptions to the testimonial privilege and the communications privilege is when a couple together is committing a crime -- i.e. it's not just one spouse knowing about a crime, but rather, the pair of them are co-defendants. Now that Gideon and Eva are "in this together" they're both conspiring to cover up the crime. The conspiracy started the night they got back together.

 

Neither one of them can be forced to talk to the police if they don't want to (the "right to silence" protected under the U.S. Constitution). At any time they do decide to answer police questions, they have a right to have a lawyer present with them (that's another right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution). They can invoke the right at any time - before questioning or during it.

 

In Eva's case, the night Detective Graves told her Gideon did it, Eva clearly said at the very start she didn't want to talk to Graves without a lawyer. So Eva was invoking two rights -- right to silence and right to a lawyer. Graves ought to have walked away then. Technically, Graves did nothing wrong by talking TO Eva (i.e. spilling the beans while Eva sat there) -- but Graves was in a dangerous legal zone doing even that. But to ASK Eva any questions would violate Eva's rights to silence and to have her lawyer with her. Graves DID ask Eva a question (that Eva broke up with Gideon during that phone call Saturday morning -- something that proved Eva dumped Gideon after Nathan was dead, not Gideon left her for Corrine days before Nathan died.) 

 

At last resort, either one could refuse to take the witness stand at their own trial. This is another U.S. Constitutional right. The prosecution has to prove the case -- technically the defense doesn't have to raise a finger. In practice, what the defense actually does is punch holes in the prosecution case and/or presents its own witnesses to tell the jury another side of the story. The defendant himself/herself doesn't have to testify though -- and if the defendant doesn't, the judge basically has to bend over backwards to explain to the jury the defendant didn't have to.

 

Why wouldn't a defendant take the stand? If because if he/she does, he/she gives up "the right to silence." After the defense lawyer is done questioning the defendant, the prosecutor gets to cross-examine -- and the defendant has to answer any questions. So unless Gideon were to take the stand at his trial, the prosecution doesn't get any shot at asking him a single question in front of the jury. Same deal with Eva -- if they charged her with being an accessory, she doesn't have to testify at her own trial. BUT ... if either of them decided to testify in their own behalf, well then the prosecutor gets to try to nail them on cross-examination.