Ed Lacy - Breathe No More My Lady

“A strange picture? But an everyday one in the Anthony home! For Matt Anthony's office, his store, was his home. You have heard him testify he thought about his work, his creative work, all day long. And all day long Francine Anthony nagged about his friends, his swimming, an aqua-lung. Obviously this put Matt Anthony under a terrible strain, and not merely for a day, but from the evidence of the State's witnesses, and from Mr. Anthony, this went on constantly. Why did she do this? Was Matt Anthony a bad husband, stingy and unkind, narrow and demanding? Or didn't Francine Anthony understand the nature of his work, his urgent need for inner peace?

“Let us look at the facts. Francine Anthony has previously been married to a writer—a not successful one. At the time she married Matt Anthony he was already an established and well-known author. In other words—she knew from her own experience exactly what it meant to be a writer's wife. Also, if she had read the papers and magazines she certainly knew of Matt's dynamic way of living—a way of living which several famous writers have said is of vital importance to spur the brain juices from which a writer's creative skill flows. In short, Mrs. Anthony was not a sheltered school girl suddenly thrown into a life too exciting and different for her. On the contrary, she was a mature woman well acquainted with writers and their working methods.

“Then perhaps she was doing this out of spite because she thought her husband was mean, a man squeezing every cent? Let us again consider the facts. Before she married Matt Anthony, Francine was supporting herself and her husband by working as a cashier. What could she have been earning then, certainly not much more than $50 a week. Her husband was a failure, their marriage was one of these on and off affairs— is this not a picture of a lonely, bitter and frustrated woman?

“Matt Anthony comes into her life. They fall in love. He pays for her divorce, they marry. Practically overnight this woman—neither pretty or young—is suddenly raised from a dreary life of frustration to a dream of luxury. She traveled about the country, in Europe, the West Indies. She had a fabulous house not far from here, boats, a maid, charge accounts and good clothes, mink coats. Through her husband she met famous people, had expensive fishing and golf equipment, hundreds of dollars a week, for household expenses— she was Mrs. Matt Anthony. You heard Miss Fitzgerald, the maid, testify that at no time did Francine Anthony do a bit of work around the house, not even the shopping. She didn't have to, she was the wife of a successful man. She and Mr. Anthony lived big. True, Mr. Anthony was not a millionaire, nor was his income in the upper brackets, but the Anthonys lived better than most millionaires do! From the testimony it is obvious Francine Anthony also enjoyed this luxury living. Sometimes, we have been told, she complained that Matt was spending too much money—but wasn't that sheer hypocrisy when she spent thousands of dollars on her fishing equipment? I have yet to hear of a $350 set of golf clubs or a $650 fishing reel being considered a family necessity! And if they were spending too much money—mind you, I said they, for they spent it together—what perverse mental quirk made Francine Anthony literally bite the hand that fed her so well? For every cent of their income came from Matt Anthony's brains, from his wits and creative imagination—and these she tried to strangle with her nagging. Was she jealous of his success? Did this neurotic woman envy her husband's ability? Indeed, our Pandora's Box reveals an odd and twisted relationship, twisted by a woman so used to failure she couldn't stand success, thus had to destroy it!” Jackson hung out his hands in appeal. Then he held on to the jury box rail, his rugged face full of tragic sadness: the silence in the courtroom was absolute.

Suddenly he slapped the rail, a hard slapping sound, as he boomed, “What other fact can explain this except that some part of Francine Anthony's mind had cracked? Was Matt Anthony doing anything that would upset his wife? Was he running with other women? Was he drinking to excess? Was he lazy? Did he deny her anything? Did he beat her? No! You have heard the testimony of the Hunters, long-time friends of the Anthonys—they said nothing about women or his being a drunkard. Then, coming to the fateful day of July 25th, let us see why she was nagging her husband on that day. She was annoyed because Matt had brought an old friend to the Anthony home! A friend Matt had not seen in many years, a buddy in trouble, and because Matt Anthony asked this man into his own home for a drink, showed him ordinary hospitality, Francine Anthony threatened to make a scene! In the name of common sense, I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, was Francine Anthony a rational woman? A wife isn't expected to like all of her husband's friends, but she most certainly is expected to have sufficient manners not to insult them! Certainly a man has the right to choose his friends—but not Matt Anthony, his wife set herself up as the supreme judge of who should be Mart's friends and who should not! Mind you, all this despite the fact she had never met the friend in question before, that Matt Anthony's friendship with this man dated back to Mart's days as a college instructor—long before he ever knew of Francine. She didn't even have the decency to upbraid her husband in private but nagged him openly—before their houseguests. If your husband or wife tried to make a fool of you before friends, wouldn't that put your nerves on edge? Was this the act of a loving and considerate wife? Indeed not, it was the work of a shrew, a woman perhaps mentally upset by a change of life process, a mental midget who tried to henpeck a giant of a man—her loving and tolerant husband!”

Jackson slapped the jury rail again, lightly this time, as if in disgust. When he mentioned change of life I saw two of the women jurors actually blush. In fact Matt had looked a bit startled, then started scribbling away like mad.

“Now, let us examine the scene in the rowboat. I want you to keep in mind that there were only two people in that boat, therefore the only true story of what happened, the only actual facts we can possibly know, is what Matt Anthony has told us under oath. Well then, what exactly did happen? Matt Anthony bought himself a skin-diving outfit. A trivial matter? Normally, yes, but in the eyes of Francine Anthony, Matt had done a monstrous thing—because she didn't approve of the idea. Obviously, she also set herself up as the judge of his hobbies, as well of his friends. Is this not the picture of a tyrant wife? However, as Matt has testified, he purchased the outfit not only for enjoyment but also because he thought it might give him ideas for stories. He tries out the aqua-lung and has to surface. His wife sees him. Remember his frame of mind when he entered the water, as he has testified under oath; he was about to play a mild practical joke on his wife—play with her fishing line. A joke... certainly not the frame of mind of a murderer!

“At two in the afternoon when most wives are either finishing their household chores or perhaps thinking about the evening meal, Mrs. Francine Anthony was busy, too—at her favorite sport, fishing. Fishing with her expensive rod in her own boat in her own private bay! She sees her husband surface and when he comes aboard she immediately upbraids him savagely—the second time in almost as many hours. Matt has a heart condition, but was she really worried about that? Did she think of his heart when she upset him by insulting his friend? Did she consider his heart when from the second he got into the boat—before he could rest—she started nagging again? I say in plain language she didn't give a damn about her husband's health! I say the only thing truly worrying her was that Mart's insurance policies were not fully paid up! What more telling picture of a heartless, selfish woman!

“Naturally, Matt resents her bickering, but he agrees to swim to shore and take off the aqua-lung. The fact is he stood up, ready to dive in, but that wasn't enough for his dictatorial wife—she must attack him, try to tear the lung from his back. And this woman was allegedly worried about his heart!

“As Dr. Strong, the noted and respected psychiatrist, has told us, we all have a breaking point, a mental loss of control. As Dr. Strong also testified, this breaking point depends upon a number of factors—a person's general health, his emotional stability, and of course all of these are conditioned by the tensions the person is under. I shall not go into a general discussion of psychology. I not only am unqualified to do that, but the very capable doctor testified on the subject and how it related to the defendant. However, I would like to dwell for moment on a few points, namely the tensions Matt Anthony was under.

“First, we have an active man, an athlete, suddenly restricted somewhat by a slight heart trouble, and certainly worried about it. He is a creative man harassed by a carping wife. He is a man under constant pressure—every cent he earns comes from his imagination. He enjoys living and is raider great expense. He hasn't a salary or income he can rely upon each week—so he must keep producing original ideas and novel characters. He must put his mind to his work yet his wife's constant nagging cuts into his thoughts, makes his work all the more difficult. These are the tensions he has been under without let-up for years. On the day in question, his wife makes a scene over an old friend, makes a fool out of Matt. He is then trying to relax, calm down, by trying out an underwater swimming device. This, too, she tries to spoil. And he reaches his breaking point, this mental loss of control, as Dr. Strong called it. Skin-diving is a petty matter, but is it not the little things which throw us into a rage? Your wife tosses out that old pipe, your husband wisecracks about a hat... and we have our most bitter quarrels.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you heard Mr. Anthony testify as to his resentment at his wife's constant nagging, how when Francine Anthony came at him as he was about to leave her, attacked him by trying to rip the lung from his back... how at that precise second Matt Anthony lost control of his mind, blind crazy rage took over. His mind blacked out, Matt Anthony didn't know what he was doing. Yet I want you to note that even in his blind rage he didn't strike her with an oar, with any weapon, but with his fist... almost in self-defense. If Matt Anthony was a smaller man, the blow would have stunned his wife. She would either have sat down and cried, or perhaps Francine Anthony might have swung at him with an oar and be on trial herself. Matt Anthony is not a little man—look at him. He's a big man, no doubt he packs a punch. The force of the blow sent Francine Anthony against the side of the little boat, crushing her head. This is not murder, this is not manslaughter—Francine Anthony died an accidental death after being punched by her husband in a moment of blind, insane rage! It was a moment of blind revolt against her years of henpecking, her constant interference with his work. Matt Anthony came out to play a joke, he certainly had no thought of harming his wife, much less of killing her, but she forced his mind to break, to a point where he had no control over his hands. Mind you, he didn't attack her, she came at him, clawing and cursing, trying to grab the lung on his back.

“When Matt Anthony came to, when his mental blackout lifted, he swam ashore. He realized nothing he did could ever bring Francine back to life, just as nothing this court can do will bring her back to life. His blind rage was over, he could think clearly. He wanted to avoid a scandal, he made up a white lie of a story on the spur of the moment. Mr. Wagner has called Matt Anthony an expert on criminal methods. This doesn't make him a criminal any more than a cancer expert must have cancer. But I say to you, the State has exposed the very lack of logic in its own arguments, for certainly if Matt Anthony had murder in mind, he would have made up a much better story than the feeble yarn he did. And if Francine Anthony had even the slightest doubt her life was in danger, she had plenty of time after their first argument to leave the house, to seek the police. Instead, she went fishing; obviously she knew there wasn't any danger.