CHAPTER 41

“Mr. Tilly, thank you for coming to court to testify.”

Hennessy stood behind the lectern. His voice was firm, and his stare was intense. “Are you having an intimate relationship with anyone who was previously employed by Palin Accounting?”

“Objection. Relevance.”

Garrett stood. “Mr. Tilly’s personal relationships are not a matter for this court. The defense is trying to humiliate the witness publicly, and we believe the questions are outside the scope of this trial.”

“The question goes to the witness’s credibility, Your Honor. Considering Mr. Tilly’s statements in this courtroom about his employment, we believe it’s important to establish all the details of his time in Palin Accounting.”

“Agreed. Overruled,”

Judge Clayton stated. “You may answer the question, Mr. Tilly.”

“What was the question again?”

Tilly squinted and leaned forward.

“Are you having, or have you ever had, an intimate relationship with anyone that Palin Accounting previously employed?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

Tilly drew a long breath. “I’m currently divorcing my wife, and we’re separated. We are going through that process amicably, and yes, I have started a relationship with Debra Fisher, who also worked for Palin Accounting. We met at work and were a great match for each other.”

“So, this was an extra-marital affair?”

“Yes, but as I said earlier, my wife and I are in the process of separating.”

“And how long has this affair been happening?”

“Five years.”

“Five years?”

Hennessy expressed surprise. “That’s a long time to lie to your wife, Mr. Tilly. Do you lie often?”

“Listen, I regret that it was an affair, but my marriage was failing, and Debra is amazing. She’s my soulmate.”

“If she’s your soulmate, why didn’t you leave your marriage five years ago?”

“Because my children were still at home. I didn’t want them growing up in two houses. I wanted them to have a stable home.”

“So you’ve been preparing to leave your marriage for the last five years?”

“I was…”

he paused and then exhaled loudly. “I was looking forward to my children finishing high school and going to college so that I could end the marriage.”

Hennessy nodded and returned to the table. He picked up a folder and then walked back to the lectern. “Apart from Mr. Palin and yourself, who else were the signatories on the bank account where the money was transferred to?”

“Nobody.”

Hennessy looked at the jury. Several heads were nodding. “Mr. Tilly, you mentioned you didn’t report the crime you witnessed because you didn’t want to hurt your family. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct. I was fearful of what Mr. Palin, or his connections, would do to my family if I went to the police.”

“But you were happy to hurt your family via the affair?”

Tilly sat back. “Come on, man. That’s different. Debra and I love each other, and we’ve planned a future together.”

“Without consideration for your wife’s emotions,”

Hennessy said. “Mr. Tilly, were you comfortable with the activities of Palin Accounting?”

“Of course not. That’s why I helped organize a mass walkout of staff. I was never comfortable with all the fraud he committed.”

“What did the mass walkout involve?”

“Convincing all the staff to quit on the same day. It didn’t take much convincing. Mr. Palin groped one of the junior members, and that was the final straw for all of us. Nobody wanted to stay there.”

“And how long before Mr. Palin’s arrest did this happen?”

“We walked out a week before Mr. Palin was arrested.”

“Did you go to the police in that week?”

“No.”

“So, even though you quit and had a week, you still didn’t take your so-called evidence to the police?”

“I wanted everyone to be safe first. I wanted to ensure my family was safe and I wanted to ensure Debra was safe. I was preparing all the evidence, but before I had the chance to present the evidence, Mr. Palin was arrested anyway. They came and asked questions about his activities, and that’s when I could present the evidence to the police.”

“What a remarkable coincidence,”

Hennessy said. “Mr. Tilly, can you please tell the court if you were preparing for retirement when you quit?”

“I’m an accountant. Numbers and finances are what I do. I’ve been preparing for an early retirement for years. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s best to plan for retirement in advance.”

“What did your planning involve?”

Tilly didn’t respond for a few moments. It was clear he was considering whether he should tell the whole truth.

“Mr. Tilly?”

Hennessy pressed.

“I opened a separate bank account and had some money in there. I decided to retire when that bank account reached a certain amount.”

“Was your wife aware of this bank account?”

Tilly looked away. “No.”

“How much money was in the bank account?”

“I’m not sure.”

“An estimate, please.”

Tilly drew a breath and then exhaled loudly. “Around two million.”

One jury member gasped. One audience member muttered, ‘Woah.’ Even Hennessy expressed his surprise with raised eyebrows. “Two million dollars?”

“That’s right.”

“On a senior accountant’s wage, while supporting a family, you put away two million dollars over the last five years?”

“Yes.”

Tilly’s answers were deliberately short. The regret of coming to court was painted on his face.

“Was all that money legally acquired?”

“Yes,”

Tilly scoffed. “I got lucky and won two million on the lottery.”

“Lucky indeed,”

Hennessy said. He hadn’t seen that coming. “And how much money was in the account before the lottery win?”

“A hundred and fifty thousand.”

“So, when you were planning for retirement, one million would’ve helped a lot in your retirement plans?”

“Two million.”

“That’s not the money I was referring to, Mr. Tilly.”

Hennessy paused, and when no objection came from the prosecution, he continued. “When did you win the money in the lottery?”

“Earlier this year.”

“And did you plan the mass walkout before you won the lottery?”

He bit his lip. “No.”

“You planned the mass walkout after winning the lottery, knowing you would never work again?”

“That’s right.”

“Mr. Tilly, I put it to you that you were diligently planning for your retirement, preparing to move away with your affair partner, and then you won the lottery. This was the catalyst that meant you could quit work and run away with Mrs. Fisher. Does that sound right?”

“That’s about right.”

“Is that why you left the million dollars behind? Because you didn’t need it anymore?”

“Objection,”

Garrett rose to his feet but was slow to react. The question was already planted in the juror’s minds. “That’s an accusation.”

“Withdrawn,”

Hennessy said. “Mr. Tilly, where have you been for the past five weeks?”

“Texas.”

“The Charleston Police Department has a missing persons file on you. You were reported as missing by your wife several weeks ago.”

“I knew where I was.”

“Were you with anyone in Texas?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Debra Fisher.”

Hennessy shook his head while staring at the witness. Tilly looked away, uncomfortable under Hennessy’s glare. “How long had you planned your trip to Texas?”

“I don’t remember. Maybe a year.”

Hennessy’s voice rose. “Mr. Tilly, you had the opportunity. You had the access. You had the motive. I put it to you that you set up that account and you were gathering the funds to prepare for retirement next year. Did you transfer the money from the Wolfgang Berger Foundation into an account that you had access to?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Hennessy shook his head. Several jurors did the same. “No further questions.”

“Redirect, Mr. Garrett?”

Judge Clayton asked once Hennessy had sat down.

Garrett conferred with his associates for a few moments and then stood. “Just a few questions, Your Honor.”

He turned his attention to the witness. “Mr. Tilly, did you witness Mr. Palin set up those accounts?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see Mr. Palin prepare those fraudulent reports to cover his fraudulent transfers?”

“Yes.”

“Did you witness the amounts Mr. Palin transferred from the Wolfgang Berger Foundation?”

“Yes.”

“Were you aware that Mr. Palin was doing this illegally?”

“Yes.”

“Then we have no further questions.”

When asked to call his next witness, Garrett looked at his notes and spoke briefly to his associates again. They nodded their response, and Garrett looked up at Judge Clayton.

“Your Honor, the State rests.”