Page 58 of The Quarterlands (Dark Water #4)
“George Tyler is everything you wanted to be. The successful businessman, running a successful tech empire,” HMS continued.
“You ruined your own life, and then decided to ruin his. In fact, Mr Lytton, I put it to you that ruining lives is what you do best. Your mother, your brother, your father, yourself, and now you’re attempting to ruin Mr Tyler’s life. It’s what you do. It’s all you know.”
Alex’s face had a haunted quality, but he managed to dredge up a rueful smile. “Yes. You’re right. I’ve hurt many people as a result of my failings, but I’m telling the truth about George Tyler.”
HMS looked annoyed that his attempts to needle hadn’t resulted in the petulant outburst he was expecting.
It was obvious that he’d read all about Alex and viewed all the news reports.
He’d seen him pissing on journalists from an upstairs window when his brother won a gold medal at the Paralympics.
He was so sure he knew what he was dealing with, and he was wrong.
Alex was finally allowed to leave the stand, and Josiah bought them both fish and chips to celebrate on the way home.
“Thanks for what you said, about falling in love,” Josiah told him when they’d both finished. He pushed his plate back and patted his full stomach.
“It was all true.” Alex reached across the table and stroked his hand. “All of it. I wish it wasn’t.”
“Me too, but one thing I’m absolutely sure of is that you do deserve love, Alex.
As for being afraid of losing it, well, I’m not the best person to talk to about that.
Losing Peter was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but I survived, and I’m very much open to the idea of falling in love again.
It’s taken some time, but I got there in the end, thanks to you. ”
Alex smiled. “I’m glad. You’ll make some lucky man very happy one day.”
Josiah smiled back. “I could say the same for you.”
Reed seemed to be getting by on three hours’ sleep every night.
He had Inquisitus’s entire tech team working on the encryption, but there were no breakthroughs.
Josiah wondered if Alex’s compelling testimony might have done enough to sway the jury.
The tone on News-Spec had certainly become more muted since Alex had taken to the stand.
“I mean, I can see why the indiehunter was swayed by him,” Becky from Banstead mused.
“I liked him more than I thought I would. I just assumed he was lying from the get-go, but the more I heard from him, the more I liked him. It’s just…
it all sounds so mad, doesn’t it?” she said, echoing what most people thought .
The papers also took a more temperate tone, clearly swayed by Alex’s humble demeanour on the witness stand.
“This was an Alexander Lytton we’ve never seen before,” the Daily Times wrote.
“Contrite, reasonable, articulate, and even, dare I say, gentle? Quite the sweetheart. Was it all an act? His story is hardly credible, as he well knows. If it were true, it would overturn everything we believe not only about George Tyler but also about Alexander Lytton himself. I doubt the jury is ready to do that. The presence of both Charles and Noah Lytton in court, both victims of Alexander’s behaviour in the past, calls into question anything he has to say.
Noah looks frail after suffering two strokes, and who can look at Charles without remembering that glorious day at Long Lake in Minnesota all those years ago, and the devastating events a few weeks later?
I doubt the nation – or the jury – is in any mood to forgive Alexander Lytton just yet, or give him the benefit of the doubt. ”
Josiah had always known it was an uphill battle. As always, Alex’s reputation went before him.
George Tyler was called to the stand next. HMS greeted him like an old friend.
“I think we can all agree that this is a preposterous charge against a respectable businessman,” he said pompously. “You know Mr Lytton. Do you have any idea why he’d make up such a story?”
Tyler looked pained and solemn. “He’s a troubled soul. Isobel often talked about his problems. He was expelled from several schools for being difficult and taking drugs. She despaired of him.”
“Can you explain to the court why you bought his contract after he betrayed you so badly over the duck designs?”
“I loved his mother.” Tyler sighed. “I wanted to do right by her son.”
“What service did you ask him to provide when you made him your IS?”
“I hoped to tutor him in the business. I’d always thought him a promising young man, if prone to moody outbursts. I took him to several business meetings with me and tried to show him the ropes. He has a fine mind. I thought he could be of use in the business.”
Testimony from several witnesses to that effect was shown to the court, along with footage of Alex in various different business suits, trailing behind Tyler on many occasions during the following years.
“We usually delete footage from our smartwalls after a few weeks, but I wanted to compile a little video to show to Alexander’s family, so they could see that he was being well treated,” Tyler said, clearly having an answer for everything.
“Noah Lytton publicly disowned his son after the theft. Did you manage to reconcile them?” HMS asked.
“No. I took Alexander to his father’s office on one occasion to attempt a reconciliation, but Noah refused to talk to him.”
“Both Alexander and Noah Lytton have testified that you took Alexander there wearing inappropriate clothing in an attempt to humiliate him and embarrass his father.”
Tyler looked sad. “The truth is, Noah’s business was struggling.
I was his old love rival and one of his main competitors in business.
There was a lot of bad blood between us.
It’s a matter of public record that I bought his business from him when it went under, and I think that, and the fact his wife intended to leave him for me, rankled with him.
That’s why he gave that testimony,” Tyler said smoothly.
Tyler was just as impressive as Alex had been, and Josiah could see the jury being swayed back the other way. They were losing them again.
“To understand why, you have to understand the Lyttons,” Tyler continued.
“They’re a rich, privileged family, and I was the son of their IS.
My father designed the original Lytton Classic AV.
” Tyler gave a proud smile, which soon faded.
“But we had nothing. I was grateful when Theo Lytton paid for me to accompany his son, Noah, to Oxford, but the family wanted me to take a contract with Lytton AV after I left, to repay them.”
“And you didn’t want that?”
“No. I was grateful, but I found Noah arrogant and difficult. Sadly, Alexander takes after him. The Lyttons are used to throwing their money around and having everything go their way. ”
There was a restive noise in the courtroom as this chimed with the press and jury. Nobody liked the rich and arrogant, and the Lyttons were perceived as precisely those things.
“When I refused their contract for indentured servitude, they were angry with me, even more so when I eventually became a competitor, and finally, bested Lytton AV in business. Noah hated me for that, as did Alexander. I’m a self-made man, you see, whereas Noah wasn’t a great businessman.
He couldn’t build on his father’s success, and Alexander was even worse.
Indulged and entitled, they basically frittered it all away. ”
Josiah put his hand on Alex’s thigh, which was tense with anger.
HMS moved on. “Can you explain why you didn’t sell Alexander’s contract to Elliot Dacre? Instead, you created a rather unorthodox leasing arrangement with him.”
“I wanted to help Alexander because I wanted to do right by his mother, whom I’d loved. However, it wasn’t working out for Alex at Tyler Tech, for the same reason it didn’t work out for him at Lytton AV. He just wasn’t cut out for business. He didn’t want to work at it.”
“Why not just sell his contract on?”
“I had a soft spot for him, and I wanted to remain invested in his life and what became of him. I didn’t think, in good conscience, that I could just sell his contract and forget about him.
Elliot was a good friend of mine. He’d made a name for himself in the world of holophotography and I thought that might appeal to Alexander’s more creative side.
He’d always expressed an interest in art and design, and I thought it could be a good opportunity for him to explore that.
However, Elliot couldn’t afford an IS as expensive as Alexander, so I came up with the leasing plan.
That way I could remain a positive influence in Alexander’s life, while also giving him a chance to grow and develop his skills. ”
“A very kind and generous gesture.”
Tyler looked solemn. “His mother meant the world to me. I wanted to do right by her son.”
Josiah glanced at the jury; they seemed moved by the evident sincerity in Tyler’s voice.
Byrne stepped up. She did her best to rattle Tyler, but he kept his temper in check throughout and answered every charge she put to him.
Smooth, commanding, and urbane, he was a man used to giving orders and being listened to.
He didn’t lose his cool when Byrne gave him a hard time, and he had a plausible answer for everything.
In fact, he was the personification of reasonableness.
Everything he said seemed to scream, Look!
How can this nonsense be true? I’m a serious businessman, not some two-bit crook from the Quarterlands.
By the time he left the stand, Josiah knew they’d lost the jury. They’d also lost the press. The good impression Alex had made on them turned suddenly and ferociously in a heartbeat. Now, the press screamed their support for Tyler and hatred of Alex.