The Case for the Defence by Graham Greene. Short summary

5 seconds

There is a description of an unusual trial taking place. An unidentified man recently murdered an old woman who lived on Northwood Street. A witness present stated in court that she had seen the murderer.

1 minute

One day on Northwood Street, an unknown man committed murder. His victim was Mrs. Parker. There were four witnesses in all. One of them was Mrs. Salmon. The latter suffered from insomnia and on the day of the murder, as usual, she could not sleep.

Mrs. Salmon stated that when she went to the window she saw the defendant, Mr. Adams. He was standing on the steps of Mrs. Parker’s house at the time. Mr. Adams held a hammer in his right hand, which he then threw into the bushes near the wicket. Before leaving the scene, the killer looked out Mrs. Salmon’s window. After that, she began to fear for her life. It is likely that similar feelings were felt by other witnesses

During the trial, Adams’ attorney asked Mrs. Salmon if she was certain she had seen his client that day. She replied that she was sure she had. Counsel then asked Adams’ twin brother, who was sitting in the courtroom at the time, to stand up. The lawyer repeated his question. Salmon was no longer sure of the answer.