Search Results: 'Shedd v. Streeter et al'

The Slander of Shedd

Words: 2047 · Source Novel:: The Latent Verdict

Chief Inspector Alan Hadley is reluctantly drawn into a civil defamation case, Shedd v. Streeter et al, at the Ashwick Crown Court. The plaintiff, Arthur Shedd, claims the defendants publicly labeled him a “latent violent offender” based on a mysterious psychological profile. During a recess, Shedd is found dead in a courthouse lavatory—an apparent heart attack, but Hadley senses a subtle, clinical staging. Meanwhile, Hadley’s daily routine of real ale and crossword puzzles is interrupted by an anonymous note quoting legal maxims about preemptive punishment, planting the first seed that the case masks a systematic purge.