“Oh, you’re good,” says Roger. “So you think I killed Augustus. Why? Because he was a drunk and hard to work with? That’s hardly a motive for murder. Augustus runs one of the most successful galleries in New York, and any artist who wants to make it here has to be willing to put up with a lot ‘hard to work with’. You probably think I killed him because of the crappy contract he tricks everyone into signing.” Roger laughs. “I’m not a sheep like most artists. I have a business degree. And I read contracts before I sign them. He was hoping I wouldn’t catch that he tried to change the terms of payment at the last minute. I left him a note calling him on it. I believe you found it on his desk. Has my signature, which you can see on my art. In any case, I can produce the contract I actually signed. I am going to make a killing off this show, so you see, I don’t have a motive. Sure, you can try and say his death has made my art worth more. But who could have predicted that? You’d have a hard time proving to a jury that I would risk the sure thing of being in his gallery against the huge maybe that killing him might make me more money.
“And another thing. Don’t even think of trying to get me on perjury. If you review my testimony, you’ll see I never claimed to kill Augustus. When I said, ‘I did it,’ I was referring to one of my paintings, not the murder. I can see now that my words could have been misinterpreted, and that may have helped drive up the selling price of my work, but that’s not my fault and that’s not a crime.”