I've considered bringing this subject up for some time now. And my recent dust-up with HOTYH about RN misspellings has convinced me that now is the appropriate time.
It's often been asked, including by me, if the Rs did commit this crime together, why would they have chosen to handwrite a ransom note? More specifically, why would JR, presumably the smart one of the two, agree to such a thing? After all, he was a good businessman, so he couldn't have been stupid, right?
(WARNING: The following contains the opinions and speculations of SuperDave, and does not necessarily reflect the feelings of anyone else.)
Well, as I say in the book, maybe he WAS being a smart businessman, leaving himself a possible out. Here's what I mean:
What if there was a Plan B? What if, as a last resort, PR would be thrown to the wolves? Everything pointed back at her, or almost everything. She had ONE thing on him, and that meant he'd have to play along. But he'd play by his rules, looking to go along with it while making sure that, if push came to shove, nothing could lead back to him. It wouldn't do to have his computer searched and a file of the RN found. But having her handwrite it would put him in the clear. He even tells her to spell differently after the killing.
Hiring separate lawyers was just extra insurance.
It's brilliant. He sets her up and looks like her champion. He gets to be her hero, standing valiantly behind her, defending his lady's honor like a damn white knight.. Meanwhile, he's got her like a lamb to slaughter. If it goes badly for her, hey, he's done all he can! If she tries to hang it on him, it looks like the desperate ravings of a lunatic trying to save her own neck.
There truly is NO honor among thieves.
A good businessman will always have an out. A Plan B, as it were. After all, he didn't owe her anything. She killed his daughter. But he couldn't let her burn right then and there, because he had his hand in the cookie jar. It's always best to shoot someone in the back AFTER you give them a chance to dig their own grave.
(Here endeth the speculation.)
Questions? Comments? Reactions? Threats? Lemon cookies?