The Rapunzel Act, page 16
‘You want Debbie to give evidence?’
‘I’m not sure we have any choice, but I still worry it could be an unmitigated disaster. Better for her to think she will, so she prepares herself, and then pull the plug later on if we need to, than the other way around.’
‘And you did give a hint on the glove?’
‘Yes, just a tiny one. No one will be able to complain that I started hares running. But it was a genesis, a sprouting of sorts, if anyone was listening very carefully. Is it still packed by the door?’
‘I haven’t dared look.’
‘Oh come on. That’s the problem with leaving the court room. You have to get back in. If we keep moving and don’t make eye contact with anyone, we should be fine.’
26
Charlie Dawson was the prosecution’s first witness. Judith thought it refreshing to see that he had not been prompted by the cameras to undergo any kind of superficial metamorphosis, appearing as his usual, unkempt self. Only his shoes had been polished, although this had done little to restore their former glory after many a soaking in a variety of fluids.
‘Chief Inspector Dawson. You were called to the scene of Rosie Harper’s murder on 17th June. Can you describe what you saw when you arrived, please.’ Laidlaw swung his arms exaggeratedly across his body, the pinky ring making another laboured appearance.
‘I received a call at around 5.20pm. I entered the property and found Miss Harper’s body, lying half in the house and half in the back garden. There were blood stains trailing from the centre of the living room and various other items on the floor.’
‘Who was at the scene when you arrived?’
‘Two of my junior officers were there. They had forcibly entered the property when there was no reply. I arrived around fifteen minutes after them. We then called in forensics, and myself and PC Thomas went to talk to the defendant.’
‘And the front door of the property was intact when your officers arrived?’
‘Yes, there were no signs of any forced entry.’
‘Thank you. I want to focus for a moment on what happened when you went to tell the defendant, Debbie Mallard, that her ex-wife was dead.’
‘I attended Shoreditch Park at around 6.45pm, together with PC Thomas. The defendant was conducting a football training session for a women’s team she manages. We approached her and told her that Rosie was dead.’
‘And what did she say?’
‘At first she said it wasn’t true. That she had seen Rosie earlier that day and that we must be wrong.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘I told her that Rosie had been murdered. She seemed very upset. She sort of staggered and fell down. Then she entered the public toilets. When PC Thomas went in after her, she had run away.’
‘And when did you next see the defendant?’
‘I drove with PC Thomas to the defendant’s flat, arriving at 7.32pm. I then witnessed the defendant, on her moped, running away for a second time. Eventually, we caught up with her at her mother’s address shortly after 8.25pm, where she surrendered to police.’
‘Was there any possibility that the defendant did not know that you wanted her to stop?’
‘No possibility. She deliberately drove off when she saw us arrive.’
‘Did she give an explanation for why she had run away?’
‘She said that she wanted some time on her own.’
‘I see. But, just to be clear, the defendant was not a suspect then, so she would have been free to go at any time. There would have been no need for a pursuit across London at great public expense, not forgetting the considerable risk to life associated with any high-speed chase, if she had simply stated in the words of the inimitable Greta Garbo, “I want to be alone”.’
Dawson stared at Laidlaw, who had been waving his hands flamboyantly as he spoke, like an old-fashioned marionette. ‘The pursuit of the defendant was conducted with the care and high standards of driving I expect from all of my officers. At no stage was any member of the public at risk,’ he said.
‘Thank you, Inspector, I am grateful for that reassurance. But my point was that none of that would have been necessary, had the defendant simply told you that she needed some time to grieve, some head space.’
‘That’s right.’
‘So the only conclusion you could draw when she ran away, not once but twice, was that she had something to hide?’
‘Yes.’
‘Now, when you asked the defendant about her relationship with her ex-wife, what did she tell you?’
‘That they remained on good terms, despite their divorce.’
‘Do you believe that to be true?’
‘I don’t, no.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because the police were called to the house two years ago by Miss Harper, complaining of an apparent assault by her husband.’
‘An assault?’ Laidlaw’s eyes widened and he wallowed in the sibilance of the word.
‘Yes.’
‘And there’s a recording of the call she made to the police that evening, isn’t there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Your honour. I will now play the call to the court. Members of the jury, do please listen carefully. Do you know who is speaking on that call?’
‘It’s Rosie Harper.’
‘And the voice near the end, in the background?’
‘I believe it’s her son, Ben.’
The court was silent. Laidlaw asked for the lights to be dimmed, which resulted in an eye roll from Judith, picked up by the cameraman. There was a distinctive crackle of a telephone line emanating from various speakers as the 999 call was played in full.
Laidlaw paused while the lights came up, and allowed time for one juror to wipe her eyes. Laura was biting her lip. Debbie’s mother gripped her hand.
‘Did Rosie Harper make any other 999 calls?’
‘Not as far as I know.’
‘Did she press charges against the defendant for the violence she suffered that night?’
‘No, she didn’t.’
‘Was Danny Mallard interviewed by police, in relation to his conduct? He was still Danny then?’
‘He was, yes. Police attended, but Miss Harper told them that she didn’t want to take further action and the matter was left there.’
‘I see. Miss Harper wanted to “keep things quiet”?’
Judge Nolan interrupted before Judith could even open her mouth.
‘Mr Laidlaw. You’re doing it again. Even if Chief Inspector Dawson had interviewed Miss Harper himself – and you haven’t clarified whether he did – he would not be qualified to tell us what Miss Harper wanted to do back in February 2017, or at any time, now would he?’
‘No, your honour. We will hear a little more about the call later,’ Laidlaw said. ‘Tell us about the glove found at the scene. It’s exhibit two, your honour.’
The black, rubbery glove was handed around the jury and on to the judge, in its sealed transparent package.
‘This glove was found lying in the middle of the living room floor, at the place where we believe Rosie fell. It was soaked with Rosie’s blood,’ Dawson announced dramatically, allowing himself a glance at Debbie as he spoke.
‘Who does the glove belong to?’
‘The defendant accepts that she owns black motorbike gloves of the same make, but she maintains she wasn’t wearing them that day, that they are a well-known brand and that there is nothing to say for certain whether this is her glove or not.’
‘And what did DNA testing show?’
‘You should ask the expert for more information, but I understand the glove contains traces of Debbie Mallard’s DNA, from her skin, confirming she had worn it.’
‘And what size is the glove?’
‘It’s a Large, which is the defendant’s size.’
‘Does any other family member wear gloves like these?’
‘Not as far as we are aware, and we can rule them out as belonging to Rosie herself. We compared them with gloves found at the property. They’re far too big.’
‘Thank you, Chief Inspector Dawson.’
* * *
‘Chief Inspector Dawson, I have only a few questions for you, you’ll be pleased to hear.’ Judith smiled broadly, ensuring she included the jury in the warmth of her gaze.
‘Whatever you need,’ Dawson replied, clearing his throat as he spoke, keen to flush away the debris of the earlier conversation with Laidlaw.
‘I want to begin, if I may, with your pursuit of Debbie Mallard on the night of Rosie Harper’s murder.’
Judith was still smiling, Dawson frowned and he nodded stiffly.
‘You were driving one of the police cars, is that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘And how many other cars did you summon to assist you?’
‘A call went out to all cars in the vicinity.’
‘So, how many joined in? One? Two? Perhaps three?’
Dawson gulped. ‘I believe there were seven cars involved by the end,’ he said.
‘Seven police cars were pursuing Debbie across London, on her 50cc moped. That seems a lot to me. At the time, as Mr Laidlaw has helpfully pointed out, Debbie was not a suspect. Is that correct?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘And you had no reason to believe that she had committed any criminal act?’
‘When someone is murdered, we do always think of close family first.’
‘Ah. That’s not quite what I asked, Inspector. Did you have any reason, other than proximity to the victim, to believe that she had committed any criminal act at that time?’
‘No, except for her running away. That made me suspicious.’
‘And, over your long and illustrious career, have you often been in the unfortunate position of having to tell people that close family members have been injured or killed?’
‘Yes, I have.’
‘You described Debbie Mallard’s response earlier. You said she “seemed very upset. She sort of staggered and fell down. Then she entered the public toilets”. Do you remember saying that?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that response, staggering, collapsing, visible distress, in your experience as a police officer, is that usual for a spouse or partner who is in shock or disbelief? In fact, I think you also told us that Debbie’s first response was to say to you, “This can’t be true”, or words to that effect?’
‘Yes, that is a response we often encounter.’
‘Was there anything in Debbie’s response to you and PC Thomas which suggested anything other than total shock and disbelief at what you were saying?’
‘No.’
‘So why on earth did you harness half the fire power of London to hunt Debbie – when she was clearly in a state of considerable distress, her wife had been murdered – to hunt Debbie down in such a barbaric way?’
‘When she ran off, as I said, we concluded that she was trying to escape. And if she was so innocent, why didn’t she just stop running?’
‘Inspector Dawson, I put it to you that the whole chase was a terrifying experience, particularly for someone who has just been told that their spouse has been murdered, who is clearly in shock, and it’s not a surprise that Debbie was frightened.’
‘I don’t agree.’
‘All right. Let’s examine this a little more. When Debbie ran away, did she choose a high-speed mode of transport?’
‘I’ve said; she was on her moped.’
‘And did she run to a railway station, a harbour, an airport – somewhere that would enable her to escape from you?’
‘No. I’ve already said. She went to her mother’s house.’
‘And you had that address?’
‘We found it easily, yes.’
‘When you located Debbie at her mother’s house, what happened?’
‘I knocked at the door and Mrs Mallard, Debbie’s mother, invited me in. Debbie was already there.’
‘Did she try to run away then or barricade herself in?’
‘No, she came willingly with us.’
‘And did you arrest her then and there?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘We didn’t have any evidence, then, that she’d done anything wrong.’
‘But you had enough evidence to hound her across the capital in this petrifying manner! And you have said already that she had told you that she wanted to be on her own for a while, to process the awful news you had given her an hour or so earlier?’
‘Yes.’
‘Let’s talk now about the 999 call which Mr Laidlaw played to the court. Did Miss Harper, in fact, identify herself at any time on the call?’
‘No.’
‘But officers attended at her house on the night of 1 February 2017?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did they know where to go?’
‘They traced the call.’
‘And you were not one of the officers who attended?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Did the officers who attended file any kind of report?’
‘No.’
‘How do you know what happened when the officers attended?’
‘As part of this investigation, I spoke to PC Jenkins, who called in that night. He remembered it all, with her being a TV star. He told me that Miss Harper said that she hadn’t meant to call the police. She said she was fine. They checked she appeared fine and they left.’
‘No physical injuries then?’
‘I believe not.’
‘And Rosie said, “I made a mistake, please forget the fact I called you.”’
‘Something like that.’
‘There is no evidence of any kind, then, of Debbie Mallard actually being violent towards her wife on the night of 1 February 2017, is there?’
‘Well, there is the call itself?’
‘All right. Let’s examine that call. I won’t play it again. I have a transcript here, so we can see what Rosie Harper actually says, can’t we? So here goes. The emergency operator says, “What service do you require, caller?” Rosie says, “Police”. The operator says, “Where are you?” She says, “At home.” Then… Inspector, I will read the operator’s lines; could you read out Rosie’s words please?’
Dawson’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, but, all credit to him, he cleared his throat, held the paper he had been handed at arm’s length and joined in, where appropriate, if a little stilted.
‘“Are you in danger?”’ Judith said, beginning their play reading.
‘“No, not any more, maybe…”’
‘“Did someone hurt you?”’
‘“Ah. Where to start? My husband…he…I got upset. I need the police to come. I need them to stop him.”’
‘Let’s just pause there for a moment. Rosie Harper is asked a direct question, isn’t she? “Did someone hurt you?” Does she answer yes?’
‘No, she doesn’t.’
‘Let’s continue then. The operator says, “Is your husband there with you now?”
‘“I think he’s gone. Oh God, I hope he’s gone.”’
‘“Tell us your address, then we can come and help you.”’
‘“I…I…no I don’t want…please…I’m fine now. I don’t need help. I don’t know…I shouldn’t have called. Just silly really.”’
‘“You said he hurt you?”’
‘“Well…he…”’
‘So, in the second part of the call, again, the operator asks, as I did, “You said he hurt you”. Does Rosie Harper answer yes?’ Judith pressed.
‘No, she doesn’t.’ Beads of sweat glistened on Dawson’s upper lip.
‘Thank you. That’s the end of Rosie’s conversation. Then, as you explained, we hear a voice in the background, believed to be that of Ben Mallard, saying, “Mum, are you in the bathroom?” Then the call ends.
‘In summary, if you listen carefully to what Debbie said, instead of indulging in hyperbole or embellishment, while I accept Rosie sounds upset on the recording, she does not actually say at any time that she is hurt or injured, does she?’
‘She doesn’t say it herself, but when the operator asks if Debbie hurt Rosie, she kind of agrees.’
‘Well the operator asks what we would call a leading question. “Did someone hurt you?” She anticipates, understandably, that Rosie might be hurt. But even then, Rosie doesn’t say yes, does she?’
‘No.’
‘If that is the evidence of prior violence on the part of Debbie Mallard to which Mr Laidlaw referred in his opening, then we can see that, in reality, it isn’t anything of the kind, although even if Rosie had said yes, you are confirming that the police officers who attended found no evidence of Rosie being physically injured in any way. Is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘So, I will ask again, you summarised the significance of this call as evidence of an apparent assault by Debbie Mallard. Do you now accept that Rosie Harper never says, in that call, that Debbie has hurt her physically or even threatened to hurt her?’
‘Sometimes you have to look behind the words.’
‘But that would be your opinion of what Rosie Harper meant, which, as Her Honour keeps reminding us, is not evidence in this case. Now what about the glove?’ Judith hesitated and Constance looked up. ‘There are three major brands of motorbike glove readily available in the UK,’ Judith continued. ‘The one you found at the scene, a Booster, sells one thousand pairs per month in the UK alone. Did you search the rest of the house for the second glove?’
‘Yes. And we searched Debbie Mallard’s flat and her mother’s house. We didn’t find it.’
‘Don’t you think it a little unusual, if Debbie had killed her wife, for her to have left such an obvious clue lying at the scene?’
‘Your honour, Inspector Dawson cannot answer that question,’ Laidlaw interrupted and Judge Nolan agreed with an enthusiastic nod.
