The Rapunzel Act, page 33
‘Yes.’
‘And did you hear what they were shouting this morning, outside court, when I arrived?’
‘Some of it, yes.’
‘I don’t want more people to get hurt because of me – because that’s what will happen if you show that.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘I do. And, if I’m wrong and you’re right, that some people – decent people – they might begin to be able to understand…I don’t want to get out of here because people feel sorry for me,’ Debbie said. ‘I don’t want it to be that those eleven people find me not guilty because they feel responsible for what happened in Salford or at that publishers, or because they listened to what Dr Alves said about the “tragic life of trans women”. Do you understand that?’
‘Yes.’
‘I want to get out of here because the jury, the public, the people watching at home, believe that I, Debbie Mallard, never killed my wife. How is that video going to help with that?’
43
The congregation outside court could only properly be described as an angry mob. They had been present all through the morning and showed no signs of losing interest. The human rights supporters were now chanting ‘No fair trial’, ‘No fair trial’, and the anti-police brigade were shouting ‘Down with the police’, having been advised earlier that if they continued to use the word ‘fuck’ they would be arrested for outraging public decency. Some people were shouting both. More officers had been drafted in and there was now a chain of around a dozen at the doorway, holding people back.
Judith saw Dawson arrive and force his way through, with uniformed officers on either side. He had almost reached the door when a tall man, bare-chested in black shorts, leaned over the barricade and spat at him. The spittle landed on his cheek, but that seemed to be the catalyst for a number of others to follow suit, so that as he burst through the door into the sanctuary of the inside hallway, his jacket was coated with beads of saliva.
‘Friendly bunch,’ he said to Judith, grabbing a handkerchief to clean his face.
Judith stared over his shoulder, to where the crowds were gathered. ‘I wanted you to know that it wasn’t me who called you back here,’ she said.
Dawson nodded. ‘OK. Now I know.’
‘But now you’re here, I will need to ask you about Rosie’s diaries.’
‘Understood.’
‘I’m sorry about the other stuff too; the glove caused all this, I think,’ Judith continued. ‘I might have played some small part in setting that hare running. There’ll be some questions about that today also. Did Laidlaw tell you that?’
‘The glove was at the scene when I arrived…end of. I saw it with my own eyes. That good enough?’
‘For me, yes.’
Dawson grunted non-commitally.
‘And I’m going to ask you about the money.’
‘Money?’
‘The two large payments out of Rosie Harper’s bank account. Where they went.’
Dawson’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head. ‘It’s irrelevant,’ he said.
‘Laidlaw thinks it’s the motive for the murder – well, part of it.’
‘He’s wrong, so you don’t need to ask me about the money.’ Dawson looked away.
‘What do you know that you’re not telling?’
Dawson fixed Judith with a serious stare. ‘Don’t ask me about the money,’ he said again, very slowly and deliberately. Then, he squeezed a smile and loped off towards the court.
* * *
‘Is Chief Inspector Dawson here now?’ Judge Nolan chirped, buoyed up perhaps by the prospect of a prime-time revelation that would resolve ‘glove-gate’ and restore her reputation.
‘He is, yes,’ Laidlaw replied, with considerably less enthusiasm.
‘Good. Might we finish today then?’
‘It would be safer to say tomorrow,’ Judith said. ‘It depends, in part, on whether Mr Laidlaw will agree the expert technological evidence, relating to the creation of Rosie Harper’s diaries, which I will talk about with Inspector Dawson, and then on the time I need with my client to complete the point.’
‘Mr Laidlaw?’
‘I should like to reserve my position on the expert until after Inspector Dawson has given his evidence.’
‘All right. Let’s get on with Inspector Dawson then.’
* * *
Dawson stood tall on the witness stand, staring unblinking at the camera. His tie was off-centre and his top button open, but, otherwise, despite his rough welcome outside court, his attire was neater than on his last appearance.
‘Chief Inspector Dawson. Thank you for making yourself available at such short notice. You know, I believe, that entries you found on Rosie Harper’s laptop were put in evidence this morning. Can you tell the court how you found them?’ Judith began, trying to keep her voice light, on the sixth day of the trial.
Dawson nodded politely, then smiled at the camera before speaking. Judith wondered if he’d had coaching since last week on how to engage his audience. He was certainly determined not to be cowed in any way by his reception, or the enquiry hanging over his head.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Our IT squad has a long backlog. It isn’t their fault; they’re an excellent team, but the volume of data we’re having to process causes long delays. I had thought that Miss Harper’s laptop had been examined, but I discovered, only ten days ago that I was wrong. I instructed our team to prioritise it and, a few days ago, after difficulty with multiple passwords, we found the diaries and, of course, informed the defence straightaway.’
‘Thank you. For your information, Mr Laidlaw took the court through the full transcript of the diary entries earlier. But I am interested in your overview of the diaries.’
‘They describe occasions when the defendant had been violent or abusive towards Rosie Harper.’
‘How often did these violent outbursts occur, according to the diary?’
‘Approximately every three months.’
‘Was there a pattern you could determine?’
‘They seemed to be sparked off by Debbie doing something a bit unusual. Rosie would comment and then Debbie would become angry and hurt Rosie.’
‘Do you happen to know the date of Rosie Harper’s divorce from Debbie?’
‘Yes. It was June 2018, the 24th I think.’
‘You have an excellent memory. That’s exactly right. And do you know on what grounds their divorce was granted?’
‘No. I can guess though.’
Judith saw Laidlaw watching her intently, a puzzled look on his face. Then he conferred briefly with his solicitor.
‘That won’t be necessary. Your honour, if I may spend one moment putting this into context for the jury. We don’t have “no fault” divorce yet in the UK. Unless you and your spouse or civil partner have lived apart for substantial periods of time, then you have only two grounds for divorce; adultery or unreasonable behaviour.
‘Unreasonable behaviour is the most common ground, used by 51% of all women divorcing. In order to be granted a divorce on this basis, the applicant must provide specific details of events, happening over a period of, say two years, describing what happened and the impact on them both physically and mentally. Most divorce practitioners, therefore, advise clients seeking a divorce on this ground, to keep a diary chronicling these events, to support their divorce petition.’
‘Your honour, I object. I just about held my tongue at Ms Burton explaining the rudiments of divorce law to the court, but there is no basis for her to opine on what “most divorce practitioners” advise. I suppose, at a pinch, we could hear her personal experiences, but that would be purely anecdotal and of limited value accordingly.’
Judith reached for her glass of water and promptly knocked it over. It rolled on its side and the water spilled over her notebook, narrowly missing her laptop, before running along the bench towards Laidlaw, at an alarming rate. He jumped up and removed his notes from the fast-flowing stream and his solicitor leaped forward with some paper towels, to mop up the mess. Judge Nolan was surprisingly patient, while the lawyers cleared up and Laidlaw even poured Judith a new glass of water, which she sipped, before placing it at the far end of the bench.
‘Ms Burton, the jury now understands sufficiently what you were saying,’ Judge Nolan said, ‘and I would encourage them to channel any questions to me in the break if they do not, and, Mr Laidlaw, it is not appropriate for you to make reference to Counsel’s personal experiences, even by way of analogy, as you well know.’
‘My point is almost complete now, thank you,’ Judith continued. ‘Just remind the court, please, of the date of the first entry in Miss Harper’s diary?’ Judith was back in the saddle.
‘16 February 2017.’
‘And the last?’
‘6 June 2018.’
‘So the first entry is dated two weeks after police attended her house at night, and we now know that coincided with Debbie telling Rosie of her intention to transition.’
‘If that’s what she said.’
‘And the last entry is dated three weeks short of the date their divorce was granted, Debbie having moved out in March 2018, a year after the first diary entry.’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you find any diaries of any kind, either on Rosie’s laptop, or among her belongings, other than these?’
‘No.’
‘Tell me, have you had diary evidence in any other cases you’ve handled?’
‘A few times.’
‘What did those diaries look like?’
‘Usually they’re handwritten.’
‘And kept where?’
‘Somewhere they would be difficult to find.’
‘Because they contain private thoughts?’
‘Yes.’
‘And, in your experience, those diaries you have seen before, are they just what the name suggests, a daily slice of the life of the writer, sprinkled with comment, reflection, opinion – that kind of thing?’
‘Yes, I suppose so.’
‘Was Miss Harper’s diary written daily?’
‘I’ve said it wasn’t.’
‘Weekly?’
‘No.’
‘Were there any entries talking about her work or going to the theatre, cinema, birthday outings?’
‘No.’
‘Shopping, a book she had read, worries about the children?’
‘No.’
‘There were just these entries recording unreasonable behaviour by Debbie?’
‘I object again to Counsel making misleading statements. She is leading evidence that this diary was linked in some way to Rosie Harper’s divorce,’ Laidlaw interrupted.
‘That is precisely what I am doing. Thank you. I wasn’t sure if I was getting my point across.’
‘Stop!’ Judge Nolan bellowed and all eyes turned towards her. The camera man lifted one of his earphones. Twice the cameras had been extinguished. Was she going to make it a hat-trick? Judge Nolan coughed, stared out at the public but, when she eventually spoke, it was more measured.
‘Ms Burton, do you have evidence that Miss Harper’s diary entries are linked in some way to her divorce?’
‘I do, yes. This is the IT expert evidence to which I referred a few minutes ago. It shows that a number of these entries were made many months after the date they purport to describe, and that they were made on the same day, casting considerable doubt on their veracity.’
‘You are saying that Rosie Harper fabricated these diary entries, writing them later on, inventing the content and the dates, in order to aid a smooth divorce?’
‘I am. And the IT evidence will support that. Of course, if my learned friend were to agree that evidence, then we could dispense with the need for yet another expert.’
‘I understand. Can this witness assist any more with the diaries?’
‘No, your honour.’
‘Then I suggest we move on and remain focused.’
Judith fingered her notepad. She wasn’t relishing the next line of questioning.
‘There is one other matter on which the court would be grateful for your further assistance,’ she began.
Dawson nodded.
‘Since you first gave your evidence, last week, you will be aware that there has been a suggestion made, in the media, that the black, leather motorbike glove – exhibit two – which you testified was found at the scene of Rosie Harper’s murder, was, instead, planted by you or by one of your officers, after the event, in order to secure a conviction.
‘Dr Marcus, forensic pathologist, who gave evidence after you, did draw our attention to a photograph, which appeared to show the glove in the foreground, but that photograph was taken the evening after Rosie Harper died, and also after her body had been removed from the house. Are you able to provide us with any further help in relation to this item, please?’
Dawson looked from Judith to Laidlaw to Debbie and then back to Judith.
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Surely Inspector Dawson, there is something you can say, to reassure us that the glove was where you said it was from the outset?’ Judge Nolan intervened.
‘Your honour. I have been instructed by police lawyers that I am not to answer any questions in relation to the glove, even here in court, because the issue of the glove is now the subject of an internal police enquiry. What I can say, is that I stand behind everything I said previously, when giving evidence in this trial, as to what I saw and when.’
44
‘Debbie Mallard in the witness box.’ Katrina Sadiq boomed out her introduction, accompanied by a thunderous backing track. ‘Tonight we’ll be going over her evidence.’
Then the camera panned out to show Katrina and Chris sitting side by side.
‘She was asked some very personal questions, wasn’t she?’ Chris turned to Katrina.
‘She was and she dealt with them all pretty well, until just before the end, when things became a bit heated. More of that shortly.’
‘And we’ll be talking about diaries. Apparently, sixty-one per cent of us keep them. But why?’
‘And finally, do we trust our police? A hugely important question, brought back into the news by Chief Inspector Dawson giving evidence again today. An enormous crowd was waiting for him and they showed their displeasure in the most vocal and physical way.’
Behind their heads, a picture flashed up on the screen. A photographer had captured the moment the first man had spat at Dawson, the spittle caught in mid-air, on course for a direct hit with Dawson’s cheek. But it was the hatred in the eyes of the protesters that drew the attention and had led to a number of hard-hitting headlines throughout the day.
‘It’s looking increasingly likely that he will be suspended pending the enquiry into his handling of the Rosie Harper murder,’ Chris added with a solemn grimace. ‘We’re expecting a statement from the Metropolitan police later today.’
Andy slipped in next to them, as the camera focused on Katrina.
‘Welcome, Andy. Let’s start with Chief Inspector Dawson, then. Why couldn’t he answer questions about the glove?’
‘It’s like he said. There is an enquiry, so he really can’t,’ Andy said. There, that was clear and concise.
‘It’s rather like taking the fifth, then?’ Chris joined in this time.
Andy frowned.
‘I’m sorry?’ he said.
‘“The fifth”, the fifth amendment. It’s what they do in America, you know, you don’t have to answer questions if it might incriminate you.’
‘It’s not quite the same. He will have been instructed by the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police not to talk about it. It’s not really his choice.’
‘Are there any reasons why ordinary people, not members of the police, can refuse to give evidence in UK courts, then?’ Katrina was leaning forward, a concerned expression spread across her face. Andy had to admit, privately, that that was a pretty insightful follow-up question.
‘Not generally,’ he said. ‘There are very limited occasions where you can’t be compelled to give evidence against your spouse. Otherwise, if you are summoned to court, you have to give evidence.’
‘Or what?’
‘Or you go to jail for contempt of court.’
‘That’s not very fair, is it? I’m sure our viewers will have lots to say about that.’
‘I think it’s totally fair,’ Andy was beginning to assert himself now. ‘The wheels would fall off our justice system if people could just refuse to give evidence on things they know about and there were no consequences.’
‘What about Rosie’s diaries?’ Chris asked, neatly moving things on.
‘Judith Burton pretty much established they had been invented, in order to help her divorce,’ Andy was comfortable with the change of topic. He suddenly noticed the absence of the voice in his ear. That must mean he was fulfilling his brief, even without prompting.
‘Should she be allowed to say those kinds of things about Rosie Harper, though, now she’s dead and can’t defend herself?’
‘If it’s the truth, why not?’
‘Well, thinking back to earlier in the week, the judge told Jeremy Laidlaw that he mustn’t put words into people’s mouths, especially if they were dead.’
Katrina joined in. ‘I remember those words, vividly.’
‘Now, for whatever reason, she’s allowing Inspector Dawson to do just that,’ Chris said.
‘Yes, I mean the metadata could easily have been changed on the diary entries, to make it look like they were all written at the same time. We only have Judith Burton’s word on that. And you explained for us the devices she used on the 999 call.’
Andy took a deep breath and squeezed a brief, but warm, smile at both Katrina and Chris. We’re all on the same side, he told himself.
