45

The next witness was Lottie Li, the staff nurse on duty the night Mrs Hennessy died. Since Constance’s chat, when she had agreed to assist the defence, she had ignored their calls and emails, and here she was now on the other side. And Maia had disappeared completely. A letter sent to her had been returned, and a call to the hospital administration revealed she no longer worked at St Marks.

Somehow, out of uniform, Lottie seemed even more tiny and gossamer-like than in the hospital setting.

‘Nurse Li. How long have you been working at St Marks?’ Chambers began.

‘Two years.’

‘And before that you were a nurse in the Philippines?’

‘Yes. For five years.’

‘How did you make the transition to nursing over here?’

‘Some people came over to my country to employ nurses. They came to our hospital, they tested us and then they offered us positions in the hospital.’

‘And you live locally?’

‘Yes, there is accommodation provided close by.’

‘Nurse Li, how well do you know the defendant, Ahmad Qabbani?’

Lottie glanced at Ahmad, who was sitting head down, rolling one thumb around the other.

‘He started when I did, about two years ago.’

‘How often did you see each other at work?’

‘Yes, often. He kept his cleaning things on the private ward so he was there always at the beginning and end of his shift.’

‘Was he hardworking?’

‘Very, yes. And strong. So, we used to ask him to help out if things needed doing.’

‘You’re saying he’s strong? Is he the kind of person who would help if something needed lifting or carrying, that kind of thing?’

Judith coughed. She did not want Lottie dwelling on Ahmad’s physical strength, even if he used it historically for chivalrous acts.

‘Yes, but he was also good at fixing things, too.’

‘How was your relationship? Would you say you were friends?’

‘We were colleagues. We work in same place, but we do separate things; that’s all,’ she said a little too quickly.

Judith studied Lottie’s face closely. What had happened to the glowing testimony she had been prepared to provide some weeks earlier? Constance’s jaw hardened behind her as she, too, noted Lottie’s lacklustre performance.

‘You didn’t socialise outside work?’ Chambers continued, delighted so far with his muted, understated witness.

‘No. He went home quickly when he finished work.’

‘Did Ahmad like to talk to the patients?’

‘Sometimes.’

‘What kinds of things would they talk about?’

‘I don’t know, just chatting.’

‘Did you ever see Ahmad in Mrs Hennessy’s room?’

‘I have been thinking about this very hard as it is so difficult to remember. I think he may have been cleaning once in Mrs Hennessy’s room when I was there. But I’m not sure. I definitely saw him outside her room, cleaning in the corridor.’

‘On the night Mrs Hennessy died, you were on duty?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you see anything unusual, any new people on the ward?’

‘No.’

‘What time did you go off duty?’

‘Around ten.’

‘When did you last see Mrs Hennessy?’

‘I am not sure. But I saw Ahmad leave at about eight o’clock. Mrs Hennessy’s door was closed.’

‘Do you think Ahmad liked Mrs Hennessy?’

Judith was only half way out of her seat, when Judge Seymour intervened.

‘Mr Chambers, you know you can’t ask that question.’

‘Apologies, your honour. Did you see anything, or hear anything, which indicated to you that Ahmad and Mrs Hennessy were friends?’

‘Like I said, I never saw him in Mrs Hennessy’s room for definite but…’ She paused now and stared at Ahmad, her face crumpling inwards.

‘Go on?’

‘I saw Ahmad, it was, I think, on the Wednesday, and he was cross, and I think it was because of Mrs Hennessy.’

‘Can you explain what you mean?’

‘She had some friends in her room. They were two ladies and they were talking a lot, loudly. Later on, I saw Ahmad when he was putting things in his locker and he seemed angry. I asked him if he was OK and he just shook his head. Then he told me that the ladies in Mrs Hennessy’s room had been laughing about something and it had upset him.’

‘Do you know what it was?’

‘No. I just told him not to be upset, that I was sure they didn’t mean anything.’

‘Did that satisfy him?’

‘He was upset for a little while, I think. We didn’t talk about it again.’

‘Thank you. Did you ever get the impression that Ahmad thought being a cleaner was beneath him?’

‘I don’t know. I...’

‘Mr Chambers, I don’t want to tell you again. What Nurse Li thinks Mr Qabbani thought is not evidence and you know it,’ the Judge reminded him.

‘Yes, your honour. I was carried away momentarily. Thank you, Nurse Li. No further questions.’

Judith was worried about Lottie Li’s evidence. Before she had appeared, she had questioned why the prosecution had even bothered with her. She now maintained she wasn’t certain if she had ever seen Ahmad in Barbara’s room (that may or may not be helpful), she had worked successfully with him for two years and, even if they weren’t friends, they had built up a working relationship, and she had confirmed that he was hardworking and reliable.

But it was the subtleties of Lottie’s evidence which lent credence to the prosecution storyline, and she could not help but admire Chambers for his manufacture of this. The overall impression Lottie had given, so far, was that Ahmad was easily capable physically of throwing Mrs Hennessy from a building, that, at best, he was sensitive and took offence easily, and at worst, Mrs Hennessy or her friends had mortally offended him in some obscure way, giving him a possible albeit unusual motive. She had also implied that he was a loner, preferring to do his work and go straight home rather than building up friendships with his peers. Coming after David Wolf with his story of Ahmad’s tetchiness about his clean floor, despite Judith’s masterful unpicking, it began to paint a disquieting picture.

‘Tell us about Mrs Hennessy,’ Judith began benignly enough.

‘She was admitted on Tuesday the 9th of May. She had her operation on Thursday and I looked after her.’

‘Did you talk to her?’

‘Yes. She talked about her daughter and her grandsons.’

‘And her son?’

‘I don’t remember her talking about her son.’

‘What did she say about them?’

‘That she missed them, her grandchildren. And she told me she was a painter.’

‘Did you meet any of her family?’

‘Her daughter came to visit on one day when I was checking her.’

‘How did they seem together?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well, was Mrs Hennessy happy to see her daughter?’

‘Yes. I think so.’

‘Did they kiss or hug each other?’

‘I didn’t see that.’

‘The evidence you just gave to Mr Chambers was that you don’t have any particular memory of seeing Ahmad in Mrs Hennessy’s room.’

‘No.’

‘In the evidence you gave immediately after Mrs Hennessy’s death you said you had seen him in her room.’

‘I know. Now I’m not so sure.’

‘What’s made you change your mind?’

‘I…I just can’t be sure now and I want to get things right.’

Judith sneaked a quick glance at Constance for a prompt on any line of questioning she might have missed. Constance would not usually try to influence Judith mid-examination of any witness. She feared a tongue-lashing of gladiatorial proportions. But then Constance’s face took on that far-away expression and she began to scribble something on her notepad. Judith took the note from Constance with interest.

‘Ask about A’s family,’ it said. ‘Will help sympathy vote.’

Judith’s shoulders sagged. She very much doubted that. But she could at least get corroboration from Lottie of the time Ahmad went home. She turned the note face down.

‘You said you remember seeing my client outside Mrs Hennessy’s room, in the corridor?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you remember which day that was?’

‘It was more than one day, I think, but definitely on the day Mrs Hennessy died.’

‘What time was that?’

‘It was when he was going home, around eight o’clock. He had his bag.’

‘After you saw my client outside Mrs Hennessy’s room, what happened?’

‘He went out of the ward.’

‘You saw Ahmad Qabbani leave the hospital, then?’

‘I saw him leave the ward. It doesn’t mean he didn’t come back later.’

‘No. It doesn’t.’ Judith allowed that one through with a gentle inclination of the head.

Judith’s fingers brushed the edges of Constance’s missive. It was too risky. Even though Lottie was a little more malleable now. Judith might ask ‘tell me about Ahmad’s family’ and receive a diatribe about his agoraphobic wife. Much safer to get Ahmad to talk about them, if he could only be persuaded to do so.

‘Did Ahmad work hard?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did he have days off for illness?’

‘Once he had to go home when his daughter was sick but otherwise he was always there.’

‘Was he punctual?’

‘I think so.’

‘Polite?’

‘Yes.’

‘Some people have said that, because Ahmad is physically strong, like you said, that he might be a violent person. Did you ever see any evidence of Ahmad being angry or violent?’

‘No. It’s all about what’s inside,’ Lottie answered innocently, ‘isn’t it?’

Judith crushed Constance’s note within her right hand and dropped it into her pocket.

‘No further questions, your honour.’

‘Thank you, Nurse Li, you are excused. Mr Chambers, who is your next witness?’

‘I move to forensics now, no more witnesses of fact.’

‘Because there aren’t any facts,’ Judith spoke quietly, behind her hand, but into the microphone.

‘Ms Burton. I hope I won’t need to remind you again that you are in a courtroom and not gossiping in a bar. Save your opinions for later. This the last time I will say it.’

Judith stood tall to accept her admonishment. But she was secretly pleased. The judge’s rebuke drew attention to her words and a number of people in the court were now asking their neighbours what she had said to draw his ire.

‘Let’s begin tomorrow then, 9am please. Court adjourned.’

* * *

‘Why didn’t you ask Lottie about Ahmad’s family?’ Constance was seething but maintained her self-control. Judith opened her mouth to explain but Constance had already turned away and was collecting her things. She wasn’t interested in an answer.