Dan and Hannah waited in the interview room in the bowels of the Crown Court. They were both in their tabs and gowns, ready to go into court, although Hannah’s wig was still in its green oval tin. Dan was leaning against the wall. Hannah was sitting on a wooden chair, her legs crossed.
‘How do you think this will go?’ Dan asked.
‘Whichever way the client wants it to go. Don’t get too involved in it.’
‘There’s something we know to be untrue, and it might cause him to be found guilty. I can’t have that. It would be an injustice.’
‘Are you sure that’s it?’ Hannah said, an eyebrow raised. ‘Or is it that you just don’t like losing?’
Dan was surprised. ‘Do you think that’s what it is?’
‘You’re a man, Daniel. You think life is a competition. If Mr Carter sticks to his version and he’s convicted, who could argue with the decision? The evidence against him is good. If it lands him with a life sentence, that’s the system working. If we get him to spill the truth, what if it’s worse? Poor Shelley never told you what the conflict was, did she?’
‘No, but it’s obvious. Lucy Ayres was being dragged into the case and Shelley was being put under pressure not to pursue that part of it. She did the right thing: transferred it to someone who could represent Carter properly, who wouldn’t be intimidated by Lucy’s father.’
‘But she didn’t exactly make it easy for you to discover the truth, if that’s what it is.’
‘She had a meeting with Conrad and Dominic after she’d done the transfer, a meal for three at the Wild Manor. I’m guessing that they laid out what the risks were.’
‘Let’s see what the poor chap has to say then. We’ll tread carefully though.’
They had to wait for a few more minutes until Carter was led along the corridor, just the steady tick of the white plastic wall-clock to fill the silence. The sound of footsteps outside the room was joined by the unclicking of handcuffs, and then Carter entered.
‘Sit down,’ Dan said.
Carter sat at the table in the centre of the room, opposite Hannah, his hands clasped together on the desktop.
‘How do you think the trial is going?’ Carter asked.
Dan leaned against the wall. ‘How do you think it’s going?’
‘They’re making me out to be a bad person.’
‘It’s a murder trial. What were you expecting?’
Carter shrugged, but didn’t answer.
‘I spoke to your wife last night,’ Dan said.
Carter’s nostrils flared. ‘I told you not to.’
‘She came to me, and she was at the trial yesterday.’
He closed his eyes for a moment. ‘How is she?’
‘Torn. When she listens to what they’re saying about you, she doesn’t recognise you. She wonders if she knows you at all, but you’re still her husband. She hates you and loves you in equal measure.’
Carter swallowed. ‘What about Tammy?’ His voice came out as a croak. ‘Did you see her?’
‘No, not last night, but she misses you. She wants to see you.’
‘Not in here. Not like this.’
‘Yes, that’s what Sara said. If you want to see Tammy again, you need to get out of here.’
‘That’s why you’re here, isn’t it,’ he said, sitting back, his tone recovering some composure. ‘To be my lawyer, to get me out of here.’
‘It is, you’re right,’ Dan said. ‘But you’ll be giving evidence soon, not me, so we need to check a few things.’
‘Like what?’
Dan exchanged quick glances with Hannah, who nodded.
‘You and Mary.’
‘What is there to say? We were friends. I walked her home. We had coffee. I’m married. She wasn’t like that.’
‘You seem to know her well, bearing in mind it was a one-off.’
Carter didn’t respond.
‘What keeps your wife going is that she knows something about you that others don’t, which makes her think that what they say might not be true.’
‘What would that be?’
Dan bent down to reach into his case and pulled out a brown envelope. He’d copied the photographs of Carter and Mary together, and the love notes; he couldn’t risk Carter destroying them in a tantrum. He took them from the envelope and put them on the table in front of Carter, slowly and deliberately, piece by piece, like a croupier in a casino, letting Carter look at them as they were placed in front of him.
Carter paled. He stared at the pieces of paper for a few seconds, then at Dan, then Hannah, and then back to the papers again.
The atmosphere in the room changed.
‘We’ve got the originals,’ Dan said.
Carter sat back quickly, made his chair rock, and put his hands over his face. ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ The words came out muffled but Dan could hear his despair.
Hannah raised her eyebrows.
Carter kept his hands there for a few more seconds before he dropped them to the desk. This time his hands weren’t clasped but resting on the desk. His shoulders were less tense, his eyes red. He reached out for the three pictures of Mary and him together, looked at them one by one, and a tear ran down his face.
‘No one was supposed to know,’ he said, eventually. He wiped the tears away with the back of his hand.
‘Why?’ Dan said.
‘This will change everything for Mary. She can’t come back, but memories of her will stay forever. What will they say about her now? She was a home wrecker? A whore? She doesn’t deserve that.’
‘What about your daughter? What about her memories of you? A stalker? A murderer?’
‘I don’t matter.’
‘I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about your daughter.’
A few seconds of silence, and then, ‘I love Tammy, but I can’t do it to Mary.’
Hannah sat up and said, ‘Did you love Mary?’
‘Like no one else I’ve ever loved.’
‘What would Mary want?’ Hannah said. ‘Her parents are sitting through this trial, thinking that she was murdered by you, someone fixated on her. Wouldn’t they prefer the truth, whatever that may be? Isn’t that what Mary would have wanted, for her parents to know how she died?’ A pause, and then, ‘If nothing else, do it for Mary.’
Carter started to nod. The silence grew as he stared at the desk. When he lifted his head, his gaze was stronger, more resolute.
‘We fell in love.’
‘Where did you meet?’ asked Dan.
‘Like I told you, in the Wharf. We hit it off, couldn’t stop talking and laughing.’
‘Is that when you got together?’
‘No, not then, but I wanted to.’
‘Did she know you were married?’
‘Yes. I was wearing a ring, and she asked me about Sara. I told her the truth, that I was married but we’d got married for the wrong reason: habit. We stayed together because it was easy, and the longer you’re together the harder it is to get away. Then Tammy came along, and that was it; I was tied.’
Dan leaned forward. ‘The jury will hate you if you say that.’
‘You said tell the truth.’
‘You should, but don’t play the my wife doesn’t understand me card. They’ll understand love, but they won’t let you rubbish your wife.’
‘My love-life isn’t on trial.’
‘Oh, it is,’ Dan said, his eyes wide. ‘Everything about you is on trial. The people who decide your fate are sitting in that jury box, judging you. They’ll decide if they like you, whether you deserve to be punished, whether they can trust you. Making them like you will be hard, but making them understand you might do as a half-way point.’
‘How did you stay in touch?’ Hannah said. ‘Exchange numbers at the end of the night?’
‘I sent her a message on Facebook. I looked for her profile and told her that I’d enjoyed the chat, would like to do it again.’
‘What did she say?’ Dan said.
‘She said the same but didn’t want to upset my marriage. Meet for coffee, I said. No harm done.’
‘And did you?’
Carter nodded. ‘We ended up in bed. Her friends were all at work and Mary had a day off.’ He exhaled. ‘Don’t you see? Everyone’s opinion of Mary will change when they hear this. I can’t do it.’
‘And you’re prepared to sacrifice yourself for that?’ Dan said.
‘I would do anything for Mary. She was no home-wrecker. That was me, all me. I could have stopped it, if I wanted to, but I couldn’t help myself. Nor could Mary. We were in love, and for me it felt like it was the first time. Real love, I mean, something deep, so that all I could think about was Mary.’
‘Do you still have the messages?’
He shook his head. ‘We deleted everything so that no one would know. Mary was adamant about that.’
‘Mary wouldn’t want this for you,’ Dan said, exasperated, gesturing towards the bare walls. ‘Can’t you see that? She kept it secret to protect you, and she’d feel the same way now, that you should be free, not keeping silent to protect her reputation.’
Carter swallowed hard.
‘Tell me about the night she died,’ Hannah cut in. ‘That’s why we’re here. Not because you fell in love.’
Carter took some deep breaths. ‘Like I’ve always said, except I missed out the part about us. It’s not a big deal. How can I be sacrificing myself when I’m only lying about one thing? Does it change much, really?’
‘Tell the story.’
‘I’d gone to the Wharf pub, knowing she’d be there. We couldn’t talk properly, because Mary didn’t want anyone to know about us, not knowing how they’d react. We texted each other from opposite sides of the pub.’
‘Who were you with?’ Dan said.
‘I was alone. That’s why they think I was some crazed loner. I was crazed, and alone, because the woman I wanted was there, beautiful and fun, and she loved me too, but we couldn’t be together in public. Mary was adamant that she wouldn’t break up my family. Whatever we had, it had to be our secret. It was arranged that Mary would walk home with her friend and do the last half-mile on her own. The streets were well-lit and quiet and Mary was insistent. I would meet her along that road. And I did. I was waiting exactly where I said I was going to be. We walked back to her place and made love.’
‘How did she die?’
‘I smoke, that’s why she died. I went outside and left her in bed. I wanted a cigarette. I sat on the front doorstep, like I’ve always said. The door was open slightly, so I could get back in. I was in heaven. A starry night, having a ciggie, sitting on her front step.’
‘How did she die?’ Hannah repeated.
‘I panicked.’
Dan sat down on the chair next to Hannah. The room was still.
‘The front door had closed when I was smoking,’ Carter said. ‘I don’t know why. I think it might have been a draught from the back door opening, but it meant I was stuck outside. It didn’t matter. I’d have my smoke and knock on the door. I didn’t go back in straight away though, because I was enjoying the moment. Then I heard Mary scream.’
‘And you were still outside when you heard it?’ Dan said.
‘Like I’ve always said, I was outside when she screamed. I panicked. I could have knocked on the door, but I knew there must be someone else in there. A fight, an argument, but I didn’t know what to do. Do I go in and have whoever it is wonder why I’m there? So I waited. Everything was silent. I knew I had to go in eventually, so I ran to the bottom of the street and up the alley, to use the back door. I knew it was unlocked because we’d come in that way. I ran into the house and there was no one else there. Just Mary.’ Carter swallowed and wiped his eyes. ‘Just Mary. Dead.’
‘Did you cover her up?’
‘No, I don’t think so. It was a blur.’
‘She was found covered up. If it wasn’t you, someone was in her room after you.’
‘I didn’t see anyone. What can I say?’
‘Why did you run away?’
‘Why do you think? Because they’d think it was me, and because I didn’t want anyone to know I’d been there, because how would I explain it to Sara? There were a million thoughts racing through my head and I panicked and I ran. What can I say? I know one thing though: I did not kill Mary. I can look myself in the mirror and say that. I can look you in the eye, look Tammy in the eye, and those twelve people on the jury, and say I am not a murderer. A coward. A cheat. A bad husband. A bad father. All of those things, but I’m no murderer.’
‘You’re forgetting liar,’ Dan said. ‘You’re still holding back.’
‘I’ve told you everything.’ Carter folded his arms.
‘Why wouldn’t you let me speak to your wife?’
‘You know why. People had been round to threaten her. I had to think of her, and Tammy.’
‘Those people are linked to Dominic Ayres, Lucy’s father, but nothing you’ve said should worry Lucy, so I can’t work out why they would threaten your family.’
‘Are we done?’
‘What do you have on Lucy, and why won’t you talk?’
Carter stayed silent.
‘Come on, talk to me,’ Dan said.
‘I’ve nothing to say.’
‘You’re doing this for Sara, to protect her?’
Carter leaned forward and lowered his voice to an angry growl. ‘You don’t know how I feel. I left Mary to die in there. I tried to save her but ran off like a coward. I betrayed my wife and daughter. All of this is swirling around in here,’ and he banged the side of his head with his fist, ‘so if I can do one little thing to somehow make up for it, to protect Mary’s memory, to keep Sara safe, I’ll do it.’
‘But whatever secrets you’re holding back cost the life of my friend,’ Dan said, his anger matching Carter’s. ‘You hold back and they win.’
‘It’s not about winning. It’s about keeping Sara safe. And Tammy. Don’t you get it?’
‘All I see is you losing, you going to prison for the rest of your life, because there is one thing that will trouble the jury the most.’
‘Which is?’
‘Someone killed Mary. If it wasn’t you, who was it, and why?’