| |
"So let us elaborate, Miss McEwen," Crown Prosecutor Edwin Orr said and gazed at Wendy with warm but still professional eyes. "You stated earlier in your evidence that you had no idea Adrian Funnel was a married man still living with his wife."
"That is correct," Wendy whispered. She had been on the stand for an hour and looked tired and worried.
"You were serious in your relationship and thought it might lead onto marriage?"
"Yes."
"And when did you find out that Mr. Funnel was not interested in more than a casual arrangement and, indeed, had a wife and family?"
"When I found I was pregnant," Wendy said in a hushed voice and glanced up at the jury.
"Mr. Funnel was the man who impregnated you?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
Wendy knew the question was coming but still flushed. "He was the only man I had had intercourse with at that time..."
And so the questioning continued with every sordid detail covered, right up to the story Funnel spun about having a newly born child and Wendy's consequent decision to have an abortion.
"Did you consult the father before this decision was made?" Edwin Orr asked.
"No. I had not seen him since he told me to get out of his car and take a taxi home."
"And you had an abortion, Wendy?"
"Yes."
"And went through the proper channels?"
"Yes. Two consultants interviewed me and approved the termination."
"On what grounds?"
"Serious danger to my mental health." Wendy whispered.
Edwin Orr turned his attention to the judge. "If necessary, we can bring forth witnesses to confirm that ninety eight percent of the abortions performed in New Zealand since the Contraception, Sterilization and Abortion Act of 1977 are on these grounds, Your Honour," he said.
The judge glanced across at the Defence Attorney, a huge man with a gigantic waistline. "Do you need verification of the reason for Miss McEwen's abortion, Mr. Shaller?" he asked.
"No Your Honour. The defence accepts that Miss McEwen had a legal abortion and my client impregnated her. We do though, reserve the right to question the witness on reasons she decided this termination was necessary."
"You shall have your time to cross-examine, Mr. Shaller," the judge said and turned back to Edwin Orr. "We shall accept that the grounds for Miss McEwen's abortion was the common one, Mr. Orr. You can continue your questioning."
"Would it be to correct to describe your feelings towards the defendant at the time as bitter, Wendy?"
"That is true," the young woman replied.
"Did you arrange for him to be savagely beaten outside a gymnasium on..." he glanced at his notes and read out the exact date and time.
"No," Wendy replied with that streak of certainty in her voice. "I knew nothing about it until afterwards."
"I remind that you are under oath, Miss McEwen."
"I did not arrange for Adrian Funnel to be attacked nor do I know who attacked him." Wendy replied again in exactly the way she had been instructed in her earlier briefing with the attorney.
"And when did you find out about this attack?"
"Kate Overworth showed me a newspaper item in the New Zealand Herald the following morning."
"Do you know who assaulted Mr. Funnel in that incident.
"I have no idea," Wendy replied in complete honesty.
*
ACROSS IN THE PUBLIC benches, Noel squirmed and glanced at his heavily pregnant wife. They had never told Wendy. He was sure, though, she suspected he had something to do with the bashing. So far, there had been no need to disclose his involvement in the attack and Noel hoped it wouldn't come out. However, he was prepared to admit to being responsible if it would help Wendy.
*
"BUT THE DEFENDANT BELIEVED you did and set about this revenge arson attack with the sole purpose of seriously injuring yourself or, indeed, causing fatal injuries...."
"I object, Your Honour!" Thomas Shaller interrupted as he leapt dramatically to his feet. "Miss McEwen's opinion of what went on in my client's head has no standing in this court."
The judge nodded. "I agree. Mr. Orr, you should know better than to attempt this line of questioning."
Edwin Orr nodded. "I withdraw the question, Your Honour," he said and turned back to the witness. "Did the defendant contact you at any time after your abortion, Wendy?"
"As I stated earlier I never saw or heard from him after that day I told him I was pregnant."
"And you never saw him outside Kent Drive School on the afternoon of the fire?"
"No."
"So how did you know he was there?"
"I didn't," Wendy replied.
"When did you find out?"
When the police told me of the evidence that has since been presented in this court."
"You mean witness sightings of Mr. Funnel in the vicinity, police reports of his fingerprints on the building and witnesses sighting him just before the fire in the Ford rental car parked in Dorset Street behind Kent Drive?"
"Exactly," Wendy replied.
Edwin nodded. "Thank you Wendy. That concludes my questions,"
"And after the fire you still received no contact from my client. Miss McEwen," Thomas Shaller began,"
"None," Wendy replied.
"No telephone conversations or threats?"
"No."
Shaller raised his eyebrows.
"No letters or cards?"
"No."
"Yet your escape from the fire was widely publicized in all media. Would that be an accurate statement?"
"Yes," Wendy replied.
"I see. I refer back to your earlier replies. You stated you were romantically involved with Adrian Funnel and had sex with him because you loved him?"
Wendy flushed, "Yes."
"And you were furious when he told you he wasn't interested in any long term affair."
"I had just discovered I was pregnant," Wendy retorted.
"Were you angry, Miss McEwen?"
"Yes, I was angry," Wendy's voice grew loud. "He lied to me and led me on, for God's sake!"
"Miss McEwen!" the judge looked up. "We do not allow profanities in this court room."
Wendy flushed and gazed at the floor. "I'm sorry, Your Honour," she whispered and, without warning, burst into tears.
"Clerk. Some paper tissues for Miss McEwen, please," the judge said and waited while the court clerk walked across and handed Wendy a box of tissues. She wiped her eyes and glanced up.
The judge turned to the defence attorney. "Miss McEwen is a witness here, Mr. Shaller. She is not under trial. Perhaps you should remember that."
"I was just trying to show it was the witness and not my client who was distraught over their relationship, Your Honour. Later, we shall be asking the defendant for his views on the affair. The whole Crown's case hinges on presenting my client as one prone to high emotions and revenge. Our argument is that it was Miss McEwen who was highly emotional and distraught over the whole incident. Indeed, we shall show our client was very supportive of the young lady when he heard of her predicament and offered to assist her financially if she refrained from hounding his family."
"That's outright lies!" Wendy cried out.
"Miss McEwen," the judge interrupted. "Your outburst will not be tolerated...."
Wendy nodded but her face remained defiant as the defence attorney finished his questions, she was allowed to step down and the case was adjourned until the next day.
*
"NOW DON'T YOU WORRY," Edwin Orr said to Wendy the following morning. She had been called back to the trial in case there was a need to recall her. "I have a few witnesses up my sleeve so at the end I doubt if the defence will even want to put Funnel on the stand. "Just relax. I doubt if we'll even need you again."
With the usual preliminaries over, Edwin stood and continued the Crown case. Wendy watched and became more and more absorbed as five women were called up as witnesses. Everyone gave accounts of affairs with Funnel over the previous three years, two had had abortions while one bore a child and was a solo parent trying, unsuccessfully, to receive maintenance from the man.
The sixth woman had an even more interesting story to tell. She was in her early twenties but was only eighteen when Funnel had impregnated her.
"So Miss Knight," Edwin continued. "What did the defendant do when you told him of your condition?"
"He became violent," the girl whispered.
"Violent! Can you elaborate."
"I told him I was going to tell his wife and he began swearing at me then he struck me and kicked me to the floor."
"What happened next, Susan?" Edwin continued softly.
"He sort of went crazy and continued to kick and punch me. I screamed at him to stop but he wouldn't..." The woman was almost in tears. "I think I passed out for I awoke to find myself alone. I managed to get to the phone and..."
"There is no hurry," Edwin said. "If you would like to have a glass of water."
"No," Susan Knight replied. "I was too ashamed to tell anyone at the time but I want to tell the court what happened. An ambulance crew arrived and took me to hospital where I had a miscarriage."
Several jury members turned hostile eyes towards Adrian Funnel who had lost his earlier arrogant look and now stared at the floor.
"Did you hear from Mr. Funnel again?" the attorney asked.
"Once, two weeks later. He arrived, unexpected, at the netball court where I was playing a Saturday game and threatened to kill me if I breathed a word about what happened. I was terrified and said nothing."
"Kill you!" Edwin's eyebrows rose.
" 'I'll do you in if you breath one word, you little bitch,' were his exact words. I have them cemented in my mind," the young woman replied. "He is a desperate man, capable of anything."
"Object. Personal opinion," interrupted the defence attorney.
"Strike that last statement from the records," the judge ordered but everyone could see the jury had heard and taken note of Susan Knight's words.
The trial lasted another day and the defence chose not to call Funnel to the stand but attempted to prove there was not enough evidence to show he was at Kent Drive School on the afternoon of the fire.
It was, though, a lost cause. After only four hours deliberation the jury found Adrian Funnel guilty of both attempted murder and arson.
"You are a thoroughly evil man, Adrian Graham Funnel," the judge pronounced. "Not only did you lie and cheat but showed no remorse for your actions and indeed attempted to cover your deeds with a cowardly attack that, except for the brave escape of two young women, would have led you to facing a charge of double murder, today. You are hereby sentenced to eight years imprisonment. That is all."
Wendy stared at Noel, who accompanied her at the trial for the last day, and smiled slightly. "They say revenge is sweet but I still feel lousy," she said. "Why are people like him?"
"Who knows?" Noel replied.
Wendy sighed. "It still makes me feel all sick inside. That poor Susan Knight and the others."
"I know," Noel replied and squeezed Wendy's arm. "Anyhow, I have a relieving teacher in your class so why don't you have the rest of the day off? I'd better head back to school."
"You know, I think I will," Wendy replied. "A bit of shopping would be quite therapeutic, I think. I want some new jeans."
She walked with Noel as far as his car and watched as he drove away. It was a warm autumn's day and the thought of a couple of hours wandering around made her put Funnel out of her mind..
*
WENDY WAS JUST OUTSIDE the alleyway by the courthouse when she heard a toot and a car pulled to the kerb. She smiled when she recognized Max's car and jumped into the front seat.
"Hi Max," she said in a cheerful voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at work."
Max turned. "I had a day's sick leave," he replied. "I've been waiting for you. We need to talk."
Wendy frowned. There was a strange tone in her boyfriend's voice. Over the last few weeks she had come to know Max well and found him to be an even-tempered guy with little mood fluctuations.
"Okay, Max, what have you done?"
"It's not me," the man replied and gazed across at her when the car stopped at a red light. Even his eyes looked somehow remote.
Wendy began to feel uncomfortable. "Okay," she added quietly. "You want to talk but have said nothing. Perhaps we'd better go somewhere and you can tell me what is on your mind."
"Okay," Max replied.
They drove for ten minutes in silence until Max found a parking spot. He fed the meter and waited as Wendy met him on the footpath.
"Lunch?" he asked in almost his usual cheery tone.
"Sure," Wendy replied.
They found a pleasant restaurant that wasn't too crowded and, a few moments later, sat at a corner table. Wendy picked at her salad while Max avoided her eyes.
"Oh, for God's sake, Max," she said. "This is stupid. You're acting like some overgrown schoolboy who has been dropped from the football team. I've never seen you like this before."
"I was at the court when you were giving evidence," Max said as he played with the food on his plate.
"And..."
His eyes suddenly looked up at her.
"You said you had an abortion."
Oh, so that was it! Though not religious since she broke away from her strict childhood, Wendy knew Max attended church regularly. It was something she hadn't really thought about.
"I did, " she said. "That was before I met you. Surely you must realize I must have had other boyfriends?"
"I'm not talking about men," Max hissed and his voice turned cold. "To kill a child inside you is murder, Wendy."
Wendy stared. This was not the man she knew, the kind happy guy who was great to be with. This was a narrow-minded bigot.
"Rubbish!" she retorted. "My body is my business, Max. What I did was legal and I have not regretted my decision for one moment."
Max stared at her, silent for a moment. "You must have been overwrought and under considerable stress, Wendy. You were persuaded by the devil to commit this sin..."
"Oh shit!" Wendy retorted. She was angry now. "What a load of old codswallop! For your information, Mr. Whitten I was brought up in a strict Presbyterian home and I know as much about religious theology as you do."
Max looked taken back but persisted. "To abort a living child within you is immoral, Wendy. However, forgiveness is also something fundamental in our teachings. You have done a grave act but because I love you, I can forgive you..."
"Forgive me!" Wendy retorted. She slapped her knife and fork down and stood up. "There is nothing to forgive. What I did was my business you sacrilegious little bastard and if you don't like it. Go ... Oh, go get fucked!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "If you know how."
"Wendy!" Max reached out for her hand but she flung it aside.
"I mean it, Max. I had one hell of a time. Everyone around me was supportive and helped me. Everyone, Max! They were friends; real friends I loved and respected." She stared into his eyes. "I thought I loved you, too, Max but I was wrong." She stopped and wiped spittle from the edge of her mouth with a small handkerchief. "I don't even think you can even be a friend now, Max. Our attitudes are too different."
"Wendy, I..." the man looked desperate as he stood up and attempted, unsuccessfully, to grab her arm.
"Don't bother to call, Max. I won't be home. Go find a nice girl down at your Sunday school, get married and breed children. " Her eyes were like poison as she fixed him with a final glare, grabbed her handbag and stalked out of the room.
*
WENDY TOOK A TAXI BACK to school, the one secure place in her life but when she arrived, the whole argument with Max bubbled into her mind.. Tears welled in her eyes and she knew she had to get away and hide somewhere before the tears really flowed.
She walked into the administration block but the tearful shudders had already begun. With her head low and handkerchief across her nose, she headed up beyond the main office and into the small medical room beyond Noel's office. Luckily, it was empty. Wendy slammed the door behind her, broke down into long emotional sobs and never noticed Sarah walk in.
The older woman tucked her arm around Wendy and held her. "Max?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Wendy sobbed for a moment before she blew her nose and glanced at her friend. "How did you know?"
"Just a guess," Sarah replied and guided Wendy to a chair.
"He picked me up outside the courthouse and proceeded to denounce me as some terrible person who murdered my baby." Tears came again. "All I ever wanted to be was a good person, Sarah. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I've always tried to think of others and help them." She glanced up. "Am I that evil person Max says?"
"No," Sarah replied. "You are not. You are loved and respected by us all, Wendy. "
"Am I?" the girl replied, "Or have you just tolerated me because I ended up on your doorstep. Noel must think I'm a stupid little girl who hasn't matured since that day he hauled me out of the swamp, a desperate child who has to find someone to lean on all the time, some idiot who...."
"He doesn't," Sarah snapped. "None of us do and I can prove it."
"How?" Wendy sniffed.
"Wait one moment and I'll show you." Sarah squeezed her arm and slipped back to the office. She returned a moment later with a letter in her a hand.
" Read this," she said. "It's to the Auckland Education Board."
Wendy nodded and glanced down at the paper.
Dear Sir,
In relation to my wife's maternity leave as from this Easter, I recommend that Miss Wendy McEwen be appointed as Acting Senior Teacher in charge of the senior pupils at Kent Drive School...
"Me!" Wendy gasped. "I'm one of the youngest teachers on the staff."
"But most suitable for the position, Wendy." Sarah replied. "Look at the letter's date."
Wendy did and saw it was two weeks old.
"We received a letter back approving your appointment. Noel was going to show you but with the court trial he never found the chance. You'll receive quite a hefty pay rise while you're Acting Senior Teacher."
"But the others?"
"Well, George steps up to DP again and Glenda becomes AP. It's just how the hierarchy works when a senior staff member goes on leave." Sarah stared at Wendy. "Noel is a good friend but he is also this school's principal. If he not think you were capable he would not have recommended you, Wendy. He did it because you have proved you are a strong, conscious teacher."
"I've tried so hard," Wendy said. "With my private life, too but every time I come crashing down. Am I just a teacher and nothing else, someone destined to be an old maid like half the teachers at Southland Girls' High when I was there? You know, forty years old and still alone?"
"I doubt it," Sarah replied. "Look in the mirror and you can see why."
"But what about Max?"
"No doubt he is a nice man but he obviously has firm opinions about abortion that are the opposite of ours. You won't change him, Wendy so don't even try. People with conservative views are convinced they are right. Only more liberal people are prepared to compromise. Understand?"
"I think so," Wendy replied.
"Look," Sandra added. "There's only an hour of school left and I've finished most of my work. What say we head down to the shopping mall and have a cup of coffee together? I feel like a break, too."
"Okay," Wendy said. "It's been one long hard week."
Sarah laughed "Yes but we survived, didn't we?"
"Almost," the young woman replied. She smiled and walked out with a new confidence reflected in her eyes. In just a few days she had matured in many ways and was now ready to move on in her life.
*