‘Do you remember at what time Susan and Henry arrived on that day?’
‘They didn’t come together, of course. She came first, about 12.20 to 12.25, and he arrived exactly on time, at 12.30.’
‘What was Henry Lang wearing, if you recall?’
‘He was wearing a jacket, brown I think, and grey trousers, and a light raincoat, which I thought was a bit odd because it was a pretty warm day.’
‘Did he wear the coat during the meeting?’
‘No, he hung it up. I keep a coat rack outside the office.’
‘This may seem an odd thing to press you on, but did Henry hang the coat up himself, or did you take it from him?’
‘He hung it up himself.’
‘Thank you. How did the meeting begin?’
‘The same way as usual. I made coffee and put out glasses of water and we started talking.’
‘Could you give us a sense of how the conversation developed?’
‘I began by inviting them both in turn to make any comments they wanted to about their individual interviews. Neither of them had much to say about that. So I began to explain where I wanted to go from there, a further inspection of both their homes, the possibility of interviewing the children, and so on.’
‘All right. I want to ask you about your impression of both of them at that meeting. What, if anything, struck you about Susan?’
Wendy Cameron thought for some time.
‘Susan was always very hard to read. She said all the right things. She knew how to sound like a devoted mother. She made all the right noises about how the children were the most important thing in the world to her. But if you challenged her, she would admit that they spent a lot of time with child minders, usually her parents – especially when she went out at night. Sometimes, I had the feeling that it was more important to her that Henry shouldn’t have the children than that she should, if you know what I mean. She could be very controlling.’
‘And on this occasion?’
‘It was the same old story. She was a full-time mother, Henry was working too hard, he cared about nothing except his business, and he would never be there for the children. It was as much for Henry’s benefit as mine. She knew how to wind him up.’
‘What was your impression of Henry?’
Again, she did not reply immediately.
‘Henry was far less talkative. At times, you had to push him pretty hard to get him to say anything at all. He didn’t try to impress me with his credentials as a parent in the same way she did. But he loved the children. I never doubted that.’
‘But how did he strike you on this occasion?’
‘He was very quiet. It was an effort to get him to participate in the meeting at all. It was as if his mind was somewhere else.’
‘Was there any discussion specifically about the possibility that Mr Justice Wesley might award custody to Susan?’
‘Yes. I tried to make it clear to both of them that nothing had been decided, and that whichever way it went, they had to work together in the children’s interests once it was all over. So we had to consider all the possibilities.’
‘How did Henry react to that?’
She shook her head.
‘The idea that the children might end up with Susan distressed him very much. He didn’t seem able to get past that idea. I couldn’t get him to move on and focus on what would be in the children’s interests if that happened.’
‘How did he show his distress? Visibly? Audibly?’
‘Yes. I don’t mean that he was shouting. Henry hardly ever raised his voice. But there was an intensity about him. I don’t quite know how to put it, but whatever he was feeling ran very deep, and when he did say something, it came across very clearly.’
‘Was it a productive meeting, would you say?’
‘No. Not really. They were both too interested in making the same points over and over again. I tried to tell them that I understood what they were saying, but I wasn’t the right person to say it to. They would have to say all that to Mr Justice Wesley, not me. But they weren’t really listening. When I called time on the meeting at about 1.30, it was obvious that we weren’t going to get anything done with the two of them together in the same room. I would have to rely on individual meetings if I was going to move them forward.’
‘At which point, the meeting was adjourned, and they left?’
‘Yes.’
‘What did you do then?’
She closed her eyes and brushed away a tear.
‘I went into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich for lunch.’
‘Mrs Cameron, did you know that Henry Lang had brought a knife with him to the meeting?’
‘No, I most certainly did not.’
‘Would you have permitted it?’
‘No, of course not. I would never tolerate anyone bringing a weapon to a meeting.’
‘What would you have done if you had known that?’
‘I would have cancelled the meeting, and reported it to the judge – and probably to the police.’