Laura strode into court at 11am to begin the defence case. Debbie treated her to a hint of a smile, before deliberately turning away. Judith clutched her pen tightly and turned over two pages of her notes and began.
‘Laura, hello. I appreciate this is a very difficult time for you. Do ask for a break if you need one at any time.’
‘Thank you,’ Laura said.
‘Tell us about your family circumstances while you were growing up.’
Laura shrugged. ‘What do you want to know?’ she said. ‘We were a normal family.’
‘Did you eat your meals together?’
‘Sometimes.’
‘Did you go on holidays together?’
‘Yes.’
‘Were your parents loving?’
‘They looked after me and Ben. When they were busy, our grandma helped out.’
‘That’s Debbie’s mother?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you see much of Rosie’s mum? Members of the jury, by way of reminder, that’s Mrs Elaine Harper, who gave evidence on Wednesday.’
‘When I was little, we did. But not so much the last few years. She and Mum didn’t get on very well. We saw her at Christmas and birthdays and she and Grandpa Brian would meet me or Ben sometimes without Mum, just for a pizza, that kind of thing.’
‘Was that for as long as you remember? When your grandmother gave evidence, she suggested that it was only recently that she and your mum had a falling out, beginning around the time your father told everyone he wanted to transition.’
Laura looked over at her paternal grandmother. ‘Maybe it was worse recently. I don’t think they ever got on very well. They both have…had strong personalities.’
‘How about your relationship with your mother?’
‘Mum spent more time at work than at home, but I understood. She had a lot of responsibilities and a lot of fans.’
‘And were they always friendly, these fans?’
‘Not always. She had some trolls, people complaining about the show.’
‘And how did she respond to that?’
‘She usually tried to reply, at first. I think, because she was in the public eye, she kind of wanted to explain, if she could.’
‘And then what?’
‘If they accepted it, fine. If not, or it got nasty, then she did the usual things; blocked them.’
‘Did you have a lot of security at home?’
‘A burglar alarm and a small gate at the front, and a camera which didn’t work anymore.’
‘If someone knocked at the door, rang the bell, what was the procedure?’
‘You mean, did we check who it was before we opened it? There was a spy hole in the door and we had a chain, but that wasn’t Mum’s style. She liked visitors.’
‘Your honour, Rosie Harper’s door-opening habits are completely irrelevant,’ Laidlaw objected succinctly for once.
‘The prosecution is insisting there was no forced entry to the property, drawing the inference that someone familiar killed Rosie. I am simply trying to elicit from this witness how easy it would have been for a third party, not known to Rosie, to gain access. And I think we have the answer. Do you know a friend of your mother’s called Caroline Fleming?’
‘The woman who was here the other day? No, I’ve never heard of her before…or seen her – before the court, that is.’
‘You’re twenty-one years old now. When did you move out from home?’
‘Two years ago, nearly three now.’
‘But you studied in London, so you could have lived at home, couldn’t you?’
‘I wanted to move out and Mum agreed. She thought it would be good for me to be more independent. It wasn’t because I wanted to get away from them.’
‘Did you know that your parents were unhappy together?’
‘I don’t think they were.’
‘You don’t think they were unhappy?’
‘No.’
‘But they got divorced?’
‘Look. It wasn’t like when other people get divorced. They weren’t fighting. One day Dad just left. There was no big explosion.’
‘Perhaps they hid it from you? You had already left home.’
‘So ask Ben. But he’ll tell you the same. Well, he already did. I’m not sure what it is you want me to say, why you even asked me here. I don’t know anything about who killed Mum, except that I’m absolutely sure it wasn’t my dad.’
* * *
‘Hello Laura. I just have a few more questions for you,’ Laidlaw checked his compendious notes before continuing. ‘Do you love your father?’
‘Of course, yes.’
‘So, it’s natural that you want to protect him?’
‘I don’t know what’s natural but I wouldn’t want him to go to prison for something he didn’t do.’
‘Did you love your mother?’
‘Yes.’
‘You sound less sure.’
‘Your honour. Is this really necessary?’ Judith bobbed up from her seat.
‘I will allow a little more. Miss Mallard, can you answer the question, please.’
‘I thought I already did. If I sounded less sure, that’s because Mum and I didn’t always get on, like I just said. But I still loved her.’
‘You mentioned that your grandmother, Debbie’s mother, helped out when you were younger. Why was that?’
‘Dad was often away and Mum left early. Grandma would come over, help with meals, sit while Ben did his homework.’
‘I heard you play football, like your father?’
‘I used to play, and no, not like Dad.’
‘Did you watch your father play?’
‘When I was young. I don’t remember much now.’
‘You must have met a few famous players?’
‘Probably.’
‘You said used to. Why did you stop playing?’
‘I hurt my knee.’
‘And you don’t play any more?’
‘No.’
‘You wouldn’t have wanted to play in the local team your father coaches? I suppose it would be difficult to have your father as your boss.’
‘I’ve said, I hurt my knee and I don’t play any more.’
‘You did, yes. Sharing the love of football, that must have made you and your dad feel close.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Where do you live? We don’t need the address, just to be clear, the area you live in.’
‘I live in Shoreditch.’
‘Close to the family home?’
‘Yes.’
‘How often did you see your mother, after you left home?’
‘About once a month.’
‘Did you speak on the phone, in between visits?’
‘No. That’s just how we were. Neither of us was really into chat.’
‘And your father?’
‘I used to go over to his flat once a week, sometimes every two weeks, when Ben was visiting.’
‘So, without making you take sides here, in these difficult circumstances, might it be right to say that you got on with your father – that’s the defendant – better than with the deceased, your mother.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You and your mum didn’t always see eye to eye.’
‘I think that’s fair, yes.’
‘Thank you, Miss Mallard, you can go now.’