The Trials of Lila Dalton by L. J. Shepherd
Author:L. J. Shepherd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Published: 2024-07-15T00:00:00+00:00
23
I return to the robing room to find Paxton and Andrew already robed.
Thereâs a knock at the door, shortly followed by Malcolmâs bespectacled head. âHis Lordship is ready for you now,â he says.
Paxton flaps an impatient arm at him. âYes, thank you, we know.â
The door closes.
I bristle at Paxtonâs behaviour towards Malcolm. It was so unnecessarily aggressive.
âAre you relying on Hewittâs evidence?â I ask.
âOf course,â says Paxton, as though my suggestion is ludicrous.
âAnd youâll steer clear of the hearsay?â
âYou donât have to remind me about the rules of inadmissibility, Iâve been doing this rather a long time, you know.â He strides out, Andrew in tow.
I robe up and return to the courtroom, still nervous about what Iâm going to ask Hewitt, having done no preparation.
When I arrive, Hewitt is already in situ behind the dust-pink curtains that shield the witness from the defendantâs view but allow the jury to see them.
I look over at the press bench. Agatha Price is there, glaring at me, but it appears Dev still hasnât returned from his errand.
âMr Hewitt,â begins Paxton. âDid you know the accused?â
Hewitt closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. âYes, I knew Jonathan Eades.â
âSorry, canât hear you.â The judge cups his hand around his ear and bellows at Hewitt, as though his problem is deafness rather than dumbness.
âYes, I knew Jonathan Eades.â
âRight, now keep your voice up.â
And he does, just about. Paxton takes him through his evidence, expertly avoiding the hearsay like potholes, confining the evidence to the parts Hewitt personally heard and witnessed. Unfortunately, what Hewitt personally heard and witnessed was Eadesâs Holocaust denial, racism, denigration of women and homophobia.
I look at the jury. Theyâre still playing judge, not letting anything show on their faces. A man in the front row notices me looking at him, so I turn away quickly. Itâs a sign of weakness to keep looking at them to see what they make of the evidence.
Paxton concludes examining Hewitt in chief by saying, âI donât have any more questions for you, but if you wait there, my learned friend might do.â
I get to my feet, leaning on the bench in front of me for support, trying to forget about my daughter. Her toothy smile. A smile Iâll never see again if this fails.
The juryâs eyes are on me. I can feel them on my skin. With a sense of déjà vu that stops me in my tracks, I look up and find twelve strangers staring back at me.
I open my mouth to speak only to find that my breath catches in my throat. Itâs such an illogical thought, one that has no place interrupting my cross-examination, but I worry that this is the moment Iâll lose my memories again. Perhaps thatâs all it ever wasânerves.
I tear my eyes away from the jury. I make a fountain-pen mark, the third stroke in the tally chart at the back of Archbold. It calms me, anchoring me in the here and now.
âMr Hewitt, it wonât have escaped the
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