The Accused (Modern Plays) (8 page)

Judge
Thank you, Sir James. Carry on, Mr Kersley.

Kersley
You were telling us, Ms Mitchell, that Mr Sherwood telephoned you at the hospital - for what purpose?

Mitchell
To warn me that the police had begun an investigation into his wife’s death and might want to question me about our relationship.

Kersley
Really? Did he say anything else?

Mitchell
Yes, he begged me not to mention the fact that I’d been with him on the night his wife died, as he had already come up with a more convincing alibi.

Kersley
Why would he need another alibi, if he had been with you?

Mitchell
Because he didn’t want the police to know that we’d been having an affair.

Kersley
And how did you respond to this request?

Mitchell
I told him to go to hell and rang off.

Kersley
Did he call again that day?

Mitchell
Yes, about an hour later, but I refused to speak to him.

Kersley
How did you avoid it?

Mitchell
I made some excuse to Sister about not feeling well, and went home early. But that night I was so distressed I just couldn’t get to sleep, so in the morning I told my parents everything.

Kersley
And it was your father, Councillor Mitchell, who left you in no doubt as to where your responsibility lay?

Mitchell
Yes. He advised me to tell the police everything I knew, otherwise I could be an accessory to the crime and just as guilty as he was.

Kersley
And when the police got in touch with you, you immediately volunteered a statement?

Mitchell
Yes, I did.

Kersley
And has Mr Sherwood tried to contact you again since you made that statement?

Mitchell
He never stops phoning, sometimes twice a day, but I haven’t spoken to him since that morning he rang the hospital. (
Sherwood
rises but then sits back down
.)

Kersley
And despite all that you’ve been put through these last six months, you still have no regrets about taking your father’s advice?

Mitchell
None whatsoever. My only regret… (
She hesitates
.)

Kersley
Yes, Ms Mitchell? Your only regret?

Mitchell
(
stares at
Sherwood)
… is that I ever agreed to collect those prescriptions for him in the first place.

Kersley
No more questions, My Lord.

Judge
Your witness, Sir James.

Barrington
Thank you, My Lord. Allow me to begin, Ms Mitchell, with the subject of the prescriptions. Can I confirm that you were aware that Potassium Chloride was classified as a controlled drug?

Mitchell
Yes, of course I was.

Barrington
So you would have had to sign for them?

Mitchell
Yes, I signed for all six of them, and as the prescriptions are in the court’s safe keeping, you can check for yourself.

Barrington
I already have, from my photocopies. I just wanted you to confirm that it was your signature on the originals.

Usher
shows her the originals
.

Mitchell
Yes, that is my signature.

Barrington
Then perhaps you won’t mind writing your name on the Usher’s pad so that the jury can be left in no doubt. (
She signs her signature with her left hand and the
Usher
shows the pad to
Barrington
.) Yes, there is no doubt it is your signature. (
He checks the prescriptions
.) You said in your statement to the police that Mr Sherwood only gave you those prescriptions on a Friday evening, just as you were about to leave for the weekend.

Mitchell
Yes, that’s correct.

Barrington
Then perhaps you can explain why, of the six prescriptions (
Holds them up
.) one is dated on a Tuesday, two on a Wednesday, two on a Thursday, leaving only one made out on a Friday, which was the one found in Mr Sherwood’s bag. (
He places five of them to one side
.)

Mitchell
I said nothing about when they were made out, only when he handed them to me for collection and that was always on a Friday evening.

Barrington
How convenient. Unless, of course, you held on to them until you went home for the weekend.

Mitchell
Why should I do that?

Barrington
Why indeed, unless, of course, you had your own reason for wanting to implicate Mr Sherwood, which brings me on to this mythical relationship you claim he began.

Mitchell
It wasn’t mythical and he certainly began it.

Barrington
You say he showered you with presents, sent you flowers, took you out to dinner - even occasionally to the theatre.

Mitchell
Yes, he did.

Barrington
Do you have any proof that these presents ever existed?

Mitchell
No, of course I don’t. The flowers have died and I’ve eaten all the chocolates.

Barrington
Now that is convenient. So you’re asking the court to believe that all these presents were in one way or another, how can I put this, biodegradable? And were these dinners always at restaurants where he wouldn’t be recognised?

Mitchell
Yes, that was the idea. Patrick said it wouldn’t look good if we were seen together while his wife was still alive.

Barrington
Can you name any of these restaurants?

Mitchell
(
considers this
) Not off the top of my head, no. But then we never went back to the same one twice, although I do remember we once ate in Fulham.

Barrington
And after you’d had dinner at these restaurants you can’t name, you would sometimes go on to the theatre?

Mitchell
Yes, on at least two occasions.

Barrington
So you must be able to name at least two of the plays?

Mitchell
(
hesitates
) Not immediately. After all, it was over a year ago, but I remember one of them was by Tom Stoppard - and in any case I kept the programmes.

Kersley
whispers to
Ashton
,
who makes a note
.

Barrington
And after he’d taken you to the theatre, would he then drive you home?

Mitchell
Yes, he always took me home.

Barrington
And on one occasion he asked if he could join you for coffee?

Mitchell
Yes, that’s right.

Barrington
And until then, he hadn’t tried to do anything that could be described as improper?

Mitchell
No, but two weeks later he grabbed me at the staff party and started kissing me under the mistletoe, and then he put his hand on my …

Barrington
Quite. Where was the mistletoe hanging, Ms Mitchell?

Mitchell
(
hesitates
) From a light in the middle of the room.

Barrington
From a light in the middle of the room. Let me see if I can picture this, Ms Mitchell. He had one hand on your breast, while at the same time trying to kiss you, in
the middle of a crowded room, in front of all his colleagues - and your friends.

Mitchell
Yes. It was very embarrassing.

Barrington
Not embarrassing enough to stop you letting him take you home and then end up in bed with him.

Mitchell
I felt sorry for him.

Barrington
Ah, yes, I remember, it was raining. Have you any idea, Ms Mitchell, how unlikely this story is sounding?

Mitchell
It’s the truth and he knows it.

Barrington
Well, then let’s continue with this morality fable, shall we? The following morning Mr Sherwood called you into his office, locked the door and started trying to undo your uniform?

Mitchell
Yes, he did.

Barrington
And then he made love to you on his couch?

Mitchell
Yes, just as I described it.

Barrington
What time of day was that?

Mitchell
I don’t remember exactly.

Barrington Well
how about vaguely - eight o’clock, nine o’clock, ten o’clock?

Mitchell
I think it must have been about nine thirty. Yes, it was just after we’d completed the early-morning rounds.

Barrington
So you’re asking the court to believe that having left you, exhausted, at three in the morning, he then made love to you again at nine thirty?

Mitchell
Yes, and I wasn’t the only nurse who’d been subjected to ‘after-rounds’ sex.

Barrington
Strange, because I don’t see any of those nurses on the list of Crown witnesses.

Mitchell
They didn’t want to know, once they realised the police were involved.

Barrington
Strange how everybody and everything disappears whenever you’re involved. And after this romp on the couch, he regularly made love to you in his office and sometimes spent the night with you back at your flat?

Mitchell
No, he never stayed the night. He always left around three in the morning. He didn’t want anyone to find out that we were having an affair.

Barrington
And you say that this relationship went on for several weeks?

Mitchell
Over three months.

Barrington
And you would also have us believe that on one occasion, he asked you to marry him?

Mitchell
Yes, he did.

Barrington
Was this at a restaurant you can’t remember, or after a play you don’t recall?

Mitchell
No, I remember the occasion well; it’s not something a girl is likely to forget. You see, he proposed to me on the night his wife died.

Barrington
(
sharply
) How could you possibly have known it was the night his wife was going to die?

Mitchell
Obviously I didn’t know until, the following morning. But I’ll never forget his words after we’d made love - ‘Elizabeth won’t be around for much longer, so we ought to start thinking about our future together.’

Barrington
Elizabeth. Did you ever meet Mrs Sherwood?

Mitchell
Only when she came to pick up her husband from the hospital.

Barrington
So you never visited her at the flat?

Mitchell
No, why should I do that?

Barrington
To help her with her injections, perhaps?

Mitchell
No, I’ve never been to Arcadia Mansions.

Barrington
Arcadia Mansions. So it wasn’t you who was at the apartment when Mrs Sherwood said, ‘How did you get in?’

Mitchell
No, I was at home all that evening.

Barrington
Alone?

Mitchell
No, Patrick joined me around eight o’clock. I cooked dinner for him and then we made love in front of the fire. Perhaps you’d like me to go into the details?

Barrington
Yes, I would, Ms Mitchell, because if this relationship was as intimate as you say, you’ll be able to tell the court if Mr Sherwood has any scars, birth marks or even unusual habits that only someone who was so intimate with him would be aware of.

Mitchell
(
triumphantly
) Yes, I can. Patrick has a small burn on his right arm (
Touches her right forearm
.) which you can only see when he takes his shirt off.

Barrington
‘A small burn on his right arm … Only when he takes his shirt off.’ (
He writes down as a quote
.) Anything else?

Mitchell
(
considers this
) Yes, whenever he took me out on a date, he would remove his wedding ring and when we made love he would always insist on putting out the light. And, oh yes, his great passion is sailing. He keeps a small boat at Burnham, which he takes out most weekends.

Barrington
One could hardly call this list of mundane trivia intimate knowledge. You know, Ms Mitchell, this is beginning to sound less and less like an affair and more and more like wishful thinking.

Mitchell
I can assure you it was real.

Barrington
I have no doubt you wanted it to be real.

Mitchell
What do you mean by that?

Barrington
Simply that no one was better placed than you to take advantage of a man who was nursing a dying wife. But he rejected your advances, which made you bitter and resentful. And then, after his wife died, you come up with this cock-and-bull story about Wellingborough, only too aware of how hard it would be for Mr Sherwood to prove his innocence.

Kersley
My Lord, I think I must have fallen asleep, because the last thing I remember was my learned friend cross-examining this witness, and I seem to have woken up in the middle of his closing speech. Can your Lordship advise me, have I missed any significant questions?

Judge
No, but you have improperly interrupted defence counsel, just as - I suspect - he was about to ask one. Please continue, Sir James.