Trial of Passion (6 page)

COURT CLERK:

State your full name and rank please, for the record.

WITNESS:

Constable Fourteen Gavin Oswald Peake, West Vancouver Police.

Q

And were you on duty on the early hours of November twenty-eighth last?

A

I was.

Q

Tell us what you did and observed.

A

On that day, as I was working midnight shift, I received a call at oh-five-forty-eight hours to attend at the home of a Mr. Clarence de Remy Brown at 4214 Kildonan Drive in West Vancouver.

Q

And what did you do there?

A

May I refer to my notes made immediately afterwards?

MR. CLEAVER:

No objection, but I'll want to take a very careful look at them.

THE COURT:

No question about it. You'll have full opportunity later.

MR. CLEAVER:

I'd appreciate that, your honour. My learned friend has been keeping her evidence a little too close to her chest.

THE COURT:

You are entitled to full disclosure, Mr. Cleaver.

MR. CLEAVER:

Of her chest? (Laughter.)

THE COURT:

Oh, dear. I'm sorry, Miss Blueman.

MS. BLUEMAN:

If Mr. Cleaver wishes to continue making me the butt of his humour —

MR. CLEAVER:

Not the butt, Miss Blueman. (Laughter.)

MS. BLUEMAN:

I think it hardly appropriate —

THE COURT:

Order.

MR. CLEAVER:

Oh, I'm sorry, just trying to relieve the tedium.

THE COURT:

Order. Let's carry on with the witness.

MR. CLEAVER:

Well, since the subject of disclosure has been raised, I am giving notice I will be seeking production of some tape recordings the complainant apparently dictated to my learned friend, Miss Blueman.

MS. BLUEMAN:

Long after the fact.

THE COURT:

You know the rules of disclosure, madam prosecutor.

MS. BLUEMAN:

Yes, but —

THE COURT:

Let's have no more buts.

MS. BLUEMAN:

Your honour, they're very personal.

MR. CLEAVER:

We haven't a single written account from the complainant.

THE COURT:

Do these tapes contain a narrative about the case, Miss Blueman?

MS. BLUEMAN:

I'd be prepared to edit them —

MR. CLEAVER:

She has to be joking —

THE COURT:

Order. Miss Blueman, are you familiar with the Stinch-combe decision? The required rules of disclosure?

MS. BLUEMAN:

I —

THE COURT:

Everything. You have to give the defence everything.

MS. BLUEMAN:

I can't —

THE COURT:

You will! That's an order!

Q

My objection is on the record. Constable Peake, you
told us you went to Mr. Brown's house in the early-morning hours.

A

Yes, I knocked on the door —

Q

Can you describe this house?

A

Well, it was pretty big. Three floors, I don't know how many bedrooms. Posh area, the British Properties. I was met by Mr. Brown at the door and he led me in. I noticed his hands were smudged with what looked like lipstick, and his clothes, too. He was pretty angry. He said his girlfriend —

THE COURT:

It's hearsay, Miss Blueman.

MS. BLUEMAN:

You can't tell us what he said.

A

Well . . . that was it for a while. We just sat there in his living room and he carried on talking in an angry voice. She was sleeping. His girlfriend. Kimberley Martin.

Q

Did you do anything as a result of your conversation with Clarence Brown?

A

I phoned headquarters and instructed them to send an officer to

141

Palmer Avenue.

Q

Did you ultimately interview Ms. Martin?

A

I told Mr. Brown we should wake her up, or otherwise I was wasting my time. So he left and eventually he came back, and he led me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. Miss Martin, the complainant, was sitting up in bed in a nightgown with the sheets over her legs.

Q

Okay, you can't tell us what she said to you, but did you make any observations about her person?

A

She showed me some bruises on her wrists and ankles — the skin was torn there, on her left ankle. She said she had bruises on her chest —

MR. CLEAVER:

Well, here we go.

THE COURT:

Miss Blueman, get your witness under control.

MS. BLUEMAN:

Just what you saw, officer.

A

Sorry. The thing is, normally we would have a female officer, but we're usually short of officers on the overnight shift. And, well, after some discussion, she showed me her breasts.

MR. CLEAVER:

The complainant makes better disclosure than my learned friend. (Laughter.)

MS. BLUEMAN: THE COURT:

Mr. Cleaver, really, this is a
very
serious matter.

Q

Order. Excuse me. Order.

A

And what did you see?

Q

I saw a small area of discolouration on the inner, ah, surface of her left breast. Check that. . . . My notes have it as the right breast.

A

Then what did you do?

Q

I asked both of them if they would like to accompany me to the North Shore Hospital for a more thorough physical examination and some tests. We then proceeded to that hospital and I left her there while they called in the examining pathologist.

Q

And did you have anything further to do with this case?

A

No, I turned it over to the detectives.

Q

Please answer my learned friend's questions.

Q

Constable Peake, as you examined Miss Martin, did you observe any of the usual physical indicia of rape — scratches, cuts, that sort of thing?

A

No, I did not.

Q

Any signs of what might have been lipstick on her lower body?

A

No.

Q

While Miss Martin was displaying herself to you, did you get close enough to smell her breath?

A

She smelled mostly of fresh soap. But I also detected a faint odour of alcohol from her breath.

Q

Soap. I don't understand.

A

It appeared to me that she had bathed recently.

Q

Bathed?

A

Her hair was wet. There were damp towels in an ensuite bathroom.

Q

Constable, did you not find that unusual?

A

I didn't find anything usual about this case.

Q

Did you seize the towels?

A

No. I took a tie. Also a gold necklace.

Q

Pretty odd that a supposed rape victim would crawl into bed after her ordeal and have a nice nap.

A

I thought so.

Q

Did you believe a word she said?

MS. BLUEMAN:

This is becoming too much —

THE COURT:

I will decide who is to be believed, Mr. Cleaver.

MR. CLEAVER:

You said Mr. Clarence de Remy Brown spent a fair bit of time with Miss Martin before he ushered you to her bedroom.

A

It seemed quite a while.

Q

Time enough to have a good long conversation with her.

A

Well, I wasn't there.

Q

You said Mr. Brown was angry. He was fuming, swearing, carrying on like that?

A

Like that.

Q

Okay, I take it you knew that Mr. Brown's father is a
wealthy industrialist. The Brown Group of Corporations.

A

I didn't at the time. I do now, yes.

Q

Did you see an engagement ring?

A

A big diamond, yes, on her finger.

Q

The heir to a great fortune would be quite a catch for any young lady, wouldn't he?

A

I guess so.