‘Any other evidence linking Jaden Dodds to the crimes committed at 38 Dunloe Close?’

  ‘Dr Sullivan’s credit card was used three times between 5am on 2nd November – Saturday morning – and 11pm, so that’s after her death. One of those purchases was for a pair of distinctive black trainers in a size 11, not Dr Sullivan’s size. A pair of new trainers matching that description was found at the defendant’s flat on 4th November.’

  ‘What did the defendant say about those?’

  ‘First, he said he didn’t recognise them, that sometimes fans sent him shoes. Then he changed his mind and said they were a gift from Dr Sullivan.’

  ‘A gift?’

  ‘He said he had helped jump-start her car a few days earlier and she had wanted to repay him, that she’d ordered the shoes online for him the night she died.’

  ‘So, first the shopping, then the car. Quite the good Samaritan then?’

  ‘That’s what he’d like us to believe, yes.’

  ‘But you don’t accept that?’

  ‘No, I don’t.’

  ***

  ‘Chief Inspector Dawson, when you entered Dr Sullivan’s flat, can you describe what you saw? It’s a ground-floor flat, isn’t it?’ Judith was brisk in her cross-examination. She didn’t need any ruses with Dawson. He was usually a straightforward witness, although she had upset him more than once previously with her directness. Luckily, he didn’t bear grudges and he understood it came with the territory.

  ‘Yes, all on one level,’ he replied. ‘First, I entered the living area. The curtains were drawn back, but the cleaning lady confirmed she had opened them, when she came in. It was fairly tidy but, well, lived in, if you know what I mean. There were some magazines on the sofa, a jacket hanging behind the door. Over in the kitchen area, the dishwasher was open and it was full of the dirty dishes from the night before. There was the wine glass I mentioned and a frying pan in the sink itself.’

  ‘And, in the bedroom, can you describe the furniture?’

  Dawson pursed his lips, squeezing his eyes shut momentarily to aid his recollection.

  ‘The bed, a chair, a low kind of dressing table, where we found Dr Sullivan’s laptop, a bedside table. That’s it, I think. And the curtains were closed.’

  ‘Thank you. I’m going to show you a picture of Dr Sullivan’s bedroom. It’s pretty much as you described. I want to ask you about the chair though, as I understand it was taken away for forensic testing. Why was that?’

  ‘You’d have to ask the pathologist. Sometimes, they think it will help the enquiry.’

  ‘You weren’t the one, then, who asked for the chair to be tested?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I have to say that I am not used to large items of furniture being removed from the crime scene but, as you say, we’ll ask Dr Bailey when she gives her evidence. Did you smell anything unusual in the flat?’

  Dawson’s eyes flicked to Tom, who was staring daggers at Jaden.

  ‘There was a smell of urine.’

  ‘You don’t mention that in your statement?’

  ‘I didn’t think it important. I thought Dr Sullivan may have…soiled herself. Given that I had concerns this was a murder scene, I called in the pathologist.’

  ‘Yes, you’ve said. What led you to my client, Jaden Dodds?’

  Jaden looked up and Dawson stared across at him again.

  ‘Once we knew this was a murder investigation and a burglary, with her bag being missing, my officers went door to door and took fingerprints and DNA samples. Jaden’s sample matched the prints and DNA in Dr Sullivan’s apartment.’

  ‘I think that’s a very condensed summary of what actually happened, isn’t it? Let’s take it in stages, shall we? On the first day, your officers were sent out to speak to neighbours. What did they do?’

  ‘They took statements.’

  ‘Asking did you see anything untoward last night? – that kind of thing?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And did they speak to my client or his flatmate, Nathaniel Brooks?’

  ‘They spoke to the defendant, who said he knew Dr Sullivan, as a neighbour.’

  ‘Jaden Dodds admitted knowing Dr Sullivan?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘When did your officers go back to question my client a second time?’

  ‘The next day.’

  ‘Why did they go back?’

  ‘Another neighbour told us that Jaden had been chatting to Dr Sullivan the evening before she was killed. We became suspicious that he might have known her better than he was letting on and that he might be hiding something.’

  ‘Any other reason?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘So, you began your inquiry with…what you might call “an open mind” then?’

  ‘As I always do.’

  ‘Then, at what stage did you become so very blinkered?’

  ‘Ms Burton!’ Judge Oliver had snapped his pencil in half and waved it to the court usher, until a pristine one was produced and handed up to him. Judith nodded her apology.

  ‘Jaden Dodds and Elizabeth Sullivan were neighbours,’ she continued. ‘There was therefore no reason preventing them from engaging in neighbourly behaviour, was there?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Yet you became suspicious of my client, purely because you were told he had been chatting to Elizabeth, even though he had told you, himself – volunteered, that is – that he had helped her with her shopping?’

  ‘It’s standard practice to follow leads, especially people seen with the deceased shortly before their death.’

  ‘Did you take fingerprints or swabs of DNA from anyone else in the street?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Nathaniel Brooks.’

  ‘My client’s flatmate?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Anyone else?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why, was that?’

  ‘Jaden’s prints matched the ones in Dr Sullivan’s flat.’

  ‘So…a lucky guess, then. The prints and DNA you happened to take from the first person you tested, matched what you found in the apartment?’

  ‘Not a guess. It was good policing. Like I said, my officers targeted the two boys because the defendant had been seen with Dr Sullivan shortly before her death. Then, once there was a match, no, there wasn’t any need to look any further.’

  ‘You were…what? Saving taxpayers’ money?’

  ‘We’d found the right person.’

  ‘And the neighbour who reported to you that she had seen my client and Dr Sullivan having a friendly chat out in the street, she was female?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘White?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Educated?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘And how old?’

  ‘I didn’t interview her. I have no idea.’

  ‘Let’s just call this neighbour, whom you have just described, the one who told you that she had seen Jaden and Dr Sullivan chatting, the information which made you suspect my client of robbery, rape and murder, let’s call her Mrs Smith. I know it’s not her real name.’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘If my client had told you that Mrs Smith had been laughing, exchanging pleasantries with Dr Sullivan, would you have sent your officers to swab Mrs Smith’s nose and throat, and that of her family members, hauled her into the police station for questioning and executed a search warrant on her home?’

  ‘I was following a hunch and it proved to be right.’

  ‘Unless you are going to argue that any of the evidence against your client is inadmissible, and I am assuming you would have done so by now if that were the case, move on Ms Burton.’ Judge Oliver was scowling at Judith and the new pencil was in danger of going the way of the old.

  ‘Can you describe the sequence of events on the night of Dr Sullivan’s murder, given the evidence you uncovered?’

  ‘I’ll do my best. The neighbour – the one you just called Mrs Smith – she saw the defendant talking to Dr Sullivan at around 6pm. Another neighbour saw the defendant entering the house with Dr Sullivan, shortly afterwards. They ate together, drank some wine together. Then, at some stage that evening, before 9pm, the defendant wanted sex, Dr Sullivan said no, he restrained her with some ropes he had brought with him, raped her, killed her and, before he left, he stole her bag containing her purse and phone.’

  ‘Can we, once again, take that in stages, please, and separate out the fact from the conjecture? You have factual evidence that Jaden was speaking to Elizabeth Sullivan around 6pm and that he entered her house just after?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And my client accepts that. The rest, however – the alleged rape, murder and theft – they are all your theory of what happened. You have no direct knowledge of any of those matters?’

  ‘That’s right. But it’s a theory based on the evidence we found.’

  ‘And your theory is that Jaden killed Elizabeth Sullivan because she refused his advances?’

  ‘Yes, coupled with the theft. Like I said, he went on to steal her credit card and used it to buy himself a pair of trainers.’

  ‘That’s pretty extreme, isn’t it?’

  ‘I’ve seen it happen before.’

  ‘Have you? Can I ask how much the trainers cost, the ones purchased with Dr Sullivan’s credit card.’

  ‘Two hundred and forty-two pounds.’

  ‘Do you think that’s a lot of money for a pair of trainers?’

  ‘I think so, but I know some kids, young people, like special ones and I know they can cost a lot.’

  ‘I’m going to ask the jury to take a look at exhibit two, which is a pair of trainers. Thank you. Now these, as you can see, are a brilliant turquoise with the words “Human Race” on them. Can you see that? “Human” written down the right foot and “Race” down the left. I am told these come from a range made by Adidas and designed by a well-known music celebrity.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  ‘Next we have another pair, these burgundy high-tops are “Air Jordans” made by Nike, bearing the logo of the renowned American basketball player, Michael Jordan.’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘My Lord, I’m not sure why we are being treated to a fashion show by Ms Burton, but it does not appear to have any relevance to her client’s defence.’ Sylvie bobbed up out of her seat.

  ‘These items are directly relevant to the theft charge, if you will allow me a moment to develop my argument.’

  ‘Go ahead, Ms Burton,’ Judge Oliver hardly looked up, as he bade Judith to continue.

  ‘These two pairs come from Jaden’s wardrobe and they are a representative sample of the trainers he likes to wear,’ Judith explained. ‘I think you will agree, whether you like them or not, that they are quite…flamboyant in style. Importantly, the first pair retails…well, retails isn’t quite the right expression. These trainers are so sought-after that they sell out their original run and then a kind of secondary market operates, where the lucky buyers sell them on, via various websites, for a big profit. This pair was purchased for in excess of £900, but I have looked online only today and couldn’t find a pair for less than £4,000. Does that surprise you, Chief inspector?’

  ‘It does, yeah, I suppose it does.’

  ‘The second pair, similarly, were purchased by Jaden for £799. Which leads me to ask the obvious question: why should a young man who can freely afford to buy designer footwear at £800 a pair – leaving aside for a moment, whether we feel that is a prudent use of his income; that’s a matter for him – why should he choose to buy a much less expensive and more run-of-the-mill pair, when he has unlimited funds, aka Dr Sullivan’s credit card?’

  ‘I don’t know why he chose that pair.’

  ‘No, but the implication, surely, is that he never chose that pair because he never stole the card in the first place.’

  ‘You’re implying that. I’m just reporting what I found. Maybe he was worried that the card would be rejected if he went over £300. I don’t know, do I?’

  ‘But when we don’t know the answer, we have to draw conclusions about the most likely chain of events and I submit that it is highly unlikely, given Jaden Dodds’ very particular and expensive taste in footwear, that he purchased these shoes.’

  ‘Then what were they doing in his flat?’

  ‘We’ll come on to that later,’ Judith said, without turning a hair, although, privately, she was asking herself the same question.

  Then Judith had a sudden moment of clarity and, as soon as she did, she reprimanded herself for not seeing it earlier. It wasn’t the complete answer to the issue which had been gnawing away at her for days, but she felt sure it was part of the answer. In order to flush it out, though, she had to take a risk. She looked across at Jaden, then stole a quick glance at Constance. Finally, she turned her head, a few degrees, in Sylvie’s direction, where Sylvie’s supercilious expression provided all the confirmation she needed.

  ‘Moving on, do you know what Elizabeth Sullivan’s area of specialism was?’ Judith asked.

  ‘She was a psychiatrist.’

  ‘That’s right. Anything else?’

  ‘I don’t know the details, but she treated alcoholics.’

  ‘Yes, she specialised in addiction; people who cannot help themselves but, through no fault of their own, they become addicted to alcohol, pills, online games, gambling – even pornography. She treated them with medicine and with therapy.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  ‘What does Jaden Dodds do for a living?’

  ‘He has an online website.’

  ‘What does he do on that online site?’

  ‘He plays video games.’

  ‘And is it secret, this site?’

  ‘No, it’s a public site.’

  ‘Did you ever consider the link between what Jaden does for a living – that is, gaming; showing other people how to improve their scores in online games – and what Elizabeth Sullivan did – that is, treat people with illnesses relating to gaming?’

  ‘No. I didn’t. But it sounds like they might have had quite an interesting conversation that evening, over dinner.’

  Dawson’s eyes twinkled, as his joke spread out and settled in the minds of everyone in the court. Judith sat down and Sylvie bobbed up.

  ‘Just one more question, Inspector Dawson.’ Sylvie returned the sideways look at Judith. ‘Were you aware that Dr Sullivan was a very vocal campaigner against online gaming?’

  ‘I don’t know much about that, no.’

  ‘Then I will be taking this issue further with other witnesses. However, it’s only right and fair to lay down a marker, at this stage, that the prosecution case will include a further possible motive for Dr Sullivan’s murder. Jaden Dodds intentionally hunted down Dr Sullivan, to silence one of gaming’s strongest critics.’

  25

  Judith and Constance were packing up their papers when Tom Sullivan came bowling over, Mr Jenkins in hot pursuit.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ His face was blazing and his fists were clenched. Judith wheeled around and soaked up the full force of his anger and humiliation.

  ‘I’m sorry…’ she began.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me about what he did to Mum?’ He began to sob and Mr Jenkins extended a protective arm around his shoulders, which he threw off.

  ‘I wasn’t able to tell you.’

  ‘That’s not true. You didn’t tell me, because you knew, if you did, there was no way I was going to help you. You said he was innocent, when you knew what he did.’

  ‘Tom, come away now. Leave these ladies alone. They’re just doing their job.’ Mr Jenkins intervened a second time, with a little more authority than before. Tom turned on him too.

  ‘I don’t see why you’re being so nice to them,’ he shouted. ‘They tricked you too, unless you knew. You probably all thought it was funny, didn’t you? Him shagging my mum. I bet he thought it was pretty funny too.’

  ‘No one thinks any of this is funny,’ Mr Jenkins reached out and pulled the boy towards him.

  Tom flung his headmaster’s arm away, growled at them all and then ran out of the court.

  Outside court, Liz’s sister, Eve, was waiting. Constance had pointed her out earlier, seated next to Tom. Judith wondered if they could possibly pretend they hadn’t seen her. She really did not want another scene after Tom’s outburst, but Eve was already walking forwards and speaking to Constance at the same time.

  ‘Miss Lamb, hello. It is Miss Lamb, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’m Liz’s sister, Eve. We spoke. You remember?’

  ‘Yes, hello.’

  ‘Look, I understand that everyone is entitled to a defence and all that, but is this really necessary?’

  ‘I didn’t think anything in the opening statements or Inspector Dawson’s evidence was…inappropriate. As you say, everyone is entitled to a fair trial.’ Judith hung back. Constance could hold her own, she thought.

  ‘It just seems really obvious to me that it was him, especially now we know… Well. I know my own sister. She wasn’t in the habit of…casual encounters. Making us, me and Tom, sit through all of this; it’s very cruel.’

  ‘I understand it must be hard for you,’ Constance said, ‘but you wouldn’t want the wrong person to go to prison, would you?’

  Eve shook her head sadly. ‘I knew there was no point saying anything,’ she said.

  ‘How is Tom doing? You know...what we talked about.’

  ‘You think you can get around me that way, talking about Tom like you’re his friend?’

  ‘I… Maybe we should continue this conversation another time,’ Constance said, glancing over at Judith for reassurance. Judith said nothing. ‘I can see you’re upset,’ Constance said.