Her voice faltered and she thought God no, the whole world is going to see this.
‘So who did kill her, Mrs Newby? Do you have any idea about that?’
‘No, I’m sorry. That’s all. Thank you very much.’
She went inside, feeling her whole body trembling. ‘For heaven’s sake, Sarah, what are you doing?’ Lucy said. ‘We’re not in California now. What if the judge says you’ve unfairly prejudiced the case?’
‘Then he does.’ Sarah smiled shakily. ‘How did it look? Did my voice break?’
‘Keep the day job, love, leave Hollywood to the experts.’ Relenting, Lucy gave her a brief, motherly hug. ‘The real jury’s in here, not outside.’
To Sarah’s relief, judge Mookerjee ignored her remarks outside court. Dr Jones took the stand in a dark suit with yellow tie and matching silk handkerchief. Sarah stood.
‘Now, Dr Jones, let us turn to the semen from Miss Hurst’s vagina. You have described how the DNA in this semen was an exact match for the DNA which you took from my son.’
‘I have, yes.’
‘Very well. You may know, Dr Jones, that the defence does not dispute that the semen is indeed that of my son, Simon Newby. He will give evidence that he and Miss Hurst made love earlier that day at his house in a consensual, loving fashion. That’s why the semen is there, he says. So may I ask, Dr Jones, is there anything about the sample that would contradict this story?’
‘Simply the fact that it was there. In the body of a girl who had been raped and murdered.’
Sarah frowned. ‘Dr Jones, I’m not sure you understand my question. Let me make it clearer. I want you to put aside the vaginal bruising, and the victim’s death, and concentrate solely on the semen which you examined. Was there anything about the age or condition of the sample which would tell you when, precisely, it entered her body?’
The pathologist shrugged, as if the question was of minor academic interest. ‘Well, if you concentrate on that alone, then I suppose the answer is no, not precisely. By the time I analysed the sample, it was already some sixteen hours old. There is no test that could precisely determine whether it was deposited at the time of death or a few hours earlier.’
‘So it is possible that Miss Hurst had sexual intercourse several hours before her death?’
Dr Jones frowned, as though correcting an errant pupil. ‘If she did, then the vaginal bruising would suggest it was more like a rape than the loving consensual activity you describe.’
‘Very well, let us come to that.’ Sarah was determined not to be patronized by this man, but every time she looked at him she saw him in his white coat, about to show her Emily’s body. He had seemed the ultimate figure of medical authority then, the gatekeeper to life or death.
Resolutely, she thrust the memory aside. Now he was a threat to her son.
‘In your report you describe some bruising. When do you believe this bruising occurred?’
‘Immediately prior to the victim’s death.’ He shrugged, as if the answer were obvious.
Sarah contemplated the witness coldly. ‘Can you be more precise about that, Dr Jones? Do you mean ten seconds before death? Five minutes? Half an hour? Two hours? More?’
‘Probably a few minutes before. Depending on the severity of the actual trauma, it could theoretically have been longer, I suppose. But you’d have to consider this along with the evidence of the crime scene to decide when the rape actually happened.’
‘Very well. But I’m interested in your phrase ‘depending on the severity of the trauma.’ Can you explain that a little further?’
‘Well, these bruises appeared relatively minor. The most likely explanation of that is that the victim was raped only a few minutes before her throat was cut, and therefore although the vaginal trauma she suffered was quite severe, the bruising did not have time to develop fully before the blood flow was cut off.’
‘And the other explanation?’
‘I suppose … a theoretical alternative explanation could be that she suffered a milder vaginal trauma some time before, and that the bruising had in fact fully developed.’
It was a key admission, reluctantly given. ‘So how long before could this much milder vaginal trauma have occurred, doctor?’
‘Well, it’s hard to be precise. If it was very mild, two or three hours, I suppose. But …’
‘Thank you. So it is possible that this bruising was caused up to two or three hours before death. And in that case, the trauma that caused it was much milder than the brutal rape which my learned friend has attempted to describe?’
And so my son didn’t rape her. Or at least, not very roughly. Oh Simon, Simon!
‘It’s a theoretical possibility, yes. But only if you treat these injuries in isolation from all the others, which indicate a violent, sexual attack. There were scratches to the backs and insides of her thighs, which would indicate a violent sexual assault.’
‘You put the prosecution case very well, doctor. But it remains true, does it not, that there is a completely different and credible possibility — that the semen and bruising in the vagina were the result of a very much milder and less violent form of intercourse which may have taken place up to three hours before the violent attack which led to her death? That’s what you said, isn’t it?’
It was a vital point. Sarah fixed the witness with a basilisk stare.
‘It’s a theoretical possibility, yes. But only if you disregard the rest of the evidence.’
‘Or if the rest of the evidence can be explained in a different way,’ Sarah persisted. ‘In which case, although she was murdered, she may not have been raped at all?’
Dr Jones hesitated, then shrugged. ‘That is a possible interpretation, yes. Although even if I accept your premise, I wouldn’t call this sexual activity mild, exactly. Loving, consensual sex doesn’t usually cause trauma or bruising of any kind.’
It was a damaging reply, Sarah knew. Even if Simon’s story were true, how had he treated this poor girl? She remembered how tantalizing and aloof Jasmine could be; and Simon’s intense, frightening rage. What had really happened between them that day?
‘But mild or not, these bruises do not necessarily indicate rape?’
Dr Jones hesitated, making a conscious effort to be fair. ‘If intercourse took place some hours before death, then … the physical evidence does not necessarily indicate rape, no. But at the very least it does indicate vigorous penetration. If Ms Hurst had been alive and complained of rape, these bruises would certainly have supported her claim.’
‘But it is also possible that this bruising was caused by sexual intercourse which was vigorous, as you say, but still consensual. Not a rape?’
‘Possible, yes.’
‘Thank you.’ Sarah glanced at the jury. She had established this vital point; now was the time to develop it further. ‘So, Dr Jones, if we accept that sexual intercourse took place some hours before death, then there is no physical proof that the man with whom Jasmine Hurst had sex, was the same man who cut her throat and killed her, is there?’
The silence in court was electric. Reluctantly, he sighed. ‘If we accept your premise, no.’
Was it enough? Did the jury understand how vital this was? Sarah was not sure. When in doubt, she had learned, you must drive your point home, by repetition if necessary.
‘So from your evidence, Dr Jones, is it possible that Jasmine Hurst had sexual intercourse with my son in his house that afternoon, as he says, and that her throat was cut by a quite different man several hours later?’
Dr Jones sighed. ‘It’s possible, yes.’
‘Thank you. That’s all I have to ask.’
She smiled, and sat down.
After a night in the cells Gary slouched into the interview room, surly and unshaven. He slumped into a chair, his heavy forearms on the table. ‘Have you charged her then?’