THE COURT:
Very well.
Q
What conversation did you have with him?
A
Well, I said I was here to investigate a complaint about an incident that was supposed to have happened the night before. I asked him if he knew a Kimberley Martin. And he said, “Yes, she was here last night” And he said. . Can I look at my notes?
THE COURT:
Go ahead.
A
He said, um, “Has something happened to her? I was worried. She disappeared” I then related to him the substance of the complaint that he had confined her and assaulted her sexually, and he didn’t say anything at first, just looked kind of puzzled. And then he said, “Is this some kind of practical joke?” and I said, “No, not that I’m aware.” He went sort of white, and said, “I did no such thing.” I said, “Are you saying you didn’t touch her?” And he said, “Didn’t touch her? Of course I touched her. I took her to bed.”
THE COURT:
Just a minute. “Of course I touched her. I took her to bed.”
A
And he then added, “She was very drunk.”
Q
Was there any more conversation?
A
Well, basically no, because he wanted to call his lawyer, but he invited me into the house while he did so.
Q
And what transpired there?
A
While he was in another room making his call I looked around the living room, and I could see a rumpled sheet on a couch there, and, ah, there was an end table beside it on which I found two women’s earrings, which were items I seized. Oh, and I found a woman’s coat. Also on the table, a small black lady’s purse.
Q
Did you look inside it?
A
A wallet, with Miss Martin’s identification, credit cards and so forth, and$115 in cash.
Q
Was there a makeup kit in the purse?
A
Yes. I took note that there was a tube of bright-red lipstick that was worn down to the end.
MS. BLUEMAN:
That’s shown as Exhibit Nine on the admission of facts, your honour. A tube of. . a product I ascertained was called Shameless.
THE COURT:
Shameless? Carry on, witness.
A
Mr. O’Donnell came back, and while we were waiting for his lawyer I asked him if he minded if I looked about his house. He didn’t say no, so I checked in all the rooms, and in a bedroom closet upstairs I seized a woman’s dress hanging there, um, along with some undergarments, panties, pantyhose, and a brassiere, and a pair of high-heeled shoes on the floor.
THE COURT:
May I look at Exhibit Eight? (Exhibit handed to the judge.)
THE COURT:
This is what would be called a mini?
A
I guess so.
THE COURT:
And these are the panties?
A
Yes, bikini briefs, I guess you call them.
THE COURT:
Scanties. Okay?
A
And there were sheets on the bed there, which looked like it had been slept in, and I also seized them.
Q
Describe this bed.
A
A queen-sized brass bed with posts at either end.
Q
Then what did you do?
A
Well, I went out to the car to call headquarters and I had a conversation with the chief, and, ah, well, it was decided I would ask Professor O’Donnell if he’d mind if we took a few pictures in there. And that’s what we did.
MS. BLUEMAN:
Your witness.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. CLEAVER
Q
Sergeant Chekoff, I am curious about a phrase Professor O’Donnell used in your interview. Do I have your words right? “Of course I touched her. I took her to bed. She was very drunk.”
A
That’s right.
Q
So it appears from your notes. When did you make them?
A
Uh, some time later that day.
Q
Not immediately afterwards?
A
No, back at the station.
Q
Is it possible there was an error?
A
I don’t think so.
MR. CLEAVER:
Excuse me, your honour, may I consult with my client?
THE COURT:
Of course. (Mr. Cleaver consults with the accused.)
Q
Did he not say, “I put her to bed”?
A
Um, that’s not what I wrote.
Q
“I never touched her. I put her to bed. She was very drunk.” That makes more sense, doesn’t it?
A
Okay. Yes, it does, I guess.
Q
Thank you.
THE COURT:
Excuse me, Miss Blueman, you’re pulling a face — do you have a problem with this?
MS. BLUEMAN:
No, I. . well, of course I have a problem. He’s changing his -
THE COURT:
Police officers have the right to change their mind, Miss Blueman. Just like members of the fair sex. (Laughter.)
THE COURT:
Sorry, Mr. Cleaver, we’ve interrupted.
Q
Now, sergeant, you found her dress and some underclothes hanging neatly on hangers, her purse and jewellery carefully arrayed on a table?
A
Yes.
Q
The dress didn’t seem rumpled?
A
Not that I could tell.
Q
When you looked around the house, did you see anything of interest you haven’t reported?
A
Well, I saw a man’s brown suit lying crumpled up on the bedroom floor. I didn’t take it.
MS. BLUEMAN:
Of course he didn’t.
THE COURT:
What was that?
MS. BLUEMAN:
Never mind.
Q
See any ropes or bindings?
A
No, none.
Q
You were searching for some means whereby she could have been tied up.
A
Yes.
Q
And saw nothing.
A
No.
Q
No whips or chains. (Witness laughs.)
A
No.
Q
Out in the yard, when Professor O’Donnell asked you if this was some kind of joke, you said, “Not that I’m aware.” Why?
A
Well, all I knew about the complaint was from this note that had been left on my desk. Naked woman covered in lipstick, claim of assault. I thought maybe it was a practical joke.
Q
You never did arrest him.
A
He did come by that afternoon with his lawyer, and we had a clearer picture of the allegations then. And, ah, I met with my superior officer. And I charged him. And we did the fingerprints and the art.
THE COURT:
The art?
WITNESS:
Sorry, it’s an expression. Mug shots.
MR. CLEAVER:
A term of art, your honour. No more questions.
THE COURT:
Anything arising from that, Miss Blueman?
RE-EXAMINATION BY MS. BLUEMAN
MS. BLUEMAN:
When you were looking about his house, did you check the fireplace?
A
Yes. There was ashes in it, some burnt sticks.
Q
Could you tell if it was a recent fire?
A
I never got that close to it.
Q
And I suppose you never thought to take a sample of the ashes -
MR. CLEAVER:
She’s cross-examining her own witness.
THE COURT:
Now, Miss Blueman -
MS. BLUEMAN:
Shoddy, disgusting -
THE COURT:
I can’t hear you.
MS. BLUEMAN:
Never mind, I’m through with this witness.
MR. CLEAVER:
Perhaps we should take a Valium break, your honour.
THE COURT:
Fifteen minutes.
After my photograph and interview appear in the Island Echo (“Mr. Arthur Beauchamp, Q.C., a former colourful lawyer, pictured here on his dock”), several of my shy fellow islanders begin emerging from their dens: neighbours with gifts of homemade bread and pickles.