“That will be all sergeant.”
“Sergeant, the forensic examinations that you carried out, how long after the deaths were they conducted?”
“They were all conducted using tissue samples taken at the time of death. From these samples, the Pathologists were able to establish an accurate toxicology that identified the lack of essential drugs in each sample.”
“That will be all.”
“Miss Chambers,” It was Chandra’s turn on the witness stand. “The information that led to you examining the box, where did that come from?”
“From Mister Stefan Baptiste, the Interior Design Consultant.”
“What is your connection to him?”
“Two days before I arrived at the Tomlinson residence, I was saved from an attempted rape by Mister Baptiste. That matter is currently under investigation. When I arrived at the Tomlinson residence I found him there. On explaining that he was now unable to carry out any work there, I accompanied him to his place of work to explain to his business partner the situation. It was his business partner who provided the information that we relayed to Mister Chambers, who then relayed the information to the police.”
“Ms Chambers,” It was the defences’ turn. “Do you normally take notice of rumours?”
“Not normally, no, but in this case, when we examined the box in the basement, we found equipment that we thought could be linked to the death of Mister Tomlinson.”
“When you say ‘we’ to whom do you refer?”
“Mister Baptiste. I needed someone as a witness when I opened it.”
“And he, conveniently, was there?”
“Yes.”
Ms Chambers, what is your relationship with Mister Baptiste?”
“Objection!” Gareth interjected. He was acting on behalf of both Chandra and myself.
“On what basis Mister Chambers?” Justice McLelland asked.
“Relevance.”
“Sustained.”
“That will be all.”
“Why would he have done that?” I asked Gareth.
“He was hinting at collusion or bias or both. I’d watch him if I were you, you’re up next.
I was. “Mister Baptiste, you were in attendance at the Tomlinson residence in your official capacity.”
“Correct.”
“This was not the first such project that you have carried out for her, is it?”
“No, this is the third.”
“Was there anything unusual about this project?”
“Yes. Usually in projects, we are contracted to renovate the entire building, but in this case, there was no mention, at least in the initial discussion, of the basement. If not for the arrival of the workmen to clear the basement I might not have known of its existence.”
“Are there any similarities between this project and the others?”
“At first I would have said no, but on making this discovery I came to realise that in each of the previous contracts there was one room that had been cleared of any furnishings and thoroughly cleaned.”
“That will be all.”
“Mister Baptiste, what is your relationship with Ms Chambers?”
I held up my hand when Gareth was about to object. “Since meeting Ms Chambers two days before this meeting at the Tomlinson house, I was attracted to her, and she, it would seem, to me. We are now lovers.”
“Despite the fact that you are homosexual?”
“You have no proof of that. On what basis would you make such an accusation? Are you suggesting that, because of my job that somehow that makes me a homosexual, not that it is relevant to this case, but why don’t we ask Ms Chambers? Ms Chambers, am I a homosexual?”
“No, you most definitely are not.”
“Not even a little?” I was enjoying his discomfort.
“Not even a little.”
“That will be all.” He gave up that line of enquiry.
“Mrs Palmer,” the Prosecutor stood as close to her as was allowed under the present medical circumstances, “can you describe to the court the nature of your relationship with Jacinta Tomlinson?”
“Mrs Jordan, as she was then, approached me seeking legal advice on a hypothetical situation. She sought my opinion on the legality of whether she could be charged with murder if she withheld essential medication from her husband and he died as a result.”
“Your advice, what was it?”
“That is privileged information under the lawyer-client provisions.”
“You informed her, did you not, that while it was illegal it would be impossible to prove.”
“I cannot confirm or deny that I told her that.”
“But that would have been the advice that you, as a lawyer, would have given her?”
“That would have been my response to a hypothetical question of that nature, yes.”
“But you will not tell the court whether that was the opinion that you gave Mrs Tomlinson?
“I cannot divulge whether I gave that information to Mrs Tomlinson.”
“What is your relationship with Mrs Tomlinson?”
“We were, for a time, lovers.”
“You were for a time, does that mean that this relationship no longer exists?”
“No.”
“You bitch!” Jacinta shouted at her.
“Order!” Justice McLelland called. “Any further outbursts of this nature will not be tolerated.”
“Which of you came up with the scheme whereby she would seek future husbands with a similar precarious medical condition with the view to marriage and a similar outcome to that she put to you?”
“I know of no such scheme.”
“The lying bitch.” Jacinta said, not loud enough for the judge to hear. “It was all her idea, I was to cut her in on the inheritance when he died.”
“You did not, in any way, benefit financially from her inheritances?”
“No.”
“I draw your attention to this, it is a printout of financial transactions between you and Mrs Tomlinson. Can you explain the nature of these transactions?”
“They were payment of legal fees.”
“If you look at the dates of these highlighted transactions you will notice that they correspond with the probate of her husbands’ wills.”
“A coincidence, nothing more.”
“That will be all for now.”
“Mr Palmer, do you have any questions?” Justice McLelland asked.
“No questions your Honour.” Eric Palmer QC was both her husband and legal representative.
“Your Honour.” Bevan Bracken QC, Jacinta’s legal representative, rose to his feet. “If I may, I have a few questions for this witness.
“Go ahead.”
“Mrs Palmer, you stated under oath that those payments were for legal fees, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to have invoices for these transactions?”
“No, the payments were a verbal agreement between myself and Ms Tomlinson.”
“Why would that be, in order to avoid paying tax on that income, without an invoice you could claim it as a gift, is this not correct?”
“Now that’s a tempting idea, but no. The arrangements were made between us as a part of the relationship that existed at that time.”
“And that relationship no longer exists.”
“That relationship no longer exists.” She looked directly at Jacinta and the words of hate that were about to burst forth were now frozen in her lips.
“In your evidence, you stated that my client sought legal advice from you, which you provided. You also stated that you would not divulge if you advised her that, while it was illegal it would be impossible to prove, leaving the decision on what to do with that information entirely up to her.”
“How you infer my testimony does not necessarily coincide with what happened in this case.”
“So, if my client gives evidence, under oath, that you, in fact, encouraged her to proceed down that path, she would be committing perjury?”