‘I would,’ Gideon says. ‘I always put Julia and my son first.’
Ralph’s rattled him. He’s forgotten to call me ‘Jules’.
‘In what way did you demonstrate this caring?’ Ralph asks.
‘In every way I could.’
‘Financially?’
Gideon hesitates a fraction. ‘Yes.’
‘You took care that your wife and son wanted for nothing before you bought a £180,000 car.’
Collectively, the jury sit up.
‘I work hard. I deserve a little treat. Julia wanted for nothing.’
‘And what car did Ms Winter drive?’
‘She didn’t need one.’
‘Of course, there are plenty of buses for her to catch,’ Ralph says.
‘My cars were always available for her.’
‘Cars, plural – of course they would have been, if you had ever insured your wife, but you never did.’ Ralph adjusts his robes. ‘Would you like to tell me why a woman earning eighty thousand pounds a year can’t afford her own car?’
‘She could afford it. Julia’s profligate. That’s why I—’
‘Why you insisted on controlling all the finances? Her wages were paid into a joint account, which in reality, only you had access to. Isn’t that correct?’
‘I was saving her from herself. She was spend, spend, spend.’
‘Spend, spend, spend?’ Ralph turns to the jury. ‘Remind me again, Mr Risborough, which one of you drives the Lamborghini.’
‘It was second-hand,’ Gideon protests before Dryden stands up.
‘Your honour, I can’t see the relevance to the case.’
‘As Mr Lancaster told us, follow the money. This case revolves around the money both the defence and prosecution agree was taken from Mrs Pike’s house around the time of her death. I am demonstrating that it is Mr Risborough who is obsessed with money and material possessions, not Ms Winter.’
‘My client is hardly the first man to save up for his dream car,’ Dryden says.
‘Certainly not,’ Ralph says. ‘But it doesn’t end there. A Range Rover, handmade suits, handmade shoes, a Rolex watch. In fact, the entire profits from SupaSupplements and a good proportion of my client’s salary is spent on Mr Risborough. Ms Winter is left to pay the bills, food, expenses for their son and the astronomic mortgage on the house Mr Risborough insisted they buy.’
‘There’s no proof which spouse—’
‘And remortgaged three times. If anyone would kill for money it’s not Ms Winter, it’s Mr Risborough.’
‘Julia could have spent her money as she liked,’ Gideon says.
‘Could she? Isn’t it true that Ms Winter is frightened of you?’
‘She has no reason to be. I’ve never so much as laid a finger on her.’
‘Did you threaten to?’
‘No – she threatened me.’
‘But you have threatened other people, haven’t you, Mr Risborough?’ Ralph looks directly at Gideon. ‘In 1994, less than three months before Brandon’s disappearance, you received a police caution for threatening Devon Garvey.’
‘The man owed me money.’
‘So, we’re back to money again, I see. It’s really something that brings out aggression in you, isn’t it? Subsequently, Mr Garvey’s house was burnt down in an arson attack.’
Dryden’s on her feet, but doesn’t have a chance to object.
‘That’s enough, Mr Williams,’ Judge Fleetwood says. ‘No one was charged with that offence. The jury will ignore this last comment.’
‘Apologies,’ Ralph says.
‘You also threatened a young girl, Leanne Grainger, didn’t you?’
‘Certainly not.’
‘She states that you did.’
‘A silly girl with an infatuation, desperate for attention.’
Gideon has regained some of his composure and his statement sounds genuine.
‘Mr Risborough,’ Ralph says, ‘you are a man whose wife has been unfaithful. She is the main source of income and she left you. It would be a sweet revenge to blame this on her, with the help of your friend and employee, your co-defendant Alan Johns. Thirty thousand pounds came through your business after you left Downsview Villa, an incredible sum at the time for such a small concern. Whereas there is no financial link to Ms Winter. You strike me as the sort of man obsessed by money and material possessions. The sort who would do anything to get it.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘Now that you’re separated from Ms Winter, she makes a contribution to the house and the upkeep of your son,’ Ralph says. ‘Would you care to tell the court how much that is?’
‘I can’t say off the top of my head.’
‘I’ll remind you. It’s three thousand pounds per month. Two thirds of her take-home salary.’
‘It’s not that much,’ Gideon says.
‘I have the figures here.’ Ralph holds up a bank statement. ‘And can you tell us why your wife is giving you so much, far beyond what is necessary?’
‘Yes, I can,’ Gideon says. ‘It’s guilt. She’s trying to pay off her conscience. Trying to pay my son into forgetting he caught her having sex with his rugby coach in the club changing rooms.’ Titters from the jury once more. ‘And then she abandoned him – went off to live a single girl’s life in North London.’
‘It’s difficult to live the full London experience when your remaining income barely covers your rent,’ Ralph says. ‘Isn’t the real reason Ms Winter pays so much is not to pay off her conscience but to pay off you? She’s scared of you.’
‘That’s completely untrue. I’ve never laid a finger on her.’
‘You told her not to cross you when it came to money, didn’t you?’
‘No.’
‘You know what I’m capable of, you said. What was that a reference to?’
‘I never said that.’
‘Did you mean Brandon?’ Ralph asks.
‘No.’
‘Who then?’
‘No one.’
Gideon looks to his defence team. Dryden stands up. ‘Your honour,’ she says. ‘My client has answered the question.’
‘Move on please, Mr Williams.’
‘The story you’ve given the court, about your wife being in the house alone, then you returning and the place smelling of bleach. There’s only Alan Johns to verify it. You’ve never mentioned it to the police, or anyone else, have you?’
‘I’ve explained the reasons for my silence,’ Gideon says.
‘It’s a very detailed story to remember from twenty-four years ago. Did you have reason to remember all the specifics, or is the entire tale a fabrication to incriminate your estranged wife? You could easily have transferred hairs from her comb to Brandon’s grave.’
‘That’s preposterous.’
‘Did you use the real story but substitute your own actions for that of Ms Winter? After all, it’s very unlikely a nine-stone woman could have overpowered a fifteen-stone man, much less moved the body on her own. You yourself realised that, hence the need to invent the unknown collaborator. Someone who would drive to Guildford in the middle of the night to dispose of a body and become complicit in murder. Yet, despite being married to Ms Winter for nearly twenty years, you’ve not been able to provide a single name that could fit the missing piece of this particular jigsaw, have you?’
‘She was always with a girl called Pearl and a homosexual called Andre.’
‘Neither of whom had a car at the time. Did you know that?’
‘They could have borrowed one. Or maybe it was her stepfather. They’re not close but he wouldn’t want her to go to jail.’
‘He was on a working holiday in Spain.’ One of many he took with various secretaries. I never thought I’d have a reason to thank him for it. ‘Any more wild guesses, Mr Risborough? Anything even vaguely plausible?’
‘She had a different man every week – it could have been one of them,’ Gideon says.
‘Ms Winter was promiscu
ous?’
‘Very.’
‘And, as we established earlier, a snob,’ Ralph says.
‘Yes.’
‘And yet you went on to marry her. It seems a strange decision, given your low opinion. The truth of the matter is, Ms Winter was none of these things. These are lies you’re telling the court to sully her name.’
‘Not at all. I knew exactly what she was like. Julia Winter is a damaged person. I don’t know what happened to her when she was young. It may have been her father’s death, but she was highly emotional and unstable. When I heard she tried to kill herself I went to see her at her mother’s. I was just trying to be friendly. She took it for something else. I should have said no, but I was young and back then she was a very attractive woman.’ He raises his hands and shrugs in a what’s a guy supposed to do sort of way. ‘After that she latched on to me, then got herself pregnant.’
‘All by herself – remarkable,’ Ralph says.
Gideon ignores him. ‘If we’d have split up, she almost certainly would have gained custody of our son. And I couldn’t allow that. It was difficult enough to undo her influence when I was living with them in the same house. If she’d raised him alone, God knows what damage she’d have done.’
I look to Sam. He’s staring at his father, his hands crushed together. Does he believe this? Is this the poison Gideon poured in his ear, month after month?
‘So, you see, she was all the things I said and worse,’ Gideon says. ‘I was out of my depth. I used to think she couldn’t help it. Now I think she was deliberately manipulative, Especially about the “accidental” pregnancy. I can’t tell you the number of times I thought, if only I’d done this, or that. I knew I’d made my bed and I had to lie in it. But I never thought I’d end up in court, charged with a murder she committed.’
He jabs his finger in my direction – he looks wild, a man pushed to his limits and beyond by a woman he only ever wanted to help. In the jury box, the man in the grey suit jacket and woman in the floral dress look at me and shake their heads. Their minds are made up. Ralph did his best, but Gideon’s too good. He’s so plausible. To all but a few he’s affable and charming. As he returns to the defendant’s bench, he turns so that only I can see the triumphant sneer across his face.
‘He’s very clever, your husband,’ is all Ralph says during the break.
We sit in silence and watch the seconds tick by until the next session. Ralph has warned me Dryden will spare me nothing. I’m a bad mother, a faithless wife, an avaricious woman. And Sam will be there to watch it all.
Chapter 55
1994 – Guildford
Returning to Guildford had never been less appealing. Julia lacked the patience and endurance for another week with Brandon and Genevieve. Yes, she had done Julia a favour, telling her she had to go, but it was a pity she didn’t have anywhere else lined up. Pearl had said she could stay at hers until she found somewhere, but that would mean a two-hour commute, which, right at that moment, seemed more palatable than staying in the house. A sentiment reinforced by the sight of Brandon storming out of the front door as she came down the drive.
Coming through the side door, the bag that had been so light on Friday now felt heavy as she dragged it through the garage and into the kitchen.
‘You missed all the drama,’ Lucy said, when Julia came in.
Julia let the bag slide off her shoulder and onto the floor. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.
Alan sat next to Lucy, looking simultaneously amused and sneering.
‘Who needs television, when you have Genevieve and Brandon. They’re both just a couple of drunks – birds of a feather. Pathetic really,’ Alan said.
Julia turned to Lucy for an explanation.
‘Brandon’s leaving,’ Lucy said. ‘Apparently you’re to blame.’
‘Me – how did you work that out?’
Julia had enough problems of her own. The last thing she needed was to get dragged into Brandon’s.
‘Is it true Genevieve asked you to move out?’ Lucy asked.
‘She gave me notice on Friday.’
‘That’s what she told Brandon, like she was really proud and thought he’d be pleased. He was furious, said he was leaving and a lot of other things on top. Genevieve’s distraught.’
‘She’ll get over it.’
‘You’re mistaking Genevieve for a rational human being,’ Alan said.
‘Brandon was vile to her,’ Lucy said.
‘She asked for it.’ Alan’s voice laced with glee.
‘He shouldn’t have said those things, even if he was provoked,’ Lucy said. Julia felt a twinge of guilt about her own unguarded words on Friday. ‘Brandon knows Genevieve’s got a thing for him. He can’t just announce he’s leaving like that.’
‘Is he supposed to ask her permission?’ Alan said. ‘And he did tell her before that he was thinking about it. But that’s Genevieve – if she doesn’t want to believe something, she won’t.’
‘How do you know all this?’ Julia asked.
‘They had a massive row, up in Genevieve’s bedroom,’ Lucy replied. ‘It was so loud half the street must have heard. She was trying to get Brandon to stay – emotional blackmail, bribery. Said she’d got forty-five thousand pounds to give him.’
‘That can’t be right,’ Julia said. ‘Where would she get that sort of money?’
‘Dominic’s father sent it for Dominic. She was saving it for when he returns.’ Lucy rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t think Brandon believed her. He got really angry and called her a sad old cow.’
Alan sniggered at this.
‘He told her Dominic’s dead,’ Lucy continued. ‘That he’s never coming back, and she needs to check in to reality.’
‘Harsh but true,’ Alan said.
An echo of Julia’s words on Friday. Hearing them repeated made her realise she owed Genevieve an apology. They’d both been angry. Perhaps neither of them had meant what they said.
‘Maybe I should go up and speak to her,’ Julia said.
‘And say what? Dominic is dead,’ Alan said. ‘You’ll only give her an audience for more histrionics. She does it for attention.’
‘But I …’ Julia looked to Lucy.
‘Best to leave it,’ Lucy said. ‘I doubt you’ll get any sense out of her tonight. Talk to her tomorrow.’
Julia didn’t need much persuading. She was tired, she had work in the morning, and she didn’t relish the idea of spending hours listening to Genevieve’s ramblings. A cup of tea, then bed was what she had in mind for the evening.
‘I’ll leave it then. I’m too tired anyway – need some sleep.’
‘I’m going up now, too,’ Lucy said. ‘Flying to Newcastle tomorrow – the alarm’s set for 5 a.m. Pity me.’
‘Night then, ladies,’ Alan said with uncharacteristic cheerfulness, the evening’s entertainment having been exactly to his taste.
Julia listened at the bottom of the stairs that led to the attic, to hear if Genevieve was crying. All was quiet. Lucy was right. She could speak to Genevieve tomorrow, when she’d calmed down. Julia was still leaving, but why go on bad terms? Her conscience told her forcing the reality of Dominic’s death onto Genevieve had been cruel. Especially now she knew Brandon was also leaving, as Julia had predicted. She would speak to Genevieve the next time she saw her. It wasn’t too late to apologise.
Chapter 56
2018 – Guildford Crown Court
Over the years, Alan’s presence has seldom been a blessing, but watching his unfeigned nervousness, shifting from foot to foot, his eyes sweeping back and forth across the courtroom and drops of moisture forming on his top lip as he gabbles his oath, I’m glad he’s here.
With prompting from his barrister, Arianne Baptiste, he repeats Gideon’s story, nearly word for word and keeps looking across for approval. His delivery is as strained as Gideon’s was fluid. The juror in the grey suit looks at him with a mixture of disdain and pity. Baptiste appears relieved when he’s finishe
d, before she casts an anxious glance in Ralph’s direction.
Alan seems to shrink as Ralph stands.
‘Mr Johns, you expect the jury to believe that after twenty-four years, both you and Mr Risborough recount exactly the same story, without prior rehearsal?’ he asks. ‘In nearly exactly the same words, stank of bleach, she looked unhinged. You’ve conferred and come up with this story together, haven’t you?’
‘No. It’s the truth.’
Alan looks like a young child with chocolate cream smeared across his face, denying he’s eaten the missing cake.
‘You work for Mr Risborough, do you not?’ Ralph asks.
‘Yes, for nearly twenty-five years.’
‘You joined his company, SupaSupplements, immediately after quitting the Downsview Villa house in Guildford, despite having a better-paid job at an accountancy firm?’
Alan looked to Gideon – perhaps they hadn’t prepared for this line of questioning. He looks back to Ralph. ‘I … erm …’ He looks to Gideon once more. He’s turned his face away. ‘I didn’t like accountancy.’
‘A rather sudden decision,’ Ralph says. ‘You’d studied for years to reach your position.’
‘Gideon’s job was more interesting.’
‘Gideon’s job or Gideon?’ Ralph asked.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Ralph raises his eyebrows. ‘Really? You were a leading light in your accountancy firm, destined to be a partner. And you gave it all up to be the company dogsbody.’
‘I wasn’t the dogsbody. I was the corporate co-ordinator,’ Alan says stiffly.
‘Which entails?’ Ralph asks.
‘Liaising with customers and vendors, arranging venues. Ensuring Gideon is able to fully focus on increasing profits.’
‘Booking rooms and chasing suppliers, but not a dogsbody,’ Ralph says, archly. ‘And you took a considerable pay cut to take this job, didn’t you?’
‘As I said, the work was more interesting.’
‘Was your lack of concern about the pay because you knew you had a considerable amount of money coming your way – passing through the books as cash from trade shows – undetectable?’
‘No, not at all. That’s just not true.’ Alan speaks to the judge.
The Verdict Page 26