by Peter Murphy
‘Did you contact Mr Busby?’
‘Yes, I called him and explained the situation.’
‘How did he respond?’
‘He said he would be able to help, he told me his fee would be two hundred and fifty pounds, and he asked me for some information.’
‘What information did he ask for?’
‘He wanted to know when and where I was born, including the time I was born, and the date and time of the first approach by Le Chat’s agent. It was in an email, so I had it available.’
‘Did you provide that information to him?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘Did Mr Busby explain why he wanted it?’
‘Yes. He said he needed it to prepare the astrological charts he would be using.’
‘And did you subsequently go to his office in Kennington?’
‘Yes. This would be two days after the phone call.’
‘What happened during that meeting?’
She thinks for some time. ‘He seemed very professional, as Pat had said. He was dressed in a suit and tie. His office seemed tidy and well organised. He had a lot of different papers on the table, including what I took to be astrological charts. We talked for the best part of an hour.’
‘Did he put anything in writing for you, or was this just talk, just a discussion between you?’
‘No, there was nothing in writing. He did give me a copy of my natal chart, as he called it, but there was nothing else in writing.’
‘What advice, if any, did Mr Busby give you regarding your employment situation?’
‘He said that I would definitely receive a formal offer from Le Chat, and there was no need to worry about Jim’s situation. If I really wanted to make the change I should go ahead and do it.’
‘I want to press you about that, Mrs Hunter. You said that he told you that you would “definitely” get an offer? Is that right?’
She hesitates. ‘I can’t remember whether he used the word “definitely”, but he was telling me that it was going to happen – there was no doubt about it, in his mind.’
‘I see. I know this may be difficult for you, Mrs Hunter, but can you reconstruct for us at all anything Mr Busby said to explain his prediction that you would get an offer from Le Chat?’
‘I didn’t pay much attention, to be honest. It went over my head. It all sounded like a load of mumbo-jumbo. The only thing that’s stayed with me is that he kept referring to Jupiter…’
‘The planet Jupiter?’
‘So I assumed – something about Jupiter being in the tenth house of my chart, the house relating to career, and that pattern being repeated in some other chart for the year…’
‘Your solar return for the year,’ a voice from the dock interjects to aid her memory, ‘the chart for the moment of the Sun’s return to its natal position.’
‘Don’t interrupt, please, Mr Busby,’ I say.
‘I’m sorry, your Honour, but I told her all this at the time – just trying to help.’ Aubrey turns and gives him a severe shake of the head, and he subsides.
‘That will do, Mr Busby. Miss Worthington?’
Susan is flicking through her notes.
‘Thank you, your Honour. Mrs Hunter, did your meeting with Mr Busby play any part in what you did next?’
‘Yes, it did.’
‘Explain to the jury, please, in what way it affected you.’
‘Well, I’d paid the man two hundred and fifty pounds. He’d said that I was going to be offered the job. But I hadn’t received an offer. I had an interview scheduled by then, but no offer had been made.’
‘Did you believe that whether or not there was an offer depended on the interview?’
‘I assumed so, yes.’
‘So what difference did Mr Busby’s advice make?’
‘He persuaded me that it was safe to go ahead.’
‘In what sense, safe?’
‘In the sense that I would be getting the job.’
‘And what steps did you think would be safe to take in reliance on that advice?’
‘It was safe to announce to my colleagues at Girl’s Best Friend that I would be leaving; to ask Jim to put in for a transfer to Paris; to find a place to live in Paris.’
‘And did you do all of those things?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘Before you’d received an offer from Le Chat Bien Paré?’
‘Yes.’
‘And, just to make sure the jury are clear about this, Mrs Hunter, you did these things why?’
‘Because Mr Busby told me that I was definitely going to get the job.’
‘Let me ask you briefly about the consequences of those steps you took. First, what happened at Girl’s Best Friend?’
‘That was the end for me. In that business, you can’t continue to work once you’ve told them you’re leaving to join a competitor. It’s a small industry in some ways. There are too many trade secrets. You have to leave straight away.’
‘So you had to resign your position?’
‘Yes.’
‘What happened with your husband at his firm?’
‘It caused him all kinds of grief. His managing partner had gone out on a limb to find him a place in the Paris office, and when he went in and said he was staying after all, people were very upset. They’d even lined up his replacement, and he was moving from somewhere, and so they’d made certain promises to him. It made things very difficult for him.’
‘But he did retain his position?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘And finally, what about the flat?’
‘We were stuck with it. It’s a beautiful flat on the Rue des Écoles, not far from the Boulevard St Germain. We had agents looking for us, and they sent us a virtual tour of the flat online. It’s lovely: but we had to take a lease for a full year, which didn’t seem like a problem at the time, but of course, now is a huge problem.’
‘Tell the jury, please, how much you’re out of pocket for the rent.’
‘The rent is two thousand euros a month. We’re trying desperately to sublet it, but we haven’t had any luck yet.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Hunter,’ Susan says, resuming her seat. ‘There will be some further questions. Wait there, please.’
But we are given a welcome reprieve by a note from the jury asking for a comfort break. I think we’re all grateful for it. I adjourn for fifteen minutes, and when I return I see that Aubrey has a few documents in front of him which, to my admittedly untutored eye, look as though they could be astrological charts. Aubrey looks at the witness for some time, almost as if he is unsure where to start, which, knowing Aubrey, I find very unlikely.
‘Mrs Hunter,’ he asks eventually, as I’m on the point of asking him if he wouldn’t mind beginning, ‘when you told everyone at Girl’s Best Friend that you were leaving, you were burning your bridges, weren’t you?’
‘Burning my bridges?’
‘There was no way back after that, was there? Wasn’t that what you told my learned friend?’
‘Oh, I see. Yes, that’s true.’
‘Your husband could have asked for his transfer after you received an offer, couldn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
‘Another bridge almost burned, would you agree?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that lovely flat – well, as you said yourself, you’re stuck with it, aren’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And again, you could have taken the lease after an offer had been made, rather than before?’
‘Yes.’
‘Mr Busby never advised you to do any of those things, did he?’
‘He told me I would get the job.’
‘No. Listen to my question, please, Mrs Hunter. Mr Busby never advised you to do any of those things
, did he?’
‘If you put it like that, no.’
‘No. Now, would you look at Exhibit one with me for a moment, please. If you would be so kind, usher…
Dawn is so kind, and hands the exhibit to the witness.
‘The jury have copies. These are the pages from Mr Busby’s website that my learned friend asked you to produce earlier, aren’t they?’
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
‘From which I take it that you had visited Mr Busby’s website before you went to meet him?’
‘Yes.’
‘You see on the first page that after his name, he puts “BA (Oxon)”. That refers to the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oxford, doesn’t it?’
‘I believe so, yes.’
‘You believe so? You’re a university graduate yourself, aren’t you?’
‘I went to Bristol.’
‘Perhaps you did, but you know perfectly well what “BA (Oxon)” means, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Yes. Mrs Hunter, do you have any reason to doubt that Mr Busby holds that degree?’
‘No.’
‘The same page also states that he holds a diploma from the College of Astrological Studies of Wales. Do you have any reason to doubt that he holds that diploma?’
‘No.’
‘It goes on to say that Mr Busby has more than twenty years of experience: any reason to doubt that?’
‘No.’
‘No. The only other information you had about Mr Busby was what your friend Pat Wilson told you; and she said that she found him to be professional and helpful to her: is that right?’
‘Yes, she did.’
‘And after you’d had your meeting – your reading, as he would call it – with Mr Busby, you felt confident that you would get the job with Le Chat Bien Paré: yes?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘I’d like to show you a document, Mrs Hunter, and I understand that you won’t be able to comment on it in any great detail because it’s an astrological chart, and I’m sure that, like me, you find such things something of a mystery. But there are one or two things I would like to ask you about it. Usher, if you would, please, there are copies for His Honour, the witness, and the members of the jury.’
Dawn duly obliges.
‘This is your natal chart. It’s got your birth details, hasn’t it? I won’t read them out, but the date, time and place of your birth are given there, top left, aren’t they?’
‘Yes. This is a copy of the chart Mr Busby gave me.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Hunter. Exhibit two please, your Honour.’
I assent.
‘Now, the chart is drawn in the shape of a circle, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘And at the top of the circle, there’s a vertical line that goes all the way down the middle of the circle, dividing it into two semi-circles, do you see?’
‘Yes.’
‘And we see a symbol that looks almost like a bridge, with a curved horizontal line above a straight horizontal line. It’s actually a representation of a set of scales, a symbol of balance. But do you see what I’m pointing to?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you all see, members of the jury?’ They nod. ‘Now, I’m going to ask you to accept from me that the vertical line represents the start – or cusp – of the tenth house of the chart: are you with me so far?’
She nods. ‘Yes, I do remember him saying that.’
‘Do you also remember that the symbol on that cusp is the sign of Libra?’
‘Yes, I believe so.’
‘If we now look in the tenth house, to the left of the vertical line, we see another symbol – this time like the number four, except that the line on the left is curved instead of straight, yes?’
‘That’s Jupiter.’
‘You recognise that symbol?’
‘That’s what Mr Busby told me.’
‘Thank you. Did he explain that Jupiter was in the tenth house of your chart?’
‘Yes.’
‘And did he also explain that Jupiter was in the same position in your solar return chart for the year – in other words, that Jupiter was making a return to its natal position?’
‘I seem to remember something like that. But please understand, I didn’t really have any idea what he was talking about.’
‘Of course: but you do remember that much?’
‘Yes.’
‘Mrs Hunter, Mr Busby instructs me that Jupiter operates on a roughly twelve-year cycle in making a return, so one would expect this to happen when one’s age is a multiple of twelve. If I may, Mrs Hunter, how old were you at the beginning of this year?’
‘Forty-eight.’
‘Thank you. I’m not asking you to comment on this, Mrs Hunter, because I don’t think it would be fair: but did Mr Busby tell you that a Jupiter return with Jupiter in Libra in the tenth house was a very positive indication for a career move, particularly a move to another country?’
‘He told me that I would get the job.’
Aubrey pauses. ‘He told you that the charts strongly supported your making the move. That’s what he told you, wasn’t it? He told you that the charts provided strong evidence that you would get an offer.’
‘He told me I would get the job.’
‘Well, Mrs Hunter, on his behalf, I must dispute that. Please understand. I’m putting it to you that he said there was strong evidence in the charts, but he never said it was a certainty.’
‘He did say that.’
‘Did he say that, or was that what you wanted to hear?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Oh, come on, Mrs Hunter: a new life in Paris, more money and better perks, a lovely flat near the Boulevard St Germain. You were desperate to say “oui” to Le Chat, weren’t you?’
‘Desperate? No…’ but she has hesitated, just for a moment.
‘Really? Isn’t that why you told Girl’s Best Friend straight away? You couldn’t wait to be out of there and in Paris, could you?’
‘No. That’s not true.’
‘That’s why you leased the flat before you even had an offer. You’d made your mind up that you were going to Paris long before you ever went anywhere near Kennington, hadn’t you?’
‘No,’ she protests.
‘How did you behave during the interview with Le Chat Bien Paré?’
She seems momentarily startled by the abrupt change of direction.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Were you enthusiastic, hesitant? Did you treat it as a formality?’
She hesitates. ‘That’s what the agent led me to believe, subsequently.’
Aubrey nods.
‘I would imagine that you’ve interviewed a large number of people for jobs in the course of your career, haven’t you, Mrs Hunter?’
‘A very large number.’
‘And what would you think of a candidate who treats the interview as a formality?’
She looks away. Aubrey sits down without waiting for a reply.
Susan asks her a couple of easy questions in re-examination, mainly to ensure that Aubrey hasn’t had the last word. She then calls Jim Hunter. He can’t add much of any real interest. He’s very upset by the whole episode, naturally, but that’s mainly because of the embarrassment he suffered at his firm, and the small matter of two thousand euros a month for a flat he will probably never stay in, with no sign of a sub-tenant on the horizon. As to his wife’s foray into astrology, he has almost nothing to contribute, for the perfectly good reason that he knew nothing about it until Le Chat Bien Paré pulled the plug on the whole venture by not making her an offer. Apart from the odd comment about ‘charlatans’ he is largely silent about the whole subject of astrology, and Aubrey wisely lets him go wit
hout provoking an argument about it.
Susan then produces some agreed evidence: the lease for the lovely flat in the Rue des Écoles; Mr Busby’s receipt for his fee of two hundred and fifty pounds; a letter to Mrs Hunter from the chairman of the board of Girl’s Best Friend requiring her immediate resignation and surrender of any trade documents in her possession; Mrs Hunter’s letter of resignation in response to same; and a selection of emails between Mrs Hunter and Le Chat’s agent tracing the history of the whole ill-starred project. Next she will call the officer in the case, DC Trent, but nobody has the energy for that this afternoon, especially myself with a meeting with the Grey Smoothie High Command to look forward to.
‘There’s been a complaint from a juror, Charles,’ Sir Jeremy begins, ‘a woman by the name of Deidre Streeter. She telephoned our office at lunchtime to say that she had been excluded from a jury panel in your court.’
The High Command is out in force. At Sir Jeremy’s right hand, literally and figuratively, we have Meredith, today in her light grey suit worn with an off-white scarf and the usual selection of plastic bracelets dangling from her right wrist; and on Meredith’s right hand, Jack, the perennial Peter Pan of Grey Smoothie Central, whose suit is always a bit too small and whose tie looks as though the knot was tied by a two-year-old brother during a temper tantrum. But Stella is with me, and we are prepared. Stella quietly hands me a document. It’s Deidre Streeter’s response to the questionnaire we gave the jury panel for the case of Gerard Busby, and it reads as follows.
1. Do you know, or have you heard of the defendant, Gerard Busby?
No.
2. Do you know a woman called Edith Hunter?
No.
3. Have you ever consulted an astrologer?
I am shocked to be asked such a question. I am a Christian. See answer to question 6.
4. If so, when and for what purpose?
See answer to question 6.
5. Do you regularly read horoscope columns in newspapers or magazines?
See answer to question 6.