Yair watched helplessly as his confident little sister, whose performance in the witness box reminded him so much of the happy little girl she had been, now dissolved into the fearful, highly strung stranger she had become as she grew older. The judge banged his gravel and ordered a short recess. Dr Taylor led Zivah out of the courtroom. Yair turned around and stared at Aviva.
‘What the hell is going on?’ he demanded
‘I have no idea.’ Aviva looked as bewildered as he felt. Henti came over.
‘Do you know anything about this?’ she demanded.
‘No. She has never said anything about any of this before,’ Yair said.
They waited. After about fifteen minutes, Dr Taylor guided Zivah back into the witness box, and held her hand.
‘Zivah is ready to continue, aren’t you Zivah?’ she said.
Zivah nodded. Henti stood and faced Zivah again.
‘Thank you Zivah. You are being very brave. Now, please can you tell me—as much as you can remember—what happened the night your mommy died.’
Zivah gulped and, so quietly that Yair had to strain to hear, she started speaking.
‘Mommy and me had a big fight. Mommy said she was going to take me to Israel and I didn’t want to go because she said Daddy couldn’t come too. Mommy started crying. I didn’t like it when Mommy cried so I ran away.’
Zivah sniffed and tears rolled down her pale cheeks. Dr Taylor put her arm around her shoulders and hugged her.
‘Can you carry on, Zivah?’ Henti asked.
Zivah nodded. ‘I was crying in my room and Daddy came and he said he wouldn’t let Mommy take me to Israel. He said I should make Mommy a cappuccino in the cappuccino machine just like Thembi had shown me how to and he said I must take it to her and tell her I was sorry for shouting at her. So I went to the kitchen and I made Mommy’s cappuccino. Daddy was so proud of me because I did it so nicely. He said so.’
Zivah stopped.
‘What happened then, Zivah? Do you remember?’
Zivah nodded. ‘I... I can’t tell you. Daddy... .’
‘Daddy has gone away Zivah. He can’t do anything to you,’ Henti said.
‘But if I tell you, I’ll get into trouble. Daddy said so.’
‘You won’t get into trouble if you tell the truth. And I know that you know what the truth is. Will you tell us the truth? Please?’
Yair found he was holding his breath again, and breathed out. His heart was hammering.
‘Daddy put Mommy’s happy pills in the cappuccino – he said it would only make her a little bit sick and when she got better, the aeroplane to Israel would be gone so then she wouldn’t be able to take me away.’
Henti interrupted Zivah’s narrative. ‘Did you actually see your daddy put the pills in the cappuccino?’
‘Oh yes.’
‘How do you know they were your mother’s pills?’
‘I know all Mommy’s pills. These were the white funny-shaped ones. All the others were round, or capsules, but these ones looked like they had a little hat on.’
‘So did your father just put them in the cup and stir until they melted?’
‘Oh no! Mommy always had her cappuccino in a mug.’
‘Right. So did your daddy put the funny-shaped pills in the mug and stir until they melted?’
‘No. Daddy put the pills in that heavy white cup thing that Thembi used to smash pepper and sea salt and cinnamon sticks. Thembi said smashing them was better than buying them already smashed in a bottle from Pick ’n Pay. Thembi said...’
‘Zivah, what did you do after he put the pills in the white cup?’ Henti asked.
‘Oh. Oh yes. Well, then he smashed them up, of course, like Thembi did.’
‘And then?’
‘Well then he put the smashed-up pills in Mommy’s cappuccino. And then I stirred it and stirred it and stirred it until the cappuccino was all nice and frothy. It looked so yummy and I wanted to sip it because the mug was too full and I was scared I would spill it. But Daddy said I mustn’t.’
‘What happened after that?’
‘Daddy helped me carry the cappuccino upstairs so I didn’t spill any. I gave it to Mommy and she was so happy. I told her I was sorry for shouting and she said she was sorry for everything too. She gave me a hug and a kiss. But Daddy was right. She was stupid. She wasn’t supposed to die. Daddy said so. Daddy said she was stupid and that’s why she died. But she wasn’t supposed to, she wasn’t. She was just supposed to miss the aeroplane and... and... and we were all going to stay in our house together – Daddy and Mommy and me. Daddy said so. And Yair. Daddy said Yair was going to come home too. Mommy was just supposed to get a little bit sick. Daddy said so... he said so. But she didn’t. She died. She wasn’t supposed to.’
Henti waited patiently while Dr Taylor comforted Zivah again. When she finally stopped crying, Henti asked her if she would answer a few more questions.
Enough! Yair wanted to shout. Enough – can’t you see she’d had enough?
Zivah nodded.
‘Okay Zivah. Do you know what insulin is?’
‘Of course. I’m not stupid. Mommy had to take insulin because she had too much sugar. That’s why I never put sugar in her cappuccino.’
‘Did you ever give your mommy her insulin injections?’
‘Sometimes, when she couldn’t see the dial properly because she didn’t have her contacts in, I’d turn the dial for her.’
‘Did you ever actually inject your mommy?’
‘Oooh no! That’s gross! I hate injections. But Mommy gave herself injections all the time.’
Henti smiled. ‘Where did your mommy inject herself? In her tummy?’
‘I don’t know. I never watched. Yeuch!’
‘Thank you Zivah. You may go,’ Henti said, looking thoughtful.
Mr Lefidi jumped to his feet. ‘Redirect, please, My Lord?’
The judge nodded.
‘Hello again, Zivah. You have done very well. I just want to ask you one or two more questions. Did you ever see Tiffany giving herself insulin injections?’
‘Tiffany?’ Zivah frowned. ‘Was she also a diabetic like Mommy? She ate a lot of chocolate but I never saw her take insulin and she didn’t put any in the fridge like Mommy did because that’s where you have to keep insulin, you know, otherwise it won’t work properly.’
‘Thank you for explaining that, Zivah. One last question, and I know you will answer it very truthfully. If you tell the truth, you won’t get into trouble. But your answer is very important so think very carefully. Did you take insulin or any other medicines home from The Lodge – before your party. Do you remember?’
‘Don’t be silly. Matron used to give me Panado when I had a headache but I never took any home with me. We have our own Panado in the bathroom cupboard. At The Lodge, Matron gives me my new medicines – the ones that Dr Vivienne says I must take. I have to take them with my breakfast and with my supper.’
‘So you are sure that you sure you never took insulin home with you from The Lodge?’
Zivah looked so bewildered, Yair wanted to laugh with relief. ‘But I don’t need insulin! Neither does Yair, or Thembi, or Stembiso. Why are you asking me about insulin? Do you need some? Mommy got hers from Dischem. If you need some, you can ask the nice man at the counter there.’
The prosecutor laughed. ‘No Zivah, I don’t need insulin. Thank you for answering my questions so well and so truthfully. You can go now.’
Yair felt enormous relief and guilt. Zivah was innocent! She hadn’t done any of the dreadful things he and Aviva had suspected her of doing. He should have had more faith in her.
And then it hit him like a thunderbolt. He had implicated himself in Tiffany’s murder for nothing. He was going to go to jail – for nothing. From the look on Henti’s face, she too was well aware of the implications of Zivah’s innocent testimony. Henti’s defence strategy had revolved around laying the blame for Tiffany’s death on Zivah, knowing that Zivah was unlikely to
be convicted. And because Zivah had just destroyed that plan, his chances of walking away from this court a free man had just walked out the door with his little sister.
Chapter 37
Tracy
Tracy took her place in the public gallery alongside her journalist colleagues, She fiddled with her pen.
‘You’re not covering the case now, are you?’ the reporter from the Sunday Times asked. ‘Surely that wouldn’t be ethical seeing you were a witness and everything.’
Tracy ignored him. She wasn’t prepared to admit her discomfort to anyone, not after the editor had called her yesterday evening to tell her that he was instructing Mafuta to take Dudu off the story and that she must cover the remainder of the trial.
‘Ms Zulu’s coverage has really not been what I’d hoped for, not for a trial of this importance and magnitude. Make sure you are there bright and early. The state is likely to rest its case today and the speculation is that Yair Silverman will take the stand. I want you there for that,’ the editor had said.
‘But... I’ve really screwed the whole story up. From the beginning. I got it wrong. It seems Yair and Tiffany weren’t engaged.’
‘Nonsense – there is no clear evidence of that. Only Silverman himself can confirm or deny that – and he hasn’t said anything. Anyway, she was pregnant and it’s still not clear whose baby it was. I want you in that court, picking up on every nuance of the evidence in order to answer all those questions. I am confident you can do it, so don’t let me down!’
Tracy thanked him, but her heart wasn’t it in. She knew she had been a fool to believe Tiffany, albeit that the woman had always been a consummate liar and a first-class bitch. However, there was nothing she could do about that now. She was more concerned about what Yair’s defence team would make of the documents she had thrust into Darryl’s hands as he’d left the court after Zivah’s testimony yesterday.
‘Read this, please. It’s really important,’ she’d said. ‘I promise you, it’s genuine – but I can’t tell you where I got it all, and you can’t say that you got them from me. Just, please, find a way to use this information.’ She’d hurried off, but not before she’d seen Darryl handing the documents to Henti Weinberg and pointing in her direction.
Now Tracy waited for Judge Goliath—and Yair—to arrive. She sensed someone staring at her and looked up. Aviva smiled and gave a small wave. Tracy flushed and looked away. If Aviva had had a low opinion of her in the past, Tracy didn’t want to know what she thought of her now that her incompetence as a journalist had been exposed for all the world to see.
Her heart thumped as Yair entered the dock and his incredible blue eyes met hers. He smiled and she looked away, confused and ashamed.
***
The prosecutor rose to his feet and addressed the judge. ‘My Lord, before we proceed to the next witness, my learned friend and I would like to recall one witness to clarify one aspect of his testimony.’
The state pathologist who had completed Tiffany’s autopsy returned to the stand. After being warned that he was still under oath, the prosecutor proceeded.
‘Is it correct that when conducting an autopsy on a pregnant female, it would be possible to approximate the age of the foetus?’ the prosecutor asked.
‘That’s correct.’
‘And would that be included in the autopsy report?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Well Sir, could you please look at the autopsy report you prepared on Mrs Tiffany Horwitz Zaldain and tell the court what the age of the foetus was?’
Tracy’s mind raced while the pathologist paged through the report. The age of Tiffany’s baby would at least indicate whether Cecil Zaldain could have been the father. If not, it could well have been Yair’s after all. Tracy held her breath.
‘As I suspected, there is nothing in this report about the age of a foetus,’ the pathologist said. Tracy’s heart sank.
‘Will you please explain to the court why this crucial piece of evidence is not in your report,’ the prosecutor snapped.
‘Certainly. The reason there is no reference to the age of the foetus in this autopsy report is simple: there was no foetus. At the time of her death, the deceased was not pregnant.’
Tracy scrabbled on the floor to retrieve her pen as the courtroom erupted. The judge banged his gravel loudly.
‘Is there any way to tell if the deceased had been pregnant at any time prior to her death?’ the prosecutor asked, clearly astonished.
‘It depends on how much time had elapsed between the termination of any pregnancy and death. In this instance, we tested for signs of the human chorionic gonadotropin—or hCG—hormone. This is a hormone an expectant mother produces during pregnancy. It rises rapidly through the first twelve weeks of gestation. After a woman has miscarried, had an abortion or given birth, the hCG levels drop. It can take between nine and thirty-five days for a woman’s hCG level to return to normal. The deceased’s hCG levels were normal.’
‘But there must have been some indication that she had been pregnant – otherwise why would you have done this test? Do you routinely test all deceased young women for the hCG hormone?’
‘No, of course not. But...’ the pathologist flushed. ‘Well, in this case, with all the newspaper reports that the deceased was pregnant—and no physical signs of pregnancy—we decided to check. Just being thorough, you understand.’
‘Of course. So, if I understand you correctly, the deceased not only was not pregnant at the time of her death, but had not been pregnant for a period of between nine and thirty-five days immediately prior to her death?’
‘It would appear so,’ the pathologist said.
‘No questions,’ Yair’s advocate said.
Tracy wished she could agree with her. She had dozens of questions she would like to have answered – not least of which was why Tiffany had lied.
***
Gilad Zaldain waddled into the courtroom and took his place in the witness box. He looked around, nodded at Yair and, catching Tracy’s eye, winked. She glared at him, but he simply grinned at her.
After the usual preliminary questions, the prosecutor finally got around to asking some interesting questions.
‘Please tell the court why you stayed on at the Silverman house after the party, after most of the other guests had left?’ the prosecutor asked.
Gilad grinned. ‘I’m afraid I’d had far too much to drink. It was a cool party and Yair is nothing if not generous with his hospitality.’
‘You slept in what is called the “small lounge,” is that correct?’
‘Yeah. There’s a really comfy couch in there. I slept like a baby after Yair and Tiffany had stopped screaming at each other.’
‘You heard them arguing?’
‘Yeah, it sounded like they were going to kill each other. Yair especially sounded really wild. I thought about trying to intervene but I was too wasted... and anyway, I just thought it was a lover’s tiff, you know? I thought they’d kiss and make up. I wish I had done something. Maybe then Tiff would still be alive.’
‘Objection!’ Advocate Weinberg said.
‘Sustained,’ said the judge.
‘Please tell the court what happened the next morning,’ the prosecutor said.
‘Sure. I woke up quite early. It was still pretty dark and I really needed to pee – I mean, use the bathroom. The guest toilet is just across the entrance hall so I walked towards it and that’s when I tripped over Tiffany.’
‘Didn’t you see her lying there?’
‘Like I said, it was dark and I didn’t know where the light switches were. She was lying right in the way. I tell you, I nearly peed in my pants right there I got such a fright.’
‘What did you do then?’
‘Well, I shouted for help and Yair—I mean the accused—came down the stairs. I’d just woken up so I was still kind of groggy but Yair seemed to be totally with it, you know. Like he had been awake for some time.’
‘Objection, M
y Lord – the witness cannot know whether my client had just woken up or not,’ Advocate Weinberg said.
‘Sustained,’ said the judge.
‘Sorry,’ Gilad said. ‘Well, he didn’t look like someone who had just woken up. Anyway, Yair phoned Hatzollah – that’s the Jewish ambulance service although they don’t only help Jews, they do a fantastic job for anyone in the community who needs them. Anyway, the ambulance came and they took Tiffany to the Linksfield. I can tell you, I was pretty shaken up so I went home.’
‘Can you describe the accused’s reaction to finding the deceased lying on the floor in his entrance hall?’
‘Like I said, Yair seemed pretty together, not shocked at all. Not like me. I was a flipping wreck, I can tell you!’
‘After you tripped over the deceased, did you check to see she was alive?
‘No way! I don’t know anything about these things.’
‘Did the accused check?’
‘Nah. Well, if he did, I didn’t see it.’
‘What exactly did the accused do after he arrived on the scene?’
‘I don’t know. Like I said, I really had to go to the toilet so I left Yair to take care of Tiffany and I went.’
‘So, you left the accused alone with the deceased while she was lying unmoving on the floor?’
Tracy wanted to reach over to wipe the smug satisfaction off the prosecutor’s face.
‘Yeah... but you can’t blame me! I had no reason to think he would do anything to her!’
‘Objection!’ Advocate Weinberg bellowed.
‘Sustained,’ said the judge.
The prosecutor didn’t miss a beat. ‘Was Mrs Zaldain alive when you left her with the accused to go to the toilet?’
‘Yeah, yeah she was. Otherwise why would the paramedics have bothered to put up a drip and everything?’
‘Thank you. No more questions.’
Fuck! Tracy thought. Gilad’s testimony was going to convict Yair – and have them throw away the key.
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