A Form of Justice

by Dawn Marsanne

‘Please take a seat,’ said the receptionist, ‘I’ll find out.’

  ‘I’m Dr Overton! Let me see her!’ he shouted, flashing his identity badge at the woman. ‘They are expecting me! I said I’d be here!’

  ‘Go through,’ she indicated, releasing the door.

  Will rushed through. ‘Gina! Gina Overton!’ he shouted.

  A youngish doctor came hurrying over.

  ‘Dr Overton, please come with me,’ he said, taking Will’s arm and steering him towards a private room.

  ‘What’s happened? How is she? I want to see her.’

  ‘Let’s go where it’s private, and I’ll explain to you. It’s Scott, by the way, I don’t think we’ve met before. Scott Luckworth.’

  Will murmured something but he was too preoccupied for social niceties, he had one goal in mind, and that was to be reunited with his wife.

  Chapter 50

  The next morning, Trish sat next to her solicitor in a featureless interview room at Canterbury Police Station. The plain plastic chairs matched the dullness of the room in general. As she looked towards the ceiling, she noticed a brown stain on one of the tiles, a result of a failure of the plumbing system or a flaw in the roof. Which floor of the station was she now on? She had no idea, and she barely remembered her journey to the police station. The events of the evening had been replaying in a loop in her head, blocking out the sensations of her surroundings. A hundred yards from the incident with Gina had been one type of station, and here was another, how ironic was that she mused. She had been transported from a location where countless journeys began to somewhere which on numerous occasions was the curtailment of any travel for a while. She sipped a cup of lukewarm tea, a tremor noticeable in her hands.

  ‘The time by my watch is 9.45 a.m., and I am Detective Inspector Don Whitehead. Detective Sergeant Craig Stoddard, Mr James Britten and Patricia Webster are also present.

  ‘Patricia Joanne Webster, please can you confirm that is your full name?’

  Trish nodded.

  ‘Please speak for the benefit of the tape,’ instructed DI Whitehead.

  ‘My name is Patricia Joanne Webster, but I prefer to be called Trish.’

  ‘Thank you. Trish Webster, you are being questioned about the events which led to the injury of Gina Overton.’

  ‘I was trying to commit suicide, that’s why I went along the railway.’

  ‘But why did you take Gina Overton with you?’

  ‘It’s a complicated story, it’s because of what happened in the past.’

  ‘Let’s start at the beginning,’ said the Inspector. ‘Take it slowly, and you can explain what happened on the evening of September 19th 2018?’

  Trish rubbed her tear-stained face, appeared to take a deep breath, then began to relay the details. She paused for a few seconds, as if nervous and unsure as to what to say.

  ‘Well, I met up with Gina Overton at an Old Girls’ event and afterwards, we went to where the level crossing is, near St Dunstan’s Street in town and we walked on to it before making our way along the railway line.’

  ‘And subsequently, she was injured. Did you intend to kill her rather than yourself?

  ‘My client has already told you that she intended to commit suicide,’ interrupted James Britten.

  ‘Yes, I tried to commit suicide. Gina was injured by accident.’

  Trish began to cry.

  ‘My client is distressed, we need to suspend the interview.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ said Trish, ‘I want to get it over with.’

  Her solicitor whispered in Trish’s ear.

  ‘I’d rather get it over with.’

  ‘Carry on,’ instructed the inspector.

  ‘The events are rather hazy, I’m not completely clear about all the details,’ added Trish.

  ‘We have a witness who says that you lingered and looked down the railway line. Is that correct?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘Why did you do that?’

  ‘It was an amazing sight, it’s not something that I normally do. Gina was enthralled by the railway lines. I remember her saying that they seemed to be pulling her along, attracting her to walk along them.’

  ‘OK, then what happened?’

  ‘I started to walk in the direction towards London.’

  ‘Did you not think it was dangerous?’

  ‘Yes, I knew it was dangerous, that was why I took Gina on to the railway line, I wanted to frighten her.’

  ‘Did she not object?’

  ‘No, she was feeling rather reckless. Elated. Fearless. She felt the railway line was pulling her along. She said the line was a rope, that’s it, that’s what she said, pulling her along.’

  ‘So she wandered along it?

  ‘Yes, well, she followed me. I ran along the side of the track.’

  ‘Why was that, I mean why did she follow you so readily?’

  ‘Because she was intoxicated.’

  ‘She had been drinking?’

  ‘No, smoking.’

  ‘Drugs?’

  ‘Of a kind. Home-made ones. Natural ones, grown by me, in fact. Salvia divinorum is a plant which has the effect of reducing one’s inhibitions. It’s a short-lived effect, there’s no lasting damage, well, it’s not reported to have any. They were called legal highs, but they aren’t really legal as they were banned in 2016.’

  ‘You’ve done your research,’ said DI Whitehead.

  ‘I have, yes. They aren’t legal, yet you can buy the dried leaves on the web.’

  ‘I want to go back to Ms Overton, Gina, why did she take the drugs?’

  DI Whitehead noticed that Trish appeared more composed. She was willingly relaying the events of the evening and required little prompting.

  ‘Because I gave them to her,’ continued Trish.

  ‘Did she ask you?’

  ‘No, she wasn’t aware that she had been given any mood-altering substances.’

  ‘So you admit to drugging her against her will?’

  ‘Yes, I drugged her.’

  ‘How did you manage to do that?’

  ‘I added the Salvia divinorum to some refillable e-cigarette cartridges.’

  ‘How did you know she used an e-cigarette?’ asked DI Whitehead.

  ‘Because I’d done my homework. I’d been following her and observing.

  ‘You admit to stalking her?’

  ‘Well, yes but there’s no law against following anyone is there? I didn’t do her any harm.’

  ‘Tell me about your observations of her.’

  ‘Well, of course, I saw her vaping outside the inquiry venue, on breaks and I followed her through Canterbury, from time to time.’

  ‘This is the recent inquiry into abuse at care homes?’

  ‘Yes, the SEKare inquiry, or the Benton Inquiry as I think it’s going to be known.’

  The detectives remained silent as she looked ready to reveal more information. DS Stoddard scribbled a few notes during the interview.

  ‘Do you know, I sat in that inquiry watching Gina question the witnesses about the abuse and later, after I’d realised who she was, I thought, what a hypocrite she is.’

  ‘Hypocrite?’ asked Don Whitehead.

  ‘Well, yes, don’t you think that it’s ironic that someone who was such a bully and abuser should be one of those representing the families whose relatives were abused? She’s just as bad as those care workers. Some of them are in prison, and she’s been free all these years.’ Trish sighed and appeared to be tiring.

  The detectives realised there was much to discover concerning the motive behind the tragic events, but they needed to focus on the immediate facts and circumstances. Trish had just described her as a bully, but for the moment they had no inkling about what she meant by this.

  The inspector steered the witness back to the present. ‘Let’s go back to the e-cigarettes, how did you know you had added the correct amount of plant material to the refills?’

  ‘I didn’t know exactly how much t
o add, but I experimented.’

  ‘On yourself?’

  ‘Yes, but not initially.’

  ‘How then?’

  ‘If you must know, on my guinea-pigs.’

  As the interview proceeded, it was apparent that the woman before them had a complex history which had somehow driven her actions the previous evening. Information was being revealed in a jumble, and it was difficult to navigate through all the layers.

  ‘Let’s go back to more recent events. How did you know how to drug Gina Overton?’ asked DI Whitehead.

  ‘As I said, I experimented, first on my guinea-pigs, then on myself. I’ve been to some amazing places without ever leaving my house. I’ve seen fantastic things. For a few minutes, the world looked wonderful, and I was truly happy. I was free from the invisible bindings which have held me, and the images which have tortured me for the past thirty-eight or so years. Perhaps you should try it yourself?’ Trish laughed.

  Inspector Whitehead paused and made some notes. It was such an incredible story his brain was having trouble taking it all in.

  ‘Are you certain that her behaviour was solely due to what you had given her?’ asked DS Stoddard.

  ‘Oh, yes.’

  ‘Why was she with you? How did you manage to persuade her to accompany you?’ asked DI Whitehead.

  ‘She was sick, she vomited whilst she was giving her talk, and I offered to take her home. We had been chatting during the interval, and so she trusted me. Of course, it was wrong of her to trust me, after all, it was me who had made her sick in the first place.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I had to engineer it so that I could take her home, get her into my car so I could give her the e-cigarette.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Well, I saw her escape from all the women who were hassling her and questioning her, so I followed her. I pretended to feel unwell. It’s amazing how easy it is when people think you are a cancer sufferer.’

  ‘Can you explain further?’

  ‘I’d taken another glass of sherry, then I tipped the contents away and added my own sherry mixture to it. One which I’d poisoned with bloodroot extract, you can buy it from herbalists.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s a plant, Sanguinaria canadensis to give it its scientific name. It’s got various medicinal properties, in fact, some people think it can cure skin cancer. At larger doses though, it causes vomiting and stomach cramps. Too much can be toxic.’

  ‘Did she not notice that the sherry was spiked?’

  ‘Well, it has a bitter taste, but I guess mixed with the sherry, it wasn’t so obvious.’ Trish laughed, ‘The sherry was quite horrible on its own, I thought.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘She began her talk and vomited over the stage, so she had to abandon her speech. That’s when I seized my chance. It gave me the opportunity to get her alone with me. I had no idea whether the remainder of my plan would work, but for once, luck was on my side.’

  The detectives waited for her to continue, there was little need to prompt her.

  ‘Anyway, she wanted to vape to take the horrible taste of the vomit away. That’s when she inhaled the Salvia divinorum.’

  ‘How quickly does it act?’ asked DS Stoddard.

  ‘Oh, quite quickly, within a few minutes. Wait, I’ve remembered, she stumbled and dropped the e-cigarette.’ Trish put her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

  ‘Are you feeling alright, Mrs Webster?’ asked DI Whitehead.

  ‘Yes, I’m just trying to remember the sequence of events as we walked along the railway line,’ Trish paused. ‘So, she seemed to come to her senses, and at that point, she began to question why she was there, what she was doing, that sort of thing. So, then, I revealed my identity. At first, she didn’t recognise me, so I told her my name, the name she would have known me by at school.’

  ‘She didn’t realise you were Patricia Webster?’

  ‘No, she thought I was Susan Barnes or Susan Hepworth, as she was known at school. Susan is my friend actually, and I disguised myself as her for the evening at the school. I knew Susan couldn’t go, she’s visiting her daughter in York.’

  DI Whitehead was beginning to realise just how much planning had been involved in this fateful evening. It was far from a case of someone suddenly becoming overwhelmingly depressed and deciding to end their life.

  ‘What did Gina do when you revealed your true identity?’ asked DS Stoddard.

  ‘She was shocked. For once she was unable to speak. It was amazing seeing her beaten. She’s not used to being controlled. Having the upper hand has become her way of life. It was the moment I’ve been waiting for all these years.’

  ‘You wanted to control her?’

  ‘Yes! It was an amazing feeling to think that I had finally been able to turn the tables on her. She thought that things would continue in the same way forever. But that won’t be the case now, will it?’

  ‘Did she try to run away?’

  ‘Well, she tried to run away, but I produced a knife out of my bag. She was still a bit confused after her trip, shall we call it. So I was able to hold the knife to her throat. That was great to see the fear in her eyes. I actually cut her neck, not near her jugular but I wanted her to experience the feeling of cutting. Some real pain in her skin.’

  The detectives had rarely interviewed anyone who was so keen to relay their story.

  ‘I guess she’s in a lot of pain now, how is she?’

  ‘Let’s return to what happened by the railway line,’ said the Inspector.

  ‘Do you know, my hand never completely recovered from when she broke my fingers by stamping on them.’ She stretched it out to show them. ‘It’s always been a bit weak, and a couple of months after the injury I didn’t realise how weak it still was, so when I picked up a pan of boiling water the pan just sort of twisted, and I scalded myself. I had to have a skin graft, look!’

  Trish showed the detectives the inside of her arm. ‘So, indirectly she’s responsible for that as well. I’ve had a constant reminder of Gina.’

  ‘Is it still painful?’ asked DS Stoddard.

  ‘It’s not too bad really, but it gets itchy from time to time. I suppose it healed quite well, unlike the mental scars. I never really got over those, well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? If I had, we wouldn’t be sitting here this evening.’

  ‘No, that’s true and Gina wouldn’t be in the hospital either. She was lucky to survive,’ said DI Whitehead.

  ‘She’s always lucky. That’s the story of her life really. Protected by her parents who used their money to pay off people who were a threat. Anything for a quiet life, that was my mother’s motto and because we didn’t have much money she accepted their offer, so Eugenia, as I’ll always think of her, got away with it. She would never have achieved so much if she’d been sent to a young offender’s institute.’

  ‘Let’s go back to the events of this evening. After you cut her neck what happened?’

  ‘Well, we had a discussion about school, how she’d tormented me and ruined my life. That sort of thing. She began to cry, and it pleased me to see her looking vulnerable and powerless. She actually apologised to me. I never thought I’d hear those words.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘Well, things sort of carried on in that vein, Gina was trying to talk me round, but I was having none of it. I could see what she was up to. She thought she could win me over with her persuasive words. She’s used to talking, that’s her job, after all.’

  ‘So, let’s talk about the climax of your night-time walk along the railway tracks,’ suggested DI Whitehead.

  ‘I’d been feeling particularly depressed over the last few days. I didn’t feel I could carry on any longer.’

  ‘Did you not seek help? Counselling? A psychiatrist?’ asked DS Stoddard.

  ‘I’ve been having counselling for years!’ shouted Trish. ‘It’s never been able to remove the memories and the resentment just so
rt of mushroomed. You don’t know what it’s like to suffer from mental illness!’ Trish’s voice was wavering as she described her mental state.

  ‘We can take a break,’ said DI Whitehead.

  ‘No! I want to continue.’ Trish wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

  ‘I was determined that Gina would feel responsible for my death. I wanted her to witness it at close hand.’

  ‘So you tried to jump in front of the train?’

  ‘No, I intended to electrocute myself on the live rail, I thought it was time for her to have a painful memory. Perhaps she would have flashbacks like I’ve been having. It was payback time.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘She must have grabbed me. I remember a struggle and everything happened so fast I’m not exactly sure. I must have pushed her away and perhaps because she was still disoriented from the drug she lost her balance? I’m not sure.’

  ‘From what the train driver told us, the train hit her, and she somehow missed the live rail, but her leg was crushed by the wheel.’

  ‘As I said, she’s lucky. How many people would survive an incident like that?’

  ‘I don’t think anyone would describe her as lucky, she has life-changing injuries,’ said DI Whitehead, sternly. ‘Why didn’t you make another attempt to commit suicide? The rail was still live at this stage?’

  Trish shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps the shock of seeing Gina injured brought me to my senses? I remember lots of shouting and the police approaching.’

  ‘I would like to speak to my client,’ interrupted James Britten.

  The detectives looked at each other. DS Stoddard wondered if he should pinch himself as this was the most fantastical story he’d ever heard. It was always possible she was making it up, after all, she had admitted to experimenting with psychoactive substances, and this could have altered her perception of reality. He still wasn’t convinced that it was an attempted suicide. After all, why hadn’t she gone through with the final act? According to her account, she had obtained an apology from Gina. As with a lot of crimes, there were two sides to this story, and they needed to interview Gina as soon as she was well enough.

  ‘I think perhaps we should take a break,’ said DI Whitehead. He reached over and pressed pause on the tape after making the appropriate announcement.