31
Harriet turned in her seat to watch Evie’s face as the charges were read out. Evie confirmed her name, and the first charge was read by the clerk to the court.
‘You are charged that on 17th August you did murder Mark North contrary to common law. How do you plead?’
‘Not guilty.’
Evie’s voice was calm and level. She seemed composed and having briefly taken in her surroundings she was now staring straight ahead, meeting the gaze of the judge full on. There was an air of certainty about her – as if she knew she had to be here, but believed absolutely in her innocence.
Although Evie had initially been charged on the single count of murder, Harriet had put forward her defence statement to the prosecution indicating that it was their intention to present evidence of loss of control. As a result the CPS had added a second count of manslaughter, to which Evie had no choice but to plead guilty.
Harriet almost smiled at the thought of Angus Brodie’s displeasure at that decision. He wanted Evie to go down for murder, but the prosecution couldn’t risk her being found not guilty on that charge and walking free. Given that she had admitted to killing Mark North, the lesser charge of manslaughter guaranteed them a conviction.
Her thoughts returned to her client as the manslaughter charge was read out.
‘How do you plead?’
‘Guilty.’
Evie hung her head, her remorse clear to see. She returned slowly to her seat and appeared to shake herself out of her momentary lapse of confidence, raising her head to fix her gaze on the prosecutor, who was about to make her opening remarks.
Harriet was pleased with her appointment of Boyd Simmonds QC to represent Evie. He was the perfect foil to the prosecuting barrister, Devisha Ambo, and based on Evie’s account of the events of the night of Mark’s death and all she had been forced to endure during the preceding months, he and Harriet had carefully worked out the structure of their defence.
‘Our first priority is to make sure the jury finds you not guilty of murder,’ Harriet had told Evie. ‘It’s never easy in a case like yours, and I would be lying if I said otherwise. But Boyd and I believe in you and we think we have a good chance.
‘We need to demonstrate to the jury that Mark had been hurting you for some time, and that on the night of his death you lost control due to the risk of serious violence and a genuine fear of what he would do to you next. If we’re successful in this you will be guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder.’
Evie nodded and Harriet could see that she was absorbing every word.
‘The second thing we need to bear in mind is the sentencing. There’s no mandatory life sentence for manslaughter as there is for murder, but the judge can still impose life if he so wishes. So we need to devise a strategy that will allow him to be lenient. He must be in no doubt that you used the knife simply because it was available; that you did not carry it into the room for the purpose of killing Mark.’
At that, Evie’s eyes had opened wide. ‘But I didn’t,’ she said.
Harriet believed her. ‘I know – and the fact that you demonstrated immediate remorse is in your favour. You suffered a high degree of provocation, and that’s a good thing, as is the fact that Mark presented an ongoing threat. It’s important that you understand all this, Evie, so you know what’s happening in court and how our strategy is playing out. Have you any questions?’
Evie’s eyes narrowed. She appeared to be thinking hard about everything she had been told, and Harriet almost smiled. Whatever the outcome of this trial, Evie’s story was going to make national headlines, and it had the potential to represent a flagship case in her never-ending battle against abuse.
‘No, I don’t think I need to ask anything,’ Evie said, shaking her head slowly. ‘I know it’s not going to be easy to convince the court that it was a spur-of-the-moment, impulsive act, but it’s the truth, Harriet. I hope you believe me.’
Harriet trusted her word absolutely, but the CPS were determined that Evie would be found guilty of murder. They had presented their evidence to the defence team, and some of it didn’t paint Evie in the best light. Harriet had been through it piece by piece with her client, knowing that defendants often came unstuck as they realised how exposed they were going to be in court, but once again Evie surprised her, listening carefully and giving valid explanations for every event.
The only time she seemed less self-assured was when the conversation moved to Mark’s character and the dichotomy between a gentle, loving father and a brutal, savage abuser. She seemed to have the ability to separate Mark’s actions from Mark the man, talking about her injuries without a flicker of discomfort, but she appeared far less confident when asked about his personality. It was almost as if she didn’t want to denigrate him. But whatever her feelings for the father of her child, she was a victim, and it was Harriet’s job, along with Boyd Simmonds, to prove that.
Harriet settled in her seat, the sense of nervous anticipation that she always suffered before a trial making her force herself to sit up straight and appear confident. She was determined that this case was going to go their way. It would validate everything she had been fighting for.
The prosecution and defence had both given their opening statements, and neither held any surprises. It was time for the first witness for the prosecution. Cleo North.
Cleo’s hands felt sticky, her legs weak. She was first up, and that was good in some ways, because it meant it would soon be over. She didn’t know how she would feel seeing Evie again, though. She had ignored her pleas to bring Lulu to the prison on the grounds that it would upset the child and it was too far to travel. So now she took the oath without lifting her eyes to the dock and instead focused on the prosecution barrister, a tall, well-built Afro-Caribbean woman with a wide smile that seemed slightly inappropriate for the occasion. Her voice was warm and persuasive and Cleo knew she was trying to make her feel comfortable. It wasn’t working, though.
‘Miss North, I know this can’t be easy for you. Losing a family member to whom you were close never is. Can you tell us what sort of a man your brother was?’
Cleo understood she had two roles in court: to explain how Mark and Evie had met, and as a witness to her brother’s character. She desperately wanted to make the jury care about Mark and what had happened to him so they would mistrust everything Evie said when it was her turn to give evidence.
‘Mark was a gentle, sensitive man. Like a lot of artistic people, I suppose. But he cared deeply for those close to him, particularly Evie and Lulu, his baby daughter.’
‘How did your brother and the defendant first meet?’
Cleo had still not forgiven herself for her role in their involvement and she stumbled over the words as she explained why she had introduced Evie to Mark.
‘It was my fault, you see. Mark had been depressed for quite some time and I thought it would be good for him to take the commission.’
‘The photographs were for her father, you say. Did you ever meet, speak to, or have any correspondence with Miss Clarke’s father?’
‘No. I didn’t. Evie told us her father had died, just before the album was finished.’
‘So there was no payment forthcoming at all?’ the prosecutor asked.
‘That’s right.’
‘Did you ask if there was money in his estate to cover this?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Cleo answered, puzzled that they were making so much of this. ‘But Evie said her stepmother would get it all, and she wasn’t going to inherit a penny.’
The prosecutor held out her hand to her assistant, who in turn passed her a document.
‘I would refer the court to exhibit JC/9.’ Devisha Ambo paused until the relevant papers had been found. ‘This is a copy of Miss Clarke’s birth certificate. As you will see, the space for the father is blank. She was born in Norfolk, and raised from a young age by her maternal grandmother. Although Miss Clarke claimed to have lived in an apartment at her father
’s home in London, that is a complete fabrication. She has never lived in any part of London, and there is no evidence to suggest that Miss Clarke knows either the name or the whereabouts of her father. She had, in fact, been living in a council flat in Leicester.’
There was a stunned silence. Cleo felt every muscle in her body tense, her breaths coming in short gasps. For the first time she lifted her eyes to Evie, staring at her through the plate glass, expecting to see some sign of remorse. Evie’s expression was blank.
Devisha Ambo paused to give the court time to assess this.
‘Can you think of any reason why she would have lied about this?’ she asked.
Cleo was shaking her head, mystified. ‘Only if she wanted to get the photographs for free, I suppose. But we wouldn’t release anything other than a low-resolution image until payment had been received in full. So it doesn’t make sense.’
‘What was your brother’s reaction to the fact that she couldn’t pay?’
‘Mark was wonderful about it. I told you – he was a kind man. He let her feel better about it all by allowing her to design a blog for him, and that’s how she wheedled her way into his life.’
‘So as far as you are aware, he never knew she had lied to him?’
‘No. He would have told me.’
‘What can you tell us about the relationship between your brother and Michelle Evelyn Clarke in the months before his death?’ Devisha asked.
For a moment, Cleo was confused and glanced back towards Evie. She hadn’t known her first name was Michelle; it was something else she had hidden.
‘I didn’t think things were easy between them. I noticed when he came back from a trip she shied away from him if he tried to hug her, and I could see how much her reaction hurt him. But he was so kind to her. He even asked me to make her an exquisite piece of jewellery to show how much he cared.’
‘Was there a pattern of behaviour between the two of them that you noticed?’
‘There was a pattern to Evie’s behaviour, for sure. While Mark was away, she seemed to become clumsy – accident-prone – as if she was punishing him for leaving her. She was trying to control him.’
‘He was away from home every time she had one of her accidents?’
‘Yes.’
‘And yet Miss Clarke claims that he was the one hurting her. How could that be, Miss North, if he was away each and every time she was injured?’
‘I have no idea,’ Cleo replied, turning to address her answer to the jury. They had to believe this – if they realised that Mark hadn’t been hurting Evie there was no defence for what she did. ‘Maybe she wants everyone to believe he was a bully, but he couldn’t possibly have been the one to hurt her.’
‘So you believe she’s lying? Why do you think she’s accusing him of this behaviour now?’
‘Of course she’s lying. She has to have some excuse for what she did to him. She’s made it all up.’
‘In your initial statement to the police, Miss North, you said that your brother had repeatedly asked Miss Clarke to marry him. Is that correct?’
‘Yes. He couldn’t understand why she refused him. He was doing all he could to make her happy.’
‘And so in your opinion Mark had no idea that Miss Clarke is, in fact, already married and has been for some years.’
Cleo felt as if time had frozen. The buzz of the courtroom faded into the background as once more she looked at the impassive face of her brother’s killer. Evie returned her gaze steadily and Cleo – just for a moment – felt uncomfortably as if she was the one in the wrong.
‘You bitch,’ Cleo said quietly.
32
The hubbub in the courtroom had finally died down after Cleo’s reprimand from the judge. Her heart was still racing as the questioning continued, but she realised that by demonstrating that Evie was a liar, the prosecutor was aiming to undermine every part of her statement. Shocked as she was at the revelations, Cleo felt a tingle of excitement. The jury would never believe what Evie said about Mark now.
Finally, the prosecutor concluded her questioning and it was the turn of the defence QC, who she had been told was a man called Boyd Simmonds. Cleo hadn’t been looking forward to this and had expected a sharp, aggressive character to be pleading on Evie’s behalf. But the man lumbering to his feet, pushing his glasses back up his nose, seemed amiable enough and she felt herself relax a little.
‘Miss North, as my colleague says, this must be a difficult time and I will try to keep my questions straightforward and to the point.’
He gave her a pleasant smile.
‘Did you like Evie Clarke?’ he asked, his head on one side as if asking her the time of day.
Cleo felt shocked at the abrupt and direct question, but took a steadying breath.
‘No, I didn’t. I did try, but we never really clicked and now I despise her. I always thought she might be a schemer,’ she shot Evie a venomous glance, but it didn’t appear to have any impact, ‘and now I know she is.’
‘Did you like your brother’s wife, Mia North?’
‘I don’t see why that’s relevant.’
The judge spoke. ‘Answer the question please, Miss North.’
Cleo knew this was going to sound bad, but in truth neither of the women had been good for Mark and she wasn’t sure how she could explain it.
‘Then I’ll have to say no – I didn’t like Mia. But for different reasons.’
‘Which were?’
‘She didn’t appreciate Mark’s talent and she undermined him,’ Cleo said. ‘He lost his confidence when he was married to Mia. I told him she was a bad choice, but he swore that he loved her. I think she was too controlling.’
‘Controlling, you say.’ Boyd paused and consulted the piece of paper he was holding. ‘I refer to your comments about Miss Clarke. “She was trying to control him,” you said. Did you feel that anyone who became close to your brother was – by default – trying to control him?’
Cleo didn’t know how to make them understand how it had been. She was trying to tell the truth, but this placid-looking barrister, however mild his manner, was making her sound stupid. He wasn’t about to let up, either.
‘You told the court that Miss Clarke had “wheedled her way” into your brother’s life. How long after she had met him did she become pregnant?’
‘I don’t know. A few months.’
‘Was your brother pleased?’
‘I think he was surprised – he told me there had been no discussion of having children and he had thought they had been careful. But he loved Lulu.’
‘I’m sure he did. And what did you think about the pregnancy?’
Cleo felt decidedly uneasy. This wasn’t going the way she had expected. ‘I did wonder if maybe she had tricked him.’
‘With what objective in mind?’
Cleo leaned forwards, resting her forearms on the edge of the witness box, trying to engage with everyone in the court.
‘My brother was a very wealthy man. He was good-looking, kind, a brilliant photographer and lived in a stunning house. He was a catch for anyone – and I’m more convinced than ever that’s what she wanted. To trap him.’
The barrister referred to his notes.
‘You believe she wanted to trap him despite the fact that you described your brother earlier as depressed and a bit of a recluse.’ The barrister paused for effect and once again Cleo felt flustered. ‘So given that her principal objective was to ensnare your brother, at what point after she discovered she was pregnant did she move into his home?’
‘A few months later.’
Boyd let the hand holding his papers drop to his side.
‘A few months,’ he said slowly, labouring each word. ‘Two? Three?’
‘Five.’ Cleo’s voice was hushed.
‘I think, if you check back, you may find it was actually six. So in her attempt to trap your depressed brother, she refused to move into his house until she was six months pregnant? Does that sound to
you like a woman on a mission to win a man, Miss North?’
Again he paused only momentarily before continuing his questioning. It felt like an attack, and Cleo was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
‘You give the impression that you and your brother, Mark North, were very close. Would you say that was true?’
Cleo nodded, a momentary stab of pain as she thought of the hole Mark had left in her life silencing her for a moment.
‘Absolutely.’
‘We know that Evie Clarke manipulated the truth a little when she spoke about her father…’ he said.
‘No she didn’t.’ The words burst from Cleo unrestrained. ‘She lied.’
‘…and we may learn in due course why she took that decision. Much is being made of the fact that she lied to your brother, but that is only an assumption, isn’t it, Miss North?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Just because you didn’t know the truth doesn’t in any way prove that he didn’t, does it?’
‘He didn’t know – I’m sure he didn’t,’ Cleo said, her voice rising with her mounting concern about the line of questioning. ‘He would have told me.’
‘Why should we assume that Miss Clarke hadn’t told your brother everything about her past? They became lovers – had a child together. Is it not probable that he was fully aware of her small deviation from the facts early on in their relationship, and that she had also told him she was married?’
‘No. It’s not possible. As I said, he would have told me.’
‘He told you everything, did he?’
‘Of course,’ Cleo said, her voice catching. ‘We were very close.’
Boyd Simmonds nodded, looking at her over his glasses. He gave her another of his pleasant smiles.
‘Could you please tell us when you became aware that your brother was in a relationship with Evie Clarke?’
‘I don’t know precisely. They invited me round to dinner when they started seeing each other and told me then.’
The QC nodded slowly. ‘They had just started seeing each other, had they?’
‘Yes,’ Cleo said. ‘Evie had been doing some work for Mark on the blog she was helping him with, but it was purely platonic to start with.’
And So It Begins Page 14