Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(53)

Linda smiled briefly. She knew that already. “Of course. And why did Mr Glosser continue to join you on these trips after Oakley stopped talking? Did it not seem odd to you that she stopped soon after you’d been camping?”

“Frank is an old friend and he’d been joining us for a while. My son and daughter liked him and had no issue spending time with him. Frank had been around them both long before Oakley stopped talking and she’d never expressed any unease in his presence.”

“So it never crossed your mind that someone could be forcing her to stay silent? You did say you spent many hours researching and visiting doctors.”

“It was a consideration, of course, but we trusted everyone we had around our children.”

“Still, the one person that saw more of your daughter than your son on a one-to-one basis was Mr Glosser.”

“Frank had spent time with just myself and my son over the years,” Max replied smoothly. He was a picture of calm, as if the questions being asked now were about the weather.

Linda smiled briefly. “How did Oakley’s silence affect you?”

“It was difficult to say the least. We were desperate to help her and put everything in to finding out what was wrong. As a result we suffered physical, emotionally, and financially. I lost work because I was so preoccupied in finding out what was wrong with my child. My ex wife and I fought, both lost as to what to do for the best. We didn’t know how to help. I’ve not had a full night’s sleep since the day she stopped speaking.”

“Probably worrying she’d speak up,” Jasper muttered in disgust under his breath.

“You suffered financially?” Linda asked.

“Yes.”

“Mr Farrell, did you take money in exchange for allowing Mr Glosser to sexually abuse your daughter?”

“No,” Max replied, appalled. “Absolutely not.”

“How was your relationship with Oakley affected?”

His eyes teared and he blinked hard a few times. Jasper glared.

“It was never quite the same. I still loved her just as much but part of her had closed off to us all. She no longer squealed in delight when I threw her in the air or ran around the back garden with her on my shoulders. We couldn’t talk and I stopped hearing her say ‘I love you, Daddy’.” He paused and took a deep breath. “It broke my heart.”

I gripped the seat, fingertips digging into the wood. ‘Don’t believe it,’ I prayed in my head, willing the jury to see through his lies.

Linda rocked back on her heels. “Mr Farrell, why do you think Oakley stopped talking?”

“I believe she has Histrionic Personality Disorder.”

What?

Jasper’s head snapped to me and he frowned, his dumbfounded expression mirroring mine.

Linda didn’t look at all surprised by the disorder Max just threw out of his mouth. “People with Histrionic Personality Disorder – HPD – typically have extravagant and lively personalities, Mr Farrell.”

She was ready for it.

Max tilted his head to the side. “Sufferers tend to have dramatic behaviour,” he corrected. “Oakley was a very lively child but with a sibling she could never have the majority of our attention – until she stopped talking. People with Histrionic Personality Disorder also act out a role, that of a character or a victim.”

I looked to Jasper, panicked. Shit, he’s found something that could explain her behaviour. Jasper stared at the jury with wide eyes, willing them to see through Max’s crap.

This wasn’t good.

“Mr Farrell, you state that you’ve spent the best part of fifteen years trying to figure out what was wrong with your daughter. Is that correct?” Linda asked.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, then it seems rather odd that you only come across this disorder after your arrest.”

Max said nothing.

“I’ve been looking over your police statements and nothing was mentioned then.”

“My ex wife and I spent hours on the internet searching muteness. We’ve visited countless doctors and specialists in that field and not one of them mentioned Histrionic Personality Disorder. When she went to the police with her claim, I realised there was something more to it, that she had chosen not to speak. My searches changed and that’s when I found HPD.”

“Hmm. So why do you think she spoke out then? She was away with you, getting your full attention, surely she wouldn’t have needed to act out?”

“I told her Mr Glosser was coming for the weekend, she was unhappy to say the least. I hadn’t seen Frank in almost a year and he was in town. Oakley didn’t want him to come, she thought it was just going to be us. I assume that’s when she created her story. She was excited about the trip, put the tent up almost completely by herself and brought two backpacks full of marshmallows. When I told her Frank was coming she dumped the marshmallows in the bin and wouldn’t make eye contact. Rapid shift in emotion is very typical in HPD.”

I looked at Jasper again and he stared at his father with hatred. He also looked as terrified as I felt. Surely the jury wouldn’t fall for that?

I gulped. This is bad.





Chapter Eighteen


Oakley




My father’s lawyer, John Bee, was such an intimidating man. He made me feel like a child. His face was hard with angular lines and a pointed jaw. Everything about him screamed ‘I’m going to break you.’