Our Kind of Cruelty(66)

Suzi would have laughed if she was capable of such a sound at that moment. ‘No, the exact opposite. Angus was the most charming, happy, generous, funny man you could hope to meet. He was very much in love with Verity and always treated her with nothing but respect and adoration. As a mother it was a pleasure to watch them together.’

‘So you don’t think he would have gone to Mr Hayes’s house that night meaning to harm him?’

‘No, but I’m not surprised they got into a fight. I’ve been on the end of some of Michael’s rants and they’re not pleasant.’

‘Could you elaborate, please?’ Petra said, and I knew they’d rehearsed this part.

Suzi clasped her hands together on the wooden ledge in front of the witness box. ‘As I said, he rang the whole time after Verity finished the relationship and I ended up speaking to him quite a lot. He was very rude to me on a number of occasions. He called me a scheming whore once, when I told him that Verity had gone away for New Year.’

I heard an intake of breath from the jury, but I kept my eyes on my hands, my face burning.

Petra approached Suzi and put her hand on her arm. ‘Thank you very much, Mrs Walton. We can all see how hard this has been for you. No further questions, my lord.’

Xander stood up slowly. He wasn’t carrying any notes and he almost ambled over. ‘Mrs Walton, let me second that thanks. This must be unbearably hard for you. I’m a father myself and I can’t imagine what it must be like to see a child of yours go through all of this.’

Suzi looked slightly startled. ‘No, it’s horrible.’

‘Almost unbelievable.’

‘Well, yes.’

He turned to the jury. ‘Verity is your only child, I believe?’

‘Yes.’ I could see the terror in Suzi’s eyes.

‘A longed-for only child. A child you have always idolised and adored.’

‘Of course we adore her,’ Suzi said.

‘A child you’ve always wanted the best for. The best schools, the best clothes, the best opportunities.’ He looked at Suzi as he spoke.

‘What parent doesn’t?’

Xander looked over at me and I felt the jury’s eyes follow him. ‘Oh, there are plenty of parents who don’t want the best for their children. Plenty of children out there who don’t get riding lessons and extra tuition and expensive holidays and fantastical Christmases.’ He paused. ‘I’m just wondering how far the best of everything extends?’

Petra stood up. ‘Objection, my lord. What is the relevance?’

‘Yes, get to the point,’ said Justice Smithson.

‘Did you have an idea of the sort of person you’d have liked Verity to marry?’ Xander asked.

‘No.’

‘But you wanted the best of everything for her, so surely that must have extended to her friends, her lovers, her partners.’

‘Of course we always wanted her to be happy.’

‘You were very pleased about her marriage to Angus Metcalf, I take it?’

‘Yes. He was a lovely man.’

Xander smiled. ‘But he was more than a lovely man, wasn’t he? He was rich and successful and could give Verity an amazing life.’

I followed Suzi’s eyes to V and saw she was sitting forward on her chair, her face white. ‘Yes, but that wasn’t why …’

‘Whereas Mr Hayes is a more troubling prospect, with his background.’

‘No. And if you’re going down that line, Mike is perfectly rich himself. And besides, Verity earns her own money, she’s very well paid.’

‘Yes, but neither of them are in the league of Mr Metcalf. Did you perhaps encourage Verity to leave Mr Hayes for Mr Metcalf?’

‘Objection, my lord,’ Petra shouted.

‘I’m struggling to see the relevance, Mr Jackson,’ Justice Smithson said.

Xander drew in a deep breath, making his chest puff out. ‘I’m not suggesting Mrs Walton is lying,’ he said, pausing. ‘Just maybe that her adoration of her daughter and her obvious obsession with wanting the best for her might have coloured her judgement of not just Mr Hayes, but also Mrs Metcalf’s involvement in this case.’

‘Objection, your honour,’ Petra shouted again. ‘There is no obsession in Mrs Walton’s wanting the best for her daughter.’

‘Sustained,’ Justice Smithson said, although there was a slight smile on his lips.

‘Sorry, my lord,’ Xander said, bobbing at the bench. He turned back to Susan. ‘What did you think about Verity asking Mr Hayes to her wedding?’

Suzi looked over at V again, her eyes darting. ‘I didn’t think it was a good idea.’

‘Did you argue about it?’

‘Not exactly, no.’

‘But you told her your views.’

‘Yes.’

‘And she did it anyway.’

‘Yes.’ Suzi almost raised her hand. ‘But she did it for good reasons. Like I said before, she was always overly concerned that Mike was all right. She felt responsible for him because of his upbringing, which is ridiculous because it had nothing to do with her.’

‘But we do feel responsibility for those we love, don’t we?’ Xander said conversationally, turning to the jury as if he was making a good point at a party.