The Accused (Modern Plays) Read online

  Mitchell (triumphantly) Yes, I can. Patrick has a small burn on his right arm (Touches her right forearm.) which you can only see when he takes his shirt off.

  Barrington ‘A small burn on his right arm … Only when he takes his shirt off.’ (He writes down as a quote.) Anything else?

  Mitchell (considers this) Yes, whenever he took me out on a date, he would remove his wedding ring and when we made love he would always insist on putting out the light. And, oh yes, his great passion is sailing. He keeps a small boat at Burnham, which he takes out most weekends.

  Barrington One could hardly call this list of mundane trivia intimate knowledge. You know, Ms Mitchell, this is beginning to sound less and less like an affair and more and more like wishful thinking.

  Mitchell I can assure you it was real.

  Barrington I have no doubt you wanted it to be real.

  Mitchell What do you mean by that?

  Barrington Simply that no one was better placed than you to take advantage of a man who was nursing a dying wife. But he rejected your advances, which made you bitter and resentful. And then, after his wife died, you come up with this cock-and-bull story about Wellingborough, only too aware of how hard it would be for Mr Sherwood to prove his innocence.

  Kersley My Lord, I think I must have fallen asleep, because the last thing I remember was my learned friend cross-examining this witness, and I seem to have woken up in the middle of his closing speech. Can your Lordship advise me, have I missed any significant questions?

  Judge No, but you have improperly interrupted defence counsel, just as - I suspect - he was about to ask one. Please continue, Sir James.

  Barrington If it is a question my learned friend demands, then a question he will get. My Lord, could Ms Mitchell be shown exhibit twenty-three?

  Judge Yes, Usher. (He nods the Usher to hold up the glove.)

  Barrington Ms Mitchell, do you know what this is?

  Mitchell Yes, of course I do, it’s a rubber glove.

  Barrington Used for hygienic purposes when administering an injection.

  Mitchell Or for washing the dishes.

  Barrington It was found on the floor of the Sherwoods’ kitchen the night his wife died.

  Mitchell So what does that prove?

  Barrington It’s a left-handed glove, Ms Mitchell - are you, by any chance, left-handed?

  Mitchell No, I’m right-handed.

  Barrington Strange, because when you signed your signature on the Usher’s pad only a few moments ago, you did so with your left hand. Would you care to try on the glove, Ms Mitchell?

  Kersley My Lord, this is outrageous, it’s not Ms Mitchell who is on trial here.

  Judge I agree, Mr Kersley. Sir James, your job is to defend Mr Sherwood, not to prosecute Ms Mitchell. Stick to your brief.

  Barrington As you wish, My Lord. But I do hope my learned friend will not object to me asking Ms Mitchell about the phone calls she claims Mr Sherwood made to her after she had left St George’s.

  Mitchell He did call me, again and again.

  Barrington Again and again. Then how is it that BT are unable to trace a single call to Wellingborough Cottage Hospital from either Mr Sherwood’s office, his home or his mobile?

  Mitchell He could have called me from a phone box.

  Barrington Oh, I see, so several times a day he just popped out of the operating theatre to phone boxes all over London to plead with you to keep quiet about your affair.

  Mitchell Yes, he did.

  Barrington You know, Ms Mitchell, these calls are beginning to sound like the presents, the flowers, the restaurants and the theatre, absolutely no proof of anything actually taking place - which brings me on to the statement that you made to the police following Mrs Sherwood’s death.

  Mitchell Yes, I made a voluntary statement to Chief Inspector Payne.

  Barrington You did indeed, Ms Mitchell, but what I want to know is what you mean by the word voluntary? Was it an unsolicited statement? Did you, for example, visit a police station and offer to assist them with their enquiries?

  Mitchell It wasn’t quite like that.

  Barrington It wasn’t anything like that, was it, Ms Mitchell? The only reason you volunteered a statement was because your father, Councillor Mitchell, had warned you that if you didn’t, you might well be implicated yourself. And correct me if I’m wrong, you didn’t make that statement until after Chief Inspector Payne had contacted you some weeks later?

  Mitchell I volunteered a statement immediately he contacted me.

  Barrington Yes, but why didn’t you contact the police immediately following Mrs Sherwood’s death? Why leave it until Inspector Payne had got in touch with you?

  Mitchell (voice rising) Because I didn’t have any proof. It would only have been my word against his.

  Barrington At last we come down to the reality of this case - you didn’t have any proof. It’s simply your word against his. The truth is, Ms Mitchell, that your word isn’t worth the Usher’s pad it’s written on because there never was any relationship between you and the defendant.

  Mitchell (breaking down sobbing) Yes, there was. We were lovers and he even asked me to be his wife.

  Barrington Did you accept his proposal?

  Mitchell Yes, I did.

  Barrington So you must have been in love with him at the time?

  Mitchell Yes, I was at the time.

  Barrington So how do you feel about him now, Ms Mitchell?

  Mitchell I loathe him.

  Barrington You loathe him?

  Mitchell (voice rising) Yes, I loathe him. When he needed me, nothing was too much trouble for him, but once I’d served my purpose he dumped me as if I had never existed.

  Barrington Try not to raise your voice too much, Ms Mitchell. Otherwise the jury might begin to suspect that…

  Mitchell (still sobbing) I don’t care what they …

  Kersley My Lord, I must object. Do these attacks on Ms Mitchell have any real purpose other than to intimidate?

  Judge Do they, Sir James?

  Barrington They most certainly do, My Lord, their purpose is to ensure that an innocent man doesn’t have to spend the rest of his life in gaol on the evidence of a jealous, vindictive woman who couldn’t get her own way. Ms Mitchell, if you are going to persist in claiming that Mr Sherwood seduced you, I must remind you, before you answer my next question, that you are still under oath. (He pauses.) Was Mr Sherwood the first person you had an affair with at St George’s? (Jarvis hands him blank sheet of paper that the audience can see is blank.)

  Mitchell (hesitates) There may have been one other.

  Barrington (stares down at blank sheet) Only one other, Ms Mitchell?

  Mitchell Well, over a period of five years, perhaps two.

  Barrington (continues to stare at sheet) Two?

  Mitchell (she hesitates) Possibly three.

  Barrington (slowly) Or four, or five, or …

  Mitchell No - three.

  Barrington And were any or all three of these paramours also doctors or surgeons, by any chance?

  Mitchell Yes, but the first one was years ago and didn’t last that long.

  Barrington Are you certain, of that Ms Mitchell?

  Mitchell Yes, I am, but then I feel sure even you can remember when you lost your virginity, Sir James.

  Barrington (continues to stare at the blank sheet of paper) But your second and third affairs lasted a considerably longer time, didn’t they?

  Mitchell Yes, but they were over long before Patrick began courting me.

  Barrington (voice rising) But isn’t it the truth, Ms Mitchell, that having failed to snare one doctor, you were willing to go to any lengths to catch another?

  Mitchell No, that is not the truth. The truth is that Patrick told me that he loved me and asked me to be his wife, and I can prove it.

  Barrington Like you can prove he gave you prescriptions only on a Friday evening, like you can prove that he showered you with presents that no lon