The Accused (Modern Plays) Read online

  Sherwood Entirely professional. On the rare occasions we met outside the hospital, it would have been at gatherings where other members of staff were present.

  Barrington Did you ever flirt with Ms Mitchell?

  Sherwood I flirt with all the nurses in my department, Sir James.

  Barrington You flirt with all the nurses in your department?

  Sherwood When you work on a cardiac unit you come into contact with death every day, which naturally causes relationships to be quite intense. One’s moods swing from being morose to flippant and sometimes to just downright silly.

  Barrington But Ms Mitchell claims that you gave her presents, sent her flowers, took her to restaurants and, on at least two occasions, accompanied her to the theatre?

  Sherwood I think on one occasion I did pass on a box of chocolates to Ms Mitchell that had been given to me by a patient, but as for all her other suggestions, they are nothing more than fantasy.

  Barrington She went on to tell the court that after having dinner together you would then drive her home. Is that also fantasy?

  Sherwood It’s not only fantasy, Sir James, it’s simply not possible.

  Barrington I’m not sure I understand, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood It’s quite hard to drive someone home when you don’t own a car.

  Barrington But you could have borrowed a car from the hospital, even hired one.

  Sherwood Yes, I could have done, if I had a driving licence.

  Barrington You don’t have a driving licence?

  Sherwood No and I’ve never had one. Elizabeth used to drive me everywhere.

  Barrington But even if you didn’t drive Ms Mitchell home, she claimed that you regularly joined her in her flat for coffee.

  Sherwood I never drink coffee, Sir James, gallons of tea, but never coffee.

  Barrington I must now ask you about Ms Mitchell’s claims that you told her not to inform the police that you had been with her on the night your wife died, because you had come up with a more convincing alibi. How do you answer that charge?

  Sherwood There is no need to answer it, Sir James, because I don’t even know where she lives.

  Barrington But Mr Sherwood, you’re on trial for murder. Why not admit to having an affair, rather than risk going to prison for the rest of your life?

  Sherwood Because we didn’t have an affair.

  Barrington But you did go as far as kissing her on one occasion?

  Sherwood Yes I did - it was at the staff Christmas party, I’d drunk a little too much, and regretted it immediately. I apologised and left soon afterwards.

  Barrington So as far as you were concerned, that was an end of the matter?

  Sherwood It would have been if I hadn’t asked her to come to my office the following morning.

  Barrington Why did you do that?

  Sherwood I wanted to apologise more formally.

  Barrington And what was her reaction?

  Sherwood She said there was no need to apologise as she had enjoyed it. She then locked the door and started to unbutton her uniform.

  Barrington How did you react?

  Sherwood I went straight to the door, unlocked it, held it open and waited for her to leave.

  Barrington Did she do so?

  Sherwood Yes, she did, but I’ll never forget her words as she stormed out of the room: ‘Mr Sherwood, you will live to regret this.’

  Barrington What did you imagine she meant by that?

  Sherwood I thought she might report me to the hospital board, even to an industrial tribunal.

  Barrington And did she do so?

  Sherwood No, she was far more devious than that. But even I couldn’t have imagined she would claim I was with her the night my wife died.

  Barrington Where were you that night, Mr Sherwood?

  Sherwood I was out on an emergency call visiting a patient in Westminster.

  Barrington So why isn’t that patient in court today to verify your story?

  Sherwood Because he died later that night.

  Barrington And what was the time entered on the death certificate?

  Sherwood 10.27 p.m.

  Barrington And who signed that death certificate?

  Sherwood I did.

  Barrington So if it was signed at 10.27 p.m., you would not have needed a more convincing alibi, as Ms Mitchell suggested.

  Sherwood Ms Mitchell seems to think I could have been in two places at once.

  Barrington Quite. So finally, let me ask you, Mr Sherwood, how do you answer Ms Mitchell’s damning accusation that you used her as a courier over a period of three months, to collect ampoules of Potassium Chloride in order to poison your wife?

  Sherwood Sir James, if I had wanted to poison my wife, I could have picked up any amount of drugs from the hospital pharmacy, without ever involving Ms Mitchell. No, the truth is that during that unhappy year I tended to my wife’s every need, often neglecting other patients. I only wish I’d been as successful with Elizabeth as I have been with some of them.

  Barrington No further questions, My Lord.

  Judge Do you wish to cross-examine, Mr Kersley?

  Kersley I most certainly do, My Lord. Mr Sherwood, much as we enjoyed the description of your wedded bliss, I suspect the time has now come for all of us in this courtroom to return to the real world. Let me begin by asking you when you first met Ms Mitchell?

  Sherwood It must have been when she was transferred to the cardiac unit.

  Kersley And did you find her attractive?

  Sherwood No, I didn’t think of her in that way.

  Kersley So it wasn’t love at first sight?

  Sherwood Or second sight, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley So it was some time later that you fell under her spell?

  Sherwood I never fell under her spell.

  Kersley Ah. So she was correct in suggesting that you were the pursuer and she the pursued in this relationship?

  Sherwood There never was a relationship, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley I shall return to the proof of that relationship later, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood And I shall continue to deny it.

  Kersley I’ll look forward to that. So let me turn to something you can’t deny. Where do you live?

  Sherwood Twenty-two Cadogan Villas.

  Kersley So when did you move out of your flat in Wimbledon?

  Sherwood About a year ago.

  Kersley And how much did it cost to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea?

  Sherwood I don’t remember exactly.

  Kersley Come, come, Mr Sherwood, I think every one of us knows exactly what we paid for the home we live in, especially if we bought it less than a year ago. I repeat, how much did it cost to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea?

  Sherwood Around eight hundred thousand pounds.

  Kersley Wouldn’t eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand be more accurate?

  Sherwood Possibly.

  Kersley So you must have won the lottery? Or did you inherit it?

  Sherwood Neither. My wife left few assets in her will. By the time I had finished paying death duties I received less than twenty thousand pounds.

  Kersley Well, that would just about cover the stamp duty on twenty-two Cadogan villas, so I must therefore ask you what the current salary is for a surgeon at St George’s?

  Sherwood Just over ninety thousand pounds a year.

  Kersley How many people earning ninety thousand pounds a year can afford to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea for eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds? I feel sure you’re about to tell us that there’s another simple explanation.

  Sherwood Yes, there is. Some years ago I took out a joint life insurance policy on my wife and myself.

  Kersley Some years ago. Wouldn’t March 1997 be more precise?

  Sherwood That is some years ago, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley But it’s only some weeks before your wife suffered her first heart attack - ‘the first hint came in 1997, my wife complained of loss of br