Ms WILLS: Did you see any new people at the disco?
JIM: Yes. Two young men. They danced with Mary.
Ms WILLS: Can you see those two young men here now?
JIM: Yes. Those two there. They killed her! (He looks angrily at Simon
Clark and Dan Smith.)
DAN: (Standing) We didn't kill her! That's not true!
JUDGE: Please, Mr Smith. Sit down!
Dan sits down slowly.
Ms WILLS: I'm sorry about that. Now Jim, tell me, what did you do when
Mary went out of the disco?
JIM: Well, I stayed for fifteen minutes, to talk to some friends. Then I went for a walk, and - I saw her.
There was blood on her face. I tried to help her, but I couldn't.
Ms WILLS: So what did you do then?
JIM: I ran to phone the police. But it was no good. She was dead - and they killed her!
He looks at Dan and Simon. Ms Wills sits down.
CARTER: (Standing up) Jim, did you love Mary?
JIM: Yes, I think so - she was my girlfriend.
CARTER: Yes, she was your girlfriend. And you loved her - you think. Mary left the disco at midnight, you say. She walked along that dark road by the sea.
You didn't go with her. Why?
JIM: Why? I don't know — she wanted to go alone.
CARTER: Why? Was she angry with you?
JIM: I don't know. A little angry, perhaps. It wasn't important. CARTER: Were you angry with these young men? With Simon and Dan, because they danced with her?
JIM: A little angry, yes.
CARTER: A little angry, you say. Did you see them dance with her? JIM: I saw Simon dance with her, but not Dan. I went out with some friends. They wanted to see my car.
CARTER: To see your car? Why? Is it very interesting?
JIM: It's a new car - a Volkswagen Polo. I like it very much. My friends wanted to look at it.
CARTER: I see. What happened when you went back in?
JIM: I saw Mary with that boy. (He looks at Simon.)
CARTER: And what did you do then?
JIM: I was angry. I asked him to stop dancing with her.
CARTER: You asked him, you say. Did you hit him, Jim? JIM: Well, yes. I hit him once. But he hit me first!
SIMON: That's not true! I didn't hit you! You hit me!
JUDGE: Be quiet, Mr Clark! Please!
SIMON: But it's not true, my lord! I didn't hit him!
JUDGE: Perhaps not. But you can speak later. Do you understand?
SIMON: Yes, sir.
CARTER: What did Mary do when you hit Simon, Jim?
JIM: She laughed, I think. Then she sat at a table with me.
CARTER: Why did she laugh, Jim? Did she laugh at Simon, or you?
JIM: She laughed at Simon, because he was afraid of me!
CARTER: Is that true? Or did she laugh at you, Jim? Perhaps she liked
Simon, not you!
JIM: Of course she didn't! She was my girl, and she was there with me, not them!
CARTER: But you were angry with Mary, Jim. Why was that? Did she like them more than you, perhaps?
JIM: NO! I wasn't angry with her, I was angry with Simon!
CARTER: Are you sure?
JIM: Yes, of course! I was angry with him because he danced with my girlfriend, and because he killed her. Don't you understand? He killed her! Of course I'm angry - he killed her!
CARTER: How do you know that, Jim?
JIM: Everyone knows that! He followed her in his car along the road. Then he took that spanner from the car, and he hit her on the head - two, three times! Then she ran on to the beach, crying.
CARTER: What happened then, Jim?
JIM: He hit her again! And then she stopped moving, and there was blood everywhere! Lots of blood! And I tried to help her, but I couldn't, she was dead - Jim is crying. Carter says nothing for a minute.
CARTER: So, Jim, she ran on to the beach, crying, and he hit her again, you say. How do you know that?
JIM: How? I don't remember. The police said that.
CARTER: No, Jim, they didn't say that. (He waits, but Jim says nothing.)
Jim, there was no blood on Simon or Dan, but there was a lot of blood on you. And you were angry with Mary, because she didn't love you. Is that true, Jim?
JIM: No.
CARTER: Simon and Dan weren't on the beach, Jim. They didn't kill her. But you were there. You went out of the disco and followed her. Did you kill her?
JIM: NO! Of course I didn't! What are you saying?
They killed her - their car was there, the spanner was in their car! I didn't kill her! She was my girlfriend - I loved her!
CARTER: You loved her, you say. But you didn't walk home with her on that dark night, Jim. Why not?
JIM: But I did! I went after her! And I found her on the beach! She was dead!
CARTER: Did you go in your car? Your new Polo?
JIM: No, I didn't. I walked. I wanted to think.
CARTER: What did you want to think about?
JIM: About me and Mary. I was sorry - I loved her, you know - And I
wanted to talk to her, of course. But she was dead! They killed her, she was dead!
CARTER: But there was no blood on them, or in their car, Jim. The blood was on you! Perhaps you loved Mary, but you killed her too - because you were angry with her!
JIM: No! Of course I didn't! I didn't kill her. I loved her!
CARTER: One more question, Jim. Do you have Pirelli tyres on your
Volkswagen Polo?
JIM: What? Er — no. No, I don't. I have Goodyear tyres.
CARTER: All right. I have no more questions. (He sits.) Jim goes out, and
Ms Wills stands up.
Ms WILLS: My lord, I have no more witnesses.
JUDGE: Thank you. Mr Carter, have you any witnesses?
CARTER: Yes, my lord. Mrs Lucy Symes, please.
Lucy Symes comes into the witness box.
SYMES: (Taking the book) I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
CARTER: Mrs Symes, do you have a white Ford Fiesta?
SYMES: Yes, sir.
CARTER: What is the car's number?
SYMES: M346 WXT.
CARTER: And what happened to that car on 12 August?
SYMES: Somebody stole it, sir. I telephoned the police, and they found it next day.
There was a lot of sand in it.
CARTER: I see. Now, Mrs Symes, do you have a spanner in your car, like this spanner on the table?
SYMES: Well, I don't know, sir. You see, I did have a spanner like that in the car last year, but it wasn't very good. So now I have a better one than that.
CARTER: I see. And where is this new spanner now?
SYMES: In the back of my car, sir. It's always there.
CARTER: What about the old spanner? Where is that?
SYMES: Well, I don't know, sir. I didn't want it, you see.
CARTER: Was it in the car on 12 August?
SYMES: I don't know. Perhaps it was, but I'm not sure.
CARTER: Thank you, Mrs Symes. Please wait there.
He sits down, and Ms Wills stands up.
Ms WILLS: Mrs Symes, was your old spanner in the car, or not? SYMES: I'm not sure. I'm sorry, I don't know.
Ms WILLS: Well, perhaps you put the spanner in the back of your car, and then you forgot about it. SYMES: Yes, perhaps I did.
Ms WILLS: Yes. (She takes the spanner from the table and gives it to Mrs
Symes.) And is this spanner like your old car spanner? SYMES: I think so, yes. Yes, it is.
Ms WILLS: Thank you. (She sits down.)
Mrs Symes leaves. Janet Nolan comes to the witness box, and takes the book from the clerk.
JANET: I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
CARTER: Miss Nolan, you were in the disco on the night of 12 August. Did you see Mary Jones?
JANET: Yes, I saw her with her boyfriend, Jim. And then later she danced with those two boys. CARTER: Which two boys?
JANET: Those two. (She looks at Simon and Dan.)
CARTER: I see. Did she dance with them for a long time?
JANET: For about ten minutes, yes. She danced with Dan first and then Simon. Jim wasn't in the disco then. When Jim saw them, he was very angry.
CARTER: What did he do?
JANET: He hit Simon.
CARTER: And what did Simon do?
JANET: Nothing. He didn't hit Jim. He walked away.
CARTER: I see. And was Jim angry with Mary, too?
JANET: Yes. Mary laughed at Jim, so Jim was very angry.
CARTER: Mary laughed at Jim, you say? Not at Simon?
JANET: Yes, that's right.
CARTER: What happened then?
JANET: Well, Jim and Mary talked, then Mary went home.
CARTER: I see. And what did Jim do?
JANET: He sat there for five minutes. Then he went out.
CARTER: What about Simon and Dan? Where were they?