Court Out - By Elle Wynne Page 0,45
whatsoever I’d swear that there’s a ghost of a smile on his face.
The court usher hurries to her desk and indicates that the Judge is ready to start. Gosh, I shouldn’t be so gauche, but this is exciting. We all make our way to our places and wait for his entrance.
I look across to see with some satisfaction that Lucinda has been relegated to the public gallery, now full of press and nosey onlookers. I give her a cheery wave, just before the court rises to its feet to greet the arrival of The Honourable Mr. Justice Wynne. The only indication that anyone other than Lucinda noticed my gesture comes from behind me, in the form of a loud snort from Serena.
Chapter Ten
The trial begins as any other would. Fifteen members of the public are shepherded into the courtroom. They look wide-eyed and nervous and they stare around their new environment with a mix of wonder and fear. Given the huge public profile of the trial, most of them are openly staring at Hobbs.
The selection begins; the court usher pulls twelve names from a box containing the full fifteen and the chosen few are directed to take a seat in the jury box. I take a note of the names of the panel in my notebook and briefly glance up to see if there is anyone there I recognise. There isn’t and the twelve are successfully selected without incident.
The Judge turns and speaks to the jury. He’s a somewhat familiar face to the senior members who practice on this circuit, but as he normally only deals with heavy-duty work I rarely get to appear in front of him. His face is heavily lined and his voice has a mesmerising gravelly texture. He’s known for being fair, wise and having a brain the size of a small planet.
He reminds the jury of their role during the trial and that they are only to discuss the case with their fellow jurors, not to post things on Facebook and Twitter (you’d be amazed how often this happens) and should anything happen to them that causes their concern, to draw it to the attention of the jury bailiff straight away. A few of the jurors look alarmed at this point. The Judge laughs.
“Please don’t worry, it’s a standard direction I have to give you. It’s like when you fly on an airplane. You get told about the inflatable chute, but you very rarely ever have to use it. Just remember, if anything concerns you during the course of the trial, I’m your flight steward, so to speak.”
This prompts a few nervous titters from the jury, but visibly relaxes them.
After a nod from the Judge, Corr gets to his feet and turns to face them. He opens the case, instantly capturing the attention of the eager faces watching him. He’s a master storyteller and is delicately weaving the known facts of the case around the inferences he wants the jury to draw when they hear other pieces of evidence.
His voice is hypnotising and I can almost see them being charmed before my eyes, like snakes dancing to the hum of a well-tuned flute. By the time he is finishes a couple of hours later, I know that there isn’t a single person out of the twelve who isn’t already convinced Hobbs is guilty. I feel a swell of pride to be connected to such a great advocate.
Eventually, we break for lunch mid-way through the evidence of the first witness, Helen Drew. She was the cleaner who found Marina’s body that fateful morning floating in their pool. She’s spent the past hour reliving every gory moment of her discovery.
Having arrived at the house at 9AM to start her usual shift, she noticed that the home was unusually silent. A brief check of the garages revealed that Hobbs’ car was conspicuous by its absence and the marital bed appeared not to have been slept in. After concluding that the pair had gone away for the night she started her extensive cleaning routine as normal, noticing that aside from the normal carnage, there were a large number of clothes missing from Marina’s walk in wardrobe and a bottle of champagne had been smashed on the kitchen floor.
It was only when she began to clean some pans at the sink she happened to look out into the garden and saw what she assumed was a bin bag in the pool that she went outside.
When we come back after lunch,