So glad you're having fun in a dark and grim kind of way and thank you so much all you lovely reviewers.
Harry resumed his place standing in the witness box; he could see Andrew Moorcroft sitting behind Giles and Ravi Singh. Mr Singh looked fresh, relaxed and at ease. Giles on the other hand looked like he hadn't used a mirror to replace his wig, and suddenly was in charge of a no brainer case that all of a sudden had taken an unexpected turn. Andrew Moorcroft looked charming and refined, it was no wonder he had had a successful career as a barrister himself, he was a consummate actor.
"All rise."
This whole place was designed to be intimidating Harry surmised. There was obviously some reason that witnesses were required to stand throughout their evidence. No place to disguise, those give away non-verbal clues if they were lying but it also made it frightfully tiring and uncomfortable.
Judge Margaret Evans resumed her place, both barristers making the customary head nod to her as she sat down.
"Dr Cunningham," began Giles Chisholm. "My learned friend here asked you a question before the lunch break," he paused for effect and Harry tried desperately to remember what Giles had told him to say. "Would you like to tell the members of the court here, how exactly you hurt Dr Alexander?"
Nikki was out of Harry's eye line, he wondered why she was even there. There was no reason for the victims in these cases to be present at court but this was Nikki, and she'd would hardly be anywhere else would she? And she got to be in the same room as the man of her dreams.
"Erm,"
Giles glared at Harry.
"I let Dr Alexander believe that there was a possibility of a romance between us," Harry began. Why was he talking like a nineteenth century novel? It must be the surroundings he thought. "I flirted with her, and encouraged her to to…" He stuttered and then continued in a clear voice. "To fall in love with me and when she had I pushed her away and rejected her. That is what I meant when I said I had hurt her."
"And it was shortly after this break up between the two of you that Dr Alexander met Andrew Moorcroft?"
"Yes a couple of weeks," Harry confirmed.
"Were you jealous of her new boyfriend?"
"No; for once I wasn't. In many ways I was glad, I was seriously ashamed of the way I had treated her and I was happy that she had found someone who could make her happy." Harry replied.
"Can you describe the relationship, please Dr Cunningham?"
"Relevance" interjected Mr Singh
"I will let you continue Mr Chisholm," the judge replied.
"Can you describe the relationship between Dr Alexander and Andrew Moorcroft please," Giles repeated.
"They seemed very happy together, they met for drinks a number of times before some dates. I remember he took her to the ballet at Christmas, Nikki, sorry Dr Alexander seemed so excited about going and as she talked about it I realised that this man was really prepared to make an effort and that he would really make her happy and for the long term."
"Can you remember any other things they did in those early days?"
"I remember he took her to Cambridge for the weekend. He had hired a convertible sports car and all Nikki could tell me about it was that it was red. They did the usual touristy things, punting, picnics he never seemed to be a man in a hurry when it came to spending time with her. He always worked out every last detail of how to get the most out of their time together. They went out to shows and restaurants or he would cook her spectacular meals on those weekends when she was on call and couldn't leave London."
"And how did you feel about him?"
"At first I admired him," Harry said sincerely. What had he; Harry, ever done for her? He wondered cynically to himself; a day out at an air show that he wanted to go to, DVD's and takeout. It was hardly going to make a girl feel special.
"At first?" Giles repeated.
"My opinion changed after three months." Harry stated.
"And what made you change your opinion?" asked Giles.
"Dr Alexander started receiving gifts at work, sometimes just a card, or flowers, chocolates, pretty much anything that could be delivered really."
"And why did that make you change your opinion?"
"It was Nikki's reaction to them, she seemed embarrassed, not like a woman receiving a gift from her lover."
"And you can tell how she felt about them?" questioned Giles.
"I have worked alongside Dr Alexander for eight years; we have worked many difficult and traumatic cases together and we have become very close. Over the years I have become a pretty good judge of her emotions and reactions," Harry explained.
"And her reactions to the gifts?" prompted Giles.
"They made her sad," Harry concluded.
