Part Seventy-One
When everyone in court had regained their seats, John began to speak, instantly commanding attention from every corner of the courtroom.
"I would like to say a few words about the conduct of this trial before we begin. As you will all observe, there are two judges presiding over this trial, where there would usually be one. Mr. Justice Everard, will be sitting as a winger, and is at liberty to ask any questions he wishes, as am I. Yet one more way in which this trial is a little different to many you have no doubt participated in, is that Mr. Justice Everard and myself, plus the three barristers sitting before me, have had a prior acquaintance with the defendant. If I observe any hint, of a personal vendetta from the prosecution, I will hold said counsel in contempt. Please take this as a very serious warning. I also do not expect any sparring between counsels that isn't directly related to the trial." He shot a very significant look in George's direction. "I would finally like to add, that if I hear so much as a whisper from the public gallery, I will ban the culprit for the rest of the trial. Now, Mr. Cantwell, perhaps you would like to begin."
As Brian rose to his feet, George rolled her eyes at Jo. She knew that John's warning had been as much for her as for Brian.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Brian began, turning to face the jury. "This case will make each and every one of you wonder what has become of basic human decency. Barbara Mills, the defendant you see before you, took the law into her own hands, whilst caring for her terminally ill husband. Henry Mills was a vicar, a loving husband, and a pillar of the local community. Barbara Mills, his second wife, killed him, because she couldn't cope with having a seriously ill man to care for. How callous you may think her, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and how right you would be. Oh, she may believe that she ended his suffering, by injecting him with a lethal dose of Morphine, but whatever she may believe, and however she and her team may try to convince you, she ended her husband's life. I have no doubt that Mrs. Mills and Mrs. Channing will do their utmost to convince you that either Henry Mills killed himself, or that he died from natural causes, but the facts I shall lay before you will speak for themselves. First to take the stand, will be Professor Sam Ryan, who performed the initial postmortem on Henry Mills. Her evidence alone will tell you that it was Barbara Mills who injected her husband with Morphine. My second witness, Connie Beauchamp, is the cardio thoracic surgeon who attended to Henry Mills, and who decided, in her professional opinion, that the cancer was too far advanced for either surgery or chemotherapy to be considered viable options for success. She will take the stand, in order to explain to you that although Henry Mills' cancer was in the terminal stages of its progression, he could not have died from natural causes at that particular point in time. My third and final witness, is Sylvia Hollamby, a prison officer who has worked with Barbara Mills, and who will attempt to dispel any descriptions of law-abiding behaviour that the defence would have you believe. I beseech you, members of the jury, to listen to every fact that I and my witnesses will put before you, and to keep the thought in your minds that Barbara Mills is a killer, no more, no less."
When he finally sat down, both Yvonne and Roisin had to fight the urge to shout Brian Cantwell out of court. The way he'd portrayed Barbara, he'd made her sound so different, so cold, so calculating.