Sherlock was still in bed when John woke up in the morning. He lay flat on his back, Hamish clutched to his chest, staring at the ceiling. "Morning," John said, hoping to at least get a response.
"Jennifer Ogbeide-Bena will testify today. And Sagnik Malakar." Sherlock sounded calmer than he had been in days. John suspected this had to do with the fact he hadn't met either victim that would be testifying that day.
"And one of Jennifer's parents, at least," John added.
"Did Sarah testify yesterday?"
Guessing that in a roundabout way Sherlock was asking about Phillip, John replied: "Yeah. She was good on the stand; I'm not sure the defense knew what to do with her."
"They've been harsh?"
"Implying some nasty things about who's been testifying." John left it at that. Not wanting to hear any more questions that he couldn't fully answer, he got out of bed and headed for the shower.
Once he got downstairs he saw Sherlock had gotten up and was now sprawled on the sofa, using Hamish as a pillow. He didn't look like he wanted to move at all. "You'll be here all day?" John asked him.
"Quite likely," he replied without looking up.
"Do you want coffee? Because I'm going to make some before I go."
"That would be fine."
John made the coffee and some toast. He put a mug of it and two slices in front of Sherlock, then returned to the kitchen to finish his share. Once he finished, he said, "Do you want me to get anything while I'm out?" as though he was just going to the store or out with friends.
This comment usually made Sherlock either say something or produce a long list of items, but now he just said, "No, nothing." With that John headed out the door and grabbed a cab to the courthouse.
Susan was just walking up the steps when he got out. She saw him, stopped her ascent, and said right away: "Look, I'm sorry about severing contact with Victim One and Victim Three like that. I don't blame you for being angry about it. You have to understand though, we need to make sure nothing jeopardizes the case. Anything. It doesn't matter how many witnesses we have or victims testifying there are. The fact of the matter is that the accused has a very good chance of being acquitted."
John hadn't expected her to be so direct. Anything he could think of to object to the ban vanished, and he only managed to say, "Really?"
"Have you actually heard what most people say about the case? Almost everyone who's mentioned it to me or I've heard discussing it think she should get off." She must have seen the shock all over his face, because she added: "You see, with a case like this, people start looking right away for the man. They assume that if she really did it, she'd been doing it for a man, or because a man told her to. There have been cases where the woman's confessed to doing it on her own and people still assume she's covering for a man."
John could only nod in understanding. "Look, though, about the two victims that aren't supposed to talk to each other. Couldn't they meet with you two, or some third party to make sure they didn't talk about the trial?"
"No," Susan grimly replied. "The defense is already salivating over the fact the two have become friends. Any contact would be game for them."
John couldn't help but sigh. "It's going to be hard on them."
"Well, hopefully it won't be for more than a week."
"When do you think he'll testify?"
"Next Wednesday, I think."
"That soon?"
Susan started to walk up the steps again. John followed her. As she walked she began to speak again. "Well, today we have Victim Five, Victim Four, and Victim Four's mother. If all goes well tomorrow we'll have Victim Four's father, Victim Four's former foster mother, and Mrs. Murray the landlady. Thursday will be Victim Ten and his parents. Friday will be Victim Six, Victim Eight, and their mother's cousin. Monday should be Victim Fifteen and the current foster carer of Victims Fourteen and Fifteen. Tuesday is Victim Thirteen, Victim Eleven, and Victim Twelve. So after the officer who arrested Victim Twelve testifies on Wednesday, he'll be up."
"Should I tell him or will you?" John hoped she would; it wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to at all.
"That's our job," she reassured him. "Oh, and the family of Victim Five's going to be sitting in court. None of them are going to testify and they all wanted to be there." She opened the door and walked down the hall. After a few seconds Lou came into view and she called out: "Over here, Lou."
He walked over to stand with Susan and John. "Ah, you're late. The family of Victim Five is in the waiting room already."
"I suppose breakfast is in there too?" she asked.
"Of course. Hello John, I didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday." ,Lou sounded like they just hadn't seen each other.
"Hello," John responded, not willing to be friendly yet.
"You can't join us for breakfast, since Victim Five's family is there, but if you want something from the stash I can get it."
"No, thank you." John didn't want to spend any more time with the prosecutors, even if he intellectually knew what they said made sense. "I'd better go and grab a seat." He nodded and ducked into the courtroom before anything more could be said. It was mostly empty other than a few of the more dedicated buffalo.
He didn't feel as anxious as he had before, and he wondered if that was because he didn't know any of the people testifying that day. Oh, he'd met Mr. Ogbeide before, but he didn't really know him or Jennifer the same way he'd gotten to know Phillip and Moira. In a way, it was a relief; he didn't have the same sort of heart-wrenching feelings their testimony had invoked. On the other hand, John had no idea what would come out in court that day. He thought to himself that that made him one of the buffalo, and had to suppress the laughing fit that came up.
Unlike the previous days, Lou and Susan appeared in the courtroom before even the reporters. They ushered a man, woman, and three children to a space near the back, on the other side from the dock. The family sat down, and Lou and Susan left. John could see they all looked anxious, with the exception of the baby on his mother's lap. One of the girls, the older-looking of the two, said something to her father, who then put his arm around her. Neither the buffalo nor the reporters that came in appeared to pay them any notice.
John glanced over at them once more when the cry of, "Court rise!" came. They shook as they got to their feet. He averted his eyes then and focused on the front of the court. Susan came up to the front and said, "The prosecution calls Sagnik Malakar." The usher came in, leading a teenage boy with thick black hair, glasses, and a determined look. Unlike any of the victims who had testified before, he walked confidently and without hesitation. When he sat down he looked Susan right in the eye.
"Hello, Sagnik," she said.
"Hello," he replied in a much cheerier tone than the other victims. He had a clear accent but he did not hesitate with his English.
"How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Your family isn't native to England, are they?"
He shook his head. "No. We've only been here for three years. We came from Bangladesh."
"When you came to the country were you fluent in English?"
"I knew a little, but not enough to really talk to other people."
"When your family first came here, where did you live?"
"In London. A program that helped Bengali immigrants found us a flat. My mum and dad were trying to find work but it was hard." He spoke clearly and without fear. He even looked the crowd in the eye.
"How long did you spend in London?"
"Almost a year."
"On June 23, three years ago, how long had you lived in London?"
"Just a few months."
"Do you recall what you were doing that day?" Even Susan appeared to be more relaxed than on previous days.
"I went out for a walk. Everything here was still so new and I wanted to see more of it. My parents weren't sure it was a good idea but after a bit they let me go out."
"Were you going any place in particular?"
"No. I just wanted to see the sights. I walked around for a few hours."
"What happened then?"
"I got thirsty and I went into a shop to get a drink. When I got to the register I realized I didn't have enough for it. I was going to put it back, but then a woman said, 'That's all right, I'll pay for his too,' and gave the man the extra money."
"Did you know what she was saying at the time?"
"No, but I saw her give the clerk the money, and I said thank you. And 'English bad' so she'd know that I couldn't really talk much to her."
"What happened after that?"
"She walked out of the store and I realized she still had my drink so I went after her. I caught up with her on the pavement and she told me that she was sorry, she'd forgotten it wasn't hers, and she'd already opened it. Then she gave me the open bottle." John couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that the boy did not use the capital letters the other victims did.
"What kind of drink was it?"
"A bottle of Coke. I bought them a lot in London because they were harder to find back home." The crowd laughed.
"Did you notice anything unusual about it?"
"Not then. I took a sip and she said something about a park nearby that I might want to see. I wanted to sit down somewhere, so I followed her. We got there and I sat on a bench and drank my Coke. She sat down next to me and just talked for a bit. I didn't really understand most of what she was saying."
"How long did you sit there?"
"For about ten or fifteen minutes. Then I started to feel strange."
"Describe how you felt."
"Tired. Not just tired like you want to go to sleep, but my arms and legs felt heavy and my head was fuzzy." The symptoms clicked in John's head and he knew then Sherlock had been right about what he'd confronted Dr. Arthur with; it sounded like he had indeed been drugged with a benzodiazepine. K had probably put it in his drink when she had opened it. He wondered if she was hoping the drug would cause anteretrograde amnesia like they often did or was just counting on his lack of English skills to keep him from reporting it.
"Did the woman notice?"
"Yeah, and she took me by the arm. Said I needed a place to lie down before I fell over. She took me to a car and let me lie down in the back seat."
"What happened then?" Susan glanced at K briefly before returning her gaze to the witness stand.
"Then the car started moving and I fell asleep."
"When did you wake up?"
"I'm not sure exactly. I was in a flat. On a bed."
"Were you restrained in any way?"
"No. I wanted to get up but I couldn't make my limbs work."
"Can you describe the flat?"
"Only that room. It was really bare; the bed and a chest of drawers were all that was in it. The walls were white, and there was a window but the shades were pulled down."
"Was anyone there besides you?"
"I couldn't see anyone at first. Then the woman from before came into the room. Then I realized I wasn't wearing any clothes."
"What happened then?"
"The woman said something but I don't remember what it was. She took her clothes off then. I really tried to get away then, because I'd never seen a naked woman before and it didn't seem right, but it was too much effort. I felt like everything weighed a hundred pounds." For the first time, Sagnik hesitated. Even though he had shown far more confidence than any of the other victims, he obviously didn't want to describe his own assault. "Then she lay down on the bed next to me and started to touch me."
"Was she touching you in any place in particular?"
"She probably touched my groin the most but she really did touch me all over." Hesitation could be heard in his voice, but otherwise he sounded remarkably composed.
"How long did that go on?"
"For a few minutes. Then she put both of her hands on my thighs and spread them, hard. It hurt when she did it. Then she started touching just my groin until I got an erection. I tried to say something, at least, but my words were all slurred."
"What happened next?"
"Once she was done with that she got on top of me. Then it's sort of hazy."
"What do you remember clearly next?"
"I was in the back seat of her car again and she opened the door and took me out. I was in a park but a different one than before. I couldn't really walk so she helped me to a bench there and I just fell down on it." He had lost his earlier hesitation and once again spoke calmly and confidently. "I lay there for a while but I'm not sure how long."
"When did you get up again?"
He shook his head. "I didn't. I remember some man talking to me, and I think he asked if I was all right. I understood enough of what he said to try to answer but I just slurred something like before. He got out his mobile then. I think he called 999 because an ambulance came and took me to the hospital."
"When you got there what happened then?"
"I sat in A&E for a bit before I saw a doctor, and that made me feel a little better. A doctor came in then and asked me what had happened. I told him about the drink and the woman and the flat and how I felt, but he didn't really listen."
"What do you mean by that?" Susan asked. She seemed much calmer than usual, as if she matched his affect.
"Well, I tried to tell him it was a woman who did all that, but he just kept saying 'He' about the person. I thought it was just because my English was bad, but now I'm not sure." John held back a snort; that sounded like Dr. Arthur all right.
"Did the doctor listen to anything you said?"
"I think he understood that I'd had sex with someone, and they'd taken me to their flat. I told him the car was blue and the flat was clean since that was all I remembered then." He paused. "I told him where my parents were and then they came and picked me up. We went home and I got to my room and slept for the rest of the day."
"Did you talk to your parents about what had happened?"
"Yes. I told them the next day, at least all I could remember."
"How did they respond?"
"My dad got mad and my mom cried."
"Did you call the police?"
"No. I just thought the doctors at the hospital would have and when we moved from London I figured they couldn't find her."
"When did you contact the police?"
"When I saw the headlines about her a few months ago. I told my parents that she was the one who had done it, and we rang the police in London."
"Do you think you could recognize that woman today?"
"Yes."
"Is she in this courtroom?"
"Yes."
"Can you point to her?" Without hesitation Sagnik pointed to the dock and K. "No further questions," Susan said, sounding satisfied. She walked back to the prosecution's table as Clark headed up to the witness stand.
"Hello," he said, cautiously. From the look on his face John could tell he wasn't looking forward to this. He assumed that was because this victim would be far less easy to intimidate.
"Hi," Sagnik responded. He looked the attorney in the eye.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you."
"How old are you?"
"Thirteen. Well, I'll be fourteen in two months."
"Do you have any brothers and sisters?"
"Yes." John saw him glance to where his family had been seated before continuing. "Two sisters and a brother."
"How old are they?"
"Ten, seven, and eight months."
"Where does your family currently live?"
"Brighton."
After a moment of silence, Clark asked: "When you lived in London you only knew a little English?"
"Yes."
"You've remembered an awful lot of conversations today."
"Yes, I have." He sounded confident.
"Even though you didn't understand English then?"
"When I think about it now I can understand more." John noted he seemed to make a point of looking Clark in the eye. Clark didn't seem to know what to do about it. He clearly was happier with a witness he could intimidate.
"Did the drink you had taste in any way unusual?"
"No, it didn't."
"Did you see anyone put anything in it?"
"No, no one. She'd opened it but I didn't see her do that."
"You say that you felt dizzy after drinking it?"
"Sort of. Sleepy. Hard to move," he corrected.
"All right, sleepy," Clark conceded. "You still remember an awful lot for being sleepy."
"There are parts that are hard to remember, but before I finished the drink it's all clear. I only don't know about what happened in the flat, when she got on top of me."
"But you're still sure you could identify who it was?"
"I saw her before I had my drink. That's not something I forget."
Harvey made a motion with her hands, and Clark said, "No further questions," with an audible sigh.
As soon as Clark sat down, Lou walked up to the bench. "The prosecution calls Jennifer Ogbeide-Bena." The usher came in leading a girl John recognized from the photograph he'd seen months ago. She wore a lavender dress with matching ribbons on her braids, and carried a rag doll with her. The court seemed to gasp collectively as she sat down. John understood why; while the other victims had all been older children, Jennifer was clearly still a little girl. Hearing someone like Phillip testify about something that had happened when he was small wasn't the same as seeing a child of that age testifying to the same thing. She was a representation of how young the victims had been.
Lou towered over her, but he smiled softly as he began to speak. "Hello, Jennifer."
"Hi," she chirped out.
"What's your doll's name?"
"Tiana."
"I like your ribbons. Who did your hair today?"
"My daddy." She smiled.
"What color are the ribbons?"
"Purple."
"And if I said they were red what would that be?"
"A lie."
"Now, remember, when I ask you something it's not like a test at school. If you don't know the answer just say, 'I don't know.' Do you understand?"
"Yes."
Lou turned to the defense. "Does anyone on the defense object to her eligibility to testify?"
"No objection," Harvey said.
"All right. Jennifer, where do you live now?"
"With my daddy." The crowd laughed.
"No, I mean in what city do you live?" Lou clarified.
"Manchester."
"Have you ever lived in London?"
"When Jane and Frank took care of me, and when I lived with my mummy."
"Who are Jane and Frank?"
"My foster carers. They took care of me when mummy couldn't and they wouldn't let Daddy."
"Do you know why they wouldn't let you live with your father?"
"He took me to hospital. Not to the fucking room though, to another place." Even though John knew she had used such a phrase before, he still winced when she said it. From what he could see of the buffalo, they seemed shocked by it too, and they sat at all sorts of trials. He suddenly remembered Phillip saying that K had liked him to ask to fuck her, and he shivered.
"Why did you think you were going there?"
"Mummy would leave me there with Her." The capital letter was back, John noted. He wasn't particularly surprised by it, either.
"Do you know why?"
"'Cause She paid Mummy lots of money." She didn't seem particularly distressed by this, probably because she was too young to realize what that meant.
"How many times did you go there?"
"A bunch."
"Can you tell me about the first one you remember?"
"She came to our flat and said She was going to take me out. Then She took me to Her car and we drove to the hospital with the fucking room."
Lou clearly found her repeated use of the word disconcerting, but he managed to keep his voice even. "What happened when you got in there?"
"She said we were going to play a game. She told me to take my clothes off. Then She started to tickle me."
"Was that all she did?"
"No."
"What else happened?"
"She let me sit on the table with the paper on it. Then She sat down on it too and put me on Her lap."
When Jennifer didn't go on, Lou asked: "What happened after that?"
"She asked me if I knew a song. I did because Daddy had the CD that played it. She put Her hands on my belly and told me to bounce up and down while we sang it."
"What was the song?"
Jennifer sang in a high childish voice: "'Ride a cock-horse to Banbury
Cross, to see a young lady on a white horse. With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she will have music wherever she goes.' She said I was a clever girl since I knew all the words."
John heard several people get up and leave. If he hadn't been so determined to sit through the whole trial, he'd have done so himself. Something about the childish rhyme attached to sexual activity seemed an especially perverse act.
"Did she keep her hands on your belly the whole time?" Lou didn't seem bothered by the recitation at all, but he had obviously heard it before.
"The first time. Then we did it again and one hand on my belly and one hand under me."
"Can you show me what you mean?"
Jennifer nodded and stood up in the chair, using one hand to cup her groin. "Back and forth," she added.
"Was that what you did every time you went there?"
"Most times. Not all of them."
"What else did you do?"
"Sometimes I had to lie down on the table by myself and She'd kiss me all over."
"Everywhere?" Lou questioned.
"Almost. Not my toes."
"Feet?"
"Yeah."
"Head?"
"Yeah."
"Belly?"
"That too."
"Between your legs?"
"Yeah." For the first time Jennifer seemed uncomfortable; she slouched slightly in the chair.
"Did you do anything else?"
"I kissed Her when She was on the table."
"Did she have her clothes on?"
"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I kissed all the same places."
"No toes?"
"No toes."
"And that was all you did?"
"Sometimes She liked to lay on me when I was on the table and rub on me." She paused. "Sometimes She hurt me with Her fingers, and sometimes I had to touch Her between her legs." She wriggled slightly in the chair, clutching her doll closer to her.
"Is that the only place you went?"
"Sometimes we went to a flat with a big bed."
"Did the same things happen there?"
"Yeah. Sometimes there were other kids there."
"Did they do the same things?"
"I don't know," she whispered.
"No further questions," Lou said. John suspected they could have gotten far more out of Jennifer, but with twelve other victims testifying it was clearly easier on her if her testimony was short.
As soon as Lou turned to the prosecution's table, Judge Foster banged his gavel and said, "The court will adjourn for one hour." The crowd appeared to be in a special hurry to leave. John scurried out with the rest of them. After hearing all that, he needed fresh air (as fresh as any air in London could be). Once he was actually out of the courthouse, he was seized by fatigue and spent the next hour sitting on the steps, trying to blank his mind. He wasn't surprised when it didn't work.