Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Day fourteen of the trial
The trial finished with prosecution and defence summing up their cases.
Stefan Villiers used Pauline’s testimony to condemn Anthony, calling his childhood repressive, claustrophobic and stunted.
Pauline struggled to sit through the character assassination without crying, remaining grateful for Leo’s strength by her side.
The jury went out on Thursday afternoon to consider their verdict. The deliberations went on all through Friday before they were sent to a hotel for the weekend. By eleven o’clock on Monday morning, Jennifer Ripley found Pauline and Leo in the canteen.
‘The jury have reached a verdict.’ Her face looked grim.
Sitting side by side in the public gallery, Pauline and Leo held hands.
They couldn’t see Anthony from their position, but according to Jennifer, he’d been quiet all morning and was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed tonight.
That gave Pauline a glimmer of hope. She fed on Anthony’s confidence even though she didn’t feel it herself.
The foreman of the jury was told to stand, and the clerk of the court began to speak.
‘Has the jury reached a decision?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Is it the decision of you all?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you find the defendant, Anthony Winstanley, guilty or not guilty for the murder of Alice Patterson?’
Pauline gripped Leo’s hand. Judith and Geoff Patterson, who had elected to miss the trial but wanted to be present for the verdict, looked down; Judith with her eyes tightly shut, Geoff practically holding his breath. DI Bishop leaned forward in his seat, eager to hear the result.
In the back row of the public gallery, WPC Freya Sloan and Chris Tyler held hands. Freya uttered ‘not guilty’ over and over again under her breath. Chris was staring straight ahead, wincing at the pain Freya was causing by squeezing his hand so hard.
In the dock, Anthony sat with a blank expression.
His hands were on his lap in front of him.
He faced the jury. The enormity of the decision was lost on him.
He had no idea they held his life in their hands.
With one word, they could condemn him to a prison cell for life.
All he could picture in his mind, was returning home to his terraced house in Whitby and sleeping in his own bed with his Spider-Man duvet cover and his comics.
‘Guilty.’
Pauline’s senses numbed. She remained seated, her face blank of emotion, her eyes staring straight ahead. Her life had just ended.
Geoff and Judith Patterson remained still for a long few seconds while the verdict sank in. Judith began to cry. She lowered her head and let the tears fall. She felt Geoff’s arm around her shoulders squeeze her tight and pull her towards him. He kissed the top of her head.
‘It’s over, Judith,’ he whispered to her. ‘It’s over. It’s over.’
She nodded and absorbed his words. It was over. The attention and the pain of uncertainty was over, but the grief was still raw, the pain of never seeing her beautiful daughter again was as sharp as ever. Anthony Winstanley being found guilty changed nothing.
Anthony watched as the man in the grey suit stood up and told the world he was guilty of killing Alice Patterson. How was that possible? This man didn’t know him. None of the jury knew him.
‘What? No!’ he shouted. ‘No! I didn’t do it. I didn’t. How can you say that? I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘Anthony, please, calm down. We can talk about this later,’ Jennifer said quietly, trying to get him to sit down.
‘No. I didn’t see her that night. I wasn’t anywhere near her. I didn’t kill her. I swear. I didn’t. Mum, help me!’ he screamed.
The two police officers grabbed Anthony by the arms and pulled him back, but he was enraged. He kicked and he screamed. The judge ordered him to be taken away from the court. His cries could be heard from the custody suite below.
‘Pauline, we have to go,’ Leo said.
She turned to him. ‘Huh?’ Her eyes had glazed over.
‘We have to go, Pauline. Everyone’s leaving.’
‘OK. Where do we fetch Anthony from?’
Leo frowned. ‘No. Pauline, he was found guilty.’
‘Yes, but he’s not.’
‘I know he isn’t, but they say he is. We can appeal though, I’m sure of it.’
‘But I want to take him home. Now.’
Leo clasped his hands around hers. ‘You can’t, Pauline. Not now. I’m sorry.’
Pauline opened her mouth to speak, but a torrent of tears came out. She fell into Leo and cried loudly into his shoulder. It was a long time before she felt well enough to leave the comfort of his embrace. When she did, she looked at him with blurred vision.
‘Will you stay with me?’
‘Of course I will.’
‘Forever?’
‘Forever.’