The ancient usher walked across the room and stopped beneath a large portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. There was a much smaller version of the same image – at least Jack thought it was the same image – hanging on one of the walls in the main office, although some clever sod had added a curly moustache to the Queen’s face in that one. “All rise,” the usher instructed.
When everyone had stood up, the usher opened a wood panelled door theatrically and, with an air of dignified grace, the Coroner, Dr Montague DeVere, made his entrance. He paused to study the expectant crowd before walking the short distance to the raised platform on which his ornately carved chair awaited him. He bowed formally, an act reciprocated by court officials and those police officers present.
Dr DeVere sat down swiftly, motioning to the usher to continue with the opening procedure.
Jack reached over and took Rita’s hand, holding it tightly. Without averting her eyes from the distinguished looking Coroner, she squeezed back.
“Here we go,” he muttered under his breath.
CHAPTER 24
The building seemed strangely deserted now, Kelly reflected. She was reading a story from a book of assorted fairy tales. April Philips was a good listener. The child seemed more relaxed now that the tiny corridor had cleared of people, leaving them alone together.
Kelly had two nieces of her own, her elder sister’s children. They were aged seven and four, and she had been reading stories like this to them since they were in nappies.
She wondered what would become of the child sitting so serenely on her lap. Would fate be kind to her in the coming years or would she end up going the same way as her mother?
As Kelly reached the end of the fable, the ageless tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, April looked up at her. “My nanny got me the video of Snow White from the market. Would you like to come home and watch it with me?” She spoke shyly, a look of eager anticipation accompanying the words.
“I would love to, April, but unfortunately I have lots of work to do. Maybe we could watch it another time?”
A frown appeared on the child’s face as Kelly spoke, quickly followed by a look of disappointment. “That’s okay,” April responded sadly. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. My mummy didn’t like doing things with me either.” She looked down at her shoes as if she had been scolded.
Kelly mentally kicked herself. Thanks to the constant rejection she had suffered at the hands of her worthless mother, April had grown into a deeply insecure child with a very low opinion of herself. She thought Kelly was fobbing her off, making excuses just like her mother had.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Kelly mentally kicked herself, and she was determined to rectify the mistake. “What other video’s do you like, sweetheart?” she asked, trying to coax the child back into the conversation.
“Beauty and the Beast is my very best favourite,” April told her, risking a coy glance up at Kelly as she spoke.
“Wow! That’s my favourite, too!” Kelly exclaimed. The child looked at Kelly again, a smile beginning to form. She found herself intrigued by the grown up’s sudden excitement. “Really?” she asked, eyes the size of dinner plates.
Kelly smiled. “Sure is!”
“My nanny said she would buy me a doll of ‘Belle’ for my birthday, but I don’t think she will be able to, not now…” Her little voice, so full of energy and enthusiasm, faltered as she uttered the last few words, and her enchanting smile was replaced by an expression of infinite sadness.
“What’s wrong, angel? You can tell me…” Kelly put her fingers under April’s chin as she spoke, gently tilting the girl’s head towards her. Kelly found herself close to tears as she stared into the endless sea of pain shimmering in the big blue eyes of the child on her lap. That was when it hit her, that April was just as much a victim of this obscene scumbag who proclaimed himself a modern-day Jack the Ripper as any of the three women he’d brutally hacked to death. “Why so sad, my little one?” she asked, instinctively drawing the child closer. April willingly snuggled into her, and Kelly began to rock her back and forth in a soothing rhythm that had always worked on her when she was April’s age.
April’s bottom lip began to quiver. “Now that mummy’s gone to heaven to be with Jesus, my nanny will be too sad to play with me,” she whispered.
“Oh April, I’m sure that’s not true. Your nanny is under a lot of stress right now, but by the time your birthday comes around she’ll be a whole lot better.” Kelly tried to sound positive, kissing the girl’s head gently. It occurred to Kelly that she wasn’t doing a particularly good job of looking after April. She was supposed to keep the child happy and amused while the inquest went on, not reduce her to a sobbing wreck. She could feel her own eyes welling up now. What a fine chaperone she was turning out to be! She checked her watch. Oh God! They’d only been in the court for five minutes. If she carried on like this, the poor girl would be suicidal by the time they broke up!
◆◆◆
Jack escorted Rita out of the courtroom after the inquest and led her to a secluded corner where they could talk freely. He could tell that she was still in a daze.
“Are you alright, Rita?” he asked, staring daggers at a reporter who had followed them out and was now lingering nearby. The man got the message and wandered off to re-join his colleagues who were milling by the exit, no doubt comparing notes and trying to come up with some eye-catching headers for their stories.
“No, I’m not.” Her complexion turned
