Douglas Kennedy - A Special Relationship

During cross-examination, Maeve Doherty cornered her on her use of the word, 'yanking'.

'Now, explain this to me clearly', Maeve said. 'Ms Goodchild just suddenly yanked the child off her breast in fury at having been bitten...'

'Well, it wasn't exactly a yank!

'By which you mean what?'

'Well, she yanked, but she didn't intentionally yank.. '.

'I'm sorry, I don't follow'.

'Well... Ms Goodchild had been suffering from acute mastitis...'

'Otherwise known as inflammation of the breast which can calcify the milk flow, yes?'

'It doesn't always calcify, but it can cause a terrible blockage which can be deeply painful'.

'So her breasts were profoundly swollen and painful, and then her son clamped down on her swollen nipple, and she reacted the way anyone would react if suddenly subjected to sudden pain'.

'Do please desist from leading the witness', Traynor said.

'Apologies, My Lord. I will rephrase. Nurse McGuire, would you say that Ms Goodchild jumped in pain after her son bit down on her nipple, yes?'

'Yes, that's true'.

'So the yank you speak about - it wasn't a deliberate, pre-meditated movement, was it? It was, in fact, nothing more than a shocked reaction?'

'That's right'.

'So if we agree that she had a shocked, instinctive reaction to pull her son off her breast, then can we also agree that, for a moment, it seemed like she was about to hurl the child'.

'Absolutely'.

'But she stopped herself, didn't she?'

'Well, we were there to...'

'Did you make a grab for the baby?'

'Uh... no'.

'So Ms Goodchild stopped herself. No further questions'.

There was a short ten-minute adjournment after McGuire stepped down, during which Sandy came hurrying up to where I was conferring with Nigel and Maeve.

'I'm so sorry', she said, sounding deeply contrite. 'It's just, when that woman started painting that bastard as some sort of noble knight...'

I put my hand on her arm, signalling her to stop. Then, turning back to Nigel and Maeve, I said, 'I'd like you to meet my sister, Sandy, in London on a surprise visit from Boston'.

Nigel stood up and gave her his usual dead mullet handshake. Maeve smiled tightly and said, 'I can understand why you reacted the way you did. But if you want to help your sister, please take heed what the judge said, and don't do that again'.

The second half of the morning was taken up with testimony from two other nurses from the Mattingly, both of whom confirmed Mr Hughes's opinion that I had been trouble incarnate while on the ward. Maeve managed to puncture some of their criticisms - but the point was still made that, in the eyes of the hospital nurses and my consultant, I had been seriously bad news.

Then, just before lunchtime, came my great friend, Jessica Law, author of the CAFCASS report which essentially let it be known that, though I was on the road to recovery, Tony Hobbs and Diane Dexter had provided an exemplary environment for Jack.

'I have no doubt in my mind', she said under questioning from Lucinda Fforde, 'that Sally Goodchild is conscious of the fact that she went through a desperately traumatic period, which made her do and say things which she regretted saying. I also have no doubt that, when she recovers fully from her condition, she will be a most conscientious and caring mother. The reports I have received from Clarice Chambers - who has supervised all of her visits with her son - have been nothing short of exemplary. Ms Goodchild has also managed to find work as a freelance proofreader, and is beginning to find her way in this new endeavour. In short, I am most impressed by the courage and the tenacity she has shown under exceptionally difficult circumstances'.

But then she began to wax lyrical about Chez Dexter. How the Divine Ms D. stepped into the breach and 'magnificently' provided for Jack's needs. How Mr Hobbs appeared to her as a most caring and devoted father who was also clearly most happy in his relationship with Ms Dexter, and had put his career on hold to care for his son on a full-time basis. How there was also a full-time nanny to supplement Mr Hobbs's child care. How she could not find fault with this arrangement, and how she was certain that Jack was - and this was the killer comment' -in the best place he could be right now'.

I expected Maeve Doherty to take her apart, to make her reiterate her positive assessment of my condition, and then question her about the real workings of the Hobbs/Dexter household.

But instead, she just posed one question.

'Ms Law, in your considered opinion, doesn't Jack Hobbs deserve to be raised by both his parents?'

'Of course he does. But...'

'No further questions'.

I was stunned by the brevity of this cross-examination, and by the way Maeve didn't look at me on the way back to her place. Then Lucinda Fforde rose to re-examine.

'And I too just have one question for you, Ms Law. Would you mind confirming that the last sentence you spoke during my examination-in-chief was: "I am certain Jack is in the best place he could be right now"'.

'Yes, that is what I said'.

'No further questions, My Lord'.

And we broke for lunch.

Once Mr Justice Traynor was out of the room and Tony and Co. swept out, looking most pleased with themselves, I turned to Maeve and said, 'May I ask you why... ?'

She cut me off.

'Why I didn't try to pull Jessica Law apart? Because Traynor immediately gets his back up if anyone attacks a CAFCASS report, or the author behind it. Though he may be an Old Tory, he does have a strong respect for professional opinion. And yes, what she said just now was harmful to us. But it would have been more harmful if I began to question her judgment, or insinuate that she had been entranced by the other side... which is obviously the case. Trust me here - Traynor would have turned against us on the spot'.

'But what about the damage she's done?' I asked.

'Let's see what this afternoon brings', she said. Then she said that she and Nigel needed to go over a few things during lunch.

So Sandy and I retreated to a nearby Starbucks.

'Just like home', she said looking around. 'Except for the price. Jeez, how do you afford it?'

'I don't', I said wearily.

'Please don't tell me how heavy I look', she said, wolfing a Fudge Brownie, washed down with sips of a Mocha Latte with whipped cream. 'I know how heavy I am - and I am going to be addressing that issue just as soon as the summer is over'.

'That's good, Sandy', I said, staring into my paper espresso cup.

'You should eat something', she said.

'I'm not hungry'.

'You know, I think your barrister did a great job with that awful doctor and that Irish idiot of a nurse. But I still don't understand why she just let that social worker woman off with just' -

'Sandy, please...'

She looked at me with a mixture of jet lag, confusion and hurt.

'I shouldn't have come, should I?'

'I'm not saying that'.

'No, you're right. I'm just shooting my fat old mouth off...'

'Stop that', I said, taking her by the hand. 'I am very pleased you're here'.

'You're not just saying that'.

'No, really. Because you could not have been a better sister to me during this entire horrible business. Without you, I would have gone under. But...'

'I know, I know. The tension's unbearable now'.

I nodded.

'That's why I decided I had to come over here', she said. 'Because I would have found it absolutely unbearable to be sitting in Boston, wondering how the hell this was going'.

'Not good, is what I'm thinking right now'.

'All right, maybe she didn't score with the social worker, but look how she dismembered Mr Big Shot Consultant...'

'The "social worker", as you call her, counts for everything in this case. Her report is like the alpha and the omega to the court - because it is court commissioned. You heard what Maeve said - the judge takes her word more seriously than anyone else's. Which is why this is looking so bad. Not that I didn't know that from the moment I read the CAFCASS report. But I really thought Maeve would stick it to her'.