Douglas Kennedy - A Special Relationship

But as Lucinda Fforde took her through a review of her witness statement, it was clear how she was playing this game: the great friend who found herself falling in love with her great friend, but knew she couldn't break up his marriage (especially right after he-and-his had just had a baby). But then, his wife had her 'mental crisis', Tony was desperately worried about little Jack's safety, she offered a room in her house, one thing led to another, and...

'I must emphasize', she said, 'that this wasn't a coup defoudre. I think I can speak for Tony when I say that we both had these feelings for each other for quite a number of years. Only we never had the opportunity for involvement before now'.

Then Lucinda Fforde took her through these newfound maternal feelings: how she felt completely committed to Jack, how she only wanted the best for him, and how she was taking a considerable amount of time off work to be with him.

'This is possibly the central reason why I decided to relocate to Sydney for several years. My company is opening a new office there. I could have farmed out the job of getting it up-and-running to one of several colleagues. But I felt that it would be good to take myself out of the London rat race for a few years, and also give Jack the opportunity of being raised in Sydney'.

She would also be working her schedule to make sure that she would have ample time with him. And she went on to describe the house she had rented in Point Piper - right on the water and near excellent schools (when that time came). As she went on in this estate agent vein, I found myself clutching my hands together again in an attempt to keep myself under control. Because I wanted to tell her just what a lying bitch I thought she was.

But then, finally, she came around to the subject of me.

'I've never met Sally Goodchild. I certainly hold nothing against her. On the contrary, I feel so desperately sorry for her, and can only imagine what the horror of the past few months must have been like. I'm certain that she regrets her actions. And God knows, I do believe in rehabilitation and forgiveness. Which is why I would never bar her from Jack, and would welcome an open visiting arrangement in the future'.

As soon as she said that, I had a picture of myself, jet-lagged out of my brains after a twenty-six-hour flight to the bottom of the world, staying in some flea-bag motel, then taking a bus out to her palatial harbourside house, to be greeted by a little boy with a thick Aussie accent, turning to the Dexter woman and saying, 'But mum, I don't want to go off with her for the day'.

Diane Dexter finished off her testimony for Lucinda Fforde with the statement: 'I do hope that Ms Goodchild will make a full recovery - and that, one day in the future, perhaps we can be friends'.

Absolutely. In fact I'll tell you exactly when we can be friends. On the twelfth of never.

Maeve Doherty stood up and smiled evenly at the woman in the witness stand.

'You've been married twice in the past, haven't you, Ms Dexter?'

She didn't like that question and it showed.

'Yes, that's right', she said.

'And did you try to have children during these marriages?'

'Yes, of course I tried to have children during these marriages'.

'And you did have a miscarriage around 1990?'

'Yes - I did. And I know what your next question will be and I'd like to answer it...'

The Judge came in here. 'But you must first let Ms Doherty pose the question'.

'I'm sorry, My Lord'.

'But yes, I would be very pleased to know what you thought my next question would be?' Maeve said.

Dexter looked at her with calm, steely anger: '"Did you, Ms Dexter, miscarry the baby because of drug abuse?" To which my answer would be: Yes. I was seriously abusing cocaine at the time, and it provoked a miscarriage. I sought professional help after this tragedy. I spent two months at the Priory Clinic. I have not used or abused drugs since then. If I now drink a glass of wine in the course of an evening, it's an event. And my charitable work on drug education in schools is well-known'.

'And you also attempted several IVF treatments in 1992 and 1993, both of which failed?'

Again, Dexter was taken aback by the revelation of this information. 'I don't know how you found out those facts, but they are correct'.

'Just as it's also correct that the Harley Street specialist you were seeing at the time then told you there was no chance of you conceiving again?'

She looked downwards. 'Yes, he did tell me that'.

'And since then, you did try to adopt in... when was it?.. 1996, but were turned down because of your age and your single status?'

'Yes', she said, her voice barely a whisper.

'And then Tony Hobbs appeared in your life again, now back in London, now a new father with an infant child, and a wife who was suffering from profound clinical depression...'

Dexter looked at Maeve with barely contained rage.

'As I made clear earlier...'

'Now let me ask you this, Ms Dexter: if an acquaintance was to run into you on the street where you live, and saw you pushing Jack along in his pram, and ask: "Is he your child?" how would you respond?'

'I'd say: yes, I'm his mother'.

Maeve folded her hands across her chest, and said nothing, letting that comment fill the silence in the courtroom. A silence that the judge broke.

'But you are not his mother, Ms Dexter', he said.

'Of course I'm not his biological mother. But I have become his surrogate mother'.

The judge peered at her over his half-moon spectacles, and spoke in that half-weary voice he so preferred.

'No, you haven't. Because it has yet to be legally determined whether or not you will be assuming the role of surrogate mother. The child in question has a mother and a father. You happen to live with the father. But that does not give you the right to state that you are the child's mother, surrogate or otherwise'.

'Any further questions, Ms Doherty?'

'No, My Lord'.

'Re-examination, Ms Fforde?'

She looked seriously disconcerted. 'No, My Lord'.

'Then we'll reconvene after a ten-minute adjournment'.

Once he was out of the court, Maeve sat down next to Nigel and myself and said, 'Well, that wasn't bad at all'.

'Why did the judge so jump on her comment about considering herself his mother?' I asked.

'Because if there's one thing Charles Traynor hates more than barristers who try to attack a CAFCASS report, it's the new partner of someone in a divorce dispute, going on as if she's the newfound parent. It goes completely against his sense of propriety or familial fair play, and he always jumps on anyone who tries to play that card'.

'Which is why you walked her into it?'

'Precisely'.

Sandy came down and joined us.

'You were brilliant', she said to Maeve. 'You really shoved it in the face of that nasty little' -

'That's fine, Sandy' I said, cutting her off.

'Sorry, sorry' she said. 'I think I'm suffering from Tourette's today'.

'Otherwise known as jet-lag', I said.

Maeve turned to Nigel and said, 'Hobbs did score one off me, didn't he?'

'I think you actually... uhm... did rather well there, considering...'

'That he won the point with that "I've never threatened a child's life" comment'.

'I don't think it was a hugely damaging blow', he said. 'Especially after what you did to Ms Dexter'.

'What now?' I asked.

'I... uhm... think that's it for the witnesses. So I presume the judge will reconvene just to formally end the proceedings and tell us all to be here at nine tomorrow morning'.

But when the judge returned, Lucinda Fforde had a little surprise for us.

'My Lord, we have a last-minute witness we would like to call'.

Traynor didn't looked pleased - as he probably pictured himself at home an hour from now. Instead...