Claiming Noah (37 page)

‘I see,' the lawyer said. ‘And did you need to take medication to assist with your condition?'

‘I did,' Catriona said.

‘Can you please tell us what type of medication you took?'

‘I was prescribed antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and antidepressants.'

‘And when did you cease taking this medication?'

Catriona felt her heart start to beat faster. She wondered if the lawyer already knew what her response would be. ‘I stopped the antipsychotics and mood stabilisers while I was at the clinic.'

‘And the antidepressants?'

The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes, when up came a blackbird and snapped off her nose.

‘I still take them.'

‘Oh.' The lawyer feigned a look of surprise. ‘Do you still need to take the medication for your psychosis?'

‘No, it's for . . . other things.' Catriona knew her response was weak. She looked at Langdon, but he just inclined his head slightly to indicate she should keep answering the lawyer's questions.

‘Could you please elaborate on that, Mrs Sinclair?' the lawyer asked.

‘I find them helpful for dealing with stressful situations, with work or . . .' she looked at Spencer, ‘. . . otherwise.'

She hadn't told Spencer she was still taking antidepressants. She could tell he was shocked by her admission; he didn't have the same poker face as Langdon.

The lawyer hadn't finished with her yet. ‘Do you feel that the medication could cloud your judgement as a parent?'

Catriona felt confident about her answer. ‘No, not at all. My doctor said it was perfectly safe for me to keep taking them. In fact, he was the one who told me to stay on them.' Especially considering my son was taken from me, she wanted to add.

‘Because you were having trouble dealing with issues in your life?'

When Catriona didn't respond, the lawyer prompted her. ‘Mrs Sinclair? Was the recommendation of your doctor to keep taking antidepressants because you would have had some difficulties dealing with issues in your life if you ceased taking the medication?'

‘Yes.'

‘Thank you, Mrs Sinclair. I have one last question. We know you were in the psychiatric clinic . . .' he looked down at his notes, ‘Gardenia Gardens when your husband kidnapped Noah Simmons. But when you came home, how was it that you didn't realise the child you came home to wasn't the same child you left?'

Catriona noticed all eyes in the courtroom suddenly on her, waiting for her answer.

‘I did notice some differences between them when I came home,' she said. ‘But they weren't extreme enough to alarm me and when my husband told me I was imagining things, I believed him.'

She took a deep breath and looked away from the staring faces, trying not to cry. ‘I realise it's difficult for people to understand that a mother wouldn't automatically realise it wasn't the same child. But the psychosis had caused my mind to play tricks on me, so I didn't trust my judgement the same way I normally would. I've looked back at photos of both Sebastian and Noah since I . . . found out . . . and the differences are obvious to me now. But they weren't at the time.'

Catriona couldn't look up to see if everyone was still watching her. She still felt ashamed that she had not recognised what James had done. She didn't want to see the reaction on their faces.

‘Thank you, Mrs Sinclair, I have no further questions.'

Catriona returned to her seat, sat down and closed her eyes. She listened as the judge called Diana Simmons to the stand, to take the place where Catriona had just been. Each thud of her high-heeled shoes striking the courtroom floor sounded like the beating of a ceremonial drum preparing for Catriona's imminent execution.

Thursday, 13 November 2014

D
iana was surprised by the controlled brutality with which Jerry had questioned Catriona Sinclair. She had only ever seen him as the quiet, well-mannered partner of her brother, so it was a shock to see an aggressive side of him she didn't know existed. Without meaning to she had felt sorry for her when Jerry brought up the fact that her husband was in prison and implied that her taking antidepressants meant she wasn't able to cope with everyday life. Diana knew that this was exactly what Jerry was supposed to do, but as she watched the woman's shoulders slump, her arms drawing closer and closer together as if she hoped she could fold in on herself, Diana had found herself silently willing Jerry to leave her alone.

As she walked to the stand Diana cast a glance over at her, hoping to somehow convey an apology for the distress Jerry had caused, but her eyes were closed and her head bowed. She looked like she might be praying and Diana wondered, for the first time, if Noah had been baptised. Then she realised it was irrelevant, because it would have been under a different name, but it still concerned her that she didn't know.

As Catriona Sinclair's lawyer had done for her, Jerry asked Diana a series of questions designed to establish her and Liam's credibility as parents. He touched on her faith, her family life and the grief she had endured after Noah had been kidnapped. Jerry shaped every question in a way that emphasised her and Liam as a team, a strong parental unit. That was the angle he felt would convince the judge that Diana and Liam should retain custody of Noah.

Then the opposition's lawyer left his seat and walked towards Diana, signalling that it was time to start his cross-examination. As he adjusted his glasses, Diana drew a deep breath to ready herself for his questions.

‘Mrs Simmons,' the lawyer said. ‘I understand you and your husband were unable to conceive naturally, is that correct?'

‘Yes.'

‘And why did you decide on embryo adoption out of all the various fertility options open to you?'

‘I . . . we . . . wanted to be pregnant. Ideally we would have liked to conceive naturally but we couldn't, so this seemed like the next best option to us.' As an afterthought Diana added, ‘It's such an amazing opportunity to bond with your baby while it's growing inside you. I'm so glad I had that.'

She wished there was a jury in the room, because she was sure any mothers would have known what she meant. The lawyer didn't seem moved at all.

‘How did you feel about the fact that this baby didn't contain any genetic material from either you or your husband?' he asked.

‘It didn't bother us at all, he was our son. He
is
our son. And to look at him you'd never guess he isn't genetically related to us; he looks so much like his father.'

Diana saw Jerry shake his head slightly at her and she regretted her last statement. Jerry had told her to try to keep emotion out of her responses. He said he wanted it to appear as if it was a foregone conclusion that she and Liam were Noah's rightful parents, so emotion didn't have to come into it.

The lawyer paced backwards and forwards a few times before he stopped and faced her again. Diana thought it looked rehearsed, as if he had been taking tips from courtroom television shows.

‘Mrs Simmons,' he said. ‘How important do you think a child's early years are in the formation of his character?'

‘Objection,' Jerry called out. ‘Mrs Simmons is not a child psychologist.'

The judge nodded. ‘Sustained. Mr Murphy, please change your question.'

‘Yes, Your Honour.' The lawyer stood still in the middle of the courtroom for a few seconds, apparently trying to rephrase his question, even though it was obvious to Diana that he had planned this approach and Jerry's objection. She started to dislike this lawyer immensely, with his expensive-looking suit and a hairstyle so perfectly coiffed it would take a cyclone to nudge a hair from its well-cemented place.

‘Mrs Simmons, when you first saw Noah, after not having seen him for twenty-one months, in your opinion did you feel as if he had been well looked after in that time?'

‘Yes,' Diana said. ‘Very well looked after.'

‘And did you have any reason to believe that he had lacked anything in his life?'

‘No.'

The lawyer spun on his heels and faced the table where Catriona Sinclair was sitting alone. She looked startled at the sudden attention. ‘Are you telling me that, in your opinion, Catriona Sinclair had raised the child to be a healthy and well-looked-after boy?'

‘Yes.' How many times was he going to ask her that? She wished he would cut down on the theatrics as he turned back towards her and spread open his hands in question.

‘Then why, Mrs Simmons, would you try to keep the child from a mother who so obviously loves and cares for him? A woman who lovingly raised the child for the first two years of his life? A woman he thought of as his mother and who, genetically,
is
his mother?'

Diana glanced towards Catriona Sinclair and this time met her gaze. A multitude of emotions passed between them. Fear, jealousy, sorrow and, finally, understanding. They weren't enemies; they couldn't be when they had so much in common. They both loved the same child.

‘I'm also a mother who loves and cares for Noah,' Diana said to the lawyer. ‘And I'm not saying that Catriona Sinclair wouldn't be able to provide a good home for him. But Noah is legally our son, and that's why he should remain with us.'

‘But genetically he's not your son, Mrs Simmons, is he? He's Catriona Sinclair's son. You and your husband are not Noah's biological parents.'

Diana thought about how to respond to the lawyer, but there wasn't anything she could say to refute his statement. It was true that Noah wasn't her biological son, but he was her son in every other way.

‘No, we're not his biological parents, but we
are
his legal parents.'

Diana wasn't sure that was the best response, but it seemed good enough for the lawyer because he dismissed her and let her return to her table to sit beside Jerry and Liam.

•  •  •

Liam was questioned straight after Diana and his answers, as they had planned, reiterated the love they had for Noah and the life they would provide for him. It angered Diana that the lawyer's cross-examination of Liam consisted of only a few questions, none of them as difficult as the ones he had asked her. It was obvious that the lawyer had thought Diana the person more likely to stumble with her responses to his questions.

After Liam was questioned, it was time to hear from the psychologist. Mrs Collins looked nervous, even though, Diana presumed, she must present in court often as part of her job. She kept buttoning and unbuttoning the top button of her cardigan as if she couldn't decide which way she wanted it.

‘Mrs Collins,' the judge said. ‘I understand you have had the opportunity to interview both parties present in the courtroom today, as well as to observe the child in question, Noah Simmons. Can you please present to the court your findings from these observations?'

‘Of course.' Mrs Collins buttoned the top button of her cardigan one more time and then read from a notepad. ‘When I visited the home of Catriona Sinclair I found it to be a more than adequate abode for a child. Mrs Sinclair is obviously a woman of means and the house, while not pretentious, was very comfortable and well equipped. Mrs Sinclair was able to prove to me that she would be able to provide for all of Noah's financial needs.'

Diana watched Catriona Sinclair's lawyer lean over and whisper something to her, to which she nodded, her gaze directed straight ahead.

Mrs Collins continued. ‘Mrs Sinclair has demonstrated that she has a strong family network that would assist in raising Noah. But I wasn't able to interview Mrs Sinclair's husband because, well . . .'

‘Because he's incarcerated,' the judge said. ‘Yes, that's fine, we understand that.'

‘Yes, thank you,' Mrs Collins smiled, appearing grateful for the assistance. ‘I also interviewed Mr and Mrs Simmons. As with Mrs Sinclair I found they had a lovely home for a child and were financially capable of providing for his needs. Mrs Simmons is obviously close to her family and again, as with Mrs Sinclair, they would be a strong family network for Noah.'

‘Thank you, Mrs Collins. And you observed the child as well?' the judge prompted.

‘I did. Noah Simmons is a quiet and gentle boy, and despite the amount of change he has seen in his life he seems well adjusted and happy. He demonstrated affection towards both Mr and Mrs Simmons, as they did for him.'

Diana saw Catriona Sinclair place a hand to her heart, as if she was in pain. It couldn't have been easy for her to hear that Noah was happy living with another couple. Diana wanted to reassure her that he still remembered her, and tell her about the way he had grieved for her.

‘Mrs Collins,' the judge said, ‘in your professional opinion, which of the parties present here today do you think would offer the most suitable home for Noah Simmons?'

Mrs Collins nodded, her eyes downcast. She hadn't looked at anyone for the duration of her time on the stand, but now it seemed as if she couldn't even bring herself to lift her eyes from her hands which were clasped on the stand in front of her.

‘Your Honour, I do genuinely feel that both parties would provide a wonderful home for Noah,' she said. ‘The love they all feel for him is evident. But I am of the firm belief that two parents can raise a child better than one parent, and so for that reason – and that reason alone – my recommendation is that Noah remain in the custody of Diana and Liam Simmons.'

‘Thank you, Mrs Collins, you can step down.' The judge waited until the psychologist had left the courtroom, the gravity of her words still hanging in the air, before he spoke again to announce that they would take a short recess before he returned with his verdict.

•  •  •

Jerry took Diana, Liam and Tom to a cafe he knew around the corner from the courthouse so they could have lunch while they waited for the judge to call them back. Even though she had skipped breakfast, Diana couldn't bring herself to eat more than a few mouthfuls of the salad she had ordered.