The Fall of Chance (25 page)

After that, Erk asked if any other Councillors wanted to speak. None did so he gave the floor back to Ostin. Ostin gave a rebuttal saying that Lasper was trying to paint Unt as a criminal mastermind but no-one was really listening. Olissa was already old news and they were thinking ahead to the next witness.

13. Bull

Olissa left and when Erk called the next witness, it was Bull. Bull swaggered into the court in his finest clothes, looking like he meant to own the place but Unt could see through the display. He knew his man and he could see that Bull was nervous as hell. He nodded and winked to someone in the balcony, gave the same to Unt and then took the stand.

“Mr Bulton,” said Erk. “I saw you nod to someone when you came into these chambers. To whom were you nodding?”

Bull was puzzled by the question. “That’d be my wife.”

“Your wife is an Educator?”

“Yeah.”

“An Order one away from your own?”

“Yep.”

“You ended up together because you had similar careers?”

“Er, that would be correct.”

“But you shouldn’t have that career, should you?” Erk leaned toward him. “You’d have had an aptitude for the Labourers if it wasn’t for a certain rescue.”

“Hey, I’m a good Medic,” Bull objected.

“Not particularly good, according to your Work Experience assessment,” said Erk.

“Well, I’m trying hard and getting good at it,” said Bull.

“That’s not really the point, is it?” said Erk. “The fact is you were falsely credited with a rescue that pushed you into a career path which you wanted but weren’t suited to. There was a conspiracy in which you were the only clear benefactor but it’s your fellow conspirator who’s in the dock here. Now, why should he be up there instead of you?”

Bull looked like he’d run into a door. He’d come in expecting to defend Unt and instead he was being asked to accuse him.

“Look,” he said, “Unt didn’t do anything.”

Erk almost sighed. “But he’s already admitted that he did.”

“But he didn’t mean nothing wrong,” said Bull.

“Perhaps you can explain then, in your own words, what happened that day.”

Bull’s torso trembled with nervous energy. Unt could picture his great lumpen foot tapping away out of view. “Look, it’s like this, right. We were all working away on the jetty, the girls on one side and me and Unt on the other. Suddenly, there’s this shout and we look up and they’ve both gone in the water.

“Unt’s a better swimmer than me so he dives in the water and gets hold of them one at a time, then pulls them to the jetty. Once they’re in arm’s reach, I hauled ‘em up and then we gave them first aid.”

“We?” asked Erk.

“Me and Unt.”

“And what did you do?”

“Well, we rescued them.”

“No, I mean you personally.”

Bull looked uncomfortable. “I guided Unt through what he needed to do.

“You didn’t do this yourself?”

“Er, no.”

“And why not, if you had the skills?”

“I don’t know, it just kind of happened. He did the physical bit but I was, like, directing.”

Erk looked up and down the line of Councillors. “A sort of managerial role?” There was some laughter.

“You could put it like that.”

“Or, I could put it that Mr Unt already knew what to do, that he had been trained two years earlier in the procedure for victims of drowning and had been certified as competent by an examiner,” said Erk. “I could put it that your assistance amounted to little more than a cheering squad.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“No. What you said, in your sworn witness statement, was that you dived in, rescued the girls and stopped them from drowning.”

“It was all a blur right then.”

“You seemed pretty clear when you spoke just now.”

“Well, I’ve had time to think about it.”

“And you hadn’t when you made your statement?”

“No. We were all caught up in the moment.”

“But between the rescue and the statement, you did have time to get it clear, did you not, when Mr Unt suggested that you take the credit?”

“Unt didn’t say anything.”

“He’s already admitted that he did.”

“Well, that’s not my recollection.”

“Indeed. Your recollection seems to vary from moment to moment.”

Bull didn’t give any answer to that.

“Councillor Hodd, it’s now your turn to ask questions.”

“I don’t think I can begin with the question I was going to,” said Hodd. “In the midst of all those fudged answers, Councillor Erk can be forgiven for missing that you never answered his earlier question: why should Unt be in the dock and not you?”

He held up a hand to stop Bull from responding. “I’ll suggest an answer, if I may. The reason that you’re not up there with him is that you’re too much of an imbecile to orchestrate such a plot.”

Wisely, Bull didn’t answer this either. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t make him look more foolish.

“Did you write the letter?” asked Hodd.

“No.”

“Why should we believe that?”

“Because Unt is my friend and I stand by him to the end,” said Bull. “Because if I wanted to attack someone, I wouldn’t hide behind some sneaky letter.”

“In those two things at least, I believe you,” said Hodd.

After that, Hodd gave up and Pello took over the questions.

“Mr Bulton, you’re a young man,” said Pello, kindly, “And young men are prone to mistakes. I don’t think you’re deliberately lying to us. I think you’re loyal to your friend and want to protect him so you’re shaping your memories to fit what you want them to be.

“What I would suggest to you is that the best way to protect your friend is to be open with us. Unt has admitted the deed but denied intent and every further untruth weighs against his favour.

“Now, I want you to answer this as honestly as you are able: how did everyone come to decide you were going to falsify your accounts of the accident?”

Bulton paused. “I think I said something to Unt along the lines that he’d get an award for the rescue. He got edgy at that and said he didn’t want that and I asked why. I don't remember what he said but he was sure he didn’t want it. That was when we decided that I would take the credit.”

“Whose idea was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t know or won’t say?”

“We just kind of stumbled into it.”

“Did you discuss the benefit that this would bring to you?”

“We did but it wasn’t, you know, the main thing.”

“You mean it was incidental?”

“Yeah, that’s the word. It was just something good that came out of it.”

“Who was in this conversation?”

“Just me and Unt.”

“So you then took this proposal to Mélie?”

“To both of ‘em.”

“To Olissa too?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you aware this contradicts her version of events?”

“I don’t know about that but I know she was there.”

“Well, let’s put that aside for one moment. How did the girls react?”

“They weren’t keen at first. Didn’t want to get into trouble. But it didn’t take much doing to get ‘em to see it was just a white lie that wouldn’t hurt no-one. In the end, I won ‘em over by pointing out that Unt had saved their lives and it was the least they could do for him.”

“It was you who made this point?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be Unt, would it? He’s not the sort to push things. He’d maybe ask someone for a favour once but if they weren’t keen, he wouldn’t ask again.”

“It was you, then, who pushed the others to accept these false events?”

There was a moment’s hesitation as Bull realised he may have gone too far in Unt’s defence but determination returned just as quickly. “That’s right, it was me more than Unt.”

“Thank you, Bulton, I think we’ve arrived at something closer to the truth.”

The questions now passed to Lasper who struck directly. “Why didn’t Unt want credit for the rescues?”

“I’ve said. I don’t know.”

“You can’t think of anything? Well, try looking at your own situation. You were set to gain and you did.”

“That wasn’t the main point.”

“But you had to be aware that it would help with your ambitions.”

“Well, yeah, it didn’t escape me. I’m not that dumb.”

“Then put yourself in your friend’s shoes. Think how it benefited him.”

“How would I know that?”

“What post did Unt want?”

“Farm Manager. But not rescuing someone wouldn’t help him get that.”

“No. Helping would hinder him. Helping would push him toward being a Medic and he didn’t want that.”

“But he didn’t want to be a Councillor either.”

“He didn’t. But just because a plan failed, it doesn’t mean one didn’t exist. The fact is, turning down credit increased the odds of his aims and he knew this when he asked you to lie.”

“Unt wouldn’t do that,” said Bull.

“No? Well, I think you’re a true friend and I don’t think you would take what he’d earned without him asking you to.”

Lasper didn’t wait for an answer and dismissed him in favour of Taylor.

“Mr Bulton,” Taylor snarled, “I do believe that you're the best piece of evidence that Unt could have in his defence. You’re the man with the motive to lie, aren’t you? And despite impressions, I don’t think you’re such a fool that you don’t know full-well what you’re doing.”

“I completely disagree.”

“And I might accept that look of blunt idiocy if you hadn’t just shown that you know how to lie and how to adapt that lie when you have to.”

“Frankly, I think you’re guilty as hell. The question is, does that make Mr Unt innocent? There’s no doubt that in direct terms, you were the big winner, but Unt’s cleverer than that. I think he showed you enough to let you run with your ambition and that way, he’d benefit obliquely. That means ‘in a subtle way’, Mr Bulton.”

Poor Bull. Again, he was left hanging without a question to answer. He had to stand there, looking like a liar and a fool without having done Unt a shred of good. It was a blessing when Erk finally passed the questions over to Ostin.

When his Defender rose to speak, Unt was reminded of another ally who hadn’t done him a shred of good. As he walked over to Bull, Unt saw he’d left his slip of paper with its secret scrawl. Either he’d decided to abandon his planned questions or that slip made as little sense as it appeared to. How like their author, he thought as he sat back to watch his champion.

“Mr Bulton, you’re Unt’s best friend, are you not?”

“I should hope so.”

“You’d stick by him, no matter what?”

“I would.”

“I don’t doubt it. And neither do the Councillors. And that is why they’ve given you a hard time. They expect you to be a bastion in your friend’s defence so they’re determined to break you down.”

“They did a good job,” Bull couldn’t help a rueful grin.

“They did,” agreed Ostin. “But I think in doing so they missed out on a very important point. Councillor Pello found that your version of events did not agree with Mrs Olissa’s. He said he would put that aside for a moment but he never went back to pick it up. Am I right, Mr Bulton?”

“Yes,” said Bull with enthusiasm.

“Do you still stand by your account?”

“I do.”

“So Mrs Olissa is-”

“A lying snake,” Bull finished for him. “She was there and she was part of the discussion.”

“But why would she lie?”

“Because she’s too cowardly to attack Unt up front. Unt saved her life and she repays him by bringing all this down on him. Never mind that her crappy life’s better than no life at all - which is what she’d have if it wasn’t for Unt. She can’t stick him so she sticks it to him with that letter.”

There were titters from the balcony at that last remark.

“Thank you for your passion, Bulton,” said Ostin. “It’s not my intention to lay a finger of blame anywhere here but what I want to do is raise a point and that point is that that the witnesses are giving conflicting accounts.

“We’re not going to get the full story here, there’s too much confusion. And that’s the big word here: confusion. My client doesn’t deny that he gave a false account: his defence is that he had no clear plan for doing so. It arose out of a confused situation and that is what we have here today. Thank you, Mr Bulton. That will be all.”

14. Mélie

In the interim between witnesses, Ostin leaned in to Unt. “Well, how do you think we’re doing?”

“I don’t get it,” said Unt. “It’s just chaos. They seem to have one idea each at any one moment, run with it and then the next witness comes and they go to town with that instead. I don’t know, I expected-”

“Coherence? Unt, you haven’t been in court before, have you? Like I told you, it doesn’t work like that. The principle of randomness moves even in law. Nobody here is out to get you. They’re meant to attack the subject as best they’re able. It’s nothing personal.”

“Tell that to Councillor Lasper.”

“He’s the one you thought had a vendetta against you? I’ve seen Councillor Lasper in action many times before. Believe me, he’s going lightly on you.”

And that was the perplexing thing. Unt had expected Lasper to go at the case like a rabid dog but he was oddly restrained. It worried him far more than a direct assault would have.

“What’s your strategy, then?” he asked.

“To not be too clever,” said Ostin. “I can needle them with the occasional point now and then but I can’t be too heavy-handed. Like I say, we need to play it dumb.”

Unt had seen Bull’s dumb-show. It didn’t seem to have gone down so well.

Mélie was now taking the stand. She was sad and afraid. She was a reflection of that melancholy beauty he’d seen in Crystal on their wedding night. When Erk got her to confirm her name and address she answered so quietly he had to press her to speak up.

“Mrs Mélie,” said Erk, “we have already heard two accounts of the accident on the sixteenth of the fourth. Please give your own.”

Mélie’s account didn’t vary much from where Bull and Olissa had started. It matched the way that Unt remembered things too. As she started to speak, her breath was the merest stir but as she got deeper into the moment, she forgot herself and her voice became clear. She became animated when she described falling into the river.

“It was me who slipped. I can’t remember how but one moment I was tugging at something, the next I was falling forward, my foot was slipping and I hit the water.

“On the edge of my senses, I was aware of Olissa falling with me but when I plunged in, I could only think about myself. The river was full and the current was strong. I got caught up in the fishing net and that stopped me being swept away but the force of the river was pushing me against the net, making me get tangled up more.

“I’m not a bad swimmer but the fall shocked me and when I was caught in the net, I panicked. The more I struggled, the worse it got. I was sure I was going to drown.

“But then I felt someone with me. The floodwater was muddy and I could only see him as a shadow but I felt strong arms grab hold of me. They stopped me struggling and a few seconds later, the net was released from around me. I still couldn’t see but I think it was cut with a knife.

“Then the river really tried to get me. I was sure I’d be swept away but the arms kept hold of me and hauled me against the pull of the current. I remember feeling my head bump against a post and then there were more arms. These ones pulled me out of the river and laid me on the jetty.

“I was too exhausted to move and was coughing up water then. I didn’t see them rescue Olissa but I must have closed my eyes because I remember a weight being dropped beside me. Her head was opposite mine and she looked like she was dead.

“The boys were talking but I didn’t care what they were saying. I do remember one of them saying ‘No, her first’ then the other saying, ‘Let’s put her on her side then’. It was Olissa they dealt with first and I was the one put on my side.

“By the time they got to me, I was getting back to myself. They checked me over or something, I don’t know what, but as I came round I saw Olissa breathing and I knew they'd saved us both.”

As he heard Mélie tell her story, Unt’s ego was pricked by his own heroics. None of them had ever discussed what happened that day. It was a tacit agreement that protected the lie. Unt had never got to know how they’d felt about it but as Mélie spoke, it touched him deep.

“We are indebted to you, Mrs Mélie,” said Erk. “I think that’s the most useful account we’ve had all day.”

As the rhythm of her narrative faded into the background, what confidence Mélie had built up evaporated away. She seemed to crumple like paper on a fire.

“Thank you,” she whispered in reply to Erk.

“However,” said Erk, “I notice that you stop short of mentioning any discussion afterward and that’s what we’re most concerned with. I also note that you’re combining the actions of the two boys into one. You’re not being deliberately vague, are you?”

“No, I was saying it as I experienced it,” said Mélie, a touch of fire still lingered there. “I didn’t know at the time who was doing what.”

“But on your witness statement that day you were very clear,” said Erk. “You attributed everything to Mr Bulton. The only thing you gave to Mr Unt was pulling you out onto the jetty.”

“That wasn’t true,” said Mélie.

“No it wasn’t,” said Erk. “So what was true?”

“The opposite. Unt did everything except pull me out. That was Bulton.”

“How do you know this if you weren’t aware at the time?”

“Unt was soaked and had to dry his clothes. Only Bulton’s arms were wet. It didn’t take much to work it out.”

“And the medical help?”

“When I first came round, I didn’t know who it was but as my mind got clear, it was obvious Unt had taken charge. Bulton was sort of standing around, waiting for direction.”

“Unt was in charge?”

“Yes.”

“Did that include telling everyone to lie?”

“I don’t know how that happened. It was sort of in the background as Olissa and I came around, then we all sort of stumbled toward it together.”

“There was no mastermind?”

“No.”

“It was an organic development?”

“Yes.”

“And yet Unt was in charge,” Erk paused to give his words weight. “Very interesting. Let’s see what Councillor Taylor has to ask you.”

Taylor brooded in his chair like a great bear. “You know what, young lady?” he said to Mélie, “I’m damn well sick of listening to this today. I’ve had to listen to one girl give one account and one boy give another and now I’m wondering what to make of you.”

Mélie waited for the question.

“Did you hear the testimony of your friends earlier?” asked Taylor.

“I did.”

“Then you’ll have heard two conflicting stories,” said the Councillor. “The girl says she was sleeping while the rest of you were plotting and the boy says she wasn’t and that she colluded with the rest of you. Now, which was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know? Do you have amnesia too?”

“Like I tried to say, we didn’t sit down and have a formal discussion. I just know that by the time we’d got back to town, we’d decided that we were going to say Bull did it.”

“I’m not having that,” said Taylor. “At some point you all knew the truth and at some point you decided to tell a lie. Somewhere along the line there was a point when a decision was made.”

“If there was, I don’t know when it was.”

Taylor looked like if he’d had an object, he’d have thrown it. “Hell, I’m sick of this. Whatever the outcome today, next week we should have you three in the dock on the same charge.”

A stunned silence held the hall after this outburst. “The point Councillor Taylor is making,” Erk addressed Mélie, “is that there’s a growing impression that our witnesses are being obstructive. If you want to avoid what he’s suggesting, I urge you to tell us whatever you can. Perhaps you could start by taking the questions of Councillor Hodd.”

Hodd looked his most benevolent with a wide frog-smile. “Mrs Mélie, I can understand your reluctance. Everyone is very loyal to Unt, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Except for one of you, of course: the one of you who wrote the letter that got him arrested. Was it you, Mélie?”

“No,” said Mélie.

“Then who?” said Hodd.

Mélie paused. The words “I don’t know” were almost visibly poised on her lips but she was thinking of Erk’s warning.

“I don’t think either Bulton or Olissa would write that letter.”

“But Mr Pollock has already testified that the author was one of your group.”

“If members of your Order are above lying then Unt shouldn’t be here.” The words were deflective but the passion in them surprised Unt. Mélie didn’t get this close to anger.

Hodd looked at his fellow Councillors and shrugged. “At least it’s more of an original answer.”

There were awkward smiles at the little joke. If they laughed out of politeness they risked looking like they were enjoying this thing.

Ostin leaned in. “This is good for us,” he whispered. “All these little doubts work in our favour.”

The questions now fell to Pello who asked, “Even if you can’t tell us when you decided to lie, can you at least tell us why you did so?”

“Gratitude,” said Mélie.

“To Unt?”

“Of course.”

“But what did it do for Unt?”

“It was what he wanted.”

“Did he tell you this?”

Again, a pause. To say “yes” would suggest coercion. Any other answer needed explanation. “It was clear to everyone.”

Pello now hesitated, deciding how hard to push. “Ok,” he said to Erk, “I think I’m through here.”

“Councillor Lasper, then,” said Erk.

Unt was looking at Mélie when this was said and he saw the reaction in her eyes. It was the same reaction as his would have been: one of dread.

“Mrs Mélie,” said Lasper, “I want you to think back to the day of the Fall. Do you remember it as a happy day?”

Mélie shifted position in her seat. “I was satisfied with what I got out of it.”

“That wasn’t what I asked. I asked if the day was a happy one.”

Mélie hesitated. “For me or generally?”

“Let’s start with the participants as a whole.”

I remember you weren’t happy
! Unt thought at Lasper. If he could project the words into Mélie’s mouth, he would have. But Mélie wasn’t the sort to fire a comeback. What feistiness she’d shown earlier vanished under Lasper’s glare.

“There were mixed emotions,” she said instead.

“And which were you most aware of?”

“I was thinking more of myself.”

Lasper laughed. It was a strange sound coming from such a man. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think so. I had a look over all your Work Experience records yesterday and your profile section made interesting reading. It said you had a strong tendency to empathise with others. It said you were sensitive to other people’s needs. Now, tell me again that you didn’t bother with the human drama around you.”

“It wasn’t foremost in my mind,” she insisted.

“But it was there, wasn’t it? Even if it was afterwards, you thought of all those other people.”

“I’m not the only one to do that.”

“Nobody’s suggesting it’s a defect,” said Lasper. Unt was sure he thought it was, though. “I just want you to confirm that you had concern for others.”

“I did, then.”

“Thank you. Now, would you disagree with me if I were to observe that when we show concern for others, we are more concerned with those who suffer than those who are satisfied?”

“I suppose so,” said Mélie, wary.

“So, in a room full of mixed emotions, you’d pick up more on the sadness?”

“Perhaps.”

“Then I think we can say, on balance, you thought it was a sad day for others.” Lasper didn't leave that as a question. “Which leaves us with your own mood,” he continued. “Were you sad that day?”

“I was satisfied.”

“Not pleased? Ecstatic?”

“Relieved, then.”

“And I’m sure your husband will be pleased to hear you say so,” said Lasper. Unt wanted to rage at those in the crowd who tittered at that moment but instead he listened to Lasper.

“I think it’s fair to say that, at best, your feelings about your own Fall were little better than neutral,” he was saying, “Which I think means you would feel the suffering of others all the more. Please, be honest: you think it was a sad day, don’t you?”

With the question asked, he locked her in his gaze. Mélie looked like she would look away but couldn’t. “Yes,” she admitted at last.

“There,” said Lasper in quiet triumph, “That wasn’t so difficult, was it? It was easier, say, than living with the guilt of that suffering.”

Mélie’s eyes flushed in fear. Too late, she saw what Lasper was doing and so did Unt.

“You wrote that letter, didn’t you?” The words were Lasper’s but they could have been Unt’s.

“No!” protested Mélie.

“Oh, yes!” said Lasper with relish.

“I couldn’t-” she began but the words fell short in her mouth.