"Oh, it's horrible!" "Let us summarise briefly the evidence which you have heard and which the prosecution say points overwhelmingly towards Michelle Croft being the murderer of Kerry Smith." "Firstly, the murder weapon." "Dressmaking scissors belonging to Mrs. Croft and bearing her fingerprints." "Stephen Croft, her husband, confirmed they were missing from their home." "They were found by police at the scene of the murder, clumsily and hastily concealed above a false ceiling panel." "These scissors were used to stab young Kerry Smith repeatedly and brutally." "Mrs. Croft's fingerprints were also found on Miss Smith's clothing, on door handles..." "Strands of Mrs. Croft's hair were found clutched in the hands..." "Clothes belonging to Mrs. Croft, stained with blood matching Miss Smith's, were found in a bin-bag..." "Bloody footprints made by a pair of Mrs. Croft's trainers were found at the scene of the murder." "The scientific evidence does not stand alone." "It is supported by the evidence of the night security guard at Heathmill House." "He told us that Mrs. Croft entered the building on the night of the murder for a rendezvous with Miss Smith and then left some ten minutes later..." "Her motive?" "She believed Miss Smith was having an affair with her husband." "She'd been tipped off by an anonymous letter, found by the police in her wardrobe." "We know she took it seriously because she researched private detectives, as this page torn from the telephone directory showed." "The Crown submit that this evidence will drive you to a sure conclusion - that at about 8.30 on the evening of the 23rd of October, whilst her husband was away at a conference," "Mrs. Croft went to Heathmill House." "She went armed with her dressmaking scissors and, in the ensuing ten minutes, brutally stabbed Miss Smith to death." "No!" "No, I didn't do it!" "I didn't do any of this!" " Be silent, Mrs. Croft!" " Calm down." "She concealed the murder weapon and left the building." "Under the circumstances, the only verdict you can reach... is guilty." "And a house number, please." "Fine, thank you..." "Do you have your customer reference number to hand?" " Yeah, customer reference number." " Lovely." "I don't think we arranged that policy." "I would ask the insurance company for details of what's covered." "OK." "All right, thanks." "Do you have your customer reference handy, please?" "Customer reference number." "Yes, you will have one." "It'll be on the letter we sent you." "That's it..." "Don't lie to me." "You couldn't care less, could you?" " What?" " I'm a convenience to you." "What, like in "toilet"?" "What I mean..." "You ignore me unless you've got nothing better to do." "You don't love me." "Love I thought we were just going out." "But we don't even go out." "That's the whole point." "I don't see you from one week to the next, OK?" "You just do what you feel like and expect me to put up with it." "Well, not any more." "I've had enough." "You can sod off." "No, we never give details of our client to any third parties." "Oh." "Hi, Jane." " What's wrong, Kerry?" "You been crying?" " No, I'm fine." "It's nothing." "You know you can always talk to me." "I..." "I'm not being nosy." "It's part of my job." "Any problems with your work, or... or the others..." "No, really, it's personal." "I shouldn't have brought it into work." "Sorry." "It sometimes helps to share things." "Let me guess." "Boyfriend trouble." "He's just..." "He's being a pain." "I'm sick of it." " Get rid of him." " Eh?" "I'm no expert." "What I know about relationships you could write on the back of a stamp, but you're young, you'll find someone else." "Get rid of him." "I'm beginning to think I should." "I mean it." "You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose." "Yeah, but... we've been together for, like, six months and..." "Kerry." "Don't talk yourself back into it." "Get rid of him." "Thank you." " No, we never give details of our clients." " Customer reference number?" " Hi, Stephen." " All right, Jane?" "Anything to report?" "They've confirmed the Access Saver interest rates." "Yeah, I've seen those, so the girls can start using them." "Er... the meeting just now." "How did it go?" "It was OK." "Nothing special." "Nothing that affects us, really." " I brought you a coffee." " There was no need." "Oh, well..." "You're too busy to get one yourself." "Well, I must say I could do with it." "Thank you." " You work too hard." " I work too slowly." "There's nothing wrong with being precise." "Diligent." "Taking care in what you do." "I get through it, more or less." "Not everyone could run a big..." "Excuse me." "Stephen Croft?" " Steve?" " Oh, hi." " Have you got the washing machine sorted?" " I said I would, and I will." " You haven't forgotten, have you?" " It might have to be first thing tomorrow." " Er..." "I haven't forgotten." " What's wrong with it?" " I don't know about washing machines." " Do it now." " I'll get someone round, OK?" "Just..." " When will you be home?" "Well, look, I might..." "I might be a bit later this evening." " Yeah?" "What time?" " I don't know, 8.00, 8.30." "I've got a lot..." " I'll be out." " Yeah." "Fine." "Bye-bye." "Sorry about that." "Don't let your coffee get cold." " Working late, Stephen?" " Yeah..." "I'll be here another hour or so." "Would you like a coffee?" " No, I'm fine, thanks..." " Or a sandwich?" "I could pop downstairs..." "I just want to get on with this." "See you in the morning, yeah?" "Oh!" "Jane, hi." " I thought you'd gone." " Just in the loo." "Going now." "See you tomorrow!" " So what shall we do tonight?" " I reckon we should check out..." "The music's so loud, we're not gonna be able to hear ourselves talk..." "There you are, Tiggs." "Mummy's home." "What have you been up to today, then, eh?" "Are you hungry, Tiggs?" "Right, what has Mummy got for you?" "Ooh..." "How about some nice tuna, eh?" "So I took Stephen his coffee and I said, "You work too hard."" "He said, "I work too slow."" "Then his wife phoned." "His horrible wife." "She is such a cow." "There, is that nice, Tiggs?" "Poor Stephen." "He's working hard, and she expects him to worry about the washing machine or something." "As if he hasn't got enough to think about, poor love." "And she only works in a shop." "Why can't SHE worry about the washing machine?" "Stephen's too polite." "Too much of a gentleman." "I'd imagine she gets her own way every time." "Bitch." "He's a good man, Tiggs." "He's just with the wrong woman." "I wonder if she's cooking for him." "Shouldn't think so." "I expect he has to get his own." "It's not right, is it?" "I mean, I can tell he doesn't love her by the look on his face when she phones up." "I mean, he should say to her, "I'm just a convenience to you."" ""You ignore me unless you've got something better to do."" ""You don't love me. " And she doesn't." "If only he'd realise that, then... then he'd know who really does." "He should say to her, "I've had enough." "You can sod off."" "Then everything'd be all right... if she was out of the way." "Awful." "Not a decent one amongst them." " Oh, they're good." "Especially the fourth one." " Fourth one it is, then." " What are they for?" " I've got this conference." "Just two days." "They wanted a photo for the ID card." "That'll be nice for you." ""Customer interaction strategies for the financial services industry. " Nice is not the word." "There's the details, whens, wheres and stuff." "If you could get one of the girls to run off a few copies for me, please?" "It'll be nice to get away, though." "Some people seem to think it'll be a bit of a booze-up for a bunch of overfed executives." " Who thinks that?" " My wife, for one." "You'll probably work even harder there than you do here." "She hasn't got a clue what these things are like." "Once she gets an idea in her head..." " What does she do, your wife?" " She runs a shop, a boutique." "Ladies' fashions." "In Malham Street." "Pour Les Femmes." "I haven't heard of that one." "I'm not really interested in clothes." "OK, just redo it and then add that to the database." "OK, thanks." "Good afternoon, Denham Wade Finance." "No, that's the account number." "I need the customer reference." "Look, I can't talk about this now." "That's handled automatically, and you'll receive a statement showing the amount of tax deducted." "You will also get a certificate..." " Your name, please?" " We never give out client details..." "It's not much to ask, is it?" "How often do I go out with the girls?" "But I'm meeting the lads for a drink." " You're always at the pub." " Lisa, what about the kids?" "Just give them fish fingers and chips out of the freezer." "And some of those little frozen pizza..." "Yes, but what's to discuss, Jason?" "What's the point?" " Come on, Kerry, don't be like that." " You don't get it, do you?" "It's over, OK?" " I don't want to see you any more." " Have a drink after work and we'll talk." "Yes, well... even if I wanted to, I can't." "I've got to work late." "Right, what's your, erm..." "what's your postcode?" "Five..." "Night, Stephen!" "Don't hold the lift!" "Still got to get my coat." " Hang on a minute." " Can I just leave you my keys?" "Back here Sunday, then?" "Oh... gloves." "Little bitch!" "I've been kind to her, and this is how she repays me!" "Sneaking around after work, worming her way in with Stephen!" "He won't fall for it, though." "He couldn't." "Not that silly little thing." "What can she offer someone like him, eh?" "Not even that pretty." "No." "No, I'm going to put a stop to this." "He's so selfish." "If I do the slightest little thing that doesn't suit him..." "Sorry." " The kids are just as bad." " You'll miss them later on." "I'm not so sure." "Wouldn't mind ditching them now." "Him and all." "Men." "Who needs 'em, eh, Jane?" "Wives can be just as selfish." "Once a woman gets her claws in, she can make a man's life a misery." "Whatever you say, Jane." "Depends on the woman, doesn't it?" "Stephen's wife's like that." "Bossy." "Demanding." " So he says." " Yeah?" "Doesn't look like he'd put up much of a fight." "I know nothing about Stephen's marriage, Jane." "I don't want to." "I wouldn't worry." "Don't think he's bothered about the wife." "I reckon he's making other arrangements." "Can I, er... borrow your stapler?" "Jane?" "I was wondering if I could borrow your stapler." "Oh... er, sorry, Stephen." "Er... yeah, of course." "It's, er... it's in here somewhere." "Look, don't worry." "Anyone got a stapler I can borrow?" "Here." "Has anyone taken my stapler?" "Who's got my stapler?" "That's fine, thank you very much." "And your query?" " Why did you do that?" " Yes..." "You didn't ask, did you?" "You just took it!" "Is that what you do, Lisa?" "Is it?" "Take things without asking?" "Mr. Young, just putting you on hold." "How dare you?" "How dare you touch my things?" "How dare you go anywhere my desk?" "!" "You have no right touching my things, Lisa!" "I'm your supervisor!" "Show me some respect!" "How dare you?" "How dare you touch my things, you bloody bitch!" "Jane!" " What's going on?" " Come on, now." "Someone take this call." "The rest of you, get on with your work!" "I..." "I'm really sorry about that, everyone." " Where's Lisa?" " On the roof having a fag." "I like coming up here." "I shouldn't really." "They'd be cross if they found out." "You can come up here and be all by yourself." "Look, Lisa, the... the things I said," "I..." "I didn't mean them." "Any of them." "A stapler" "I'm..." "I'm sorry, I..." "I don't know what came over me." "I've got nothing against you." "I don't often lose my temper." "I suppose I've been in a bit of a mood recently." " Yeah, well, we all get..." " No, really." "I overreacted." "I don't know what came over me." "I'm..." "I'm usually a very controlled sort of person, very..." "You're very tidy." "Organised." "I should have asked before borrowing the stapler." "Well, I am... particular about my possessions." "I don't have many, but... what's mine is mine." "I've had too many things taken away from me in my life." "Thank you." "I just..." "He's been a..." "Well, I've said it a million times." "If you could apologise to everyone for me, I'd appreciate it." "I know it's been a while..." " Night, Kerry." " Oh, er... night, Jane." "So what are you gonna wear, then?" "No, I like the black one." " Kerry." " Jane." "God." "You scared me." " What are you doing?" " Erm..." "I'm on the Internet." " What?" " Using the Internet." "Stephen said it'd be OK." " Did he?" " Mm." "What for?" "Oh, I'm doing this correspondence course in accountancy." "You can do it via the Net." "Stephen's letting me use it after work." "I can't do it at home." "I'd never get any peace." "Plus I haven't got a computer, so I'm staying behind here of an evening." " When Stephen's here as well?" " Erm... not always." "Sometimes." "Look, erm..." "Jane..." "I know I'm not supposed to be doing this, erm..." "but you won't tell, will you?" "Be a mate." "Plus you'd probably get Stephen into trouble." "Look, I really want this qualification." "It means so much to me." "I do not want to end my life in here." " She's there every night, pretty well." "Little tart." "She says she's there on her own sometimes." "Well, she will be, when Stephen goes on his conference." "Accountancy course." "Yeah, right" "I know what she wants." "There we are." "There!" "There, look." "There's Daddy's shirt, see?" "It's all ready for him." " Can I help you?" " No." "No, thank you." "Just looking." "I'll be with you in a moment." "Thank you." "Bye-bye." " Can I help you at all?" " Erm..." "I want a belt." "A black leather belt." "Well, we have some very nice Italian ones, actually." "The plainest you've got." "Is that plain enough for you?" " Is that a mark?" " Where?" "On the back there." " Well, I can't see anything." " No, it's fine." "Must be a reflection." "It's a present, so could you wrap it in tissue paper?" "Yes, of course." "Right, Jane, better get going." " Have you got all your paperwork?" " Yeah." "You've got the hotel details." "I've got my mobile." "The last session's due to finish at 4.30, so I won't be back until Friday morning." " Right, I'll see you later." "Bye, everyone!" " Bye!" "Bye, Stephen!" "Bring us back a prezzie!" " Are you going on the Internet tonight?" " Er... if it's all right." "I know Stephen's away." " No, it's fine." "I don't mind at all." " Oh, cheers, Jane." "OK, all right." "Thanks." "What, with your TESSA?" " Right." "Goodnight, ladies." " Goodnight, Jane." "See you tomorrow." " Go on, tell us." " There's no secrets now." "Come on, you can tell us." "Goodnight!" "Going to be a cold one tonight, I think." "Night!" "See you tomorrow." " See you tomorrow, Jane." " Bye, Jane." "Let us summarise briefly the evidence which you have heard and which the prosecution say points overwhelmingly towards Michelle Croft being the murderer of Kerry Smith." "Members of the jury, you have heard that the murder weapon, a pair of dressmaking scissors, belonged to Mrs. Croft and bore her fingerprints." "A hasty attempt had been made to conceal them above a false ceiling panel." "Clothes belonging to Mrs. Croft were found by police at her house, stained with blood matching Kerry Smith's." "Bloody footprints made by a pair of Mrs. Croft's trainers were found at the scene of the murder." "Mrs. Croft's fingerprints were also found on the victim's leather belt." "Strands of Mrs. Croft's hair were found clutched in the hands of the deceased." "Her motive?" "She believed Miss Smith was having an affair with her husband." "She'd been tipped off by an anonymous letter found by police in her wardrobe." "Hello?" " Hello, Mrs. Croft?" "This is Kerry Smith." "I work with your husband." "I'm afraid Stephen's been taken ill." " At the conference?" " Er... no." "He's here at the office." "He fell ill at the hotel and decided to go home." "He popped in here." "That's when he collapsed." "Collapsed?" "!" "He called me three hours ago, when they'd finished for the day." "What's the matter?" "He just feels sick and dizzy." "He won't go to hospital." "He just wants to go home, but he's asked if you could come and get him." "This is very odd." "Look, can I speak to him, please?" "He's not well enough to come to the phone." "Oh, please come." "I don't think I can handle this on my own." "OK, look, I can be there in about 15 minutes." "I'll tell security." "Just come straight up to the eighth." "Eighth?" "I thought your offices were on the ninth." "There's a couch on the eighth he can lie on." "Right, I'd better go." "See you then." "Hang on, babe, I got an internal call." "I'm gonna put you on ice a minute." "Security." "Oh, hi, it's Kerry Smith here from Denham Wade Finance." "Mrs. Croft, one of the managers' wives, is on her way." "Just send her up to the eighth." "No need to ring." "Yeah, all right." "Hello?" "He told us that Mrs. Croft entered the building on the night of the murder for a rendezvous with Miss Smith and then left some ten minutes later." "We even have a videotape of her car entering and leaving the car park." "Tell her to mi nd her own business." " I'm Mrs. Croft." " Eighth floor." "She went there possibly to confront Miss Smith with her suspicions." "What the hell is going on?" "Oh." "Hello?" "Stephen?" "Kerry?" "The defendant's fingerprints were on door handles and lift buttons on the ninth floor, the scene of the murder." "Nah, it's no good there on a Saturday night." "Best night's Fridays." "No one other than Mrs. Croft entered or left the building at that time." "Bin-bags containing Mrs. Croft's bloodstained clothes were found in the dustbin at her house." "All rise." "Would the defendant please stand?" "Will the foreman rise?" "Please answer my next question either yes or no." "Have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?" " Yes." " Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?" "Guilty." "You're mine." " Jane." "Hi." " Hello, Stephen." "This is a surprise." " So this is your wife's shop, is it?" " Yeah, was." "I mean..." "We're just..." "As you can see, we're closing the shop down." "I was just out shopping." "I didn't realise it was here." "So how are you?" "Oh..." "Silly... silly question." "It's just been like a..." "like a bad dream these past few months." "It doesn't seem real." "We've all been really worried about you." "You obviously followed the whole thing in the papers." "I should have come in, but I didn't know what to say." "Sorry, I suppose." "Why should you say sorry?" "None of it was your fault." "The girls wanted to call you, but I just said you'd want to be left alone." "Sometimes I do." "Other times I just feel really lonely." "Oh, Stephen." "There's no need for you to feel lonely." "If you ever want to talk to someone..." "Sometimes it... it helps to share things, doesn't it?" "You can always call me." "You can call me at home." "Or, er..." "I bought myself a mobile." "I wrote the numbers down for someone else the other day." "There it is." "That's very kind of you." "If you just want a sympathetic ear, or... you know, practical help around the house." "Whatever." "That's really very kind of you, but I just want to get on, you know?" "Anything you need doing at the office?" "I haven't really thought about the office, to be honest." "I just want to take time to think about the future." "I'll come in sooner or later." "Well, like I said, erm... feel free to call." " All right?" " Stephen." " Hello, everyone." " How are you?" "I don't know, Meg." " I'm feeling weird about being here." " Of course." "Want a coffee?" "No, thanks." "I don't want to be here long." "I'm just collecting some stuff." "I'm going to get the rest sent on to me." "Er..." "I know I haven't been in touch since I was last here." "I just wanted to thank you all for your messages of support." "I know you've been through quite an ordeal yourselves." "But I also wanted to say how sorry I am that through the, er... well, the extraordinary actions of my wife," "you've lost a friend and a colleague." "And, erm..." "And I'm sorry, I..." "I'm not very good at making speeches." "If you'll excuse me." " You're not leaving?" " You think I'm going to stay here?" "I..." "I don't know." "I thought we..." "I thought we might..." "You know, like once things get back to normal..." "Get back to normal?" "Jane, my wife murdered someone in a room just down that corridor." "It's taken all my courage to come here, and you expect me to work here?" " What are you gonna do?" " I don't know." "I need time to think." "Probably sell up, move abroad." "Abroad?" "No, you can't." "You... you just need to go to a... to another area." "I know." "I know." "There's a flat in my block..." "I appreciate your concern, but if you don't mind," "I just want to get my stuff and get out of here." "I've been through this nightmare and I just want to get out of this office." "And I won't be coming back." " What's wrong?" " Nothing." "Stephen turning up set me off." "Thinking about Kerry?" "Thinking about Kerry..." "Thinking about him." "How stupid and futile the whole thing was." "These things happen." "Jealousy." "Pent-up anger." "Yeah, but the poor kid." " Well..." " What?" "Some would say she shouldn't have been having an affair with a married man." "What?" "She wasn't having an affair with him." "Everyone knows that." "Even came out in the trial." "No one says that." "Is that really what you think?" "That she deserved it?" "Not that she deserved it." "It's just... well, I don't know, that she brought it on herself." "She was completely blameless." "She was staying behind to work on the Internet." " Stephen's wife got it all wrong." " Did she?" "There's no smoke without fire, Lisa." "I saw how she was around Stephen." "Jane, are you crazy?" "Kerry was never having an affair with Stephen." " That's what he said, but..." " No, just shut up about it." "I won't let you spread that around." "It's not true." "Jane, you've got to listen to me." "Kerry was not having an affair with Stephen." "Look, I know she wasn't for a fact." "Because I was." "Yeah." "I was." "It's all over now, of course." "But yeah." "In fact, at the time of the murder, we were together." "At the conference hotel." "So there you go." "You can leave Kerry alone." "It should have been me." "Don't look at me like that, Jane." "It happened." "Didn't last long, and we thought we were being discreet." "But not discreet enough for whoever tipped off his stupid wife." "Stephen's leaving." "He might leave the country, and it's all because of you." "I'm leaving here as well." "I actually love Stephen." "I do." "And I think once he's got over the murder and the trial, he might realise that he loves me too." "So that's what I'm going to try and do." "Pick up with him where we left off." "What?" "What are you shaking your head for?"