Page 52 of Cuckoo

‘Well, to be honest, that day I didn’t recognise her, no. She’s not very memorable,’ adds Emilia, unnecessarily. ‘But then when all of this was on the news, I realised that Ihadseen her before! So I told my son when he was visiting and he helped me to check my archived doorbell camera footage to be sure, because my eyesight and memory aren’t quite what they used to be, and sure enough, there she was! She had come round a few days before the incident, but late at night. I have footage of this lady,’ she points a shaky, gnarled finger at me, ‘sneaking past my front door on the driveway and then standing behind a tree for a bit. Then she leaves the frame.’

‘You say sneaking. Why is that?’ Dodgson asks. To my horror, the doorbell footage is now playing for everyone to see. To be honest, I look sneaky. I’m twitchy and glancing behind myself frequently. I resist the urge to bury my head in my hands.

‘I assume she was trying to use the tree in front of my home to keep her out of sight?’

‘Objection! Speculation.’ Grosvenor stands up to intervene.

The judge nods at her and she sits back down. I dare a glance at the jury but their expressions seem confused, as though they can’t work out what to think. A few of them arewriting notes. I catch the eye of one man and quickly look away before I can register his expression.

‘Thank you, Mrs Waterson, this goes towards showing the attack on Miss Andersson was premeditated– that the defendant had been in the area, watching the victim’s house, atleastonce ahead of the attack, and quite possibly on other occasions that were not caught on camera.’ Dodgson walks back to his table, chest puffed out, conscious this is damning evidence. His skin looks grey under the strip lighting.

Grosvenor stands slowly and walks around the desk, her footsteps echoing in the silent courtroom.

‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,’ she says loudly, and I flinch. Grosvenor then turns to Emilia, giving the old lady a little nod before facing the jury again. ‘I remind you that the heart of this case is whether or not, on the morning that she visited Lilah Andersson in her home, my client intended to cause her serious harm, as required to prove a charge of murder.’

Members of the jury eye each other sidelong and I hear murmured comments.

‘Order!’ the judge calls again.

‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please concentrate on the events of Saturday the twentieth of September 2025. What did you seeon the day of the victim’s death?’ Grosvenor asks the witness.

‘I saw this woman knocking on Lilah’s front door,’ Emilia answers.

I resist the urge to shrink back and instead remain totally still, trying to keep my face blank. She’s not a sweet old granny after all.

‘And how was Miss Arundale behaving when you observed her arrival?’ Grosvenor presses.

Emilia shrugs. ‘Like any other visitor.’

‘Nothing to cause alarm? You didn’t think she wassneaking, to use your own word?’

‘No,’ Emilia concedes.

‘You said she was knocking on the victim’s door? So not banging loudly or bringing undue attention to herself?’

‘No, it was just a normal knock. She was not raising her voice. I couldn’t hear what was being said between the two of them once Lilah answered the door. I only remember that the interaction between them seemed strained. Lilah looked like she didn’t want to let her visitor in, she wouldn’t open the door fully. I assumed this was one of those door-to-door canvassers, you know, collecting money for charity or asking the occupant to fill out a questionnaire or something. They can be a real nuisance.’

‘So my client didn’t appear aggressive, over-emotional or otherwise out of control before she entered the house?’

‘No.’

‘And it was in fact Lilah Andersson who was behaving strangely?’

‘To me, who knew nothing about the situation, yes. Lilah’s behaviour seemed nervous and Miss Arundale was calm in her delivery when she spoke.’

‘But you didn’t hear what was being said?’

‘No, my house is across the street and I was weeding behind some shrubs.

‘And the time Miss Arundale visited before this, whereyou suggest she was “sneaking”, is it possible that she was in fact there to see Noah Coors, not Lilah Andersson, and was taking precautions so as not to be seen by his other girlfriend?’ Grosvenor pushes.

‘Well… well, yes, that’s definitely possible. I don’t know that she was watching Lilah specifically,’ Emilia admits, the reply sounding weak.

‘No further questions from me. This highlights the fact that there was no visible anger or emotion apparent in my client’s behaviour on the day of her encounter with Lilah Andersson immediately preceding Miss Andersson’s death. It also dispels the idea that she was stalking the dead woman. None of this proves any element of premeditation. Thank you, Miss Waterson,’ Grosvenor tells her.

I watch Emilia shuffle away from the witness stand and wonder how much of a help her reluctant observations will be towards convincing the jury that I did not go to Lilah’s house with the intention of harming her.

After this evidence, the judge calls for proceedings to end early.

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