Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for every performer in this amateur production. I noticed several slips of intonation and the odd English vowel here and there. Sarah-Jane MacDonald played Ann, a woman on a painful and angry mission, with a faltering, distracted edge I wasn’t entirely convinced by. Nick Walford as Ann’s brother George, a newly qualified lawyer spoiling for a fight with Joe, could have been better rehearsed. His most convincing scenes were those where he clashed with the Kellers’ surviving son Chris, played by his real-life brother Barry.
The Kellers’ neighbours provide both insight and (minimal) light relief for the audience. Kevin MacDonald was solidly convincing as Jim Bayliss, a doctor with a perpetual streaming cold. Paige Reswick shone as his wife Sue, a performance all the more commendable as she took on the role with half a day’s rehearsal, when the company was let down by the original cast member.
On the other side of the Kellers is the Lubey family. Newcomer Kel Greenwood, in his inevitably nervous stage debut, plays amateur astrologer Frank as a limping nuisance. This outwardly bumbling dolt is clever, selfish and cowardly enough to dodge the draft to raise a family with George’s homely ex-girlfriend Lydia.
Mention must be made of young Harley MacDonald, who delighted everyone with his sensitive portrayal of local cheeky-chappie Bert. His word-perfect performance and convincing accent lead me to suspect he is a starring Fairway Player of the future.
The simple set, designed by Joel Halliday, did not distract from the actors’ work, while delightful 1940s costumes and make-up, thanks to Marianne Payne and Denise Malcolm, helped transport us in time and place.
Finally, no one could miss the brightly clad fundraising team who were out in force all evening, reminding us that this production has a very important purpose. The players are raising money for sight-impaired Poppy Reswick, who needs life-saving brain-tumour treatment in America. I wish them luck for their appeal and the final two nights of All My Sons.
FROM: Celia Halliday
SUBJECT: Ooops
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 22:39
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Was that a dramatic pause or did you forget your words? It’s awful when that happens. You feel as if you’ve let everyone down. You didn’t seem yourself, SJ, are you ok? Helen was breathtaking, so it wasn’t as if you were going to outshine her in that tiny role anyway. Kevin did well, considering. Bless Harley! He looked like a little girl up there onstage. Anyway, tonight’s sales are listed below. I focused the team on raffle tickets and it’s paid off. I don’t need any more merchandise for tomorrow night, except cakes. Celia
FROM: Carol Dearing
SUBJECT: First night over with
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 22:43
TO: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
Bloody Celia drives me up the wall. I do not want my every move micromanaged and criticised, my mistakes pointed out to everyone in earshot – then the credit for my sales stolen from under my nose. I go to work for all that, and get paid. I know she says what she thinks and this is considered an attribute, but I don’t bloody care what she thinks, especially when it’s not true. She’s always been jealous of my friendship with Helen. It comes out in her attitude to me. Whatever she says, I single-handedly shifted seventeen raffle tickets – more than any other seller. I don’t care how smelly Woof is, I will dog-sit him tomorrow with pleasure. You were brilliant onstage, by the way. The best up there. Mum
FROM: Sarah-Jane MacDonald
SUBJECT: Re: First night over with
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 22:52
TO: Carol Dearing
Thanks. I barely felt in character at all. We’ve had a lot going on. I’m absolutely exhausted. Celia means well, Mum, and has worked hard for the appeal. She doesn’t intend to be offensive. I don’t think. Anyway, it’s Joel we need. He’s a brilliant set designer and they come as a package. Must get Harley home. Thanks for tomorrow. SJ
FROM: Joel Halliday
SUBJECT: Lift?
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 23:01
TO: Isabel Beck
Where are you, Issy? Celia and I are waiting to lock up. I didn’t realise you don’t drive until I saw the car park was empty. The buses are hair-raising this time of night. We’ll give you a lift. Don’t want to lose another cast member . . . Did all your people leave soon after the curtain call? I didn’t see anyone waiting to congratulate you. Joel
FROM: Isabel Beck
SUBJECT: Re: Lift?
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 23:04
TO: Joel Halliday
I would love a lift – thank you so much! I’m in the wings, stage right, behind the trellis. Just enjoying some quiet time before I set off. I’m coming now. I didn’t have anyone in tonight. I expect my people will all come tomorrow or Saturday. I don’t mind. It takes the pressure off – a bit. Luckily, it all went quite well for me. Kel was shaky on his words. Sarah-Jane looked like a ghost and her accent dropped several times. She’s been working too hard on the appeal, not concentrating on her role, and it showed. I’m coming now . . . Love Issy xxx
FROM: Beth Halliday
SUBJECT: Where are you?
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 23:39
TO: Joel Halliday
Where are you? Thought you and Mum were coming straight home after locking up. x
FROM: Joel Halliday
SUBJECT: Re: Where are you?
DATE: 5 July 2018 at 23:44
TO: Beth Halliday
On our way. Gave that quiet girl Issy a lift to save her taking the bus and now wish we hadn’t. We felt sorry for her. Since Sam’s gone she doesn’t speak to anyone, and no one she knew came to see the show. Well, we thought she would want to go home, but she asked to be dropped off at Sam’s flat, right over the other side of Lockwood, at this time of night! Said she had something for Kel. Your mum told her he’d left and was at the Travellers’ Inn with another woman. I said whatever it is he’s left behind, she can give it to him tomorrow night, but she was adamant that’s where she wanted to go, so that’s where we left her. We’re just at the big traffic lights, home soon. Love Dad xx
PS Don’t worry: I’m not breaking the law. Mum’s driving.
Transcription of a 999 call made at 00:12 on 6 July 2018:
Operator: Emergency, which service?
Caller: Ambulance.
Operator: Who’s injured?
Caller: Sam.
Operator: Are they breathing?
Caller: [inaudible sound] Lower Lockwood Heights. Behind the new flats. Park in front and come round the side.
Paramedic: I know it. We’re on the way.
Operator: Can you tell me what’s happened there?
Caller: She’s under a hedge.
Operator: Is she breathing? Check if she’s breathing.
Caller: No. She’s dead.
Operator: If there’s a chance she’s breathing, you need to check. It’s very important.
Caller: She’s been there a whole day. She hasn’t moved.
Paramedic: Three minutes now.
Operator: What’s happened to her? Can you tell me?
Caller: She fell off the balcony.
Operator: How high?
Caller: [inaudible sound] High.
Operator: And what’s your name, please?
Caller: It’s . . . You can see Topps Tiles from up there.
Olufemi Hassan
Charlotte Holroyd
Dear both,
That is all the correspondence submitted at the original hearing. Remember: these ‘conversations’ were only ever intended for the person(s) to whom they were addressed. We might assume no one else, much less a court of law, was ever meant to hear them – but would we be correct? Wittingly or unwittingly, all these people gave evidence. They did so freely, in their own words and without the intimidation of the witness box – yet without ever committing to tell the truth. I believe somewhere in there is the key to why Samantha Greenwood was found dead, under her fifth-floor balcony, on 6 July 2018, where she had lain
for around twenty-four hours. Cause of death was multiple injuries, consistent with a fall from that height, but incompatible with life. In addition, her body exhibited minor injuries to the face and torso, but according to the coroner, these were most likely caused the previous day in the assault at St Ann’s. So . . .
1. Who killed Samantha Greenwood?
2. In the hours before her death, she told three people three things. Who and what?
3. Who knew it was going to happen?
4. Who knew about it before her body was discovered?
5. Who is erroneously imprisoned and why?
We must submit our case to the Court of Appeal this week, so time is not on our side.
I need a single document that explores these questions. Please put forward evidence, plus clearly reasoned arguments, for or against particular theories and suspects. Your role as fresh young eyes on this is crucial. I believe there is an innocent person in jail, but I’m no maverick – I need you to see it, too.
If you can solve these further riddles, then it’s more than I could at the original hearing: three people are not who they say they are. Three masquerade as others. One does not exist at all. To help you here, Sandra has completed a full list of participants in this case. It is attached. She has placed them in their main social groups rather than alphabetical order. I am reluctant to request a change as I gather from her demeanour it was a long and laborious job as is.
Finally, some facts available to the court and not clear from the correspondence:
1. Officially, Sam was forced to resign from her overseas volunteer post due to ill health.
2. Both Sam and Kel were prescribed Interferon and Ribavirin to control the effects of chronic Hepatitis C, contracted during their time in the Central African Republic. Neither disclosed this to St Ann’s. Sean ‘Kel’ Greenwood was subsequently suspended and resigned.
3. Isabel Beck was on disciplinary probation for eighteen months following an incident in the orthopaedic ward at St Ann’s, where she attached the wrong intravenous bag to a patient who then had to be resuscitated.
4. There were no signs of forced entry to the Greenwoods’ flat the night Samantha Greenwood died.
I look forward to receiving your document before 9 a.m. tomorrow.
Yours,
Roderick Tanner, QC
Senior Partner
Tanner & Dewey LLP
PS One further fact you should be aware of. Topps Tiles is not visible from the Greenwoods’ balcony.
List of Individuals
The Fairway Players
Martin Hayward, 59, chairperson of The Fairway Players and joint owner of The Grange
Helen Grace-Hayward, 62, secretary of The Fairway Players and joint owner of The Grange
James Hayward, 36, their son
Olivia Hayward 33, his wife
Paige Reswick, 33 (née Hayward), their daughter
Glen Reswick, 31, her husband
Poppy Reswick, 2, their daughter
Woof, 3, their dog
Sarah-Jane MacDonald, 34 (née Dearing)
Kevin MacDonald, 37, her husband
Harley MacDonald, 10, their son
Carol Dearing, 61, Sarah-Jane’s mother
Margaret Dearing, 88, mother of Carol and Shelley, grandmother of Sarah-Jane
Shelley Dearing, 63, Carol’s sister, Sarah-Jane’s aunt
Isabel Beck, 29, staff nurse, Elderly Care at St Ann’s Hospital
Lauren Malden, 29, former staff nurse, Elderly Care at St Ann’s Hospital
Josh, 30, her boyfriend
Lauren’s mother, c. 57
Kel Greenwood, 34, staff nurse, Mental Health, St Ann’s Hospital
Samantha Greenwood, 34, staff nurse, Elderly Care, St Ann’s Hospital
Joyce Walford, 63, tea lady at The Fairway Players and retired receptionist at The Grange
Nick Walford, 33, her son
Barry Walford, 28, her son
Harry, 62, Joyce’s partner
John O’Dea, 56, treasurer
Denise Malcolm, 59, wardrobe and make-up
Steve Malcolm, 60, her husband
Marianne Payne, 48, wardrobe and make-up
Mick Payne, 51, her husband
Karen Payne, 26, their daughter
Jackie Marsh, 23, currently travelling
Joel Halliday, 54, set designer
Celia Halliday, 55, his wife
Beth Halliday, 16, their daughter
The Grange Golf and Country Club
Magda Kuchar, 24, receptionist
Emma Crooks, 32, yoga teacher, Paige’s best friend
Chris Wilkinson, 68, member
Marion Wilkinson, 67, his wife
Gavin Hoyte, 30, member
St Ann’s Hospital
Frances Turner, 39, ward manager, Elderly Care
Gaynor, 27, staff nurse, Elderly Care
Riley, 25, staff nurse, Elderly Care
Claudia D’Souza, 36, Human Resources
Michael D’Souza 37, marketing manager, her husband
Sophie, 11, their daughter
Marco, 9, their son
Hilary Mulvey, 26, human resources manager (maternity cover)
Ciara Savage, 40, nurse, Mental Health
Mount More Hospital
Dr Tish Bhatoa, 51, consultant oncologist
Ravi Bhatoa, 53, her brother
Dr Daniel Bhatoa, 43, their brother
Una, 32, Claudia’s friend in Human Resources
Ziggy Benjamin, 39, ward manager, Oncology
Overseas volunteer community
Dr Sonja Ajanlekoko, 34, project co-ordinator, Médecins Sans Frontières
Arnold ‘Arnie’ Ballancore, 33, former volunteer nurse
Christine Ballancore, 64, his mother
Dr Alicja Szkatulska, 37, former volunteer doctor
Dr Tanya Strickland, 34, former volunteer doctor
Alasdair Hynes, 47, former volunteer logistics manager
Martha Diaz, 35, current volunteer outreach worker
Ian Levy, 39, Africa Directorate, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Selima Kenya, 27, current volunteer outreach project leader
Police/legal representatives
Constable Liam Albutt, 22
Constable Josie Thompson, 25
Sergeant Cooper, 37
Sergeant Crowe, 43
Ms Anand, 33, duty solicitor
Rupert Allardyce, 53, solicitor for Martin Hayward
Miscellaneous
Nigel Crowley, 57, band leader, aka Tony Zucchero
Stella Cornwall, 33, string quartet leader
Cameron Hilford, 67, Radio 4 quiz host
Ben Taylor, 50, CEO, Robinson EcoField Ltd.
Clive Handler, age unknown, local entrepreneur
Callum McDaid, 44, local builder
Lydia Drake, age unknown, financial advisor
Colin Brasher, age unknown, local entrepreneur
Julian Maher, 44, local journalist, friend of Colin Brasher
Andrea Morley, 32, genealogist
Robert Green, 63, antique dealer
Priti Panchal, age unknown, customer services, local bank
Graham Oxshott, 61, local community volunteer
Noel Burton, 54, corporate intelligence consultant
Femi
We can work on the doc together. Whizz it back and forth.
Charlotte
Why’s Tanner so keen on this case? Guilt trip.
Femi
I propose we amalgamate our suspects, create a profile for each, with thoughts, observations, evidence for and against.
Charlotte
And relationships between them. Something odd about Issy and Sam.
Femi
The Haywards. They’re up to something, but is it relevant to Sam’s murder? Bhatoa. The same. I don’t trust her.
Charlotte
One person doesn’t exist. Two, surely? Clive Handler and Lydia Drake.
Femi
&nbs
p; Three masquerade as others. Sam pretends to be Handler. Magda pretends to be Drake. Who’s the third?
Charlotte
Sam pretends to be Issy to visit Mount More. Given that Issy is not particularly clever, the question is: were they working together?
Femi
Issy’s no dimwit. Devious when motivated.
Charlotte
How about: this isn’t an exercise but a game. Sam wasn’t murdered. It’s an accident or suicide.
Femi
I’m starting the doc now. Give me an hour.
The murder of Samantha Greenwood
Exploratory document for Roderick Tanner, QC, School of Law, Year One
Contributors: Femi Hassan, Charlotte Holroyd
Introduction
After eight years of living on the precipice of human experience Samantha Greenwood arrives ‘home’, only to fall victim to violence as savage as any she can have witnessed in war-torn Central Africa. She is described as ‘an honest and hard-working lady of principle who is not afraid to speak’. It seems such fearlessness could have led to her murder. In this document we will examine events leading up to Ms Greenwood’s death, and the complex relationships between those witnesses who knew her and those who assumed they did.
Before we consider our suspects, we would like to identify five interlocking microcosms:
• The Fairway Players and their production of Arthur Miller’s classic drama All My Sons.
• The medical staff at St Ann’s and Mount More.
• The appeal to raise money for Poppy Reswick’s cancer treatment.
• Two intertwined dynasties: the Haywards and Reswicks, the Dearings and MacDonalds.
• The Africa connection, and how something a world away can have such a profound influence.
Samantha Greenwood
Sam arrives in Lockwood as an outsider on a number of levels. Thanks to Isabel, she and Kel find themselves at the bottom of a strict, well-established social hierarchy. Their experience as humanitarian volunteers is so remote from that of everyone else that it counts for nothing. Here, life revolves around two interlocking family dynasties: the Haywards and Reswicks, the Dearings and MacDonalds. A person’s closeness to the alpha family – the Haywards – determines their social status. For example, Shelley Dearing is not high enough to be seated on the top table at the ball.
The Appeal Page 25
