27
Daniel flashed his pass to the Old Bailey guards as he entered the courthouse. Today was the first day of the defence. He held his chin up as he walked to Court Thirteen, reminding himself of the reprieve implicit in reasonable doubt. He realised that this was the first time in his career he had actually felt real fear about the prospect of losing. He hated Sebastian’s family and worried about the child returning to that world of material privilege and emotional deprivation, but the thought of Sebastian inside, in the system, was worse. Bright as the child was, he didn’t realise how the press had already demonised him and how difficult it would be for him, for the rest of his life, if he was found guilty. Daniel tried not to think about it. He believed in Irene’s abilities. She had not lost a single case since their defeat together on Tyrel’s case last year.
‘My lord, I call Dr Alexander Baird.’
Baird seemed as nervous as when Daniel had visited the psychologist in his office. He leaned in too close to the microphone as he was sworn in and was startled by the feedback. Irene was matter-of-fact, beginning her examination in chief. She smiled broadly at Baird, making large sweeping gestures to the court, as she asked him to share his thoughts on Sebastian.
‘Dr Baird, you examined Sebastian Croll twice in September 2010. Is that correct?’
‘Correct.’
‘I would ask you to summarise for the court how you found Sebastian.’
Baird moved close in to the microphone, his smooth hands loosely gripping the lip of the witness box. ‘In terms of intellectual function, I found him to be highly intelligent. His IQ was measured at 140 which certainly suggests very superior intelligence, or indeed borderline genius – but certainly highly gifted.’
‘What did you find about Sebastian’s emotional maturity and his understanding of complex processes, for example, court proceedings?’
‘Well, Sebastian seems to have quite a short attention span, which may in itself be due to his high intelligence, but I did find him prone to emotional outbursts more typical of a younger child.’
‘You questioned him about the alleged offence. What was your opinion about Sebastian in relation to the charge?’
‘Sebastian knew the difference between right and wrong. He understood the nature of the alleged offence and stated convincingly that he believed himself to be innocent.’
‘Did you discuss the happenings on the day of the alleged offence?’
‘Yes, we did and we attempted some role play around the events of that day. On the whole I found him to be entirely consistent. His concept of morality was clear and he stated several times that he was innocent.’
‘Considering his intellectual ability, did you feel he understood the gravity of the crime he was charged with?’
‘Without a doubt. He was clear that he understood the penalties for such a crime, but felt he had been misunderstood. We discussed the events of 8 August several times in a variety of different ways: telling a story, using dolls or question and answer sessions, but each time he was entirely consistent.’
‘Thank you, Dr Baird.’
Irene nodded at Daniel before she sat down. Gordon Jones rose and stood for a moment as the court watched him opening ring binders and balancing them on his lectern. The room was airless and Daniel loosened his tie slightly. The defence had begun well and Irene seemed relaxed, but Daniel had an explicable feeling of unease about the evidence to come. Sebastian was losing interest. He was swinging his feet and occasionally making contact with Daniel’s legs.
‘Just a few questions, Dr Baird,’ said Jones, on cross-examination. ‘In your report you mention Sebastian’s earlier diagnosis, by his school educational psychologist, of Asperger’s?’
Sebastian leaned in to whisper something but Daniel held out a hand to silence him.
‘Yes, Sebastian’s school reports show an earlier diagnosis by an educational psychologist. I disagreed with the diagnosis.’
‘But you do consider him as having … ’ Jones made a show of pushing his glasses to the end of his nose, wrinkling his nose and turning down his lips as he read: ‘Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified?’
Baird smiled and nodded. ‘Indeed, otherwise PDD-NOS – essentially a catch-all diagnosis for those who demonstrate atypical symptomatology for Asperger’s, or indeed autism.’
‘I see. Well, in layman’s terms please, what is this exactly … eh … PDD-NOS and how does it relate to the earlier diagnosis?’
‘Well, it simply means that Sebastian does show a range of Asperger’s traits, but not all … and indeed is highly functional in areas we would expect him to have trouble with, if he had Asperger’s syndrome proper.’
‘I see. Asperger’s is a kind of high-functioning autism, is that correct?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘And what symptoms are typical of a child with Asperger’s syndrome?’
‘Well, typically they will display problems in three main areas: social communication, social interaction and social imagination.’
Irene stood up. ‘My lord, I question the relevance of this. Does my learned colleague have a point to this questioning?’
Baron leaned forward and raised his eyebrows at Jones in expectation of a response.
‘My lord, we are legitimately exploring the implications of disorders from which the boy may suffer that may be related to the offence.’
‘Continue,’ said Baron. ‘I consider this to be relevant.’
‘You just listed three areas which typical Asperger’s sufferers would have difficulty with – can you elaborate on this?’ Jones prompted Baird.
‘Well, typical sufferers will display a range of behaviours, such as difficulty in social situations. This often manifests in a desire for friendships but a difficulty in maintaining them. Often there is a hyper-focused interest in a single topic … They tend to have difficulty in reading emotional responses in others. Another thing is that they often have problems with sensory integration – they can overreact to loud noises, for example.’
Irene stood up again. ‘My lord, I really must protest. The witness has stated my client does not have Asperger’s so again I question the relevance of exploring the typical symptomatology.’
‘Miss Clarke, the witness has stated that the defendant shows a range of Asperger’s traits so we will hear this out as explanation of the traits in question.’
Irene sat down. Daniel watched her. Her shoulders were raised with tension.
‘Thank you, m’lord,’ said Jones. ‘So, tell us, Dr Baird, does Sebastian display any of these typical Asperger’s behaviours and problems?’
‘Yes, he displays some, but not all.’
‘What about hyper-focus on one topic. Did you find Sebastian to be deeply interested in a particular subject … ?’
Baird flushed. He glanced at Irene.
‘Dr Baird?’
‘Well, I did note a preoccupation … but I was not sure if this qualified as hyper-focused interest. I would need to study him over a longer period.’
‘I see … What, exactly, did you find preoccupies Sebastian?’
Hearing his name spoken in such a momentous tone, Sebastian sat up. He looked up at Daniel and smiled.
‘He has what one might call a morbid curiosity.’
‘In what way? What things, exactly, is he morbidly curious about?’
‘He seemed very interested in blood, death and injury … On this, again, I cannot be sure, I would have to study his behaviour further, but I would cite a discussion that we had about his mother’s miscarriage.’