As Peter’s trial continues, it’s time for witness for
the prosecution Mary Taylor’s star turn on the stand. Her animated account
likens Peter to a Mr. Hyde figure, abrupt and agitated as he “scurried into the
ginnel”. However, she is quickly despatched as an inebriated busybody by
Peter’s disparaging barrister who observes, “You say he was abrupt. Might
that have been because he felt that it was actually none of your business? Or
that his reply that a cat had done it was said not to cover anything up, but
rather to stop you plying him with interminable questions?”
The combination of
Mary’s disgust, the barrister's disdain, and Peter’s silent nods of affirmation are
a hilarious trio. Indeed, her demise is such that the prosecution decline to
call on Norris, who is naturally appalled that his “important evidence” will
not be heard, and her delusion is such that she puts this down to the high quality
of her own.
Cue court mumbles as Carla Barlow is called to the
stand. Delivering her painful testimony with dignity and composure, her bullet
like confirmation of both Peter's and Tina's ages is nevertheless amusing. She comes under
intense fire from Peter’s barrister concerning her own culpability, prompting him to call out, “leave her alone. I’m the one on trial, not her”. Challenged by
the judge he replies, “but she’s not done anything wrong”.
Peter’s barrister offers a powerful defence, stating that
his eagerness to tell Carla about the affair before Tina could get to her suggests
that he believed Tina was still alive at the time, and therefore, may not be the
killer. She also points out that revealing such sordid details would be
unnecessary if he had already murdered her.
When Carla announces that she doesn’t think Peter
killed Tina, the court murmurs, Rob squirms and Peter wells up. She tells how Peter
asked her “what have you done?” when he encountered Tina in the ambulance, and
reveals how, on his deathbed, he told her he knew she did it but not to worry,
he wouldn’t tell anyone. “He thought he was dying.” Carla tells the court, “Why
would he say that unless he truly believed that I did it, which means that he
couldn’t have”.
Ken and Tracy
This continues when Rob becomes furious with Carla for
saying Peter is innocent on the stand, and confronts her in her new flat which
contains a frankly mesmerising fake furnace. Carla sees Rob’s relentless claims
as to Peter’s guilt to be a personal vendetta against him, and you’d have to
wonder how she’ll react when she hears he assured Simon of quite the opposite.
“I’m
not trying to send him down, the evidence is doing that” he assures her, but
Carla is not convinced, asking why Peter would wreck his own defence to protect
her. “Sometimes it feels you’re the one not being straight with me” she tells
Rob who claims to be protecting her from becoming suspect number one and
reckons Peter will go down remarking, “you’ll see, tomorrow when he’s on that
stand, they’ll rip him to shreds”. Carla’s expression is one of incredulity and
bewilderment at her brother’s behaviour, and it appears things may finally start
to unravel for Rob.
Peter returns to his cell elated that Carla believes
him and convinced that she still loves him. The lovely Eugene
I felt this was a great episode with a nice mix of humour and suspense, some strong writing and great performances, and all that remains as Peter's trial faces its conclusion is for us to hope that justice will prevail.
By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes
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