Concordi Discordia

CR: So, who are you today then?
MF: Excuse me?
CR: I’ve been informed that you like to change your name every interview. So, who are you now?
MF: I don’t understand you, I’m afraid. I haven’t been interviewed before.
CR: So you’re not...[there is the sound of paper being shuffled] Elysia Adinall or Arielle Goldsmith?
MF: No, no I’m not. I’ve never heard of either of them.
CR: Fine, fine then. What’s your name?
MF: My name is Marise Lamford.
CR: Right. And what were you doing on the twenty-third of June?
MF: Saturday evening?
CR: [inaudible] Uh huh...
MF: I was at home, working.
CR: What work were you doing?
MF: Looking at a new case.
CR: A case?
MF: Yes, I am a lawyer.
CR: And what firm do you work for?
MF: Boyes and Turner.
CR: And what did this case involve?
MF: Wrongful termination.
CR: Corporate law, I assume?
MF: You assume correctly.
CR: Who was involved in the case?
MF: I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that information. I would think that you, of all people...
CR: Merely curious, Ms. Lamford.
MF: Really?
CR: Ms. Lamford, have you ever had any experience with criminal law?
MF: I have. I used to work for a criminal law firm in London before I moved back here.
CR: Tell me, Ms. Lamford; did you ever encounter any cases of rape during that time?
MF: Only one.
CR: And what role did you take during that case?
MF: Prosecution.
CR: Can you remember what prison sentence you hoped to achieve for the offender?
MF: I really don’t see how this is relevant. I don’t understand why I’m being interviewed here in the first place? I believe that it is my right to be told why I’m being he –
CR: Answer the question please, Ms. Lamford.
MF: I can’t answer it without knowing why it’s been asked.
CR: Ms. Lamford, you are hardly in a position to be arguing about this. Answer me.
MF: We attempted to sentence him to life imprisonment.
CR: And that’s exactly what you’re facing, Ms. Lamford. A charge of rape and causing actual bodily harm. There is a long silence] Ms. Lamford? Have you got anything you want to say now?
MF: It’s unheard of. A woman...raping a man. I don’t know anyone that’s ever experience this before, ever. Not in court, not as a case, not...anything.
CR: Are you implying that you didn’t do it? Are you denying these charges?
MF: Yes. I am. I’m a respectable person. Doing something...something like that. The thought would never even have crossed my mind!
CR: I see.
MF: Please may I be excused? I hope you understand that this is quite a shock to me. I need some time to think about this.
CR: Fine, fine. Go. I have nothing else to say to you.