His eyes teared and he blinked hard a few times. Jasper glared.
“It was never quite the same. I still loved her just as much but part of her had closed off to us all. She no longer squealed in delight when I threw her in the air or ran around the back garden with her on my shoulders. We couldn’t talk and I stopped hearing her say ‘I love you, Daddy’.” He paused and took a deep breath. “It broke my heart.”
I gripped the seat, fingertips digging into the wood. ‘Don’t believe it,’ I prayed in my head, willing the jury to see through his lies.
Linda rocked back on her heels. “Mr Farrell, why do you think Oakley stopped talking?”
“I believe she has Histrionic Personality Disorder.”
What?
Jasper’s head snapped to me and he frowned, his dumbfounded expression mirroring mine.
Linda didn’t look at all surprised by the disorder Max just threw out of his mouth. “People with Histrionic Personality Disorder – HPD – typically have extravagant and lively personalities, Mr Farrell.”
She was ready for it.
Max tilted his head to the side. “Sufferers tend to have dramatic behaviour,” he corrected. “Oakley was a very lively child but with a sibling she could never have the majority of our attention – until she stopped talking. People with Histrionic Personality Disorder also act out a role, that of a character or a victim.”
I looked to Jasper, panicked. Shit, he’s found something that could explain her behaviour. Jasper stared at the jury with wide eyes, willing them to see through Max’s crap.
This wasn’t good.
“Mr Farrell, you state that you’ve spent the best part of fifteen years trying to figure out what was wrong with your daughter. Is that correct?” Linda asked.
“Yes.”
“Hmm, then it seems rather odd that you only come across this disorder after your arrest.”
Max said nothing.
“I’ve been looking over your police statements and nothing was mentioned then.”
“My ex wife and I spent hours on the internet searching muteness. We’ve visited countless doctors and specialists in that field and not one of them mentioned Histrionic Personality Disorder. When she went to the police with her claim, I realised there was something more to it, that she had chosen not to speak. My searches changed and that’s when I found HPD.”
“Hmm. So why do you think she spoke out then? She was away with you, getting your full attention, surely she wouldn’t have needed to act out?”
“I told her Mr Glosser was coming for the weekend, she was unhappy to say the least. I hadn’t seen Frank in almost a year and he was in town. Oakley didn’t want him to come, she thought it was just going to be us. I assume that’s when she created her story. She was excited about the trip, put the tent up almost completely by herself and brought two backpacks full of marshmallows. When I told her Frank was coming she dumped the marshmallows in the bin and wouldn’t make eye contact. Rapid shift in emotion is very typical in HPD.”
I looked at Jasper again and he stared at his father with hatred. He also looked as terrified as I felt. Surely the jury wouldn’t fall for that?
I gulped. This is bad.
Chapter Eighteen
Oakley
My father’s lawyer, John Bee, was such an intimidating man. He made me feel like a child. His face was hard with angular lines and a pointed jaw. Everything about him screamed ‘I’m going to break you.’
Cole and Jasper hadn’t said much about watching my father give evidence, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Whatever it was I didn’t want to know. I had enough stress at the minute, and I didn’t know how much more I could take.
John stepped in front of me. He wasn’t even that close, but it felt as if he was just an inch from my face. I looked at him straight on, determined not to show how scared I was.
“You claim that your father first took you to meet Mr Glosser alone when you were five years old, is that correct?”
“Yes,” I replied.
Without blinking, he fired off the next question. “And how soon after that did you stop talking?”
“I can’t remember exactly. About a month, I suppose.”
He started walking back away from the jury. “So there was a gap between the start of the alleged abuse and you stopping talking?”
“Yes.”
“I see.” He clicked his tongue, turned to the jury and held his hand up, extending his index finger. “And you claim that you were forced to remain silent forever because your father did not want anyone to find out.”
“I never said forever. He never said forever, but yes.” He never mentioned a time limit, and I never really thought about it. I was too afraid to talk again, so I tried living a new kind of life.
“So between the start of the alleged abuse and when you stopped talking there was nothing in your way of speaking out. Is that correct?”
I shook my head. “No. That’s not true.”
“You claim your father threatened you. Is this correct?”
“Yes.”