"So, Miss Richards", said Humphrey, "you began attending Emmeline Pankhurst University one year after your brother?"
"Yes", replied Amy.
"And what was the experience like?", Humphrey asked.
"I enjoyed it very much at first", said Amy. "Ever since I was a little girl, I'd wanted to be a doctor, it seemed such a wonderful job, to be helping people, so I was really pleased when I began studying medicine. I found the subject really interesting, and, of course, I met Will . . ."
"Well", said a young black man with short curly hair and a beard, "we happened to sit next to each other in our first lecture, and had a bit of a conversation with her before it started about what we were expecting, about our families, things like this, nothing much really . . ." he finished with a smile.
"I was intrigued by him from the start", said Amy. "He made me laugh, and I remember wishing I was in the same seminar group as him as well . . . I actually said that to him when the lecture finished."
"Why, man", laughed Will, "I was a bit shocked by that at first, to be honest, to hear that from someone I barely knew, and I jokingly asked her if she fancied me . . .
"I said no straightaway, and I meant it, but he gave me quite a shrewd look", said Amy, her voice a mixture of embarrassment and affection. "I didn't have any thought of anything deeper, but looking back at it now I think he knew me better than I knew myself."
"And when I had my first seminar", said Will, "she came in after I had sat down, there was an empty chair on the table opposite, the only one available, and what did she do? She picked it up, brought it over and sat down on it next to me!"
He laughed again, only to be cut short by Dame Marilyn.
"Mr. Maduaka", she said sternly, "this is a solemn inquest in the Royal Courts of Justice, it is not a place for laughter."
"I'm sorry", said Will abashed.
"So", said Humphrey hurriedly, "you were saying . . ."
"Yes", said Will, "I remember thinking, wow, she really likes me."
"I just came in", Amy remembered, "and I felt very excited when I saw him there, I was hoping he would make me laugh again, so . . ."
"I remember saying to her", said Will, "half joking, that next thing she would be asking me out."
"I flushed when he said that", said Amy, "but when the seminar ended, I asked him if he would come with me to the library to begin do our studies, and he agreed . . ."
"Of course, even at this early stage", said Will, "I knew how this was going to end up, and I remember thinking to myself, wow, I must have some hidden talent for her to like me so much."
"From that day", reminisced Amy, "we would always do our studies together ands also have our meals in the canteen together, and sit next to each other in our lectures and seminars. And as the days went by, I began really appreciate his intelligence as well as his humour."
"At first", said Will, "I would agree to be with her because she wanted it, and also I was quite amused by her obvious feelings for me. But, gradually, I came to see her differently, she was obviously very intelligent and caring, and a very good conversationalist, so I began to think, hey, maybe I can like her as much as she likes me."
"For quite a while", recalled Amy, "even though he kept teasing me about my fancying him, I kept telling him - and myself - that I didn't, that we were just very good friends. But, in the end, as my feelings grew, I could no longer deny it, and one day, when we were sitting sitting in the theatre, waiting for a lecture to start, I blurted out to him that I loved him."
"I must admit", said Will, "I laughed at first, then I asked her what took her so long. Then she looked embarrassed, but I smiled, and told her I loved her as well, and she was bouncing up and down on the seat, and then leaned forward to kiss me, and I had to tell her that the lecturer had just arrived."
"Oh God, I went so red", said Amy, but I really felt dizzy with happiness in that moment, I barely paid any attention to the lecture, and as soon as it had finished, I leaned towards him and kissed him."
"And what did your family make of your relationship?", asked Humphrey.
"My parents were very happy for me", answered Amy, "but Erwin . . ." She broke off and gazed sadly at the floor.
"Answer the question", ordered Dame Marilyn.
"He said he was happy, but he mumbled the words, and he threw resentful glances at us. I couldn't understand why, and still can't. Why would he not be pleased that his sister had found happiness? I still have no idea."
"So", continued Kate, "I began my second year at Pankhurst."
"Did you ever encounter Mr. Richards?", inquired Humphrey.
"Once or twice", she answered.
"And what was that like for you?"
"It was embarrassing for me, but we never said anything, he would just stare at me, and I would look away."
"So one day", said a young man with brown hair, large blue eyes and chiselled features, "I was in the library, studying something about Hamlet, I can't remember what exactly, when I heard a noise that sounded like something collapsing. I looked up, and I saw this beautiful girl who seemed to have tripped over and dropped her books. So I got up quickly, darted across and picked up the books for her."
"Well", said Kate, with an awkward smile, "there was some fold in the carpet that hadn't been dealt with, so I tripped over it. I wasn't hurt, Samira broke my fall, but my books fell out my hand. I bent down to pick them up, but, quick as a flash, there was this young man who seemed to appear out of nowhere, and he did it for me."
"And how did you react to this?", Humphrey asked her.
"Well, obviously I was pleased", she replied, "but it also felt strange that this complete stranger should help me like this. I smiled and said thank you, and I couldn't help thinking what a handsome man he was", she concluded rather sheepishly.
"I smiled back at her", recalled the young man, "and I got talking with her and Samira, and at lunch time we all went to the canteen together. I got on quite well with both, but it was mainly Kate I conversed with, and Samira ended up suggesting, with a shrewd look on her face, that we might like some time alone, you know, the two of us together."
"I felt a bit awkward when she said that", said Kate. "I'd rarely been apart from her since we were children, and the last occasion that we were, it was . . ."
She broke off.
"Your disastrous date with Mr. Richards?", asked Humphrey.
Kate nodded.
"Speak, Ms. Donaldson", ordered Dame Marilyn. "Nodding won't go in the transcript."
"Yes", said Kate, in barely more than a whisper.
"So", said Humphrey hastily, "did you and Mr. Bassett go together, as Ms. Mahmood had suggested?"
"Yes", said Kate, now having regained her composure. "As the days went by, we kept meeting up, sometimes with Samira, sometimes alone."
"And what did you make of him?", was Humphrey's next question.
"I came to realise how thoughtful and considerate he was, he was always asking about me, he seemed genuinely interested in my studies, even though he was studying something completely different, and he was always sensitive to my feelings."
"And what was your impression of Ms. Donaldson?", Humphrey asked.
"I was struck by how confident and outgoing she was", came the reply/ "She is also a very generous soul, always trying to see the good in people, even in . . ."
He abruptly stopped.
"Then, one day, when it was just us two together", remembered Kate, "Dan asked me if I would like to take things further between us."
"And what was your response?"
"I thought about it for a minute, going over my feelings, but then I realised, yes, I did want to take it further, and I told him so."
"And what was his response?"
"He smiled and said, 'I do, too', and he leaned over to me and we kissed." Kate had an embarrassed smile on her face.
"What did Ms. Mahmood make of you and Mr. Bassett?"
"She told me she was happy, because he was the right man for me."
"Did Mr. Richards ever see you and Mr. Bassett together".
Kate looked down at the wheels on her chair and mumbled, "Yes."
"Speak up", upbraided Dame Marilyn.
"Yes", said Kate, in a strained voice.
"When was this?", asked Humphrey.
"Not long after we got together, we were walking through the library together, holding hands, when I saw him wandering distractedly, and then he suddenly caught sight of us."
"And how did he react?"
"He stared at me for about a minute and a half, then he hung his head and walked quickly away. He seemed very upset."
"I was very surprised at first", recalled Dan. "I thought, 'Who is this man and why is he acting like this?'. After he'd walked away, Kate explained about him."
"And how did you feel towards Mr. Richards?", Humphrey asked.
"I was annoyed by the fact that he seemed to think he was entitled to Kate, and also quite worried", replied Dan. "But, even then, I could never have imagined . . .", he added, his voice shaking.
"So, Inspector, you were the one who led the investigation into Mr. Richards?"
"Correct", replied Detective Inspector Gary Alexander. He was a plump, balding man with a prominent nose.
"And how did you begin?"
"We began by looking into Mr. Richards's Internet search history", said DI Alexander. He spoke slowly, as though trying to come to terms with some shocking news.
"And what did you find?"
"We found that he had typed the words 'lonely men' into Google, and at the top of the search results for a forum by that name on 4chan."
He paused, then added, "That's how the trouble started."
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