Rippleswade Hall, page 9
154.
It was obvious that this plan would only work if I had the window seat at the teashop. That was imperative. It was the only table from which the frontage of the coffee merchant could be clearly seen. But it did not appear that the tea shop was the sort of establishment at which you could reserve a table. So it became clear I would need to get to the tea shop in good time and well before I first expected to see NTD. It looked as though large pots of tea were going to be in order, or a very slow full English breakfast. On thinking this through I realised there was no point me sitting there drinking cup after cup of tea – sooner or later I would need to use the facilities and once that train was started. Some serious thought was given by me to having a catheter fitted – every eventuality possible needed to be considered and as odd as this may sound the idea made perfect sense. However, I could arrive at no medical grounds for personally getting a catheter fitted.
155.
It still surprises me that with all this planning things could still go wrong. I drove up to Padchester late on the following Monday afternoon and had booked in again at the The Queen’s Head, an old coaching inn in the middle of Padchester for bed and breakfast. It was simple really, by having the breakfast at The Queen’s Head, I would be full and the breakfast at the tea shop would be easy to prolong. It was necessary to get to the teashop by 7:45 a.m. a full one hour and 15 minutes before NTD was expected to arrive at the coffee merchant, at the earliest.
BIG CHANGE OF PLAN
156.
It is hard for me to indulge in a full English, indeed that has been the case for many years. Medical advice informs that my cholesterol levels are on the high side of normal and that porridge or bran flakes should be the order of the day and they have been for many years. So having two full English breakfasts placed in front of you within an hour on the same morning seemed excessive. The second breakfast was not after all to eat but to play with whilst I awaited NTD. Two things dawned on me as the second breakfast was served to me in the teashop (1) this could take up to three hours if NTD did not appear until nearly 10:00 a.m., which was well within the bounds of possibility; and (2) having planned the sighting so carefully no thought had been given as to what I would actually say to NTD. “Oh hi, it’s you. Well well, Long time no see.”
157.
Sometimes in life things can take a while to properly sink in, to register. When I saw the lady with the blonde bob, tightly fitting designer dress and heels go into the coffee merchant at around 8:45 a.m. it had not occurred to me for a moment that NTD might have changed her appearance. Why would it? So there I was, exactly as planned, having deliberately taken an age to order breakfast and now sitting in front of a full English with eggs easy over, a side order of black pudding, toast with a pot of tea and condiment jar of English mustard that it was only as NTD left the coffee merchant, down the four steps that led up to the front door that it hit me BAM, KAPPOW, like in a Batman comic strip that there was the lady I so needed to speak with.
158.
I tried to leave the teashop as quickly as I could. However, having laboured to recognise NTD, my escape was more hurried than planned and at the front door a very elderly couple were slowly entering the tea shop and until they had passed the entrance was blocked!
159.
Upon leaving the tea shop NTD was moving slowly down Ryled Street on the opposite side and now a good 40 yards ahead of me heading towards the main car park. For various reasons she looked different than I recalled. She was wearing heels, which I had not seen her in before, and this made her seem both taller and slimmer than I remembered. Her bust seemed much fuller, she was wearing a tight dress and her legs seemed longer and more athletically defined. She had always worn loose clothing during our previous meetings. Something did not seem right and it was at this point that the first doubts crept into my head; although this was clearly a well dressed lady there was nothing to indicate this was NTD other than her overall demeanour. Whilst, on a certain level this lady could be NTD there were some clear and accountable differences that could not be easily explained.
160.
It became necessary for me to do some breathing exercises to try and clear my head. Breath in slowly through the nose – counting one, two, three very slowly. Hold the breath – counting one, two, three, very slowly. Then exhale though the mouth – counting one, two, three, very slowly. Breath in slowly through the nose – counting one, two, three very slowly. Hold the breath – counting one, two, three, very slowly. Then exhale though the mouth – counting one, two, three, very slowly. It was not easy to try and stay calm and go through the scenarios that had so occupied me over the last few weeks.
161.
All I could think to do now was to follow NTD at a discrete distance and try and buy myself some time. This was not a scenario I had even begun to register let alone plan for. It quickly became clear that NTD was indeed heading towards the car park and it therefore seemed that time was of the essence, so I began to slowly run in the same direction as NTD but staying on the opposite side of the street. It is difficult to say precisely what did happen next, but events suggest that I tripped or fell at the entrance of the car park, just as NTD had begun paying her parking fare. I must have momentarily lost consciousness as by the time I came round a very helpful young couple and an elderly lady were leaning over me asking if I was alright and someone suggesting an ambulance be called as I had clearly knocked my head. Trying to dust myself off and refusing the ambulance, I rather unsteadily made it to my feet and then sat on the nearby bench. There in the background watching at a discrete distance was NTD, and as our views met she seemed to turn a little hurriedly to her car, and it was the black Aston Martin Vanquis again. I could do nothing more than sit on the bench and watch her almost in slow motion get into her car and drive off. There was a spot of blood on my shirt and it took a little while to register that I had cut my temple when I fell and there was now some blood in my eye as well. I tried to call out to NTD, but with the running and the fall my throat was dry and a rather unusual gurgle came out. It was at that point that the young couple agreed they should call an ambulance.
162.
There it was, as it turned out, my last opportunity to discuss with NTD what had happened on 21 June 2014. She disappeared around the corner in her car and I assume back to Rippleswade Hall. After this episode in Padchester Jed made some further discrete enquiries on my behalf and it appeared that only two weeks after this meeting NTD had gone abroad and seemed to have no fixed intention of returning. She had gone to a chalet in Switzerland, in the same village the painter Balthus used to live, Rossiniere. It appeared she had also been unsettled by whatever occurred on that fateful night as I subsequently learned that Rippleswade Hall had been put on the market for sale, including all its contents.
163.
It is nearly 9 months since the events detailed above occurred but I remember the 21 June 2014 as though it all happened yesterday. There is a clarity to my recollections that I have not known before, not on my wedding day and not at my father’s funeral. I can say with a high degree of certainty that the events I have recounted above are both accurate and faithful to what occurred. Although some may say this is fanciful, the ramblings of a mad man, I saw what I saw. What meaning or significance these events have is a matter for others. What I have been instructed to do is to recount the facts as accurately and in as much detail as I can, and I have done this to the best of my knowledge and belief. There has been no embellishment or prosaic presentation, I have told my version of events with candour and honesty. I saw what I saw.
164.
I certify that the contents of this statement are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
The Voices
Momma Whibley: I had no idea how painful a miscarriage could be. Your father so wanted a daughter – it was a girl – we would have called her Sasha.
The Brigadier: Your mother. Me. Nothing seedy.
Momma Whibley: I spoke with Joyce earlier today. She said how much she had enjoyed seeing you. She always comments that you have such a nice smile, a warm face. But I told her, “He can be as hard as steel.”
The Brigadier: Standing room only from Naggasha. Standing room only.
The Brigadier: Bitch dead, long live bastard.
Momma Whibley: So you fell for a girl, indeed you ended up marrying her, because you liked her handwriting. In fact, more specifically, because you really liked the “cute” way she inserted a squashed “o” over her “i”s and “j”s. I didn’t realise you were so shallow.
The Brigadier: Red-hot ice drops fell on head as if standing under Hell.
Momma Whibley: Your father’s finest hour was WWII. He didn’t fight in it of course, but we were having our Friday night drink down at The Rose & Crown, you remember you used to sneak in there when you were 16 to ogle at the bar girls. One evening a German couple were there having a drink, never seen before or since. Old Ned set about them proper as he would say. He started asking them about the war and asked whether they had met Hitler. The couple were very composed and spoke good English. Anyway, after a while the German woman said “Please, please we just want to have a quiet drink, we are not ready for this”. Quick as a flash your father said, “Neither was Poland.” It brought the house down, even the German couple laughed. It was talked about for years. That’s the story you should have told at his funeral. Whenever that story was recounted your father’s eyes always lit up.
Momma Whibley: You used to tuck old letters into books. I found a letter from Ishani not so long ago in a poetry book. Must be over 35 years ago as it seemed to be written just after you got your results from Aberyswyth. She said not to worry and she would always love you and be there for you. She meant it at the time Millie, but not now. You have to let that go. What are you going to do? Turn up on her doorstep with the letter waiving it in her face and reminding her that she said she loved you and would always be there for you. She won’t even remember the letter Millie.
The Brigadier: Burma. Bloody hot. Jungle. Trekking. Bloody humid.
Your mother. Me. Not clever. W never knew.
Rare beauty. No control. No regrets.
The Brigadier: One regret. She stayed with W.
Sasha: We never met did we, but we were blood? Here I am!
The Brigadier: Knew it was bad. Figures moving on the Polaroid – they bloody moved I tell you. Bad trip, very bad.
Moma Whibley: You were such a bonny baby, always laughing and giggling – so happy. What happened? Was it us?
The Brigadier: The olde see youth in everyone, and youth see the age.
Momma Whibley: It was hardly science rocket, as our local cab driver was fond of saying.
The Brigadier: Spectrum people are everywhere. Some diagnosed, some not. Either way, highly fucking dangerous people. They knock and rattle in startled chambers. Oddbod, Needie Wierdo and Clingee.
NAME: Mr. Barrington Olivier Whibley
DATE OF BIRTH: 29 February 1946
ADDRESS: Willow Cottage
Norton Farm Road
Favering Creechurch
Dorset
DT34 3LU
COUNTY COURT: Not as yet known
CASE NO Not as yet known
CLAIMANT SOLICITOR Not as yet known
REFERENCE: Not as yet known
DEFENDANT INSURERS: Not as yet known
REFERENCE: Not as yet known
MY REFERENCE 4974-BWhibley-rpt001
REPORT DATED: 30 March 2015
(1) INTRODUCTION
(1.1) THE WRITER
My name is Thesper Andreas Carrington. I am a Chartered Clinical Psychologist. My specialist field is psychological trauma and psychosis an area within which I have worked over the past twenty-five years. As required under the Civil Procedure Rules full details of my qualifications are set out at Appendix 1 to this report.
(1.2) INSTRUCTIONS
The case concerns an unusual set of facts that occurred on 21 June 2014 and which are set out in fuller detail below. Originally I had been instructed by Mr. Whibley to investigate whether Mr. Whibley had suffered a formal psychological/psychiatric condition or whether what he had experienced was as a result of his involuntary taking some sort of hallucinatory drug and the effects and prognosis if appropriate. Subsequent to that initial instruction Mr. Whibley has been named in civil proceedings issued by Natalie Trelewyn-Digby and I have been retained by Mr. Whibley’s lawyers to act as an independent expert into his psychological profile. I have been provided with Mr. Whibley’s general practice notes and records.
(2) INVESTIGATION
(2.1) INTERVIEW
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 2 March 2015
ALSO INTERVIEWED: Mrs. Joanne Whibley (Wife)
(2.1.1) ON EXAMINATION
Mr. Whibley presented entirely appropriately and gave a clear and consistent account of the incidents leading up to and including the evening of 21 June 2014 and its impact upon him. Mr. Whibley was clearly distressed by the levels of anxiety he still experiences in relation to the events of 21 June 2014.
(2.1.2) THE INCIDENT AND SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
On the 21 June 2014 Mr. Whibley attended a dinner party at Rippleswade Hall hosted by Natalie Trelewyn-Digby at which he was the only guest. Various events occurred that evening some of which appear to be common ground and some of which are disputed as between Mr. Whibley and Ms. Trelewyn-Digby. During recounting these events Mr. Whibley became very emotional so much so that at one point he became tearful and left the consulting room to compose himself. Although this did not last long it is clear that Mr. Whibley is still emotionally sensitive to the events of that evening. He expressed his surprise at the extent of his reaction. This is not unusual in cases such as this.
I have reviewed a copy of the draft witness statement of Mr. Whibley and this sets out in very full detail the events of the evening of 21 June 2014.
The significant features of the evening in Mr. Whibley’s account are as follows:
He was the only guest at the dinner party
The man servant known as Peter collapsed
A local doctor was called
An ambulance left with Peter and the doctor
s. Trelewyn-Digby disappeared for prolonged periods leaving Mr. Whibley alone at Rippleswade Hall
Mr. Whibley saw both a noose and Satan in the Oak tree behind the outdoor dinner setting
Mr. Whibley then went into a trance like state and heard loud music – the same song played over and over
Mr. Whibley saw a singer performing in Rippleswade Hall
Mr. Whibley witnessed Ms. Trelewyn-Digby give birth to a baby boy
Mr. Whibley saw Satan take the newborn child
In the morning Mr. Whibley left by car with Satan and the baby
Mr. Whibley attended at The George & Vulture pub a local hostelry he frequented usually in the evening. It is alleged that he molested a female member of staff at The George & Vulture. Mr. Whibley has no recollection of this whatsoever.
It was only at the end of recounting these events that Mr. Whibley became very emotional. His wife was unable to comfort him to any degree.
It is now some nine months since the incident in question and Mr. Whibley has been unable to properly get over the events. Feelings of distress and anxiety have persisted since that evening. Up until 21 June Mr. Whibley described his psychological profile as normal and there had been no previous history of anxiety or depression.
Mr. Whibley finally arrived home to his wife at approx. 3:30 p.m. on 22 June 2014. Almost 24 hours after he had left for the dinner party. Mrs. Whibley described him as being extremely agitated and his behavior that day was uncharacteristically erratic. Mr. Whibley says that over the 48 hours after the dinner party there are large portions of time when he simply has no recollection at all of his actions. This includes the first 12 hours or so of his arrival home.
Mrs. Whibley explained that upon arrival home Mr. Whibley was only partially dressed and he insisted on taking a very long bath. For the last 30 years Mr. Whibley has always showered. He sang a few lines from a song over and over again. “Still got feelings still got feeling for you, baby.” Mrs. Whibley explained that Mr. Whibley very rarely sings and this was not a song with which she was familiar.
Mr. and Mrs. Whibley normally go to bed at approx. 22:30 and have done so for many years. On the evening of 22 June Mr. Whibley stayed up until 2:30 a,m. the following morning. Once he had finished his bath Mr. Whibley sat in the rocking chair wrapped in a wet towel and just rocked. Mrs. Whibley attempted on a number of occasions to persuade him to come to bed but Mr. Whibley more or less ignored her. When he did finally get to bed he then slept for over 16 hours. Mr. Whibley can recall nothing of these events and his first recollection from leaving The George & Vulture pub was when he woke up at approx. 18:30 on 23 June.
When he awoke Mr. Whibley described his feelings as being bewildered and disorientated. He began to experience immediate flashbacks and Mrs. Whibley described Mr. Whibley as “not at all his normal self-tremulous and almost feverish”. Mr. Whibley does not recall this. Mrs. Whibley became very concerned about Mr. Whibley’s condition and arranged for the family GP Dr Kasim, to attend. He administered Mr. Whibley a reasonably strong sedative 30 mg of Amotriplin and Mr. Whibley then fell asleep not awaking again until 8:45 a.m. on the morning of 24 June 2014.
