Kendra ran from the station in the direction of the M5 Motorway. She was next seen running towards a pedestrian overpass that was closed for maintenance, creating an effective dead end for a person fleeing on foot. Because the overpass was under repair, the usual high protective mesh was not in place.

A passer-by told police she saw a woman frantically climbing around temporary barricades to go onto the overpass, with a man running after her. The two people had a loud argument on the bridge. The passer-by was concerned enough to ring 000, then hurried towards the overpass. The pair was seen to struggle, then the woman was hoisted up by the man and thrown over the low railing onto the roadway. A truck hit her within one or two seconds of her landing on the road surface.

In cross, Woodburn queried Rohan on a few matters.

‘If Kendra Bartlett was planning to leave my client, why didn’t she take any luggage, any clothing with her?’

‘I don’t know. But I could guess, based on common sense, Mr Woodburn. If she was afraid John Santino would prevent her from leaving or she was afraid he would hurt her, she could have tried to hide her intentions from the accused.’

‘The CCTV footage, Detective Mehta—you assume this shows a woman running in fear from a man chasing her to do her harm. Is it possible that it shows a distressed woman intending to harm herself, being pursued by a man who loves her and wants to protect her from committing suicide?’

‘I suppose it’s possible,’ conceded Rohan. ‘But I think that’s very unlikely given other evidence and the expressions on the faces, which you can see quite clearly in the footage.’

Rohan was thrillingly good on the stand: well prepared, polite but resolute in the face of Woodburn’s battery of questions. In his quiet way, Rohan was going in to battle for Kendra Bartlett. This was what he’d spoken about to Anita that evening in the pub, the first time they’d had a proper conversation. He’d talked about the drive to obtain justice for people after a terrible thing has happened. It couldn’t change the terrible thing but it was still of value. It was important. Watching him on the witness stand, Anita realised she was almost certainly in love with this man.

Finally, Woodburn questioned Rohan about John Santino’s demeanour in the hours immediately after Kendra’s death. The defence barrister was keen to characterise Santino as a bereaved man, distraught at the loss of his partner. Woodburn suggested that the police officers had prejudged his guilt, so had misread his behaviour. Santino’s refusal to cooperate, his bravado and apparent lack of sadness were, in fact, manifestations of genuine grief.

Again, Rohan held steady in his answers and he took the opportunity to sneak in an extra detail.