by Chris Taylor
No one spoke. No one dared. Most of the people in the room had grown up around law enforcement. They knew what would happen if the Crown proved its case beyond reasonable doubt: Declan would be committed to stand trial.
It would be a savage blow. Although that was still some way from being found guilty, it still meant that a magistrate—a representative of the court—believed the prosecution had enough evidence to solicit a guilty verdict.
“Please, let’s not dwell on this,” said Roger. “Right now, we have to think positive. We all know Charlie Stanford’s lying. Declan’s told me it’s possible he even accessed the laptop. Let’s see if we can shake the truth out of him. I say, bring it on.”
CHAPTER 10
Declan should have realized the first person to give evidence against him would be Senior Investigator Chloe Sabattini. She was, after all, the officer in charge of the investigation. But it still felt like he’d taken a hard right hook to his gut when she took the stand, averted her gaze from him and swore to tell the truth.
She looked as cool and professional as she always did, dressed in a subdued but nicely fitting charcoal-gray suit and a pale pink blouse. He zeroed in on her shapely legs, visible beneath her knee-length skirt, and did his best not to be impressed. This woman was the reason he was there. She had no right to look so good.
He brought the uncharitable thoughts to a halt. Chloe Sabattini wasn’t the reason he was there. She was only doing her job and he could tell from the way her hand kept moving to push back a wayward strand of hair that had escaped the tight bun at her neck, she wasn’t as calm and collected as she appeared.
Maybe she had doubts about his guilt? Perhaps she’d garnered something in his explanation about Meg that had made her think he was telling the truth after all?
Declan bit down hard on the surge of hope. She was here, wasn’t she, giving evidence for the prosecution? If that wasn’t enough proof she thought him guilty as sin, she hadn’t once looked his way. That told him all he needed to know.
He turned slightly from where he sat in the dock and caught sight of his family seated behind him. They filled the first three rows of the public gallery and another surge of gratefulness for their presence flooded through him.
Clayton gave him a somber thumbs-up and Declan acknowledged it with a slight movement of his head before turning back to face the witness box.
With quiet efficiency, Chloe went through her evidence. She recounted how Detective Superintendent Gary Julian had contacted IA. How she had combed through computer records, which clearly showed the defendant, Declan Munro, or someone using his username, password and computer, had accessed child pornography unrelated to any investigation with which he was involved.
Neil Abbey, the young, newly appointed DPP lawyer with a reputation for being a hard-nosed player, questioned her about her interview with the defendant.
Chloe’s gaze collided with Declan’s. Her eyes widened. He could tell she was as surprised as he was that she’d glanced in his direction. His heart thumped. The courtroom receded. For a few seconds it seemed there was nothing but the two of them, staring at each other.
And then she looked away.
Declan felt the absence of her gaze like the sun receding on a frosty morning. He took stock of what happened then cursed under his breath, knowing that being interested in the officer investigating his case was one of the stupidest things he could think of.
But he couldn’t help it. There was something about the cool sophistication of the IA officer and her staunch belief in the justice system that he too believed in… Her dedication to her job was another thing he grudgingly respected. They may have been on opposing sides, but that didn’t mean he didn’t admire the way she went after the things she believed in.
The thoughts lingered in his mind, her effect upon him powerful enough to push away, even for a miniscule segment of time, the threat she presented when she entered his life.
“During the course of the defendant’s record of interview, did you ask him about his username and password?” Neil Abbey asked, his tone deceptively conversational.
“Yes,” Chloe replied, her gaze now firmly trained back on the prosecutor.
“And did the defendant answer you in relation to those questions?”
“Yes, he told me he’d never supplied his username or password to another person.”
“Not another living soul?”
“That’s what he told me.”
The prosecutor picked up a sheaf of papers that lay on the bar table. “Is this the defendant’s record of interview?” He indicated the papers in his hand, passing them to the clerk of the court who handed them to Chloe. After taking a few moments to check them over, she nodded.
“Yes. This is both the first and second record of interview.”
Abbey addressed the magistrate. “Your Honor, I’d like to tender a copy of this record of interview. I have already supplied my learned friend with a copy.”
“Is that correct, Mr White?” the magistrate asked, peering over the top of his reading glasses.
Roger stood. “Yes, Your Honor. We have no objection to the tendering of the record of interview.”
“Very well. I will mark it Exhibit A.” The judge looked toward the prosecutor. “Will there be anything else?”
“Nothing further, Your Honor.”
Then it was Declan’s turn, or more accurately, his barrister’s. Roger went in confidently, but both of them knew there was little he could do with Chloe’s testimony. The computer records spoke for themselves. Everything hinged on whether anyone else could have obtained access to Declan’s login details. Chloe was not in a position to know that information. But what she could do was vouch for his character.
“Tell me, Senior Investigator Sabattini, you interviewed my client on two separate occasions. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” she replied, her gaze on the defense lawyer.
“And during that time, did you come to any conclusions about his integrity?”
Chloe frowned. “I…um, I’m not sure what you mean.”
“What I mean is, did you form any opinion as to whether my client, Agent Munro, was telling the truth?”
Declan sat forward, his heart pounding. It seemed that at least half of the occupants of the courtroom were holding their breath along with him.
Color crept up Chloe’s cheeks.
“Answer the question, Investigator,” the magistrate prompted quietly.
“Yes. I-I did.”
“Yes, you formed an opinion about my client’s sincerity? Is that what you’re saying?”
Chloe cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, Mr White. I formed an opinion.”
“And what was that opinion, Investigator?”
The blood pounded so loudly in Declan’s ears, he was afraid he wouldn’t hear her answer. He strained against the noise.
And then she looked at him again. Another fleeting moment and her gaze was gone.
“In my opinion, Agent Munro was telling the truth.”
A murmur ran through the courtroom. The prosecutor sent Chloe a glare that looked like he wished it had the power to turn her to stone. Declan held his breath.
“And yet, Investigator,” Roger continued, “here we are.”
Chloe bowed her head. A moment later, she looked back at Declan’s lawyer. “There was a lot of circumstantial evidence that Agent Munro was unable to explain away. I thought under the circumstances, the proper place to decide his guilt or innocence was in a court of law.” She looked around the room, avoiding Declan. “And here we are.”
Knowing he wasn’t going to make any further ground, Roger returned to his seat. The magistrate made a few notes on the paper before him and looked over toward the lawyer representing the Crown.
“Is there any re-examination?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Abbey jumped to his feet.
“Senior Investigator Sabattini, is there any doubt in your mind
that this matter should be heard right here, before His Honor in a court of law?”
Declan stared at her, willing her to answer in the affirmative. It seemed to take a lifetime, but eventually she replied, her voice low, but firm.
“No.”
The breath rushed out through his mouth and his shoulders slumped. Yet he hadn’t expected anything else.
“Nothing further, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said, tossing Roger a look of victory.
The magistrate cleared his throat. “Very well, Senior Investigator Sabattini you may step down.” He looked over toward the prosecution. “Please, call your next witness.”
The courtroom door opened and Detective Superintendent Gary Julian strode down the aisle and stepped up to the witness box. After being sworn in by the clerk, he took the seat Chloe had recently vacated and rested his hands on the ledge in front of him, his fingers folded. His gaze found Declan’s and he offered a reassuring nod.
Gratitude warmed Declan’s gut and he returned the imperceptible greeting. At least someone was on his side. Within moments, the preliminaries were established and Abbey got down to the real reason Declan’s boss had been called to testify.
“Detective Superintendent, I have here a copy of the staff roster prepared by you over the month of August. Would you take a look at it and confirm that it is correct?”
A copy was passed across the bar table to the defense team. Roger glanced at it briefly and then nodded his assent. Declan didn’t need to see it. He’d checked the roster the minute he’d been able to after his first interview with Chloe. He knew he’d discover he’d been rostered on during the relevant times the illegal access had occurred. Stanford wasn’t stupid.
As expected, Gary confirmed that the roster was in order. The prosecutor then asked him to confirm that the defendant was rostered on duty on the dates in question. Again, Gary confirmed that this was so.
Abbey then picked up another piece of paper. “I have here a print out of the usage of a particular computer in your squad room. I’d like you to take a look at it.”
The same procedure was followed, with a copy being supplied to the defense before being handed to the witness.
“Is it true that every single desktop computer and government-issued laptop have individual identification names and numbers?”
“Yes, that’s true. It’s standard procedure.”
“Do you recognize the identity of that computer?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell the court whose computer that is?”
“Well, it belongs to the AFP, but it is a desktop computer located on the desk of Federal Agents Munro, Black, Angus, Timms and Cannister.”
“So all of those agents have access to that computer?”
“Yes, we generally run two or three shifts over a twenty-four hour block, depending on what’s going on. All of those agents use that desk while they’re at work and hence, they use that computer.”
“Does each officer have their own username and password?”
“Yes.”
“Do they ever login as someone else?”
“No, that’s something none of them would do. Every keystroke made by a user is tracked and recorded. Everyone in the office knows it. Sharing usernames or disclosing passwords simply wouldn’t happen.”
“So, if I told you the records show that someone using Federal Agent Munro’s username and password illegally accessed child pornographic material, you would be satisfied that the person who carried out that activity was Federal Agent Munro?”
“Objection!” Roger was on his feet. “It’s not for this witness to say whether or not he’s satisfied as to Federal Agent’s guilt.”
“Sustained,” the magistrate agreed. “Please continue, Mr Abbey.”
“Detective Superintendent Julian, of all the officers you mentioned who use the very same computer Agent Munro uses, how many of them were on duty during the times which are the subject of this hearing?”
Julian drew in a deep breath. His shoulders slumped. “A couple of them were on duty at one time or the other, but Agent Munro was the only one on at all of those times.”
“I seek to tender the staff roster and the computer records, Your Honor.”
The magistrate looked over at Roger. “Do you have any objection, Mr White?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Very well, I’ll mark them as Exhibits B and C respectively.”
“I have no further questions,” the prosecutor said.
Roger got to his feet. “Detective Superintendent, were you surprised when you were told Agent Munro had been charged with these offences?”
Gary straightened in his seat. “Yes, I was very surprised. Agent Munro is an excellent agent. He’s part of a first-class team. I can’t imagine that he would be involved in such a thing.”
“Agent Munro has been under your command for approximately twelve months. In that time, what have you observed of his character?”
“As I said, Agent Munro has been an exemplary employee. He’s always the first to volunteer for extra duties and he’s pulled more than his fair share of doubles when it’s been required. He has excellent investigative initiative and an agent I’ve been proud to have on my team.”
“Detective Superintendent, you’ve been a Federal Agent for many years and a team leader for more than a decade. Is that correct?”
Gary nodded. “That’s correct. I joined the AFP at the age of twenty-two. I’m now fifty-eight. Apart from holidays, I’ve spent all of that time fighting crime in an effort to keep our country safe.”
“So it’s fair to say you’ve had considerable experience working with other officers and getting to know them.”
“If you call thirty-six years considerable time, I’d have to agree with you.”
There was a murmur of laughter through the courtroom. Roger acknowledged it with a smile and continued.
“Detective Superintendent, who else has access to your employees’ login information?”
Gary’s expression sobered. “No one, as far as I know. They’re generated out of the Home Affairs Office when an agent is first employed and given directly to the agent.”
“Are there any hard copies of such information left in an employee’s file?”
Gary frowned in thought. “I’m not sure. When I first started at the AFP, there were no such thing as logins and passwords. From my recollection, when computers became part of our daily life, my login details were generated by the computer system. I have no knowledge how it works these days.”
“Thank you, Detective Superintendent. I have no further questions.”
Abbey jumped to his feet. “I’d like to re-examine, Your Honor?”
The magistrate nodded. “As you wish.”
“Detective Superintendent, you mentioned that Agent Munro was part of a first-class team and that you couldn’t imagine that he would be involved.”
“Yes,” Gary agreed warily.
“So thinking about the rest of your first-class team, which one of them do you think could have done this?”
A knot of dread tightened in Declan’s gut. He watched the color disappear from his boss’ cheeks.
Gary shook his head. “I-I can’t believe any of them would be capable of it.”
Abbey’s voice lowered. “And yet, one of them is.”
Gary’s head bowed.
Declan’s shoulders slumped.
* * *
Chloe saw the defeat in Declan’s eyes and wished she could go to him and offer words of comfort. She’d always prided herself on being a good judge of character and despite the fact she stood by the testimony she’d given, everything she’d seen this morning had reinforced her growing conviction that, notwithstanding the evidence before them, Declan Munro was exactly what he said he was: an innocent man.
The next witness was the IT technician employed by the AFP who had carried out the forensic testing on Declan’s laptop. Within a few moments, Terry Higgins had given testimony t
o the effect that more than a hundred images of child pornography had been found on a laptop located in Agent Munro’s apartment and believed to be one owned by Agent Munro.
White got to his feet. “Mr Higgins, the laptop you examined from Declan Munro’s apartment wasn’t protected by a password, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t,” the witness replied. Declan frowned and whispered to his lawyer.
Roger asked the technician, “Were the images downloaded at one time, or over a period of time?”
The technician looked confused by the question. “They were all downloaded and saved to a file on the hard drive on the same day. From memory, it was September eighth.”
“And that date was after the defendant was laid off work, isn’t that right?”
“I wouldn’t know the answer to that, sir.”
“For the record, you’re saying the pictures were put on the home computer in a single download operation. This means whoever did it wasn’t in the habit of downloading this kind of material to his home computer. With no password, anyone could have logged into the laptop, correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct. That’s the reason most of us use passwords.”
“In fact, someone else could have put those pictures there for forensics to find, isn’t that true?”
“Yes. That’s possible.”
White returned to his seat. Chloe sighed, knowing there was nothing more he could do to dispute the forensic evidence. Declan’s only hope was proving that someone else had accessed his laptop.
The clerk called out the name of the next witness and her attention was drawn to the door of the courtroom as it opened again. Charlie Stanford strode through the doorway, staring straight ahead. He wore a dark navy suit, white business shirt and a conservative blue tie. He looked like any other federal agent she might encounter over the course of her day.
Her gaze slid to Declan. He’d straightened in his seat. Even from across the aisle, she could see the tension in his body.
After taking the oath, Charlie took a seat in the witness box and proceeded to answer the prosecutor’s questions. Abbey established that Charlie was an officer with an enviable service history and an unblemished record. The court also heard how Charlie was Agent Munro’s friend.