‘That was no co-incidence. She knew the plan that she had conceived was being put into effect over the Easter period. What better alibi than being able to rely on one of Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law to support her contention that she was elsewhere? And, she used that opportunity for a subsidiary purpose - to smuggle into Europe a considerable amount of money, stolen in the Charnwood robbery by Doyle. To make up, we say, for the money he was found with when he crashed his car trying to make a similar journey himself - or perhaps it was intended for a purpose entirely of her own. But her careful planning did not stop there. She had already prepared a false alibi to cover, as she thought, her visit to Hastings to see Grayling. She took the precaution of booking with her credit card, a first class return ticket from Leicester to London for the sixteenth of March. Not that she took the train to London, of course. But she did all she could to make it appear that she did and she made the return journey, after spending the evening with that same barrister at a restaurant in London. We say she had travelled from Hastings to London, in good time to arrive for her appointment with Mr Savage. She had no reason to believe she would be betrayed by her associates but, just in case, she prepared and provided misleading evidence in an attempt to refute any suggestion she was at the meeting in Hastings. This device she employed tells you a great deal about the woman who is in your charge. But her cleverness will not assist her now. Her former confederates - Duffy and Hanlon - will establish what we say is the truth and the truth is that this beautiful but desperate woman instituted, organised and offered to finance an extreme and desperate plot the object of which was to pervert the course of public justice whatever her final object may have been.’
He paused and dropped his voice to a whisper and went decidedly off-script.
‘And the whole thing began in that pretty little head of hers. Be not beguiled, ladies and gentlemen.’ He paused again and half-turned towards the dock. He pointed towards Julia.
‘Behind that lovely face lies a brain, a brain that conceived this whole intrigue and a brain that is still operating as this case proceeds. So take care. Do not be deceived. Hold fast to the truth. For the truth is that she is guilty as charged.’
The Attorney sat down, took out a clean white handkerchief and wiped his brow. No-one said anything for several seconds. One of the jurors started coughing. Then the judge spoke.
‘I think that’s a convenient moment to adjourn until tomorrow. Ten-thirty, members of the jury.’
Chapter Fifteen
‘That last bit wasn’t in our opening note, was it?’ asked Markham-Moore as he and Cronshaw made their way up the stairs to the robing room. The Attorney-General had dashed off to make an urgent phone call to the Prime Minister. After he had completed the call, Cronshaw had congratulated him on his performance before he left to catch the London train.
‘No it was not,’ said Cronshaw, firmly. ‘It seems we have an Attorney who has decided to make his own contribution to the case without discussing it with me first.’
Markham-Moore frowned. ‘A bit overdramatic, don’t you think?’
‘Perhaps, but I don’t suppose it will do us any harm. And, to be fair, it wasn’t too bad. It could certainly have been worse. The jury seemed pretty interested once he got going. And they all looked at Hamilton when he pointed to her. Trouble is, though, we don’t know what they’re thinking. Even after all these years I find it very difficult to work out what jurors are thinking, particularly at such an early stage of the case.’
Fiona Morrison was waiting immediately outside the door which led along a corridor to the robing room. She appeared anxious.
‘I thought you should know that the defence have asked for a production order to bring Kelly Maguire to court next week. It looks like she’s going to give evidence for the defence.’
Cronshaw frowned.
‘Kelly Maguire? She’d only be relevant to Hamilton’s journey to Hastings. And if she’s going to provide an alibi for her we are entitled to have written notice. I will speak to Edwin Everdene. Anyone know where he is?’
‘I think he went down to the cells to see his client,’ said Morrison. ‘His junior went with him. But that was ten minutes ago.’
As she spoke, Cronshaw saw Everdene climbing the stairs, slowly. He was in conversation with Felicity Garrard. It had obviously been a brief consultation in the cells.
‘Ah, Edwin,’ said Cronshaw. ‘What’s this production order all about?’
Everdene seemed unconcerned. ‘Nothing out of the ordinary. As she’s a serving prisoner we need a court order to get her here. It’s only a short point. It won’t add anything to the length of the trial.’
‘Does it, by any chance, relate to your client’s presence in Hastings?’
‘As you know, our case is that she wasn’t in Hastings and never met with Grayling. It’s you who are trying to put her there, but Maguire will not be supporting an alibi for my client, so I’m not obliged to give you advance warning. Had she done so, I would have served the necessary notice. And, I might add, it only arises because of the late service of part of your case.’
‘You mean Hanlon?’
‘Do I?’
‘I see,’ replied Cronshaw, not that he did, not immediately. ‘I don’t suppose you’re going to let me know what you expect her to say?’
Everdene smiled.
‘I don’t suppose I am. If you were in my place you wouldn’t act any differently, would you?
Cronshaw laughed.
‘You’re probably right about that.’
The two silks walked into the robing room corridor, followed by their juniors. Fiona Morrison headed for the CPS offices.
‘What did you think of the Attorney’s opening,’ asked Everdene with a grin. ‘It took him a while to get going, don’t you think? And the ending! Bit over the top?’
‘Between you and me, it was better than I anticipated,’ confessed Cronshaw. ‘He’s not entirely devoid of talent, but I gather he won’t be here tomorrow; he’s required in London, or so he says. But he’ll be back on Thursday and he’s decided he’s going to deal with Hanlon on Friday, which is fine by me. I’m looking forward to that. It should certainly be interesting.’
‘I shan’t be long with Hanlon. No more than an hour, so we should finish the more controversial witnesses by the end of the week. Are you still calling Savage tomorrow? I think I could agree most of his evidence.’
‘I want the jury to see him. I doubt if he’ll have anything to say that will harm Hamilton, but it might help the jury to understand how your delightful client is able to manipulate us poor males. She certainly wound him round her little finger!’ Cronshaw smiled. ‘Not that I include you in that particular party, Edwin!’
‘I see you are being conspicuously vague about my client’s alleged motive. Was she doing this to free Doyle or to drop him in it? You’re going to have to decide what your case really is.’
‘Does it matter? The indictment is broad enough to embrace both possibilities. We’ll never know what was going on in that febrile mind of hers. That’s why I amended the indictment.’
‘Well, if you can’t be sure what your case is, how do you expect the jury to be sure what she was up to?’
‘That’s the whole point – as you well know. They don’t have to be sure about that, only that she took steps to pervert the course of justice with the appropriate intent.’
Everdene put his arm around Cronshaw’s shoulder and laughed as the two friends walked into the robing room.
Chapter Sixteen
‘I call William Savage,’ said Cronshaw. The Attorney was still in London. He was required to attend an urgent meeting at the cabinet office on the instructions of the Prime Minister but had assured Cronshaw he would be back the following day.
The jury looked eagerly towards the door of the court, no-one appeared. The judge looked up from his
notebook. ‘He is here, is he, Mr Cronshaw?’
Cronshaw smiled.
‘My Lord, yes. The witness room is some distance from this court. He should be here in a moment.’
Everdene coughed, stretched out his hand and picked up a glass of water. The judge strummed his fingers on the bench.
‘I hope this is not going to happen with every witness?’
As he spoke, the door opened and an usher preceded Savage into the courtroom. The witness was smartly dressed in a dark blue double-breasted suit with a distinctive chalk stripe. A deep-red coloured handkerchief protruded from his breast pocket and his dark hair was carefully groomed. He looked uncomfortable, but strode purposively into the witness box and took the oath. The expression on his face told all. He would have preferred to be virtually anywhere else. After giving his name he was asked a couple of easy questions before Cronshaw turned to more intimate matters.
‘How well do you know the Defendant?’
‘Not as well as I thought, my Lord.’
He turned and half-bowed to the judge.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Cronshaw
‘I was unaware she was pregnant when our relationship was re-kindled.’
‘You are not the father of her child?’
‘No, I certainly am not. I didn’t even know she was pregnant until after we returned from Brussels.’
‘But you spent almost a week with her there did you not?
‘Yes – but no intimacy took place.’
Two male jurors looked at each other.
‘Why not?’
‘You’d better ask the lady,’ sniffed Savage. ‘I was up for it, but she always had an excuse and I wasn’t going to push it in view of our earlier relationship.’
‘How did she come to be with you in Brussels?’
‘I was going there anyway to sort out my great-aunt’s estate. I had been seeing her for a few weeks. I asked her to come with me. I was pleased when she agreed.’
Savage was very matter of fact in his answers.
‘When did you renew your relationship with her?’
‘She instructed me in a case on behalf of Trevor Parker. He sent me a lot of work when I was a junior.’
He glanced towards the judge again to emphasise his new status. The judge seemed uninterested.
‘She attended a conference with me when we saw a client at Glen Parva in February last year. I was the guest speaker at the Leicester Law Society dinner not long afterwards. I invited her to come with me and she agreed to do so, somewhat to my surprise. We saw each other a couple of times after that and it seemed the obvious next move was to invite her to Brussels. I was by no means sure she would agree to come, but I was very pleased when she accepted.’
‘I want to ask you about the day of the Law Society dinner last year. It was the twelfth of March I believe?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘Did you see her during that morning?’
‘Yes. She instructed me in a case at this court, before old Hercules - I mean Judge Fryman.’
Savage caught the judge’s eye then looked down.
‘Did you see her after the case concluded?’
‘I gave her a lift to Thrussington in Leicestershire, just off the A46. Her mother has a house there. I was going to Leicester, so it was hardly out of my way.’
‘Where did you drop her off?’
‘Just outside the salon. It’s by the village green. She had an appointment there at two pm.’
‘She was having her hair done in readiness for the dinner in the evening?’
‘Yes. I was to pick her up at half past six from her mother’s cottage on Rearsby Road.’
‘Did you see her enter the salon?’
‘No. She gave me directions to get back to the A46 by going through the village and turning right. I forget the name of the road. She also told me where her mother’s cottage was.’
‘So, you don’t know whether she did anything else before she went into the salon?’
‘No.’
Cronshaw then dealt with the events at the dinner and Julia’s return to her mother’s cottage afterwards. He then turned to the events of 16 March 1999.
‘When did you next see her?’
‘The following Tuesday – in London.’
‘When was that arranged?’
‘It was on the night of the Law Society dinner. I told her I would be in London all that week. She agreed to have dinner with me on the Tuesday.’
‘Who chose the date?’
Savage paused. He realised he would be cross-examined about the date. He decided to be suitably vague.
‘I can’t remember exactly how we agreed on the Tuesday. I was very busy that week and I already had an engagement on the Wednesday evening. I know Tuesday suited me.’
‘At what time did you see her that evening?’
‘Just after eight o’clock. She was already at the restaurant when I got there. It was in Red Lion Street, just off Bedford Row.’
‘The name of the restaurant?’
‘Ranieri’s. It’s Italian – and very good.’
Savage permitted himself a smile.
‘How was she dressed?’
‘Dressed?’ Savage seemed surprised by the question.
‘Yes, dressed.’
Savage looked perplexed. That was not a question he was expecting. He glanced at Julia in the dock.
‘Very smartly as I recall. She wore a very attractive dress, pale blue, I think. I know she had a dark blue coat when we left. I do remember that. It was quite cold when I drove her to St Pancras to get the train back to Leicester.’
‘Did she have anything with her? A bag or suitcase?’
‘She had a small bag. A clutch bag I think they’re called. But I don’t remember anything else.’
‘When did you next see her?’
‘About a week later. We had a drink together in Leicester. I had a plea and directions hearing there and we met up early that evening. That’s when she agreed to come to Brussels with me.’
‘Can you remember the date?’
‘It was the following Thursday. So it would have been the…twenty-fifth of March.’
‘And you went to Brussels when?’
‘On the thirty-first. That was the day of the hearing before Judge Campion of Doyle’s case. I picked her up in Leicester at her flat and we drove to London Heathrow as we were coming back by plane. We took a taxi from the airport to Waterloo and caught the Eurostar to Brussels.’
‘That was also the day you were informed you were to be appointed a QC?’
Savage smiled. ‘Yes. Not a day I’m likely to forget.’
He looked at the judge who, again, seemed quite uninterested.
‘When you picked her up at her flat, how many suitcases did she have? Presumably, it was you who placed them in the boot of your car?’
Before he could answer, Everdene was on his feet.
‘I fail to see the relevance of this question, my Lord. We are surely straying from the issues in the case.’
The judge looked at Cronshaw over his spectacles.
‘Do we need this?’
‘My Lord, yes. This goes directly to the question of the defendant’s relationship with Michael Doyle. If my learned friend would be patient, it will all become quite clear.’
‘This was not opened, my Lord,’ insisted Everdene.
‘The carrying of money to Brussels was opened. And it is dealt with in the witness’s statement,’ said Cronshaw. ‘It can hardly have come as a surprise to m’ friend. And we shall be calling the chambermaid from the hotel in due course.’
‘Very well. I shall allow you to proceed – for the moment.’
Cronshaw nodded in acknowledgment as Everdene re-took his seat.
&nb
sp; ‘What was the question again?’ asked Savage, flippantly.
‘How many suitcases did she have with her when you left Leicester?’
‘I wasn’t paying much attention, to be honest. I remember she had matching suitcases – one larger than the other. And one of them was quite heavy. I remember wondering what on earth she had in it. The porter and the taxi driver dealt with the all the luggage when we got to Waterloo.’ Savage paused and looked at the jury. ‘We were celebrating at the station. There was a delay of over an hour before the train departed. There’s a very nice champagne bar there. I’m afraid I over indulged a little.’
‘And when you returned to the UK?’
‘I’m much clearer about that. We flew back to Heathrow and I noticed she only had one suitcase with her, the smaller of the two, plus the handbag. I was expecting to pay an excess baggage charge, but in the event I didn’t.’
‘Did you ask her about the other case?’
‘Not at the airport, no. It was something I remembered later. When I asked her about it she got pretty shirty with me and said it was all my fault. She accused me of leaving it in the taxi.’
‘Did you see it in the taxi?’
‘I can’t say I did. I left all that sort of thing to the driver.’
‘Finally, Mr Savage, tell the jury how you felt about Julia Hamilton.’
‘Felt about her?
‘Yes.’
Savage shuffled his feet in the witness box. It was a question he would have preferred not to have to answer.
‘At the time, last March, I must admit I was becoming very fond of her. I really thought she was interested in me and I hoped it would lead to something serious.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I’m forty-two now. I was looking to settle down. If you want the honest truth, I think at that time I’d have done almost anything for her. We were getting on so well in Brussels.’
‘And now?’
Everdene jumped to his feet.
‘The witness’s present feelings for Miss Hamilton are quite irrelevant.’
The judge looked pointedly at prosecution counsel.
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