A Private and Convenient Place

by Michael G T Stokes

  The doctor recommended that Hanlon be taken to hospital. After carrying out a simple test he decided that he needed to be given glucose intravenously. Once informed of the full circumstances and the risks to others if Hanlon tried to escape, he reconsidered and decided to treat him there and then. He sent a message to the judge’s clerk that he would not be fit to resume his evidence in the afternoon. Paramedics brought the necessary equipment and Hanlon was put on a drip in his cell where he gradually recovered consciousness.

  Cronshaw and Everdene were sitting in the robing room, still in their robes, when the doctor’s initial report was received via Inspector Bullock. The Attorney walked in and expressed disappointment at the latest turn of events.

  ‘If cross-examination cannot conclude until Monday, I will not be here to re-examine.’

  Everdene smiled.

  ‘And the rule, of course, is that he who examines-in-chief should re-examine.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘I think you’ll find a paragraph or two about it in Archbold.’

  He smiled again, but more broadly. ‘Mind you, I shan’t hold you to it. As far as I’m concerned, Hal can do any re-examination. And from what Hanlon’s just said, there’ll be some need for it. Fancy him revealing that Grayling knew his phone was being tapped. That is an unlooked for windfall! Makes it much more likely that the phone call from Thrussington was a set-up.’

  He looked directly at the two prosecutors.

  ‘Wouldn’t you think?’

  Neither the Attorney nor Cronshaw said anything. Cronshaw steered the Attorney out of the robing room and into the CPS room. He closed the door.

  ‘This is what I was worried about from the beginning. Hanlon gave no hint of this beforehand and Hood specifically asked him about the phone call from the box in Thrussington. He had every opportunity to disclose this and to my way of thinking he’s deliberately waited until now before he’s said anything about it. This is quite deliberate.’

  ‘It’s not something he’s let slip?’

  ‘No. I reckon he’s trying to help her. Then there’s the Maguire point. If Maguire does give evidence and says she was in hospital on the sixteenth of March, his identification of Hamilton will be equally questionable. And if she’s telling the truth, the hospital will be able to confirm it. So the jury will have evidence that he’s lying about an important point in the case.’

  ‘He could simply be mistaken. He didn’t have her in view for very long at Grayling’s house. It could be an honest mistake.’

  ‘Mistaken? That one? No. I repeat, this is deliberate.’

  ‘We can presumably check the hospital details for ourselves?’

  ‘The police are onto it.’

  ‘But why would he lie? He must know he’ll get no reduction in his sentence by lying about Maguire.’

  Cronshaw sighed.

  ‘I’m beginning to wonder if his collapsing in court isn’t part of it too. Thank God, the doctor reconsidered. You know he initially wanted him taken to hospital? At least that’s something we needn’t worry about. He’ll not be going to the QMC now. If this is a device to get himself to a hospital, so he can escape, he’s going to be bitterly disappointed. It’s straight to Mansfield for him after his sugar levels are back to normal.’

  ‘That’s the problem is it?’

  ‘I’m not sure but I don’t understand why he should have had this difficulty. He’d have had his first dose of insulin before he set off this morning. And he wouldn’t normally have his second dose until tonight.’

  ‘Perhaps he didn’t have his insulin this morning?’

  ‘That thought had occurred to me. I’ve asked Edward to speak to the doctor when he’s finished treating him.’

  ‘So you think he didn’t take his insulin this morning deliberately? To bring on a diabetic collapse.’

  ‘I wouldn’t put it past him.’

  ‘When will we know for certain?’

  ‘Sergeant Knight has organised a search of his cell at Whitemoor. The trouble is the prison was aware he would not be returning and his cell may have been turned over to another prisoner by now. If he has stashed his insulin somewhere there’s little realistic prospect of finding it.’

  ‘But with his condition it could simply be one of those things, couldn’t it? Diabetic coma is not that unusual and it certainly appears genuine. It doesn’t seem that he’s putting it on.’

  ‘I wonder,’ said Cronshaw. ‘I don’t know a great deal about diabetes but if he deliberately didn’t inject himself this morning that might well have brought it on?’

  ‘It might, I suppose. We’ll have to wait for the doctor’s full report. But he’ll be fit by Monday, I hope?’

  ‘He should be OK in a few hours, but given the time, the judge won’t sit further today, other than to send the jury home.’

  ‘Do you think these two events are connected? Hanlon revealing that Grayling knew his phone was being tapped and Maguire possibly undermining the ID evidence?’

  Cronshaw removed his wig and threw it on the table in frustration.

  ‘Of course they are! The whole thing’s designed to get Hamilton off the hook. The question is: Why? Hanlon doesn’t owe her a thing. Why is he going out of his way to help her and damaging his own prospects at the same time?’

  ‘He wasn’t helping her much in chief, was he? He identified her and described what she was wearing.’

  ‘Yes, but he’s blown any chance now of the jury believing she made that phone call. And his ID of her will be worthless once Maguire gets in the box. You mark my words. This has all been planned.’

  ‘Well I’m completely at a loss.’ The Attorney shook his head. ‘I should have listened to you Hal. I should never have called him.’

  He looked sheepishly at his colleague.

  ‘Is this retrievable?’

  ‘We are where we are. There’s no point regretting the decision to call him now.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘It simply isn’t consistent with what we know of Hanlon. He’s always looks after number one. He’s definitely up to something.’

  ‘Should security be enhanced?’

  ‘I don’t see how it can be. Inspector Bullock’s got it all sewn up. Tight as a drum. He’s got no chance of escaping between here and the prison and if this was all intended to get him into a hospital he probably knows by now that it simply isn’t going to happen.’

  ‘Perhaps he’ll come good on Monday? Say something that’ll really sink her? Apart from this problem with Maguire and the phone, he’s more or less stuck to his story.’

  Cronshaw shook his head.

  ‘No, He’s playing with us. He stuck to his story, yes, but look at the way he went about it. He’s up to something. What it is, though, I have no idea.’

  * * * *

  ‘What did you think of all that then?’ said Bryan as he unwrapped his corned beef sandwiches and released the top from his flask. The jury room was buzzing following the dramatic collapse of Hanlon in the witness box. ‘I told you,’ he continued. ‘It’s a set up. That phone call wasn’t made by her at all. If Grayling knew his telephone was being tapped, he’d never have spoken to her over the phone about something as serious as this. Not unless he wanted to trap her into saying something.’

  Miss Duston took a more balanced approach.

  ‘But he didn’t say anything damaging and neither did she. They were both very careful about that. All it amounts to is an appointment to meet at his home.’

  Bryan disagreed.

  ‘But the date was mentioned, wasn’t it? And once the date was mentioned it draws her in, assuming she did turn up at Grayling’s place, and I’m not convinced she did.’

  ‘But how could Grayling have known about her hair appointment?’ said Miss Duston. ‘Someone like Grayling would not concern himself with such trivialities.’

  ‘How did he know that D
oyle had been moved to Wakefield or that Julia had been arrested? He obviously had a bloody good network,’ said Jimmy Murphy. ‘I agree with Bryan; it’s looking more and more like a set-up.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Miss Duston, ‘but we shouldn’t rush to judgment. There’s a lot more to come from Mr Hanlon, I expect. The defence QC has hardly got going yet. And we are going to hear from Kelly Maguire too. That should be very interesting.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Hannah Mathews. ‘I noticed that the prosecutor was getting very irritated with Hanlon. It looked like he wasn’t expecting some of the answers that he came out with. The trouble with you men is that you’re too interested in her looks. A pretty face and you lose all sense of proportion.’

  ‘It’s not just her face,’ said Jimmy with a smile.

  Bryan laughed. ‘That’s got nothing to do with it!’

  ‘It’s a waste of time,’ interrupted Nathan Jennings. ‘I’m not for convicting her. Not on what we’ve heard so far.’

  But Paul Green supported Miss Duston’s point of view.

  ‘It’s looking a bit dodgy, I agree. But we need to hear more before we jump to any conclusions. There’s no argument that she and Doyle used to be an item. He could well have put her up to this. He was inside at the time - on remand. There was nothing he could do. He’d have to rely on her.’

  ‘But why would he have he judge’s wife taken to somewhere so easily linked to him? It doesn’t make sense,’

  Bryan was not letting go and was finding some support from the others.

  ‘Perhaps that’s where the double-cross comes in?’ said Miss Duston. ‘It must have been Grayling who chose the location to hold them. Nothing to do with Doyle at all. As you say, he would hardly have them held somewhere so closely connected with himself. But if the real plan was to make it look like he’d organised the whole thing, putting the victims in a cellar in a place owned by him could easily mislead the police.’

  ‘There’s no “could” about it. It did mislead the police,’ replied Bryan. ‘But why would she go along with it? The last thing she’d want is to undermine Doyle.’

  ‘Perhaps she didn’t?’ said Miss Duston ‘Unless she’d changed her mind about him, of course. Ladies sometime do, you know.’

  ‘Not if they’re pregnant with his child they don’t,’ said Hannah Mathews.

  ‘I must say I’m looking forward to this afternoon’s session. There’s no saying what Hanlon will say next.’

  ‘If there is an afternoon session,’ said one of the others. ‘Hanlon didn’t look at all well. My wife has diabetes and she’s fallen ill a couple of times when her sugar levels have gone all wrong. It usually takes a few hours to get over it. I would have thought the judge will want him fit before he continues.’

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  At 2.15pm the jurors were called back into court. The witness box was empty as was the public area. The Press, however, could not be excluded. If anything, their numbers had increased. Several of them sat with their pens poised as the jury settled into their seats. The judge explained that Hanlon had been taken ill, was receiving expert medical treatment but would not be fit to resume before Monday morning. He apologised but said he had no option but to adjourn the trial until ten-thirty on Monday. The jurors indicated they understood and were about to leave the jury box when the judge asked them to remain seated. He addressed them in a very serious tone but with one eye on the representatives of the Press.

  ‘Members of the jury, we have reached a very sensitive part of the case. It is doubly important that you continue to observe what I told you at the outset of the trial. Do not speak to anyone outside your number about what has occurred. Hanlon’s illness will no doubt be all over the newspapers and other media. It is absolutely essential that you resist the temptation to speak about what you witnessed in court this morning. If anyone does, please bring it to my attention, through the bailiff.’

  The judge smiled and glanced at the Press benches.

  ‘Any attempt by anyone to speak to any of the jurors will be dealt with speedily and severely.’

  The jurors nodded their assent and departed. No-one moved from the Press benches. The judge then raised the issue of Hanlon’s immediate future movements.

  ‘I assume it was not intended to return him to Whitemoor?’

  The Attorney deferred to Cronshaw.

  ‘No, my Lord. I gather from the doctor that he is already conscious and should be fully recovered later today. He’s receiving appropriate medical treatment downstairs. It is not considered necessary for him to be transferred to hospital. He will be detained over the week-end in a different prison. For obvious reasons I shall not mention in open court which prison it is. But your Lordship can rest assured that very strict security will be in place as he travels from the court to the prison in question’.

  The judge nodded looked to his clerk and was about to rise when Everdene intervened.

  ‘My Lord, I have another concern. Hanlon is in the middle of giving his evidence. It may be thought that I was making some progress with him before he collapsed.’

  He glanced at the prosecution team.

  ‘I don’t think we can blame you or your questioning of him for his present condition,’ smiled the judge.

  ‘I’m obliged. But as he is still to finish his evidence, it is surely essential that he is not spoken to or the subject of any questioning about the events of this morning until he has completed his evidence. I would invite your Lordship to make it clear that there must be no contact between him and any representative of the Crown until then. He must be treated just like any other witness whose evidence is not completed when an adjournment takes place.’

  The judge nodded.

  ‘I am sure the prosecution understands that. The Attorney will no doubt give the appropriate undertaking?’

  ‘My Lord, of course I do. There will be no contact between any representative of the Crown and Mr Hanlon until he has completed his evidence.’

  ‘I shall sit at ten o’clock on Monday,’ said the judge. ‘I told the jury ten-thirty, but there may be matters to be discussed before the jury returns.’

  He stood, bowed to counsel and left the courtroom. There was a race for the door by those in the Press seats.

  ‘I can imagine what tomorrow’s newspapers will be like,’ sighed Cronshaw as he and the Attorney made their way from the court.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ‘Dr Hutchinson,’ said Cronshaw, shaking the police surgeon’s hand, ‘thank you for agreeing to see us.’

  Cronshaw introduced the others in the room. The Attorney had returned to London. Cronshaw and Edward Markham-Moore had asked to see the doctor after he had completed his treatment of Hanlon. The meeting took place in the small conference room that had been given over to the prosecution. Chief Inspector Hood was invited to attend along with Fiona Morrison.

  ‘In the circumstances,’ said Hutchinson, ‘I see no difficulty in disclosing my findings or the treatment I gave Hanlon.’

  He sat down and produced his notes. ‘The judge has asked for a report in writing for Monday morning, but I’m pretty clear in my own mind what has happened here.’

  ‘Do go on,’ said Cronshaw.

  ‘As you probably know, Hanlon is diabetic and it appears his condition is pretty serious and will be increasingly difficult to contain as the years go on. He started using insulin only comparatively recently. But there are always ups and downs with diabetes if the patient is not rigorous in his attention to his regime. Diet, exercise and regular insulin injections are very important in a patient like Hanlon. I suspect that he’s a bit reckless. It’s not unusual in those recently diagnosed. They don’t always realise what a serious impact it can have on their health, especially if they don’t feel unwell.’

  ‘If he missed an injection recently, could that have brought it on?’ asked Morrison. ‘I
understand that he is trusted to inject himself, but he is not given a supply of insulin for obvious reasons in a prison setting. He is given two doses each morning to last for the day.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s the position here,’

  ‘You don’t?’

  The doctor shook his head.

  ‘No. Failure to take insulin will bring on a very gradual collapse and there will be obvious indications some time before a diabetic coma occurs. In Hanlon’s case, it’s more likely to be the reverse. If anything, he has overdosed on insulin. His sugar levels were very low. When that occurs, the patient can become unwell very quickly. I didn’t treat Hanlon with insulin. After the initial tests, I put him on a glucose drip. He’s a lot better now.’

  ‘Would a blood test prove that? An overdose of insulin?’

  The doctor shook his head.

  ‘No, we all have insulin in our bloodstreams; it’s a naturally occurring hormone, the main anabolic hormone of the body. His low sugar level is suggestive of an overdose, though. The real question is, if he has overdosed, where did he get the extra insulin from? Very difficult I would have thought in a high security prison.’

  It was Cronshaw’s turn to shake his head.

  ‘Unfortunately, all sorts of substances find their way into prisons – even high security establishments. I suppose it’s possible, as he’s only recently been diagnosed, that he accidentally overdosed?’

  ‘It does happen, particularly with those who don’t check their sugar levels regularly. I gather Hanlon relies on the prison medical service to check those for him and I suspect the checks are too infrequent. And he apparently does not like injections or blood samples being taken. As I say, his approach to his illness seems pretty cavalier. He was telling me not fifteen minutes ago he felt fit enough to resume his evidence. He isn’t of course.’