A Matter for the Jury (21 page)

28

Paul had suggested
that they retire to the George while the jury was out. He would telephone the hotel when they were needed back at court. The jury had retired at 3.15 after a summing up which both Ben and Gareth thought fair and balanced. But, to Ben's disappointment, the judge had ordered Ignatius Little to remain in custody while the jury deliberated. Little looked pale and shocked as the prison officer took him to the cells. But they could do nothing now except wait in the hotel lounge. Jess had ordered coffee. John Singer had been invited to join them, but had withdrawn to All Saints church to confer with Canon Williams.

‘Where is Joan?' Ben asked. ‘I saw her in court during the closing speeches and summing-up, but I lost her when we came out of court. I wanted to introduce myself properly and thank her.'

Jess took a deep breath.

‘She left for the station as soon as the jury retired,' she replied.

‘What?'

‘I told her we would take her back to Peterborough later if she wanted to wait for the verdict. I said she could spend another night here if she wanted to. But she said she wanted to catch a train and go home as soon as she could.'

They were silent for some time. Barratt raised his coffee cup.

‘Well, Ben, bloody good job, win, lose or draw,' he said. ‘Any predictions?'

Ben looked up at the ceiling.

‘We have a chance. But I'm afraid the jury might agree with Gareth about the Stone family's motive for fabricating something like this. It does seem a bit far-fetched when you sit back and look at it objectively. So I think we are not out of it, but we have to be prepared for the worst.'

‘Likely sentence?'

‘Twelve to eighteen months.'

Barratt exhaled heavily.

‘On the other hand,' he insisted, ‘you demolished the father's evidence. How could he not have remembered what Raymond said until trial? How could he not have remembered a confession over the phone?'

‘So, your prediction is…?'

Barratt grimaced. ‘Guilty, if I had to bet on it,' he conceded. ‘Despite all that. Somehow, I just can't picture that boy lying about things like that. He may have; but it's just hard to picture.'

Jess was smiling.

‘What do you think?' Barratt asked.

‘Not guilty,' she replied firmly.

‘You sound very confident,' Ben smiled.

‘I was watching the jury when Joan gave her evidence,' Jess said simply. ‘They liked her.'

* * *

The call to return to court came just after 6 o'clock. The long day had not diminished the enthusiasm of the public or the press, and Ben had to push his way through the throng of expectant spectators to take his seat in counsel's row. Gareth was already in court and smiled as Ben opened his notebook.

‘What do you say? Half a crown?'

Ben smiled back. ‘Done.'

He turned to look towards the dock as the officer brought Little into court. He looked ghastly. Ben confined himself to a nod – a smile might raise his hopes unfairly. They all stood as Judge Peterson entered court. Finally, Paul led the jury back to the jury box. The foreman was a portly man in his fifties, his dark three-piece suit enlivened by a red and white dotted handkerchief fluted casually in his top pocket. Philip Eaves curtly ordered the foreman and the defendant to stand.

‘Mr Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?'

‘We have, sir.'

‘On this indictment, charging the defendant, Ignatius Little, with indecent assault on a male under sixteen, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?'

The foreman looked directly at Judge Peterson.

‘Not guilty,' he replied firmly.

‘You find the defendant not guilty, and is that the verdict of you all?'

‘It is.'

Ben glanced to his left as he stood and caught Gareth's whispered congratulation.

‘Told you so,' he heard Jess whisper behind him.

‘Sir, may the defendant be discharged?'

The judge was about to reply when there was a loud crash from the dock. Ben turned, just in time to see the dock officer lunge forward in an effort to prevent Ignatius Little from collapsing. He was too late. With surprising dexterity, Paul ran to the dock to lend a hand. After a glance at the floor of the dock, he turned to the judge.

‘Sorry, sir, but is there a doctor in the house?'

The foreman was already making his way from the jury box.

‘There is,' he replied. ‘Let me through, please.'

Judge Peterson ordered the court to be cleared, and left the bench. By the time the courtroom had emptied, the foreman had administered smelling salts and Little was beginning to sit up. The usher brought him a glass of water.

‘Just fainted,' the foreman said. ‘The stress of the occasion, most likely. He will be all right tomorrow. It would be a good idea for him to take it easy tonight – go home, draw the curtains and spend a restful evening, drinking water, but nothing stronger.'

He began to make his way from the dock.

‘I would definitely advise leaving the communion wine where it is,' he added, turning his back.

Little looked around him. Ben was leaning on the rail of the dock, Barratt and Jess immediately behind him. John Singer and Canon Williams stood several feet away, looking uncertain as to what to make of the situation.

‘You are free to go sir, whenever you feel up to it,' the dock officer said. ‘But if I were you, I would sit there for a while till you get your breath back. There's no rush.'

Little sat quietly for some minutes, before allowing the dock officer to help him to his feet. He adjusted his tie.

‘How are you feeling now?' Barratt asked.

‘I'm all right,' Little replied shakily. ‘Thank you, Mr Schroeder, Mr Barratt, everyone. I can't thank you enough.'

‘We are pleased that it worked out well,' Barratt replied. ‘I'm sure Mr Singer will give you a lift home to St Ives. You will have some things to discuss with him in connection with the Diocese, but I would recommend leaving that for a day or two until the stress has worn off a bit.'

Little suddenly smiled.

‘I will feel better as soon as I speak to Joan,' he replied. ‘Where is she? Is she outside?'

Ben walked quietly back to counsel's row to collect his papers, leaving Barratt and Jess to field that particular question. Looking back a moment or two later, he saw Little sit down again in the dock, holding his head in his hands. Glancing down at his brief, he saw a small hand-written note lying on top.
‘Well done,'
the note read. ‘
See you back in Chambers.'
On top of the note was a gleaming half crown.

29

Despite the lateness
of the hour, Ben returned to Chambers to leave his robes and check for messages from Merlin. Once John Singer had taken charge of ferrying a disconsolate Ignatius Little back to St Ives, he had enjoyed a couple of beers with Barratt and Jess on the train back to London. He was ready to go home and get some rest, but duty called. To his surprise, there were lights burning in Chambers. He looked at his watch – almost 10.30 – and he took a curious walk through the corridors. Perhaps just the cleaners. But he found Gareth Morgan-Davies in his room, a glass of whisky before him on his desk. On seeing Ben, he stood cheerily.

‘Ben, come in my dear boy. You found your half crown, I hope?'

Ben grinned. ‘Yes. Thank you.'

‘Papers for next week,' Gareth confided. ‘I had to come in and take a quick look. What's your excuse?'

‘Habit, I suppose,' Ben replied. ‘Merlin has drilled it into me so often – always check in. By the time the jury came back it was too late to call Chambers.'

‘Quite right, too. Drink?'

‘I don't mind if I do,' Ben said. ‘I'm exhausted.'

Gareth poured him a glass of whisky and waved him into a chair.

‘You did well, Ben,' he said. ‘Did he do it?'

Ben savoured his first taste of the whisky, warm and mellow.

‘I hope not,' he replied.

‘It was the girl who made the difference,' Gareth said. ‘It was the right thing to call her. I thought he came across as a bit wooden, but she was very human. It must have been hard for the jury to imagine him interfering with little boys when he had her in his life.'

Ben nodded. ‘Yes, that was our assessment of it,' he replied. ‘How did you get on with the prosecuting solicitor? Will he be sending more work to Chambers?'

‘Yes, I think so,' Gareth replied. ‘He seemed happy. I don't think he expected too much of this case, what with Little being a clergyman of good character. It was always going to be an uphill battle, and I don't think the verdict came as a complete surprise. Yes, I think he is serious about coming to us, and I should think Merlin will be able to sell you to him without too much trouble after your work for Mr Little.' He smiled. ‘In fact, I have already put in a good word.'

‘Thank you,' Ben said, raising his glass.

‘Ben, you said some time ago that you wanted to talk about your being taken on in Chambers. What was it you wanted to know, exactly?'

Ben put his glass down on the small side table by his chair. He hesitated.

‘I suppose I wanted to know why, how it happened.'

Gareth smiled.

‘It happened because you were elected unanimously by the members of Chambers.'

Ben returned the smile. ‘Yes. But it was all so odd – or so it seemed to me. There was a time when you seemed sure that Chambers wanted to take on both Harriet and me, that there would be enough work for all of us. And then something happened, and you didn't talk about it for a long time, and I got the sense that it would be just Harriet. It wasn't until Merlin came through to the pupils' room after the Chambers meeting that I knew I had been elected, and at that point I was in shock. I had been sure it was over. I was all ready to gather up my things and move on. I didn't know whether it was Anthony Norris, or something to do with whatever was going on in Chambers.'

Gareth nodded. He stood and re-filled both their glasses.

‘I quite understand your confusion,' he replied. ‘It was a confusing time.' He paused. ‘All right. I will tell you what I know. But I don't know everything. The only person who knows everything is Bernard Wesley, and if he hasn't told me, he won't tell you. And it's probably right that he should not tell either of us the whole story. It involves some rather delicate matters. If the full story were known, even now, it would not do Chambers any good. So, be discreet with this.'

‘Of course,' Ben said.

‘You know about Clive Overton, of course – his history at Cambridge. We talked about it the other day.'

‘Yes.'

‘So you know that his father, Miles, had sent him to America, with instructions not to darken our shores again. But then Kenneth Gaskell got himself involved in a messy divorce case, Bernard leading him and Miles Overton leading Ginny Castle on the other side.'

‘Yes. I know the case settled rather abruptly. Kenneth and Anne were married, and the husband got access to Simon, which was what he really wanted out of it.'

‘All perfectly true,' Gareth agreed. ‘What you probably didn't know was that Kenneth and Anne had known each other for years. They grew up close to each other in Surrey, and there was apparently some mutual attraction between them, which rekindled during the case.'

Ben sat back in his chair.

‘Yes. I need hardly tell you that this is the part that you should be discreet about. They began a relationship, assuming that they had an overwhelming case against the husband and that he would fold, and the case would go away, very quickly. Unfortunately, they reckoned without Miles and Ginny and a rather enterprising local solicitor who set a private detective on them.'

Ben exhaled sharply.

‘Yes, photographs and all, so I understand, though I haven't seen them, of course. Anyway, to make a long story short, Miles and Ginny drafted a cross-petition, alleging adultery against Anne and Kenneth, which they threatened to serve and proceed with, unless Bernard agreed to capitulate. They gave him seven days to think about it. Bernard's instructing solicitor was Herbert Harper of Harper, Sutton & Harper. You met Herbert a number of times when you were my pupil; you know how much work he sends to Chambers, so you can imagine how he reacted to it.'

‘Bernard told him everything?'

‘Of course. He had no choice. Herbert knew what a strong case of cruelty they had against the husband. There could be no explanation for caving in and giving him everything he wanted. Predictably, Herbert wanted Kenneth's head on a silver platter and he was on the point of removing all his work from Chambers.'

Ben shook his head. ‘That would have been…'

‘A disaster, yes. It would have been the end of Chambers. It wasn't just a question of Herbert's work, though God knows that alone would have been a huge blow. But if Herbert removed his work it would only be a matter of time before all our other solicitors asked themselves why, and the whole story would have leaked out sooner or later – probably sooner. It would have been the end and, of course, Miles Overton knew that only too well.'

Gareth saw that Ben had almost finished his whisky and, without asking, refilled both their glasses.

‘From that point forward, Ben, my knowledge is patchy. I know that Bernard went up to Cambridge to see Harriet's father. Both he and Miles had been at his college, of course, as had Clive, until his university career ended so abruptly. Bernard did not tell me what they discussed, but I remember that when he got back, his spirits seemed to have revived. He had been completely devastated after his meeting with Herbert, almost ready to give up, it seemed to me. But when he returned from Cambridge he was a new man. He wouldn't tell me what was going on. But he asked me – well, ordered me, would be a better way of putting it – to do two things. The first was that, when he asked me, I was to accept a pupil without question. He wouldn't tell me who, at the time, but…'

‘Clive Overton,' Ben said.

‘Yes.'

‘What was the second thing?'

Gareth took a long time to reply.

‘Bernard ordered me to make sure Harriet was offered a tenancy in Chambers, regardless of what I had to do to make it happen.'

‘Regardless…'

‘Ben, I swear, I didn't think there would be the slightest difficulty. Chambers had been talking about taking you both on for some time. I had been pushing the idea that there was more than enough work – and I was right. Aubrey didn't object as long as Harriet got in, of course. Kenneth had been banished from London with instructions to do whatever Bernard told him to do. Peter and Roger could be persuaded easily enough. But I ran into a problem…'

‘Anthony Norris,' Ben said quietly.

‘Yes. Ben, it wasn't what you think. It wasn't because you were Jewish. He had talked about that in the past, but that was before your win at the Old Bailey. For some reason, he seemed to have set his face against taking you both. But he actually told me that, if it came to a choice, he would choose you over Harriet. Of course, that put me in the position of having to speak out for Aubrey's pupil instead of my own. I had a drink with Aubrey and Anthony at the Club, and I still remember the look they gave me when I told them where I stood: that I preferred to take you both, but that if it came to a choice, I would have to choose Harriet. I remember desperately wanting to tell them why, to tell them what was going on. But I couldn't. Bernard had demanded total confidentiality. And there it was. It was agreed.'

He paused to take a deep draught of his whisky.

‘I hated doing it, Ben, I want you to know that. I told Bernard that we had to find you a place elsewhere if we couldn't take you, and I want you to believe that he agreed immediately, and that we would have done so. It was just that…'

‘You had other concerns,' Ben replied in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘I understand that, Gareth. Of course, you had to do whatever it took to save Chambers.'

‘After I had secured agreement for Harriet, Bernard had a meeting with Miles and everything was resolved. In due course Clive arrived in Chambers as my pupil.'

He sat back in his chair.

‘And that, Ben, is all I know.'

Ben stared, open-mouthed.

‘But in that case, how was I elected? How…?'

‘I honestly haven't the faintest bloody idea,' Gareth replied. ‘Bernard proposed you himself immediately after we had elected Harriet. I was stunned. I hadn't expected it, and I am quite sure that no one else expected it. Bernard didn't give me any warning. But he proposed you, and made it fairly clear that he would regard it as unacceptable if you were not elected. I seconded the motion, of course, and it was carried unanimously. I can only assume that, for whatever reason – whether because he was intimidated by Bernard on the day, or because he thought it was the right thing to do or, knowing Anthony, just on a whim – Anthony changed his mind. I remember that there was a kind of collective sigh of relief when he put his hand up. But as to why, Ben, your guess is as good as mine.'

He drained his glass.

‘I'm sorry that I have had to tell you such an awful tale, Ben – especially on a day when you have had such a notable success. But perhaps it's the best day to tell you because, after all, none of that matters now. All that matters is that you are a member of Chambers and you are doing well. And the next time we meet to decide whether to take on a new tenant, you and Harriet will be there voting with us.'

Ben nodded. He put his glass down and left after wishing Gareth a good night.