‘We say you can be sure he acted in anger and his attack on these three youths was unlawful. He intended to cause them really serious harm and he did so. Harm that resulted in the death of Albie Young. And that means he is guilty of murder, the verdict we ask you to return.’
‘Miss Hardman, we’ll break for half an hour,’ said Judge Crabtree.
Cassie stood and nodded at him but he was already halfway towards the door. Up in the Bar Mess she turned on her mobile. Since she had changed her passwords she had heard nothing from her stalker; she hoped he was no longer interested in harassing her. On the screen of her phone she saw the familiar heading ‘Paul Sadler’. She was dismayed, but she opened the message. There was one word.
‘Murderer.’
At first her voice was shaky but after the familiar opening sentence of her speech she forgot the threats and was soon speaking with her usual fluency. She had decided to meet the allegation of racism head on. ‘Over the last few decades we have come to accept that racism is wrong, we cannot judge a man or woman by the colour of their skin. Mr Montgomery has some very strong views about that, he has never tried to hide his dislike of those who are not white and British. Like many, he resents the increased immigration into the UK.’
She paused. This was very dangerous ground and she wanted a moment or two to look carefully at the members of the jury and to make some assessment of how uncomfortable they were finding her remarks. Would they meet her gaze or turn away in disgust? She scanned the two rows; at least they weren’t looking away from her.
‘But there is no evidence that he has ever been involved in any racist organisations or has threatened or assaulted anyone because of their ethnicity. He has run the shop in Barlby Road for a number of years, yet there is no evidence of him discriminating against any group of people who have come to the shop as customers.
‘Not only has he been the proprietor of the shop, but his father was before him. The business has been run by his family for over fifty years. Mr Montgomery has seen many changes, but the little store is on a knife edge and he knows that. He cannot afford customers who steal or damage his goods. We know, and there is no dispute about this, that groups of pupils from St Colomb, including Jas Wilding, Loveday Campbell and Albie Young, came into the shop and did just that – they stole sweets and chocolate, damaged magazines and generally made a nuisance of themselves. It is with all that in mind that I ask you to look at the events of the third of March.’
She reminded them of the evidence the boys had given and the differences between them, before she turned to the final minutes of the incident.
‘The young men left the shop but at the door they turned and faced him. You will have to decide what happened next. Mr Montgomery told you that one of them, Loveday, pulled out a knife. Loveday has denied it, but we know from Chris Young that he often did carry a knife and Jas Wilding thought he had waved a knife at the defendant. Why did he do that? They were outside the shop and they could have kept running or walking away. They were in a position to retreat.
‘You have to ask yourselves if what Mr Montgomery did was reasonable. Standing at that doorway with three young men who may be, in law, children, but they were all over six feet tall, facing him, one with a knife in his hand, was it unreasonable to try to disarm the youth? Keeping Loveday at a distance, you may think, was a sensible precaution.
‘Did he use too much force? Was using a golf club to get Loveday to drop the knife disproportionate? It’s suggested by my learned friend that once the youths were outside the shop Mr Montgomery had no need to continue to follow them out onto the pavement. He should have stepped back and closed the door on them. His actions, the prosecution say, were in pursuit of the young men because he was angry and he is a racist. You have seen the DVD showing the position he was in when he struck the fatal blow with the golf club and you must ask yourselves if he had gone a step too far. In any act of self-defence you do not have to weigh to a nicety the exact degree of force you use. We submit Mr Montgomery did nothing more than seemed reasonable to him.
‘We say that what happened was a tragic accident. In trying to disarm Loveday the golf club hit Albie Young as he ran towards his brother. Mr Montgomery was acting in self-defence and therefore you should return a verdict of not guilty.’
As she sank into her seat she looked up at the public gallery but the only person there was the defendant’s wife. It was over; soon she would be able to forget about Montgomery even if she couldn’t forget Delaney.
Cassie and James returned to chambers after the court rose for the day. The clerks’ room was unusually quiet for the time of day. Cassie thought it was probably the fallout from the chambers meeting, which had shown a number of tenants were dissatisfied with the clerking arrangements. These hours between four and seven were the busiest for the staff, who were responsible for allocating work to those available the next day, answering the telephones, checking court lists on their computers and making calls to solicitors and other sets of chambers. By the time they left later that evening every case listed for the next day would have a barrister to attend court on behalf of the client whether prosecuting or defending. Some of them would only have received the brief late in the afternoon and would spend the evening preparing the case for the next morning. Today they were in a sombre mood.
Roger Hales was dashing from room to room, picking up briefs from barristers’ desks so that they could be handed to whoever was free to do the work. He acknowledged her presence but was reluctant to look her in the face. Other members of chambers wandered in. There was none of the usual banter. They checked their pigeonholes for correspondence, any new instructions they had received and hopefully a list of the payments made to chambers on their behalf and which would soon be in their own bank accounts. Spencer Watson drifted into the room; it was the first time Cassie had seen him since she’d teased him about not disturbing the papers on Eleanor’s desk. She watched him pull the papers he was carrying to his chest and his features froze as if he was trying to avoid eye contact with her.
‘Spencer,’ Cassie said, ‘how are you?’
He bent down to the pigeonholes reserved for pupils and pulled out a collection of papers, including a thin brief tied with pink ribbon. He looked at the front page and then raised his head and said, ‘It’s for me.’
‘Is that your first case?’ Cassie said.
‘Yes, it is.’ He looked as if he was about to give a whoop of delight, his mouth opening wide before a huge smile broke across his face.
‘I’ll be at home later if you want to run things over with me. You have my number on the chambers list.’
‘Thank you. I’m sure I’ll be alright,’ he said as he almost skipped out of the room.
‘He’s over the moon. What’s it for, Hamish?’ James said.
‘Applying for an adjournment at West London. The defendant’s ill and there’s a sick note. Even you couldn’t go wrong, sir.’
Hamish’s joke lightened atmosphere. James laughed and said, ‘Just you watch it.’
Some time later Cassie was walking along Chepstow Villas towards her home; she wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings, pleased the Montgomery case was coming to a conclusion until a voice said, ‘Cassie,’ and she looked up into the face of Alex Seymour.
‘I have something to tell you. I think it would be better inside,’ said Alex.
Chapter 41
‘What’s happened? You’ve not arrested Oscar, have you?
‘It’s something more serious, and … you … I think you may be in danger.’
‘Why? Who? Delaney?’
‘Yes, Delaney. This morning his daughter committed suicide.’
‘What’s that … was she …’
‘Emma Gilbrook.’
Cassie closed her eyes and sank down onto the Chesterfield. ‘Oh no, no.’ She leant forward, clenched her fists and beat her knees with them. She felt Alex’s hand on her arm but only for a moment before it was withdrawn, and when Cassi
e looked up Alex was standing by the desk looking at her. Cassie could feel the tears pricking at her eyes. She swallowed hard, determined not to cry.
‘I’ve been at the mortuary and he was quite threatening. I don’t know if he’ll actually do anything, but he blames you for her death.’
It had not been a pleasant time at the Coroner’s Office in Horseferry Road. At first the officer on duty had been reluctant to tell them whether Malcolm Delaney was at the mortuary, but after Alex explained who she was and that she was investigating a case of harassment, he relented and told them two men, Felix and Malcolm Delaney, were in the mortuary at that moment to assist in the identification of the dead woman. He asked them to wait until there was further information. They must have waited for about half an hour. Chris had wanted to know what the reference to a stalker was about; she had refused to fill him in on the details.
When Felix and Malcolm Delaney were ushered into the waiting room they looked pale and the older man was swallowing hard. They flopped onto seats without a word. Neither of them paid any attention to Alex and Chris. The officers waited, not wanting to intrude on their obvious misery. A couple of minutes later a woman came in with two mugs of tea and handed one to each man.
Malcolm’s hand was shaking as he took a sip of the tea. Felix had put his mug down on the floor and leant over, holding his head in his hands. Then Malcolm’s demeanour changed. “it’s your fault. Police didn’t do their job.’ He gulped as he struggled for breath. ‘You lot letting a rapist loose. My daughter. Raping my daughter.’ He put up his hands as if trying to push someone or something away. ‘The police and those posh talking lawyers. That woman she was the worst.’ Felix put his hand on his father’s arm. That seemed to calm him down and he became quite still, staring at Alex. It was his final words before he left the office that rang in her ears.
‘And that woman lawyer, she’ll pay for this. She hurt my girl and I’ll hurt her.’
After Alex had explained what Delaney had said, Cassie felt numb, as if she had been drained of blood, and she could hardly breathe. ‘Because of the rape trial?’
‘I guess so. She didn’t leave a note or anything. No explanation about why she threw herself under the train, but her stepbrother Felix says she was distraught after the verdict. They knew she was depressed but they didn’t think she would go this far.’
‘I tried to be considerate. It’s almost impossible to defend in these cases without at least implying the witness is lying, but I didn’t call her a liar to her face.’
‘You do what you have to do, but …’
‘I know it’s traumatic, the offence, giving evidence, and at the end of the trial I can walk away. You can’t’
Alex nodded. ‘Cassie, is there someone who could stay with you tonight? It’s only a precaution – just in case. I would offer but I’ve got to go back to the station. The squad I’m with have a lot of work and I need to get back there.’
Cassie wished Ben was back, but he was somewhere in mid-Atlantic. The only person Cassie could think of was James. She was reluctant to ring him, but she did so. He was eager, too eager, to agree to come over and said he would be with her in half an hour.
As soon as the arrangements had been finalised, Alex said she was going. ‘But don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know.’
James took considerably more than half an hour to get to her flat, and she was very agitated by the time he bounded up the stairs. She was relieved to see him. She wanted to give him a hug but stopped herself. She didn’t want to encourage him. He had a large plastic bag from which he pulled a dark blue sleeping bag, a toothbrush, shaver, clean white shirt and a bottle of Chablis.
‘I think you like this wine. What about ordering a takeaway?’
‘I’m not sure if I want to eat anything, but the wine would be nice.’
‘Well, I want something and I can’t leave you so let’s get a couple of pizzas. You don’t have to eat anything.’
James ordered the food and opened the bottle of wine.
‘Want to talk about it?’ he said.
‘I was defending this guy Sadler on a charge of rape. I looked at my notes over the weekend. I cross examined the girl about putting on a condom and their position during intercourse. I didn’t need to call her a liar. I don’t think I was that hard on her. It was one of those cases that turned on the facts.’ She paused for a moment but something urged her on. ‘You know the sort. The jury acquitted after a majority direction but I don’t think they had much doubt it wasn’t rape. She’s killed herself, and apparently her father has threatened me. He’s the man who’s been sending the emails. And I do feel responsible. I do, I do. It’s terrible. I never expected this. It’s almost enough to make me give up defending.’ She pulled out a tissue from the pocket of her black jacket.
‘You were doing your job, representing someone who pleaded not guilty. That’s what we do, isn’t it? Someone has to do it and if Sadler had been convicted, he’d have to serve a lengthy prison sentence.’
‘That’s what’s so terrible. No one wins.’ She breathed hard. This was what she did, the job she’d trained for, worked hard for, had against the odds secured a place in chambers and established a successful practice. Whatever happened she couldn’t give it up.
The food arrived and Cassie decided she was hungry enough to eat. They sat at her pale oak dining table talking about the Montgomery case and what the jury might be thinking and, having exhausted that, James asked her about the disagreements in chambers.
‘I really don’t know what anyone can do about this row. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I guess I’m on the right side of Jack. He’s very supportive, gets me some good work, introduces me to the right solicitors. Nobody wants chambers to split – it happened before I was taken on. My pupil mistress told me … caused a lot of heartache.’ Cassie pushed a hand through her hair. ‘It’s a pity she’s not here any longer.’
‘Jack thinks you’ll take Silk. Will you?’
‘I’d like too, but …’
‘You’re not afraid of failing, are you? Not Cassie Hardman. Or is it the relationship with Ben?’
Cassie threw her head back. ‘No, of course not. He’d be thrilled.’
‘Would he?’ said James. ‘Makes married life difficult, travelling around the country.’
He took her hand and stroked the fingertips. For a moment she wanted him to hold her in his arms; she needed, wanted, the security of physical contact. She moved towards him, but then stepped back. He was a junior tenant in her chambers, she had to maintain their working relationship. ‘I think I’ll try and get some sleep. Do you need anything?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ He let her hand slip out of his.
She slept fitfully. Was she responsible for Emma Gilbrook’s death? Could she have treated Emma more kindly in the witness box? She went over and over the Sadler case, trying to reassure herself that Emma Gilbrook’s death was not her fault and she had only been doing her job. She remembered her frustration when she had found the Tube station was closed. She pushed her face into her pillow and began to sob.
Alex got back to her flat from telling Cassie the news about her stalker to find Oscar waiting in his Porsche outside the entrance. She stopped and watched as he uncurled himself from the car. Her pulse began racing. He took her hand and tucked her arm through his and walked her towards the block.
‘I’m not sure …’
‘Not here. Once we’re inside.’
She let him take her keys and unlock the door. Once inside he pulled her to him and kissed her. She didn’t respond and he stepped back. ‘Now, what’s this? I mustn’t sleep with a drug dealer. I’ve given my explanation and it’s all over.’
‘I don’t know …’
He took her in his arms again. ‘This is too good to pass up.’ This time she didn’t resist.
Later, as they lay naked in her bed, she said, ‘I’ve had a bad weekend …’
‘Thinking about me?’
‘I’d have lost my job if …’
‘A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.’
Alex sat up and rolled over so she could see his face. ‘Tell me the truth, did you have anything to do with those drugs?’
‘Alex, Alex. Just leave it. It’s better you don’t know. You’re a beautiful woman and at this moment I want to forget you’re a police officer and just enjoy your body.’
Chapter 42
Cassie and James took a taxi to the Bailey the next morning and, as they got out by the front entrance, they bumped into Stephen Burnett, who greeted them with a look of surprise that faded into an incorrect assumption. Cassie grimaced at him. As she opened the door into the court building she heard Stephen say ‘What’s wrong with her?’ to James. She didn’t hear any reply but as she turned to let the two men in, Stephen was shrugging his shoulders.
As they went through the security barriers, Cassie couldn’t help scrutinising the face of every unknown male she saw. She was sure Delaney knew how to get past the security systems and into the courthouse. He could be anywhere.
She felt safe in the robing room, but as she went downstairs she continued to look for possible strangers. Outside Court 10 she found Zac in the middle of a scrum of reporters. ‘What’s going on?’ she said.
Amongst the journalists was Ruth Pymlott. ‘Miss Hardman, that rape trial you did a couple of weeks ago, the girl has committed suicide.’
Reluctant Consent Page 24
