by David Adkins
“I am,” she smiled, knowingly.
“What made you do this work?” I asked.
“My own family were in Dachau.”
“I am sorry, Jenna.”
She shrugged. “Perhaps one day the work will be complete. I might even survive to see that day.”
I sat in awe of this remarkable woman as I looked once again at the photos of Neuman and Dengler in their Nazi attire on the front of the two folders and realized something. “The authorities found babies who had died soon after birth and stole their identities and bestowed those identities on Neuman and Dengler,” I said, remembering the births and deaths I had looked at in Somerset House. “They become Rupert Nesterman and Clive Deepdale of good old English stock.” I shook my head in disgust.
“It seems that way,” she confirmed. “Will you leave in the morning and let me do my job?”
I looked at my watch and it was nearly midnight. We had talked for a long time. “Do what you must, Jenna. I will leave early in the morning for I have much to do.”
She smiled and kissed me gently on the cheek. “You can just leave and I will retain the room for as long as I need it and pay the bill. Forget everything I have told you.” She paused and looked up at me wistfully. “I wish you well Steve.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “Please be careful.”
“I always am,” she smiled. “Now you can have the bed and I will sleep on the sofa.”
“No, you can have the bed and I will sleep on the sofa,” I corrected her.
“You are always the gentleman,” she laughed.
Chapter 9
Tuesday 20th February
I got up early the next morning while Jenna was still fast asleep in her warm, luxurious bed and I showered and dressed while she slept. I had not slept well last night for I could not get the images from the folders out of my head.
It was just gone 7 am and still she slept. I went over to the bed and pressed my lips ever so gently against her forehead so as not to wake her. “Good luck, Jenna,” I whispered very quietly and she did not stir. I tiptoed towards the door and as I turned the handle to open the door I heard her voice.
“Goodbye, Steve,” she called sleepily from the bed.
I opened the door, smiling and stepped out into the corridor, clutching my bag. I closed the door gently behind me and once again I avoided using the lift despite the early hour. As it was very early and the morning was pleasant I decided to walk to my office. I thought it would probably take about half an hour to make my way to Piccadilly Circus and then down Haymarket to Charing Cross. I could then pop into Lyons Tea House and have a bite to eat for breakfast before going on to my office in the Strand. Over a pot of tea and jam on toast I made my plans for the day. I would first go to the office and talk with James. I would then visit Max Lucas at Pentonville and finally make a call on Lester Bruitt. After all that I would return to Lewisham to see Cassie.
It was still early when I reached the office and not surprisingly I was the first one there. I had the office key on my key ring and so I let myself in. So much had happened since I was last in my workplace and had received the surprise visit from Mr Smith. I settled back in my chair unable to concentrate on any work for it was difficult to get all that I had learnt from my mind. It was simply a question of waiting for James Butler to arrive.
Jenny, my deputy and the office staff had all arrived by 8.30 but there was no sign of James Butler or Victor Robinson. Both were unpredictable with their time-keeping but James was usually in by 9.30 unless he had other appointments to attend. I glanced at my watch and it was 9.05 and I picked up my phone and dialled a number.
“Pentonville Prison,” a male voice answered.
“I would like to make an appointment to see the prisoner, Max Lucas today please.”
“You can only see him today on general visiting at 2 pm,” he informed me.
“I will come in then, thank you.”
“Can I take your name please,” he inquired.
“My name is Steve Coulson.”
“Thank you Mr Coulson. We will expect you at 2 pm.”
My rare experience of general visiting, when I had met one or two clients in the past, made me confident it should be fine. With other prisoners and visitors concentrating on their own business a degree of privacy could still be enjoyed. I picked up the phone and dialled another number.
“Bruitt and Son,” a female voice answered.
“Could I make an appointment to see Lester Bruitt please for late afternoon today?”
“I am sorry but Mr Bruitt is not available today.”
“How about tomorrow, as early as possible please?” I said.
“Who is speaking?”
“My name is Steve Coulson.”
“Can you hold on for a minute Mr Coulson?”
“Yes I will,” I replied.
The minute became five minutes but then she returned to the phone. “Would 10 am tomorrow morning suit you, Mr Coulson?”
“That would be fine, thank you.” I replaced the telephone and continued my wait. It was 9.35 when James Butler eventually came into the office to start his working day. “Steve, I am pleased to see you,” he said enthusiastically.
“And I you,” I replied.
“Come into my office. We need a chat.”
I followed him into the office and sat down in one of his black leather chairs. He sat in the other one that made up the pair. “Things have moved on considerably,” I said.
“Then bring me up to date,” he invited.
“I told you over the phone about my contact with a girl called Jenna. She called at my house because she is determined that Max Lucas should not hang for a murder she had committed.”
“Could you not have held on to her?”
I shook my head. “No, that was not possible. I could not keep her against her will. The sum of the information that she gave me is this. She was the woman in the room, with an accomplice, when Max entered. She had already killed Nesterman after a struggle. She admitted it to me and I am willing to testify to that fact.”
“Did you report this to the police at the time, Steve?”
“I did. I told Sergeant Bill Barrow at Charing Cross Police Station who said he would report it to his superior office Chief Inspector Raymond Styles.”
“Do you know what action they took?” James was looking thoughtful.
“I do not and I don’t even know if they took any action at all.”
He nodded. “So we can say in court that you did all you could. What else did she say?”
“She told me she had picked Nesterman up during the afternoon and they had visited the Food Basket restaurant in High Holborn and then they had gone on to Pete’s Bar in Russell Square by the station. I have not been to the Food Basket but I have been to Pete’s Bar. The barman there remembered them, though later he strangely changed his story. I need to follow up on this.”
“So with your testimony and with possible witnesses from the restaurant and the bar who saw them together we must stand a great chance of getting Lucas off.”
“We, does that mean you are going to take the case James?”
“I most certainly am,” he grinned. “Now what else did this girl tell you?”
“Not a lot, she said she was German.”
“German,” he repeated, looking surprised.
“That’s what she said. She said that she and her accomplice murdered Nesterman and then they were disturbed by Lucas and her accomplice hit him over the head. This all confirms Lucas’s story.”
“Did she say anything about her motive?”
I shook my head. “No, it is strange but she seemed only interested in telling me enough to get Lucas off.”
“There is a lot more to this than meets the eye,” he commented.
“I know,” I agreed. I felt guilty that I was not telling him everything I knew but I was sure it would be better for him if he did not know about Tintree and the Nazi connection. That would onl
y complicate matters and everything might spiral out of control. I was sure that Jenna was right and we could get a not guilty verdict without causing a messy diplomatic incident in which the outcome would be in doubt.
“What are your plans now?” he asked.
“I have an appointment to see Max Lucas this afternoon. I will get him to drop Bruitt and accept you as his new lawyer. I have an appointment with Lester Bruitt tomorrow morning in which I will inform him Max Lucas has dispensed with his services. I also have a few questions for him.”
“He will not like it. Will you gloat?” he asked.
I grinned. “Maybe a little.”
“Talking of Bruitt, he tried to put more pressure on us to drop the case and issued more threats. I don’t respond to threats and so I did a little research of my own.” He handed me a sheet of paper.
I took it and read it out loud.
Michael Stewart July 1949
Peter Brindley March 1950
Isaac Webber September 1950
“Who are these people, James?”
“They are former clients of Nathaniel and Lester Bruitt and they all have one thing in common. They all had hardly any defence offered on their behalf and they were all found guilty of the crimes of which they were accused. They were all found to be not of sound mind. Does that sound a little familiar?”
“It certainly does.” I was not sure how to respond to this revelation though I had some idea of what it implied.
“We only have a week and a half before the trial. Even that is suspicious because of the rush to bring it to court. We shall have to act quickly. You go to your appointments with Lucas and Bruitt. I will go to the Food Basket and to Pete’s Bar this afternoon. I will see Lucas tomorrow morning as his new lawyer. Let him know that. We can meet back here tomorrow afternoon and start to prepare our case.”
“You will need this then.” I handed him the picture of Rupert Nesterman wearing his suit and tie.
He perused it but made no comment. “What happed to Cassie, the girl from the Gaiety Theatre?” he asked.
“Smith threatened her just as he threatened me. He said he would cut her face and scar her for life if she did not persuade me to drop the case. He frightened her badly but I have put her in a hotel where Smith hopefully will not be able to find her.”
“This is a very strange business,” he mused. “I would dearly like to get to the bottom of it.”
I nodded but did not reply.
The door opened and Victor Robinson entered. “Jenny said the two of you were deep in conference. I assume you are not going to drop this case as Nathaniel Bruitt instructed.”
“I do not take instructions from Nathaniel Bruitt,” James retorted.
“He said he would ruin us,” warned Victor.
“I rather doubt that he would and I doubt it even more when Steve warns him that it would not be advisable to do so.” James looked at me and I folded the list of three names and put it in my pocket.
Victor shook his head. “I hope you know what you are doing but I can see you are both determined to go ahead on this.”
“We are,” said James.
“Then I do not want to hear any more about it or be involved.” Victor Robinson walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
“Time moves on and we both have much work to do. I am heading for High Holborn now and I will see you back in the office tomorrow afternoon at say no later than 2 pm.”
I watched as James put on his coat and left the office. I felt guilty that I had not put him in full possession of the facts. He was a lawyer with a great career ahead of him and I felt that if he knew the truth and all of the details then that career might somehow be in jeopardy. After all we were, it seemed, taking on the British secret service for I was certain they were Smith’s employers. Sometimes it was safer not to be in full possession of the facts.
I looked at my watch and it was fast approaching noon. I would have some lunch and then make my way to Pentonville Prison for the afternoon visiting. James would then see him the following morning with special permission as he would be Max’s new lawyer. Lucas would be relieved that things were happening at last, particularly when I gave him assurances that the situation was looking much brighter.
It was busy in Lyons Tea House and I reflected on how much had come to pass since I met a beautiful young blond woman there just two weeks previously. The place seemed somehow lonely without Cassie which made me even more aware of how I felt about her. I had some sandwiches and my usual pot of tea and I tried to relax a little. I had suffered much tension in the past few days and those images from the two folders kept playing on my mind. I shifted in my seat, still feeling the ache from the punch Smith had delivered to my stomach. I wondered what Jenna was doing but decided it was best not to ponder on such things. I looked at my watch and it had just gone 1 pm. It was time to leave this little haven of comparative tranquillity and head for Pentonville Prison.
I reached the bleak building, passed through the iron gates and gave my name at reception. They searched me quickly to ascertain that I was not carrying any offensive weapons and then ushered me into a waiting area. There were about a dozen people in the area all waiting to see their friends, loved ones or relatives. It made us seem a sad bunch to have to come to such a place as this. A few minutes later two large doors opened and we were sent into a vast room with perhaps twenty or more tables with a prisoner sitting at most of them. I spotted Max Lucas sitting at a table at the far end of the room and I went to join him.
When he saw me coming he stood up to greet me. He looked relieved as he offered his hand. “It is good to see you again, Mr Coulson.”
I shook his hand warmly. “Call me Steve. We have a lot of business to conduct in a short time, so we need to get down to it straight away.”
We both sat down. “Are they treating you well? Is there anything I can ask for to make your stay here more comfortable?”
He shook his head of unruly black hair. “No, I just need to get out of here. It is not right that an innocent man can be locked away like this.”
“You are right there,” I agreed.
“You believe in my innocence, Steve?” he asked.
“I know you are innocent,” I confirmed. “The story you told me about the pretty dark-haired woman checked out.”
He looked incredulous and then pleased. “Who confirmed it?”
“She did,” I smiled.
He looked blank. “Then why am I still in here?”
“I think I had better explain. She turned up at my house out of the blue. She had somehow got to hear that I was working on your case. She had a conscience and did not want you to get hanged for a crime you did not commit. She told me how she and an accomplice had broken into Nesterman’s room. They had killed him and then you disturbed them. You saw the woman but her colleague came from behind and hit you on the back of the head.”
“Where is she now?” he asked. “Is she in custody?”
“No, she is not and I do not know where she is.”
“Then she is hardly going to testify.”
“That is true,” I agreed. “I am going to testify.”
He looked a little more hopeful. “You?” he asked.
“I will tell this story in court and I will be believed because it is true. I have an impeccable background and I work for a reputable lawyer. I was in the navy during the war and I have a good record. My story will more than sow the seeds of doubt with the jury, and if there is any doubt they cannot convict you. However, we are not relying totally on this for there will be more to back up your story.”
“What else is there?”
“Nesterman was seen in two places, a restaurant and a bar just hours before he was murdered. He was in the company of a young woman who fits the description you gave of her. He was obviously seduced and took her back to his apartment. He made a fatal mistake. She let her colleague in and the rest we know.”
“Can you get these witnesses who saw
them to testify?”
“I am certain we can, Max.”
“That is wonderful news,” he enthused.
“Now we are keeping this to ourselves for we do not want the prosecution to get wind of what we are up to.”
“I understand,” he replied.
“Are you able to phone your lawyer, Lester Bruitt?”
“Yes, they allow that.”
“Right, phone Bruitt and sack him. Do not give him a reason but simply inform him you no longer require his services.”
“My pleasure,” he nodded. “He was useless.”
“Your new lawyer is James Butler. He is my colleague and a very good lawyer. He will come and see you tomorrow morning and you can go over everything with him.”
“I have no money.”
“Don’t worry about that, we will sort that out later. Our priority is to get a not guilty verdict.”
“Cassie has not been to see me recently,” he said.
“She is not in London at the moment but she is fine.” I studied him closely for a minute. “Do you still love her, Max?”
“No, I never did. It was a fling and now we have split up but she is a good girl and I am fond of her. I know that you and your colleague are helping me because of her.”
I was relieved and I smiled. “Like us, she knows you are innocent.”
“Time,” a voice bellowed out. Our time had passed very quickly.
“It seems I have to go. We do not have much time before the trial. James will see you tomorrow and I will come again as soon as possible.”
“Why have they moved the trial up?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Who knows?”
I stood up and Lucas followed suit. I offered him my hand. I do not believe my hand had ever been so warmly shaken.
“I will see you soon,” I said as I started to leave.
“Thank you, Steve.” His words resounded with gratitude.
As I left Pentonville Prison, the harsh wintry weather returned and seemed to match the desolate nature of the forbidding building. Winter still had time to run. I pulled up my coat collar as protection against the falling sleet and hurried back to Caledonian Road Station like a bedraggled arctic explorer. I had nothing further to do until I went for my appointment with Lester Bruitt the next day. James was handling the witness side of things and I was free at last to see Cassie.
