Craven Conflict

by David Cooper

“Not if it can wait. I think we’d all rather conclude the evidence.”

  “Very well.” Collins looked in Craven’s direction and made a slight gesture towards the witness stand. “The Defendants’ final witness is Paul Craven.” There was no further spoken instruction, and Craven remained seated, lost in apprehension as he waited to be told what to do.

  “Could you please come forward, Mr Craven?” Collins’ tone was one of contrived patience. Craven finally stood up, and began to walk towards the witness stand, only to find himself tugged by the sleeve. He looked to his left.

  “Remember. Don’t let the side down!”

  The stage whisper came from Hutchings, who had taken it upon himself to dispense last minute advice. Craven yanked his arm away and brushed his sleeve, looking in dismay at the floor rather than back at Hutchings. He walked slowly over to the stand, listened to the clerk’s instructions, and took the Bible from him.

  “I swear by Almighty God…”

  Noticing the animated whispered conversation that Hutchings had begun with Avery moments earlier, Judge Banks interrupted.

  “Mr Collins, would you mind telling the person behind you in your instructing solicitor’s place not to interrupt the oath? It’s vitally important, especially in a case like this.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Honour.” Collins did as he was told. Craven resumed once complete silence had returned.

  “I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

  “Thank you, Mr Craven. Can you find the copy of your witness statement in the bundle before you?”

  Craven hesitated. Collins gave him the page number and waited for him to find it.

  “Is that your professional address?”

  “Yes, it is.” Craven quickly looked for the anomaly he had noticed when he had glanced through the copy of the bundle that he had found in Wagstaff’s office earlier, and noticed that it was present in the copy now before him. He was frantically thinking of how and when he might raise it, but the formality of the oath had left him hesitant to speak out of turn.

  “Did you read your statement before you signed it?” Collins continued.

  “Yes, I did.” Craven knew his answer was honest.

  “Have you re-read your statement today?”

  Craven hesitated.

  “Yes, I read a copy about two hours ago…”

  He was on the verge of expanding upon his answer, but Collins pressed on with the customary formal questions.

  “Do you still believe its contents are true?”

  Craven coughed nervously. His mind had become awash with conflicting thoughts, and he began to tremble.

  It doesn’t matter if you can’t really remember anything… the more you help Wayne, the more you’ll help yourself…

  Once he’s done what’s expected of him for Wayne, and we can find a half decent replacement, he’ll be out of this firm before he can say…

  Remember. Don’t let the side down…

  …the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…

  “Well, Mr Craven?”

  Craven finally found his voice.

  “It’s this copy. There’s something wrong on the first page.”

  The answer was not what Collins had been expecting to hear. He was on the verge of asking for an immediate explanation, but felt a sudden sense of danger and looked carefully at his own copy of the statement, in search of what Craven might have meant. Soraya raised her head and looked towards the witness stand, her curiosity roused. After a few more moments of uneasy silence, Judge Banks noticed that Craven was still trembling.

  “Mr Craven, please take your time, but we need to know if there’s a problem with any of your evidence. Do you need a glass of water? There should be one in front of you.”

  Craven gratefully reached for the water jug and poured himself a glass, taking a copious draught.

  “Er…thank you, Your Honour. There’s a problem four lines up from the bottom.”

  “What is it?” Both barristers quickly looked for the reference point.

  “It says that I received my offer letter following my interview on the twenty first of March. That wasn’t in the version I signed.”

  A tense silence descended as the potential importance of Craven’s point sunk in with everyone in the courtroom. Soraya knew that it would be out of turn for her to make any point of her own then and there, but she was astonished to realise that Craven might have undermined a crucial element of Avery’s case. She could not immediately see any good reason for Craven to object to the interview date being expressly recorded in the statement, if it was factually correct.

  But is he actually going to say the date was different?

  For his own part, Collins could do no more than look impassively in Craven’s direction and hope that he was not going to break ranks altogether, rather than simply fail to come up to proof. Once more, it fell to Judge Banks to intervene.

  “What was in the version you signed, Mr Craven? Do you have a copy?”

  The atmosphere became electric as everyone awaited Craven’s answer.

  “Nothing…er, I mean, there wasn’t a date. There was a full stop after the word ‘interview’ near the end of the first page. It didn’t go on to say ‘on the twenty first of March’.” Craven hesitated once more. “There’s a copy of the one I signed in the plastic wallet over there…”

  Craven pointed towards the bench behind Avery and Hutchings, unable to say a further word as he froze up completely. He drank more water, but it did little to ease his obvious discomfort. Hutchings reached behind him for the wallet, his disdain for Craven being matched by his curiosity at the unexpected twist, but the judge stopped him in his tracks.

  “No. Leave that where it is. My clerk will fetch it.” The clerk was already half way towards the bench that Craven had vacated minutes earlier. He picked up the wallet and handed it to the judge. She extracted the copy of the statement and read the passage that Craven had mentioned, before replacing it and handing the wallet and its full contents back to the clerk.

  “Robert, please show this paragraph to both Counsel and take four sets of copies.” The clerk did as he was asked before leaving the courtroom in search of the copier. Collins spoke up.

  “Your Honour, it looks as if there may have been a mere clerical error. I certainly have not seen this copy before.”

  But Soraya was not minded to let the point pass by so readily. She rose to her feet.

  “The problem I have with that explanation, Your Honour, is that even on the fleeting glimpse we have just had, the signature pages looked identical. We have heard what Mr Craven just said. He seems to be suggesting that the first page of his statement in the bundle may have had something added to it after he signed it.”

  Collins chose to remain silent. The clerk returned with copies for both barristers and the judge, and approached the witness stand with a view to handing the wallet and its contents to Craven. But Craven did not notice his return, having buried his head in his hands as he continued to tremble.

  “Are you all right, Mr Craven?” Judge Banks’ tone was one of genuine concern. “Is there something troubling you?”

  Craven looked up. The personal insults that had electronically flown back and forth between the firm’s partners were by now etched on his mind and continuing to torment him.

  From where I sit, surveying my once happy and efficient department, the Rain Man lurks behind his closed door in the corner… Paul Craven has many defects. Being an Aspie, for a start. Inability to read and understand simple instructions without having to be hand held like a two year old… Quick afterthought, Seb, Tony. We’re up in front of Mad Marian next week. We want her to embrace Mr Babbitt to her not inconsiderable bosom and lap up every word he says. As long as he sticks to the party line…

  “Yes, Your Honour. I just need a few moments…I read some really offensive emails at work earlier today. They were mocking my…”
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  Craven tailed off, realising that he had been on the verge of disclosing his deepest personal secret. He blinked nervously in the judge’s direction, wrestling with his internal conflict and not knowing what would be for the best.

  What would Jackie suggest? She was right last time…perhaps I just went about it in the wrong way…

  “Mocking what, Mr Craven?” The question was sympathetic. Craven decided that there was no turning back. He was wholly unaware of the fact that the judge’s clerk had inadvertently copied the emails along with the statement, and had distributed copies of everything to both barristers and the judge. The clerk’s mistake remained unnoticed as everyone anxiously awaited Craven’s reply.

  “My disability, Your Honour. I suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome.”

  There were a few moments of dead silence, before Judge Banks replied.

  “Mr Craven, I’m sorry to hear that. We’d normally expect to be told about disability issues in advance. Do you need any special facilities?” Caught off her guard by Craven’s explanation, the judge regretted her matter of fact response almost immediately, but Craven had too much on his mind to take offence where none had been meant.

  “No, Your Honour. I’m just…er, I feel pretty overwhelmed by everything that’s happened to me today. The statement’s not right, I’ve never seen any of these papers before today, and I never expected to have been insulted at work as I was…”

  While Soraya had been rapidly analysing the effect that the new revelations might have upon her cross-examination of Craven, Collins had discovered to his amazement that copies of the offensive emails mentioned by Craven had been distributed along with the alternative version of the signed statement. He sped through them and was struck with horror at the thought of Judge Banks following in his footsteps. Reaching for his pen, he quickly scribbled a note and passed it to Soraya, who scanned it just as rapidly before writing ‘No’ upon it and handing it back. Lennie leaned in her direction to find out more.

  “He asked me to agree Craven’s statement and release him on compassionate grounds.” Soraya whispered. “I refused. Something stinks.”

  “Are you in a position to carry on, Mr Craven?” Judge Banks’ question was solicitous and attentive, albeit without full appreciation of just how hard it had been for Craven to bare his soul in a manner that he could never have anticipated when he agreed to give evidence on Avery’s behalf. The email exchanges between Squire, Wagstaff and Finnie had inadvertently destroyed any possibility that Craven would weigh up every answer he was asked to give, and ensure that they all favoured Avery’s position. But they had also played havoc with Craven’s memory and thought processes.

  “Yes, I think so, but…”

  Craven paused as he saw Collins stand up, look behind himself instinctively and turn back to face the judge after a short conversation with Avery.

  “Your Honour, my instructing solicitor has had to leave court, and I am not in a position to seek further authoritative guidance. I have, however, come to the view that I might sensibly withdraw the evidence of this witness altogether. He is clearly suffering from some kind of shock, which no one could have foreseen, and it may be kindest for all concerned if he is spared any further pressure.”

  Karen noticed Avery nodding vigorously in agreement behind Collins. She wrote ‘WHAT’S HIS GAME?’ on her notepad and showed it to Lennie, who promptly tore the sheet off and passed it to Soraya. She caught the judge’s eye and replied.

  “Your Honour, I cannot concur with that. I wish to proceed with cross-examination. I do of course have every sympathy for the witness and his condition, and will do what I can to spare his feelings. He has, after all, been sworn.”

  Judge Banks finished typing a note and considered her response.

  “Very well. Please continue.”

  Collins knew he had no answer and remained seated. The fact that one of his witnesses was not necessarily going to come up to proof, despite Wagstaff’s robust assurance that the fortress would not be breached, was far from comforting. It was another major concern altogether to have found that Wagstaff himself had been actively participating in the email exchanges…

  “Good afternoon, Mr Craven.” Soraya was on her feet once more. “I’m going to do my best not to upset you any further, but I do need to ask you a few questions about your statement and some related issues.”

  “That’s OK.” Craven replied. Soraya knew that the time had come to ask her most crucial question. She decided to pave the way towards it with a short introduction, and to run the risk of an intervention from Collins or the judge.

  “Mr Craven, you said earlier that there were words in your statement about your interview date that should not have been there. You seemed quite firm about this. Can you remember when the interview took place?”

  There was no reprimand or challenge. Everyone in the courtroom was hanging on Craven’s response. He looked down at the copy of his statement in the trial bundle that bore the additional words, then glanced at the copy that he had brought along from his office, and finally looked up, not knowing whether he should be directing his answer to Soraya or to the judge. As his mind swum once more in turmoil, he addressed his response to empty space.

  “Er…no, I really don’t think I can, after all this time…I think it was a Thursday or a Friday…”

  Soraya thought quickly. She did not want to guide Craven to the letter from Squire that had confirmed the job offer, in case he took the opening paragraph literally and concurred with the implicit reference that it bore to the supposed interview date.

  “Don’t worry about it for now, Mr Craven. Can I ask you about something else. A few minutes ago, you suggested that you had never seen any of the documents relating to this case before today. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, it is.” Craven had no need to stop and think about his answer. “Before I turned up here this afternoon, I’d only seen the trial bundle once before. That was earlier today. I only had the time to flick through it for a couple of minutes. That’s when I noticed the mistake on my statement.”

  “That’s a pity.” Judge Banks intervened. “It would have been far more satisfactory, Mr Collins, if this witness had been given a prior chance to take a look at anything he might have been asked to explain. Miss Modaresi, would you mind giving Mr Craven the page references for anything relevant? We can all wait a few moments. I’m sure I don’t need to rise.”

  Soraya ran through the relevant numbers. She was on the verge of leaving Craven to read the key pages at leisure, then changed her mind. Even if the interview turned out to have taken place on a date after Avery had started up in business as Wave Recruitment, there might still be scope to prove that Craven was a Ripple client whom Avery had wrongfully enticed away…

  “Mr Craven, before you look through those pages, perhaps it might help jog your memory if I ask you a few other questions about your interview with Bastables. Where did it take place?”

  “At the office in Cornwall Street, in the city centre.” Craven replied. Soraya was relieved to hear that it had not been off site. Squire’s memo about all meeting rooms being off limits was still potentially a live issue.

  “What was the position you were being interviewed for?”

  “A litigation fee earner, mainly to deal with contested debt claims, as I understood it…”

  Soraya thought to herself as Craven explained further. Craven’s answer was at odds with Squire’s claim that he had had to move quickly for a specialist recruit to fill a niche position. The role he described seemed to be nothing of the kind. She decided that Craven could throw no further light upon the anomaly, and that it would be better for her to pick it up in her revised written submission.

  “And just for completeness, who interviewed you?”

  “Mr Squire and Mr Wagstaff. It was mostly Mr Squire who…”

  The answer took every lawyer in the courtroom completely by surprise. Judge Banks looked down from her podium in utter disbelief.

&
nbsp; “Mr Wagstaff? But he’s your instructing solicitor, Mr Collins. Were you aware of this?”

  There was no mistaking the chilling edge to the judge’s tone, as she asked the short but pointed question. Collins racked his brains, wondering if his bold assertion at the beginning of the trial that it was perfectly right and proper for BLH to be representing Avery might have been built on sand.

  “Your Honour, no. I am frankly lost for an explanation…”

  “You have every reason to be lost for an explanation. I find this very disturbing. Those who instruct Miss Modaresi first sought to draw the risk of conflict of interest to the attention of this court many weeks ago, initially ahead of the disclosure round, then once more after it was first known that Mr Squire would be giving evidence. On each occasion they were rebuffed with talk of Chinese walls. You may be entirely free from blame for this, Mr Collins, but you will understand that I am very concerned indeed about what I have just heard. I will be even more concerned if I should now encounter any reason to doubt the evidence that Mr Squire gave earlier today.”

  “Your Honour, yes…” As Collins recoiled from the onslaught, Lennie wondered whether to explain to Karen that Wagstaff owed higher duties to the courts than to the partisan interests of his own clients. Changing his mind, he took his notepad and scrawled ‘the shit will really hit the fan now if Squire’s evidence doesn’t stand up’ before passing it to her.

  The judge looked first in Soraya’s direction, then in Craven’s.

  “Please excuse the interruption, Mr Craven. You are free to carry on with your reading.” Soraya gave a slight nod and remained seated.

  “Thank you, Your Honour.” Craven replied. The tension mounted as he read carefully through the relevant section of the trial bundle for almost five minutes, before he paused and frowned.

  “Your Honour, there’s something else not right.”

  Judge Banks asked Craven for the page reference and noted that he was referring to the copy of his own CV.

  “Could you explain what you’re concerned about, Mr Craven?”

  “Yes, Your Honour, of course. This is the version of my CV that I produced myself. It’s not the one that they had at the interview. There was a picture on that one, a defaced picture…”