Calling Down the Storm

by Peter Murphy

  Webb returned the New Testament to Geoffrey, and clasped his hands behind his back.

  ‘Thank you, Detective Inspector,’ Andrew Pilkington said. ‘Did you make any notes in connection with your inquiries in this case?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Are you asking the court to allow you to refresh your memory from those notes?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘When were your notes made?’

  ‘As soon as practicable, sir. I made the notes as and when I had the chance. It was a very hectic day, but I would say that my notes were made within two or three hours of the events in question.’

  ‘And were the events still fresh in your memory when you made your notes?’

  ‘They were, sir.’

  ‘Did you make your notes alone, or with anyone else?’

  ‘Most of them I made with DS Raymond, and if he wasn’t there, I checked my recollection with him before completing the note.’

  ‘And was that to ensure that you had the most accurate and complete recollection of the events?’

  ‘Exactly, sir, yes.’

  Ben stood. ‘No objection, my Lord.’

  Mr Justice Rainer did not seem to react.

  Andrew glanced at Ben quickly. ‘My Lord…?’

  A second or two passed.

  ‘I’m sorry, Mr Pilkington. What was that?’

  ‘My learned friend has said he has no objection to the Inspector refreshing his memory using his notes.’

  ‘Oh. Yes, of course. Please refer to your notes whenever you wish, Inspector.’

  ‘Thank you, my Lord.’

  Webb produced a small police notebook from the right inside pocket of his jacket, opened it, and placed it carefully on the edge of the witness box.

  ‘Detective Inspector, on 28 April of this year, at about 1.45 in the afternoon, were you on duty?’

  ‘Yes, sir. I was on duty in plain clothes with DS Raymond. We had just returned to Holborn Police Station after interviewing a number of witnesses in connection with some commercial burglaries in the Clerkenwell area.’

  ‘What were you doing when you got back to the police station? Were you dealing with evidence from the burglaries?’

  The Inspector smiled.

  ‘No, sir. It had been a long morning, and DS Raymond and I had just settled ourselves in the canteen with a nice cup of tea.’

  There was some sympathetic laughter from the jury box. Andrew returned the smile.

  ‘I’m sure it was a well-earned break. But did something happen to interrupt it?’

  ‘Yes, sir. We received a message that an emergency call had come in. There was information that a serious attack had taken place, and that the assailant might be armed. We were asked to attend the scene immediately.’

  ‘Yes. Now, the jury have a plan of the area around Holborn Police Station. My Lord, that is our Exhibit 1…’

  The judge seemed engrossed in his notebook.

  ‘My Lord…?’

  He looked up.

  ‘Yes, Exhibit 1. I have it. Thank you, Mr Pilkington.’

  ‘Inspector, the usher will provide you with a copy.’ He paused to allow Geoffrey time. ‘Is Holborn Police Station marked at the top right of the plan?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And can you show the jury where the assault was alleged to have taken place?’

  Webb spread the plan out in front of him and studied it.

  ‘We didn’t have far to go, sir. If you turn right out of the police station, and continue a few yards – down the plan and to the left – along Lamb’s Conduit Street, you come to Dombey Street. If you turn left into Dombey Street, about 50 yards along, you come to the entrance to a mews called Harpur Mews. The information was that the attack was taking place in that area.’

  ‘Yes. Did you and DS Raymond make your way to the scene immediately?’

  ‘We did, sir. We took a uniformed officer with us, PC Williams. There was no point in taking a car. We ran as quickly as we could. We were there in two or three minutes.’

  ‘As you approached the entrance to Harpur Mews, what did you hear or see?’

  Webb looked down and nodded for several seconds.

  ‘It was very quiet. I couldn’t hear anything at all. When we got to the entrance to the mews, I saw a man sitting on the ground with his legs drawn up towards his chest. I looked more closely and saw that the man had something in his right hand.’

  ‘Could you see what it was?’

  ‘Yes, sir. It was a large kitchen knife. There were dark red stains on the blade, which appeared to be blood stains.’

  ‘What else did you see?’

  ‘Beyond the man, inside the mews entrance, I saw a woman lying on the ground. She was lying on her back, with both arms out to her sides. Her legs were bent at the knee towards her right, and her head was bent the other way to her left.’

  ‘What else did you notice about the woman?’

  ‘She was bleeding heavily from the neck and torso. It appeared that she must have been bleeding for some time, because there was a large pool of blood around her body, and I could see some blood still seeping from her wounds.’

  ‘Detective Inspector, do you now know that the woman you saw was Susan Lang?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘What did you decide to do?’

  ‘I realised immediately that it was necessary to disarm the man.’

  ‘Inspector, let me ask you this: at that time, did you know what had happened?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Were you concerned for the man’s welfare as well as the woman’s?’

  ‘Yes, sir. At that point, I had no idea whether he was the perpetrator or whether he was also a victim of the attack.’

  ‘Did he say or do anything?’

  ‘No. He said nothing. He remained sitting as he was, not moving at all.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I moved a bit closer. I knew he must have realised I was there. I was only a foot or two away. But still, there was no reaction at all. He didn’t move, and he didn’t say anything.’

  ‘What was your main concern at that point?’

  Webb shook his head.

  ‘I had to find a way to get to the woman. She was obviously very seriously injured, and I needed to have access to her.’

  ‘Did you have to call the ambulance, or was one already on its way? Did you know?’

  ‘I knew that an ambulance was on its way from Great Ormond Street. It had been requested during the emergency call.’

  ‘Was there a problem for you in gaining access to the woman?’

  ‘Yes, sir. The man. When he didn’t say anything, I had to assume that he was involved in the assault on the woman. He was still holding the knife and he showed no sign of putting it down. That meant that he was free to attack the woman again, or that he was free to attack me or my colleagues if we tried to assist her.’

  ‘Did the man appear to be injured?’

  ‘Not that I could see, sir, no.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I didn’t want to give him any warning, so I didn’t speak. Instead, I gestured to DS Raymond and PC Williams and hoped they would understand. My plan was that I would pass the man on his left side, try to get directly in front of him, and try to disarm him. At the same time, DS Raymond would approach from behind, and stand directly behind him so that he could try to restrain him if he tried to move. PC Williams would pass him on the left immediately after me, and try to get to the woman and stand in front of her, to protect her from further attack.’

  Andrew paused for some moments.

  ‘Detective Inspector, were you or your colleagues armed in any way?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Did you have any special clothing that might h
ave protected you against stab wounds?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Did you appreciate the danger you were putting yourselves in?’

  Webb exhaled audibly.

  ‘Yes, sir. I think that was obvious to all of us. But it was also obvious that the woman needed help immediately if there was going to be any hope for her, so I had to clear a path for the ambulance crew. As it happened, sadly, it was already too late. But we had to try.’

  ‘Did you approach the man, passing him on his left, as you planned?’

  ‘Yes, sir. I was able to pass and position myself in front of him. I was standing about a foot away from him. I saw PC Williams run past me and kneel in front of Susan Lang, and I saw DS Raymond standing directly behind the man.’

  ‘Then what did you do?’

  ‘I asked the man to hand over the knife, and I reached out my right hand towards the knife.’ He paused for a moment or two, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

  ‘Are you – ?’

  ‘I’m fine, sir. Thank you. To my surprise – and relief, obviously – he didn’t try to stop me. In fact, he still didn’t move at all. The knife was more resting in his hand than he was holding it, and I was able to disarm him without any difficulty.’

  ‘What happened then?’

  ‘By that time, the ambulance had arrived, and the crew set about doing what they could for Mrs Lang. Some additional uniformed officers had also responded, and they were ensuring that the ambulance crew had full access and that the scene was secure pending the arrival of scenes of crime officers. DS Raymond informed the man that he was under arrest on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and cautioned him. He made no reply. He was handcuffed and escorted to a police vehicle by DS Raymond and PC Williams.’

  ‘Detective Inspector, please tell the jury the words of the caution.’

  ‘Yes, sir. The words of the caution are: “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but what you say may be put into writing and given in evidence.”’

  ‘The man had still not identified himself to you?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘But from documents he had in his possession, were you able to establish that he was, in fact, the defendant in this case, Henry Lang?’

  ‘That is correct, sir.’

  ‘Did you take possession of the knife?’

  ‘I did, sir.’

  ‘The jury has already seen it; it’s our Exhibit 2. But just to confirm, with the usher’s assistance, would you please confirm that this is the knife you seized at the scene?’

  Webb looked at the knife carefully as Geoffrey held it up for him.

  ‘Yes, sir, that is the knife.’

  ‘Did you take possession of any other items at the scene?’

  ‘Yes, Mr Lang’s driving licence and one or two other documents we used to identify him, and Mrs Lang’s handbag.’

  ‘After Mr Lang had been taken to the police station, did you speak with Mrs Wendy Cameron? The jury will recall that she was the court welfare officer who made the emergency call and who gave evidence yesterday.’

  ‘Yes, sir, I did. Mrs Cameron opened the door to her house on the other side of Dombey Street, and invited us in to speak to her.’

  ‘Just answer yes or no, please, Inspector: did Mrs Cameron indicate to you that she had witnessed what had happened, and did she give you an account of what she had seen?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  49

  ‘Finally, Detective Inspector, when you returned to the police station, would the usual practice have been to interview Mr Lang under caution, to ask him about what had happened, and to give him the opportunity to explain himself if he wished to do so?’

  ‘That would have been the usual practice, sir, yes.’

  ‘Were you able to follow the usual practice in this case?’

  ‘No, sir – at least not immediately.’

  ‘Why was that?’

  Webb shook his head.

  ‘When I returned to the police station, I was informed by the custody sergeant, Sergeant Miller, that Mr Lang had still not spoken a word to anyone; that he was not well, and that the police surgeon believed that he required medical attention in hospital. He was not fit to be interviewed at that time.’

  ‘Yes. I will be calling medical evidence later, so I needn’t trouble you with that, but did it appear that Mr Lang was suffering from shock?’

  ‘So I was told, sir, yes.’

  ‘Were you able to interview him at a later time?’

  ‘Yes, sir. Mr Lang spent two nights in Barts hospital. He was discharged and returned to the police station on Friday morning, 30 April. By that time, there was no medical objection to DS Raymond and myself interviewing him, which we did.’ Webb glanced at his notebook. ‘That was at 11 o’clock that morning.’

  ‘Was Mr Lang cautioned at the start of the interview?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And was that the same caution he had been given when he was arrested, the same wording you gave to the jury a few moments ago?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And did he answer any questions?’

  ‘He did, sir.’

  ‘But, taking it briefly, did he tell you that he had no recollection of anything that had happened between the time he left home to go to Mrs Cameron’s house on the Wednesday morning, and returning from Barts hospital shortly before you interviewed him on Friday morning?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Inspector, do you have a note of the interview in your notebook?’

  ‘Yes, sir. This is a note originally made by DS Raymond while the interview was taking place. After the interview had finished, DS Raymond and I read over his note together to ensure that it was complete and accurate. I then copied it into my notebook.’

  ‘Taking it slowly, Inspector, would you please read the interview to the jury?

  DI Webb took a drink of water, and read each question and answer to the jury. When he had finished, Andrew continued.

  ‘Thank you, Inspector. Did you make any further efforts to interview him?’

  ‘Yes, sir. He was later able to give some information about his marriage to Susan Lang, the divorce proceedings, and he told us about his garage business, but still nothing about the event itself.’

  ‘Unless my learned friend asks me to, I’m not going to ask you to read any of that to the jury.’

  ‘No need, thank you,’ Ben said.

  ‘I’m obliged. What did you do next, Inspector?’

  ‘At that stage, sir, having consulted my senior officer and spoken to Treasury Counsel –’

  ‘Myself,’ Andrew smiled.

  ‘Indeed, sir, yes; having received advice from yourself, I decided to charge Mr Lang with murder. He was in due course charged with the murder of Susan Lang by Superintendent Naismith and cautioned, and he made no reply to the caution.’

  ‘Detective Inspector, did Henry Lang ever mention to you the name of a man called Daniel Cleary, otherwise known as “Danny Ice”?’

  Ben stood.

  ‘My Lord, I object to that question. The jury are not allowed to draw any conclusion against Mr Lang because he may not have mentioned something to the police. He was entitled not to answer any questions from the police, and he was cautioned to remind him of that right.’

  ‘That doesn’t make my question improper,’ Andrew replied. ‘It’s obvious from my learned friend’s cross-examination of Mrs Cameron that the defence considers Daniel Cleary to be important to this case in some way; and given Mr Lang’s claim of amnesia, it’s not unreasonable for the prosecution to explore what he claimed to remember, and not remember, at the time following his arrest.’

  Mr Justice Rainer was staring blankly.

  ‘Daniel Cleary?’

  ‘Yes,’ Andrew replied. �
�Your Lordship will recall –’

  Suddenly, the judge seemed irritated.

  ‘Yes, of course I recall, Mr Pilkington. But why are we hearing about this man Cleary? What has he got to do with anything?’

  Ben stood.

  ‘My Lord, if I may assist, Mr Cleary will play a significant role in this case.’

  ‘Then why are you objecting to Mr Pilkington’s question?’

  ‘I’m not objecting to any mention of Mr Cleary, my Lord. I’m objecting to my learned friend’s suggestion that Mr Lang had some obligation to mention him to the police when he was interviewed. He did not. He had been cautioned that he was not obliged to say anything.’

  ‘What role is this man Cleary going to play in this trial?’

  Ben turned to Andrew, who raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

  ‘My Lord, I don’t want to appear to give evidence myself with the jury present. If your Lordship prefers, we can ask the jury to retire for a few minutes so that I can explain. But Mr Cleary will have a role of some importance in the defendant’s case.’

  ‘I expect counsel to keep to matters that are strictly relevant,’ the judge said. ‘I’m not going to have the trial diverted into all kinds of highways and byways.’

  ‘We’re doing our best to stick to what is relevant, my Lord. If the jury may retire for a few minutes, I will explain why Mr Cleary is relevant.’

  The judge sat shaking his head for some seconds.

  ‘No. I’m not going to waste time on this. The… the witness will… answer the question.’

  ‘Answer the question, please, Detective Inspector,’ Andrew said. ‘Do you remember the question?’

  ‘Yes, sir. The answer is no: Mr Lang did not mention Mr Cleary to us at any time.’

  ‘Did Henry Lang ever offer you any explanation for having taken the kitchen knife, Exhibit 2, with him to the meeting with his wife and Wendy Cameron on 28 April?’

  ‘No, sir. He did not.’

  ‘Thank you. Wait there, please.’

  50

  Ben stood slowly.

  ‘Detective Inspector, first, may I make it clear that like everyone else in this courtroom, I’m sure, Mr Lang and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which you and your fellow officers dealt with the situation at Harpur Mews on the afternoon of 28 April. It was extraordinarily courageous.’