The Accused (Modern Plays)

by Jeffrey Archer

  The Accused

  Jeffrey Archer’s latest play, The Accused, is a tense courtroom drama with a difference. The audience will act as the jury, as if they were in the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey.

  You will have to decide …

  Did Dr Sherwood murder his wife?

  Was Jennifer Mitchell his mistress?

  Which of his alibis should you believe?

  The choice will keep you on the edge of your seats, and at the end of the trial you will be invited to deliver your verdict of guilty or not guilty. Once you have made that decision, the play will continue - with one of two different endings, depending on your verdict. Only then will you finally discover the truth.

  Jeffrey Archer is one of Britain’s top-selling novelists. He is published in 63 countries and 32 languages, and has international sales passing one hundred and twenty million copies. He is a former Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, and was created a Life Peer in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1992. He is also an amateur auctioneer, conducting some 60 charity auctions each year.

  He has written ten novels, several of which have been serialised for television and radio, four sets of short stories, and three plays. His first - Beyond Reasonable Doubt, starring Frank Finlay and Wendy Craig, ran at the Queen’s Theatre, in London’s West End, for over 600 performances. His second play, Exclusive, which ran at the Strand Theatre, starred Paul Scofield, Eileen Atkins and Alec McCowen.

  Jeffrey Archer is now working on his eleventh novel, Serendipity, which will be published in May 2002.

  By the same author

  Novels

  Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less

  Shall We Tell the President?

  Kane and Abel

  The Prodigal Daughter

  First Among Equals

  A Matter of Honour

  As the Crow Flies

  Honour Among Thieves

  The Fourth Estate

  The Eleventh Commandment

  Short stories

  A Quiver Full of Arrows

  A Twist in the Tale

  Twelve Red Herrings

  The Collected Short Stories

  To Cut a Long Story Short

  Plays

  Beyond Reasonable Doubt

  Exclusive

  The Accused

  by

  Jeffrey Archer

  Contents

  Act One

  Scene One

  Scene Two

  Act Two

  Scene One

  Act Three

  Scene One

  Scene Two

  The Accused

  The Accused was presented by Lee Menzies at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, on 5 December 2000, having received its world premiere performance at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, on 26 September 2000.

  The cast was as follows (in order of appearance)

  Jury Baliff

  Edward de Souza

  Anthony Kersley QC

  Michael Feast

  Alison Ashton

  Janet Wantling

  Sir James Barrington QC

  Edward Petherbridge

  Andrew Jarvis

  Dominic Kemp

  Court Usher

  Neil France

  Mr Justice Cartwright

  Tony Britton

  Patrick Sherwood

  Jeffrey Archer

  Guard

  Richard Hodder

  Detective Chief Inspector Payne

  Douglas Fielding

  Albert Webster

  David Weston

  Masood Hussein

  Madhav Sharma

  Professor Alistair Forsyth

  David Collings

  Jennifer Mitchell

  Emma Davies

  Foreman of the Jury

  The voice of Ken

  Livingstone

  Second Guard

  Gary laylor

  All the action takes place in Court Number One at the Old Bailey.

  Time: the present day.

  Director

  Val May

  Designer

  Simon Higlett

  Lighting Designer

  Vince Herbert

  Sound Designer

  Frank Bradley

  Company Stage Manager

  Debbie Cronshaw

  Deputy Stage Manager

  Jane Allen

  Assistant Stage Managers

  Angharad Watson,

  Rebecca Kilgariff,

  Nathalie Hobday

  Act One

  Scene One

  The Jury Room, Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. Morning.

  When the audience take their seats, there is no curtain. The stage is dark, but at the front is a door marked JURY ROOM. On the wall is a clock showing 9.45 a.m. When the house lights go down, the door opens and the Jury Bailiff steps through it and addresses the audience.

  Jury Bailiff Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. Welcome to the Old Bailey. My name is Gilbert Pierce and I have been appointed your jury bailiff. You have been summoned this day to appear at the Central Criminal Court. The trial you have been selected for is the Crown versus Mr Patrick Sherwood. Mr Sherwood is charged with murder. In a few moments I will take you through to Court Number One. But as I suspect this is the first time you’ve been called on to give jury service, you may well have some questions, and as this is my one hundred and fourteenth murder, I may just have some of the answers.

  Now the judge in this case is Mr Justice Cartwright who considers himself to be the natural successor to Judge Jeffreys and his views on the restoration of the death penalty are well documented. However, you will be relieved to learn that he’s considerate with jurors, but uncompromising when it comes to barristers - especially those who try to take advantage of him. And while I’m on the subject of barristers, both the Crown and the Defence in this case are represented by two of the best - and they both know it.

  Sir James Barrington leads for the Defence, while Mr Anthony Kersley, a former Member of Parliament, appears for the Crown. If you sense any friction between them, don’t be surprised: they loathe each other. It’s no secret that Sir James defeated Mr Kersley by one vote to become Chairman of the Bar Council, and was awarded the knighthood that goes with it. It’s also common knowledge that they haven’t exchanged a civil word since.

  The spotlight falls on Kersley and his junior, Ashton, who are moving towards the courtroom in a corridor of light.

  Ashton I see we’re up against your old sparring partner.

  Kersley Are you referring to Barrington, or His Lordship Mr Justice Cartwright?

  Ashton I thought you and Sir James …

  Kersley Frankly I’ve never cared for either of them, and I can assure you the feeling is mutual. You see, I didn’t go to the right school, old boy.

  The attention moms to Barrington and Jarvis.

  Jarvis Have you appeared before Mr Justice Cartwright before?

  Barrington Many times, and on this occasion we start with a home advantage.

  Jarvis Why’s that?

  Barrington Because he disapproves of Kersley almost as much as I do, so all we have to do is massage the old boy’s ego.

  Jarvis But surely Kersley will do exactly the same thing?

  Barrington Not a chance. He’ll pick a quarrel with Cartwright at the first possible opportunity - he believes in the old adage that a good row with the judge makes up for a weak case.

  Jury Bailiff looks up from his clipboard.

  Jury Bailiff Once Mr Kersley has made his opening statement for the Crown, he will proceed to call his witnesses. At the moment there are five on the list, but I’m not expecting to get through all of them toda
y. After the adjournment you may return home, when you will quickly discover that friends and relatives will want to discuss your views on the case and will be only too willing to offer theirs. But unlike you, they will not have heard all the evidence, so their opinions are, at best, worthless and, at worst, injurious. The safest bet is don’t talk to anyone and don’t allow anyone to talk to you

  Usher Mr Pierce, I am instructed by His Lordship to ask if the jury are assembled and ready?

  Jury Bailiff They are all in attendance, Mr Usher.

  Usher Then will you please accompany the jury to the courtroom?

  Jury Bailiff (bows, and the Usher returns the bow. Jury Bailiff turns back to face the audience) Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, please follow me.

  Kersley and Ashton walk through the jury door towards the courtroom in a corridor of light.

  Ashton Do you think in the twenty-first century anyone gives a damn which school you went to?

  Kersley Mr Justice Cartwright doesn’t belong in the twenty-first century - as you’re about to find out - which may even work to our advantage.

  Ashton What do you mean?

  Kersley Simply that if the jury considers the judge is favouring one side, they quite often react against it.

  Ashton I can’t believe he’ll make it that obvious.

  Kersley Then I’ll have to make sure he does.

  Barrington and Jarvis follow in the corridor of light.

  Barrington Andrew, have you had a chance to speak to our client this morning?

  Jarvis Yes, when I left him he was pacing up and down his cell and feeling rather sorry for himself. (Pauses.) I have to admit I rather like him.

  Barrington After thirty years in this game Andrew, I can tell you that murderers are a far nicer class of person - it’s the barristers you have to watch out for.

  Jarvis (laughs) Are you referring to Mr Kersley, by any chance?

  Barrington I never refer to Kersley if I can avoid it. However, don’t lower your guard even for a moment, because when it comes to punching, no one has explained to Kersley where the belt is.

  As Barrington enters the courtroom, the two QCs come face to face for the first time. They give each other a cursory nod. A few moments later there is a triple knock on the outside of the door.

  Usher Be upstanding in the court. All persons having anything to do before my Lords, the Queen’s Justices, oyer and terminer, and general gaol delivery for the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, draw near and give your attendance. God save the Queen.

  Mr Justice Cartwright enters and takes his place in the centre of the bench. All bow. The Judge returns their bow.

  Usher Bring up the prisoner.

  Sherwood steps into the dock, and the Jury Bailiff walks across to stand in front of him.

  Jury Bailiff Is your name Patrick Hugh Sherwood?

  Sherwood Yes.

  Jury Bailiff Patrick Sherwood, you stand charged with murder. The particulars of the offence are that, on the twenty-first of March 1999 in the county of London, you administered a fatal dose of poison to your wife, Elizabeth Sherwood. How say you - Guilty or Not Guilty?

  Sherwood Not guilty.

  Jury Bailiff (walks to the front of the stage, faces the audience and bows) Members of the Jury, the defendant stands before you charged with one count - that of murder. To this count he has pleaded Not Guilty. By his plea he has cast himself upon his country, which country ye are. Your charge, therefore, is to hearken unto the evidence and say whether he be guilty or no. (He turns his attention away from the audience and returns to his place.)

  Judge Members of the Jury, you have sworn to try this case on the evidence. You must therefore give heed only to what takes place in this court and ignore anything you have read in the press. Mr Kersley, you may proceed with the prosecution.

  Kersley May it please Your Lordship, Members of the Jury. The murder of Elizabeth Sherwood was a crime planned by a man with a brilliant and subtle mind, who set out to dupe his colleagues, so that when his wife died, no one would suspect him of being involved in such an evil enterprise.

  But unfortunately for him, even the cleverest of murderers make mistakes which, like pieces in a jigsaw, end up revealing the true picture.

  The Crown will produce five pieces of that jigsaw, which will show the lengths to which Mr Sherwood was willing to go in order to cover his tracks. Once those five pieces are in. place, I believe you will come to one conclusion: that Mr Patrick Sherwood is guilty of murder.

  My Lord, we call our first witness, Chief Inspector Payne.

  Usher Call Chief Inspector Payne.

  Guard Chief Inspector Payne.

  The Usher stands and announces Chief Inspector Payne, as he will do for all ather witnesses from the lobby outside the double doors. He then shuts the door and returns to his seat. The Chief Inspector enters and takes his place in the witness box. Whenever witnesses speak, they should face the jury - the audience.

  Usher Take the testament in your right hand and read from the card.

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

  Kersley Is your name Alan Payne and are you a Detective Chief Inspector with the Central Area major incident team?

  Payne Yes, I am, sir.

  Kersley Chief Inspector, can you tell the court how you became involved in this case.

  Payne (Checks his notebook and faces the Judge.) May I refer to my notebook, My Lord?

  Judge (nods) You may, Chief Inspector.

  Payne On the evening of March the twenty-first 1999 we received an emergency call at Wimbledon police station, from a Mr Albert Webster, the porter of a block of flats in the division. He informed us that he thought a burglary had taken place and, as there had been several in the area recently, we immediately went round to Arcadia Mansions to investigate.

  Kersley And what did you find when you arrived at the Sherwoods’ flat?

  Payne I found Mrs Sherwood lying on the floor, covered in a blanket. She was sobbing and holding up her right arm, which appeared to be badly bruised. I assumed that she must have taken an intruder by surprise, but when I asked her what had happened she was incoherent. She kept pointing to a glass of wine on a side table. A few moments later an ambulance crew arrived and after they had examined her, told me that she must be taken into hospital immediately.

  Kersley Did you follow the ambulance to St George’s?

  Payne No, my first priority was to take a statement from the porter before checking over the flat.

  Kersley And once you had done that, were you still of the opinion that a burglary had taken place?

  Payne No, I was puzzled. There was clearly evidence of a struggle, but I could find no sign of a forced entry. All the locks and windows were intact, with the exception of a kitchen window, which led on to the fire escape and was slightly open. No drawers appeared to have been left open, which is what one would expect if a burglary had taken place.

  Kersley Did anything else arouse your suspicions?

  Payne A rubber glove that had been dropped on the kitchen floor, and I was also curious about the glass of wine Mrs Sherwood had been pointing to, so I instructed forensics to have the glove and the wineglass sent to the lab for testing.

  Kersley Did you then go to the hospital?

  Payne Yes, as I hoped Mrs Sherwood might have recovered sufficiently to answer some questions.

  Kersley And was she able to do so?

  Payne No, she died a few minutes after I arrived at St George’s.

  Kersley And the cause of death, Chief Inspector? How was it entered on the death certificate?

  Payne Congestive cardiac failure, but as Mrs Sherwood had suffered in the past from (Checks his notebook.) atherosclerosis, her heart attack was not considered to be suspicious.

  Barrington My Lord, I apologise for interrupting, I simply wish to seek your guidance.

  Judge (suspiciously) Yes, I’m listening, Sir Ja
mes.

  Barrington Is the Chief Inspector a qualified medical practitioner? Because if he isn’t, perhaps we could dispense with his medical opinions and stick to the facts in this case.

  Judge You were not seeking my guidance, Sir James, but simply wishing to make a point. No doubt you feel you have. Carry on, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley Thank you, My Lord. Chief Inspector, you were telling the court, before we were interrupted by my learned friend, that you went to the hospital in the hope of asking Mrs Sherwood some questions. When you arrived, did you find Mrs Sherwood in her husband’s arms?

  Judge (Barrington rises) Mr Kersley, that was an outrageous leading question whose only purpose was to prejudice the jury.

  Kersley I do apologise, My Lord. I must have been distracted by Sir James’s unnecessary interruption. Chief Inspector, when you arrived at the hospital, was Mr Sherwood at his wife’s bedside?

  Payne No, sir, a member of the hospital staff was trying to locate him.

  Kersley I see. So who signed the death certificate?

  Payne Her local GP, a Dr Haslam.

  Kersley And was he satisfied that Mrs Sherwood had suffered a heart attack?

  Payne He had no reason to believe otherwise. He’d been treating her for a heart condition for some time.

  Barrington My Lord, he is at it again.

  Judge And so are you, Sir James. Carry on, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley Did you also accept this judgement?

  Payne I saw no reason to question their professional opinion.

  Kersley So what caused you to change your mind and open a murder inquiry?

  Payne Some weeks later I received a call from the dangerous drugs division of the Home Office. Following that call, I visited a chemist in Wellingborough to check their Controlled Drugs Register. It showed that a Mr Sherwood had been regularly having prescriptions of Potassium Chloride made up, that fell into the category of poisons under the 1994 Drug Trafficking Act.