The Accused (Modern Plays)

by Jeffrey Archer

  Sherwood Entirely professional. On the rare occasions we met outside the hospital, it would have been at gatherings where other members of staff were present.

  Barrington Did you ever flirt with Ms Mitchell?

  Sherwood I flirt with all the nurses in my department, Sir James.

  Barrington You flirt with all the nurses in your department?

  Sherwood When you work on a cardiac unit you come into contact with death every day, which naturally causes relationships to be quite intense. One’s moods swing from being morose to flippant and sometimes to just downright silly.

  Barrington But Ms Mitchell claims that you gave her presents, sent her flowers, took her to restaurants and, on at least two occasions, accompanied her to the theatre?

  Sherwood I think on one occasion I did pass on a box of chocolates to Ms Mitchell that had been given to me by a patient, but as for all her other suggestions, they are nothing more than fantasy.

  Barrington She went on to tell the court that after having dinner together you would then drive her home. Is that also fantasy?

  Sherwood It’s not only fantasy, Sir James, it’s simply not possible.

  Barrington I’m not sure I understand, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood It’s quite hard to drive someone home when you don’t own a car.

  Barrington But you could have borrowed a car from the hospital, even hired one.

  Sherwood Yes, I could have done, if I had a driving licence.

  Barrington You don’t have a driving licence?

  Sherwood No and I’ve never had one. Elizabeth used to drive me everywhere.

  Barrington But even if you didn’t drive Ms Mitchell home, she claimed that you regularly joined her in her flat for coffee.

  Sherwood I never drink coffee, Sir James, gallons of tea, but never coffee.

  Barrington I must now ask you about Ms Mitchell’s claims that you told her not to inform the police that you had been with her on the night your wife died, because you had come up with a more convincing alibi. How do you answer that charge?

  Sherwood There is no need to answer it, Sir James, because I don’t even know where she lives.

  Barrington But Mr Sherwood, you’re on trial for murder. Why not admit to having an affair, rather than risk going to prison for the rest of your life?

  Sherwood Because we didn’t have an affair.

  Barrington But you did go as far as kissing her on one occasion?

  Sherwood Yes I did - it was at the staff Christmas party, I’d drunk a little too much, and regretted it immediately. I apologised and left soon afterwards.

  Barrington So as far as you were concerned, that was an end of the matter?

  Sherwood It would have been if I hadn’t asked her to come to my office the following morning.

  Barrington Why did you do that?

  Sherwood I wanted to apologise more formally.

  Barrington And what was her reaction?

  Sherwood She said there was no need to apologise as she had enjoyed it. She then locked the door and started to unbutton her uniform.

  Barrington How did you react?

  Sherwood I went straight to the door, unlocked it, held it open and waited for her to leave.

  Barrington Did she do so?

  Sherwood Yes, she did, but I’ll never forget her words as she stormed out of the room: ‘Mr Sherwood, you will live to regret this.’

  Barrington What did you imagine she meant by that?

  Sherwood I thought she might report me to the hospital board, even to an industrial tribunal.

  Barrington And did she do so?

  Sherwood No, she was far more devious than that. But even I couldn’t have imagined she would claim I was with her the night my wife died.

  Barrington Where were you that night, Mr Sherwood?

  Sherwood I was out on an emergency call visiting a patient in Westminster.

  Barrington So why isn’t that patient in court today to verify your story?

  Sherwood Because he died later that night.

  Barrington And what was the time entered on the death certificate?

  Sherwood 10.27 p.m.

  Barrington And who signed that death certificate?

  Sherwood I did.

  Barrington So if it was signed at 10.27 p.m., you would not have needed a more convincing alibi, as Ms Mitchell suggested.

  Sherwood Ms Mitchell seems to think I could have been in two places at once.

  Barrington Quite. So finally, let me ask you, Mr Sherwood, how do you answer Ms Mitchell’s damning accusation that you used her as a courier over a period of three months, to collect ampoules of Potassium Chloride in order to poison your wife?

  Sherwood Sir James, if I had wanted to poison my wife, I could have picked up any amount of drugs from the hospital pharmacy, without ever involving Ms Mitchell. No, the truth is that during that unhappy year I tended to my wife’s every need, often neglecting other patients. I only wish I’d been as successful with Elizabeth as I have been with some of them.

  Barrington No further questions, My Lord.

  Judge Do you wish to cross-examine, Mr Kersley?

  Kersley I most certainly do, My Lord. Mr Sherwood, much as we enjoyed the description of your wedded bliss, I suspect the time has now come for all of us in this courtroom to return to the real world. Let me begin by asking you when you first met Ms Mitchell?

  Sherwood It must have been when she was transferred to the cardiac unit.

  Kersley And did you find her attractive?

  Sherwood No, I didn’t think of her in that way.

  Kersley So it wasn’t love at first sight?

  Sherwood Or second sight, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley So it was some time later that you fell under her spell?

  Sherwood I never fell under her spell.

  Kersley Ah. So she was correct in suggesting that you were the pursuer and she the pursued in this relationship?

  Sherwood There never was a relationship, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley I shall return to the proof of that relationship later, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood And I shall continue to deny it.

  Kersley I’ll look forward to that. So let me turn to something you can’t deny. Where do you live?

  Sherwood Twenty-two Cadogan Villas.

  Kersley So when did you move out of your flat in Wimbledon?

  Sherwood About a year ago.

  Kersley And how much did it cost to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea?

  Sherwood I don’t remember exactly.

  Kersley Come, come, Mr Sherwood, I think every one of us knows exactly what we paid for the home we live in, especially if we bought it less than a year ago. I repeat, how much did it cost to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea?

  Sherwood Around eight hundred thousand pounds.

  Kersley Wouldn’t eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand be more accurate?

  Sherwood Possibly.

  Kersley So you must have won the lottery? Or did you inherit it?

  Sherwood Neither. My wife left few assets in her will. By the time I had finished paying death duties I received less than twenty thousand pounds.

  Kersley Well, that would just about cover the stamp duty on twenty-two Cadogan villas, so I must therefore ask you what the current salary is for a surgeon at St George’s?

  Sherwood Just over ninety thousand pounds a year.

  Kersley How many people earning ninety thousand pounds a year can afford to purchase a penthouse in Chelsea for eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds? I feel sure you’re about to tell us that there’s another simple explanation.

  Sherwood Yes, there is. Some years ago I took out a joint life insurance policy on my wife and myself.

  Kersley Some years ago. Wouldn’t March 1997 be more precise?

  Sherwood That is some years ago, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley But it’s only some weeks before your wife suffered her first heart attack - ‘the first hint came in 1997, my wife complained of loss of br
eath, pains in her left arm and chest …’ - And what was the value of the policy?

  Sherwood A million pounds.

  Kersley One million pounds. And would I be right in thinking that the life insurance company are refusing to settle the amount until the result of this trial is known?

  Barrington My Lord, that can only be speculation.

  Judge I agree, Sir James. Mr Kersley, unless you can provide evidence, move on.

  Kersley Mr Sherwood, has the life insurance company settled the full amount?

  Judge Mr Kersley.

  Kersley I apologise, My Lord. However, I do hope my learned friend will consider one million pounds a large enough sum to constitute the motive he was searching for.

  Sherwood No amount of money would constitute a motive for harming my wife.

  Kersley Is that right? Then why did you tell Ms Mitchel that you were sick of the way she continually belittled you in front of the hospital staff and how you longed to be rid of her?

  Sherwood My Lord, do I have to answer such a ridiculous suggestion?

  Judge Yes, I’m afraid you do, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood Of course I didn’t want to be rid of my wife. She was the only woman I’ve ever cared for.

  Kersley Then why did you seek solace in the arms of another?

  Sherwood I did no such thing.

  Kersley So when Ms Mitchell informed the court that your wife had refused to make love to you for several years, was that also untrue?

  Sherwood How could she possibly know?

  Kersley Oh, I see, you regularly made love to your wife, did you, Mr Sherwood? (Sherwood hesitates.) Your silence speaks volumes and, more importantly, supplies us with yet another motive.

  Sherwood It does no such thing. When will you work out that when it comes to my private life, Ms Mitchell simply made it up?

  Kersley Well, then, let’s consider something Ms Mitchell couldn’t have made up - your wife’s desire to be cremated. Mr Sherwood, your wife’s will - was it written in her own hand?

  Sherwood No, it was typed.

  Kersley Typed by whom, may I ask?

  Sherwood (hesitates) I think I may have typed it, but it was signed and duly witnessed.

  Kersley So who witnessed the document?

  Sherwood Mr Webster, the porter at Arcadia Mansions.

  Kersley A man who - by his own admission - could neither read nor write.

  Sherwood It wasn’t necessary for him to read or write, he was only witnessing my wife’s signature.

  Kersley So just a few days before your wife dies she suddenly adds a codicil to her will stating that she wishes to be cremated. No doubt my learned friend will once again casually dismiss this piece of evidence as circumstantial and coincidental, rather than using his favourite words, ‘how convenient’.

  Barrington My Lord, I’m enjoying this speech immensely, as I feel sure you are, but if it is to continue for much longer, perhaps my client might be allowed to sit down?

  Kersley When I’ve finished, your client may well need to sit down. Mr Sherwood, you told the court that you consulted the eminent surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub about your wife’s condition and he put her on a special fat-free diet.

  Sherwood Sir Magdi has written to the court confirming as much.

  Kersley But wasn’t that exactly what you were hoping to achieve, so that when your wife died, you would be able to show that she had been treated by the nation’s leading specialist and therefore no awkward questions would be asked?

  Sherwood That’s ridiculous. How could I be expected to fool the leading authority in the land?

  Kersley Because you neglected to inform him about the six ampoules of Potassium Chloride that later mysteriously disappeared. Or are you at last going to tell us what really happened to them?

  Sherwood Mr Kersley, in a hospital as large as St George’s, thousands of drugs are dispensed every week. How could I be expected to account for every one of them the following day, let alone a year later?

  Kersley Let alone a year later. So why don’t we turn to something you should be able to account for - even a year later - namely your actions on the night your wife died. Did you pour the glass of wine found by her side?

  Sherwood Yes, I did, but that was before I left the flat.

  Kersley So it must have been you who added the sedative that DCI Payne described as three times the normal dosage?

  Sherwood No it was not. My wife was in the habit of taking sedatives, so it could have been a mistake.

  Kersley Or part of your plan, like leaving the kitchen window open.

  Sherwood Why should I do that?

  Kersley So that you could return to your flat without being seen by the porter.

  Sherwood How often do you have to be told? I didn’t return to the flat. I was visiting a patient.

  Kersley In that case, why did you forget to take your doctor’s bag?

  Sherwood I didn’t forget it.

  Kersley But Mr Webster testified that he saw you leaving the building without it.

  Sherwood Only moments ago you dismissed Mr Webster as unfit to witness my wife’s signature.

  Kersley So are you now saying that you did have your doctor’s bag with you when you left Arcadia Mansions?

  Sherwood You don’t need a doctor’s bag if all you have to do is sign a death certificate.

  Kersley And you certainly wouldn’t have needed a doctor’s bag if you were visiting your mistress in Tooting, unless, of course, it was full of condoms.

  Barrington (leaps up) My Lord …

  Judge Yes, yes, Sir James. Mr Kersley, do try to remember that you are at the Old Bailey and not back in the House of Commons.

  Kersley I do apologise, My Lord. So, wherever you were, Mr Sherwood - visiting a patient in Westminster without your doctor’s bag, or making love to your mistress in Tooting…

  Sherwood I don’t have a mistress - in Tooting or anywhere else for that matter.

  Kersley But Ms Mitchell told the court that after you made love, you left her at ten o’clock - without your doctor’s bag - and returned an hour later in a nervous state.

  Sherwood I wasn’t in a nervous state.

  Kersley Because you thought you’d got away with it.

  Sherwood Because I wasn’t with her in the first place.

  Kersley Then where were you at 10.27?

  Sherwood I was in Westminster signing a death certificate and that certificate is in the court’s possession.

  Kersley Indeed it is, but isn’t it common practice to fill in a death certificate the following day?

  Sherwood Not in my department, it isn’t.

  Kersley Then if it wasn’t you who returned to your flat, how do you explain your wife’s words - ‘How did you get in?’

  Sherwood (pause) She could have been addressing Mr Webster.

  Kersley But he walked in through the front door. I don’t think so, Mr Sherwood.

  Sherwood Then she must have been surprised by an intruder.

  Kersley Rather familiar words for an intruder I would have thought. But singularly appropriate for a husband who had returned unexpectedly and not via the front door. ‘How did you get in?’

  Sherwood But I didn’t return unexpectedly via any door.

  Kersley Then via the fire escape, perhaps?

  Sherwood Or the fire escape.

  Kersley Then how about the kitchen window?

  Sherwood Or the kitchen window.

  Kersley Then who slipped back into the kitchen just before Mr Webster came in?

  Sherwood It could have been the wind that caused the door to slam.

  Kersley Then how do you explain the shouting, the quarrelling and the turning over of furniture?

  Sherwood I accept Mr Webster’s explanation - that there had been another burglary.

  Kersley So how did this burglar enter the building, when there was no sign of a break-in?

  Sherwood Via the fire escape and the kitchen window.

  Kersley But the window had bee
n opened from the inside?

  Sherwood My wife often opened it on a warm evening.

  Kersley In March? Ah, I see, so it was your wife who let the burglar in?

  Sherwood That’s a ridiculous suggestion, Mr Kersley, and you know it.

  Kersley As ridiculous as suggesting that it was a burglar who caused the bruising on her arm.

  Sherwood Not at all. The bruising could have been caused by a struggle with the burglar.

  Kersley Rather than a struggle with you?

  Sherwood Why should she be struggling with me?

  Kersley Because when you returned to inject her, you were horrified to discover she hadn’t drunk the glass of wine that contained the sedative you had prepared for her.

  Sherwood Then how do you explain the unopened ampoule left in my bag?

  Kersley Because you left it there, Mr Sherwood, having only managed to inject five of the ampoules before you were interrupted by Mr Webster, when you fled to the kitchen, dropping the rubber glove on the floor.

  Sherwood Have you forgotten that the glove belonged to my wife?

  Kersley Have you forgotten that it was soaked in Potassium Chloride?

  Sherwood From a bottle of grapefruit juice - as Professor Forsyth confirmed.

  Kersley From an injection, that induced a heart attack, as Professor Forsyth demonstrated.

  Sherwood The heart attack was probably caused by the intruder.

  Kersley Re-enter the intruder, who conveniently appears whenever you’re in trouble. No, the truth is that there never was an intruder, Mr Sherwood, because it was you …

  Barrington My Lord, I must object. My learned friend is putting words into the defendant’s mouth.

  Judge I agree with you, Sir James. Mr Kersley, you must stop attempting to be the witness as well as prosecuting council. If I were to allow this to continue much longer, you might well end up being the judge as well.

  Kersley As Your Lordship pleases.

  Judge (furious) In future, Mr Kersley, allow the defendant to answer the questions and the jury to decide on the facts.

  Kersley Is it a fact, Mr Sherwood, that you kissed Ms Mitchell at the staff Christmas party?