As requested, Michael telephoned the hospital and arranged to see Doctor Woods without delay. Later that morning, he was shown into the consultant’s office where the doctor asked him how he could help.
Michael hesitated, then he decided to put his cards on the table, “I’ve come to see you about one of your patients, a Mrs. Harris. I think we may have a joint interest in her wellbeing and welfare. I have received information today that this lady has a living relative. In fact it is her son who was adopted many years ago. Strictly speaking, I can’t, under any circumstances, reveal the source of my information, but I can assure you that the source is absolutely impeccable, and the information will withstand any test in any court of law. Besides, it’s better that you don’t know, then you cannot be questioned about it later. I’m sure if you pass this information to your legal representatives and we can arrange a meeting, perhaps something can be done to prolong the life of Mrs. Harris.”
Throughout this opening speech, Dr. Woods had studied his visitor intently now he spoke, “Well first of all Mr. Mulrooney, let me thank you for coming here with the news about my patient. I have to say that I find it all very mysterious to say the least. Here we are, with positive information which might prolong the life of my patient, and you can’t disclose the source. I must confess I am intrigued to say the least. However, let me put you in the picture. This morning, when my staff and I reported for duty, we were astonished to find there had been some improvement in the condition of Mrs. Harris. Two of the dedicated nurses discovered she has some very slight movement in one of her little fingers. Following on from this and after carrying out further tests, we have been able to ascertain that the lady can hear. Throughout the day we shall be carrying out all manner of tests in an effort to establish if there is any other part of her body which is able to function. Naturally, I have already been in touch with our legal advisers, and we are hopeful that this improvement alone will enable the judge to reverse his decision. Therefore, I’ll give them a ring now to see if we can meet as soon as possible in order that we can compare notes. Following a brief telephone conversation Michael found himself driving to the city centre and a meeting with the hospital’s legal team. The meeting was short and the discussion brief. It was decided that the appeal would be lodged on the basis of the new medical evidence and, if that tactic did not succeed, then an approach from Harry Thompson would be made, on the basis that he had an interest in the case being the son by birth. It was also agreed the name of Matron Farrell should well be kept out of all matters if it was at all humanely possible. Feeling well satisfied with the morning’s work, Michael made his way to his luncheon appointment at the Wig and Gown with Irene Yarwood.
After a pleasant lunch, during which he brought Irene up-to-date with the morning’s proceedings, they made their plans for another trip to London to the Court of Appeal for the much awaited the judgement of their lordships. For safekeeping, he deposited the letter from Matron Edith Farrell with Irene, and they both agreed, once it had been established that it had served its useful purpose, it would be returned in person to that upright and stalwart individual. She could then destroy it herself with the knowledge that it could never come back to haunt her in any way.
After lunch, Irene returned to her chambers where she was pleasantly surprised to find Sebastian Kreiff the senior partner waiting for her. He came straight to the point of his visit, “I take it that you’ll be going down to the Appeal Court tomorrow, and I wondered if you could do me a great favour.
“Certainly,” she responded, “What is it you want me to do?”
“Well, he replied, the Crown Prosecution Service has asked me to defend the appeal of the Latimer Brothers’ conviction, and I wondered if you would be able to pick up the court transcripts of the trial from the Central Records Office and bring them back with you. This will ensure I have as much time as possible to study the case. You won’t have to wait or anything as I’ll get my secretary to telephone the Records Office in advance, and they should have all the relevant files to hand when you get there.”
“No problem, she replied, “I’ll be in London anyway so I should be able to do that for you and I wasn’t planning on stopping over after the verdict, so consider it done. Will that be all Seb?”
“Yes, he answered, “that’s all for now, but whilst I’m here, just let me ask you something. Where on earth did you get that idea about Thompson’s right to silence, and what on earth made you tie it in with his human rights being abused?”
“To tell you the truth, she answered, I was literally clutching at straws. You can imagine the picture. The crown had just presented this new evidence about lifting DNA from clothing and I knew I didn’t really have a leg to stand on. As a result, I was most reluctant to call our forensic expert there and then as I didn’t consider I could introduce sufficient doubt in the minds of their lordships, and I thought I had nothing to lose passing him over at this point of the proceedings. Whilst this was going through my mind, I couldn’t help thinking about something the prosecution had said earlier, something about this evidence being so compelling my client might just as well have confessed to the crime initially. Had I not have read about the Hurst case in the first place, I probably wouldn’t have thought about it, but those words kept going round in my mind, and the next thing I knew I was asking the questions.”
“Now I know it hasn’t got us anywhere yet, but if the appeal verdict goes against me, then I shall ask for permission to appeal to the House of Lords. In that case, I’ll be praying that permission is denied so that I can lodge an appeal with The European Courts. This will be on the basis that when a sample from Harry Thompson was tested without his permission, he was effectively denied his human right to silence, and this was a denial of his basic human rights.”
Sebastian looked at her incredulously whilst she continued, “No doubt a lot of people will argue this is trying to get Thompson off on a technicality, but Seb, isn’t this what the law is all about? Also we mustn’t forget that, if the crown had done its own job properly in the first place, this opportunity would have been denied us.
Finally, allowed an opportunity to speak he asked, “Are you serious about this Irene?”
“Of course I am, and it won’t do you the slightest bit of good trying to persuade me otherwise. Don’t forget, my duty is to my client, and nobody else.”
“Irene,” replied Sebastian, “I wouldn’t dream of it. In fact, please let me tell you I think it’s absolutely brilliant and I’m praying that it succeeds for you because you certainly deserve it.”
“Thanks Seb, I really appreciate that. I really do because, at one stage, I thought I might have blown it but if this comes off then I know it will all have been worthwhile. Incidentally, one last thing before you go, I’ll bet you didn’t know that Harry Thompson’s mother is Paula Harris!” She saw another expression of surprise on his face as the news sank in, and his legal mind went into overdrive, as he too realised the implications and repercussions this could well have on the case.
Whilst he was still thinking about these matters she continued, “Of course that doesn’t mean Timothy Harris is the father, but even so I am sure you can imagine the complications which could arise before we’ve finished with this case.”
About to take his leave, Sebastian wished his junior partner good luck, and a pleasant journey before adding, “It just goes to show, Irene, it’s a very small world indeed. He was still shaking his head in disbelief as he walked down the corridor to his own office, repeating to himself, “Harry Thompson and Mrs. Harris, mother, and son, who would have believed it?”
Chapter 27
* * *
Irene left the office early and returned home in order to collect her overnight bag and her personal things for her trip to London. After checking she had everything she needed she walked to her car and started the motor. She drove slowly out of the drive and headed towards the motorway, and London. Knowing she had at least a four hour drive, she determined to m
ake as much time as possible by keeping to the outside lane with her foot pressed firmly on the accelerator. There was quite a lot of traffic on the road together with the usual borders of colourful plastic cones, and contra-flow systems to admire. Despite this, she continued to make good progress towards her destination, which was the Park Hotel in Finsbury Park. As she entered the building and headed to the reception desk, a quick glance at her watch confirmed she had been travelling for just over four hours. Check in procedures completed she made her way to her room on the first floor.
After a quick shower to freshen up, she proceeded to the restaurant for a light evening meal, before retiring to her room in order to be ready for the events of the following day at The Court of Appeal. Before retiring, she made a brief telephone call to Michael Mulrooney to let him know she had arrived, and, she would see him at the court building in the morning.
Michael was already there when she arrived, and they entered the building together. In due course, the other protagonists arrived, which heralded the usual exchange of greetings, then, as the usher solemnly intoned, “all rise” in his familiar dull and monotonous voice, following which the three robed figures took their places, it was time for the proceedings to get under way.
Lord Stanhope made himself comfortable, turned to both of his colleagues to ensure that all was well, then, with a quick cough to clear his throat he opened the proceedings. “In the Appeal Courts of justice in the case of Regina versus Thompson, this court has unanimously decided that this appeal must fail. My colleagues, and I have reached this verdict irrespective of the new evidence provided by the defence. We are united in our opinion that the correct verdict was reached in the original trial, and there was nothing new in the evidence presented by the defence to enable us to come to any other decision.”
“We were not at all swayed by the evidence of the witness, Chambers, who attempted to retract the evidence he gave at the original trial, neither were we suitably impressed with the witness O’Rourke. Regarding the evidence of these two persons, we have ordered that full transcripts of this appeal be sent to the proper authorities in order to ascertain whether any other proceedings should be taken. We have taken a very poor view of the efforts of the defence to smear, and slander, the Merseyside police force with allegations of misconduct and because these allegations have been made, we have issued instructions that an investigation ought to be carried out, if only to clear the good names of the officers involved.
With regard to the new evidence introduced by the prosecution, the defence made a spirited effort to have this evidence rejected. This was bound to fail. Once produced, this evidence only sought to underline the fact that justice was not only seen to be done, but the correct person responsible had been tried, and punished for it. It goes without saying, if this evidence had been available at the very start of this case, then, there would have been no grounds at all for allowing an appeal of this nature.
As Lord Stanhope began to close his papers to indicate the proceedings were over, Irene sprang to her feet, “Your worship”, she cried, in an effort to catch his attention, “Is it possible to have the permission of this court to take this appeal to the House of Lords?”
Looking down at her from his lofty position on the bench, Lord Stanhope thundered, “Certainly not permission denied.”
Then, to the doleful voice of the usher proclaiming, “All rise” the three judges strode purposefully from the court.
The court cleared very quickly, Irene, and Michael, were left alone. “Well Irene he said “that was short and sweet wasn’t it, although, in a way, I’m glad it’s all over.
“Yes”, she replied, “and, as I told you before today’s hearing began, the verdict wasn’t unexpected. Now, we just go straight on with the appeal to the Court of Human Rights. Come on let’s face it it’s not the end of the world, let me buy you a quick drink, then, I’ll have to leave you because I have to collect some papers for the boss from the criminal records centre.” One hour later they both went their separate ways.
Irene paid the taxi driver, and walked across the car park to collect her car. She drove out of the hotel car park, and despite the heavy traffic, she reached her destination just over an hour later. Alighting from the car, she glanced at the building which housed the Central Criminal Records Office, then she entered the building, and proceeded, as directed, to the first floor.
Sergeant Gerald Crowther was feeling quite smug, and very pleased with himself. Today was his first day of work at the Records Office. Even though he’d only been there a couple of hours, and despite the fact that it was a very mundane job to say the least, nevertheless, he was enjoying every minute of it. Not for him the unrelenting shifts, and station life with all its rules regulations, and, bullshit, no, this job suited him down to the ground. A regular day job, no real loss of pay to speak of, just turn up on time each day, do your eight hours, enjoy your breaks, lots of opportunities to skive off for a smoke and no inspectors or superintendents to worry about. Throughout this first day, he’d reflected many times on his good fortune at landing a cushy number such as this and, considering he’d been on sick leave for almost twelve months with early retirement looming, he had to keep pinching himself in order to convince himself he wasn’t dreaming. Another bonus for him was the never ending stream of women calling at his counter, in order to deposit or take away bundles of legal documents. Because he always fancied himself as a ladies’ man, this gave him ample chat up opportunities which he positively relished. At this very moment, all he could see were the ample curves of Irene Yarwood approaching his counter. Flashing his broadest smile he enquired “Yes Miss can I help you?”
“Yes,” Irene quickly responded, “I’m here to collect some crown prosecution papers for Sebastian Krieff QC. He’s been asked to take the Crown Prosecution case against the Latimer Brothers appeal and, I understand the papers are here awaiting collection by myself. Whilst she was talking, it occurred to her the sergeant did not appear to have his mind fully on the job, and an idea flashed through her brain. She resolved to exploit the situation adding, “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before have I? She waited with baited breath for his reply praying she hadn’t blown it but, she needn’t have worried as he responded, “No miss, actually it’s my first day here; I’m sort of feeling my way about so to speak.”
The idea in her brain grew enormously as she realised this was indeed a heaven- sent opportunity. What on earth prompted her, or, where the idea sprang from she didn’t have a clue. All she knew was she had to go along with it, and she said, as casually as she could, “and Mr. Kreiff would also like the papers on Regina versus Thompson Liverpool 1988. He might not have gone through the channels for those papers as he only rang me whilst I was making my way here.” Irene flashed him a warm inviting smile whilst awaiting his response.
She didn’t have to wait long. His reply was almost instantaneous. He was well and truly hooked, and he returned her smile with one of his own together with a wink, saying “Don’t worry about it Miss, I’ll go and get those first then we’ll sort things out from there. He turned away, swaggering along the corridor thinking to himself, “this job’s a bloody doddle. Who knows, I might even be in here.”
He returned a few minutes later with the bundles of documents which he placed on the counter, saying as he did, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ve just been told my boss wants a quick word, and, as it’s my first day, I don’t want to risk upsetting him.”
“Take all the time you want,” she replied, unable to believe her good fortune. Irene watched him disappearing down the corridor and, with her brain pounding and her hands trembling, she began to look at the files he had left. As soon as she saw the third folder, she knew she had hit the jackpot. It was boldly emblazoned with a white sticker containing the words Not To Be Disclosed To The Defence. When she saw this, she was almost in a state of shock, and she realised the only thing she could do was borrow it, and hope the stupid oaf hadn’t counted the files be
fore leaving them. She reasoned thatonce outside the building she would have ample time to look at it, and if there was nothing of any great significance, she could return it immediately without harm. She looked around quickly, to ensure there was nobody about, then she placed the file beside her brief case on the floor. She busied herself searching the other files, wishing all the time the sergeant would soon return. A quick glance through the other folders gave no insight to any additional information concerning the case, although there was a note from the crown prosecution legal team rejecting Theresa O’Rourke as a witness on the basis that she might prove unreliable and this could possibly have a damaging effect upon the testimony of Bridget Riley, and Royston Chambers.
When Sergeant Crowther returned, he was pleased to see Irene busily scribbling her shorthand notes. He placed the transcripts of the Latimer Brothers case on the counter, and enquired if she would be taking away the files on the Thompson case.
She gave him another dazzling smile as she answered, “Well actually, it would be better if I could. I really wanted to get back to Manchester tonight in order that Mr. Krieff might look at them but, if that’ll give you a problem, I might just as well stay here and make some more notes.
Thoroughly captivated, desperately anxious to please and make a good impression, Sergeant Crowther volunteered his services to book the additional files out for her, even though he knew the request and subsequent arrangements, should have been made beforehand.
Irene couldn’t believe her luck as she quickly gathered up all the files on the counter. She placed them all on top of the file she had secreted, and picked up her brief case before smiling once more at her hapless victim saying, “Thank you very much sergeant you’ve been most helpful. Obviously I’ll get these back to you as soon as possible. If I can’t get back myself I’ll send them by express courier.” Another smile, then she was rushing through the door.
Beyond Innocence Page 26
