Beyond Innocence

by Barrie Turner

  Once the great steel studded doors were opened, the press surged forward as one. The agreement was totally forgotten as question upon question was hurled upon them, and, flash followed flash, as each person present endeavoured to secure the best pictures. Surrounded on all sides, but still making slow, but painful progress to the waiting car, Michael read out the press release.

  “My client is truly grateful that his period of incarceration is now behind him and he is pleading with everybody here to allow him some privacy so that he can pick up the remaining threads of his life. Throughout his ordeal, my client has always maintained his innocence, and he continues to do so. At the present moment, he regrets that he is unable to answer any questions, or arrange any interviews, but in the fullness of time, he will be more than willing to face all his detractors, and answer any questions raised.”

  “Please understand, this has been a momentous day, and, allow us all to leave peacefully.” They had reached the safety and sanctuary of the car and once inside, they were driven quickly away with the press trying to follow in hot pursuit.

  Chapter 32

  * * *

  Although the madding crowd had been left behind, none of the occupants felt they could relax. They cast anxious looks behind themselves on countless occasions to ensure they were not being followed. As they became more secure they did relax however and, one by one, they fell asleep exhausted by the day’s events.

  They awoke to the sound of the car being driven on the gravel of a long winding drive. The car drew up outside the impressive front entrance of a very large house, and they were quickly ushered inside where Harry and his companions, found the welcoming figure of Sebastian Kreiff. With a minimum of fuss, drinks were produced and served, together with refreshments. When he deemed it appropriate, Sebastian rose from the table to announce a toast, “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please allow me to propose a toast in honour of our partner, Irene Yarwood, who has done such a magnificent job in securing the freedom of her client, Harry Thompson. Glasses were raised in her honour to cries of speech, and Irene duly responded,

  “Sebastian, Ladies and Gentlemen, first of all let me thank our host for having so much trust in me at the start of my career. I think I was very fortunate in having such a high profile case thrust upon me. I must thank everybody who has helped and assisted me during this long saga which is still not quite over. I really am indebted to you all. Finally, to those of you who have not yet met him, let me formally introduce you to Harry Thompson who has been through such an ordeal, and who has mercifully been freed by the judges today. Let me assure all of you here now that this fight, Mr Thompson’s war, still goes on and he won’t rest until he has been granted a Queen’s pardon. This is the only thing which will lift the stigma with which he will be associated for some considerable time to come.”

  The strain of the day’s proceedings had really begun to tell on all of the persons assembled, and it was a welcome relief when Irene and Michael, could take their farewell, leaving Harry, in the capable hands of Sebastian and his wife.

  One thing was sure, the next day the hounds were certainly in full cry and baying for blood, in fact anybody’s blood. All the press carried thick, black banner headlines proclaiming a person’s right to silence as the ‘criminals’ charter.’ Most of the broadsheets led with lurid headlines laying claim to, “Crazy Killers being allowed to roam the streets,” “Guilty Man Walks Free,” “Serial Killer Granted Licence, May Kill Again,” and many more, all destined to strike fear into young and old alike.

  The leader and political columns did no better and, to the public at large, it must have seemed justice had been turned on its head as the press united on a solid front against the government, and the legal profession, for allowing, what they could only perceive to be such a gross miscarriage of justice. In some of the tabloids, Irene, came in for more than her fair share of criticism, being named in an attempt to shame her as being the instigator of a gross manipulation of the law; calls were made for her to be banned from practising law altogether.

  The team had received the results of the DNA testing which proved, beyond any shadow of doubt that Timothy Harris was indeed the father of Harry Thompson, and, as the days passed allowing some form of normality to return to the scene, the hunt took on a different direction, with the tabloids leading with stories such as, “Where is Double Killer Thompson, £5000 reward for sighting of Thompson.”

  “Double Killer Thompson too afraid to come out of hiding. Later, as the press interest began to wane, the inevitable happened when news broke about the hearing for the exhumation order, to enable the tests to be carried out, on the samples taken from Anthony Harris deceased.

  Like rats out of a sewer, journalists appeared from the length and breadth of the country, sensing with an extraordinary acute perception, that this was to be no ordinary occasion. Any exhumation order carries with it the prospect of a story, but this was going to be something so much bigger. Something told them it had to be, due to the fact that Anthony Harris was the son of Timothy Harris. The MP who had been involved in the Clarkson case cover up, and this latter item had spilled over into the Thompson murder trial. One by one, they started to accumulate snippets of information and, like a jigsaw, they began to build up their own pictures.

  Once again the banner headlines appeared, screaming, What is Double Killer’s Link with ex MP’s son? They led with highly controversial comment, “What is the mystery surrounding the exhumation of the body of Anthony Harris, the late son of the ex-MP Timothy Harris? Surely with his father behind bars, and his body being interred over six months ago, why all the secrecy surrounding the application?”

  “And, what on earth do the police hope to gain by allowing such action?”

  ‘Despite this particular reporter spending most of the morning at the court, not one person would offer any explanation to this dramatic turn of events, and yet it must indicate a lead, or a different line of enquiry into an ongoing case, or even cases, which have remained unsolved on the files for some considerable time? When our reporter put this to the officer in charge, the only response received was a polite request to move away, and to direct all questions to the Chief Constable’s office. For the police to behave in such a heavy handed way, only fuels speculation there are going to be some dramatic events taking place very shortly.”

  Throughout it all, Harry Thompson had followed his instructions to the letter; keeping a very low profile, he had remained out of sight at the safe haven provided by the senior partner in the chambers. Owing to the pressure applied by the media, he had only minimum contact with his adoptive mother, Sally. Arrangements for them to meet had been planned like a military operation, because, the media had all but taken up residence outside his former home, in the hope that Sally would lead them to his hideaway. However, with a couple of swift car changes on dual carriageways, the bloodhounds of the press had been thwarted. Such were the attentions of the press however, it was decided it was far too risky at this stage to repeat the operation.

  A tight security blanket had been thrown around the hospital where his mother remained, still cocooned in her inert state, and although his mother had been told of his release from prison, she had also been told he would not visit her until his name had been fully cleared. With no further improvement in her condition, Paula Harris lay there in a highly charged emotional state despite the constant attention of the dedicated staff devoted to her care and well-being. Her consultant, Peter Woods, was in constant touch, and arrangements were in hand for him to visit immediately, should anything untoward occur. With a twenty-four hour news blackout, it was hoped that Paula, and the events and happenings of the outside world, could be strictly controlled, and monitored. This was in order to spare her as much anguish as possible.

  Chapter 33

  * * *

  Tuesday, the second of April, had proved to be a particularly exhausting day for all concerned. During the early part of the morning, Irene and Michael had kept in const
ant touch with Harry because this was the day the results were expected, and each time the telephone rang they were all so highly charged that they were jumping out of their skins. With agonising slowness, the clock face showed that the appointed hour for lunch had passed them by, but food was the last thing on their minds at the moment. At half past two, Irene was to be found seated in the office of Michael Mulrooney. Neither person spoke; instead they sat there, willing the phone to ring. Praying that the caller would convey the results they were so absolutely desperate to hear. All the staff had been specifically told they were not to be disturbed, and if any persons other than Sir Martin Lttlejohn rang they were to be informed that Michael was away from the office, visiting clients

  With a sound which would have awakened the dead Michael’s private telephone shrieked into life. His hand shot out instantly to remove the receiver from its place of rest. With what appeared to be a single movement, the phone was in his hand, and cradled against his neck as he whispered nervously, “Mulrooney here.” From his facial expression, together with the look in his eyes, Irene knew instinctively this was the call they had waited so long for. Even so, she was still praying that it would contain, and convey, the news they desperately longed to hear. She listened with eager anticipation to Michael saying, “Wonderful, that’s great that’s absolutely wonderful news, and there’s absolutely no doubt about it. Please send me a fax as soon as you can, then we’d better see about a press release. Just let me have five minutes with Irene, she’s with me in the office; then I’ll phone you back Ok?”

  Flushed with excitement, he replaced the receiver shouting, “Irene, it’s official the tests confirm it. Sir Martin said that, from the tests he conducted, he can prove that the samples taken from the clothing of the dead women, match the samples obtained from the body of Anthony Harris. His opinion, along with that of the police forensic scientists is, even allowing for some contamination due to exposure, and they all stress there was some contamination, it is almost impossible to distinguish between the samples of Harry Thompson and Anthony Harris. This means that Harry’s conviction would be ruled unsafe, and the verdict would be overturned in any court in the land. Irene, I’m telling you, it’s finally all over.”

  Michael was out of his chair, dancing round the office, then he opened the door, and told all the staff present, “Spread the word Harry Thompson is innocent.”

  Irene brought him down to earth temporarily, reminding him he still had to phone Sir Martin back in order to discuss the press release through Merseyside police. “Meanwhile,” she said excitedly, “I’d better telephone Sebastian with the good news, then I suppose we had better fix up some interviews with the media and Harry, because, this truly is a historic day, and it belongs as much to Harry as it does to us and everyone else.” Irene waited with some anxiety whilst Michael spoke to Sir Martin, then she spoke to Sebastian.

  Immediately the news was received at the offices, Sebastian despatched a car to collect Harry from his safe house in order that a press conference could be arranged after the news had been divulged to the press. For this purpose, Irene was hastily recalled to the office along with Michael Mulrooney. Fortunately, they all arrived before the press, and a statement was speedily prepared. It was a simple press release as follows, read by Irene Yarwood.

  ‘As a result of DNA tests carried out on samples voluntarily donated by the Harris family, including Timothy Harris, we have to tell you that the results prove conclusively, Timothy Harris is the father of Harry Thomson. After comparing these samples, with samples taken from the body of the late Anthony Harris, we can also confirm that Harry Thomson, and the deceased, are twin brothers. Further tests have been carried out on the clothing samples taken from the two women involved in the Thompson murder trial, and the police forensic scientists have today confirmed to us that, as a result of those tests, they can no longer say that Harry Thompson is the only person who could have committed those crimes. We anticipate a much more detailed statement will be made later through the offices of the Merseyside Police Authority following their discussions with the forensic scientists, and pending receipt of that report and discussions between ourselves. We have nothing further to add, apart from the fact that this good news proves, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Harry Thompson is innocent of all charges. Obviously we shall be applying to the Home Secretary to grant a full Queen’s Pardon to Mr. Thompson who has undergone a most terrible ordeal. And as soon as all the formalities are completed Mr. Thomson will be seeking adequate compensation to take into account his arrest, and subsequent incarceration. Meanwhile, Mr. Thompson wishes me to make it known to everyone he is extremely thankful that his ordeal is now over and he asks each, and every one of you, to respect his privacy.’

  Ignoring the clamour for answers to the many questions hurled at them from the waiting press, the party made their way back inside the offices. Once inside however, Irene sensed at once that the mood had changed. Everybody was happy, and congratulating them all over again. Somehow, Irene sensed rather than felt that the air was tinged with anticipation. She told herself this was something she was imagining but the feeling persisted, refusing to go away.

  Then, all of a sudden, she was aware that the noise was quickly subsiding; she found herself looking at Sebastian Kreiff, and, the other senior partners in the practice.

  Without any hesitation, Sebastian stepped forward to speak to Irene and the assembled, who now included Harry and Michael. He was saying, “Irene, on behalf of myself and everybody here, I would like you to accept this little gift as a token of our esteem. Also, our regard for you following your successful defence of Harry Thompson. It goes without saying that not one person in the entire legal profession thought you had a ghost of a chance, but you proved them all wrong. It gives me great pleasure to ask you to accept this small token of our regard. Here’s to the future, and to many more successful briefs. With that he handed her a small oblong velvet case. As the onlookers began to clap, Irene opened the case with a great deal of nervous anticipation. Inside the box lay a brass plate inscribed,

  ‘KRIEFF, KRIEFF, ISAACS, and YARWOOD’

  It was at that precise moment that it finally dawned on Irene that she had truly proved to everyone in the profession that she had fully earned her position and the right to the letters ‘QC’ beside her name. This was together with a full partnership within the chambers.

  It was also at this moment in time that she suddenly caught a glimpse of Harry and, observing the way he was standing with his arms wrapped tight around his body, the words of Professor Love flooded back into her brain. Instantly reignited were all her doubts concerning him in the murder trial as it was instantly replaced by a much stronger feeling that she had just turned a multiple killer loose upon society. There and then she vowed to herself that, if their respective paths ever crossed again, she would make certain that he ended up where he belonged…

  BEHIND BARS.