At the Dark Hour

by John Wilson

  Everyone rose when Mr Justice Sherdley came back into court. Blytheway remained standing when everyone else had resumed their seats. Preston, his head down, looked listless.

  – Yes, Mr Blytheway.

  – If it please, your Lordship, I have taken instructions and spoken with Mr Falling. I understand he will not be applying to discharge the jury. He tells me he has complete faith in their impartiality and independence of mind – Adam had said nothing of the kind but wished he had – and I feel that, subject to your Lordship’s views, the best way forward would be to let Mrs Hoffer tell her story in her own words.

  – Very well, Mr Blytheway, please continue.

  Blytheway turned to face Katya Hoffer and with an encouraging smile said:

  – Mrs Hoffer. Were you telling the Court the truth this morning?

  – No. I was not.

  – You appreciate that lying to the court is a very serious matter?

  – Yes. I am very sorry.

  – Why did you lie?

  – Because I was frightened.

  – Do you understand that you need not say anything that may incriminate you?

  – I do.

  – Are you prepared to tell the court the truth now, even if it might incriminate you?

  Katya Hoffer took a deep breath, looked up at the Judge and then across at the jurors.

  – Yes, I am.

  – Please proceed.

  She began to speak, softly at first, but with increasing vigour and speed.

  – I come from Prague, in Czechoslovakia. I was born Katya Vrabec. When the Germans took over our country they began arresting and murdering our people. I and my brother and my mother and father tried to escape the country but they caught us on the border. They killed my parents … but they said that they would spare my brother and me.

  Katya stifled a sob. Blytheway handed a glass of water to the usher.

  – Have some water, Mrs Hoffer. Don’t worry. I’ve made sure that my fingerprints are all over the glass.

  There was some quiet laughter from the jury.

  – They would spare us on one condition. They told me that I must go to England and that I must do as they tell me. If I do not they will kill my brother. They had also arrested Milosevich Hoffer. He is a good man and a doctor. They allowed him to leave for England on condition that he married me. They wanted to be sure that when I reached England I was not interned by the English. They released us but kept my brother and allowed us to make our way to Gibraltar. They had told us that when we got to England we should go to a “safe house” in Queen’s Road, Leytonstone and that I would be told what to do and that when I did it I would most probably be arrested by the English police at the safe house. I was very unhappy and very frightened for my brother.

  There was a rapt silence in the courtroom as she spoke, broken only by the sound of scribbling pens.

  – The ship was heading to the west and I thought that we were sailing to America and I was filled with happiness. If I was taken to America I would not be able to do what they asked me – and it would not be my fault. But the ship was just avoiding mines and then it began to sail north again.

  Adam watched Blytheway as he led her through her evidence. He had no notes in front of him and Adam guessed that everything Katya Hoffer had told him was filed in his memory. Roly bent forward slightly when she came to the end of a sentence and said softly:

  – Tell me about Tomas Novak.

  Looking over his shoulder, Adam saw that Novak was leaning almost out of the dock, his wide eyes fixed on the frail-looking woman in the witness box. At the mention of his name a number of the jurors looked in his direction. Katya took a deep breath and looked directly into Novak’s eyes, her gaze softening as she did so.

  – Tomas was on the ship.

  – This is January / February 1940?

  – Yes.

  – When you were giving evidence earlier today you told the court that you first became aware of Tomas Novak when he was arrested in December of last year, was that answer true?

  She bowed her head again.

  – No. It was not true.

  – When did you first become aware of Mr Novak?

  – On the ship from Gibraltar.

  – How did you meet him on the ship?

  – We were trying to sleep under the same lifeboat. Milo was sick down below … but it was impossible to sleep. We had to be so quiet … there were submarines … and we started to talk to one another in a whisper … and tell each other about our lives. I told him that my family was all dead. I did not mention my brother … or what I had been told to do. We whispered all through the night … and the next night. And the sky was so clear and full of stars. And suddenly I felt … what might be next to come in my life … that I was happy … and as the sky was brightening on the second night and the stars all faded into the blue … we kissed … and I was looking forward to the next night … even if there were submarines below us. To be happy … even for a little while … and all the next day looking out at the sea … I thought of lying again under the lifeboat … with Tomas … and on the third night we lay again together under the stars and embraced and … in a whisper … talked and talked and talked …

  Katya’s voice faded away and she gazed across at Tomas Novak – a look filled with entreaty and sorrow.

  – And did Tomas say anything to you on that third evening?

  – Yes. He told me that he loved me.

  Adam saw, behind him, that Novak now had his head in his hands.

  – And what was your reaction?

  – I was surprised … and I was happy.

  – Did you say anything in reply?

  – Yes. I told him that I loved him as well.

  – Why did you say that?

  – We were in the middle of the ocean. I was happy for the first time in so long. And our ship could be sunk at any time. And I might not ever reach England. And I believed that I loved him as he loved me, but …

  – But what?

  Blytheway asked his question before she could continue.

  – But I loved my brother more than I loved Tomas. And I wanted to have the chance to see my brother again one day.

  – What happened when you reached England?

  – I wanted to see Tomas again … but also I wanted to help my brother – to see my brother again one day. I did not want to be arrested.

  – So what did you do?

  – I persuaded Milo that we should give Tomas the safe house to live in. I persuaded Milo to tell him not to report himself.

  – Why did you do that?

  – If Tomas reported himself he may have been interned. I would not be able to see him … and Milo and I would have to live in the safe house.

  – But you were not interned?

  – But part of me wanted to be interned. It would be like going to America. I would be able to do nothing.

  – So you came to London. Did you see Tomas after you came to London?

  – Yes. I would go and visit him at Queen’s Road. We … we became very close.

  – Tell me about the cardboard tube that Mr Preston was showing us earlier. He has suggested to you that it carries your fingerprints. Is that correct?

  Katya Hoffer bowed her head again and spoke so softly that all who listened strained forward to hear.

  – It is true.

  – It was left at the bookshop where Milo works with a note for me that it must be left at Queen’s Road by Friday 13th December, which was the day after. So I hid it under the floorboards.

  – Did you look at what was in the tube?

  – I didn’t want to know what was in the tube. But I did open it and look.

  – What did it contain?

  – Just some old plans. I didn’t open them.

  – Did Tomas Novak know about the plans?

  – No. He did not.

  – How were you able to hide them without Tomas seeing you?

  – I had my own key.

 
A loud sobbing broke out from the dock. Novak was bent double and bawling. His breath came in great broken gasps as though a dam had broken and months of pent-up emotion was bursting through it. The jurors switched their attention from Katya Hoffer to Novak and looked at him in a new light. Katya shouted across his sobbing:

  – Tomas! Tomas! I’m sorry, Tomas. I’m sorry.

  – Did you not appreciate that you would be putting his life in danger?

  – No. Of course not!

  – Why ever not?

  – Because the English police would know about it all along.

  Preston started at what she said and stopped writing, whispering to Phillips to take a very full note.

  – Why do you say that?

  – Because they told me all along that I would be arrested. They told me that if I was arrested very soon after I was told to put the plans in the safe house, then it would prove that the English had broken their codes.

  – My Lord!

  Preston was shouting almost before he had got to his feet and all eyes, Blytheway’s included, were on him.

  – My Lord (he said again), a matter of law has arisen which I would wish to address you on in the absence of the jury.

  Mr Justice Sherdley was suddenly very alert. The jurors looked even more confused than at Blytheway’s intervention. Only Blytheway, now seated, appeared to be serene.

  – Mr Blytheway, have you anything to say about Mr Preston’s intervention?

  – No, my Lord, I am content to hear what Mr Preston has to say on the law.

  The jurors were ushered out into the jury room. On their departure Preston asked that the public gallery be cleared and this too was duly done. The Judge looked down at leading Counsel for the Crown.

  – Yes, Mr Preston?

  – My Lord. This witness’s evidence is now touching on matters of national security. This was completely unexpected. She has touched upon the question of whether or not our country is able to break German codes. Speaking hypothetically, if we had broken enemy codes and our enemies became aware of that fact, then they would change the codes. English lives may be at stake.

  Adam remembered his exchange with Cara about Preston’s treason trials at Pemberton’s party:

  – It must be a lot of work.

  – Not really. I’ve seen the briefs. They’re wrapped in white tape and marked secret but they’re never very bulky. It seems that we’re catching them as soon as they land so they’re usually red-handed. I don’t know how we’re managing to find out about them so quickly. Peter says it’s just good luck but I think there is more to it than that. That’s one thing I haven’t been able to prise out of him.

  Mr Justice Sherdley looked worried for the first time during the trial. Things were spinning out of his control.

  – What do you say, Mr Blytheway?

  – Well, my Lord, speaking hypothetically, as my learned friend has done, if the evidence that Mrs Hoffer has given to the court is true, it would appear that we have cracked the German codes … and with Tomas Novak’s arrest, the Germans will be aware of the fact.

  He let the enormity of what he had said sink in before adding:

  – I, of course, have only a limited role in this hearing. And I haven’t been present throughout. However, my understanding of the background to this matter, as very kindly provided to me by Mr Falling, is that my learned friend Mr Preston has not adduced any evidence as to how precisely police officers came to raid a bedsit in Leytonstone in the middle of the night. May I ask, has Mr Preston enlightened your Lordship as to that evidence?

  – No, Mr Blytheway. He has not.

  – Well, my Lord, then it may be that the answer to this little riddle is simple. All Mr Preston has to do is to tell your Lordship and his learned friends how it was done. If there is nothing in what Mrs Hoffer has told the court then, in due course, Mr Preston can adduce that evidence in any trial that there may be in respect of her actions.

  The judge looked from Blytheway to Preston and back again. Adam kept his head down.

  – Well, Mr Preston. Mr Blytheway’s suggestion seems eminently reasonable. How was it that the police came to raid that particular address on that particular night?

  Preston was whispering urgently to Phillips, the two leaning towards one another. He looked daggers at Blytheway as he rose to his feet.

  – My Lord, I am not at liberty to tell you how it came to be.

  – I beg your pardon.

  – My Lord, these are matters of state security.

  – Are you telling me that I, a Judge of the High Court, am not to be allowed to know what is going on in my own court?

  Blytheway again intervened

  – Well, my Lord, it is bad enough that the Defence is not provided with the evidence that is in the hands of the Crown, but to withhold it from the Judge? I have never heard such a thing.

  – Shut up, Blytheway.

  Preston spat the words out, all decorum temporarily forgotten. Blytheway shrugged him off.

  – But in any event, my Lord, Mrs Hoffer’s evidence is almost at an end. There should be no need for this element of her testimony to be touched upon again. The trouble is that, by Mr Preston’s evasions, we in the absence of the jury know that she must be telling the truth. How is our knowledge to be communicated to the jury without worrying Mr Preston about national security? It may be, my Lord, that if you were to express yourself in summing up in such a way as to pass on your belief in her testimony that would deal with the problem.

  – You mean that I should perhaps sum up with a view to an acquittal of Mr Novak?

  – Precisely, my Lord. That is plainly, on the evidence that we have heard this afternoon, the appropriate outcome.

  The judge asked that all counsel stand.

  – Mr Preston and Mr Phillips, Mr Falling, Mr Blytheway. There has been enough drama for one day. I am going to invite the jury back in and discharge them until tomorrow. There is a lot I need to think about overnight. Mr Blytheway, I think, in addition, that your client must be remanded in custody overnight. Can you oppose that?

  – I don’t think I can, my Lord.

  – Very good.

  The jury were called back in and then released for the day. The Judge rose and left the court. Katya Hoffer was escorted by two guards up through the dock to the cells, her expression fixed. As she passed Novak she reached out a hand to him and their fingers touched.

  Chapter Sixty-two

  (Thursday 6th March 1941)

  Eric Jones was sitting immediately behind Adam Falling. In front of him and to his left were, first, Desmond Phillips, and in front of him, Peter Preston KC. Preston was rolling his pen along the backs of his fingers: from the little finger to the forefinger and then back again. Roland Blytheway was still in court but was no longer in counsels’ row. He sat at the back, still robed, filing his fingernails and examining his cuticles one by one. His client, Katya Hoffer, was in the cells beneath the building, as was her husband, Milo Hoffer, who had been arrested where he was sitting on his bench in the main hallway. Novak was impassive in the dock, a faraway look on his face. There was a strong smell of furniture polish mixed with the odour of bleach from the mops that, overnight, had been used to clean the courtroom floor. It was late in the afternoon. Jones looked up at the electric lights that gave the room a sickly glow. He listened to the ticking of the clock on the rear wall of the courtroom. They were waiting for the jury to file in with their verdict.

  A lot had happened since the court rose the previous afternoon. Down in the cells, Novak had been shocked and confused. Katya, whom he had trusted, had betrayed him. He had known that he was innocent but had been prepared to go to the gallows to protect her, however tangential her involvement may have been. Despite the afternoon’s revelations, he still valued her life above his own. Now, as a result of the extraordinary events of Wednesday afternoon, he stood a chance of being acquitted whilst Katya and Milo Hoffer were now in at least as much jeopardy as he was. “What did Blythe
way think he was doing?” he had asked. “He was meant to be protecting her but he has put her life in danger.” Then, eventually and inevitably, he turned his anger on Falling. If Falling had not disobeyed his instructions, Katya’s life would not have been put in such danger. Adam had had no useful answer to this. It was plain to Jones that he was mortified by his mishandling of the case. Jones took no comfort from the fact that he had opposed the course of action taken by his barrister. Adam dealt with the tumble of questions with contrition:

  – Whatever else I can say, Mr Novak, Katya is in good hands. Roland Blytheway is the best barrister I have ever seen. He has a clear strategy. His best chance of helping Katya is to ensure that you are acquitted of the charges you face. Her best hope is for you to be acquitted.

  – He certainly tied Peter Preston in knots (added Jones) – the Judge as well for that matter.

  Novak had grudgingly accepted that analysis. Jones and Falling had said their goodbyes for the evening.

  On the Thursday morning Adam had briefly recalled Novak and the latter had confirmed the truthfulness of Katya’s testimony.

  – Mrs Hoffer said yesterday that you told her that you loved her. Is that true?

  – Yes. I love her very much. I would do anything for her.

  – Why did you tell the court that she had never been to your home?

  – She had said that she did not know me.

  – Did you know that she had placed the cardboard tube under your floorboards?

  – No.

  – What did you feel when you heard her evidence yesterday?

  – I do not know what to say.

  The jury looked at Tomas Novak with new eyes. Preston, clearly still rattled from the day before, was ineffectual in his cross-examination, as one often is when trying to dislodge a witness who is patently telling the truth. His closing speech to the jury lacked the assurance of his performance on the first day of the trial. Blytheway was permitted to address the jury on behalf of Katya Hoffer. His contribution was brief, a mixture of humour, erudition and deadly seriousness.