The Accused (Modern Plays) Read online

  Kersley Why should that make you consider a crime had been committed? After all, Mr Sherwood has the authority to write out such prescriptions.

  Payne Yes, but why have them made up outside London when St George’s Hospital has a large pharmacy of its own?

  Kersley Why indeed, and did Mr Sherwood collect these prescriptions himself?

  Payne No, over a period of three months he used a Ms Jennifer Mitchell, a junior staff nurse at St George’s, to collect them on a Saturday in Wellingborough and then return the ampoules of Potassium to Mr Sherwood’s office on the Monday morning.

  Kersley Chief Inspector, would I be correct in saying that if Ms Mitchell had not volunteered a statement, you would never have considered charging the defendant?

  Payne That is correct. Her evidence was to prove vital. She stated that over a period of twelve weeks, between January and March of 1999, Mr Sherwood had instructed her on six occasions to pick up ten-millilitre ampoules of Potassium Chloride. But he only handed her the prescriptions on a Friday evening, when he knew she would be visiting her parents in Wellingborough.

  Judge Wellingborough keeps cropping up, Chief Inspector. Does it have some particular significance in this case?

  Kersley Wellingborough has no relevance in itself, My Lord. All Mr Sherwood needed was for the prescriptions to be dispensed at a chemist outside London, so that none of his colleagues at St George’s would be aware of what he was really up to.

  Judge Ah, so it could well have been Milton Keynes or Henley?

  Kersley Yes, My Lord, but only if Ms Mitchell had lived in Milton Keynes or Henley.

  Judge Ah, yes, I see. Carry on, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley Chief Inspector, were any of these prescriptions for Potassium Chloride made out for Mrs Sherwood?

  Payne No, they were all prescribed for his private patients.

  Kersley So what made you think that they might not have reached those patients?

  Payne When the results of the lab test came back, they showed that there were traces of Potassium Chloride on the rubber glove found on the Sherwoods’ kitchen floor.

  Kersley On the glove, I see … and did the lab tests reveal anything else of significance?

  Payne Yes, the glass of wine found on the table by Mrs Sherwood’s side contained thirty millilitres of Temazepam, which is three times the recommended dosage.

  Kersley And did you identify any fingerprints on that glass?

  Payne Yes, Mrs Sherwood’s.

  Kersley But did you also check the fingerprints on the wine bottle?

  Payne Yes, I did, and we could only find Mr Sherwood’s.

  Kersley Only Mr Sherwood’s. But what about the rest of the flat?

  Payne The only other fingerprints identifiable were those of the porter, Albert Webster.

  Kersley So there was no reason to believe there had ever been an intruder?

  Payne None that we could discover, sir.

  Kersley Once you had gathered all your evidence, what did you do next?

  Payne I obtained a warrant for the arrest of Patrick Sherwood, which I executed on June the ninth at St George’s Hospital. I cautioned him, and then charged him with the murder of his wife, Elizabeth Sherwood.

  Kersley Thank you, Chief Inspector. No more questions, My Lord.

  Judge Sir James, do you wish to cross-examine the Chief Inspector?

  Barrington I most certainly do, My Lord. Chief Inspector, I must begin by asking you if it is usual to open a full murder inquiry on information supplied by one young woman.

  Payne No, but…

  Barrington No buts, Chief Inspector, it was a simple enough question and the answer was no. My next question is equally simple. The bruises on Mrs Sherwood’s arm. Surely the most likely explanation is that they resulted from a struggle with an intruder? You told us there had been several burglaries in the area recently.

  Payne I could find no evidence of a burglary, sir.

  Barrington Chief Inspector, is it common for burglars to leave their fingerprints all over the place, hoping you will find them?

  Payne No, but.,.

  Barrington I thought we’d agreed on no buts, Chief Inspector, Can I also confirm, that it was you who discovered the kitchen window open?

  Payne Someone had unlatched it from the inside.

  Barrington It hardly matters who unlatched it, Chief Inspector, only who might have used it as a means of entry, and I do hope you’re not going to suggest that Mr Sherwood entered his own flat by the fire escape, when he could so easily have walked in through the front door.

  Payne Unless he had a reason for not wanting to be seen walking in through the front door.

  Barrington And on that flimsy supposition you decided to charge Mr Sherwood with murder?

  Payne No, that decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service after they had considered all the evidence.

  Barrington I see. So let me finally ask you, Chief Inspector, when you charged Mr Sherwood, did he make any statement?

  Payne Yes. (Checks his notebook.) He said, ‘This is ridiculous. I adored my wife; someone must have been feeding you with false information’.

  Barrington Someone must have been feeding you with false information. Now, I wonder who that can have been? No further questions, My Lord. (He resumes his seat.)

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

  Kersley (rises slightly) No, thank you, My Lord.

  Judge Thank you, Chief Inspector. You may leave the witness box. (The Chief Inspector leaves the witness box and the courtroom.) Perhaps you’d like to call your next witness, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley Yes, My Lord. I call Mr Albert Webster.

  Usher Call Mr Albert Webster.

  Guard Mr Albert Webster.

  Webster is a man aged between forty-five and fifty. He is wearing a T-shirt and a well-worn suit. He enters the courtroom, baking lost, and the Usher has to guide him to the witness box.

  Usher This way, sir. Please take the testament in you right hand and read from the card.

  Webster I never bothered with the reading.

  Usher Then repeat after me, I swear by Almighty God.

  Webster I swears by Almigh’y God.

  Usher That the evidence I shall give.

  Webster That the evidence I shall give.

  Usher Shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

  Webster Shall be the truth, the ’ole truth and nothin’ but the truth. (He stares at the Judge.)

  Judge Mr Webster, there’s no need to address your remarks to me. It is the jury who will want to hear all your evidence.

  Kersley Is your name Albert Philip Webster?

  Webster You got it, mate.

  Kersley And where do you live?

  Webster Arcadia Mansions, Arcadia Road, Wimbledon.

  Kersley And what is your occupation?

  Webster I’m the resident porter - ‘ave been for the past twelve years, ‘aven’t I, ever since I came out of the army.

  Kersley Mr Webster, can you tell the court why the late evening of March twenty-first 1999 is etched on your memory?

  Webster I dunno if it’s etched on me memory, but I won’t never forge’ it.

  Kersley So please tell the court what happened that night, Mr Webster.

  Webster It must ’ave been around ’alf past ten, ’cos that’s when I goes on me night round ’fore turnin’ in. Always starts at the top of the building and works down to the bottom, where I live. It’s only logic, innit? When I reached the landin’ of the sixth that night, I ’eard noises comin’ from the floor below.

  Kersley Can you describe those noises?

  Webster Yes, it was as if someone was ’avin a row, and then I ’eard a crash - like a chair turnin’ over.

  Kersley A row? Could it have been a quarrel between a man and his wife?

  Barrington (rises) My Lord, how can Mr Webster possibly know the answer to that question?

  Webster Cos I ’eard voices.

  J
udge Voices? Can you be certain, Mr Webster, that you heard more than one voice coming from the flat?

  Webster No, I can’t be certain, but why would Mrs Sherwood want to shout at ’erself?

  Kersley Why indeed. And did you hear anything she said?

  Webster Yes, I’m pretty sure I ’eard ’er say ‘ ’ow did you get in?’.

  Kersley ‘How did you get in.’ And did she sound surprised?

  Webster Too bloody right she did.

  Judge Moderate your language in my court, Mr Webster.

  Webster Sorry, Guv.

  Judge You address me as My Lord, and counsel as Sir.

  Webster (looking directly at the Judge) Right you are, sir. (He turns his attention back to Kersley.)

  Kersley Had you been inside Mrs Sherwood’s flat before?

  Webster Oh, yes, when I gets to ’er floor, she’d often ask me in for a cup’a tea, I think she liked the company.

  Kersley But wasn’t Mr Sherwood around most evenings?

  Webster No, not regular. In any case, I wouldn’t ’ave gone in if he was around, not after that time he came back unexpected and told me to bugger off. (Judge and Webster look at each other.)

  Kersley And how often did Mr Sherwood go out in the evenings?

  Webster Quite a lot. What with his private patients and so on.

  Kersley How did you know that he was going out to see one of his private patients?

  Webster I used to watch ’im leavin’ from my flat in the basement, didn’t I.

  Kersley Yes, I’m sure you did, but that doesn’t explain how you knew that he was visiting a patient?

  Webster Common sense, inn’t (He touches his nose.) Whenever he was visitin’ a patient, he’d take his doctor’s bag with him, wouldn’t he.

  Kersley And was he carrying his doctor’s bag that night?

  Webster No, he wasn’t.

  Kersley What time was it when he left the building?

  Webster It must ’ave bin a few minutes after seven.

  Kersley How can you be so sure?

  Webster Cos I’d just come out of the lavatory, ’adn’t I. (Kersley looks puzzled.) I phones me ol’ mum at six, tea at ’alf past, go to the toilet at seven, Coronation Street at seven thirty - regular as clockwork. Old army training, innit.

  Kersley And when did Mr Sherwood return that night?

  Webster No idea, Guv, but it can’t ’ave been before eleven could it, cos he wasn’t there when they carted his wife off to ’ospital.

  Kersley Quite. So when you heard the row, what did you do next?

  Webster I ran down the stairs, fast as I could. I bangs on the door, but no one answers.

  Kersley Was that when you called the police?

  Webster No, Guv, I decided this ’ad to be one of them emergencies, where I’m expected to use me master key. In the Pioneer Corps it’s what we used to call initiative.

  Webster holds up a bunch of keys, showing one in particular, and waits while everyone hangs on his words.

  Kersley But you told the judge that before you unlocked the door, you had heard more than one voice coming from the flat?

  Webster Yes, I’m pretty (He hesitates.) sure about that.

  Kersley Could one of those voices have been Mr Sherwood’s?

  Webster Doesn’t seem likely on account of the fact that he’d already gone out.

  Kersley But could he have returned without you seeing him?

  Webster Only if he used the fire escape.

  Kersley Well, that would certainly explain Mrs Sherwood’s words, ’How did you get in?’ So, Mr Webster, when you unlocked the door, what did you find?

  Webster Some furniture had been knocked over and Mrs Sherwood was lyin’ on the floor moanin’.

  Kersley And was she on her own?

  Webster Yes, as far as I could tell.

  Judge What do you mean, Mr Webster, by ’as far as I could tell’?

  Webster Cos the door on the far side of the room slammed shut the minute I walked in, didn’t it. (Judge makes a note.)

  Kersley Slammed shut the minute you walked in - as if someone had hurriedly pulled it closed?

  Webster Yes, you got the idea.

  Kersley So what did you do next? (Barrington nods.)

  Webster I dials 999 and tells ’em to send round an ambulance an’ the police sharpish, an’ then I gets a blanket and covers ’er up.

  Kersley Did she give any reason why the furniture had been knocked over?

  Webster No, she was just lying there, moanin’ and rubbin’ ’er arm what was bruised, so I offered ’er the glass of wine that was on the table ’opin it would ’elp, but she just pushed it away, and then she began cryin’ even louder. So I wondered if someone ’ad put somethin’ in the wine that had made her ill.

  Barrington (rises) My Lord …

  Judge Yes, yes, Sir James. (Faces the audience.) Members of the Jury, you should ignore that comment - it is nothing more than speculation. Carry on, Mr Kersley.

  Kersley No more questions, My Lord. I think the jury has taken the point.

  Webster starts to leave the witness box.

  Judge Mr Webster, please remain in the box for a moment, as I have a feeling that Sir James might want to ask you a question or two.

  Barrington You are quite right, My Lord. Mr Webster, may I begin by congratulating you on your remarkable memory.

  Webster Thank you, Guv. I s’pose you can put it down to my army trainin’.

  Barrington Quite so, but even I was puzzled, Mr Webster, as to how you could be so sure that when Mr Sherwood left the building, on the night in question, he was not carrying his doctor’s bag. (Kersley smiles.)

  Webster To be honest, Guv, I wasn’t sure at the time.

  Barrington You weren’t sure at the time, but you stated categorically…

  Webster No, I wasn’t categoric, not until I phoned for the ambulance.

  Barrington Not until you phoned for the ambulance. I’m not altogether certain I’m following you, Mr Webster.

  Webster Well, you see, that’s when I first saw the doctor’s bag. He’d left it on the table by the phone, so he couldn’t ’ave taken it wiv ’im, could he?

  Barrington I see. Mr Webster you told the court that you thought someone else might have been in the room when you first unlocked the door to the apartment.

  Webster Yeah, I did.

  Barrington And your immediate reaction when you saw the overturned furniture was that it must have been a burglar whom Mrs Sherwood had been shouting at?

  Webster Yes, cos there ’ave been a lot of break-ins durin’ the past year, aven’t there?

  Barrington Have there? Now, Mr Webster, remembering what a good memory you have, is it possible you can tell the court when you heard the sentence ’How did you get in?’. Was it before you unlocked the door, as you opened the door, or after you had entered the room?

  Webster Before I unlocked the door.

  Barrington So, some time before you stepped into the room?

  Webster (hesitates) Yes, I think so.

  Barrington When you walked in, you told my learned friend that you saw the door on the far side of the room slam shut?

  Webster Yeah, I did.

  Barrington Could it have been the wind?

  Webster I s’pose so.

  Barrington Did you check to see if anyone was hiding in the kitchen?

  Webster No. Why should I?

  Barrington Because it leads to the kitchen window and fire escape.

  Kersley My Lord, I am enthralled by Sir James’s gift for storytelling and indeed I would go as far as to suggest that were he to submit this particular scenario to the BBC they might well consider it for A Book at Bedtime. But I’m bound to ask what it has to do with the case now being tried before Your Lordship?

  Barrington It goes to the very heart of this case, My Lord, because the Prosecution are claiming that the defendant poisoned his wife, when there is no evidence to show that he was even in the building when she collapsed. It n
ow seems there is a distinct possibility that someone else was and therefore the police could well have arrested the wrong person.

  Judge Ingenious, Sir James. But I do feel the jury might require a little more proof of the existence of your phantom intruder.

  Barrington You may even see them in the witness box, My Lord …

  Kersley (leaps up) Is Sir James suggesting that it was Mr Webster who murdered Mrs Sherwood?

  Webster Are you accusin’ me?

  Barrington If Mr Kersley had allowed me to finish my sentence, I would have added ‘before this trial is over’. No further questions, My Lord.

  Webster I did hear her say ‘ ’ow did you get in?’.

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

  Kersley No, thank you, My Lord.

  Webster I wasn’t tellin’ no porkies.

  Judge You may leave the box now, Mr Webster.

  Webster And I did see the door slam. (Remains in the witness box.)

  Judge Mr Webster, will you please leave the courtroom. (Webster reluctantly leaves.)

  Webster On my mother’s life, I swear I saw it slam shut! (He walks off, aided by Guard.)

  Guard This way, sir.

  Webster I only told ’em what you told me to say!

  The lights fade on all members of the court as Webster exits. Blackout as sound of bells is heard.

  Scene Two

  Later that afternoon.

  When the lights come up Mr Hussein is in the witness box. He is between forty and fifty, formally dressed, and speaks with a pronounced Indian accent. The Koran should be wrapped in a cloth.

  Usher How will you take the oath, Mr Hussein.

  Hussein On the Koran, sir.

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

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

  Kersley Your name is Masood Hussein, and you are the proprietor of Hussein the Chemist, 141 High Street, Wellingborough?

  Hussein Yes, sir I am.

  Kersley Mr Hussein, perhaps you could tell the court how you became involved in this case.

  Hussein I read in one of the medical journals of the premature death of Mrs Elizabeth Sherwood. I wouldn’t have given the matter a second thought, had it not been for an accompanying photograph of the mourners attending the funeral.