A Prisoner of Birth Read online

  ‘So now we know four subjects Pearson won’t mention in cross-examination. But you can be sure he’ll question Cartwright about the playground incident in his youth, continually reminding the jury that a knife was involved, and that his girlfriend conveniently came to his rescue.’

  ‘Well, if that’s my only problem—’ began Alex.

  ‘It won’t be, I can promise you,’ replied his father, ‘because now that Pearson has raised the knife fight in the playground with Beth Wilson, you can be pretty confident that he has one or two other surprises in store for Danny Cartwright.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ said Sir Matthew, ‘but if you put him in the witness box, no doubt you’ll find out.’ Alex frowned as he considered his father’s words. ‘Something’s worrying you,’ said the judge when Alex didn’t reply.

  ‘Pearson knows that Beth’s father told Cartwright he had changed his mind about appointing him as manager of the garage.’

  ‘And intended to offer the job to his son instead?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Alex.

  ‘Not helpful when it comes to motive.’

  ‘True, but perhaps I’ve also got one or two surprises for Pearson to worry about,’ said Alex.

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Craig stabbed Danny in the leg, and he’s got the scar to prove it.’

  ‘Pearson will say it’s an old wound.’

  ‘But we have a doctor’s report to show it isn’t.’

  ‘Pearson will blame it on Bernie Wilson.’

  ‘So you are advising me not to put Cartwright in the box?’

  ‘Not an easy question to answer, my boy, because I wasn’t in court, so I don’t know how the jury responded to Beth Wilson’s testimony.’

  Alex was silent for a few moments. ‘One or two of them appeared sympathetic, and she certainly came across as an honest person. But then, they might well conclude that, even if she is telling the truth, she didn’t see what happened and is taking Cartwright’s word for it.’

  ‘Well, you only need three jurors to be convinced that she was telling the truth, and you could end up with a hung jury and at worst a retrial. And if that turned out to be the result, the CPS might even feel that another trial was not in the public interest.’

  ‘I should have spent more time pressing Craig on the time discrepancy, shouldn’t I?’ said Alex, hoping his father would disagree.

  ‘Too late to worry about that,’ responded his father. ‘Your most important decision now is whether you should put Cartwright in the witness box.’

  ‘I agree but if I make the wrong decision, Danny could end up in prison for the next twenty years.’

  12

  ALEX ARRIVED AT the Old Bailey only moments after the night porter had unlocked the front door. Following a long consultation with Danny in the cells below, he went to the robing room and changed into his legal garb, before making his way across to court number four. He entered the empty courtroom, took his seat on the end of the bench and placed three files marked Cartwright on the table in front of him. He opened the first file and began to go over the seven questions he’d written out so neatly the night before. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 9.35 a.m.

  At ten minutes to the hour, Arnold Pearson and his junior strolled in and took their places at the other end of the bench. They didn’t interrupt Alex as he appeared to be preoccupied.

  Danny Cartwright was the next to appear, accompanied by two policemen. He sat on a wooden chair in the centre of the dock and waited for the judge to make his entrance.

  On the stroke of ten, the door at the back of the court opened and Mr Justice Sackville entered his domain. Everyone in the well of the court rose and bowed. The judge returned the compliment, before taking his place in the centre chair. ‘Bring in the jury,’ he said. While he waited for them to appear, he put on his half-moon spectacles, opened the cover of a fresh notebook and removed the top from his fountain pen. He wrote down the words: Daniel Cartwright examination by Mr Redmayne.

  Once the jury members were settled in their places, the judge turned his attention to defence counsel. ‘Are you ready to call your next witness, Mr Redmayne?’ he asked.

  Alex rose from his place, poured himself a glass of water and took a sip. He glanced towards Danny and smiled. He then looked down at the questions in front of him before turning the page to reveal a blank sheet of paper. He smiled back up at the judge and said, ‘I have no further witnesses, m’lord.’

  An anxious look crossed Pearson’s face. He swung quickly round to consult his junior, who appeared equally bemused. Alex savoured the moment, while he waited for the whispering to die down. The judge smiled down at Redmayne, who thought for a moment he might even wink.

  Once Alex had milked every moment he felt he could get away with, he said, ‘My lord, that concludes the case for the defence.’

  Mr Justice Sackville looked across at Pearson, who now resembled a startled rabbit caught in the headlamps of an advancing lorry.

  ‘Mr Pearson,’ he said as if nothing untoward had taken place, ‘you may begin your closing speech for the Crown.’

  Pearson rose slowly from his place. ‘I wonder, m’lord,’ he spluttered, ‘given these unusual circumstances, if your lordship would allow me a little more time to prepare my closing remarks. May I suggest that we adjourn proceedings until this afternoon in order that—’

  ‘No, Mr Pearson,’ interrupted the judge, ‘I will not adjourn proceedings. No one knows better than you that it is a defendant’s right to choose not to give evidence. The jury and the court officials are all in place, and I need not remind you how crowded the court calendar is. Please proceed with your closing remarks.’

  Pearson’s junior extracted a file from the bottom of the pile and passed it across to his leader. Pearson opened it, aware that he had barely glanced at its contents during the past few days.

  He stared down at the first page. ‘Members of the jury . . .’ he began slowly. It soon became evident that Pearson was a man who relied on being well prepared, and that thinking on his feet was not his strong suit. He stumbled from paragraph to paragraph as he read from his script, until even his junior began to look exasperated.

  Alex sat silently at the other end of the bench, concentrating his attention on the jury. Even the ones who were usually fully alert looked bored; one or two occasionally stifling a yawn as their glazed eyes blinked open and closed. By the time Pearson came to the last page, two hours later, even Alex was dozing off.

  When Pearson finally slumped back on to the bench, Mr Justice Sackville suggested that perhaps this might be a convenient time to take the lunch break. Once the judge had left the court, Alex glanced across at Pearson, who could barely disguise his anger. He was only too aware that he had given an out-of-town matinee performance to an opening-night audience in the West End.

  Alex grabbed one of his thick files and hurried out of the courtroom. He ran down the corridor and up the stone steps to a small room on the second floor that he had booked earlier that morning. Inside were just a table and chair, not even a print on the wall. Alex opened his file and began to go over his summing up. Key sentences were rehearsed again and again, until he was confident that the salient points would remain lodged in the jury’s mind.

  As Alex had spent most of the night, as well as the early hours of the morning, crafting and honing each and every phrase, he felt well prepared by the time he returned to court number four an hour and a half later. He was back in his place only moments before the judge reappeared. Once the court had settled, Mr Justice Sackville asked if he was ready to make his closing submission.

  ‘I am indeed, m’lord,’ Alex replied, and poured himself another glass of water. He opened his file, looked up and took a sip.

  ‘Members of the jury,’ he began, ‘you have now heard . . .’

  Alex did not take as long as Mr Pearson to present his closing argument, but then, for him it was not a dress rehearsal. He had no
way of knowing how his most important points were playing with the jury, but at least none of them was nodding off, and several were making notes. When Alex sat down an hour and a half later, he felt he could reply yes should his father ask if he had served his client to the best of his ability.

  ‘Thank you, Mr Redmayne,’ said the judge, who then turned to the jury. ‘I think that will be enough for today,’ he said. Pearson checked his watch. It was only three thirty. He had assumed the judge would spend at least an hour addressing the jury before they rose for the day, but it was clear that he too had been taken by surprise with Alex Redmayne’s morning ambush.

  The judge rose from his place, bowed and left the courtroom without another word. Alex turned to chat with his opposite number as an usher handed Pearson a slip of paper. After Pearson had read it, he jumped up and hurried out of the courtroom, followed closely by his junior. Alex turned to smile at the defendant in the dock, but Danny Cartwright had already been escorted back down the stairwell to be locked in the cells below. Alex couldn’t help wondering which door his client would leave by tomorrow. But then he had no idea why Pearson had left the courtroom in such a hurry.

  13

  MR PEARSON’S clerk phoned Mr Justice Sackville’s clerk at one minute past nine the following morning. Mr Justice Sackville’s clerk said he would pass on Mr Pearson’s request and come straight back to him. A few minutes later, Mr Justice Sackville’s clerk phoned back to inform Mr Pearson’s clerk that the judge would be happy to see Mr Pearson in chambers at 9.30, and he assumed, given the circumstances, that Mr Redmayne would also need to be present.

  ‘He’ll be my next call, Bill,’ replied Mr Pearson’s clerk, before putting the phone down.

  Mr Pearson’s clerk then called Mr Redmayne’s clerk and asked if Mr Redmayne would be free at 9.30 to see the judge in chambers to discuss a matter of the utmost urgency.

  ‘So what’s this all about, Jim?’ Mr Redmayne’s clerk asked.

  ‘No idea, Ted. Pearson never confides in me.’

  Mr Redmayne’s clerk called Mr Redmayne on his mobile and caught him just as he was about to disappear below ground into Pimlico tube station.

  ‘Did Pearson give any reason why he wants a meeting with the judge?’ asked Alex.

  ‘He never does, Mr Redmayne,’ replied Ted.

  Alex knocked quietly on the door before entering Mr Justice Sackville’s chambers. He found Pearson lounging in a comfortable chair chatting to the judge about his roses. Mr Justice Sackville would never have considered broaching the relevant subject until both counsel were present.

  ‘Good morning, Alex,’ said the judge, waving him to an old leather armchair next to Pearson.

  ‘Good morning, judge,’ replied Alex.

  ‘As we are due to sit in less than thirty minutes,’ said the judge, ‘perhaps, Arnold, you could brief us on why you requested this meeting.’

  ‘Certainly, judge,’ said Pearson. ‘At the request of the CPS, I attended a meeting at their offices yesterday evening.’ Alex held his breath. ‘After a lengthy discussion with my masters, I can report that they are willing to consider a change of plea in this case.’

  Alex tried not to show any reaction, although he wanted to leap up and punch the air, but this was judge’s chambers, and not the terraces at Upton Park.

  ‘What do they have in mind?’ asked the judge.

  ‘They felt that if Cartwright was able to plead guilty to manslaughter . . .’

  ‘How do you feel your client might respond to such an offer?’ asked the judge, turning his attention to Redmayne.

  ‘I have no idea,’ admitted Alex. ‘He’s an intelligent man, but he’s also as stubborn as a mule. He’s stuck rigidly to the same story for the past six months and has never once stopped protesting his innocence.’

  ‘Despite that, are you of a mind to advise him to accept the CPS’s offer?’ asked Pearson.

  Alex was silent for some time before he said, ‘Yes, but how does the CPS suggest I dress it up?’

  Pearson frowned at Redmayne’s choice of phrase. ‘If your client were to admit that he and Wilson did go into the alley for the purpose of sorting out their differences . . .’

  ‘And a knife ended up in Wilson’s chest?’ asked the judge, trying not to sound too cynical.

  ‘Self-defence, mitigating circumstances – I’ll leave Redmayne to fill in the details. That’s hardly my responsibility.’

  The judge nodded. ‘I will instruct my clerk to inform the court officials and the jury that I do not intend to sit –’ he glanced at his watch – ‘until eleven a.m. Alex, will that give you enough time to instruct your client and then return to my chambers with his decision?’

  ‘Yes, I feel sure that will be quite enough time,’ replied Alex.

  ‘If the man’s guilty,’ said Pearson, ‘you’ll be back in two minutes.’

  14

  AS ALEX REDMAYNE left the judge a few moments later and made his way slowly across to the other side of the building, he tried to marshal his thoughts. Within two hundred paces, he exchanged the peaceful serenity of a judge’s chambers for cold bleak cells only occupied by prisoners.

  He came to a halt at the heavy black door that blocked his way to the cells below. He knocked twice before it was opened by a silent policeman who accompanied him down a narrow flight of stone steps to a yellow corridor known by the old lags as the yellow brick road. By the time they reached cell number 17, Alex felt he was well prepared, although he still had no idea how Danny would react to the offer. The officer selected a key from a large ring and unlocked the cell door.

  ‘Do you require an officer to be present during the interview?’ he asked politely.

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ Alex replied.

  The officer pulled open the two-inch-thick steel door. ‘Do you want the door left open or closed, sir?’

  ‘Closed,’ replied Alex as he walked into a tiny cell that boasted two plastic chairs and a small formica table in the middle of the room, graffiti the only decoration on the walls.

  Danny rose as Alex entered the room. ‘Good morning, Mr Redmayne,’ he said.

  ‘Good morning, Danny,’ replied Alex, taking the seat opposite him. He knew it would be pointless to ask his client once again to call him by his first name. Alex opened a file that contained a single sheet of paper. ‘I have some good news,’ he declared. ‘Or at least, I hope you’ll feel it’s good news.’ Danny showed no emotion. He rarely spoke unless he had something worthwhile to say. ‘If you felt able to change your plea to one of guilty of manslaughter,’ continued Alex, ‘I think the judge would only sentence you to five years, and as you’ve already served six months, with good behaviour you could be out in a couple of years.’

  Danny stared across the table at Alex, looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Tell ’im to fuck off.’

  Alex was almost as shocked by Danny’s language as he was by his instant decision. He’d never heard his client swear once during the past six months.

  ‘But, Danny, please give the offer a little more consideration,’ pleaded Alex. ‘If the jury finds you guilty of murder you could end up serving a life sentence, with a tariff of twenty years, perhaps more. That would mean you wouldn’t be released from prison until you’re nearly fifty. But if you accept their offer, you could begin your life with Beth in two years’ time.’

  ‘What kind of life?’ asked Danny coldly. ‘One where everyone thinks I murdered my best mate and got away with it? No, Mr Redmayne. I didn’t kill Bernie, and if it takes me twenty years to prove it . . .’

  ‘But, Danny, why risk the whims of a jury when you can so easily accept this compromise?’

  ‘I don’t know what the word compromise means, Mr Redmayne, but I do know that I’m innocent and once the jury ’ears about this offer—’

  ‘They’ll never hear about it, Danny. If you turn the offer down, they won’t be told why proceedings are being held up this morning, and the judge will make no reference to it
in his summing up. The trial will just continue as if nothing has happened.’

  ‘So be it,’ said Danny.

  ‘Perhaps you’d like a little more time to think about it,’ said Alex, refusing to give up. ‘You could talk to Beth. Or your parents. I’m sure I could get the judge to hold things up until tomorrow morning, which would at least give you time to reconsider your position.’

  ‘ ’ave you thought about what you’re asking me to do?’ said Danny.

  ‘I’m not sure I understand,’ said Alex.

  ‘If I admit to manslaughter that would mean that everything Beth said while she was in the witness box was a lie. She didn’t lie, Mr Redmayne. She told the jury exactly what ’appened that night.’

  ‘Danny, you could spend the next twenty years regretting this decision.’

  ‘I could spend the next twenty years living a lie, and if it takes me that long to prove I’m innocent, that ’as to be better than the world believing I killed my best mate.’

  ‘But the world would quickly forget.’

  ‘I wouldn’t,’ said Danny, ‘and neither would my mates in the East End.’

  Alex would like to have given it one last go, but he knew it was pointless to try to change the mind of this proud man. He rose wearily from his place. ‘I’ll let them know your decision,’ he said before banging his fist on the cell door.

  A key turned in the lock and moments later the heavy steel door was pulled open.

  ‘Mr Redmayne,’ said Danny quietly. Alex turned to face his client. ‘You’re a diamond, and I’m proud to ’ave been represented by you and not that Mr Pearson.’

  The door was slammed shut.

  15

  NEVER BECOME emotionally involved in a case, his father had often warned him. Although Alex hadn’t slept the previous night, he still paid rapt attention to every word the judge had to say in his four-hour summing up.

  Mr Justice Sackville’s summary was masterful. He first went over any points of law as they applied to the case. He then proceeded to help the jury sift through the evidence, point by point, trying to make the case coherent, logical and easy for them to follow. He never once exaggerated or showed any bias, only offering a balanced view for the seven men and five women to consider.