‘Really?’
‘Really, chief. Even if she asked, which she hasn’t, I wouldn’t lend her one penny until we’ve met. She’s flying over this weekend.’
Grace looked at him in despair. ‘Fine, good luck. But just stick to your guns and don’t send her a penny until you’ve met her and made sure. OK?’
Potting agreed, but with the dreamy eyes of a man besotted.
‘So, you said you have news about our one-eyed monster?’
‘Yes. The officers at Lewes Prison thought it was a fellow inmate who’d stabbed him in the eye, but the inmate’s denying that vigorously, and now they’ve got CCTV to back that up. Crisp attacked the man himself, for no good reason, and at some point during the fight, Crisp pulled out a ballpoint pen and stabbed himself in the eye with it.’
Grace frowned. ‘Has he gone mental or something?’
Potting shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. There’s been talk of moving him to a maximum-security prison. If he’d got wind of that, knowing his past history as an escape artist, I’m guessing this is all part of a plan. I understand they want to keep him in hospital in London until the end of this week, at least. My suggestion is that we should increase the guard on him.’
Grace nodded. ‘Good thinking, Norman.’ He grinned, mischievously. ‘Tell you what, you go and put that request to ACC Pewe.’
‘Would you suggest I do that, chief?’
‘Definitely.’
Potting glanced at his watch. ‘Got to go now, chief, got to ring my Swedish lady.’ He hurried from the room, closing the door behind him. Leaving Grace shaking his head in bewilderment and drawing a large intake of breath.
No more than a few seconds later the door burst open and he saw a huge beaming smile on Norman’s face. ‘By the way, chief, I’m only joking about Kerstin... she’s not my next lover! I’m working with her on a romance fraud case that the Swedish police are dealing with. You should’ve seen your face, I had you going there for a minute, didn’t I!’
Roy picked up a magazine and hurled it at him as Potting ducked behind the door and slammed it shut.
61
Thursday 16 May
The jury bailiff, Jacobi Whyte, peered around the jury room, checking everyone was there and in place, before announcing, ‘Very regrettably, one member of the jury is indisposed. I’m informed the lady in question apparently came off her bicycle on her way home from court yesterday evening. I understand she was found lying in a hedge, unconscious, with very serious injuries.
‘The judge is now speaking to counsel, which is why you are remaining here for the moment.’
It was quite wrong, Meg knew, not to have much sympathy for her, but she wondered how many of the other jurors felt the same. Everyone in the jury room earlier had been commenting on Gwendoline Smythson’s no-show, and they’d all presumed she must have been delayed by a puncture or some other problem with her bike — or, as Mike Roberts had suggested, perhaps she had been unavoidably detained by her own self-importance. And it was ironic how the woman had told them, the first time they’d all been together, that cycling here was the best solution to the parking problem in Lewes.
Then her mind went back to the phone call she’d had at home last night.
Please, I’m doing everything I can.
Oh, we know that, Meg. And we are right with you, doing everything we can... You will see tomorrow how we are helping you in other ways, too. We have made your life easier, but so much is still down to you.
Was this bastard behind what had happened to the woman? It seemed just too coincidental. And how easy would it be to knock someone off on a country lane?
OK, so she and Gwen hadn’t exactly become instant buddies, but she didn’t wish her any ill. And if these evil people were capable of causing this accident, did they have no limits?
The eleven of them remained in the jury room. Some of them sat at the table, others stood to help themselves to drinks.
Meg poured herself some coffee, then sat back down, looking around, thinking back to the words of her caller last night.
You do have a friend on the jury.
Which of you, she wondered?
‘Anyone have any views on what we heard yesterday?’ Mike Roberts asked.
‘Yes,’ Meg said. ‘It seems we might have a huge disagreement as to whether Starr actually met Gready that day.’
‘I agree with our foreperson,’ Hugo Pink concurred.
Toby DeWinter chipped in. ‘Perhaps we should all be a lot more concerned about Gwen’s accident. She was the one who wanted us to cut short the trial and come to a “guilty” verdict — and now she’s off the jury. Doesn’t that worry any of you? It worries me!’
‘What are you saying?’ Mike Roberts looked at him. ‘That her accident wasn’t an accident? Are you worried that if we came to a “guilty” verdict you — and others on this jury — might also meet with an accident?’
‘Just saying...’
‘Just saying what?’ Roberts pressed.
Again, the words of her caller came back to Meg.
We have made your life easier, but so much is still down to you.
How have you made my life easier?
Wait until the morning, Meg. You’ll know then.
By eliminating Gwen from the jury?
Maisy Waller suddenly spoke, absently playing with her cross. ‘Don’t you think we should take a more forgiving attitude?’
All the other jurors looked at her.
‘Forgiving what, exactly, Maisy?’ Roberts asked.
‘We seem to be jumping to a lot of conclusions, before we’ve heard all the evidence from both sides,’ Waller said. ‘Should we not be considering the Christian attitude of forgiveness here at all?’
‘What period of Christianity are you referring to?’ asked Edmond O’Reilly Hyland, looking at her darkly. ‘The period in history where they went on trial by ordeal? Plunging the accused’s hand into a vat of boiling water and, if it came out fine, they were innocent?’
‘Please,’ Meg said. ‘I think we’re all getting far too emotional. Maisy is right, we are still in the very early stages of this trial and it is far too soon to jump to any conclusions. We need to hear all the evidence from both sides before we can have an informed discussion.’
‘I agree,’ Harold Trout said.
‘So do I,’ said Pink. ‘I don’t think our judgement should be affected in any way just because a silly, arrogant woman fell off her bicycle.’
‘Excuse me!’ Meg interrupted them, loudly and firmly. ‘A man is on trial for immensely serious offences, which could not only deprive him of his freedom for many years, if we come to a “guilty” verdict, but also destroy his standing in his community and end his career.’
‘Very well said,’ O’Reilly Hyland interjected. ‘We are all sorry this lady had an accident, whether we liked her or not. But we need to focus on the evidence being put to this court, and from what we have heard so far I do think we need to be concerned about the strength of the prosecution’s evidence on this point.’
‘And not the defence’s integrity?’ Roberts queried.
‘That, too,’ O’Reilly Hyland conceded.
62
Thursday 16 May
The atmosphere in Richard Jupp’s chambers was tense.
The judge sat at the conference table annexed to his desk, opposite Stephen Cork and Primrose Brown.