Primrose Brown addressed her witness. ‘To be sure I have this right, your conclusion, from reviewing the prosecution’s case, is that there is not one shred of evidence that would link Terence Gready to any of the financial transactions?’
Herring shook her head.
Jupp leaned forward. ‘Could you please say that aloud, for the benefit of the recording.’
‘No,’ Carolyn Herring said, very definitely. ‘I could find no link connecting Terence Gready to any of these transactions or bank accounts.’
‘Thank you,’ Brown said. ‘I have no further questions for my witness.’
Cork stood. ‘Ms Herring, one thing you have not addressed is the Rolex wristwatch, valued at approximately £55,000, purportedly given to the defendant by his wife, Barbara, as — ah — a supposed Christmas present some five years ago. This lady is a renowned worldwide authority on orchids, who regularly performs the function of judge in orchid competitions and had an orchid cultivation business, but is there anything to suggest she could have made sufficient money to make such a purchase?’
The financial expert answered him with barely a moment’s hesitation. ‘The defendant’s wife, Barbara Gready, from my careful study of the family’s financial affairs — and prudency — had inherited the sum of £284,000 net of tax from the estate of her late mother.’
‘Still quite an extravagant amount — close to twenty per cent of her inheritance on a gift for her husband — would you not say?’
Primrose Brown addressed the judge. ‘Your Honour, this is misleading. A rare watch of the kind Mrs Gready acquired is an investment, with a proven track record of rising in value. I would say, in our uncertain times, perhaps a better investment than having the money in some banks.’
Jupp nodded. ‘It is a fair point.’
Cork went on. ‘Ms Herring, in your experience, is it usual to find with this type of investigation that it is hard to connect actual people to these types of overseas bank accounts?’
Carolyn replied, ‘Yes.’
‘When you worked for the Inland Revenue, were you faced with the same issues?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you agree that there are links between these accounts and LH Classics?’
‘Yes.’
‘So all you can say really is that you have not found the defendant’s name anywhere?’
‘Correct.’
‘Do you agree that someone has gone to great lengths to hide the origin of the monies in the accounts and the source of the large value deposits? Someone who could be the defendant, Mr Gready?’
‘Yes, but I found no trace of the defendant’s details.’
‘But then you would not expect to, would you?’
‘Not necessarily, no.’
Cork paused for a moment. ‘You placed great importance in your evidence that all the details Ms Denyer referred to were merely circumstantial evidence. However, circumstantial evidence is still evidence that the court can take into account, is that not true?’
She replied reluctantly, ‘Yes.’
He continued. ‘And in this case the court has heard there are substantial amounts of circumstantial evidence from the financial transactions, is that correct, Ms Herring?’
She muttered a response.
‘Sorry I don’t think the court caught your last answer, would you mind repeating it?’
She replied, ‘Yes, it is fair to say there is substantial circumstantial evidence in this case.’
‘Thank you, no further questions.’
‘I have no re-examination,’ Brown said.
The usher escorted Carolyn Herring from the witness stand.
‘I would now like to call my next witness,’ Primrose Brown said. ‘Mr Arthur Mason-Taylor.’
A lean man in his fifties, with brush-cut grey hair and a suit he was clearly unused to wearing, was escorted in, gave his name and took the oath.
‘Can you please tell us your profession?’ Brown said to him.
‘I’m a mechanical engineer and worked full-time at LH Classics with a couple of part-timers.’
‘Do you have a particular speciality?’
‘Yes, restoring classic racing cars.’
‘Were you employed by LH Classics between the years of 2005 and 2018?’ she asked.
‘I was.’
‘And what were your duties during that time?’
‘Working on preparing cars acquired by the company, for sale.’
‘What kind of cars?’
‘Ferraris, Aston Martins, Jaguar E-Types, Chevrolet Corvettes, AC Cobras, Austin Healeys — among others.’
Brown nodded. ‘Who was your boss during the time you worked for LH Classics?’
‘The General Manager, Mr Starr.’
‘Would that be Michael — Mickey — Starr? Sometimes known as Lucky?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you tell me, during these thirteen years, did you ever see Terence Gready on the premises?’
He frowned. ‘Terence Gready?’
She pointed at the dock. ‘That man, there, the defendant?’
Mason-Taylor looked at Gready, then shook his head. ‘No, never.’
‘Did you see his name on any paperwork? Documentation?’
‘Terence Gready?’
‘Yes.’
‘No, never.’
‘You are certain?’
Mason-Taylor smiled. ‘It’s not the kind of name you’d easily forget. No, I never saw it or heard it.’
‘Thank you,’ she said.
The prosecutor asked, ‘Mr Mason-Taylor, during your time with LH Classics, were you ever involved in the construction of fake — or rather replica cars?’
‘A number of times, yes. There is a very legitimate market for replicas of certain models.’
‘A number of times? And did the construction of any of these replicas differ from the originals by having cavities built into them, which would not have been there in the originals?’
‘Yes,’ he said, positively. ‘Quite regularly.’
‘Did you query what the purpose of these were?’
‘No, I knew.’
Cork feigned astonishment. ‘You knew? Really. What exactly did you know?’
Mason-Taylor shrugged. ‘The motor racing world is full of cheats — it always has been — and the world of classic car racing is one of the worst offenders. I always assumed these cavities were about weight loss, to make the vehicles more competitive in races.’
‘Did it ever occur to you,’ Cork continued, ‘that there might be another purpose for these cavities?’
‘Why should it?’ Mason-Taylor responded with genuine innocence. ‘What other purpose do you mean?’
‘The smuggling of drugs.’
The mechanic’s astonished expression was all the response he needed. But he went on. ‘I’m sorry, but that really is absurd. My work for LH was to carry out restoration work on cars intended for sale, and to prepare cars for clients for races.’
‘Even though you knew you were helping some to cheat?’
‘With respect,’ Mason-Taylor replied, ‘you clearly have no understanding about motor racing. All cars go through a rigorous scrutineering before any competitive event. That includes weighing the vehicles. My job was to make cars as competitive as possible — but always within the rules.’
Realizing he was holding a losing ticket, Cork sat down. Brown rose again.
‘So, to your knowledge, Mr Mason-Taylor, none of the cars belonging to LH Classics were ever built or used for the purposes of importing drugs?’ she asked.
‘Absolutely no way, madam.’
‘No further questions,’ she said.
The QC was about to call her final defence witness, Barbara Gready, when her junior counsel whispered in her ear.
Brown turned to the judge. ‘I have a very urgent matter that I need to make you aware of, Your Honour, but without the jury present.’