Booth Watson scribbled Will the UCO be giving evidence? on his yellow pad.
‘The two men came back out of the house some twenty minutes later, when the UCO took a photograph of Summers carrying a bulky Sainsbury’s shopping bag.’
‘Did the UCO then pursue the suspect, inspector?’
‘Yes, he did, when he drove to Jimmy Turner’s home in Westfield Drive, Romford.’
‘Jimmy Turner?’
‘The head of the other family of drug dealers, who we suspected Summers was in league with.’
‘And how long was he in Turner’s home?’
‘About thirty minutes.’
‘At one thirty in the morning?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And when he came back out, was Summers still carrying the bulky shopping bag?’
‘No, sir.’
‘What happened next?’
‘The officer followed Summers to his flat, then drove back to Scotland Yard where he left a written report of everything he’d witnessed that morning, along with photographs, on my commanding officer’s desk.’
Commander Jack Hawksby? was Booth Watson’s next note.
‘Once you’d read that report, inspector, what did you do next?’
‘I obtained a warrant to search Summers’s flat, which was later carried out in his absence by a team under DS Roycroft.’
Booth Watson wrote Was Summers informed of the search?
‘What did they find?’ asked Sir Julian.
‘A silver letter rack, two designer watches and some cash. A brand new Jaguar was parked in the driveway.’
‘Is that the best you can come up with?’ said Booth Watson, loud enough for his rival to hear.
‘Patience,’ snapped Sir Julian, without looking at him.
‘I beg your pardon, Sir Julian?’ said the judge, looking down from on high.
‘I apologize, m’lud, I was just having a quiet word with my learned friend,’ said Sir Julian before turning his attention back to the witness.
‘When DS Roycroft and her team searched DS Summers’s flat, inspector, were they looking for anything in particular?’
‘Yes, sir, a valuable diamond ring that my colleague PC Bailey had previously seen there.’
When had she first seen it? was added to Booth Watson’s growing list of questions.
‘And did they find the ring?’
‘No, sir. However, when DS Summers returned from a holiday in Malaga that same day, his companion, a Miss Karen Turner, was seen wearing the ring on the third finger of her left hand.’
This time Booth Watson wrote down every word, underlined Turner, and added Revenge?
‘Were you able to establish how DS Summers came into possession of the ring?’
Booth Watson heaved himself up. ‘M’lud, there’s absolutely no proof my client even knew of the existence of this ring, let alone that he was ever in possession of it.’
‘I hope my learned friend isn’t suggesting that it was Miss Turner who stole the ring?’ said Sir Julian with a sigh. ‘Or that DS Summers had gone on holiday with a young woman who was already engaged to someone else?’
Booth Watson sank back into his place.
‘After you had arrested DS Summers, did you question him about the theft of the ring?’
‘I did, sir, but he refused to answer any of my questions, which didn’t surprise me.’
Booth Watson was on his feet once again. ‘M’lud, I must protest. A suspect is perfectly entitled to refuse to answer any questions put to him by the police until his legal representative is present.’
‘You make a fair point, Mr Booth Watson,’ said the judge, and turning to the witness, added, ‘Stick to the facts, inspector. We are not interested in your opinions.’
William looked suitably admonished, but then he knew what his father’s next question would be.
‘Indeed, let’s stick to the facts, shall we, inspector. When Summers’s legal representative finally turned up, was he any more forthcoming?’
‘No, sir,’ said William, who wanted to add, which also didn’t surprise me, but restrained himself.
‘Allow me to return to the question my learned friend objected to. Were you able to discover how Summers came into possession of the ring?’
‘Yes, sir,’ said William. ‘We established that Garrard’s, the Mayfair jewellers, had originally sold the ring to a Mr van Haeften, for three thousand three hundred pounds.’
Sir Julian quickly switched tack.
‘How much does a police detective sergeant earn in a week?’
‘After tax and National Insurance, around a hundred and twenty-five pounds.’
‘You’re not suggesting that DS Summers stole the ring from Mr van Haeften?’ said Sir Julian, back on track.
‘No, sir. It was stolen by a burglar called Craig Harrison, who DS Summers arrested a few weeks later for a separate offence. When he was convicted, Harrison asked for eight other offences to be taken into consideration, among them the theft of some jewellery and other valuable objects from an apartment in Mayfair, which included Mrs van Haeften’s engagement ring.’
Sir Julian paused for a moment to allow the jury to absorb this information.
‘So you arrested Summers and charged him with handling a stolen ring worth three thousand three hundred pounds when he and Miss Turner arrived back from their holiday in Malaya.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘M’lud, the Crown will now produce the ring in question so the witness can identify it.’
The judge nodded in the direction of the clerk of the court, who rose from his place and walked across to the bundle of evidence that had been agreed on by both sides. He checked his clipboard. Item No. 11, one diamond ring in a Garrard’s leather box.
He removed the item, walked over to the witness box and handed the small leather box to the inspector.
‘Is that the Garrard’s box you mentioned earlier?’
‘Yes, it is, sir.’
‘And more important, Inspector Warwick, does it contain the ring that was taken from Miss Karen Turner when she arrived back in England from her holiday in Malaga with DS Summers?’ asked Sir Julian.
Booth Watson allowed the suggestion of a smile to creep across his face.
William flicked open the box and stared down at a diamond ring for some time before saying, ‘It does.’
Booth Watson stared up at Lamont in the visitors’ gallery, who, from the expression on his face, wasn’t in any doubt he’d been set up by Warwick. Sir Julian leant across and whispered to Booth Watson, ‘Once bitten...’
‘Sir Julian, perhaps the jury should be allowed to see this piece of evidence,’ suggested the judge.
‘I couldn’t agree with you more,’ said the Crown’s counsel. ‘Unless of course my learned friend objects?’
Booth Watson managed a curt nod. William handed the ring back to the clerk of the court, who after the judge had looked at it, walked across to the jury box and passed it to the foreman.
The foreman took her time studying the ring before it was examined by each of her colleagues in turn. The last person to be shown the damning piece of evidence was Mr Booth Watson, who dismissed it with a wave of the hand.
‘Thank you, Inspector Warwick, for your valuable contribution,’ said Sir Julian. ‘But could I ask you to remain in the witness box, as I expect Mr Booth Watson will want to cross-examine you.’
An expectant buzz swept around the court as everyone waited for the bull to face the matador.
‘Do you wish to question this witness, Mr Booth Watson?’ asked Mr Justice Ramsden.
Defence counsel rose slowly from his place, but didn’t even glance in Warwick’s direction before he looked up at the judge and said, ‘No, m’lud.’