‘Why was that?’ asked Grace innocently.
‘So they’d be in keeping with the other flats in the building, and wouldn’t attract the attention of a passer-by. I was particularly struck by how well equipped the flat was, because I knew Summers was proud of the fact that, like me, he came from a working-class background, so it couldn’t have been family money that allowed him to live in such style.’
‘Did you report your misgivings to the officer in charge of the operation?’
‘I immediately briefed my flatmate, DC Pankhurst, who was a member of the team, the following morning.’
Booth Watson wrote Immediately? DATE? down on his pad.
‘Did Summers ever explain how he came to possess so many expensive and luxurious items on a detective sergeant’s salary?’
‘Not to me, but in the pub one evening when he was celebrating another arrest, I overheard him telling a young constable that whenever he nabbed a burglar, one or two of the stolen goods might just go missing. “Call it a perk,” he’d said, without seeming to care who heard him.’
Booth Watson began speaking even as he rose from his place at the far end of the bench. ‘Overheard, m’lud? I can’t recall a more blatant example of hearsay.’
‘I agree, Mr Booth Watson,’ said the judge, and turning to the jury instructed them, ‘You will disregard the witness’s last statement.’
‘Having gained sufficient evidence to have DS Summers arrested,’ said Grace, ‘why didn’t you return to Scotland Yard and obtain a search warrant?’
‘I know I should have,’ said Nicky, ‘but I’m ashamed to admit that, like so many others before me, I’d fallen for him by then, and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.’
‘So you didn’t pass on your findings to DC Pankhurst?’
‘No, not immediately. But at a later date...’
How much later? Booth Watson wrote on his pad. But no sooner had he put his pen down, than he picked it up again.
‘Did you sleep with DS Summers?’ asked Grace. The blunt question caused gasps and looks of surprise from all those in court, but she knew she had to get it on the record before Booth Watson cross-examined Nicky.
‘I did, even though I’d come across a piece of evidence that I knew would wrap up the case.’
‘And what was that evidence?’ asked Grace, moving quickly on.
‘I found a small leather box by the side of Summers’s bed that contained a diamond ring. It looked so expensive I knew there was only one way he could have got hold of it.’
‘Did you retrieve that ring as evidence?’
‘No. Summers slipped it onto my engagement finger, and when I got home the next morning, I told Rebecca—’
‘Rebecca?’
‘DC Pankhurst — that I was engaged.’
‘To Detective Sergeant Summers.’
‘No, to an estate agent from Croydon.’
‘How did she react to the news?’
‘When she saw the ring, I knew she didn’t believe me.’
‘So why didn’t you tell her the truth?’
‘At the time I really believed Jerry wanted to marry me. I hoped I could get him to reform his ways, and have the investigation stopped.’
‘So you turned a blind eye?’
‘Yes,’ admitted Nicky. ‘But I soon had them opened.’
‘What caused that?’
‘When I told Jerry I was pregnant, he didn’t attempt to hide his feelings, and immediately suggested I should have an abortion.’
‘How did you respond to that suggestion?’
‘I told him never. I wanted to have our child. However, it quickly became clear that the engagement ring was nothing more than another deception, and I even wondered just how many other women had worn the ring before me.’
‘But not wanting a child isn’t in itself proof that he no longer cared for you?’
‘I got all the proof I needed a week later when I returned to the flat following my afternoon shift. I let myself in and found he’d left everything in a mess, as usual, so I began to tidy up. I started in the kitchen with the washing-up, and then moved on to the bedroom. While I was making the bed I found another woman’s underwear between the sheets. I realized it was his way of letting me know that he’d moved on.’
‘What did you do then?’
‘I was so angry I took all his clothes out of the wardrobe, cut the sleeves off his jackets and shirts, and snipped the trousers off at the crotch.’
One of the women on the jury smiled.
‘Did you then leave?’
‘No, I went back into the kitchen, found a hammer, and destroyed all the things he was most proud of. I now realize that was the most stupid thing I could possibly have done.’
‘Why?’ asked Grace.
‘I was destroying the very evidence that could get him convicted.’
‘But you kept the diamond ring?’
‘No, I took it off and put it back on his bedside table, knowing it would be found when the police searched the premises.’
Booth Watson didn’t stop writing.
‘And the leather box you’d first seen the ring in?’
‘I took it with me when I left the flat that night.’
‘Why did you do that?’
‘It had the name and address of the jewellers on the inside, so I assumed one of my colleagues at the Yard would follow it up.’
‘Did you take anything else from the flat?’
‘Only a few personal belongings. However I did come across Summers’s diary, and as I was tearing up the pages I saw that he had an appointment later that night at the Playboy Club in Mayfair.’
‘Who with?’
‘I have no idea, as there wasn’t a name in the diary. However, I wrote a note for DI Warwick to let him know what Jerry was up to and dropped it through his letterbox on my way home.’
‘And your discovery of that vital piece of evidence led to the arrest of DS Summers and another police officer who has recently resigned from the force.’
‘That’s correct, but don’t forget I was just one member of a highly professional and dedicated team.’
‘Looking back over that period,’ said Grace, ‘do you have any regrets?’
‘If you don’t now, you will have by the time I’ve finished with you,’ muttered Booth Watson loud enough for Grace to hear.
‘Yes, I do,’ said Nicky, looking at Summers for the first time, but no longer frightened of his piercing glare. ‘I should never have become so closely involved with the suspect, and once I’d found out the extent of his criminal activities, I should have reported my findings to DI Warwick immediately, and let him take over. But I allowed my personal feelings to cloud my judgement.’
‘A human enough mistake,’ said Grace, looking directly at the jury, ‘which any one of us might have made given the circumstances.’
William smiled. Nicky may have come across as naive and foolish, but when he looked at the jury, they appeared to be sympathetic and understanding about what she’d been put through.
‘Thank you, Police Constable Bailey, for your frank and honest testimony, which I’m sure the jury will bear in mind when they come to consider their verdict.’ Grace smiled. ‘Please remain in the witness box, as my learned friend may want to question you.’
‘Is that the case, Mr Booth Watson?’ asked the judge, peering down at defence counsel.
‘Just one or two questions, m’lud,’ declared Booth Watson as he rose slowly from a sedentary position. He offered Nicky a warm smile before saying, ‘I shall not be keeping you long, Miss Bailey, but I’m bound to ask if you have ever heard the expression, “Hell hath no Fury, like a Woman scorn’d”?’
‘Yes,’ said Nicky cautiously.
‘I would suggest that “a woman scorned” is a more accurate description of you, than “frank and honest”.’ The two words were laced with sarcasm.