Without prejudice, p.17
Without Prejudice, page 17
The first time I saw you, you were wearing Armani. This is the best of his new line. I thought it would suit you. It will look good on camera. Like it or not, we’re both going to be famous after Monday, whatever happens, so I’m sure you would rather we were the stars of this media circus than the sideshow. I think you’ll find it’s not so bad. Who knows? You might even enjoy it.
Clive
P.S. Don’t get on your high horse about not accepting gifts. After all, I won’t tell if you don’t.
That postscript, both its content and its familiar tone, brought her back to reality. She sat on the bed and stared into the mirror. What was she thinking of, even trying on a £2,000 ‘gift’ from a client? Someone about whom she knew so little that she was forced to seek information from a career criminal? What was happening to her?
And how did he know her size?
Carefully, she took off the suit and slowly folded it back in its tissue-lined box. It really was lovely. It would be hard to give this back …
At Lee’s suggestion, Brendan and Clive were to meet her at Chambers at 8.15 on Monday morning. The reason was twofold: not only would they have time to discuss any last-minute matters, they could travel to court together. A show of unity would be especially important today.
She was the first to arrive. Chambers was empty, as she expected. Anne-Marie would, in all likelihood, meet them at court, and not even the clerks arrived this early.
Brendan and Clive arrived shortly afterwards. Together. Lee didn’t know what to make of that. Ray’s obscure warnings, about both of them, flashed into her mind. She was still no closer to understanding what exactly he had been warning her against. Mentally she shook herself. This was not the time to be distracted.
Brendan looked both nervous and elated, which was exactly how she felt. Unlike her, however, he wasn’t trying to hide it. Clive smiled at her, but said nothing. He was as calm as ever, the same as he’d always appeared apart from his time at Miller Street police station. In spite of everything, Lee still believed he was innocent. Not that it mattered, of course. She didn’t have to believe in his innocence to do her job, though it helped. She only had to believe what he told her.
‘All set, then?’ Brendan asked, rubbing his hands.
‘Yes.’ Lee looked at him. Their relationship had changed, however much she tried to avoid that fact. She wondered if he’d noticed. Previously, although they had been work colleagues first and foremost, they had become friends as well, meeting for the occasional drink, speaking to each other about non-work-related topics. They hardly did that at all now.
She turned to Clive. ‘You look well.’ She was stating the obvious. Clive looked rested and as faultlessly dressed as ever. Clearly he hadn’t spent the weekend worrying about his trial. ‘Is there anything else you want to ask me before you leave? Or tell me?’
‘Nothing at all, Lee. I have every confidence in you, you know that.’
‘Well, in that case, we should leave right away. The sooner we get there, the better.’
‘Parker’s outside,’ Clive said. ‘I thought we could all travel in my car.’
The journey from Chambers to court was a short one, even in rush-hour traffic. All three were able to sit comfortably in the back without touching each other. Clive watched as his barrister sat further away from him. The view was unremarkable, but she seemed to find something particularly interesting in it this morning; she stared out of the window for the entire journey. As the car turned smoothly into the side road leading to Southwark Crown Court, he remarked, ‘Pity it’s not the Old Bailey. Still, Sting and Liz Hurley were here, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain.’
Lee turned and glared at him. Clive gazed back steadily. He appeared to be scrutinizing her face. ‘You look tired,’ he said finally. ‘Drained. Evidently I had a much more restful weekend than you did.’
‘If you want glamour, hire Naomi Campbell. I’m sorry if the hours I spent working on your case mean I won’t be photogenic enough for you.’
‘Well, it’s a good thing I’m not hiring you for your pleasant disposition. As for the cameras, I think you’ll do. Nice suit. Armani, isn’t it? Looks new.’
She gave him a steady look. ‘Yes, it is. One of my own.’ Minutes later the car pulled up at the steps of the court building. Two photographers were already there. Evidently they were taking no chances this time. So much for an early start.
‘Clive! Clive! Over ’ere, Clive.’
As they got out of the car, Lee knew that Clive wouldn’t turn away or walk any faster than he had to in order to get away from them. But, after the last time, she knew he wouldn’t talk, either.
On entering the foyer, she was surprised to see that, far from being the first to arrive, Amery, Robbins and their respective solicitors and clients were already there. Peter Fairfax was also there, deep in conversation with a man in a charcoal-grey suit whom she did not recognize. Judging from his shoes, he was probably a plainclothes police officer. Peter was as far away from any of the defence as possible; that was only to be expected. It was unusual, however, to see Amery’s group some distance away from the others. Unusual and worrying. It could be first night nerves, of course. Everyone reacted to the first day of a big trial differently. But she didn’t think men of such seniority would be affected that way; Amery in particular was an old hand at big media trials. Instinct told Lee that something was very badly wrong. For a second, she hesitated as to whom to approach first. Then Amery looked over and saw them and decided it for her by deliberately turning his back and ushering Hector Omartian and his solicitor into the open lift.
Lee turned to Brendan and Clive. They, too, had picked up on the heightened tension. ‘What’s going on?’ Clive asked. For the first time, he sounded worried.
‘I don’t know,’ Lee replied. ‘Wait here a minute.’
Robbins and his party were seated near the stairs to the first floor. She walked quickly over to them. She tried not to stare at Frederick Omartian, but he seemed much older than she remembered. The fight seemed to have gone out from him. He looked frail and deathly pale.
‘Excuse me, Nicholas. Could I speak to you for a moment?’
As soon as they were a safe enough distance away, she asked, ‘What’s going on between you and Amery?’
Robbins looked surprised by the question. Clearly he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. ‘Pressure of the first day, I suspect. He hasn’t said anything to me.’
That was just the point. ‘You don’t think there’s anything unusual in that? And what about Frederick? He looks terrible.’
Robbins gave her an indulgent half-smile. ‘Lee, please don’t imagine problems where I’m sure none exist. As for my client, he is nearly eighty, you know. He won’t be able to withstand the tension as well as you or I. But you needn’t worry about him. I’ve taken the precaution of asking my solicitor to fetch him a glass of water.’
A glass of water had no more chance of curing whatever ailed Frederick than she had of getting useful information out of Robbins. ‘Well, Nicholas, you know best.’ She looked over to where she had left Brendan and Clive. Brendan was helping Parker bring in the many files that constituted Clive’s part in this case. Clive himself was watching her. ‘Excuse me. I must have a quick word with Peter.’
As she approached her former pupil-master, the man to whom he was speaking looked at her and moved away.
‘Morning, Peter,’ she began. She studied his expression carefully. His face was as blandly pleasant as ever, but she knew from experience that that was a very effective disguise. ‘Looking forward to today?’
‘If the right person is convicted, Leanne, yes.’ He smiled slightly. ‘Ask me at the end of the trial.’
‘Surely you don’t think that’s my client,’ she replied, mock seriously. When he didn’t reply, Lee immediately became very serious. ‘Peter, is anything going on with Amery that I should know about?’
Peter hesitated, then said, ‘When I know anything for certain, I’ll tell you.’
‘That means something is going on. I knew it. What is it, Peter? I’ve got to know.’
‘You heard what I said, Leanne. Don’t worry. You’ll know as soon as I do. Must dash. I’ve got to make a phone call.’
Lee watched Peter’s retreating back as he walked towards the lifts. She tried to reassure herself. She had already guessed something was wrong, hadn’t she? So whatever it was, she wouldn’t be caught completely by surprise. And, as part of his duties as prosecution counsel, Peter would have to inform her of anything materially affecting the trial before it started.
As she walked back towards Brendan and Clive, she could see Brendan was very agitated. That wasn’t like him.
‘What the hell’s going on?’ He was almost shouting. Lee didn’t want him anywhere near their client if he was going to act like this.
‘Brendan, why don’t you give me a hand taking these papers up to court?’
‘It’s Hector, isn’t it?’ Clive said, more a statement of fact than a question. He gave Lee an intense stare. ‘You ought to know by now that I’m no fool, Lee. Don’t hide anything from me, however bad it is.’
She put her hand on his shoulder. ‘And you ought to know that if I knew anything, I’d tell you. Don’t worry, Clive, I won’t let anything happen to you. Come on, Brendan.’
As soon as the lift doors closed behind them, Lee turned to him. ‘I don’t know what’s happening either yet, Brendan, but I intend to find out before we start. Meanwhile, you can’t go losing it in front of Clive. We’ve worked too hard to let anything throw us off balance now.’ The look that flickered across his face shook her to the core. It was a look of such fear and hatred that she actually stepped back from the force of it. But then, just as quickly, it was gone.
‘Yes, of course. You’re right. Sorry.’ He put a hand on each side of his head, and Lee sensed he wasn’t only trying to get a grip on himself physically. He was behaving like a trainee solicitor on his first case, not the seasoned head of a criminal law firm. She had never seen him like this before. ‘But I reckon Hector must have changed his plea. The old man looks totally defeated. A united front, that’s what he wanted. And now I think his son’s lost his nerve and broken ranks.’
Lee thought about her conversation with Peter. He had certainly been more cagey than he usually was with her. ‘You could be right.’ She suddenly felt very tired, and the trial hadn’t even begun yet. ‘Look, all this speculation is giving me a headache. After you’ve helped me with this, could you go back downstairs and see how Clive’s doing? Maybe go over his proof again with him; once more can’t hurt. If he asks what’s going on, tell him whatever you like, as long as it keeps his spirits up. That’s if you’re OK, of course. Are you OK?’
Brendan tried to smile. ‘Don’t worry about me, Lee. Call that a momentary lapse. It won’t happen again.’ He stared at her. ‘How do you do it? Keep cool under all this pressure? This is the biggest case of your life so far. You must have ice water in your veins.’
She was glad he didn’t know her as well as she had thought. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. ‘Trade secret.’ The lift doors opened and they carried the mass of paperwork into the courtroom.
‘Right,’ said Lee. ‘Better go and put my robes on. I’ll see you later.’
The first thing Lee noticed when she went back to the courtroom after robing up was the massed ranks of journalists who had already taken their seats. Some were chatting among themselves, others seemed to be straining to catch anything said by anyone significantly involved in the case, even though not a word of actual evidence had yet been uttered. The second thing she noticed was the equally full public gallery. There were a lot of young women present. Anne-Marie, looking distinctly nervous, was waiting for her.
All three defence counsel usually sat at one end of ‘counsel’s row’, the long wide table that was at least half the width of the courtroom. The area reserved for the defence was full of papers, documents and files. The overflow was placed directly behind the barristers, where the defence solicitors would sit. Lee watched as Brendan came in with Clive. They spoke to each other briefly before Clive went into the dock. His brother and father were already there. All three sat stiffly apart from each other, staring straight ahead at the area soon to be occupied by the judge. Robbins had already taken his seat nearest to where Peter would sit, which reflected his place as first on the indictment. Peter himself was nowhere to be seen. Amery was still near the door, speaking to his solicitor. Lee waited for him to take his place next to Robbins – no point in sitting down only to get up again. Amery saw her looking at him and, as he had done before, deliberately turned his back. Lee sucked her teeth in disgust.
Robbins noticed and arched his eyebrows. She leaned across the space between them.
‘Still haven’t figured out what’s going on, Nicholas?’
Before he could reply, an officious-looking clerk entered the courtroom from the direction of the judge’s Chambers, an anteroom at the side of the court. He scanned the room, frowning when he realized that not only was everyone not yet seated but prosecution counsel wasn’t even present.
‘Where is Mr Fairfax?’ he asked irritably. ‘The judge wants to come in right away. You know how he is about starting on time.’
As if on cue, Peter burst through the double doors into the court, almost hitting Amery in the process. Lee turned round, and saw the look that passed between them. Just one look, but it was enough. Brendan was right. After all these months, Hector Omartian was pleading guilty.
As Peter took his place at the opposite end of the row, he turned and spoke to his opponents. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t speak to you all together beforehand. There’s been a significant development—’
‘Judge wants to come in, Mr Fairfax,’ the clerk said.
‘Could I just have a few minutes to confer with my learned friends?’
‘If you want more time, ask His Honour,’ said the clerk as he took his place. ‘He’s coming in now.’
‘All rise!’ announced the court usher.
Everyone in the courtroom stood as His Honour Judge McCallum entered.
‘Are we ready to proceed, Mr Fairfax?’ he asked, without preamble.
‘Not quite, Your Honour.’ At the sight of McCallum’s quick glance at his watch and his deepening frown, Peter quickly continued. ‘There has been a significant development in the case that I was unable to communicate to my learned friends Ms Mitchell and Mr Robbins—’
‘Why not?’ McCallum interrupted. Before giving Peter time to answer, he continued, ‘That’s why courts start as late as ten thirty, Mr Fairfax, to enable you to have these discussions beforehand and so not waste the court’s time.’ He let out an impatient sigh. ‘Any reason why I can’t hear what you’ve got to say?’
Peter was clearly unhappy but he replied, ‘No.’
‘Good. Sounds like a Chambers matter, so let’s have the court cleared, Usher.’
There was a low moan from the journalists and muttering from the public gallery but within minutes the court was cleared. As soon as the last person had left and was safely out of earshot, McCallum turned back to Peter. ‘Well, let’s have it, Mr Fairfax.’
It was almost unnaturally quiet. Peter took a deep breath. ‘Your Honour, earlier this morning I spoke to my learned friend Mr Amery, who represents Hector Omartian. As a result both of that conversation and of earlier discussions with solicitors instructed by Hector Omartian leading to further investigations which took place last week, the decision has been taken not to continue the case against that particular defendant.’
‘What?’ Clive’s voice rang clear across the courtroom. McCallum looked at him but said nothing.
‘Mr Omartian has decided, of his own free will, to assist the prosecution.’ Peter turned and looked at the defence team. Amery looked smug, Robbins blanched. Lee felt shell-shocked, and didn’t bother to hide it. She didn’t want to look at Brendan; it was already clear what Clive felt. Hector had betrayed his own flesh and blood, and he wouldn’t have to serve a day in jail. Peter’s voice sounded as if it was coming from far away.
‘I appreciate this has taken my learned friends by surprise—’
‘So why didn’t you tell them before, Mr Fairfax?’
‘The final decision not to prosecute was only made this morning, Your Honour.’
‘On the day of the trial? This is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs, and I want you to be sure to convey my views to those instructing you. Now, what will Mr Omartian be saying?’
Peter hesitated. ‘I would rather serve the new statement on the defence in the usual way, Your Honour.’
‘Oh, you will be doing that, Mr Fairfax, make no mistake about it. But I now have to consider whether this trial should be adjourned. I don’t expect you to divulge your entire case, but I want the gist of what is to be contained in that further statement now.’
‘I have a copy for Your Honour,’ Peter said and handed over a number of pages, stapled together. ‘As you can see, it largely exculpates the first defendant, although there is still other, independent, evidence of his guilt, most notably the handwriting evidence and his own confession. But it would appear the blame is not largely his. However, it greatly strengthens the case against the third defendant, in particular as to the possibility of coercion used by him on his father.’
McCallum gave Fairfax a shrewd look. ‘These are serious offences, Mr Fairfax. How do you know he’s telling the truth? People have been known to approach the Crown and say anything to get themselves off the hook, especially when a trial is imminent.’
‘We have good reason to believe he is telling the truth, Your Honour.’
McCallum seemed unconvinced. ‘Well, you must conduct your case as you see fit. Ms Mitchell, I take it you haven’t had an opportunity to read this.’
‘It’s just been handed to me, Your Honour.’ Lee almost forgot to stand as the judge addressed her. She felt strangely detached, almost as if this was happening in a play she was watching.
‘Then I don’t feel I should read it before you do, considering its potential effect on Clive Omartian. Doubtless you’ll want more time to consider both this statement and his position.’
