Turn a Blind Eye

29

‘Are you confident she took the bait?’ asked Miles.

‘Hook, line and sinker,’ said Christina. ‘Her eyes lit up at the thought of the Fitzmolean getting its hands on a Raphael.’

‘Which sadly they won’t. She’s nothing more than a pawn in a far larger game, and she’s about to be taken off the board.’

Christina felt guilty about the way her friend was being used, but Miles hadn’t left her in any doubt what the alternative was.

‘You gave her the authority to bid up to a million pounds on your behalf, and made it clear that she couldn’t go any higher? And equally important, she mustn’t tell anyone she will be bidding on your behalf.’

‘Not even Tim Knox. She has no idea that cheque will never be cashed because you’re going to outbid her.’

‘How did she react when you offered her the chance to take our place on the Alden?’ Miles asked.

‘Overwhelmed. She was only disappointed that it meant she wouldn’t be able to attend our wedding.’

‘Let’s hope she never finds out the real reason we couldn’t risk being seen together on the Alden.’

‘Call Police Constable Nicola Bailey,’ repeated the clerk, his voice echoing around the court.

A young woman dressed in a simple white blouse and a navy pleated skirt that fell below the knees entered the room. She wore no jewellery and only a hint of lipstick. She and Rebecca had given a great deal of thought to how she should look, with only the jury in mind.

Nicky made her way slowly across to the witness box, not once glancing in the direction of her former lover in the dock, although his eyes never left her. The clerk handed her a Bible and she delivered the oath without looking at the proffered card.

Grace checked the long list of questions she and Clare had spent several days preparing, to make sure that Summers wasn’t left with any wiggle room, while at the same time hoping to avoid any traps Booth Watson might later spring.

Clare had instructed Nicky to tell the truth, and admit to the mistakes she’d made, and she mustn’t under any circumstances lose her temper, because if she did, Booth Watson would take advantage of it.

Grace smiled at the witness, aware of how nervous she must be.

‘Please state your name and rank for the record,’ said Grace.

‘Police Constable Nicola Bailey.’

‘When you were a serving officer with the Metropolitan Police, which branch did you work for?’

‘I was attached to a special unit investigating corrupt police officers, based at Scotland Yard. My final assignment was a posting as a constable in Romford.’

Booth Watson wrote the word Final? on his yellow pad.

‘Why Romford?’

‘The unit was investigating a Detective Sergeant Jerry Summers, an officer from the Romford division, who we had reason to believe was involved in serious criminal activities. My job was to try to pick up any information on the ground, while my immediate boss, Detective Inspector Warwick, remained undercover.’

So far so good, thought William, who was now seated in the back row of the court.

‘How did you go about that task?’

‘To begin with I was extremely cautious, because if DS Summers had thought I might be working for the Yard, I would have been responsible for blowing the whole operation.’

‘What information were you able to gather about Summers’s activities?’

‘I began by checking his daily reports, which I must confess were impressive. But although his arrest record was second to none, there were also some unexplainable anomalies.’

‘Such as?’

‘Two well-known families were between them running the local drugs racket, and while members of one of them, the Paynes, were regularly being arrested by DS Summers, their equally notorious rivals, the Turners, would often get away with a warning, or at most the occasional police caution.’

‘Did you come up with any explanation for this apparent inconsistency?’

‘I did. Summers openly boasted he had a well-placed informer in the Turner gang, who was supplying him with information that resulted in some large drug seizures and a number of arrests.’

‘Did you pass this information back to Scotland Yard?’

‘Yes. I share a flat with another member of the inner team, so that wasn’t a problem.’

Booth Watson wrote down on his yellow pad Name and rank of her flatmate?

‘Did you try to establish contact with the subject during this operation?’

‘Yes, but it wasn’t easy to begin with without making it too obvious,’ said Nicky. ‘After all, Summers was a detective sergeant, and as far as he was concerned I was just another trainee bobby on the beat. However, he did speak to me on one occasion in the station canteen, and when I found out which pub he frequented after work, I began to hang out there with another WPC in the hope of seeing him again.’

‘And did this ploy prove worthwhile?’

‘Not at first. But one evening after my friend had left to report for the night shift, DS Summers offered to buy me a drink. I accepted, although I remained cautious, and at the time, kept my distance.’

Booth Watson wrote down At the time and Kept my distance.

‘Later that week he invited me to the cinema. Afterwards I joined him for a drink at his flat, before going home.’

‘Why did you agree to go back to his flat? Wasn’t that an unnecessary risk that might have jeopardized the whole operation?’

‘I wanted to find out if there was anything in his home that looked out of place, and beyond the salary of a detective sergeant.’

‘And was there?’

‘Way beyond. The building he lived in was a bit shabby and certainly in need of a lick of paint, while the garden had more weeds than flowers, but once you were inside the detective sergeant’s home it was a different story. He had all the latest electronic gadgets and top-of-the-range furniture that looked as if it had come from an expensive West End store. There was one notable exception — the curtains were old and worn.’

‘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.

‘That’s your opinion,’ said Nicky.

Grace allowed herself a smile.

‘It is indeed, Miss Bailey. So I want you to think carefully before you answer my next question, because I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that perjury is a serious crime, even more so when it’s committed by a police officer.’ He turned his gaze on the jury before asking, ‘How long had you been conducting a sexual relationship with DS Summers before you—’

Grace was quickly on her feet. ‘Is this line of questioning relevant, m’lud? PC Bailey has already admitted her indiscretion. Isn’t that enough?’

‘Nowhere near enough, m’lud,’ said Booth Watson before Mr Justice Ramsden had a chance to respond. ‘Miss Bailey’s behaviour goes to the very heart of this case if we are to discover who is telling the truth and who is a blatant liar.’

‘Cut to the chase, Mr Booth Watson,’ said the judge sternly.

‘As you wish, m’lud. It’s simply that I find it difficult to believe Miss Bailey’s relationship with DS Summers was as fleeting and casual as she claims, when she gave birth to their son only a month ago. The dates just don’t fit,’ he said, emphasizing each word. ‘So I must ask you again, Miss Bailey. How long did the affair last?’

‘A few weeks.’

‘Months, I would suggest, Miss Bailey.’

‘Weeks,’ snapped Nicky.

‘Now that we have established there was a long-term sexual relationship between you and the defendant, perhaps we should move on to your account of how you came across the diamond ring you claim to have found in his flat the morning after you’d slept with Detective Sergeant Summers for the first time. Because once again, the dates don’t fit.’ Booth Watson held out a hand, into which his junior placed a single sheet of paper.

‘Perhaps you can explain this memo given to DS Paul Adaja by your flatmate, DC Rebecca Pankhurst, both members of the squad of which you told the court you were so proud to be a member.’ He looked down at the memo, and began reading it out. ‘ “On the morning of May the thirtieth, when PC Bailey joined me for breakfast, she was wearing a diamond ring I’d never seen before, and which looked extremely expensive.” ’

Nicky gripped the sides of the witness box as she began shaking uncontrollably.

‘Perhaps you’ve forgotten, Miss Bailey, that both parties in a criminal trial are obliged by law to disclose any evidence they are in possession of that might prove relevant to the case. This little bombshell was found smouldering among the two hundred and twenty-three submissions handed over to the court.’

‘That doesn’t alter the fact that the Garrard’s box proves the ring had been stolen by a burglar who was later arrested by DS Summers,’ said Nicky, trying to fight back.

‘Or perhaps it reveals how you yourself got hold of the ring, Miss Bailey? And having discovered it was a little too hot to handle, you then planted it in your lover’s flat.’

‘That’s a ridiculous suggestion,’ said Nicky, almost shouting.

‘Then perhaps you could tell us when DC Pankhurst first saw you wearing the ring in your flat in Pimlico?’

‘The day after Jerry proposed to me.’

‘Did he propose to you, Miss Bailey?’

‘Not in so many words, but he put the ring on my finger.’

‘We only have your word for that,’ said Booth Watson.

‘But I returned the ring and gave the Garrard’s box to DC Pankhurst, assuming she would hand it in to DS Adaja, which indeed she did.’

‘I don’t doubt that, Miss Bailey. However, I’m more interested in how much time passed between your flatmate first seeing the ring on your finger, and you giving her the Garrard’s box. Because unfortunately once again the dates don’t quite fit.’ Booth Watson held up another of the memos. ‘It would seem you held on to the ring for some considerable time before you put it in a place where, to quote your own testimony, “it would be found when the police searched his home”. The jury could be forgiven for wondering just who the guilty party is in this case, and who was engaged in stitching an innocent man up.’

‘Summers is the guilty party, and my only interest was to secure enough evidence to bring him to justice.’

‘It took you long enough,’ boomed Booth Watson. He didn’t wait for Nicky to recover before he added, ‘I’m beginning to think, Miss Bailey, that in fact it was you who stole the ring, and that DS Summers kept quiet about it, because he didn’t want you to be arrested and have to face a prison sentence.’

‘How can that be possible when the ring was stolen before we’d even met?’

Sir Julian allowed himself a smile.

‘We only have your word for when you first met.’

‘You’re making this up as you go along!’ shouted Nicky.

‘As you’ve been doing from the moment you entered the witness box.’

‘Next, you’ll be saying I planted the ring by his bed as an act of revenge.’

Grace grimaced, while Sir Julian bowed his head.

‘I congratulate you, Miss Bailey, on anticipating my next question. As you’ve now admitted, it was the defendant who ended your relationship.’ He paused and looked at the jury for some time, before saying, ‘Perhaps because he discovered you were a bent copper and his only crime was to turn a blind eye.’

Prosecuting counsel was quickly on his feet.

‘I shouldn’t have to remind you, Sir Julian,’ said the judge courteously, ‘that it is not you who is examining this witness on behalf of the Crown.’

Sir Julian sat slowly back down as Grace tentatively rose to her feet, although she wasn’t sure what her father had intended to say. ‘M’lud,’ she began hesitantly, ‘Police Constable Bailey is not on trial—’

‘That’s what you think,’ muttered Booth Watson, who had remained standing.

‘I’ve already admitted that Jerry and I had a relationship, which I’ll regret for the rest of my life,’ Nicky blurted out.

‘Indeed you have, Miss Bailey,’ said Booth Watson. ‘But what you apparently don’t seem to regret is cutting up his clothes, breaking up his furniture, destroying his electronic equipment and smashing his mother’s dinner service, before planting a diamond ring by the side of his bed to use your words “as an act of revenge”.’

The journalists on the press benches didn’t stop scribbling.

‘No, I didn’t!’ shouted Nicky.

‘You didn’t ransack his flat after he dropped you?’

‘No, I didn’t plant the ring.’

‘But you did wreck your ex-lover’s home.’

‘It was no more than he deserved.’

‘Or was it because you wanted to destroy the evidence?’

‘I only wanted to destroy him!’

William bowed his head.

‘Thank you for that frank and honest response, Miss Bailey, because I believe it proves my case,’ said Booth Watson, ‘and allows me to remind the jury once again of William Congreve’s words, “Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorn’d”. I wonder, Miss Bailey, if you recall the playwright’s next line?’

Nicky stared blankly at him.

‘Then allow me to remind you: “For love is oft to foulest vengeance turned”.’

Sir Julian half rose, and then recalled he wasn’t examining this witness, otherwise he would have corrected his adversary’s deliberate misquotation of Congreve. Booth Watson gave his floored opponent a withering glance, before he turned to the judge and said, ‘No more questions, m’lud.’

‘You did as well as could be expected in the circumstances,’ said Sir Julian to Grace as they walked back to Lincoln’s Inn after the judge had called a halt to the day’s proceedings.

‘Nicky should have known better than to lose her temper with Booth Watson and allow it to become personal,’ said Clare.

‘I’m afraid for her it was personal,’ said Sir Julian.

‘But God knows, I told her often enough to remain calm, whatever Booth Watson threw at her,’ said Grace.

‘What makes matters worse,’ said Sir Julian, ‘is thanks to PC Bailey’s faltering performance, Booth Watson can now advise his client there’s no longer any need for him to give evidence from the witness box.’

‘I agree,’ said Grace. ’But surely the jury will realize which of them is the guilty party?’

‘I know he’s guilty, you know he’s guilty, and BW certainly knows he’s guilty,’ said Sir Julian. ‘But in the end, it’s the jury who will decide which one of them they believe.’

‘I still think we have a fifty-fifty chance,’ said Clare. ‘After all, the jury’s choice is between a susceptible young woman and the man she was taken in by, who won’t even appear in the witness box to defend himself.’

‘Which is his right in law, as the judge will point out,’ Sir Julian reminded them. ‘No, we’ll have to hope the jury remember William’s evidence, and the fact that BW chose not to cross-examine him after he’d testified that Summers supplied drugs to known criminals in return for cash.’

‘But we don’t have any of those numbered notes to prove it,’ said Grace, ‘otherwise Lamont would have had to join Summers in the dock.’

‘But we do have the stolen diamond ring that he passed on to his next girlfriend, who just happened to be the drug dealer’s daughter,’ said Clare.

‘We can only hope the jury has worked that one out,’ said Sir Julian.

‘Yet another reason Booth Watson won’t allow Summers to appear in the witness box,’ suggested Grace.

‘Booth Watson even managed to misquote Congreve in support of his case,’ said Sir Julian.

‘Is that why you rose to interrupt BW?’ asked Grace.

‘Look the quote up,’ said her father.

‘Well, at least you’ll be able to put the record straight when you deliver your closing remarks,’ said Clare, as they reached Essex Court.

‘Misquoting Congreve won’t cut much ice with the jury, while BW keeps repeating the words, “arrest record”, “commendations”, and “beyond reasonable doubt” during his closing remarks, while forgetting to mention the ring or any other stolen goods Nicky managed to destroy.’

‘Then you’ll have to mention them again and again during your summing-up,’ said Clare.

‘I will. It’s just a pity BW will have the final word.’

‘No, the judge will have the final word,’ Grace reminded her father, as they climbed the steps to the senior partner’s chambers.

‘But he will have to present both sides of the case dispassionately, while reminding the jury that their verdict must be unanimous, and more important, beyond reasonable doubt.’

‘I still think we’ve got a fifty-fifty chance,’ said Clare.