John turned quietly to Monty as they remained seated, while everyone else had filed out.
"I would be infinitely grateful if we could have a chat, about what form the summing up should take. It would do both of us good"
Monty took one look at John's face, and promptly decided to follow John's lead, wherever it might wander. As they strolled along the corridor, he started to turn matters over in his mind. He had been impressed by the steadiness that John had shown during the trial and his willingness to listen.
"I am aware that for considerable parts of the trial, it might have appeared that you have been relegated to the sidelines." John commenced with a touch of awkwardness. "Believe me, this has not been my intention"
"Nonsense, John. I have felt entirely comfortable throughout the course of the trial. The situation of you as judge and me as winger has worked out amicably enough and business has proceeded efficiently enough and that is the measure of its success. I know that there was a fracas in chambers over that damned woman's testimony but that was speedily resolved. If I had wanted to intervene because you had done anything seriously out of line, I would have told you, either in open court or afterwards. I confess that I was uneasy at the idea when you first suggested the idea in your usual damned persuasive fashion"
John broke into a slight chuckle at the memory at his exercise in selling ice cream to Eskimoes. He needed some slight amusement.
"…….but it has worked out better than I could have dreamed of"
Emboldened by Monty's kind words, John broached a delicate matter.
"I was going to ask you, Monty, if you would you have any problem if I did the summing up? There is the alternative that you do it and a second one that we share the duty and the responsibility"
Monty picked up the hesitant tone in John's voice. This was not the manner of someone craftily angling for power and prestige but John being considerate, responsible and nervous. At one time Monty would never have conceived that John could or would behave in this fashion.
"It is obvious what should happen. You must lead as you have done throughout the trial. I think we should talk about what you're going to say and I can have the opportunity to give advice. Quite frankly, I would very much hesitate in doing the summing up myself"
John beamed at Monty's sturdy common sense and openness,which cut through a delicate matter of etiquette which had started to trouble him the previous night.
"So, where do we start, Monty"
"In one way, the facts of the case are simple. Only Barbara and Henry were present at the time of his unfortunate demise. In another way, it is devilishly complicated with no obvious crime and no obvious villain. I can't help but feel and think that there but for the grace of god goes Monty Everard. That makes it so easy for me to feel sorry for the poor woman if she was guilty and ashamed of myself if I ever misjudged her. If I feel this way, then what of the jury"
"There is a lot of medical evidence." Gently urged John in a positive spirit.
"Almost too much"
"I agree with you. So, do we make available the entire transcript of the trial available for each member of the jury? Even a juryman with an exceptional memory would be hard put to retain such a volume of conflicting information"
"That is fine so long as the daily transcripts are clearly titled and marked out into chapters of each day so that the jury aren't confronted by a mass of indigestible typescript. The jury must be given every assistance"
"That is an excellent idea, Monty." John beamed. He calculated that a word to the clerk at the start of trial, and the wonders of modern computers would enable that to be done at short notice. This interchange of conversation did wonders in generating much more readily the necessary flow of ideas. Normally each judge was required to sweat it out in the dead quiet loneliness of the judge's chambers. "The trial does divide neatly between the medical evidence and non medical evidence. Which should the jury consider first?I am open to ideas."
"The medical evidence should come first but we must advise them not to overlook anything they have seen and heard throughout the trial. The evidence of Thomas Waugh can be neatly tacked on to that"
"And the character witnesses"
"We must strongly advise the jury to utterly disregard the evidence of that infernal jack booted prison warder for a start"
John smiled at Monty's heated description which so chimed in with his own views.
"I should not quite use those precise words but I'll wrap them up in an acceptable package. So long as I do not appear to be biased in overpraising the merits of the last witness, Nikki Wade"
"Hmmn," paused Monty for reflection."You cannot be criticized by even Sir Ian or Lawrence James for giving credit where credit is due"
"Aaah, that is a very significant point you raise there, Monty. They were at the back of the courtroom and they haven't attempted to waylay me after the hearing. She made some splendid remarks about the establishment, and pushed the boundaries of cross examination with a finesse that you must have admired, John."
That little smile at the corners of his lips made John's feelings transparent.
'That precious pair just want to wash their hands of the matter, Monty. So long as Barbara disappears off the public stage and ceases to bother them, they will, for once, let two judges, three barristers and a jury take the moral courage for doing their work for them, yes even Cantwell. He will be well paid but even he isn't as thick skinned as he made out. Someone had to do it and, whatever the motives, he chose to do it."
"It's not every day that you have anything good to say about him." Murmured Monty.
"And Barbara?" John asked the question that both of them had shied away from the start of their deliberations.
"It is fortunate that her diary is available for the jury. It is not a modern habit to write diaries expressing your innermost thoughts and feelings as they happen, even in such extreme circumstances as this. We are extremely fortunate that this is so. There has been a testimony of sorts given by Henry in absentia in relation to Barbara"
John nodded his head in agreement. Monty put that last point very succinctly. He didn't need to ask Monty to expand on it. The room felt warm and cosy with a sense of shared purpose and a meeting of minds.
"There's one question I have to ask you, John. What do we do if the jury find her guilty."
A sudden cold feeling ran through both of them. John's face appeared to suddenly turn to stone.
"We adjourn the court and debate that one in chambers. I can't even think of the answer to that one and I hope to god we never have to face that one."
Instinctively, he looked at his watch. They had just finished at the right time. It was nearly time to go back into court.
While these deliberations had been going on behind closed doors, Yvonne and Roisin had moved out to the foyer where Cassie greeted them, smiling broadly. In no time at all, she had steered the other two women towards the nearest pub, and bought in the first round.
"I've slaved all week enough so I've got this afternoon off and tomorrow if I need it"
Explained Cassie."I'm in need of a drink."
"I hope to God that Barbara isn't left waiting till then."
"You are driving us back tonight, Roache?" pleaded Cassie with a winning smile as the barman filled her glass up with a double. In turn, Roisin sighed and gave way to the inevitable
"Roisin has filled me in on what's going on." Cassie explained, chatting away."I never thought I'd live to see the day to hear Nikki call a guy 'sir"
"Nikki knew what she was doing."Yvonne pronounced definitely. "She used it to get to hang that brief of theirs out to dry. As for Bodybag, she made a right tit of herself and I bet the Julies will hear it all in no time"
"Nikki won't tell." Protested Roisin.
"These things have a habit of getting their way round all by themselves. Believe me." Grinned Yvonne as memories of Larkhall came back to her.
They had barely taken their seats, Barbara standing at ramrod attention, flanked by Gina and Dominic, when John launched straight into his summing up with none of his usual casual ease of manner.
"Before I sum up this trial, I want to make clear a few preliminary arrangements. The clerk will make available for you, the jury, written transcripts of the trial set out in what I hope is a clear and comprehensible order. This is intended in no way to substitute for what your eyes have seen and your ears have heard over the past two weeks. It is intended as a supplement to your memories, as a definitive record of what was actually said. We have ordered this to be made available as there has been a large quantity of conflicting medical evidence that was placed towards the beginning and the end of the trial with character witnesses and, of course, the evidence of the defendant being sandwiched in the middle. The other preliminary point we would wish to make is that none of you, the jury, should feel in any way constrained to arrive at an early verdict. If there are any points that you have difficulty in resolving, you carry on as long as it takes to resolve them."
John paused to help himself to a drink of water. He was pleased with the thoughts were falling out of his head into the spoken word.
"In summing up, this case is an extraordinarily hard case to give directions to a jury. For a start, only the defendant was present on the occasion of the unfortunate demise of Henry Mills and there are two options. One is that the deceased took his own life in a moment of desperation. If you draw this conclusion, you must acquit the defendant. The other proposition is that the defendant assisted her husband to take his own life. The laws of the land do not recognize arguments put forward by lobbyists for 'mercy killings.' Whatever private sympathies you have, you must put them out of your mind. To return a guilty verdict will find the defendant guilty of murder.
To assist you in coming to a verdict, you have at your disposal the diary complied by the defendant. It has the inestimable virtue of being complied contemporaneously within the definition of the word, and has the advantage over any recollections, inadvertently blurred by the passage of time. I am directing you to treat the diary in this way as no one has sought to question its authenticity. It is inevitable that you, the jury, will form a mental picture of the deceased, as if he were present at this court. This will do no harm as long as you are aware of this. The crucial problem for you is in dealing with two people of more than average good character who have been pushed into an extreme situation. On this matter, I cannot give you any direction except to build your conclusions from the interrelated matters which I have set out.
I must give praise to all parties of the trial, both opposing counsels and the witnesses who have given of their best with one notable exception. I would remind you to utterly disregard the evidence of Mrs Hollamby, the prison officer from Larkhall. Her evidence has been tainted from beginning to end, as she has been utterly unable to tell a straight story but has sought to obtain unfair advantage in being shifty and malicious. By contrast, it would not be improper to praise the high professionalism of Nikki Wade, wing governor of Larkhall which is especially valuable in the quality of contact she has had with the accused."
John paused deliberately at this point so that he could highlight the final point he wished to make and draw together all the strands of the trial.
"I must however finish with reminding the jury above all else to consider the totality of the evidence , that character opinions are only one strand of the evidence and that you are required give all the evidence its due weighting. It only remains for me to give my profound thanks to Monty Everard for his immense help in overseeing the trial and, if he has nothing to add……"at which point, Monty shook his head, "I wish to bid you all good luck, because you will find this decision one of the hardest that you will be asked to make i9n a court of law." The jury shuffled out to their room and there was an outrush of feelings as the emotional dynamics that had propelled the trial forward had snapped. There were no more witnesses, no more forward planning by judges and counsel alike. Everything was given over to twelve anonymous jurymen. They had been compelled by in the court etiquette of formal behaviour that was expected of them. The result was that the debate felt as if it had taken place in a disembodied vacuum and reality now lay elsewhere.
"Coming for a wander?" Yvonne suggested to the others. Both she and Roisin felt extremely sore from sitting on the hard benches in the visitor's gallery and wandered up to the top of the gallery. They stood at the top of the staircase, looking down at the courtroom but did not go through the door to the outside although the way was clear for both of them.
Time started to crawl painfully along and, although nothing was ever said, it was plain that everyone's gaze was fixed on the door to the jury room for some signs of life. Minutes, then quarter hours and finally whole hours of purposeless activity crawled by. Brian Cantwell was possibly the most relaxed of them all as he was starting from the bottom line of losing the case and anything more was a bonus. Barbara didn't care to think what the outcome would be. Jo and George were restless as, although the case felt as if it were stacked their way, they did not dare to draw any conclusions. John and Monty were compelled to look dignified in their red robes of office and resist the urge to ask the usher how matters were proceeding. They had told the jury to take their time and, by four thirty, they made the announcement everyone was expecting.
"As the jury are still undecided, court is adjourned to carry on tomorrow. I would ask the usher to remind the jury to keep their deliberations strictly confidential and be on time tomorrow to carry on where they left off."