Jeffrey Archer - A Prisoner Of Birth

"Thank you, Matthew," Pearson replied.

"Gentlemen," said the judge, looking at his watch, "I think this might be a suitable moment to break for lunch."

"Court will rise!" shouted the usher, and all the officials immediately stood up and bowed low. Mr. Justice Hackett returned their bow and left the courtroom.

"Not bad," admitted Alex to his father.

"I agree, though dear old Arnold did make one mistake, which he may live to regret."

"And what was that?" asked Alex.

Sir Matthew passed his son the piece of paper on which he had written the word single-handed .

"THERE'S ONLY ONE thing you have to get this witness to admit," said Sir Matthew. "But at the same time, we don't need the judge or Arnold Pearson to realize what you're up to."

"No pressure," said Alex with a grin as Mr. Justice Hackett reentered the courtroom and everyone rose.

The judge bowed low before resuming his place in the high-backed red leather chair. He opened his notebook to the end of his analysis of Pearson's opening, turned to a fresh page and wrote the words, first witness . He then nodded in the direction of Mr. Pearson, who rose from his place and said, "I call Chief Inspector Fuller."

Alex hadn't seen Fuller since the first trial four years ago, and he was unlikely to forget that occasion, as the Chief Inspector had run circles around him. If anything, he looked even more confident than he had done then. Fuller took the oath without even glancing at the card.

"Detective Chief Inspector Fuller," said Pearson, "would you please begin by confirming your identity to the court."

"My name is Rodney Fuller. I'm a serving officer with the Metropolitan Police stationed at Palace Green, Chelsea."

"Can I also place on the record that you were the arresting officer when Daniel Cartwright committed his previous offense for which he received a prison sentence?"

"That is correct, sir."

"How did you come to learn that Cartwright might possibly have escaped from Belmarsh prison and was passing himself off as Sir Nicholas Moncrieff?"

"On October twenty-third last year I received a telephone call from a reliable source who told me that he needed to see me on an urgent matter."

"Did he go into any detail at that time?"

"No, sir. He's not the sort of gentleman who would commit himself over the telephone."

Sir Matthew wrote down the word gentleman , not a word a policeman would normally use when referring to a snitch. His second catch in the slips on the opening morning. He wasn't expecting many of those while Arnold Pearson was on his feet bowling the Chief Inspector gentle off-breaks.

"So a meeting was arranged," said Pearson.

"Yes, we agreed to meet the following day at a time and place of his choosing."

"And when you met the next day he informed you that he had some information concerning Daniel Cartwright."

"Yes. Which came as a bit of a surprise," said Fuller, "because I was under the misapprehension that Cartwright had hanged himself. Indeed, one of my officers attended his funeral."

"So how did you respond to this revelation?"

"I took it seriously, because the gentleman had proved reliable in the past."

Sir Matthew underlined the word gentleman .

"So what did you do next?"

"I placed a twenty-four-hour surveillance team on number twelve The Boltons, and quickly discovered that the resident who was claiming to be Sir Nicholas Moncrieff did bear a striking resemblance to Cartwright."

"But surely that would not have been enough for you to move in and arrest him."

"Certainly not," replied the Chief Inspector. "I needed more tangible proof than that."

"And what form did this tangible proof take?"

"On the third day of surveillance, the suspect received a visit from a Miss Elizabeth Wilson, and she stayed the night."

"Miss Elizabeth Wilson?"

"Yes. She is the mother of Cartwright's daughter, and she visited him regularly while he was in prison. This made me confident that the information I had been given was accurate."

"And that was when you decided to arrest him?"

"Yes, but as I knew we were dealing with a dangerous criminal who had a record of violence, I requested back-up from the riot squad. I was unwilling to take any risks when it came to the safety of the public."

"Quite understandable," purred Pearson. "Would you describe to the court how you went about apprehending this violent criminal?"

"At two o'clock the following morning, we surrounded the house in The Boltons and carried out a raid. On apprehending Cartwright, I cautioned and arrested him for unlawfully escaping from one of Her Majesty's Prisons. I also charged Elizabeth Wilson with aiding and abetting a criminal. Another section of my team arrested Albert Crann, who was also living on the premises, as we had reason to believe he was an accomplice of Cartwright's."

"And what has happened to the other two prisoners who were arrested at that time?" asked Pearson.

"Elizabeth Wilson was released on bail that morning, and was later given a six-month suspended jail sentence."

"And Albert Crann?"

"He was on license at the time, and was sent back to Belmarsh to complete his original sentence."

"Thank you, chief inspector. I have no more questions for you at the present time."

"Thank you, Mr. Pearson," said the judge. "Do you wish to cross-examine this witness, Mr. Redmayne?"

"I most certainly do, m'lord," said Alex as he rose from his place.

"Chief inspector, you told the court that it was a member of the public who volunteered the information that made it possible for you to arrest Daniel Cartwright."

"Yes, that is correct," said Fuller, gripping the rail of the witness box.

"So it wasn't, as my learned friend suggested, a single-handed piece of police ingenuity?"

"No. But as I'm sure you appreciate, Mr. Redmayne, the police rely on a network of informers, without whom half the criminals currently in jail would be on the streets committing even more crimes."

"So this gentleman , as you described your informant, called you at your office?" The chief inspector nodded. "And you arranged to meet him at a mutually convenient place the following day?"

"Yes," replied Fuller, determined not to give anything away.

"Where did that meeting take place, chief inspector?"

Fuller turned to the judge. "I would prefer, m'lord, not to have to identify the location."

"Understandably," said Mr. Justice Hackett. "Move on, Mr. Redmayne."

"So there would be no point in my asking you, chief inspector, to name your paid informant?"

"He wasn't paid," said Fuller, regretting the words the moment he said them.

"Well, at least we now know that he was an unpaid professional gentleman."

"Well done," said Alex's father in a loud stage whisper. The judge frowned.

"Chief inspector, how many officers did you find it necessary to deploy in order to arrest one man and one woman who were in bed at two o'clock in the morning?" Fuller hesitated. "How many, chief inspector?"

"Fourteen."

"Wasn't it more like twenty?" said Alex.

"If you count the back-up team, it might have been twenty."

"Sounds a little excessive for one man and one woman," suggested Alex.

"He may have been armed," said Fuller. "That was a risk I wasn't willing to take."

"Was he, in fact, armed?" asked Alex.

"No he was not…"

"Perhaps not for the first time-" began Alex.

"That's quite enough, Mr. Redmayne," said the judge, interrupting before he could finish the sentence.

"Good try," said Alex's father, loud enough for everyone in the courtroom to hear.

"Do you wish to make a contribution, Sir Matthew?" snapped the judge.