Jeffrey Archer - A Twist in the Tale

The next witness was a Home Office pathologist, Dr. Anthony Mallins, who, after answering a few preliminary questions to establish his professional status, moved on to reply to an inquiry from Sir Humphrey that took everyone by surprise. The pathologist informed the court that there was clear evidence to suggest that Miss Moorland had had sexual intercourse shortly before her death.

‘How can you be so certain, Dr. Mallins?’

‘Because I found traces of blood group B on the deceased’s upper thigh, while Miss Moorland was later found to be blood group O. There were also traces of seminal fluid on the negligee she was wearing at the time of her death.’

‘Are these common blood groups?’ Sir Humphrey asked.

‘Blood group O is common,’ Dr. Mallins admitted. ‘Group B, however, is fairly unusual.’

‘And what would you say was the cause of her death?’ Sir Humphrey asked.

‘A blow or blows to the head, which caused a broken jaw, and lacerations at the base of the skull which may have been delivered by a blunt instrument.’

I wanted to stand up and say, ‘I can tell you which!’ when Sir Humphrey said, ‘Thank you, Dr. Mallins. No more questions. Please wait there.’

Mr. Scott treated the doctor with far more respect than he had Inspector Simmons, despite Mallins being the Crown’s witness.

‘Could the blow on the back of Miss Moorland’s head have been caused by a fall?’ he asked.

The doctor hesitated. ‘Possibly,’ he agreed. ‘But that wouldn’t explain the broken jaw.’

Mr. Scott ignored the comment and pressed on.

‘What percentage of people in Britain are blood group B?’

‘About five, six percent,’ volunteered the doctor.

‘Two and a half million people,’ said Mr. Scott, and waited for the figure to sink in before he suddenly changed tack.

But as hard as he tried he could not shift the pathologist on the time of death or on the fact that sexual intercourse must have taken place around the hours his client had been with Carla. When Mr. Scott sat down the judge asked Sir Humphrey if he wished to reexamine.

‘I do, my Lord. Dr. Mallins, you told the court that Miss Moorland suffered from a broken jaw and lacerations on the back of her head. Could the lacerations have been caused by falling onto a blunt object after the jaw had been broken?’

‘I must object, my Lord,’ said Mr. Scott, rising with unusual speed. ‘This is a leading question.’

Mr. Justice Buchanan leaned forward and peered down at the doctor. ‘I agree, Mr. Scott, but I would like to know if Dr. Mallins found blood group O, Miss Moorland’s blood group, on any other object in the room?’

‘Yes, my Lord,’ replied the doctor. ‘On the edge of the glass table in the center of the room.’

‘Thank you, Dr. Mallins,’ said Sir Humphrey. ‘No more questions.’

Sir Humphrey’s next witness was Mrs. Rita Johnson, the lady who claimed she had seen everything.

‘Mrs. Johnson, on the evening of April 7, did you see a man leave the block of flats where Miss Moorland lived?’ Sir Humphrey began.

‘Yes, I did.’

‘At about what time was that?’

‘A few minutes after six.’

‘Please tell the court what happened next.’

‘He walked across the road, removed a parking ticket from his windscreen, got into his car and drove away.’

‘Do you see that man in the court today?’

‘Yes,’ she said firmly, pointing to Menzies, who at this suggestion shook his head vigorously.

‘No more questions.’

Mr. Scott rose slowly again.

‘What did you say was the make of the car the man got into?’

‘I can’t be sure,’ Mrs. Johnson said, ‘but I think it was a BMW.’

‘Not a Rover as you first told the police the following morning?’

The witness did not reply.

‘And did you actually see the man in question remove a parking ticket from the car windscreen?’ Mr. Scott asked.

‘I think so, sir, but it all happened so quickly.’

‘I’m sure it did,’ said Mr. Scott. ‘In fact, I suggest to you that it happened so quickly that you’ve got the wrong man and the wrong car.’

‘No, sir,’ she replied, but without the same conviction with which she had delivered her earlier replies.

Sir Humphrey did not reexamine Mrs. Johnson. I realized that he wanted her evidence to be forgotten by the jury as quickly as possible. As it was, when she left the witness box she also left us all in considerable doubt.

Carla’s daily, Maria Lucia, was far more convincing. She stated unequivocally that she had seen Menzies in the living room of the flat that afternoon when she arrived a little before five. However, she had, she admitted, never seen him before that day.

‘But isn’t it true,’ asked Sir Humphrey, ‘that you usually only work in the mornings?’

‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘But Miss Moorland was in the habit of bringing work home on a Thursday afternoon so it was convenient for me to come in and collect my wages.’

‘And how was Miss Moorland dressed that afternoon?’ asked Sir Humphrey.

‘In her blue morning coat,’ replied the daily.

‘Is this how she usually dressed on a Thursday afternoon?’

‘No, sir, but I assumed she was going to have a bath before going out that evening.’

‘But when you left the flat was she still with Mr. Menzies?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Do you remember anything else she was wearing that day?’

‘Yes, sir. Underneath the morning coat she wore a red negligee.’

My negligee was duly produced and Maria Lucia identified it. At this point I stared directly at the witness but she showed not a flicker of recognition. I thanked all the gods in the Pantheon that I had never once been to visit Carla in the morning.

‘Please wait there,’ were Sir Humphrey’s final words to Miss Lucia.

Mr. Scott rose to cross-examine.

‘Miss Lucia, you have told the court that the purpose of the visit was to collect your wages. How long were you at the flat on this occasion?’

‘I did a little clearing up in the kitchen and ironed a blouse, perhaps twenty minutes.’

‘Did you see Miss Moorland during this time?’

‘Yes, I went into the drawing room to ask if she would like some more coffee but she said no.’

‘Was Mr. Menzies with her at the time?’

‘Yes, he was.’

‘Were you at any time aware of a quarrel between the two of them or even raised voices?’

‘No, sir.’

‘When you saw them together did Miss Moorland show any signs of distress or need of help?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Then what happened next?’

‘Miss Moorland joined me in the kitchen a few minutes later, gave me my wages and I let myself out.’

‘When you were alone in the kitchen with Miss Moorland, did she give any sign of being afraid of her guest?’

‘No, sir.’

‘No more questions, my Lord.’

When Maria Lucia left the witness box late that afternoon, Sir Humphrey did not reexamine her and informed the judge that he had completed the case for the prosecution. Mr. Justice Buchanan nodded and said he felt that was enough for the day; but I wasn’t convinced it was enough to convict Menzies.

When I got home that night Elizabeth did not ask me about my day and I did not volunteer any information. I spent the evening pretending to go over job applications.

The following morning I had a late breakfast and read the papers before returning to my place at the end of the row in Court No. 4, only a few moments before the judge made his entrance.

Mr. Justice Buchanan, having sat down, adjusted his wig before calling on Mr. Scott to open the case for the defense. Mr. Scott, QC, was once again slow to rise — a man paid by the hour, I thought uncharitably. He started by promising the court that his opening address would be brief, and he then remained on his feet for the next two and a half hours.