Nothing Ventured(72)

“Were the three pages numbered?”

“I can’t remember.”

“How convenient. When the police submitted your statement as evidence before the trial, there were only two pages, clearly numbered one and two, and on the bottom of the second page, two of two, was your full signature, along with those of DI Stern and DC Clarkson. How do you explain that?”

“The only explanation I can think of,” said Rainsford, “is that someone must have removed the middle page and added the numbers later.”

“The mystery man, perhaps?” said Sir Julian. “What happened next?”

“I appeared before a magistrate the following morning and my application for bail was refused. I was placed on remand and sent to Pentonville to await trial.”

“Which took place five months later, while you remained in custody.”

“Yes. But I was still confident the jury would accept that my statement had been three pages, and not two, because I was able to reproduce every word I’d written on the missing page.”

“However, Mr. Justice Melrose would not allow you to submit your missing page as evidence. At the end of the trial, did you feel the judge summed up the case fairly, without bias or prejudice?”

“I did. His summation was fair and well balanced, which only made me more convinced that the jury would come down in my favor.”

“But they didn’t.”

“No, they were out for four days, and even longer nights. On the fifth day, they found me guilty of murder by a majority of ten to two. The next morning, Mr. Justice Melrose sentenced me to life, with a recommendation that I should be eligible for parole after twelve years. I’ve now served two years of that sentence.”

Grace made another note and underlined the word “twelve,” before passing it to her father.

“Did you at any time consider changing your plea to guilty of manslaughter?” asked Sir Julian. “Struck him in the heat of the moment, never meant to kill him, will regret it for the rest of my life?”

“But I didn’t strike him, Sir Julian. My solicitor made the same suggestion at the time, and told me he was confident if I agreed to change my plea I’d only get four years, and be out in two, but I turned him down.”

“Why?”

“Because my solicitor, like you, didn’t believe I was innocent.”

“But you can’t deny, Mr. Rainsford, that you lost your temper when you learned your daughter had been sexually harassed by Mr. Kirkland, and you became even more angry when you discovered that he had been embezzling money from the company to pay for his different women. So why should the jury believe that there were three pages in your statement and not two, and that the murder was committed by a mystery man who appeared out of nowhere and then conveniently disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again?”

“Because it’s the truth, Sir Julian,” said Rainsford. He put his elbows on the table and placed his head in his hands. “But of course I can understand why you don’t believe me.”

A long silence followed, while the other three waited for Sir Julian to pick up his Gladstone bag and disappear, also never to be seen again.

“But I do believe you, Arthur,” he said quietly. “I am now in no doubt that you did not murder your partner.”

Arthur looked up in disbelief to see the distinguished QC smiling at him.

“What finally convinced you, Father?” asked William, ignoring his sister’s gimlet eye.

“Three things, completely unconnected, which, had the jury been made aware of at the time, might well have caused them to reach a different verdict.” Sir Julian couldn’t resist pacing up and down before he delivered his closing statement. “In all my years at the Bar, I have never known a murderer who wouldn’t have settled for a plea of guilty to manslaughter and a reduced sentence.”

“And the second reason?” asked Grace.

“The length of time before Arthur is eligible for parole.”

“Twelve years,” said William.

“Precisely. Because Mr. Justice Melrose is known in the trade as ‘Life Means Life’ Melrose. I checked his record last night, and he’s presided over twenty-four murder trials during his time on the Crown Court bench when the defendant was found guilty. Arthur is the only one he gave a minimum term of twelve years. Why would ‘Life Means Life’ Melrose break the habit of a lifetime? Could it be that he also wasn’t convinced Arthur was guilty?”

“And the third thing?” asked Grace.

“We have William to thank for that.”

Once again, Sir Julian couldn’t resist a brief perambulation around the room before sharing his thoughts. He pulled at the lapels of a gown he wasn’t wearing before he spoke.

“You told me, William, that when you first mentioned Arthur’s name to SO Rose, his immediate response was, ‘If Rainsford’s a murderer, I’m Jack the Ripper.’ In my experience, a senior prison officer would never admit, even in private, that any prisoner just might be innocent.”

“So does that mean you’ll take the case, Father?” asked Grace.

“We already have, my dear. And with it, we take on the considerable task of uncovering fresh evidence to convince the DPP that they should order a retrial. Because if they don’t, our personal opinions are irrelevant.”