MURDER BRIEF (18 page)

As Justine left the witness box
and headed towards the side-door, Brian whispered to Robyn: "Any
more witnesses?"

"No. You’re back in charge."

He grinned. "Thanks."

Brian got to his feet and looked
at the clock. "Your Honour, it’s already 12.30pm. I need a little
time to arrange the attendance of our next witness. Perhaps we can
go to lunch now?"

The judge looked at Mahoney, who
shrugged, before turning back to Brian. "Alright, Mr Davis. We’ll
resume at two o’clock."

As soon as the judge had left
the bench, Robyn rushed from the court and saw Justine about to
leave the building. "Justine, Justine."

Justine turned, still flushed
and nervous, but obviously proud. "Hi. Did I do OK?"

"You were fabulous. I’m very
proud of you."

"Thanks. I guess I’ll have to
find another job now."

"Well, if you need a reference,
let me know."

"I will."

Robyn warned Justine that, when
she left the building, she’d have to run a gauntlet of media
cameras. "You should be proud of yourself, so walk slowly, keep
your chin up and
don’t
answer any questions."

"OK, thanks."

As Robyn strolled back towards
the Banco Court, she passed Detective Inspector Holloway, sitting
on a wooden bench.

He smiled ruefully. "You know,
I’d have bet my life your client was guilty."

"We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, though this explains
something that puzzled me."

"What?"

"The anonymous caller who told
us to check Grimble’s phone records."

"Really?"

"Yes. The caller was obviously
Grimble, making sure we didn’t overlook them."

"Didn’t you smell a rat?"

He smiled. "Why look a gift
horse in the mouth?"

"Maybe. But everything that
glitters isn’t gold."

The detective smiled again.
"Hah. I prefer my saying."

"So now you’ll investigate
Grimble?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether your client gets
convicted. That happens, we’ll close the file."

"Even if Grimble's the real
culprit?"

"The real culprit is whoever the
jury convicts."

"Well, Rex will get off
now."

He shrugged. "Probably. But I’ve
given up predicting what juries will do."

Brian and Bernie had already
left the courtroom, and obviously gone to see Rex. She went
downstairs to the holding area. A Sheriff’s Officer let her through
the security gate.

Laughter spilled out of an
interview room. She stepped through the open door and found Brian,
Bernie and Rex sitting around a small Formica table, looking
happy.

Rex saw her first. "Ah, Robyn,
my saviour. You were magnificent."

She flushed. "Thanks. But this
is no time for accolades. We’ve got important issues to
discuss."

"Like what? Surely, it’s all
over."

"No. You’re still not in the
clear."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"The jury could still go rogue
and convict. So you’ve got to tell them where you were on the night
Alice was killed."

Rex licked his lips. "Like I
said: I went to see a movie."

Robyn frowned. "Really? I don’t
believe that and the jury won’t either."

Rex paused for a long time and
frowned. "You really want to know?"

"Yes."

He emitted a long sigh and
scuffed the floor for a while, before fitfully crossing his arms
and staring at her. "Well, alright, if you must know, I was … with
another woman."

She wasn’t surprised. Indeed,
she’d vaguely suspected that for a long time. She smiled. "You
mean, with a woman not your wife?"

"Yes." Rex explained that for
three years he’d been having an affair with a public relations
executive called Danielle Tucker. He stayed at her apartment on the
night his wife was murdered, then drove back down to the
beach-house early the next morning.

Brian scowled. "Christ. Why
didn’t you tell us earlier?"

Rex paused for a long time and
frowned. "Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to protect her and was worried
an affair would count against me. The cops would think we
both
plotted to kill Alice. Using Hugh as my alibi witness
seemed a lot smarter at the time."

Brian snorted. "It looks pretty
shabby now."

"I accept that."

"And you’re still in a
relationship with Danielle?"

"Yes."

"So she’ll give evidence, if you
ask?"

"Yes, I think so. But is that
really necessary?"

"Yes. Despite Grimble’s
evidence, this trial isn’t over. I think we have to tell the jury
about her. It would explain your lies and - finally - give you a
decent alibi."

"I understand."

"Good, so give her a call and
ask her to see us this afternoon, after court."

Rex reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. I’ll try."

Rex used Bernie’s mobile to call
Danielle Tucker and spent several minutes reassuring her that the
trial was going well and explaining how Hugh Grimble’s scheme had
collapsed. "So, umm, it’s time for a change of plan. I’m afraid
you’ve got to give evidence … Yes, I know … But we’ve got no choice
… You will? … Good."

He gave her the address of
Brian’s chambers and asked her to be there at 4.30 before hanging
up.

When the trial resumed Brian
filled up the afternoon by calling the four character witnesses to
give evidence. They all steadfastly asserted it was inconceivable
that Rex killed Alice. Mahoney only cross-examined two and got
nowhere. The wind had clearly gone from his sails.

The last character witness was
Tim Nolan. As he left the courtroom, Robyn realized how foolish she
had been to suspect he murdered Alice.

At four o’clock, the judge
adjourned for the day.

The three lawyers returned to
Brian’s chambers and waited for half-an-hour until Danielle Tucker
arrived. Brian’s secretary showed her into the room.

She was a petite, attractive
woman in her late thirties who obviously had a vivacious
personality when she wasn't scared to death.

Everyone shook hands and
introduced themselves. Then Brian sat behind his desk and the
others sat facing him.

Danielle shivered and exhaled
loudly. "This is frightening."

"We fully understand."

"But I'll do anything to help
Rex. So what do you want to know?"

"For a start, is it true you had
an affair with Rex?"

She looked down. "Umm, yes. In
fact, we’re still seeing each other."

"How long’s it been going
on?"

"About three years."

"And when Alice Markham was
alive, how often did you see each other?"

"Oh, once or twice a week,
usually in the afternoon; and sometimes, when he was at the
beach-house, he drove up to my place and stayed the night."

"And he visited you on the night
his wife was murdered?"

"Yes."

"And stayed with you?"

"Yes. Stayed the whole evening
and whole night, then drove back early the next morning."

"Didn’t go out?"

"Correct."

"Then why didn’t you come
forward, initially?"

"Brian said he didn’t want to
get me involved; he said people would just think we conspired to
kill Alice. He said Hugh Grimble would give him a better
alibi."

"And you went along with
that?"

"I trusted him."

"But now you’re prepared to get
into the witness box and say Rex was with you on the night his wife
was murdered?"

Her lips quivered. "Do I have
to?"

"Yes."

She twisted her hands. "OK then,
if I have to. I’ll do anything to help Rex."

"Good. Tomorrow, we’ll call you
to give evidence."

Bernie led her out, and Brian
looked at Robyn. "She seems rather nice."

"She is."

"And, I suppose, you can’t
really blame Rex for having an affair."

"Why not?"

"His marriage was obviously a
shambles, so it’s not surprising he strayed."

She frowned. "Really? Maybe he
should have waited until his marriage was over before he shacked up
with someone else."

Brian looked slightly amused.
"Goodness, you’re a real hardliner aren’t you?"

If he was still trying to entice
her into a relationship, he was doing a lousy job. "Yep, I sure
am."

He nodded. "Nothing wrong with
that, of course. I'm pretty traditional myself."

Only a desperate effort stopped
her punching out a laugh.

The next morning, in the absence
of the jury, Brian asked Justice Dobell for leave to recall Rex
Markham to the witness stand.

The judge usually wore a
seen-it-all expression. Now he looked like Brian had grown another
head. "Really, Mr Davis. The accused doesn’t usually get two bites
of the cherry. Why should I grant that indulgence?"

"Because, your Honour, he wants
to say where he
really
was on the night his wife was
murdered."

The judge frowned. "He’s already
done that."

"Yes, but he didn’t tell the
truth."

"Really?"

"I’m afraid so."

"Then where was he?"

"He spent the night with his
mistress."

The
judge's gaze rose and studied the delicate tracery in the
decorative ceiling. He blew out his cheeks. "Really? And this mist
… this woman is going to give evidence?"

"Yes, your Honour. I intend to
call her."

The judge turned towards the
prosecutor and asked if he opposed the application.

Mahoney angrily protested that
it was much too late for the accused to produce a new alibi. "We
have not been given the required notification and, in any event,
would need time to investigate it your Honour."

"True, Mr Mahoney. Normally, I
would not grant this indulgence. However, there is some evidence
that Mr Grimble cooked up the false alibi. Further, if the accused
wants to retract some of his evidence and set the record straight,
I suppose I should give him that chance. Then the jury can sort out
what to believe. So, in the interests of justice, I’m inclined to
grant leave."

Mahoney protested for a few more
minutes, but the judge rarely listened to the arguments of counsel.
He turned to Brian and granted the leave sought.

The jury was summonsed and Brian
recalled Rex to the witness box, where Rex explained how, on the
night his wife died, he was not with Hugh Grimble, but with a woman
called Danielle Tucker.

Brian said: "You'd been having
an affair with her?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Oh, about three years."

Gasps and titters floated to the
ceiling. In the press box, reporters scribbled furiously.

"Right. And why didn’t you tell
the court about this alibi earlier?"

Rex said he was afraid that, if
he did, he wouldn’t be believed. In fact, if his affair became
known, he would look even more guilty. "I also wanted to keep
Danielle out of the spotlight, if possible."

"So, when Hugh Grimble offered
to be your alibi witness, you accepted?"

Rex blushed and croaked, "Yes, I
was very stupid." He looked at the judge. "I’m sorry, your Honour,
it was a very dumb thing to do."

The judge frowned so hard his
eyebrows almost touched his wig.

Brian said: "No further
questions, your Honour."

Mahoney rose and cross-examined
Brian once more. However, though he scowled and half-shouted his
questions, his heart obvious wasn’t in it. Even he seemed to sense
that Rex was foolish, but innocent.

Next, Brian called Danielle
Tucker to give evidence. Her body and voice quivering, she
corroborated Rex’s new alibi and endured Mahoney’s verbal assault
without breaking. Indeed, his tirade increased the jury’s sympathy
for her.

After she left the box, Brian
closed the defence case.

The next day, both counsel made
their final addresses to the jury. Mahoney went first and told the
jurors to ignore the evidence that Alice Markham tried to blackmail
Hugh Grimble. That was a red herring. Rather, they should focus on
what Rex Markham did on the night of the murder. "And in relation
to that, members of the jury, he’s told you one lie after another.
You can’t believe a word he says." He huffed and puffed, in a
similar vein, for almost two hours.

When it was Brian’s turn, he
admitted that Rex Markham told some untruths to the police and the
court. "But, members of the jury, consider his situation: he was
wrongly accused of murdering his wife; it’s hardly surprising he
acted irrationally and lied. But he's not on trial for lying: he’s
on trial for murder - a murder he didn't commit."

Brian spent the next hour
explaining how Hugh Grimble, who had been stealing royalties, had
an excellent motive to kill Alice Markham and no alibi. "If anyone
should be sitting in the dock right now, it is him. Certainly, you
could not be satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Rex Markham
killed his wife. Indeed, the evidence clearly shows he is
innocent."

Next, the judge summed up the
law and evidence, and dropped some big hints that he thought there
was a reasonable doubt. Then he sent out the jury to consider its
verdict.

Half-an-hour later, the jury
returned and the forewoman pronounced Rex not guilty. Robyn turned
and saw he was in tears.

Amid the hubbub, Brian leaned
over to the prosecutor. "You’re welcome to join our celebration, if
you want."

"Fuck you."

"Tut, tut. You should have
accepted a manslaughter plea – really, you should."

Out of the courthouse, into the
sunshine.

As Brian led his little party
down the front steps, a bristling cordon of sound-booms,
microphones and cameras folded around them. Questions created white
noise.

A shrill female voice sliced
through it. "Rex, Rex, how do you feel?"