“So, Marc, you intend to be ruthless,” Hinckslaughed, realizing how incongruous the words ‘Marc’ and ‘ruthless’were when conjoined.
“As ruthless as I can make myself be.”
“Just be careful, Marc,” Robert said.“Please.”
***
Marc tried to relax that evening, but couldn’t. Hehad gone over his notes numerous times, and knew what his approachto each witness would be. But Cambridge was an unpredictable andgifted prosecutor. Beth talked Marc into playing whist with Dianaand Brodie in their spacious new parlour. But Marc couldn’tconcentrate, and finally the other three switched to cribbage.
Tuesday morning dawned bright and warm, acontinuation of the Indian summer that seemed now to mock thesombre proceedings within the austere, regal Court House. Theside-galleries were once again full, with a crush of disappointedcitizens outside on the esplanade.
First up was Sol Clift. His testimony was, inthe onlookers’ view, a dull narrative of how five mill-hands spenttheir lunch hour on the day of the alleged rape. Tall and slim, butmumble-mouthed, he told the court what he had told Cobb about thecomings and goings during that fateful luncheon: how Betsy hadarrived at twelve with her father’s lunch, chatted briefly withthose present (Burton Thurgood, Joe Mullins, Jake Broom, SethWhittle and himself), and then left. He went on to say that Sethand Burton had left early (at twelve-thirty according to the bigclock in the office) to repair the damaged sluice at the weir, thatJoe Mullins had left to go for a stroll and a smoke about fiveminutes later, and that about ten to one Jake Broom had excusedhimself, saying he wanted to check on a sick horse in the barn. Solhimself, left alone, finished his lunch and returned to the millfor his afternoon shift. All pretty dull stuff. Surely the defensecounsel would have little to say about this testimony.
Marc looked sternly across at the witness andsaid bluntly, “You say you returned to work sometime aftertwelve-fifty when Broom left for the barn. Did anybody see you doso?”
Clift was startled, near panic. “I don’t knowwhat you mean . . . I – ”
“Was anyone in the mill when you returned toit, sir?”
“Why, how could there be? Seth and Burton wasat the milldam, and the other men’d left the office and themill-buildin’.”
“So we only have your word for it that youwent straight back to work?”
Clift’s eyes widened. “Where – where elsewould I go?”
“To the barn perhaps?”
Clift gasped and spluttered out, “I neverwent near there!”
“Did you not tell Constable Cobb that fromwhere you sat in the office, you could see Betsy leave theproperty?”
“I did, but – ”
“And that she did not cross the road butrather turned to the right and headed north, where the barnis?’
“I did see her go that way, but – ”
“And that you, and others in that office,knew she loved horses?”
Clift was now terrified, and looked guilty ofsomething.
“She’d sneak out to the barn to feed ‘emcarrots, I knew that. But I’d never harm her! Never!”
“Yet you have no-one to vouch for the factthat you – knowing Betsy was heading out towards the barn – did notmove swiftly through the mill, encounter the girl and – ”
“Milord! This is intolerable!” Cambridge wasclose to losing his well-honed aplomb.
“Take it easy, Mr. Edwards. Let the witnessanswer before firing further questions at him.”
“I have no more questions for the witness,Milord,” Marc said, and sat down, with his stomach churning. Forthe first time Cambridge looked across at his opponent. Hisexpression was unreadable. He nodded, and the dazed and miserableSol Clift was allowed to stumble off the stand.
Joe Mullins was next. With his short,slicked-down red hair and shilling-sized freckles, he lookedconsiderably younger than his twenty-four years. Cambridge’s firstquestion was whether Mullins had seen Betsy turn towards thebarn.
“No, sir. I couldn’t see outside the windowfrom where I was sittin’.”
Having established that Mullins was not alikely suspect (with a quick nod in Marc’s direction), Cambridgewent on to his main point: the fact that Mullins had seen SeamusBaldwin in the ravine at twelve-thirty-five when he went there fora smoke.
“What was the defendant doing, Mr.Mullins?”
“Well, I’d often seen him anglin’ fer troutdown there – there’s a trout pool nearby – so I was surprised tosee he wasn’t carryin’ a pole with him.”
“He was at a fishing-hole without a fishingrod?” Cambridge said, nicely feigning surprise.
“That’s right.”
“What was he doing there, then?”
“He was just walkin’ up and down and lookin’up at the mill.”
“Did he see you?”
“No, I was above and off to one side a bit,in a little grove I like to have a pipe in. If he’d’ve seen mehe’d’ve waved.”
“And did you observe him for long?”
“Oh, no. I went into my grove, sat down inthe grass, and smoked my pipe.”
“So the defendant could have left the areaimmediately?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there a path that would take you from theravine to the barn?”
“There is. It runs along the creek and comesout behind the barn.”
“Would anyone up by the mill be able to seeanyone using this path?”
“No, sir. He’d be completely hidden.”
“Thank you. That is all.”
Cambridge sat down and looked straight ahead.This was devastating testimony. It placed Uncle Seamus on the millproperty with enough time and a secure route to the barn. Moreover,he did not seem to be there for any other purpose than to commit aheinous crime.
Marc stood up. “Mr Mullins, you told the jurythat you went to have your smoke alone, say about twelve-forty orso?”
“Yes, sir.” Mullins did not look concerned,certainly not frightened as Sol Clift had been.
“Before that, you observed Mr. Seamus Baldwinin the ravine below?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Without his fishing pole?”
“That’s right. He was just kinda wanderin’ upand down.”
“As if he might be expecting someone to comeand meet him?”
Mullins looked puzzled, but said amiably,“Could be. He was glancin’ up and around.”
“Could his fishing pole have been lying inthe grass?”
“Well now, you could be right. I didn’t doanythin’ more than take a peek at Mr. Baldwin and then leave him tohis privacy.”
“So the gentleman could have been there toangle for trout?”
“I didn’t see no basket or net, though.”
“Behind a bush perhaps?”
“Could be.” Mullins was almost cheerful inhis response, and certainly agreeable. Cambridge was not lookingpleased. He would have to repair the damage.
Marc suddenly dropped his own friendlydemeanour. “Do you, sir, have anyone who could say they saw yousmoking in that favourite little grove?”
Mullins was taken aback, but notapprehensive. “I was alone. I wanted to be.”
“At twelve-forty, eh? Could you, sir, havegone back up to the mill, circled it on the south side and reachedthe barn without being observed?”
“But why would I do that?” Mullins, stillinnocent-eyed, was genuinely puzzled.
“Why indeed, sir. What happened in that barnafter twelve-forty-five is what we’re here to determine, isn’tit?”
“Milord, Mr. Mullins is not on trial! Is Mr.Edwards going to accuse every Crown witness of thecrime?”
“I agree, Mr. Cambridge. Mr Edwards, you willforgo this line of questioning. You’ve already made yourpoint.”
For the first time Mullins looked shaken. Hishands were trembling as he lifted them from the railing in from ofhim and turned towards Neville Cambridge.
“Your witness, counsellor,” Marc said, andsat down. He felt like trembling himself.
As skilfully as he could, with Marc’slingering accusation hanging over the witness, Cambridge went backto have Mullins repeat his earlier testimony. Whether the jury wasactually listening was a moot point.