Skinner was on the Chief Constable’s right, with Martin beyond him On Proud’s left, sat Assistant Chief Constable Graham Parton, Strathclyde Constabulary’s Head of CID, with Willie Haggerty by his side.
Shi-Bachi and Allingham sat opposite the group of policemen, giving the meeting a suitably formal air. As soon as his secretary had poured the tea and left the room, Proud took the initiative.
‘Your Excellency, I do not propose that a written record be kept of this meeting. But, I would ask you to agree to the attendance as an observer of Mr John Wilson, who is Private Secretary to the Lord Advocate, our senior Law Officer. In suggesting this, I recognise formally that our courts do not have jurisdiction over Mr Yobatu in the matters which we are here to discuss.’
The Ambassador returned Proud Jimmy’s cool gaze. He nodded briefly. ‘I have no objection, Chief Constable.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Proud turned to Martin. ‘Chief Inspector, you should find Mr Wilson in my outer office. Would you please invite him to join us.’
‘Sir.’ Martin left the room.
Skinner was surprised. The Chief had not told him about the Lord Advocate’s observer. However, he supposed to himself that it was only natural for the politicians to want to keep an eye on a sensitive matter which was, not only in theory, but in all probability in practice, out of their hands.
Martin reappeared a few seconds later. He held the door open to admit a tall man in his early forties, with thinning hair and a sharp face. Wilson took a seat at the table, midway between Shi-Bachi and Martin, symbolically at least, a member of neither camp.
Proud Jimmy nodded towards the man, ‘For your benefit, Mr Wilson, and, to an extent, for that of ACC Parton, I will ask Chief Superintendent Skinner to give an account of his investigation, and of the events which have led us all to this meeting this morning.’
Skinner looked to his right, making full eye-contact with Wilson. The man dropped his eyes after only a couple of seconds. In a far recess of Skinner’s mind an alarm bell sounded, faintly. He ignored it and began to speak.
Once again, he went through the story stage by stage, looking at Wilson frequently as he did so, as if the man was a juror, and he was in the witness-box. As he reached the climax of his tale, he described in detail the encounter with Yobatu, citing the man’s delight at the manner of Shun Lee’s death, and his silent reaction to the discoveries in his garage.
Turning from witness to prosecutor, he began to sum up. ‘So where does that leave us, gentlemen?
‘It brings us to a position where we have motive, opportunity and hard evidence, all pointing to the guilt of Yobatu san of the murders of Shun Lee, Mortimer and Miss Jameson, and forensic evidence which proves categorically that the killer of Mortimer was responsible also for the murders of the unknown man, Mrs Rafferty and PC MacVicar.
‘On the basis of our evidence we believe that we would undoubtedly gain convictions on the four Edinburgh murders, at the very least, were Yobatu san fit to plead. At the moment he is not, but the opinion of two psychiatrists who have seen him is that should he recover from his present collapse, his mental condition at the time of the murders would be a matter for the judgement of a jury.
‘But all of this, Mr Wilson, is academic. As an honorary vice-consul of Japan, Yobatu san enjoys diplomatic immunity, and could not be prosecuted for these crimes, even if he were fit to plead. That is the situation which we are here to discuss.’
Skinner looked across at Shi-Bachi. ‘Your Excellency, you can see my - our position. We have had a series of brutal murders which have caused great public concern.
‘We believe that we have caught the perpetrator. But we can’t tell the public, to allay their fears, and we can’t charge the man because of his status.’
Skinner sat back in his seat and looked at Shi-Bachi.
But before the Ambassador could speak, Allingham broke in. ‘Correct me it I am wrong, Chief Superintendent, but Yobatu san has not admitted these crimes.’
Skinner looked at him, mastering his dislike of the man only with an effort. ‘Superintendent, listen as a policeman to what I am saying to you. The evidence here is so strong, that in all my experience, I have never encountered a jury which would have acquitted after hearing it.’
Shi-Bachi waved Allingham to silence. ‘Gentlemen.’ He looked directly at Parton, then Proud, and finally Skinner, upon whom his gaze settled as he spoke. ‘I grieve for what has happened in your cities. I grieve for the people who are dead. But what can I do? We have a man suspected of vile crimes who is under the protection of international law. I cannot remove his status.
‘However, Yobatu san himself can elect to stand trial and face the consequences if he is convicted. In theory, I cannot force him to make that choice, Nevertheless, I am of the Japanese royal family; he is samurai. In practice, I can order him, and he will obey. Should his condition improve so that it becomes possible, that I will do.
‘In the meantime, you may keep him in your hospital for as long as is necessary. My Embassy will pay for his treatment, and will fly over the best available man in Japan to assist. For the present, I suggest that you tell your newspapers that you have arrested a man, who is for the moment too ill to be charged or to stand trial, but that you are looking for no one else. Then your people can feel safe again.’
Skinner’s face brightened as Shi-Bachi spoke.
‘Your Excellency, that is a most generous proposal.’
Proud and Parton nodded in support. The Chief Constable spoke for the first time in twenty minutes. ‘Yes, Mr Ambassador, thank you indeed. We will discuss the wording of our announcement with our Crown Office and with you before any statement is issued.’
‘One moment please, gentlemen.’ Wilson’s soft voice broke in. The policemen turned to look at the man in surprise, and with the beginning of annoyance. A second alarm bell sounded in Skinner’s mind, louder this time.
Wilson’s eyes were fixed on the table in front of him. He spoke slowly, choosing his words with great care. ‘While I am only an observer here, I am, none the less, privy to the views of the Lord Advocate. Therefore I have to tell you that I have reason to believe that he would not concur with the course of action which the Ambassador has proposed.’
‘Why?’ Skinner barked the word.
‘Only this morning I discussed with Lord Muckhart the question of the possible renunciation of the right to diplomatic immunity. It is the Lord Advocate’s view that such a step would set a dangerous precedent For example, circumstances might arise involving one of our own nationals, in a situation where that person might be placed under physical pressure to forego diplomatic status.
‘I would even suggest that in this case there might be nations, and who knows, even people in your own country, Your Excellency, who would allege that Yobatu san’s revocation was the result of physical duress.’
Skinner thumped the table. ‘Don’t be so fucking stupid!’ he shouted at the man. But Wilson did not flinch.
‘Chief Superintendent, I can see why you are angry. I know that the Lord Advocate will understand too. But it is not going to change his view that the prosecution of Yobatu could undermine the whole principle of diplomatic immunity and could place certain of our nationals ... ’
‘Our diplomatic spies, you mean,’ Skinner fired at him.
‘Yes, it is possible that people involved in the necessary gathering of intelligence might be placed in jeopardy.’