The Judas Window

'I had been his mistress.'

'Yes, but there was another and stronger reason - much stronger?'

'Oh, yes.'

For the second time during that trial, the prisoner sprang to his feet and was about to speak out from the dock. He had not expected this. H.M. made a savage gesture in his direction.

'What was that other reason, Miss Hume?'

'Captain Answell had taken a lot of photographs of me.'

'What kind of photographs?'

Her voice was blurred. 'Without any clothes on, and in - certain postures.'

'I did not catch that,' said the judge. 'Will you please speak up? What did you say?'

'I said,' replied Mary Hume dearly, 'without any clothes on, and in certain postures.'

The calm inexorability of the judge made everyone in that room squirm.

'What postures?' asked Mr Justice Rankin.

H.M. intervened. 'My lord, just in order to show why the prisoner has been so blamed anxious not to talk about this, and why he's acted in certain ways, I've got one of those photographs here. Across the back of it is written: "One of the best things she ever did for me," in what I'd like the witness to identify as Captain Answell's handwriting. Then I'd like to submit it to you to suggest that it can go to the jury as bein' evidence of what we're trying to establish.'

The photograph was handed up. While the judge looked at it, there was a hush of such bursting quality that you could hear it. It was to be wondered what the witness was feeling; every eye in the room had glanced at her, just once, and had seen her in other costume - or the lack of it. Sir Walter Storm made no comment or objection. .

'You may show this to the jury,' said the judge tonelessly.

It travelled along before two lines of impassive faces. 'How many of these photographs are there?'

'A-about a dozen.'

'This one here, the one you gave me to put in evidence; is it the only one of 'em you've got?'

'Yes, Reg has the others. He promised to give me the rest if I didn't say anything in court about his trying to get hush-money out of me.'

Reginald Answell got slowly to his feet and began to make his way out of the court-room. He tried to walk with equal slowness and casualness. No one, of. course, attempted to comment or restrain him. But H.M. deliberately allowed a space while the pressure of the court was focused on him like his own camera. Chairs, people at the solicitors' table, elbows, feet, everything seemed to get in his way, and made him go faster: it was like someone bumping over rows of feet in a theatre, trying to get out without attracting attention along the line of stalls. By the time he reached the door he was running. The policeman on duty there gave him one look, and stood aside. We heard the whish of the glass door out into the hall.

'So,' observed H.M. in a heavy tone. 'Let's take up the story of those pictures. When were they taken?'

Again she moistened her lips. 'A-about a year ago.'

'Had you broken off your relations with Captain Answell before you met the prisoner?'

'Oh, my God, ages before.'

'Did you ask for the photographs?'

'Yes, but he just laughed and said they would do no harm.'

'What'd Captain Answell do when he heard you were engaged to the prisoner?'

'He took me aside, and congratulated me. He said it was a really excellent thing, and he approved of it.'

'What else?'

'He said that if I didn't pay him five thousand he would show the photographs to Jim. He said he didn't see why he should not get something out of this when everyone else seemed to have so much money.'

'This was durin' the week of December 28th-January 4th?'

'That's right.'

'Now just go on, if you can, Miss Hume.'

'I said he must be c-completely crazy, and he knew I hadn't got five thousand pennies, and never would have them. He said yes, but my father would be willing to pay through the nose. He - he said that my father's one big dream in life was to make a good and wealthy marriage for me, and -'

'And -?'

'- and had got to the point where my father - well, despaired of ever doing it -'

'Steady, ma'am; stop a bit. Had you ever done anything like this before?'

'No, no, no! I'm only telling you what Reg - what Captain Answell said to me. He said my father would not let five thousand pounds stand in the way of my getting a good catch like Jim Answell.'

H.M. studied her. 'Your father was a pretty inflexible man, wasn't he?'

'He was that.'

'When he wanted something, he got it?' 'Yes, always.'

'Did your father know anything about these photographs?'

Her wide-spaced blue eyes opened as though she could not understand the stupidity that put such questions, even if they had to be asked for the sake of clearness in a court of law.

'No, no, of course he didn't. Telling him was nearly as bad as -'

'But you did tell him, didn't you?'

'Yes, it had to be done, so I did,' replied the witness, summing herself up.

'Explain how that happened, will you?'

'Well, Reg - Captain Answell said he would give me a few days to rake up the money. On - yes, it was on the Wednesday, I wrote to my father and said I had to see him about something horribly urgent and important in connection with my marriage. I knew that would bring him. I couldn't leave the house-party without any explanation, especially as Jim was throwing money right and left to celebrate, and all the local charities were coming to thank us. So I asked my father if he would come down on Thursday morning and meet me in a village near Frawnend ..."

'Yes, that's right; go on.'

'I met him at an inn called "The Blue Boar", I think it was, on the road to Chichester. I expected him to flare up, but he didn't. He just listened to me. He walked up and down the room a couple of times, with his hands behind his back, and then he said that five thousand pounds was absolutely ridiculous. He said he might have been willing to pay something smaller, but he had had a few reverses lately; and in fact he had been looking forward a bit to Jim's money. I said maybe Captain Answell would come down in price. He said: "We won't bother with paying him money; just you leave him to me, and I'll settle his hash."'

'Oho? "Just you leave him to me, and I'll settle his hash." What was he like when he said this? How'd he act?'

'He was as white as a sheet, and I think if he had had Reg there he would have killed him.'

'H'ra, yes. So,' observed H.M., jerking his thumb, 'the idea of your father settling Captain Answell's hash, and even giving him drugged whisky, don't sound so almighty foolish as it did when my learned friend was discussin' it, eh?' He hurried on before anyone could object to unscrupulous comment. 'Did he tell you how he meant to settle Captain Answell's hash?'

'He said he was going back to London, and he wanted a few hours to think. He said to let him know if Reg made any move in the meantime.'

'Anything else?'

'Oh, yes; he asked me to try to find out where Reg kept the photographs.' 'Did you try?'

'Yes, and I was horribly poor at it. I - that's what brought everything on. Reg just looked at mc and laughed, and said: "So that's the trick, is it? Now just for that, my little lady, I'm going straight to London and see your father."'

'This was on Friday, wasn't it?'

'Yes.'

'What did you do?'

'I telephoned my father early Friday evening -' 'That's the call we've heard about?' 'Yes. To warn him, and ask him what he was going to do.'

H.M. made mesmeric passes of some intensity. 'I want you to tell us what he said then; every word, as far as you can remember.'

'I'll try. He said to me: "Good; it's all arranged. I will get in touch with him to-morrow morning, and invite him here, and I promise you he will not bother us again."'

She spoke with extraordinary intensity, so that H.M. allowed a space for the words to sink into the minds of the jury. Then he repeated them.