that.’
‘Thank you, Inspector. I just wanted to clear that up, Mr Swift.’
‘Of course, my lord,’ said the defence counsel, trying not to allow his irritation to creep into his voice. ‘Now, Inspector, you will recall that my client told you that he walked up to the main gate twice that evening.’
‘Yes. Once before his interview with his father and once afterwards.’
‘And on the first occasion he told you that he found the main gate open.’
‘Yes. He said that he closed it. And that it was still closed when he went back there after seeing his father.’
‘Thank you. Now, what else did my client tell you about his first visit to the main gate?’
‘He said that he saw a black Mercedes parked on the verge a little further down the road on the opposite side from the gate. It was parked beside a public telephone box, and the door of the kiosk seemed to be wedged open. He said that he saw the same thing when he went back there an hour later.’
‘Did he say that he saw the driver of the car on either occasion?’
‘He said he could see the figure of the driver but nothing more than that.’
‘Why are we hearing about all this now, Mr Swift?’ asked the judge. ‘Your client’s interview can be read to the jury at the appropriate time, and he himself can give evidence about what happened if he chooses to.’
The judge’s tone of voice made it clear that he thought the defendant might have very good reasons for not going into the witness box and exposing himself to cross-examination. But Swift was ready for the judge this time.
‘It’s a matter of timing, my lord.’
‘I know that. That’s what I just said.’
‘No, I don’t mean that. I believe that the inspector will have something else to say about the Mercedes car on the night of the murder, and it’s important that my client told the police about it before the further information became available to them.’
‘All right. Well, get on with it then.’
‘Thank you, my lord. Inspector, were there any other relevant reports of a black Mercedes in the vicinity of Moreton Manor on that night?’
‘Yes. There was a car of that type stopped for speeding on the road from Moreton to Oxford. It was stopped at 11:15 p.m. The driver gave his name as Noirtier and provided an address in Oxford, which subsequently turned out to be false. He did not respond to a summons to attend court, and there has been no trace of him since. The record of the stop says that he was aged about thirty and spoke with a thick foreign accent.’
‘Did you notice the black Mercedes when you arrived at the manor house, Inspector?’
‘No. But I wasn’t the first to arrive.’
‘Yes. Officer Clayton may be able to help us. Returning to my client’s account of events in interview, Inspector, he told you that he wore his hat and coat on his first visit to the main gate. Isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘But he then left them in the study after his interview with Professor Cade.’
‘Yes, that’s what he said.’
‘The weather conditions on that night are going to be relevant here, Inspector. Would you agree that there was some light rain in the early part of the evening?’
‘Yes, it died out about eight, and it was dry after that.’
‘And the temperature was in fact quite warm.’
‘I’d say it was average for the time of year. There was some wind, as I said earlier.’
‘Thank you. Now, there’s just one other area that I want to cover with you, Inspector. My client, Stephen Cade, told you in interview about somebody else with a motive and desire to kill his father. That’s right, isn’t it?’
‘He talked about certain events involving his father that occurred in northern France in the summer of 1944.’ Trave spoke slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully.
‘Basically, Stephen told you that he and his brother Silas discovered about two years ago that their father and Sergeant Ritter, as he then was, had killed a French family and their servants at a place called Marjean, in order to obtain a valuable medieval manuscript known as the Marjean codex.’
‘Yes. That’s what he said.’
‘And that the professor was subsequently shot and wounded in his left lung during a visit to France in 1956, which was the cause of the serious ill health that he suffered from during the last three years of his life.’
‘I believe so.’
‘And finally that the professor received a blackmail letter the following year, threatening to expose him if he did not go to London and hand over the codex.’
‘Yes.’
‘Is that a fair summary of what the defendant told you in interview about this aspect of the case, Inspector?’
‘Yes, I suppose so.’ Trave looked uncomfortable.
‘Well, then, I’m sure you know what my next question is going to be. Why didn’t you go to Marjean to investigate for yourself who shot Professor Cade in 1956 and sent him the blackmail letter the following year?’
Trave gave Swift a look of quick penetration, and then closed his eyes hard, as if he wanted to blot something out of his consciousness. When he opened them again he was looking at Gerald Thompson, and he was still looking at the prosecutor when he gave his reply.
‘It was a prosecution decision,’ he said quietly.
‘But was it your decision?’
Gerald Thompson gave Trave no chance to answer Swift’s question. ‘With respect, Mr Swift’s question is an improper one, my lord,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘The decision to charge the defendant was based on very strong evidence of motive, opportunity, and fingerprint connection to the gun and the locked door of the study. The defendant’s interview did not change any of this, and it is not for the prosecution to build a defence.’
‘No, you’re quite right. It isn’t,’ said the judge nodding emphatically in agreement. ‘If you have an alternative explanation for the victim’s murder, then advance it in the proper way, Mr Swift. Don’t attack the prosecution for not doing your own work.’
Swift turned his head away from the judge’s glare and made a series of mental calculations. He itched to take on Murdoch, who seemed intent on conducting the trial on just the legal side of bias. But the unanswered question might play best on the jury’s mind if it remained unanswered, and he could make more mileage out of Marjean when it came to cross-examining Ritter. He had one good question left to ask the officer. He’d ask it and leave the French business hanging in the air for the present.
‘It’s right, isn’t it, Inspector,
