Death on the Air (22 page)

MISS FREEBODY
: My gardener saw that one.

GOLDING
: Oh. The gardener saw it, did he? And reported it to you?

MISS FREEBODY
: Yes. And I told him to get rid of it. So he did.

GOLDING
: When was this?

MISS FREEBODY
: Soon after I came. Five years ago.

GOLDING
: Indeed. How did the gardener in fact ‘get rid of it', as you claim?

MISS FREEBODY
: I have no idea.

GOLDING
: You have no idea! Is the gardener going to give evidence on your behalf?

MISS FREEBODY
: Can't. He's dead.

(Somebody laughs
.
DEFENCE COUNSEL
grins.)

USHER
: Silence in court.

GOLDING
: And how do you account for its being discovered in your shrubbery in a perfectly clean condition three days after the dog was poisoned?

MISS FREEBODY
: I repeat, the one in the shed had been destroyed. This was another one. Thrown there, of course, over the hedge.

GOLDING
: We are to suppose, are we, that an unknown poisoner brought a second jar of cyanide with him or her, although he or she had already prepared the liver and wrapped it. Why on earth should anyone do that?

MISS FREEBODY
: To incriminate me. Obviously.

GOLDING
:
(irritated)
Once more into the realms of fantasy! I put it to you that no shadow of a motive and no jot of evidence can be found to support such a theory.

MISS FREEBODY
: Oh yes, it can. It can.

GOLDING
: It can! Perhaps you will be good enough to explain –

JUDGE
: Mr Golding, you have very properly attempted to confine the witness to statements of fact. Are you now inviting her to expound a theory?

GOLDING
: My lord, the accused, so far as one can follow her, appears to be advancing in her own defence a counter-accusation.

JUDGE
: Mr O'Connor, have you anything to say on this point.

O'CONNOR
:
(rising)
Yes, my lord, I have. I must say again at once, my lord, that I have received no instructions as to the
positive identity of the person my client apparently believes – most ardently believes – to have – may I say ‘planted'? – the half-empty container of cyanide on her property. My instructions were simply that she herself is innocent and therefore the container
must
in fact have been planted. As a result of the way the evidence has developed, I'd be obliged for a short adjournment to see whether there are further enquiries that should be made.

(
O'CONNOR
sits.
GOLDING
rises.)

GOLDING
: My lord, I submit that the antics, if I may so call them, of the accused in the witness box are completely irrelevant. If there were one jot of substance in this rigmarole, why on earth did she not advance it in the first instance?

MISS FREEBODY
: And I can tell you why. It's because I've only now realized it – in this court. It's been borne in upon me.
(She points at
MRS ECCLESTONE
and
DR SWALE
)
Seeing those two together. Watching them. Hearing them! Knowing! Remembering! They're would-be murderers. That's what they are.

JUDGE
: Be quiet, madam. I warn you that you do your own cause a great deal of harm by your extravagant and most improper behaviour. For the last time, I order you to confine yourself to answering directly questions put by learned counsel. You may not, as you constantly have done, interrupt the proceedings and you may not, without permission, address the court. If you persist in doing so you will be held in contempt. Do you understand me?

(She makes no response.)

JUDGE
: Mr O'Connor, am I to understand that in view of the manner in which this case has developed and the introduction
of elements – unanticipated, as you assure us, in your instructions – you would wish me to adjourn?

O'CONNOR
: If your Lordship will.

JUDGE
: Mr Golding?

GOLDING
: I have no objection, my lord.

JUDGE
: Does an adjournment until ten o'clock tomorrow morning seem appropriate?

O'CONNOR
: Certainly, my lord.

JUDGE
: Very well.
(Generally)
The court is adjourned until ten o'clock tomorrow morning.
(He rises.)

(The
JUDGE
goes out
.
COUNSEL
gather up their papers and confer with their solicitor representatives. The accused in removed. The witnesses stand, and the
CLERK
issues instructions as to reassembly.
MAJOR ECCLESTONE
confronts his wife and
DR SWALE
. There is a momentary pause before she lifts her chin and goes out. The men remain face to face for a second or two, and then
DR SWALE
follows and overtakes her in the doorway.)

(The court reassembles at 10:00 the next morning.
)

(The
JUDGE
enters and takes his seat.)

JUDGE
: Members of the jury, I am sure you apprehend the reasons for an adjournment in this, in many ways, somewhat eccentric case. I'm sorry if the delay has caused you inconvenience. Before we go on I would like to remind you that you are where you are for one purpose only: to decide whether accused, Mary Emmaline Freebody, is guilty of the attempted murder of Major Ecclestone. You are not concerned with
anything that may have emerged outside the provenance of this charge unless it bears on the single question – the guilt or innocence of the accused.

(The accused is in the witness box. The
ECCLESTONES
and
DR SWALE
now sit apart from each other, separated by
TIDWELL
and the local chemist They are shaken and anxious. They look straight in front of them. The
MAJOR
keeps darting glances at them. He withdraws a small plastic case from his pocket. He extracts a capsule and swallows it.)

JUDGE
: Mr Golding, you may now wish to continue your cross-examination.

GOLDING
: I have no further questions, my lord.

JUDGE
: Very well. Mr O'Connor, do you wish to re-examine the defendant, and may I say, Mr O'Connor, that I trust there will be no repetition of yesterday's irregularities.

O'CONNOR
:
(rising)
My lord, I sincerely hope not. I have no further questions to put to the defendant.

JUDGE
: You may go back to the dock, Miss Freebody.

(The
WARDRESS
puts an arm on
MISS FREEBODY
who glares at her.
MISS FREEBODY
returns to the dock.
PROSECUTION COUNSEL
rises.)

GOLDING
: My lord, I must inform your Lordship that Major Ecclestone has waited upon me and has expressed a desire to amend some of his former evidence, and has asked me to put his request before your Lordship.

JUDGE
: Did you anticipate anything of this sort, Mr Golding?

GOLDING
: Not I, my lord.

JUDGE
:
(after a long pause)
Very well.

GOLDING
: I recall Major Basil Ecclestone.

(There is a general stir as the
MAJOR
goes hack to the box. His manner is greatly changed. His animosity is now directed against
DR SWALE
.)

GOLDING
: May I remind you that you are still on oath.
(
MAJOR
grunts.)
Major Ecclestone, is it true that because of certain developments you now wish to amend some of the former evidence that you gave earlier in these proceedings?

MAJOR
: I do.

GOLDING
: And that evidence concerns the identity of the person you believe to have been responsible for poisoning the meat?

MAJOR
: It does, sir.

GOLDING
: And will you tell the court who—

(A cry from the
MAJOR
. The
CLERK
stands sharply. The
MAJOR
is in a sudden agony of convulsion. He struggles, jerks violently, falls, suffers a final galvanic spasm and is still. The
USHER
goes to the box. The body slides half down the steps.
DR SWALE
hurries across and stoops over it.)

USHER
: Quiet. Quiet! Silence in court. Silence.

(The
JUDGE
has risen
.
DR SWALE
looks up at him and with a slight gesture of bewilderment shakes his head.)

JUDGE
: Clear the court! Usher. Clear the court.

(The accused is standing triumphant in the dock and pointing at the body.)

MISS FREEBODY
: Justice. Justice.

(Reporters scramble for the door.)

O'CONNOR
: …and I would submit, my lord, with respect that the evidence is admissible. My lord, may I very briefly review the somewhat macabre sequence of events?

JUDGE
:
(smiling)
Briefly, Mr O'Connor? Very briefly?

O'CONNOR
: My lord, I really am very much obliged.
Very
briefly then, my client is accused of putting cyanide of potassium into Major Ecclestone's meat. Major Ecclestone who laid the case against her has died and cyanide has been found in his body. There is a strong presumption – indeed an overwhelming probability – that cyanide was introduced into one of the capsules Major Ecclestone was in the habit of taking at stated intervals for a digestive disorder. He was seen to take one of these capsules immediately before his death. My lord, I shall, if permitted, call expert evidence to show that a capsule containing cyanide would only remain intact for an hour. After that, the poison would begin to seep through the container. Miss Freebody has not been left alone since the commencement of this trial. It is obvious, therefore, she cannot be held responsible for causing his death. Whoever murdered Major Ecclestone, it was certainly not Miss Freebody. So that if, as of course we most strenuously deny, she caused the death of the dog, we have to accept a grotesque coincidence of two persons independently attempting to kill Major Ecclestone. Thus, my lord, I submit that the circumstances leading to Major Ecclestone's death are admissible evidence.

(
DEFENCE COUNSEL
sits down. A pause. The
JUDGE
has taken an occasional note during this submission. He now looks up and waits for a moment.)

JUDGE
: Yes. Thank you.
(He turns to
PROSECUTION COUNSEL
.) Well, Mr Golding?

GOLDING
:
(rising)
My lord, I shall oppose the introduction of any reference whatever to the death of Major Ecclestone. I submit that it would be grossly improper to confuse in the minds of the jury two entirely separate issues. The inquiry into Major Ecclestone's death is in the hands of the police. And if they make an arrest there will be a trial in another court under another jury. What will transpire on what accusations may be made is utterly irrelevant to these proceedings. I submit that it will be irregular in the highest degree to anticipate them. As far as this court is concerned, my lord, may I venture to remind my learned friend that ‘the dog it was that died' and not its master?

JUDGE
: And what do you say to that, Mr O'Connor?

O'CONNOR
:
(good-humouredly) Touché
, I suppose, my lord.

JUDGE
: This is in more ways than one a most unusual case. The death in the witness box of the principal witness for the prosecution, the man who laid the accusation against the defendant, and the finding of cyanide in his body is an extraordinary circumstance. I may order the jury to dismiss all this from their minds, but gentlemen, I may do so until my wig turns black and falls off my head but they won't be able to do so. But to return to the argument. It would be remarkable if
two
people had independently desired to bring about the Major's death. Thus if the second, successful, attempt could not have been made by the accused, it seems to me to be relevant to the allegation that she made the first attempt. I therefore rule that evidence regarding the nature and characteristics of the poisoned capsule is admissible.

O'CONNOR
: I am greatly obliged to your Lordship.

JUDGE
: Very well. Here we go again, gentlemen.
(To the
USHER
)
The jury may come back.

(The court reassembles. The jury enters.
MISS FREEBODY
returns to the dock.
DR SWALE
now sits by himself in the witnesses' seats.
MRS ECCLESTONE
, in mourning, hesitates and takes a seat removed from his. A pause and then he rises and goes to her. He bends over her for a moment and then offers his hand. After hesitating, she takes it. He then takes a seat behind hers.)

JUDGE
: Members of the jury. Your attendance in this case was interrupted by an extraordinary and most distressing event which in the interval has received a great deal of publicity and has acquired a considerable amount of notoriety. You are of course not here to try anyone for Major Ecclestone's death. You are here to decide whether Mary Emmaline Freebody is guilty or not guilty of attempted murder and that is your sole duty. Having said this I add one important qualification. If, during the continuation of the hearing, evidence is tendered that arises out of the circumstances attending upon Major Ecclestone's death and that evidence has a bearing upon the question of the defendant's guilt or innocence, then I will admit it for your consideration. Very well, Mr O'Connor.

O'CONNOR
:
(rising)
You are Dr Ernest Smithson, of 24 Central Square, Fulchester.

DR SMITHSON
: Yes.

O'CONNOR
: You, Dr Smithson, are consultant pathologist for the Fulchester Constabulary?

DR SMITHSON
: I am.

O'CONNOR: Did you carry out a post mortem on Major Ecclestone?

DR SMITHSON
: Yes. I found he had died of cyanide poisoning.

O'CONNOR
: May he be shown Exhibit Six? Is that the bottle taken from the Major's body?

DR SMITHSON
: Yes. I found it myself in his pocket. It was a bottle of Duogastacone which contained capsules of potassium cyanide.

O'CONNOR
: Which suggests that cyanide had been introduced into a bottle containing capsules of Duogastacone?

DR SMITHSON
: Yes.

O'CONNOR
: Now will you please tell the court whether it would be possible to fill capsules of the sort commonly used in pharmaceutical dispensaries with cyanide of potassium?

DR SMITHSON
: It would be possible, yes.

O'CONNOR
: In what form would the cyanide be?

DR SMITHSON
: In the form of powder.

O'CONNOR
: And would the capsules be indistinguishable from those filled with a doctor's prescription?

DR SMITHSON
: If the prescribed powder was the same colour, which it probably would be, yes. To begin with, that is.

JUDGE
: To begin with, Dr Smithson? Can you explain a little farther?

DR SMITHSON
: After about an hour, my lord, the cyanide would begin to seep through the capsule and this would become increasingly noticeable.

O'CONNOR
: Let me get this quite clear. To escape detection, the whole operation, filling the capsules with the lethal powder and conveying them to the intended victim, would have to be executed within an hour before one of the capsules was taken?

DR SMITHSON
: Before they had begun to disintegrate, I would prefer to say.

O'CONNOR
: Dr Smithson, are you aware that from the day before the death of Major Ecclestone, my client has been under constant supervision?

DR SMITHSON
: I have been so informed, yes.

O'CONNOR
: And therefore could not, for instance, possibly have concocted lethal capsules of the sort we have been talking about and conveyed them to some person or place outside her own premises?

DR SMITHSON
: Obviously not if she was under constant supervision.

O'CONNOR
: Thank you.

(
O'CONNOR
sits.
GOLDING
rises.)

GOLDING
: My lord.

JUDGE:
(with a slight smile and an air of knowing what's coming)
Yes, Mr Golding?

GOLDING
: Well – yes, indeed, my lord. I merely beg to remind the jury of what your Lordship has already laid down. The defendant is not on trial for concocting lethal capsules and I submit that the evidence we have just heard is irrelevant. I have no questions to put to Dr Smithson.

JUDGE
:
(to
SMITHSON
)
Thank you, Dr Smithson. You may go if you wish.

DR SMITHSON
: Thank you, my lord.
(He leaves the witness box.)

O'CONNOR
: My lord, in view of the development of this trial since Dr Swale gave evidence and particularly in view of subsequent evidence, I ask for leave to reopen my cross-examination of him. I ask for him to be recalled.

JUDGE
: What do you say to this, Mr Golding? Do you object?

GOLDING
: My lord, I can find no conceivable reason for this procedure, but – I do not object.

JUDGE
:
(after a moment's pause)
Very well, Mr Defence Counsel. Go back to the witness box, please, Dr Swale.

(
DR SWALE
takes the stand.)

O'CONNOR
: Dr Swale, you realize that you are still on oath, do you not?

DR SWALE
: I do.

O'CONNOR: You heard the evidence given by the previous witness?

DR SWALE
: Yes.

O'CONNOR
: Do you agree with it?

DR SWALE
: I am not a pathologist, but I would expect it to be correct.

O'CONNOR
: With respect to the deterioration within an hour of a capsule containing cyanide?

DR SWALE
: I have had no experience of potassium cyanide, but yes, I would, of course, expect Dr Smithson to be right.

O'CONNOR
: Yes. Dr Swale, I'm going to take you back if you please to April 4th, the evening when you were called in to the Ecclestones' and saw the dead Alsatian. You will remember that you removed what was left of the liver that had been fed to the dog and subsequently had it analysed and that cyanide of potassium was found in massive quantities.

DR SWALE
: Yes.

O'CONNOR
: There was also, in the same safe, the material for a mixed grill which was intended for the Major's dinner that night.

DR SWALE
: So I understand.

O'CONNOR
: Did you do anything about this meat?

DR SWALE
: I have already deposed that I said it should be destroyed.

O'CONNOR
: And was it destroyed?

DR SWALE
: It was. I have already said so.

O'CONNOR
: By whom?

DR SWALE
: By Mrs Ecclestone and myself. In their incinerator.

O'CONNOR
: As she subsequently deposed. After you had given your evidence.

DR SWALE
: Quite.

O'CONNOR
: Dr Swale, did it not occur to you that this meat which was destined for the Major's dinner should also be analysed?

DR SWALE
: No. I was simply concerned to get rid of it.

O'CONNOR
: Upon further consideration would you now say it would have been better to have sent it, or a portion of it, for analysis?

DR SWALE
: Perhaps it might have been better. But the circumstances of the dog's death – their description of its symptoms and its appearance so strongly suggested a convulsive poison such as cyanide – I really didn't think.

O'CONNOR
: I'm sorry, doctor, but you told us just now, you've had no experience with cyanide.

DR SWALE
: No experience in practice but naturally during the course of training I did my poisons.

O'CONNOR
: Is Mrs Ecclestone a vegetarian?

DR SWALE:
(a slight pause)
I believe so.

O'CONNOR
: You believe so, Dr Swale? But as Mrs Ecclestone has told us, you are a member of their intimate circle. You are her doctor, are you not?

DR SWALE
:
(less cool)
Yes, of course I am:

O'CONNOR
: Surely, then, you know definitely whether or not she's a vegetarian?

DR SWALE
: Yes. All right. I simply said, ‘I believe so' as one does in voicing an ordinary agreement. I know so, if you prefer it. She is a vegetarian.

O'CONNOR
: Are you in the habit of visiting her on Friday afternoons?

DR SWALE
: Not ‘in the habit' of doing so. I sometimes used to drop in on Fridays to swop crosswords with the Major.

O'CONNOR
: But Major Ecclestone was always at his club on Fridays.

DR SWALE
: He used to leave his crossword out for me. I visit The Hermitage private hospital on Fridays and it's close by. I did sometimes – quite often – drop in at The Elms.

O'CONNOR
:
(blandly)
For a cup of tea, perhaps?

DR SWALE
: Certainly. For a cup of tea.

O'CONNOR
: You heard the evidence of Thomas Tidwell, didn't you?

DR SWALE
:
(contemptuously)
If you can call it that.

O'CONNOR
: What would you call it?

DR SWALE
: An example of small town lying gossip dished out by a small town oaf.

O'CONNOR
: To what part of his evidence do you refer?

DR SWALE
: Clearly, since it concerns me, to the suggestion that I went to the house for any other purpose than the one I have given.

O'CONNOR
: What do you say to Miss Freebody's views on the subject?