Revenge (21 page)

"Isn't she a pretty little thing?" they would whisper.

"Do you think he did it?"

As the weeks went on
the salacious details emerged and
their numbers grew. Many of them were
t
he same people who came to watch every high p
rofile murder trial. The anorak-
wearing pensioners, who always brou
ght a plentiful supply of sandwiches
and flasks of tea, had their seats staked out. They had turned up to watch the main event and as the weeks wore on, they certainly weren't disappointed.

Mark wasn't remotely interested in the inquisitive spectators. Every morning he arrived in
court impeccably dressed in.
His dark hair was
well-cut
bu
t he looked a different man to
the arrogant person who had turned up to his first court appearance. He had lost a lot of weight since his original ar
r
est and the angles of his face were now cle
arly visible. He seemed
harder and sharper, unsurprisingly as he was
close to losing ever
ything that he had spent a lifetime
building up.

During the early
days of the trial Christopher
wait
ed
for him in the lobby of the courtroom where he would arrive after his daily consultation with
his legal team. Chris was
suited like his father but looked more like his mother. When Mark joined him there was time for a few moments shielded from the prying eyes in the partial shadow of the curved leather bench which was tucked beneath the stairwell. There were never any other supporters and as the trial progressed and the evidence against his father mo
unted, Chris' support waned. Mark
didn't have any frie
nds remaining;
after all he was involved in the sort of scandal that seldom touched the civilised middle class lives of his peers.

Mark would usually head into court after checking that his co
-defendant, Savannah Kingston h
ad already taken her seat. Every morning he would build a defensive fort o
f stationery in front of him. He would place his
black briefcase
on the table
which held the original statements from the day's witnesses. Then out came the pens,
n
eatly
placed within easy reach. Next, out
came the mints and gum on
which
he had constantly chewed as he listened to the evidence.
He w
ould place a large notepad
on top of his briefcase
and as the day progressed, he would write a steady stream of notes. Every now and then he tore off the top few pages which he neatly folded and passed to his legal team.

Mark never even glanced at his co-defendant during the trial but stared straight ahead at the jury when not writing. His calm and collected expression slipped every now and then as
his expressive face showed
his reaction to each piece of evidence that stacked the Prosecution's case higher against him. Every so often, when the accusat
ions became too much, he turned
towards a member of his legal team and whispered in an urgent manner. When particularly damning evidence a
ppeared
he leaned towards his legal team to share a private joke. However, for the most part, despite the evidence against him, he gave the impression of attending the trial merely for politeness' sake, rarely showing any doubt in the security of his position.

At the far end of the bench his
co-accused, Savannah
Kingston
, joked with the prison guards. She had been in custody for almost two year
s but she acted
like she was on holiday and seemed
a very unlikely fit for the role in which she had been cast. Her long blonde hair and olive complexion marked her out as an exotic creature amongst the blue
uniforms of the police and prison officers
and the black gowns of the barristers. If she felt pressured by her predicament she rarely showed it. She often laughed to
herself at the more bizarre piec
es of evidence and smiled broadly as she watched the trial
;
as if it was entertainment for her alone.

The drama played out over nail-biting eight weeks, much to the delight and fascination of the spectators. Mark fought his corner hard and refused to concede a single point to the
prosecut
ion. Every so often the stress
would show in the court
r
oom by someone punctuating proceedings with much huffing and slapping of furniture.

The day of reckoning had arrived.
After so many weeks of evidence it wasn’t surprising that the jury took their time on their decision. They had asked frequent questions, seen numerous pieces of evidence and taken ever-increasing cigarette breaks when the tension became too much for them. It took three days and two nights in
a
hotel for them to reach their verdict. The press settled in fo
r a lengthy wait but the anxiety
was evident in both accused for the first time, even though they both maintained their pretence at being relaxed. Savannah was spending most of her time in the cells, away from the curious eyes of the public while Mark was disappearing for more frequent cigarette breaks. He loped in and out of court like a restless tiger, spending most of his time sitting on the benc
h
es that were placed at regular intervals around the curved walls of the round hall or hiding under a stairwell.

Everyone could see that Savannah was pale beneath her immaculate makeup and her eyes were hollowed by dark shadows. As the trial drew to
a close she began to look
her thirty eight years and her glamorous mask had begun to fade. As the hours passed by, the tension slipped into tedium.

V
erdicts were expected to emerge at some stage during the day. The media presence had exploded which was no major surprise for such a sensational trial. Mark was wearing a black pin-stripe suit with a silver tie and white shirt. The anxiousness which had crept over his face as the trial wore on was very much apparen
t that morning. The tension which
had built up over the previous days had
clearly taken its toll on him.

The jury resumed deliberating at nine o' clock that morning and the judge indicated that he would give them the option of a majority decision at noon. It was at this stage th
at the fireworks began
.
The jury had come to an agreement on some of the counts. The tension in the courtroom suddenly increased dramatically. A collective breath was held as the forewoman wrote the verdicts on the issue paper. A pin dropping would have been heard reverberating through the still courtroom at the moment the paper was passed to the registrar who glance
d
at it briefly before turning to murmur something to the judge.
"Have you reached unanimous
verdicts on any counts?" Judge Enright
asked the jury.

"Yes," the foreman replied. "We find Mark McNamara guilty of soliciting Savannah Kingston to murder Rebecca McNamara, Penelope Garrett and Shona Morgan. We find Savannah
Kingston guilty of demanding money
from Penelope Garrett to cancel a contract on her life and the lives of Rebe
cca McNamara and Shona Morgan."
The jury had not yet decided on the conspiracy to murder charges against both accused.

All eyes were on Mark
. What would be his reaction? But he revealed no instant explosion of em
otion
and maintained a serious expression.
The two accused sat impassively as the first verdicts were read out.
Mark hardly flinched as he was convicted time after ti
me
. He closely watched
the jury as the registrar read out their decisions.

It was his son who showed his pain. He stared at his father and his face was bright red as the tears streamed down his cheeks.
Christopher bowed his head in his hands and remained rooted to his seat. An emotional
and
tearful Rebecca rose to her feet and hugged Penelope and Shona.

The noise level in the courtroom rose again as journalists and barristers reached for their mobile phones while the public chattered amongst themselves about the implications of the verdict. Christopher stood up as if to move away from the burning scrutiny of the press who were less than a metre in front of him but his mother threw her arms aro
und him, pulling his head o
nto her shoulder. Penelope and Shona stood in front of them, shielding them from the prying eyes of
the public. Christopher clung
to his mother, her shoulder shaking in his grip. It was only then that her own emotion showed and she buried her face in her son’s chest as the tears finally erupted.

Mark was pale and held
his head in his hands as the
enormity of his situation hit him fully for the first time. His voice shook as he spoke urgently to his legal team. Ultimately, he had been convicted and would be spending that night, and many more, in jail. For once, the handsome charmer had failed to win over the crowd.

The jury was sent away to continue deliberating on the remaining charges. Mark had just been convicted of three serious charges but he had nobody to console him. He sat alone with his legal team.
The gravity of
events hit him hard
. However, the fact that three of the charges were still being considered meant that any grand finale was temporarily put on hold.

Seated a few metres to Mark's left was Savannah
Kingston who sat back and smirked
as the verdicts were relayed to the court. She had been acquitted of the burglary allegation at M&R Photography but had been found guilty of the extortion charge and two counts of handling stolen property.

T
he waiti
ng was finally over when
the jury announced that it had reached a decision
regarding the
conspiracy to murder charges. "We find the defendant, Mark McNamara, guilty."

Mark turned white, matching the shirt he was wearing. Throughout the previous weeks of the trial, the court had seen different versions of him; pale,
smiling, charming, charismatic and
em
otional
and now this
utter dejection
. He was convicted on every one of the s
ix charges which he had faced and a stint behind bars was inevitable. Mark sat with his head in his hands as the realis
ation
began to hit him
.

The emotion of the trial had
also
taken its toll on some member
s of the jury
as two of the female jurors burst into tears. The tension which had built up over the previous weeks began to evaporate but the jury's job was not yet finished. They still ha
d to come to a decision about
Savannah Kingston on the conspiracy to murder charges and they returned to the jury room to continue their deliberations.

Mr. Clifford
rose to his
feet.
"Now that Mr. McNam
a
ra is a convicted person he should be remanded in custody."

Mr. Loftus, Mark's barrister
, then asked for the court to certify psychological reports for him. "There is no danger of my client not turning up for his sentencing hearing."

However,
Mr. Clifford
was adamant. "Mr. McNamara’s
status has now changed. He is a convict
ed person who has been
found
guilty
of very serious crimes. My application is to have him remanded in custody."

Judge Enright noted the application
for Mr. McNamara to remain on bail but he refused. "There is no necessity for someone to be on bail pending psychological reports. His status
h
as changed by virtue of th
e jury's verdicts
this afternoon;
therefore I refuse your application."

Mark remained without emotion, sitting quietly beside his legal team in the stuffy courtroom as the jury was given the option of returning a majority decision on the remaining charges. An hour later verdicts of disagreement were r
ecorded in relation to the conspiracy to murder charges.

Mark sat st
on
y-faced and Savannah Kingston continued to portray a relaxed composure as the judge thanked the jury for its patience and diligence throughout the case. "The court appreciates the role you have played and the way you have played that role. You've been involved in a complex case, because of the intricacies of new technology, phones, emails, text messages and also t
he scientific evidence," Judge Enright
said
. He then excused the
jurors from jury service for fifteen years.