Slur: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 1 (23 page)

After a few
minutes the judge called the court to silence and the multitude of voices faded
amidst a rustling of papers. The quietness unnerved Julie and she felt a
compulsion to clear her throat repeatedly.

Julie was
helped by the fact that Rita had taken the stand prior to her. Just as Julie
had surmised, Rita had given a good account. Even as Julie stood trembling in
anticipation of her turn in the witness stand, she smiled inwardly at the
thought that Rita would have given the defence lawyer a good run for his money.

“
All I
have to do is take it calmly, and not let that defence lawyer trip me up,
”
she told herself in an attempt at positivity. The looks of encouragement that
Vinny and Rita were giving her were also encouraging.

Nevertheless,
as she approached the witness stand, she was acutely aware of the ominous
silence in the courtroom, the faces that followed her and the evil eyes of Les
Stevens, piercing through her, willing her to slip up. She took the Bible in
her right hand and swore on oath as instructed, her hand shaking so much that
she almost dropped it.

The prosecution
barrister began his examination, starting with simple questions although, to
Julie, even confirming her name and address in front of an audience of ardent
listeners was a struggle.

He seemed a
pleasant enough man, late 50s and a little obese, but still with handsome, kindly
features and a shock of silver grey hair. He spoke gently, attempting to put
her at ease, and within a few minutes his soothing tones had had the desired
effect as Julie started to feel the tension drain away from her body, feeling
that he was on her side.

By the end
of his questioning, he had prompted Julie into giving an account that had the
jury almost reaching for their handkerchiefs. The scenario that he had outlined
was that Julie, a decent, law-abiding citizen had, in recent months, had to
cope with the bereavement of a close friend. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she
had been labelled guilty of her murder and been persecuted by former friends
and colleagues. On top of that, she had also been a victim of Leslie Stevens’
callousness as he subjected her to months of harassment because she had
threatened to expose him.

She felt
relieved when he had finished, knowing that the jury were impressed by his
emotive speech. “
So far, so good,
” she thought until the defence barrister
stood up. “
Now here comes the difficult bit.
”

The defence
barrister was a thin, wiry man with harsh, ferret-like features and an odd
twitch to the top right of his lip. His eyes were small and piercing, and his
movements hasty and edgy.

He began
his cross-examination straightaway, hardly giving Julie a chance to draw
breath.

‘Now, Miss
Quinley, if I can take you back to the night of Friday 20
^th
June
once again. You have already admitted to the court that Miss Amanda Morris was extremely
drunk when she arrived home that night?’

‘Yes,’
Julie replied.

‘All right,
well perhaps we can move back a little to the actual night out itself. Can you
estimate how many drinks Miss Morris had consumed prior to returning home?’

‘Not really,
no. Well, we were all knocking them back really; it’s difficult to say.’

‘Are you
suggesting that you were so drunk yourself that you are unable to say how many
drinks Amanda Morris consumed?’

‘No, it’s
just that we were that busy having a good time, that’s all.’

‘Very well,
perhaps you could tell the jury how many drinks you yourself consumed.’

‘Objection!’
cried the prosecution. ‘The witness is here to give evidence regarding Amanda
Morris’s drunkenness, not her own.’

‘I am
exploring Miss Quinley’s reliability as a witness,’ the defence argued.

‘Very well,
objection overruled,’ said the judge.

The defence
wasted no time in returning to his question. ‘Well, Miss Quinley, can you tell
the jury please, how many alcoholic drinks did you consume on the night of 20
^th
June?’

‘I don’t
know, a few…maybe eight or so.’

‘Eight
drinks or more?’ queried the defence emphasising the word eight. ‘I think that
would hardly place you in a sober frame of mind, would it?’

‘I was all
right. I can take my drink.’

‘Perhaps we
can discuss what Miss Morris was drinking that caused her to be so
intoxicated.’

“
Oh no!
”
thought Julie. “
Here we go.
”

The defence
had probably already presented witnesses who claimed to have seen Julie and
Rita add something to Amanda’s drink, so she knew there was no point denying
it.

‘We slipped
a few shorts in her drink, that’s all. We just wanted her to loosen up a bit so
we could give her a good night out.’

There were
a few disgraced mutterings around the courtroom as the defence said, ‘I hardly
think your pranks resulted in a good night out, did they Miss Quinley?’

‘No,’ Julie
uttered, feeling her face and neck redden.

‘What about
when you left the last public house, the Boardrooms, what sort of state was
Miss Morris in by this time? Was she coherent? Could she walk unassisted?’

‘No, she
was rambling on a bit. We had to help her out of the pub, but she did seem to
be sobering up a bit while we were waiting for the taxi.’

‘And what
about when you arrived at her flat; what sort of a state was she in then?’

‘Well, she
was standing on her own then, and we could understand her a lot better.’

‘Would that
be when she was singing, “Show me the way to go home”, or when she was shouting
at the top of her voice?’

There were
a few suppressed giggles around the courtroom following this last question. The
question was a rhetorical one, designed for dramatic effect and for the benefit
of the jury. Julie realised this and did not attempt to answer it, allowing the
barrister to move on with his examination.

‘What was
Mr Leslie Stevens’ reaction on seeing the state of Miss Morris?’

‘He was
livid. He was shouting at her and wouldn’t even let us phone a taxi from his
flat. He just hurled abuse at us and shut the door in our faces.’

‘Wouldn’t
you say that his annoyance was justified given the state of his girlfriend and
the hour that you arrived at his flat?’

‘I suppose
so.’

‘Very well
then, let’s move on. Can you please tell the court where you were on the night
of Saturday the 30
^th
of August?’

This
question was the one that disrupted Julie’s coping mechanism and she briefly
hovered on the brink of hysteria, but managed to recover. Within the space of a
few seconds she had held a conversation in her head, debating how to respond:-

“
Shit,
I didn’t expect this!
”

“
What
do I say?
”

“
Deny
it?
”

“
No,
they’ll probably have proof.
”

“
Admit
it then?
”

“
Yes,
admit it, but justify myself.
”

‘I
was at Les Stevens’ flat,’ she said.

She
paused for a moment, allowing the spectators time to gasp in amazement. Then,
speaking as quickly as possible, she began to describe her motivations for the
break-in.

‘We
knew he was dealing drugs because my boyfriend Vinny had spotted him in a
nightclub. We thought his drug dealing had something to do with Amanda’s death
but we couldn’t prove it ...’

‘Please
keep to the question!’ the defence barrister interrupted repeatedly, once he’d
spotted that Julie might have been gaining the sympathy of the jury, but Julie
carried on, determined to tell her story.

‘We’d
already been to the police to tell them about our suspicions but they wouldn’t
take us seriously. They still thought me and Rita had made Amanda overdose.
You’ve no idea what it’s like being accused of a serious crime that you didn’t
do!’

‘Isn’t
it true that you forced your way into Mr Leslie Stevens’ property?’ the defence
barrister interjected, having to raise his voice above Julie’s to make himself
heard.

‘Well,
we needed to find evidence to prove him guilty, so we broke into his flat.’

‘Causing
a great deal of damage in the process I believe,’ the defence barrister
interrupted once more.

‘No,’
replied Julie. ‘Just a bit to his front door. It was the only way I could get
it open,’ she replied innocently.

There were
a few sniggers in the public gallery following this last comment.

‘When
you say ‘we’, do you mean that there were other people involved?’ asked the defence.

‘Vinny
and my friend Rita were waiting for me outside, but it was me who did the
break-in on my own. Anyway, I got into the flat and when I went into his
bedroom he was there on his bed. I didn’t have a chance to find any evidence.
He pinned me to the bed and started hitting me. Then he threatened to have his
way with me and started pulling my skirt up.’

The
noise level rose in the courtroom as people began to whisper amongst
themselves.

‘It
was lucky that Vinny came to find me or I don’t know what would have happened.’

The
defence barrister had allowed her to relate the last few lines uninterrupted,
knowing that the depth of public feeling would not welcome any break in the
tale at that point. However, he now seized his chance to switch emphasis.

‘Isn’t
it true that you were also hitting him, and that your boyfriend proceeded to
attack Mr Stevens when he entered his premises?’

‘I
was just trying to defend myself and get away from him, and Vinny was stopping
him from hurting me.’

The
defence didn’t have anything to add regarding that night so he then asked,
‘What about Friday 22
^nd
August? A man was reported climbing out of
Mr Leslie Stevens’ bedroom following a similar break-in. Did you have anything
to do with that?’

‘Objection!’
cried the prosecution, not wanting to give the defence barrister another
opportunity to try to blight Julie’s character. ‘How can this possibly relate
to the events of 20
^th
June?’

‘Very
well, objection sustained,’ ruled the judge.

‘That
is the end of my examination your honour,’ said the defence sulkily, to Julie’s
relief.

As
she made her way to the public gallery to take a seat next to Rita and Vinny,
she felt her legs almost give way beneath her, and was glad that that
particular ordeal was now over.

--------------------  

Monday 8
^th
December 1986

‘Well,
how did it go then?’ asked Betty as soon as Julie returned home.

In
the background Julie could see her father and sister also awaiting her
response.

‘Not
too bad,’ she replied. ‘I’m just glad it’s out of the way. The jury seemed happy
with what I said, and I managed to answer the defence’s questions without too
much trouble, so let’s hope they find him guilty.’

She
decided to omit details of the break-in at Les’s flat. There was no need to bother
them unnecessarily. Inside though she was harbouring other fears. She might no
longer be a murder suspect but would she now be prosecuted for the break-in? It
would be a lesser crime, but nevertheless, it would still leave her with a
police record.

“
Oh
I wish this whole bloody nightmare would just end,
” she thought.

Before
she went to sleep that night she knelt and prayed for the first time since she
had been a small child. ‘Please God let justice be done,’ she pleaded. It
wasn’t just a wish, it was a need.

Friday 12
^th
December 1986

By the Friday Julie was more tired than ever after another
restless night. However, it was for her, potentially, the most alleviating day
of the trial. She hoped that she would see justice carried out and an end to
the tortuous last few months. She took her seat in the public gallery more eagerly
than she had done on any other day of the trial. There was still an element of
doubt in her mind though as she had no way of knowing how the trial was going
to turn out. As a witness she wasn’t privy to any information about which way
Les intended to plead or what evidence the prosecution had gathered against
him.

As
Les stood in the witness box a surreal feeling came over her; he really was
taking the stand. It wasn’t her on trial but him, Les Stevens, the one who had
been the true culprit all along. While she waited for the prosecution to
commence she looked across at Rita. Julie could see that her friend was
captivated by the proceedings; it reminded her of that time when they went to
see Flashdance and Rita couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.

Once
Les had sworn on oath, the prosecution began with the usual questions,
verifying Les’s name and address before asking him about Amanda’s death.

‘Can
you tell me about the events of the night of Friday 20
^th
June 1986 Mr
Stevens? What sort of condition was Miss Morris in when she returned home?’

‘She
was in a right state, drunk out of her brain thanks to them two.’ He nodded his
head in Julie and Rita’s direction and Julie felt a chill run down her spine as
his wild eyes pierced through her. The rest of the courtroom observed her
reaction.

‘Is
it not true to say though, Mr Stevens, that Miss Morris was coherent by this
stage?’

‘I
suppose so but she was still plastered.’

‘Can
you tell the court what happened once her friends had left?’

‘Friends?
Huh!’

‘Answer
the question please Mr Stevens.’

‘We
had a few words about the state she was in, then I had to help her get to bed.’

‘A
few words, Mr Stevens? Are you sure that’s all you had?’

‘Yeah,
why?’

The
prosecution then made a great drama out of reading a piece of paper that he
held in his right hand before continuing. Julie was amazed by the change in his
character. He had seemed so affable when questioning her and the following
witnesses, but had now become a ruthless zealot.

‘I
have a statement here Mr Stevens from one of your neighbours claiming to have
heard a tremendous amount of shouting and screaming on the night in question.’

‘We
had a few words, but that was all. They’re exaggerating.’

‘Similar
claims were made by several of your neighbours Mr Stevens. So tell us please,
what happened next?’

‘What,
after I’d got her to bed? I went myself, then that was it till I woke up and
saw her the next morning.’

‘And?’

‘And
I couldn’t wake her up. I knew there was something not right, so I dialled 999
straightaway.’

‘Can
you explain why there were amphetamines found in Miss Morris’s body?’

‘No
idea, unless they gave them to her.’ Les nodded once more towards Julie and
Rita. ‘Maybe that’s why she was in such a state!’ he shouted.

‘Do
you use drugs Mr Stevens?’

‘No.’

‘Did
Amanda Morris use drugs?’

‘No.’

‘The
search of your flat following the death of Amanda Morris didn’t show that there
were any drugs present.’

‘That’s
because there weren’t!’ shouted Les.

‘However,’
asserted the prosecution. ‘A later, more thorough search following your arrest
did find traces of amphetamine and other drugs in the carpet. Can you explain
the reasons for that Mr Stevens?’

‘Dunno,
maybe Mandy brought them in with her after she’d been out with them two.’

‘Very
well Mr Stevens, what about the drugs that you were attempting to sell in these
photographs?’

The
photographic evidence was passed along the members of jury. As Les noted their
reactions, he began to panic.

‘I
wasn’t selling drugs, I was buying them,’ he cried.

‘Aah,
so you do use drugs Mr Stevens?’

‘Not
often; it’s just a bit of fun now and again, that’s all.’

‘What
about Miss Amanda Morris, did she ever use drugs?’

‘No.’

‘Then
why were there drugs found in her body? Come on Mr Stevens, I think that all
the evidence is there for the jury to see.’

‘Well,
maybe once or twice, but I swear I never gave her any that night.’

The
prosecutor’s voice was taking on a more aggressive tone. ‘Then why did police
find drugs in the carpet; the same drugs that killed her, Mr Stevens?’

‘I
don’t know, pleaded Les,’ becoming desperate. ‘We only took drugs a few times.
We knew our limits. It was just a bit of fun, that’s all.’

The
prosecutor’s face was a picture of concealed satisfaction as though he knew he
had him now; the contradictions were spilling out of him.

Before
he had a chance to continue, however, the court became distracted by a
disturbance coming from the back of the public gallery.

‘Leave
him alone!’ a pitiful voice whined.

Julie
turned round and noticed a scrawny looking woman who was staggering noisily to
her feet. She bore the gaunt expression of someone old before her time, with
dark shadows beneath her sunken, tired eyes.

‘Leave
my son alone!’

‘Silence!’
shouted the judge but the woman refused to be cajoled. As she shouted and
slurred inarticulately, Les became agitated.

‘Clear
off!’ he shouted. ‘Get her out of here!’

A
policeman sped towards her and attempted to remove her from the public gallery.
However, she put up a fight, waving her fists and shouting at him, and it took
several minutes and the help of another officer before they managed to reach
the exit. In the meantime Les was leaning out of the dock, his knuckles turning
white as they gripped the rail while he yelled insults at her. ‘You fuckin’
bitch! You had to come, didn’t you? It’s all your fault. You ruined my life. Fuck
off. Go on. Fuck off!’

‘Silence
or I’ll charge you with contempt of court!’ bellowed the judge.

While
Les stood trembling with rage the prosecutor continued, capitalising on his emotionally
charged state. ‘Nice girl Amanda, wasn’t she?’

‘Yes!’

‘A
bit different to what you were used to, wasn’t she? Isn’t it true that you
tried to control Amanda Morris and bring her down to your level through the use
of drugs?’

Julie
could see the lines of fury across Les’s face. It was evident that he was
having great difficulty controlling himself.

‘Well,
wasn’t that the case?’

‘Objection!’
shouted the defence.

‘Objection
sustained.’

Satisfied
that his questions were having the desired effect, the prosecutor continued. ‘Can
you please tell the jury about the night Amanda Morris died? Did you both take
drugs that night?’

‘No.
I’ve told you, she wasn’t a user.’

‘A
‘user’ Mr Stevens; isn’t that terminology commonly used amongst the drug dealing
community?’

‘No.
I don’t know.’

‘Would
you even be using that expression if you weren’t involved with drugs yourself
Mr Stevens.’

‘No.
I mean, I don’t know. I might.’

‘So,
here she was, full of the party spirit. Didn’t she want to continue having some
fun? That is, after all, the reason you both took drugs, wasn’t it Mr Stevens? To
have a bit of fun?’

‘No,
she asked me for some, but I wouldn’t let her have any,’ Les replied in despair.

‘Aah,
so there were drugs in the flat that night?’

Les
hung his head in defeat. It was obvious he was in such a state after his
mother’s performance that he couldn’t think straight and thoughts of Amanda
were adding to his distress. His voice was low as he conceded and began to
describe what had taken place on the night of Amanda’s death.

‘She
wanted drugs, but I wouldn’t let her have any. She begged me for them and we
ended up having an argument. She was getting hysterical, saying I had no right
to keep them from her, ’cos she’d helped to pay for them. I managed to calm her
down and we went to bed, but the next morning she wasn’t next to me. I went in
the living room to find her, and it was a tip. It looked like someone had
raided the place.

‘Then
I saw her on the floor with the empty packet in her hand.’

His
voice began to crack as he relived his shocking discovery of the dead body of his
beloved Mandy. The prosecutor gave him a moment to compose himself before allowing
him to continue.

‘She
must have found where I’d hidden the drugs. I panicked. I knew I’d get the blame
so I cleared the flat out, and then rang 999. It wasn’t my fault,’ he pleaded,
his voice rising in anguish. ‘It was ’cos of the state she was in. She’d never
have taken that many if she hadn’t been so pissed. It’s their fault.’ He
pointed angrily at Julie and Rita. ‘They’re the ones to blame, they got her pissed!’

The
judge urged him to calm down and suggested that the court should adjourn to
give the defendant a chance to compose himself.

--------------------

When
they returned to the courtroom the prosecutor had switched emphasis and Les was
no longer on the stand. The prosecutor produced an exhibit, which he passed
along the members of the jury. It was a hunting knife. There were stirrings and
mutterings amongst the members of the public as they took in the implications
of this revelation. Once the jury had taken sufficient time to examine the exhibit,
the prosecutor disclosed that it had been found by a man walking his dog, buried
in the woods.

The
prosecutor then produced photographs of the wounds on both the bodies of
Jacqueline and Ernie and these were also passed to the members of the jury.
Julie could sense that many people were getting restless as the prosecutor
called two expert witnesses to the stand. The first one verified that the wounds
on each of the bodies would have come from the same weapon and that the exhibit
was almost certain to have been the weapon used for both murders.

The
second witness was a fingerprint expert. Julie noted the expression on Les’s
face when the fingerprint expert confirmed that there were no prints on the handle
of the knife and they had most probably been wiped from the handle. However,
the expert was able to confirm that a tiny fingerprint had been found on the
underside of the bolster. This is the part of the knife that separates the handle
from the blade. On a hunting knife it is raised so that when the knife was wiped
it is likely that the murderer had missed the print that was on the bolster.

A
court official then put some fingerprint images on a display board for the
court to view. The prosecutor explained that the two images were of the print
found on the knife and a print taken from Leslie Stevens. He then invited the
fingerprint expert to highlight the obvious similarities between the two.

While
he gave the jury a few seconds to digest this information Rita whispered to
Julie, ‘They’ve got the bastard now! Let’s see if he can squirm out of this
one.’

Although
Julie was beginning to feel relieved, she couldn’t yet share in Rita’s joy; she
was finding the whole event too stressful.

Once
the prosecutor was satisfied that he had presented sufficient damning evidence,
he called Les back to the stand and recommenced his questioning, switching to
the night of Jacqueline’s murder.

‘What
can you tell me about Jacqueline Bartlett?’ he asked. ‘Were you responsible for
her death?’

‘No,’
Les instinctively replied, but his defence was half-hearted, as though he
realised that he was now fighting a losing battle.

The
prosecution once more drew the attention of the courtroom to a piece of paper
he was holding.

‘I
have a witness statement here stating that Miss Jacqueline Bartlett was seen
leaving your premises on the night of Monday 18
^th
August. Can you
tell the jury the reason she was at your flat please?’

‘I
don’t know. It was ages ago.’

‘Come
on Mr Stevens, you must have some idea. Was she a regular visitor or was it
just the once?’

‘Ah,
I remember now. She did come round once, just to bring an LP of Mandy’s, but
she was only there about five minutes and then she left.’

‘Shortly
followed by Mr Ernest Cummings, I believe?’

Julie
watched the expression on Les’s face. His anguish showed and it was
discomfiting to see, but she knew that the prosecution barrister had to do
this. It was the only way to get at the truth! She then checked herself for
almost feeling sorry for Les. It was no more than he deserved. She could tell
that Les was losing it and she willed the prosecution to carry on until he
broke down altogether and told all. She wasn’t expecting him to throw in the
towel quite so soon though.