“Good morning, Mr. Collier,” said Gray. “Can I confirm that you appear on this occasion at your own request and not as a witness for the prosecution?”
Sebastian couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Gray had put aside his earlier adversarial manner with this witness in favor of a more conciliatory tone.
“That is correct, sir.”
“And why do you wish to reappear?”
“I feared that if I didn’t, a grave injustice might be done.”
Once again, loud chattering broke out in the court. Mr. Gray made no attempt to continue until silence prevailed.
“Perhaps you would care to elaborate, Mr. Collier.”
“On Friday evening I had a call from a senior colleague in Frankfurt to brief me on a recent case in that city, which he felt I should know about. In the course of that conversation I discovered the reason Mrs. Aisha Obgabo, the stewardess on flight 207, had only been able to present written evidence to this court.”
“And what was the reason?” asked Mr. Gray.
“She’s in jail, serving a six-year sentence for a Class A drug offense.”
This time the judge made no attempt to quell the outburst of chattering caused by Collier’s revelation.
“And why should that have any bearing on this case?” asked Mr. Gray, once order had been restored.
“It seems that a few weeks after Bishara’s arrest, Mrs. Obgabo was arrested for being in possession of two ounces of marijuana.”
“Is marijuana considered a Class A drug in Germany?” asked the judge incredulously.
“No, my lord. For that offense, the judge gave Mrs. Obgabo a six-month suspended sentence and ordered that she be deported back to Nigeria.”
“Then why wasn’t she?” demanded the judge.
“Because during the trial it came to light that Mrs. Obgabo had been having an affair with the captain of the aircraft on which she was a stewardess. If she had been sent back to Nigeria, my lord, she would have been arrested for adultery and, if found guilty, the punishment in that country is death by stoning. So at the end of the trial, when the judge asked her if she wished for any other offenses to be taken into consideration before he passed sentence, she admitted to being paid a large sum of money to place thirteen ounces of heroin in the bag of a first-class passenger on a Nigeria Airways flight from Lagos to London. Mrs. Obgabo couldn’t recall the name of the passenger, but she did remember that the bag she placed the heroin in was embossed in gold with the initials HB. For this offense, the judge sentenced Mrs. Obgabo to six years in prison, which her lawyer assured her was more than enough time for her to apply for asylum as a political refugee.”
This time the judge accepted that he would have to wait a little longer before the court returned to any semblance of order. He sat back in his chair, while several journalists fled the court in search of the nearest telephone.
Sebastian noticed that for the first time the jury were looking at the prisoner in the dock, and several of them were even smiling at Hakim. What he didn’t notice was Adrian Sloane slipping quietly out of the gallery. Mr. Gray remained standing but made no attempt to speak until order had once again been restored.
“Thank you, Mr. Collier, for your integrity and sense of public duty. If I may say so, you bring considerable credit to your profession.” Mr. Gray closed his file, looked up at the judge and said, “I have no more questions, my lord.”
“Do you have any questions for this witness, Mr. Carman?” asked the judge.
Carman went into a huddle with the Crown’s team before looking up at the judge and saying, “No, my lord. Although I must confess I find it somewhat ironic that it was I who pointed out to your lordship that this witness’s credentials were beyond reproach.”
“Chapeau, Mr. Carman,” said the judge, touching his full-bottomed wig.
“And with that in mind, my lord,” continued Carman, “the Crown withdraws all charges against the defendant.” Mr. Carman sat down to a burst of applause from the public gallery.
Journalists continued scribbling furiously. Seasoned court officials tried not to reveal any emotion, while the prisoner in the dock simply looked dazed by what was happening all around him. Mr. Justice Urquhart appeared to be the one person in the room who remained totally calm. He turned his attention to the man who was still standing in the dock and said, “Mr. Bishara, the Crown has withdrawn all of the charges against you. You are therefore released from custody and are free to leave the court, and, I must add, without a blemish on your reputation.”
Sebastian leapt in the air and threw his arms around Ross, as the two leading QCs bowed to each other with mock gravity before shaking hands.
“As we appear to have the rest of the day off, George,” said Gilly Gray, “perhaps you’d care to join me for lunch and a round of golf?”
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