CHAPTER XXIX
The newspapers made a sensation out of the announcement of Holymead'sarrest on a charge of having murdered Sir Horace Fewbanks. They declaredthat the arrest of the eminent K.C. on a capital charge would come as asurprising development of the Riversbrook case. It would cause a shock tohis many friends, and especially to those who knew what a closefriendship had existed between the arrested man and the dead judge. Thepapers expatiated on the fact that Holymead had appeared for the defencewhen Frederick Birchill had been tried for the murder. As the publicwould remember, Birchill had been acquitted owing to the great abilitywith which his defence was conducted.
It was somewhat remarkable, said the _Daily Record_, that in his speechfor the defence Holymead had attempted to throw suspicion on one of thewitnesses for the prosecution. The journal hinted that it was the resultof something which Counsel for the defence had let drop at this trialthat Inspector Chippenfield had picked up the clue which had led toHolymead's arrest. The papers had very little information to give thepublic about this new development of the Fewbanks mystery, but theyboldly declared that some startling revelations were expected when thecase came before the court.
In the absence of interesting facts apropos of the arrest of thedistinguished K.C., some of the papers published summaries of his legalcareer, and the more famous cases with which he had been connected. Thesesummaries would have been equally suitable to an announcement that Mr.Holymead had been promoted to the peerage or that he had been run over bya London bus.
There were people who declared without knowing anything about theevidence the police had in their possession that in arresting the famousbarrister the police had made a far worse blunder than in arrestingBirchill. It was even hinted that the arrest of the man who had gotBirchill off was an expression of the police desire for revenge. To thesepeople the acquittal of Holymead was a foregone conclusion. The man whohad saved Birchill's life by his brilliant forensic abilities was notlikely to fail when his own life was at stake.
But when the case came before the police court and the police producedtheir evidence, it was seen that there was a strong case against theprisoner. The whispers as to the circumstances under which the prisonerhad taken the life of a friend of many years appealed to a sentimentalpublic. These whispers concerned the discovery by the prisoner that hisfriend had seduced his beautiful wife. In the police court proceedingsthere were no disclosures under this head, but the thing was hinted at.In view of the legal eminence of the prisoner and the fear of the policethat he would prove too much for any police officer who might take chargeof the prosecution, the Direction of Public Prosecutions sent Mr.Walters, K.C., to appear at the police court. The prisoner wasrepresented by Mr. Lethbridge, K.C., an eminent barrister to whom theprisoner had been opposed in many civil cases.
Inspector Chippenfield, who realised that the important position theprisoner occupied at the bar added to the importance of the officer whohad arrested him, gave evidence as to the arrest of the prisoner at hischambers in the Middle Temple. With a generous feeling, which waspossibly due to the fact that he was entitled to none of the credit ofcollecting the evidence against the prisoner, Inspector Chippenfieldallowed Detective Rolfe a subordinate share in the glory that hung roundthe arrest by volunteering the information in the witness-box that whenmaking the arrest he was accompanied by that officer. He declared thatthe prisoner made no remark when arrested and did not seem surprised. Mr.Walters produced a left-hand glove and witness duly identified it as theglove which he found in the room in which the murder took place.
Inspector Seldon gave formal evidence of the discovery of the body of SirHorace Fewbanks on the 19th of August. Dr. Slingsby repeated the evidencethat he had given at the trial of Birchill as to the cause of death, andwas again professionally indefinite as to the length of time the victimhad been dead when he saw the body. Thomas Taylor, taxi-cab driver, gaveevidence as to driving the prisoner from Hyde Park Corner on the night ofthe 18th of August and the finding of the glove.
Crewe went into the witness-box and swore that on the second day afterthe discovery of the murder he was present at Riversbrook when theprisoner visited the house and saw Miss Fewbanks. When the prisonerarrived he was not carrying a walking-stick, but he had one in his handwhen he took his departure from the house. Witness followed the prisoner,and a boy who collided with the prisoner knocked the stick out of hishands. Witness picked up the stick and inspected it. He identified thestick produced in court as the one which the prisoner had been carryingon that day.
The most difficult, and most important witness, as far as new evidencewas concerned was Alexander Saunders, a big, broad red-faced Scotchman,whose firm grasp on the tam-o'-shanter he held in his hand seemed toindicate a fear that all the pickpockets in London had designs on it.With great difficulty he was made to understand his part in thewitness-box, and some of the questions had to be repeated several timesbefore he could grasp their meaning. Mr. Lethbridge humorously suggestedthat his learned friend should have provided an interpreter so that hispure English might be translated into Lowland Scotch.
By slow degrees Saunders was able to explain how he had found thepocket-book which Sir Horace Few-banks had lost while shooting atCraigleith Hall. Witness identified a letter produced as having been inthe pocket-book when he found it. The letter, which had been written bythe prisoner to Sir Horace Fewbanks, urged Sir Horace to return to Londonat once, as if he did so there was a good possibility of his obtainingpromotion to the Court of Appeal. The writer promised to do all he couldin the matter, and to call on Sir Horace at Riversbrook as soon as hereturned from Scotland.
Percival Chambers, an elderly well-dressed man with a grey beard, andwearing glasses, who was secretary of the Master of Rolls, swore that heknew of no prospective vacancies on the Court of Appeal Bench. Were anyvacancies of the kind in view he believed he would be aware of them.
This closed the case for the police, and Mr. Lethbridge immediately askedfor the discharge of the prisoner on the ground that there was no case togo before a jury. The magistrate shook his head, and merely asked Mr.Lethbridge if he intended to reserve his defence. Mr. Lethbridge repliedwith a nod, and the accused was formally committed for trial at the nextsittings at the Old Bailey.
The newspapers reported at great length the evidence given in the policecourt, and their reports were eagerly read by a sensation-loving public.Even those people who, when Holymead's arrest was announced, hadridiculed the idea of a man like Holymead murdering a lifelong friend,had to admit that the police had collected some damaging evidence. Thosepeople who at the time of the arrest had prided themselves on possessingan open mind as to the guilt of the famous barrister, confessed afterreading the police court evidence that there could be little doubt of hisguilt. The only thing that was missing from the police court proceedingswas the production of a motive for the crime, but it was whispered thatthere would be some interesting revelations on this point when theprisoner was tried at the Old Bailey.
Fortunately he had not long to wait for his trial, as the next sittingsof the Central Criminal Court had previously been fixed a week ahead ofthe date of his commitment. That week was full of anxiety for Mr.Lethbridge, for he realised that he had a poor case. What increased hisanxiety was the fact that Holymead insisted on the defence beingconducted on the lines he laid down. It was a new thing in Lethbridge'sexperience to accept such instructions from a prisoner, but Holymead hadthreatened to dispense with all assistance unless his instructions werecarried out. He was particularly anxious that his wife's name should bekept out of court as much as possible. Lethbridge had pointed out to himthat the prosecution would be sure to drag it in at the trial insuggesting a motive for the murder, and that for the purposes of thedefence it was best to have a full and frank disclosure of everything sothat an appeal could be made to the jury's feelings. Holymead's beautifulwife, who was almost distracted by her husband's position, implored hisCounsel to allow her to go into the box and make a confession. But that
course did not commend itself to Lethbridge, who realised that she wouldmake an extremely bad witness and would but help to put the rope roundher husband's neck. He put her off by declaring that there was a goodprospect of her husband being acquitted, but that if the verdictunfortunately went against him her confession would have more weight insaving him, when the appeal against the verdict was heard.
It amazed Lethbridge to find that the prisoner expressed the view thatBirchill had committed the murder. This view was based on his contentionthat Sir Horace Fewbanks was alive when he (Holymead) left him about teno'clock. The interview between them had been an angry one, but Holymeadpersisted in asserting that he had not shot his former friend. Hedeclared that he had not taken a revolver with him when he went toRiversbrook.
Lethbridge was one of those barristers who believe that a knowledge ofthe guilt of a client handicapped Counsel in defending him. He had hisprivate opinion as to the result of the angry interview between Holymeadand Sir Horace Fewbanks, but he preferred that Holymead should protesthis innocence even to him. That made it easier for him to make a stirringappeal to the jury than it would have been if his client had fullyconfessed to him. His private opinion as to the author of the crime wasstrengthened by Holymead's admission that Birchill had not confessed tohim or to his solicitor at the time of his trial that he had shot SirHorace Fewbanks. He was astonished that Holymead had taken up Birchill'sdefence, but Holymead's explanation was the somewhat extraordinary onethat the man who had killed the seducer of his wife had done him aservice by solving a problem that had seemed insoluble without a publicscandal. There was no doubt that although Sir Horace Fewbanks was in hisgrave, Holymead's hatred of him for his betrayal of his wife burned asstrongly as when he had made the discovery that wrecked his home life.Neither death nor time could dim the impression, nor lessen his hatredfor the dead man who had once been his closest friend.
Lethbridge, feeling that it was his duty as Counsel for the prisoner totry every avenue which might help to an acquittal, asked Mr. Tomlinson,the solicitor who was instructing him in the case, to find Birchill andbring him to his chambers. Birchill was found and kept an appointment.Lethbridge explained to him that he had nothing further to fear from thepolice with regard to the murder of Sir Horace Fewbanks. Having beenacquitted on this charge he could not be tried on it again, no matterwhat discoveries were made. He could not even be tried for perjury, as hehad not gone into the witness-box. Having allowed these facts to sinkhome, he delicately suggested to Birchill that he ought to come forwardas a witness for the defence of Holymead--he ought to do his best to tryand save the life of the man who had saved his life.
"What do you want me to swear?" asked Birchill, in a tone which indicatedthat although he did not object to committing perjury, he wanted to knowhow far he was to go.
"Well, that Sir Horace Fewbanks was alive when you went to Riversbrook,"suggested Lethbridge.
"But I tell you he was dead," protested Birchill. He seemed to think thatreviving a dead man was beyond even the power of perjury.
"That was your original story, I know," agreed Lethbridge suavely. "Butas you were not put into the witness-box to swear it you can alter itwithout fear of any consequences."
"You want me to swear that he was alive?" said Birchill, meditatively.
"If you can conscientiously do so," replied Lethbridge.
"That he was alive when I left Riversbrook?" asked Birchill.
"Well, not necessarily that," said Lethbridge.
Birchill sprang up in alarm.
"Good God, do you want me to swear that I killed him?" he demanded.
Lethbridge endeavoured to explain that he would have nothing to fear fromsuch a confession in the witness-box, but Birchill would listen to nofurther explanations. He felt that he was in dangerous company, and thathis safety depended on getting out of the room.
"You've made a mistake," he said, as he reached the door. "If you want awitness of that kind you ought to look for him in Colney Hatch."