beyond the rail behind Appleton’s table were starring at him and Alyce. When Reid reached his table the lawyer said, ‘I told you to keep it brief.’
‘Why don’t you worry more about the strain on Alyce than our simply talking together!’ said Jordan, aware as he spoke of the opposition entourage re-entering the court.
‘I fear there has been created the possibility of a severe misunderstanding which I wish -’ Bartle turned to indicate the next table – ‘as well as my colleague, Mr Wolfson wishes, to make clear I am most anxious to correct-’
‘And which I am even more anxious to have explained to me,’ predictably broke in Pullinger.
‘It is fortunate, your honour, that present in this court today are the two medical experts who conducted the required examinations upon my client and that of Ms Leanne Jefferies, who is enjoined in this matter.’
‘How did that come about, that they should be present?’ persisted the judge.
Bartle lowered his head, not immediately replying, which Jordan decided to be in frustration at the constant intrusion. Beside him he saw Beckwith was scribbling a soldiers’ battalion of exclamation marks on his yellow legal pad.
‘I was obliged, as was my fellow attorney, Mr Wolfson, to have been alerted prior to today’s hearing by Mr Beckwith that there was some disparity between the required medical assessments.’
‘You had the evidence of Mr Beckwith’s expert witness in your required pre-hearing presentations,’ reminded Pullinger. ‘Why weren’t the omissions from your side corrected before today, so that this whole matter could have been resolved without the time-wasting disruption to which it has been subjected?’
Bartle turned pointedly to where Beckwith sat. ‘I regret, your honour, that neither myself nor Mr Wolfson were specifically advised what the challenge was going to be. Had we been, then this court would not have been caused the delay to which you are quiet rightly drawing attention. My request, sir – with which my colleague, Mr Wolfson, is in full agreement, to prevent any further delay in the proceedings – is that this session be adjourned until tomorrow to enable the apparent discrepancies to be rectified, with our deep and respectful apologies.’
Pullinger kept the lawyer standing for what seemed to be an age in the completely hushed court, irritably waving the man back into his seat when the uncertain Wolfson made as if to get to his feet, imagining that the judged wanted a supporting request.
Instead Pullinger turned to where Jordan sat with his lawyer and said, ‘Mr Beckwith?’
‘I am, as always, at your honour’s disposal and would not seek any further to delay the progress of my submission or anything else that might be brought before the court,’ said Beckwith. ‘But I would draw your honour’s attention to the fact that had the omission not been brought to your honour’s early attention this entire case might have proceeded with insufficient evidence at the court’s disposal, which I am sure you would deplore. A re- presentation of the medical reports will, I hope, rectify that problem, but I would respectfully request that your honour gives me the opportunity, upon such re-presentation, to explore the matter further if those re-presentations are applicable to the submission that I have not yet had the opportunity to pursue.’
‘I certainly will wish to examine most carefully what is provided to this court tomorrow,’ said Pullinger. ‘And give you now the undertaking that you will be allowed to do the same, as all three expert witnesses are present in court and as it is my wish that they so remain until the court decides otherwise.’ The vulture’s head swivelled. ‘I expect to be provided by 9 a.m. tomorrow with the redrafted medical report upon your client, Mr Bartle, and yours, Mr Wolfson. And I will say, at this point, that I will not tolerate another single instance of expected court protocol being inadequately complied with.’
‘It wouldn’t have been right for me to have interceded,’ declared Reid. ‘You’d won the point, hands down. If I had tried to add on more applications it would have defused everything.’
‘I know. Thank you,’ said Beckwith.
They’d gathered in Reid’s Raleigh office, after the local lawyer had smuggled Alyce out of the court and into a waiting car.
‘I will do, tomorrow, if it all goes well,’ persisted Reid, defensively.
‘You did the right thing,’ assured Beckwith. ‘I said I’m grateful.’
‘Any trouble getting Alyce away?’ asked Jordan.
‘I don’t think so. I didn’t see any cameras.’ Reid nodded to his telephone console. ‘There’ve been four or five media enquiries, asking me to call back. I’m not sure that I will.’
‘Alyce told me she doesn’t want to be in court,’ said Jordan.
Reid’s face tightened, irritably, at Jordan’s awareness. ‘She told me the same thing. She wants the judge to excuse her.’
‘You going to go to Pullinger with that?’ asked Beckwith.
‘Certainly not before the case has even properly started,’ said Reid.
‘I don’t think it would be a wise application to make at any stage,’ said Beckwith.
‘You think she’s up to it: sitting through everything that’s going to be said, all the details likely to come out?’ asked Jordan.
Reid shrugged, uncertainly. ‘Apparently there’s a lot of family pressure building up, disgrace and shame to the established dynasty, that sort of shit.’
‘Being excused court, to which I can’t imagine Pullinger agreeing in the first place, isn’t going to help, is it?’ said Beckwith. ‘Alyce is involved in a divorce action, simple as that. She’s got to hope you get Pullinger’s agreement to a closed hearing. That’ll give her the best protection she can hope for.’
‘And each day she’s got to scuttle about like a cornered animal to avoid being photographed,’ said Jordan.
‘Harvey! The media have got enough stock photographs of Alyce to open a picture gallery. If Bob gets a closed hearing the media pressure will relax after a couple of days and she’ll settle down to the reality of what she’s in and that’ll be that.’
‘Medical reports are the focus of the moment,’ said Jordan, looking between the two lawyers but stopping at Reid. ‘You’ve still got to get Pullinger’s order to try to get those of Sharon Borowski. Why can’t you get a doctor’s request for Alyce to be excused on the grounds of mental and physical stress?’
‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ protested Beckwith, loudly. ‘Where the fuck are we going here? You appointing yourself Alyce’s champion, defending her against all the woes of a collapsed marriage in which you are very much the exposed defendant! You’re still in the shit right up to your chin and if what we started today doesn’t work out in our favour, sinking down even further. Let’s you and I worry about you and me and let Bob worry about Alyce and the reputation of her
famous family, OK?’
‘She doesn’t deserve to have to go through all this!’ insisted Jordan. ‘Did you look at Appleton today? See what he looked like!’
‘We haven’t sat through all the evidence yet: don’t know what Alyce deserves or doesn’t deserve to go through,’ refused Beckwith. ‘You’ve got to come back on course – on board – to why and how you’re here, what it could cost you and has already cost you and worry about your own ass, nobody else’s. Not even an ass as cute as Alyce’s. You hearing what I’m telling you, Harvey? Or are you going soft on me?’
Jesus Harry Christ! thought Jordan. Did he really need to hear what his lawyer was telling him! It was as if… He didn’t want or need to know what it was. What he needed – as Beckwith had just told him – was to remember where he was, why he was there and how much in the end it was likely to cost him. ‘I was just trying to be fair,’ he said, lamely.
‘Fairness has got nothing to do with anything,’ said Beckwith. ‘Start getting your priorities in order, OK?’
Twenty-Two
Harvey Jordan was too experienced at performing, at being, someone else for there to be any outward indication of his shocked realization that he was showing the slightest concern for anyone other than himself, certainly somebody, however inadvertently, who had turned his life on its head as Alyce Appleton had done. He continued the review of the day’s events with the two lawyers in Reid’s office and responded sufficiently in the car returning him and Beckwith to the hotel, but the moment he got there was relieved to escape into the seclusion of
