The Body in the River (33 page)

Blaketon nodded.
‘
Good for you, Superintendent, good for you. Had you simply been a member of the public I
’
m sure you might well have been intimidated. Please continue.
’

‘
In the meantime, two of my detective constables who I
’
d brought along but who were simply on a watching brief, seeing the rough behaviour of the, er ...
“
waiter
”
, decided to intervene. They grabbed the
“
waiter
”
and pulled him away from me. A moment after that, the accused, Mr Silver, arrived. He march up to the table and put his face six inches from mine. He said,
“
What the fuck do you want?
”
I said,
“
I thought it was time we met.
”

‘
Silver then leaned forward and poked me hard in the chest with his right forefinger, pushing me back. He added,
“
Don
’
t you come in here mouthing off at me, you prick. I eat cunts like you for breakfast.
”’

Brookes paused for a moment then continued,
‘
He then tried to poke me again but I grabbed his finger and forced him to the ground. I then told him I was arresting him for assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty and cautioned him. His reply was unintelligible. He was taken to City Road Police Station where he was charged and again cautioned. He made no reply.
’

Curry was on his feet. He said,
‘
Is that your evidence, Superintendent?
’

Brookes said to the magistrate,
‘
Yes, your worship.
’

Blaketon said,
‘
Thank you, Mr Brookes. Please remain where you are.
’
Then to Silver
’
s barrister he said,
‘
Now
you may cross-examine, Mr Brough-Hughes.
’

The barrister rose to his feet and nodded at the magistrate.
‘
Thank you, your worship.
’
He was wearing a business suit with the regulation blue stripes, starched collar, and tie as the formality of the wig and gown were reserved for the Crown Court. He made his way round the defence counsel
’
s table and towards the witness box, his thumbs behind the lapels of his jacket as if he were wearing a gown.

Blaketon frowned.
‘
Where are you going, Mr Brough-Hughes?
’

‘
To question the witness, your worship.
’

‘
You can do that from your place at the defence table; we
’
re not on television you know, and I won
’
t have dramas in my court.
’
There were a few titters from the public gallery as Brough-Hughes returned to his desk, his face bright red.

He paused for a long moment then fired a question at Brookes.
‘
So, you went to the club looking for trouble, did you, Superintendent?
’

Brookes deliberately turned and directed his answer at the magistrate.
‘
No, your worship.
’

‘
Then why did you go mob-handed?
’

Again Brookes turned to the magistrate.
‘
I didn
’
t, your worship.
’

‘
Yes you did, you had three officers with you. Why did you take that many?
’

Brookes turned to Blaketon and frowned.
‘
My answer to that question might be to the detriment of the defendant, your worship.
’

Blaketon said to Bourne-Hughes,
‘
Do you want to withdraw the question?
’

‘
No, your worship, I want him to answer it.
’

At a nod from the magistrate, Brookes said,
‘
The defendant has previous convictions for causing grievous bodily harm and other offences involving violence.
’

‘
So you did go there mob-handed.
’

‘
No, your worship, the two detectives I took with me were there to gather evidence of any irregularities that might take place at the club. They were instructed not to intervene in my business unless things got out of hand. The behaviour of first the
…’
he paused deliberately, then said,
‘
er
… “
waiter
”
and then the accused certainly amounted to that. It was very lucky they were there or someone could have got hurt.
’

‘
Someone did get hurt, didn
’
t they? You do realise you nearly broke my client
’
s finger?
’

Brookes turned to the magistrate.
‘
Yes, your worship.
’

‘
So in fact it was you that assaulted my client.
’

‘
Yes, your worship.
’

Brough-Hughes gave him a strange look.
‘
So you admit assaulting my client?
’

‘
Yes of course. But in self-defence. He didn
’
t leave me a great deal of choice; had I not stopped him he would have hurt me.
’

‘
You had the choice of not going there in the first place, didn
’
t you?
’

‘
You mean I should not investigate the crimes where the suspect may become violent? I don
’
t think that
’
s a choice a police officer should make, your worship.
’

Brookes could see that Brough-Hughes was beginning to lose it. He had expected a face to face confrontation, one which he could control. But Brookes was not playing that game, addressing all his answers to the magistrate after a moment
’
s pause; just long enough to show his answers were not given in anger and to take the wind out of Brough-Hughes
’
sails. And the magistrate would not support his bullying tactics.

In a last effort to make his point, the QC said,
‘
I put it to you that you went to that club with the intention of causing a fracas with my client. And you did so. And it was you that assaulted Mr Silver and not the other way about.
’

To the magistrate, Brookes said,
‘
No, your worship.
’

Brough-Hughes asked no more questions of him. Fred Middlemiss took the stand next and confirmed all that Brookes had said. In cross-examination, he too did not engage in a war with the barrister and addressed each of his answers to the magistrate. Brookes
’
two detective constables followed. They too kept their cool under cross-examination and Brough-Hughes scored no points at all.

Curry stood and said,
‘
That concludes the case for the prosecution, your worship.
’

Brough-Hughes stood and said,
‘
I call Mr Sidney Perkin.
’

The bouncer from the previous evening arrived in the witness box, took the oath, and stated his name and occupation, which he described as an usher.

Brough-Hughes said,
‘
Mr Perkins, where are you employed?
’

‘
At The Venus Club in Shoreditch.
’

‘
Were you there last night?
’

‘
Yes.
’

‘
There was an altercation; tell the court exactly what happened.
’

‘
These two cops came in. They were stood at the bar. Then they decided to sit down at a table. The tables are reserved for paying customers. I went over to remind them of this. Next thing I know there
’
s two more Old Bill pulling me away and one of those at the table bending Mr Silver
’
s finger back. Then they handcuffed him and took him away. For nothing; he didn
’
t do nothing.
’

‘
Did you see Mr Silver poke the detective in the chest?
’

‘
Na, that
’
s a load of crap. He just pointed his finger at him to make a point. The cops were out of order.
’

Brough-Hughes turned to Curry.
‘
Your witness.
’

Curry stood and showed his inexperience, looking a little lost.

Seeing his predicament, Blaketon said to the witness,
‘
Four police officers have given evidence that you aggressively grabbed Superintendent Brookes by the shoulder and wouldn
’
t release him.
’

‘
No, I might have rested my hand there but that
’
s all.
’

‘
So you admit touching him?
’

‘
As I say, I might have just rested my hand on his shoulder but that
’
s all.
’

Blaketon nodded.
‘
What exactly are your duties at the club?
’

‘
Just to see people to their seats and make sure they don
’
t touch the girls.
’

‘
What about drunks, you must get some of those; what do you do when there is a drunk?
’

‘
Just show him the door, sir. That
’
s all I do, no violence, nothing like that.
’

‘
And all these drunks go quietly, do they?
’

‘
Most of them, yes.
’

‘
What about those that don
’
t?
’

‘
Then we have to put them out, sir, but gently like.
’

‘
So you are a bouncer then. OK, you can sit down.
’
He looked at Brough-Hughes.
‘
Your next witness?
’

‘
I call Doctor Richard Homes, your worship.
’

Blaketon frowned and signalled to the bailiff to wait a moment. To the barrister, he said,

‘
Exactly what evidence will he bring?
’

‘
Evidence of the injury to my client.
’

Blaketon frowned.
‘
But we already know the extent of that injury. I
’
m sure it
’
s very sore, as it was nearly broken. Will he tell us any more than that?
’

Brough-Hughes coughed into his hand.
‘
He will confirm the extent of the injury, yes, your worship.
’

‘
But will he add anything more?
’

The barrister shook his head finally.
‘
No, your worship.
’

‘
Do you have any more witnesses?
’

‘
No, your worship, the defendant is too distraught to give evidence. That is the case for the defence.
’

Blaketon nodded.
‘
I don
’
t think there
’
s any call for closing statements. My mind is clear on what happened. Your client tried to bully Superintendent Brookes and wasn
’
t successful. Perhaps he will know better next time. I find him guilty as charged.
’
Then to Curry he said,
‘
What do we know about Mr Silver?
’

Curry passed a copy of Silver
’
s previous convictions to the usher, who passed it to the magistrate. He also passed one to Brough-Hughes.

Blaketon read the list of offences and punishments. Finally, he looked up.
‘
Stand up, Mr Silver.
’
When he had, Blaketon continued,
‘
It seems you have been a violent man for most of your adult life and you haven
’
t learned the error of your ways. So you need another lesson. You will go to prison for seven days. Perhaps that will make you think before attacking your fellow man.
’
To the bailiff he said,
‘
Take him away.
’