Anderson parked his car behind chambers and walked into Spinningfields to buy a coffee. Rain had turned the dawn snowfall to slush, making the pavements treacherous. A quick browse through the local paper whilst waiting for his drink, just in case he got a mention, then on tiptoe back through the sludge to chambers.
‘Morning, John,’ came a choir of enthusiastic young voices – junior tenants and pupils, waiting around in reception for a late brief. Deep in thought, he hardly noticed them and headed straight to the clerks’ room, the heart of chambers. In its usual state of organised chaos, phones were ringing, bookings being taken and fees agreed.
Senior clerk, Gary Arnold, stood almost to attention on seeing the rising star. ‘Morning, Mr Anderson. Another new case just came in for you. A one-punch manslaughter.’
‘Prosecuting?’
‘Of course. God knows when you’ll read it. Conference Thursday evening in chambers.’
‘Don’t you worry about that. I’ll find the time,’ Anderson replied.
‘Good man.’ Nothing pleased a barrister’s clerk more than a workhorse. In that regard, Anderson had no equal. ‘How are you getting on with Mr Hussain, sir?’ Gary asked with a grin on his face.
‘Badly, as ever. I can’t stomach bent defence barristers. Gives us all a bad name.’
‘Well, don’t let him throw you off your game, sir. This is a very important year for you.’
Anderson nodded.
‘Of course you do know, sir, if you take silk this year,’ Gary whispered with a smile, ‘you would be younger than your father and grandfather were when they took it?’
‘That hadn’t escaped me, Gary,’ Anderson replied. The pressures of living up to the achievements of his family, alive and dead, had been with him since prep school.
‘You’ve got a con at court with the CPS. They just want to go over a few things before you put Tredwell in the box.’
‘Right, where’s my junior?’
‘He does have a name, sir,’ Gary replied in a gentle rebuke. ‘When all is said and done, he is a chambers colleague. We all know how much you expect when you are lead counsel, but try and go easy on him, especially in front of his pupil.’
‘Of course,’ Anderson replied, conscious that his single-minded approach to cases could sometimes appear insensitive.
Orlando West, Head of Chambers, appeared at the door of the clerks’ room. ‘Go easy on who? My protégé never goes easy on anyone! That’s why he is the best junior in chambers.’
Anderson appreciated the compliment from his mentor. His old pupil-master was one of Manchester’s top silks. Godfather to both of his children, Anderson worshipped the fifty-year-old QC. Another workaholic, chambers was West’s life. People said he’d never married because he didn’t want a family, that he hated kids, but many suspected he was gay, with a particular affection for John Anderson.
Anderson gave West a pat on the back as he left the clerks’ room and joined his junior, Sam Connor, in the conference room, where he was studying a document. Connor’s pupil, Tilly Henley-Smith, impeccably dressed in a black two-piece, was typing ferociously on a laptop. They both stopped what they were doing. ‘Morning, John,’ came the greeting, only from Tilly.
‘How did you get on with the schedule, Sam?’ Anderson asked.
‘It’s done.’ Connor handed his leader a bundle of papers; columns with figures.
Ever the perfectionist, Anderson said: ‘But you haven’t numbered the rows?’ He handed the pages back to Connor. ‘It could be a problem, referring the jury to a particular entry.’
Connor’s face turned red, a combination of anger and embarrassment.
Remembering Gary’s words earlier, Anderson was anxious not to humiliate Connor, but winning the case was everything. ‘I’m sorry, Sam, but you’ll have to add a column. It’s not a problem, just come across when it’s done.’
‘But what about the con with the CPS? How will it look if I’m not there?’
‘Tilly can keep a note until you arrive if you like.’ Anderson was already setting off for court with Tilly following obediently, hanging on his every word.
Sam Connor was fuming. He disliked Anderson. Rivals since pupillage, they were the same age, which had made Anderson’s success even harder to come to terms with. Anderson’s parentage and powerful pupil-master had given him a head start; Connor had never caught up. And now, as the second biggest player in chambers, Anderson was leading him in the Crown versus Waqar Ahmed.
Connor had no choice but to live with it.