Ben stood slowly.
‘Detective Inspector, first, may I make it clear that like everyone else in this courtroom, I’m sure, Mr Lang and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which you and your fellow officers dealt with the situation at Harpur Mews on the afternoon of 28 April. It was extraordinarily courageous.’
Webb bowed his head.
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘You had no way of knowing what might happen, did you?’
‘No, sir.’
‘But in fact, Henry Lang was entirely passive, wasn’t he – saying nothing, doing nothing, offering no resistance when you disarmed him?’
‘That’s correct, sir.’
‘In the course of your long experience as a police officer, had you ever, before this, known someone in his position – apparently caught red-handed having committed a serious offence – not to react at all when confronted or arrested?’
‘No, sir. It was a first for me.’
‘Are you now aware from the medical evidence that he was in a state of clinical shock when you found him?’
‘So I am given to understand.’
‘Shock which required medical treatment and a short stay in hospital?’
‘Yes.’
‘Henry Lang is a man of previous good character, isn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
‘So that the jury will understand, when we say that someone is of previous good character, we mean that he has never been convicted of any criminal offence?’
‘That is correct, sir.’
‘And as a result of your inquiries, you were able to establish that Mr Lang is the owner of a very successful garage business in Islington, specialising in the repair and maintenance of high-end cars, including foreign imports?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Do you know, or do you know of, the man Daniel Cleary, otherwise known as “Danny Ice”?’
‘I know of him, sir, yes.’
‘Is there police intelligence about Daniel Cleary?’
Andrew began to push himself to his feet.
‘My Lord –’
‘I’m not authorised to make public details of police intelligence,’ Webb replied. ‘It would be for more senior officers to decide whether that would be appropriate.’
‘The police are entitled to keep intelligence confidential,’ Andrew added.
‘All right,’ Ben said. ‘Let me try it this way. Is Daniel Cleary reputed on the street to be high up in the chain of command of an organised crime ring, people who supply hard drugs – heroin and cocaine – who lend money to people who wish to buy drugs at extortionate rates of interest, and who have violent methods of making sure the debts are repaid?’
Andrew hovered for a second or two before resuming his seat. Webb looked at him, offering him a chance to object, before he replied. Andrew remained in his seat and shook his head.
‘Yes, sir, I am aware of that reputation. I’m not sure quite how high-ranking he is; I don’t think we are talking about the very top, but he is certainly reputed to be an influential player.’
‘Thank you. Daniel Cleary also has a number of previous convictions, doesn’t he?’
This time, Andrew did spring to his feet.
‘My Lord, that is not a proper question. Daniel Cleary is not here to defend himself, and whether or not he has previous convictions has no relevance to this case.’
‘On the contrary, my Lord,’ Ben replied. ‘It is of considerable relevance. Mr Lang will say that Daniel Cleary had threatened him –’
‘I would prefer that my learned friend not give evidence –’
‘I’m not giving evidence. I’m simply trying to show the court why this line of inquiry is relevant. I offered to do so in the absence of the jury, but your Lordship appeared to think that it was unnecessary…’
Ben stopped abruptly. Mr Justice Rainer did not seem to be listening. He was staring vacantly up at the ceiling. Ben noticed that the jury were also glancing in the judge’s direction.
‘My Lord, again, if your Lordship would like me to explain in detail…’
The judge stood.
‘I do apologise,’ he said. ‘I’m not feeling very well today. We will take a break, members of the jury.’
He rose without another word, left the bench, and made his way to his chambers.
Andrew looked at Ben.
‘Detective Inspector, don’t discuss your evidence with anyone during the break,’ he said, loudly enough for the jury to hear as they were leaving court.
‘No, sir.’
Andrew made his way over to Ben’s side of counsel’s row.
‘The judge seems to be a bit off his game today, Ben, doesn’t he?’
‘That’s putting it mildly.’ Ben replied. ‘Why didn’t he just send the jury out for a few minutes, instead of going on and on about Cleary? I tried to tell him.’
‘He’s been acting strangely ever since we started,’ Jess added. ‘I’ve been watching him. There’s something the matter with him. It’s almost as if he’s somewhere else, not here with us at all.’
‘He’s been a spectator so far,’ Barratt added.
‘Well, we’ll have to pay attention to the summing-up,’ Andrew said. ‘God knows what he might come out with. It’s bad enough that it’s his first criminal trial, without having him not paying attention.’
‘It’s not his fault that he’s not feeling well, Andrew,’ Jess protested, ‘and at least he’s told us about it.’
‘Perhaps so, but I don’t think any of us wants to do this case all over again,’ Andrew replied. ‘If there’s a chance he can’t continue, it would be better if he told us now.’
Barratt shook his head.
‘He doesn’t look ill to me. He just can’t concentrate for some reason. Perhaps he ate something that didn’t agree with him, or perhaps he had a late night at some bigwig’s party in the City. It’s an occupational hazard for Old Bailey judges, isn’t it?’
‘If so, he will have recovered by the time he has to sum up,’ Ben said.
‘Well, let’s hope you’re right,’ Andrew said. He dropped a document on top of Ben’s notebook.
‘What’s this?’
‘Daniel Cleary’s antecedents. You might as well have them. I don’t think I’m going to talk Rainer into keeping them from the jury. The last three convictions are probably the ones you want.’
Ben picked up the antecedents and flipped through them quickly. He smiled.
‘Yes. I see what you mean. Thank you.’
‘Do you mind if I talk to Webb, just to tell him I’ve given them to you?’
‘No, of course not.’
Geoffrey was approaching.
‘Sorry to disturb you, Mr Pilkington, Mr Schroeder, but the judge said to let you know that he will not resume until after lunch. He’s released the jury until 2 o’clock, and you’re also released.’
Andrew exhaled loudly.
‘Thank you, Geoffrey. Please tell the judge we hope he feels better by then.’
‘I will, sir,’ Geoffrey replied.