The hours of waiting dragged on, seemingly interminably. In the bar mess, Ben and Jess made endless cups of coffee and talked about anything but the case. Barratt spent two hours in the cells with Henry Lang, but by then his nerves were getting the better of him. Henry was subdued and uncommunicative, and in any case there was nothing more to say; nothing left but small talk. Barratt had no appetite for that, and rather than risk conveying his anxiety to his client, he eventually came back upstairs. He used a public phone box to call his wife, Suzie, and tell her he would be late home. The rest of the time he sat in the dim evening light of the hall outside court, pretending to be interested in The Times.
It was 11 o’clock at night before Geoffrey, somehow managing to look pristine in his gown, dark suit and white shirt despite the lateness of the hour, made the rounds and told everyone that the jury was ready to return a verdict.
Ben glanced round as Henry was brought into the dock by the prison officers, and offered a smile, but Henry was looking down, as ever, and did not respond. When Mr Justice Rainer had taken his seat, the jury were brought in. They looked exhausted, the men with ties hanging loosely around their necks, their faces suggesting that the verdict had not been agreed without a hard-fought, if not angry, debate. Juror number ten, a woman, looked displeased. The clerk, without undue haste, picked up the indictment and turned to the judge.
‘My Lord, 11 hours and 20 minutes have elapsed since the jury retired.’
The judge nodded. The clerk turned towards the dock.
‘Will the defendant please stand?’
Henry complied slowly.
The foreman turned to the jury.
‘Members of the jury, who shall speak as your foreman?’
The foreman sat nearest to the bench in the front row. He was a short rotund man, his shirt crumpled and his hair out of place. He stood. He was holding a folded sheet of paper in his hand.
‘Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?’
‘Yes,’ the foreman replied, with a nervous look around him.
‘On this indictment, charging the defendant Henry Lang with the wilful murder of Susan Lang, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of murder?’
The foreman raised his sheet of paper to eye level, unfolded it, and having glanced around him again, read aloud from it.
‘We find the defendant Henry Lang not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter by reason of provocation,’ he said.
‘Well done,’ Ben heard Andrew whisper. He nodded in return.
‘You find the defendant not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter by reason of provocation; and is that the verdict of you all?’
‘Yes.’
‘Thank you, members of the jury,’ Mr Justice Rainer said. ‘It’s obvious from the length of time for which you have been out that you have given this case the greatest possible care, and I wish to say that I agree entirely with the verdict you have returned.’
He looked down at Ben.
‘Mr Schroeder, it appears to me that the usual sentence in a case of this kind is of the order of four years imprisonment. In this particular case, with its unusual circumstances, it is my view that a sentence of two and a half years would amply meet the justice of the case. Would you wish to address me?’
Ben gasped. This would be an extraordinarily light sentence for taking a life under any circumstances.
‘No, my Lord,’ he replied quietly.
‘Very well.’
The judge looked towards the dock, where Henry remained standing, expressionless, still looking down.
‘Mr Lang, the jury have found by their verdict that you killed your wife, Susan Lang, when you had temporarily lost your self-control because of a remark she made questioning the paternity of your children. I cannot and do not condone what you did, but I do understand it. I am also convinced, even though I have no means of knowing what view the jury took, that Daniel Cleary played a crucial role in your decision to carry a knife with you on that fateful day. Again, I cannot and do not condone what you did, but I understand it.
‘You are a man of previous excellent character, and I do not think for a moment that you will ever trouble the courts again. In the circumstances, I think it right to impose a sentence which some may think to be lenient, but I do so because it seems to me to meet the justice of this tragic case. You will go to prison for two and a half years. The time you have spent in custody awaiting trial will be deducted from the sentence, and you will be eligible for release when you have served two thirds of the sentence. You may go down.’
Andrew turned to DI Webb who was sitting behind him, and they both shook their heads.
As the prison officers led Henry from the court, the judge turned back towards the jury.
‘Members of the jury, I’m sure that this must have been a very distressing case for you. But you should understand that unless men and women such as yourselves give us your time for this vital work, the criminal courts could not function. In recognition of your service, I will discharge you from further jury service for a period of ten years.’
He suddenly looked down to counsel’s row.
‘I have the power to do that, don’t I, Mr Pilkington?’
Andrew could not help smiling.
‘Yes, my Lord.’
‘I see Detective Inspector Webb in court. Inspector Webb, would you stand, please? The jury and I heard the evidence of the conduct of the police officers who attended the scene under your command, and it is my opinion that you all showed bravery of a high order. I shall be writing to the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police with my recommendation that each of you should be highly commended for your courage. You also have the thanks of the court.’
Webb bowed his head. ‘Thank you, my Lord.’
As the judge rose and the courtroom began to clear, Barratt leaned forward and slapped Ben on the shoulder.
‘Brilliant result,’ he said. ‘Absolutely bloody brilliant.’
Ben smiled and took Jess’s hand. She squeezed hard.
‘I suppose we should go down to see Henry,’ Barratt said, ‘late though it is. What are you two going to do when you get home? Do you have plans for the weekend?’
‘Sleep until Monday morning,’ Jess replied, smiling. ‘How about you?’
‘Oh, Suzie and I will have our usual late-night verdict session.’
‘I’m not sure I dare ask,’ Ben laughed.
‘Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, with a bottle of Beaujolais,’ Barratt replied. ‘A long-standing tradition.’
Outside court, DI Webb shook hands with Andrew, who took his leave. DS Phil Raymond was waiting for Webb, wearing a suit and tie, and looking none too pleased about it.
‘You do know it’s almost midnight on a Friday night, sir, don’t you?’ he asked. ‘Not to mention that I’ve been here since 2 o’clock?’
‘Yes, I know, Phil,’ Webb replied. ‘I’m sorry about that. It wasn’t my idea, believe me. Mr Assistant bloody Commissioner Lawton said he wanted Rainer interviewed as soon as possible, so I thought I’d better have you here. No one thought the jury would be out as long as they were. I mean, it was Friday afternoon and they all have homes to go to, don’t they? I was expecting to have Rainer all to ourselves by 5 o’clock at the latest.’
Raymond nodded.
‘So, what do you want to do, sir? Go into his chambers and nab him now, before he goes home?’
‘No,’ Webb replied. ‘He looks absolutely exhausted. If we interview him now, whatever he says won’t be much use in court. The defence would have a field day slagging us off for interviewing a man who looks like he’s about to drop dead from fatigue. To be honest, I’m not much better myself. My brain’s about to shut down for the day.’
‘Mr Assistant Commissioner Lawton’s not going to like it, sir.’
‘Mr Assistant Commissioner Lawton isn’t here, is he? He’s probably fast asleep in bed, sleeping the sleep of the righteous. And he’s not going to be the one having his head kicked in by defence counsel if Rainer is charged and it comes to trial, is he?’
He pondered for a few moments.
‘All right, this is what we do. Meet me at Rainer’s building at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll contact the management there and tell them about the warrant, so we can make sure of getting access. Bring uniform with you to help with the search. We’ll have it all wrapped up in time for lunch.’