Monday 11 October 1971
Aubrey Smith-Gurney passed the clerk’s room with no more than a quick wave to Merlin, and made his way hurriedly to his room. It was not yet 9 o’clock. He took off his coat and hung it up on the stand by his door. He sat down behind his desk and took his copy of The Times from his briefcase. The headlines in all the morning newspapers dealt with the same sensational story, and they had grabbed his attention like a slap in the face when he emerged from Temple underground station and approached the nearby news stand. He had almost torn The Times from the vendor’s hand, flinging the coins into the man’s palm, before virtually running to chambers and racing up the staircase. His heart was pounding. He forced himself to breathe more slowly and tried to make his mind focus on the article on the paper’s front page.
TOP JUDGE MISSING AS WOMAN’S BODY IS FOUND IN HIS FLAT
Police make gruesome discovery in the Barbican
One of the country’s leading judges is believed to have disappeared in mysterious circumstances, leaving the body of a woman in his expensive Barbican flat. High Court Judge Sir Conrad Rainer has not been seen since Friday night, and was not at his flat when police visited it on Saturday morning and discovered the body of a woman. The woman appeared to have been dead for several days. A police spokeswoman told The Times that the body has not yet been formally identified, but is believed to be that of Greta Thiemann, 35, a citizen of the German Democratic Republic who had lived in London for more than seven years, and was a West End socialite with no known employment. The cause of her death has not yet been established, but the spokeswoman said that the case is being treated as one of murder.
Sir Conrad was last seen by court staff leaving the Old Bailey after 11 o’clock on Friday night, after a jury had returned a verdict in the murder case he had tried during the week. Staff said that the judge appeared to be behaving normally when he left the court, apparently to return to his flat in the Barbican. Sir Conrad, who is 55, was a highly respected QC with an extensive commercial practice before being appointed a High Court judge in May of this year. He was knighted on his appointment to the bench.
Police believe that the judge may be able to help them with their inquiries, and are anxious to talk to him, but despite extensive investigation over the weekend, their efforts to find him have so far been unsuccessful. The judge’s wife, Lady Rainer, told police that she had expected him to return to their home in Guildford on Friday night, but that he never arrived. Lady Rainer has not heard from her husband, and has not seen him for more than a week. According to the police spokeswoman, Lady Rainer confirmed that Sir Conrad had a supply of clothing and personal effects at his Barbican flat, and that he had his passport and driving licence in his possession.
At a hastily-convened press conference on Sunday morning, the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Inspector John Webb, appealed to the judge to report to the nearest police station. ‘We are concerned for Sir Conrad’s safety,’ Inspector Webb told reporters, ‘as is his wife. Lady Rainer is particularly distressed and anxious for any news of her husband. We are asking Sir Conrad to contact us immediately, and we are asking any members of the public who may have any knowledge of his whereabouts to contact their nearest police station without delay. In particular, we believe that Sir Conrad had a few close friends in the legal fraternity in London, and we would be very pleased to hear from them.’
Answering a question from the Times correspondent, Inspector Webb said that the police visit to the judge’s Barbican flat on Saturday morning was in connection with other matters, and that there is presently no evidence that those matters have any connection with the murder of Greta Thiemann. ‘The discovery of her body was a complete surprise,’ Inspector Webb said. ‘We don’t know of any link to the other matters we are investigating, but obviously, that may change as the investigation continues.’
Aubrey threw the newspaper down on his desk and stared at the far wall. He could not even begin to sort out the flood of different emotions flowing through him, but they certainly included fear, anger, and a sense of betrayal. He knew too much. He had allowed Conrad to tell him too much, believing that he had appealed for his help. He knew, even if the police didn’t, who Greta Thiemann was, and what part she had played in Conrad Rainer’s life. He also knew – or thought he knew – all about the ‘other matters’ into which the police were inquiring, and he knew that it would not take them long to identify him as one of the close friends Conrad had in the ‘legal fraternity’ in London.
He didn’t know how or why Greta Thiemann had died, and he didn’t know where Conrad Rainer had gone: although that was only a partial truth. The way out that Conrad had chosen was, as they had agreed, something he couldn’t know. But he had every reason to believe that Conrad’s route would have included the Isle of Wight. If he was honest with himself, he had helped to set it up; and now it had linked him to a murder.
How long he sat there without moving, he could not have said. But he was suddenly aware of Merlin standing in front of his desk. He had not heard him knock, or seen him enter the room.
‘I’m sorry to disturb you, sir,’ the senior clerk said, ‘but we’ve had a call from the police, a DI Webb. He would like to speak to you, and wonders if 2 o’clock would be convenient.’
Aubrey did not respond immediately.
‘Mr Smith-Gurney?’
‘Yes. Yes. I suppose 2 o’clock would be as good as any other time.’
‘I’ll let him know, sir.’ Merlin paused. ‘Isn’t DI Webb the officer in charge of that case that’s in all the papers this morning, the one about the murder – ?’
‘Yes, he is,’ Aubrey replied abruptly. ‘Is Mr Morgan-Davies in chambers?’
Merlin looked at Aubrey carefully for some seconds.
‘I believe so, sir. He’s reading some papers for a case next week. Shall I tell him you would like to see him?’
‘No, that’s all right, Merlin,’ Aubrey replied. ‘I’ll tell him myself.
‘Very good, sir.’
Merlin turned and left the room.
Aubrey sat for a few seconds more before making his way to see his head of chambers.