Beyond Innocence (29 page)

“Can you recall the birth after all these years?” She asked.

“Well, Miss Yarwood I could hardly forget it. You see I’d only been at the hospital a short time when this young lady came in to give birth. The birth of the baby was fine but it was after the birth that things went wrong for her, because, that’s when I had to tell her that she was going to have another child!”

“What shouted Irene in utter disbelief, “Twins?”

“Well not exactly. They are still twins but, instances of this are what we call staggered births, and they are very rare indeed. However, they can, and do, happen. It means that at the time Miss Bibby conceived her first child she continued to ovulate, and she became pregnant again. I was most concerned for her wellbeing at the time, but Miss Bibby insisted upon discharging herself and having the first child adopted. She was so upset at the thought of having two children, and her fiancée totally rejecting her, all she could think of was to give the first child up for adoption, and see if the boyfriend would do the decent thing, and marry her. Later, she wrote to me to tell me that she was getting married, and from that I assumed everything was all right. Naturally, at the time, she begged me not to say a word about this to a living soul, and because of the state she was in at the time, I agreed to it. Had word got out at the time, the pair of us would have been celebrities, and it might have given my career a boost, but what does it matter, my conscience is clear knowing I did the right thing at the time. The only condition I placed upon her was that I insisted, when she went in to the hospital for the second child she let me know where she was, and which doctor she was under. In the end, I persuaded her to come back here again for the birth of her second child and that’s what she did. You can tell how rare this condition is because, if my memory serves me correctly, I think there had only been some twenty recorded cases. In the case of Miss Bibby, the contractions had stopped naturally, so it was safe from a medical point of view, to leave the second baby in the womb for as long as it was considered safe to do so. In her case, I advised her that as long as she was under medical supervision she would be safe. Then, when I decided it was time for the child to be born it was delivered by Caesarean section. So, tell me now, how does this tie in with your defence of her son?”

“Harry Thompson as he is now known, was arrested and convicted on two counts of murder.

There was a loud intake of breath as he muttered, “Jesus.”

She wasn’t distracted and continued, “My client has always maintained he was completely innocent of both charges and we now know, the police conspired to have false, and perjured evidence, produced against him at the murder trial. At present his appeal is going to the House of Lords, and we’re hopeful this time it will be upheld. With this information, together with some expert forensic help, I think we may be able to secure his freedom. There’s one other thing I think you should know, that is Mrs. Harris as she is now known has suffered a massive stroke which has left her almost completely paralysed, and she is kept alive only by a life support system. In view of what you told me earlier about your pact with this lady, I can assure you I shall only use this information with her permission. All I can say now is thank you for your help. No doubt if you read the press you’ll see how it all unfolds in the future.”

Irene put down the phone to find she was almost shaking with disbelief and, utter relief. Tears of joy began to fill up her eyes as she realised for the first time, in a very long time, that, Harry Thompson her first client in a murder trial, just might have been telling the truth, and he wasn’t guilty after all. Before going home utterly exhausted, she contacted Michael Mulrooney.

“Michael Oh Michael,” she said, “you’re not going to believe this when I tell you. It really is the most wonderful, yet bizarre, piece of news. The odds are that Harry Thompson is innocent and I think we may be able to prove it. Harry and Anthony, are more than brothers, they’re twins! Although they’re twins, they’re not twins as you, and I know it. In fact, they are known as staggered twins since they weren’t born at the same time. They were born within four weeks of each other, and I’ve just spoken to the doctor who delivered both of them. He’s just told me, although it’s very rare, it does happen occasionally. So what I need now are DNA samples from Timothy and Paula Harris to confirm they are the parents of the two boys, plus a sample from Anthony Harris deceased for comparison with the Clarkson girl. Hopefully then, we can clear this thing up once and for all. I know we’re still going to try to get the new evidence ruled inadmissible, but if we can show later, from these samples, it’s possible that the real perpetrator of the crimes was Anthony Harris, then, I think the case against Thompson vis-a-vis the Wilson case will simply fall apart. Michael, can you imagine the reaction from Timothy Harris when this news becomes public, and the field day with the press if it transpires that Harry is his son.”

“Irene, he said, “that really is the most sensational news I have ever heard. Please tell me how on earth did you come by this information? I mean it’s absolutely mind blowing and in all the years I have been practising law, I have never heard of such a thing. How you got hold of this is beyond my comprehension. I tell you Irene I still can’t take this in.”

Irene paused for breath before replying, “I went to see the Matron at the adoption society and I just happened to be reading a magazine about Cheshire life, when I came across the funeral announcement for Anthony Harris. At the time, I didn’t think anything about it as I was assuming quite incorrectly that these two were brothers born thirteen months apart. But, on my way back, it suddenly occurred to me there were only four weeks separating the pair. So, I got hold of the doctor who is still at the hospital, and he gave me all the information. It really is the most wonderful news, isn’t it Michael?”

“That goes without saying he replied, but right now I can think of a few people who won’t be at all pleased. Anyway that’s life, and I’ll get on with your requests. As soon as I have got everything I’ll let you know. One last thing before I go, I think we’d better start to collect as much information as we can on Anthony Harris.”

“That’s my boy, she responded, “you get on with it, and I’ll be in touch. Take care of yourself, enjoy what’s left of the day. Bye for now.” She replaced the receiver still deep in thought about the wonderful news.

Sir Campbell McKenzie viewed the crowds outside the court buildings with dismay, and a good deal of disdain. ‘Bloody sharks,’ he muttered to himself as he wove his way through the throngs of people milling in front of the building. Nothing but bloody sharks come to feed on the humiliation of one of their own kind. ‘They won’t get too much joy here today,’ he grumbled to himself, ‘leastways, not in my court.’ He knew what it was all about. In fact, the probability was the whole country knew, that today Timothy Harris was due to appear before him to face a charge of perjury. What the public at large did not know was, this wasn’t going to be an ongoing circus for the next two or three weeks, with Timothy Harris battling to save his career, or even himself. This was something which would be over within the hour at most for Timothy Harris intended to plead guilty to the charge. With the discovery of the prosecution file marked
Not To Be Shown To The Defence,
there wasn’t any point in him pleading any other way as his statements contained within that file proved, without any shadow of doubt, he had lied about everything in his libel action against the London Independent Newspaper Group. He finished his pot of tea then nodded to the usher that he was ready, whereupon, he followed that person to the door then as the usher issued his familiar cry, he strode with a great sense of purpose into the overcrowded court.

Straight away, all of those present could see he meant business today. Picking up his gavel, he brought it crashing down with a tremendous thud, to indicate to one and all his court was now in session. The chief clerk to the court rose from his seat and commenced proceedings by addressing Timothy Harris with the preamble, “In the case of Regina versus Timothy Harris, you are charged that at an earlier Libel case hearing in this court, before his worship Sir Campbell McKenzie, you gave false evidence at that hearing in order to secure a favourable verdict for yourself, and as a consequence you committed the crime of Perjury. How do you plead in answer to that charge – guilty, or, not guilty?”

Although there was complete silence in the court, his reply was almost inaudible as he answered with one word “Guilty.”

From his lofty position on the bench, Sir Campbell glared down at the hapless figure before him. When he began to speak to Timothy, he spoke with a voice of great authority yet he betrayed no sign of emotion.

“Have you anything to say before I pass judgement upon you?”

At this point, the counsel Jerome got to his feet, and indicated he would be speaking on behalf of his client. “Your Honour,” he said, “My client has said all that he can say in his defence, and in mitigation at the last hearing before yourself. He can only reiterate that he is both deeply sorry, and ashamed, to find himself in this position which is I must say one of his own doing entirely. At the start of the murder enquiry, my client insists he did only what any other person would have done if they found themselves at risk of being linked to the case, even though he was totally innocent. It was only because he was a member of the present government that he wished to save himself, and his party, from any embarrassment should it become known he had conducted an extra marital affair whilst attending to constituency matters. Now, with hindsight, he totally regrets taking the action he did at the time, because he is fully aware of the lives he has blighted, and if it were possible to turn back the clock, he would do so without any hesitation whatsoever. Therefore, all my client can do now is throw himself on the mercy of this court and ask your worship to be mindful of any effect a lengthy custodial sentence might have upon him.”

The glare on the face of the judge was still there for all to see, and to those who knew him, it was quite obvious he was far from pleased. “Mr. Jerome,” he said, “Let me thank you for that eloquent speech on behalf of your client. Now, let me put matters in perspective. First of all, I think the only remorse felt by the defendant is due to the fact he has finally been found out. If he felt truly ashamed about his conduct, and his association with a common prostitute, he should have come clean and said so at the time, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to lie to parliament. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he chose to come here, and to commit perjury in order to prevent the truth from coming out. I think it is fair for me to say that, had he not lied to the house, it follows that he would not be here today facing such a serious charge. In fact, had he chosen that course of action, he would have found that, although his political career might have suffered along with his reputation, he would still have his freedom.”

“I cannot find any extenuating circumstances in his plea for mercy, put forward with such eloquence by his learned counsel, and I am going to pronounce sentence accordingly.”

Timothy Harris had remained standing throughout the short proceedings. Now, the judge addressed him directly.

“Timothy Harris, I take exception to any person who commits the act of perjury. I find it even more disagreeable when a person commits such an act in my court. Although I am mindful of the fact that you have chosen to come here today and plead guilty, I cannot allow that to sway my judgement in this case. In view of this, I feel I have been left with no alternative, but to sentence you to serve six years in prison. During your period of incarceration, I trust you will find ample time to meditate upon the actions which have brought you here before me, and prior to your release, you will have spent as much time as possible preparing to rehabilitate yourself to fulfil a useful role within society.”

With a nod to the bailiffs who were present in the court, he cried, “Take him down.”

Barely able to stand, Timothy Harris was led away from the court supported by the bailiffs on duty.

Once again there was another mad scramble by the assembled members of the press to get their stories into print in the shortest time possible. It was going to be another story which would figure prominently in the papers for quite some time. Timothy Harris was in the news again but, for all the wrong reasons.

With the perjury trial completed, attention swung towards the Merseyside Police enquiry being carried out by the West Yorkshire Force. Despite numerous attempts, the three protagonists, aided and abetted, by their own police federation, successfully avoided all efforts to give any worthwhile statements to the body carrying out the enquiry. All three had been certified as being under too much stress and illness to attend the proceedings and, one by one, they were allowed to leave the force on the grounds of sickness which ensured a more than generous payoff together with their police pensions intact.

In their report, the investigators singled out the Chief Constable for some stinging criticism, not for being a party to the contaminated evidence presented at the trial, but for not coming forward to reveal that Timothy Harris, his brother-in-law, had lied during the libel trial. The report concluded that, by not exposing Timothy Harris at the earliest opportunity when he was in a position to do so, some of the more serious matters could well have been avoided.

Detective Sergeant West bore the brunt of the blame. The authors of the report found, in their opinion, he was the person who ensured Royston Chambers produced the false confession when it was needed most, just before the beginning of the trial. In addition, they found he had coerced Bridget Riley into giving evidence, which he knew to be completely false. Close examination of the station arrest book, followed by internal enquiries, revealed many occasions where suspects had been arrested, and subsequently released without charge yet no details of the alleged offences were found in the arrest book. Almost all the complaints investigated related to Detective Sergeant West being instrumental in having known prostitutes arrested on charges with false evidence planted upon them. These victims were almost always released without charge, usually at the behest of Detective Sergeant West, although it was noted that all of the prostitutes interviewed claimed there was usually some form of payment in kind at a later date.

As a result, Detective Sergeant West was arrested, and charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Although the charges were laid against him, they remained on the book due to the serious deterioration of his health.

Detective Inspector Peter Taylor was exonerated on all charges as there was nothing to indicate that he had played any part in the affairs concerning Timothy Harris, neither could he be traced to having any links with the arrest, and release of the prostitutes, or the confession supplied by Chambers. Within a week, the report had been consigned to the waste paper baskets, and life returned to normal within the force without the services of the corrupt officers.

Michael Mulrooney had been kept very busy indeed. Apart from his normal caseload, he had been to see the consultant at the hospital. The purpose of his visit had been to see if the consultant could communicate sufficiently with Mrs Harris for information about the birth of her sons to be disclosed in order that investigations might continue. She was also asked to approve an exhumation order to remove the body of Anthony Harris to allow DNA samples to be obtained in order to assist with the enquiry. Although able to hear, and understand the questions posed, this was no easy process. Everybody was well aware of the tremendous strain this imposed on Paula, and each session was conducted with as much sympathy and compassion, as was humanly possible. Despite this, all concerned found it a very trying experience and they were mightily relieved when it was finally over.

Michael had also been to see Harry Thompson in prison. At this visit, he had arranged for him to supply DNA samples for analysis. He had also been to see the lawyers acting on behalf of Timothy Harris, where he acquainted them of the fact that, if Timothy Harris was the paternal father of Anthony Harris deceased, then it was almost certain he was also the father of Harry Thompson. In support of this claim, he presented them with the evidence of the birth of the son Timothy Harris had never met. Initially Timothy Harris refused all requests to cooperate until it was pointed out to him, permission had been given by his wife for Anthony’s body to be exhumed and this could be carried out without his involvement. The news concerning his other son hit him the hardest of all. Without the evidence provided, he wouldn’t have believed it, and this caused him a great deal of pain and anguish. Alone in his cell at night, he found himself reduced to tears as he finally came to terms with his losses in terms of real life. At times almost suicidal, he blamed himself for the incarceration of his new found son. How he wished now, he’d never met Angela Clarkson, and become so besotted with her, and dozens more like her. With so much time on his hands, he had ample time to reflect upon the mess he had made, not only of his own life but of so many others. For Timothy Harris life was hardly worth living now.

With all the good luck messages still ringing in her ears, Irene Yarwood had arrived in London for the appeal to the House of Lords. As a result of the recent turn of events, the only issue in doubt concerned Article Six of The Human Rights Act, and whether, under that Act, the human rights of Harry Thompson had been abused. If their Lordships found that they had, then the Clarkson verdict should be overturned, following which, there was a strong possibility the Wilson verdict would then be deemed to be unsafe. She knew that a verdict in favour of her client was bound to provoke outrage in all the press, none more so than those papers which were bitterly opposed to Britain being in Europe, and the Common Market. She was quite prepared for all the criticism which would be directed at her, and her client. She permitted herself a wry smile at such happenings, especially in view of the fact none of them knew that once the new DNA results were to hand, they would alter the hard held views of them all once these findings were made public. This would happen soon enough once the application to exhume the body of Anthony Harris was heard. For a moment, she shuddered nervously at the thought, and the immense attention it was bound to attract from the media, and the press.

At the appointed hour, their Lordships took their places, then, with all eyes upon her, Irene began, “Your Lordships, the issues here before you are relatively simple. In these cases, I represent the defendant, Harry Marcus Thompson, who was found guilty of the murder of Miss Angela Clarkson, and Miss Diane Wilson. My client has always maintained he was innocent of these charges, and to a large extent, this conviction has been thrown into doubt with the publication of the West Yorkshire Force enquiry into malpractice at and within the Merseyside Police force. This enquiry has revealed the witness, Bridget Riley, committed perjury against my client when she gave her testimony at that trial. The enquiry has also revealed she only gave that perjured evidence under duress following the threat of arrest by a serving officer on the Merseyside Force.”

At the trial of my client, the Merseyside Force colluded with a Mr. Royston Chambers, a felon with many previous convictions, to produce before the court a confession, allegedly given to that person by my client. My client has always maintained he never made any confession, of any kind, and it was nothing more than a figment of the imagination of Royston Chambers. This gentleman has since appeared before an appeal court, and retracted every word of that confession. Enquiries by the West Yorkshire Force have now revealed this was indeed the case, and the prisoner was coerced into making the whole thing up by the same serving member of the Merseyside Police Force. Take away these two vital pieces of evidence from the prosecution case, and there is almost no case left for my client to answer.”

“Once the murder enquiry was announced, the Merseyside Police launched an appeal for local male persons to come forward voluntarily to provide DNA samples for analysis. This was in order to eliminate as many people from the murder enquiry, with the promise that all non-matching samples with those obtained from the deceased would be destroyed. We now know, from evidence before your lordships, this did not happen in the case of the sample provided by my client. Out of all the samples provided by the public at large, my client’s sample was the only one retained in the end. As you will see from the new evidence before you, samples were taken from the dead woman Clarkson, and these showed a positive match with the sample supplied to the police by her last client, Timothy Harris. This man admitted to having sex with this woman, but subsequently, the police were able to remove him from their list of suspects. Despite the fact that the sample taken from the dead woman did not match that supplied by my client, the police did not authorise the destruction of it, and had they done so, they would not have been in a position to compare it with a sample recently taken from the clothing of both women. At this stage, I need hardly remind you that all of the other samples, voluntary provided by the members of the public, had already been destroyed as promised by the police.”