Barrington Have you had a chance to speak to our client this morning?
Jarvis He was consuming gallons of black coffee, wondering if you had come to a decision about putting him in the witness box.
Barrington I haven’t been left with a lot of choice after Mitchell’s revelation yesterday. It was a bad mistake on my part, Andrew. What did you learn from it?
Jarvis Not to ask one question too many.
Barrington A barrister’s worst nightmare. If I had stopped the moment she admitted to having affairs with three other doctors, the jury would not have been quite so sure about the rest of her evidence. Why in heaven’s name didn’t Sherwood tell us about the abortion in the first place?
Jarvis Perhaps he didn’t know himself and I have a feeling that Kersley was as surprised as we were.
Barrington Don’t you believe it. Kersley rehearsed her down to the last syllable.
Jarvis All the same, I thought he was impressive yesterday …
Barrington (He looks across at Kersley who is talking to Ashton) Yes he was, damn the man - but that was yesterday. We still have one piece of evidence that Kersley doesn’t know about. If he did, Mitchell would have revealed it, and that would have ended any chance of us winning this case.
Three knocks to announce the arrival of the Judge.
Usher Be upstanding in the court. All persons having anything to do before my Lords, the Queen’s Justices, draw near and give your attendance. God save the Queen.
The Judge enters and takes his place. All bow to the Judge who returns the bow.
Usher Bring up the prisoner.
Judge Sir James, are you ready to open the Defence case?
Barrington Yes, My Lord, I am. May it please your Lordship, Members of the Jury, I rose this morning with a heavy heart, only too aware of the responsibility that rests upon my shoulders. For it has been left for me to convince the Jury that Mr Sherwood, far from being consumed with murderous intent as Ms Mitchell would have us all believe, is in fact a simple decent man who has devoted his life to the service of others.
But Members of the Jury, for you to be convinced that this man is capable of murder, you have to ask yourself what was the motive, because all crimes must, in the end, have a motive. And, perhaps even more important, where is the evidence to convict Mr Sherwood? Because the evidence in this case has been at best circumstantial, and at worst, prejudicial.
Members of the Jury, English law does not demand that a defendant should appear in the witness box and it is right that it does not do so, but so determined is Mr Sherwood to clear his good name, that he is willing to face cross-examination and be judged by his peers.
My Lord, I call Mr Patrick Sherwood.
Usher Mr Sherwood
Kersley smiles as Sherwood leaves the dock, walks across the courtroom and enters the witness box.
Usher Please take the testament in your right hand and read from the card.
Sherwood I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Barrington Your name is Patrick Hugh Sherwood and you reside at twenty-two Cadogan Villas in the county of London?
Sherwood Yes, I do.
Barrington You are presently a senior consultant, head of the Cardio Thoracic Unit at St George’s, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons?
Sherwood That is correct.
Barrington Your life-long hobby has been sailing and until the age of forty-five you were a surgeon captain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve?
Sherwood Yes, and I still keep a small boat at Burnham, which my wife … my late wife and I used to sail at weekends.
Barrington In 1982 you were called up as a reservist to serve in the Falklands, where you performed over a hundred operations in twenty-nine days.
Sherwood I have no idea how many operations I performed.