A Prisoner of Birth

"But you didn't even know him."

"No, I didn't," admitted Alex. "But while he was in prison, where you never once in four years visited or wrote to him, he kept a daily diary, which has proved most revealing."

Pearson leaped up. "M'lord, I must protest. These diaries to which my learned friend refers were only placed in the jury bundle a week ago, and although my junior has struggled manfully to go through them line by line, they consist of over a thousand pages."

"My lord," said Alex, "my junior has read every word of those diaries, and for the convenience of the court he has highlighted any passages we might later wish to bring to the attention of the jury. There can be no doubt that they are admissible."

"They may well be admissible," said Mr. Justice Hackett, "but I do not consider them to be at all relevant. It is not Sir Hugo who is on trial, and his relationship with his nephew is not at the heart of this case, so I suggest you move on, Mr. Redmayne."

Sir Matthew tugged his son's gown. "May I have a word with my junior?" Alex asked the judge.

"If you must," replied Mr. Justice Hackett, still smarting from his last encounter with Sir Matthew. "But make it quick."

Alex sat down. "You've made your point, my boy," whispered Sir Matthew, "and in any case, the most significant line in the diaries ought to be saved for the next witness. Added to that, old man Hackett is wondering if he's gone too far and given us enough ammunition to apply for a retrial. He'll want to avoid allowing us that opportunity at all costs. This will be his last appearance in the High Court before he retires, and he wouldn't want a retrial to be the one thing he's remembered for. So when you resume, say that you accept his lordship's judgment without question, but that as you may need to refer to certain passages in the diary on some later occasion, you hope that your learned friend will find time to consider the few entries that your junior has marked for his convenience."

Alex rose from his place and said, "I accept your lordship's judgment without question, but as I may need to refer to certain passages in the diary at a later date, I can only hope that my learned friend will find enough time to read the few lines that have been marked up for his consideration." Sir Matthew smiled. The judge frowned, and Sir Hugo looked mystified.

Alex turned his attention back to the witness, who was now mopping his brow every few moments.

"Sir Hugo, can I confirm that it was your father's wish, as clearly stated in his will, that the estate in Dunbroath should be handed over to the National Trust for Scotland, with a sufficient sum of money to be put aside for its upkeep."

"That was my understanding," admitted Hugo.

"Then can you also confirm that Daniel Cartwright abided by those wishes, and that the estate is now in the hands of the National Trust for Scotland?"

"Yes, I am able to confirm that," replied Hugo, somewhat reluctantly.

"Have you recently found time to visit number twelve The Boltons and see what condition the property is in?"

"Yes, I have. I couldn't see a great deal of difference from how it was before."

"Sir Hugo, would you like me to call Mr. Cartwright's housekeeper in order that she can tell the court in graphic detail what state she found the house in when she was first employed?"

"That won't be necessary," said Hugo. "It may well have been somewhat neglected, but as I have already made clear, I spend most of my time in Scotland, and rarely visit London."

"That being the case, Sir Hugo, let us move on to your nephew's account at Coutts bank in the Strand. Are you able to tell the court how much money was in that account at the time of his tragic death?"

"How could I possibly know that?" Hugo replied sharply.

"Then allow me to enlighten you, Sir Hugo," said Alex, extracting a bank statement from a folder. "Just over seven thousand pounds."

"But surely what matters is how much there is in that account at the present time?" retorted Sir Hugo triumphantly.

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Alex, taking out a second bank statement. "At close of business yesterday, the account stood at a little over forty-two thousand pounds." Hugo kept glancing up at the public gallery as he mopped his brow. "Next, we should consider the stamp collection that your father, Sir Alexander, left to his grandson, Nicholas."

"Cartwright sold it behind my back."

"I would suggest, Sir Hugo, that he sold it right in front of your nose."

"I would never have agreed to part with something that the family has always regarded as a priceless heirloom."

"I wonder if you would like a little time to reconsider that statement," said Alex. "I am in possession of a legal document drawn up by your solicitor, Mr. Desmond Galbraith, agreeing to sell your father's stamp collection for fifty million dollars to a Mr. Gene Hunsacker of Austin, Texas."

"Even if that were true," said Hugo, "I never saw a penny of it, because it was Cartwright who ended up selling the collection to Hunsacker."

"He did indeed," said Alex, "for a sum of fifty-seven and a half million dollars-seven and a half million more than you managed to negotiate."

"Where is all this leading, Mr. Redmayne?" asked the judge. "However well your client has husbanded the Moncrieff legacy, it was still he who stole everything in the first place. Are you trying to suggest that it was always his intention to return the estate to its rightful owners?"

"No, my lord. However, I am attempting to demonstrate that perhaps Danny Cartwright is not quite the evil villain that the prosecution would have us believe. Indeed, thanks to his stewardship, Sir Hugo will be far better off than he could have expected to be."

Sir Matthew offered up a silent prayer.

"That's not true!" said Sir Hugo. "I'll be worse off."

Sir Matthew's eyes opened and he sat bolt upright. "There is a God in Heaven after all," he whispered. "Well done, my boy."

"I am now completely at a loss," said Mr. Justice Hackett. "If there is over seven and a half million dollars more in the bank account than you had anticipated, Sir Hugo, how can you possibly be worse off?"

"Because I recently signed a legal contract with a third party who was unwilling to reveal the details of what had happened to my nephew unless I agreed to part with twenty-five percent of my inheritance."

"Sit back, say nothing," murmured Sir Matthew.

The judge called loudly for order, and Alex didn't ask his next question until silence had been restored.

"When did you sign this agreement, Sir Hugo?"

Hugo removed a small diary from an inside pocket, and flicked over the pages until he came to the entry he was looking for. "October twenty-second last year," he said.

Alex checked his notes. "The day before a certain professional gentleman contacted Chief Inspector Fuller to arrange a meeting at an unknown location."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Hugo.

"Of course you don't," said Alex. "You had no way of knowing what was going on behind your back. But I am bound to ask, Sir Hugo, once you had signed the legal contract agreeing to part with millions of pounds should your family fortune be restored, what this professional gentleman could possibly be offering you in exchange for your signature."