Witness for the Prosecution Page #6

- No, tonight was bad.

But it's getting better.

- Where's the coffee?

- Ah, coffee, ja voll.

Finest Brazilian blend. The same brand

that Field Marshal Montgomery drinks.

Is that a fair rate of exchange?

Very fair.

Would you be interested

in having the whole tin?

I would.

- How are you fixed for sugar?

- I could use some.

Milk?

Sure.

Milk. Sugar.

It's a pleasure to do business with you.

Yeah.

I also carry biscuits, powdered eggs,

- bacon, marmalade.

- I don't know if I can afford it.

Don't worry, we'll work out something,

like an instalment plan.

[ I may never go home any more ]

I'm terribly sorry.

Now you have no ceiling.

- Maybe I can fix it, I'm good at it.

- Why fix it? It's not raining.

Ooh.

- Are you all right?

- I think so. My head aches a little.

Maybe I can fix it.

I'm good at it.

I had a weekend pass,

a month's pay in my pocket.

- And she already had a wedding ring.

- Yes, that's right.

We got married. When I got out

of the service I brought her here.

It was wonderful.

I rented a little flat, Edgware Road.

First time she saw it, she was so happy

she broke down and cried.

Naturally. She had a solid roof

over her head and a British passport.

You don't know her, how she feels about

me. You will when she gives evidence.

Mr Vole, I must tell you

I am not putting her in the witness box.

You're not? Why not?

She's a foreigner, unfamiliar

with the subtleties of our language.

The prosecution could easily trip her up.

I hear it may be Mr Myers for the crown.

We can't take chances.

Quite. We'd better be going. Miss Plimsoll

is waiting in the car with her pills

- and a Thermos of lukewarm cocoa.

- Officer.

- But Christine must give evidence.

- Mr Vole, you must learn to trust me.

For no other reason than I'm a mean,

ill-tempered old man who hates to lose.

Let us wish each other luck.

Look, I can't face this without Christine.

I tell you, I need her. Without her I'm sunk.

Touching, isn't it?

The way he counts on his wife.

Yes. Like a drowning man

clutching at a razor blade.

Leonard Stephen Vole, you are

charged on indictment for that you,

on the 14th day of October,

in the county of London,

murdered Emily Jane French.

How say you, Leonard Stephen Vole?

Are you guilty or not guilty?

Not guilty.

(murmuring)

Members of the jury,

the prisoner stands indicted for that he,

on the 14th day of October,

murdered Emily Jane French.

To this indictment

he has pleaded not guilty.

And it is your charge to say,

having heard the evidence,

whether he be guilty or not.

Members of the jury,

by the oath which you have just taken,

you have sworn

to try this case on the evidence.

You must shut out

from your minds everything

except what will take place in this court.

You may proceed

for the prosecution, Mr Myers.

May it please you, my lord.

Members of the jury,

I appear in this case with my learned

friend, Mr Barton, for the prosecution.

And my learned friends

Sir Wilfrid Robarts and Mr Brogan-Moore

appear for the defence.

I trust we are not to be deprived

of the learned and stimulating

presence of Sir Wilfrid?

My lord, may I assure my learned friend

that Sir Wilfrid is in the Old Bailey.

He's slightly incapacitated,

but will be in his seat presently.

My lord, may I express my regret that

Sir Wilfrid is even slightly incapacitated.

You may, Mr Myers. You may also

proceed with the case for the prosecution.

Thank you, my lord.

The facts in this case are simple

and, to a point, not in dispute.

You will hear how the prisoner made

the acquaintance of Mrs Emily French,

a woman of 56.

How he was treated by her

with kindness and even affection.

On the night of October 14 last,

between 9.30 and 10,

Mrs French was murdered.

Medical testimony

will be introduced to prove

that death was caused by a blow

from a blunt and heavy instrument,

and it is the case for the prosecution

that the blow was dealt

by the prisoner, Leonard Vole.

That's not true! I didn't do it!

(murmuring)

Among the witnesses,

you will hear police evidence,

also the evidence of Mrs French's

housekeeper, Janet McKenzie,

and from the medical

and laboratory experts,

and the evidence of the murdered

woman's solicitor, who drew her final will.

I now call Chief Inspector Hearne,

Criminal Investigation Department,

- New Scotland Yard.

- (man) Chief Inspector Hearne.

- Chief Inspector Hearne.

- Chief Inspector Hearne.

This is ridiculous. Just nervous heartburn.

I always get it the first day of a trial.

You shouldn't be here at all.

- I should be in court, the trial's begun.

- Syringe, please.

Be a good, brave boy, Sir Wilfrid.

It may interest you to know

that I am descended from a warrior family

which traces its brave past

back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.

You're to have a calcium injection daily,

- tranquillising pill every hour.

- I'll set my wristwatch alarm.

Any pain or shortness of breath,

pop one of these nitroglycerin tablets

under your tongue.

Oh, and I'll leave you some...

That's enough, Doctor.

The judge will be asking for a saliva test.

Carter, I'd better take

that Thermos of cocoa with me.

- Helps me wash down the pills.

- Let me see it, please.

My learned patient is not above

substituting brandy for cocoa.

It is cocoa. So sorry.

If you were a woman, Miss Plimsoll,

I would strike you.

Take care of this, Carter.

Now, Sir Wilfrid, in the courtroom,

you must avoid overexcitement.

Yes, Doctor, yes, yes.

Watch your temper.

Keep your blood pressure down.

Thank you, Doctor, I shall be quite safe,

what with the pills and the cocoa.

Come along, Carter.

From the body temperature

and other factors,

we placed the time of death

at between 9.30 and 10pm,

approximately 30 minutes before Janet

McKenzie returned home and called us.

Death was instantaneous, caused by one

blow from a heavy and blunt instrument.

Were there any signs of a struggle?

None. Just the one blow.

Would that indicate that the murderer

had taken Mrs French by surprise?

My lord, I must object.

My learned friend refers

to the assailant as "the murderer".

We have not yet determined whether

the assailant was a man or a woman.

It could quite conceivably

have been "the murderess".

Mr Myers, Sir Wilfrid has joined us just in

time to catch you on a point of grammar.

Please rephrase your question.

Yes, my lord. Inspector,

is it your opinion that the assailant,

whether he, she or it,

had taken Mrs French by surprise?

My lord, I am taken by surprise

that my learned friend should try to solicit

from the witness an opinion, not a fact.

Quite so. You'll have

to do better than that, Mr Myers.

My lord, I withdraw the question entirely.

- Is that better?

- That's much better.

(murmuring)

Silence! Silence!

(gavel)

Very well, Inspector,

let us proceed with the facts.

After establishing the cause and the time

of death, what did you then do?

A search was made, photographs were

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