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  ‘It might have been three times.’

  ‘I think you’ll find it was four, Mr Stern. And how many other times were you drunk on duty, but not disciplined?’

  ‘Never,’ said Stern, his voice rising. ‘Just those four times in twenty-eight years.’

  ‘And always on a Friday night?’

  Stern looked puzzled.

  ‘And the second time you were disciplined, could you tell the court what you were charged with on that occasion?’

  ‘I don’t recall. It was such a long time ago.’

  ‘Then let me remind you, Mr Stern. You were caught having sexual intercourse with a prostitute while she was in a cell. Now do you remember?’

  ‘I do. But she was—’

  ‘She was what, Mr Stern?’

  Stern didn’t respond.

  ‘Then perhaps I should remind you what you said on that occasion.’ Sir Julian looked down at the file, while Stern remained silent. ‘“She was a right little scrubber, who got no more and certainly no less than she deserved.”’

  A sudden burst of chattering followed, and Lord Justice Arnott waited for it to subside before asking, ‘Is that not hearsay, Sir Julian?’

  ‘No, m’lud, I was simply reading Mr Stern’s testimony from the tribunal report.’

  The judge nodded gravely.

  ‘Mr Stern, you told the court just a few moments ago that you were only disciplined on three occasions, but that was the fifth occasion, and I haven’t finished yet.’

  All three judges had their eyes fixed on the witness.

  ‘I meant for three different offences.’

  ‘So you don’t always say what you mean.’

  Stern looked as if he was about to respond, but just clenched his fists.

  ‘Then let’s move on to the sixth incident, after which a full inquiry took place, and you were suspended for six months.’

  ‘On full pay, after which the charges were dropped.’

  ‘That’s not entirely accurate, is it, Mr Stern? You actually took early retirement only weeks before the inquiry was completed. And on that occasion, you were charged with stealing four thousand pounds from a prisoner while he was in custody.’

  ‘He was a drug dealer.’

  ‘Was he indeed?’ said Sir Julian. ‘So you consider it’s acceptable for a police officer to steal from a drug dealer?’

  ‘I didn’t say that. You’re putting words in my mouth. In any case, he withdrew the allegation the following day.’

  ‘I’m sure he did. However—’

  ‘I think we should move on, Sir Julian,’ interrupted Lord Justice Arnott, ‘to the role this officer played at Mr Rainsford’s trial.’

  ‘As you wish, m’lud,’ said Sir Julian, nodding to Grace, who handed him the second file. ‘At Mr Rainsford’s trial, Mr Stern, would I be right in thinking you were the senior officer investigating the crime?’

  ‘Yes, I was,’ said Stern, looking as if he thought he was back on safer ground.

  ‘Did you, in the course of your investigations, ever consider trying to find the short, heavily built man my client repeatedly told you ran past him in the corridor of his office, on the night of the murder?’

  ‘The mystery man, you mean?’ said Stern. ‘Why bother, when he was nothing more than a figment of Rainsford’s imagination.’

  ‘And you also made no attempt to trace the anonymous caller who reported Mr Kirkland’s death to the police.’

  ‘Isn’t that what anonymous means?’ said Stern, who laughed, but no one else did.

  ‘Didn’t it occur to you, Mr Stern, that the anonymous call could only have come from someone who had actually witnessed the crime?’

  ‘But Rainsford confessed. What more do you want?’

  ‘I want justice,’ said Sir Julian. ‘And with that seemingly innocent remark, Mr Stern, you have raised the crucial unanswered question in this case. Who is the honest broker – you, or Mr Rainsford?’

  ‘I am,’ said Stern, ‘as the jury concluded.’

  ‘Then you won’t have any trouble convincing three judges, will you?’

  Stern stared up at the bench, at three men who gave no clue what they were thinking.

  Sir Julian allowed their lordships a moment before he continued, ‘Was Mr Rainsford telling the truth when he said his original statement, which you took down, consisted of three pages, one of which subsequently went missing? Or are we to believe, as you stated under oath in the witness box during the trial, that there were only ever two pages?’

  ‘There never was a middle page,’ said Stern.

  ‘Middle page, Mr Stern? I made no mention of a middle page.’

  ‘What’s the difference?’

  ‘The difference is that it shows you knew which page was missing. Let me ask, did you number the pages of Mr Rainsford’s statement?’

  ‘Of course I did, one and two, and Rainsford signed them both. And what’s more, DC Clarkson and me witnessed his signature.’

  ‘But when did DC Clarkson witness that statement, Mr Stern?’

  Stern hesitated before saying, ‘The following morning.’

  ‘Giving you more than enough time to remove the middle page.’

  ‘How many times do I have to tell you there was never a middle page.’

  ‘We only have your word for that, Mr Stern.’

  ‘And DC Clarkson, who went on to be promoted, not to mention the jury who didn’t seem to be in any doubt that your client was guilty.’

  ‘Some considerable doubt, I would suggest,’ said Sir Julian, cutting him short, ‘because they took four days to reach a verdict, and then only by a majority of ten to two.’

  ‘That was good enough for me,’ said Stern, his voice rising slightly.

  ‘Of course it was,’ said Sir Julian, ‘because it allowed you to finish your career on a high, as you so elegantly put it, and walk away without having to face yet another inquiry.’

  Mr Alun Llewellyn QC, who was appearing for the Crown, rose reluctantly from the other end of the bench and said, ‘Can I remind my learned friend that it’s his client who is on trial, and not Mr Stern.’

  A smug look appeared on Stern’s face.

  ‘Were you sober when you arrested Arthur Rainsford at 5.30 that Friday afternoon?’ asked Sir Julian.

  ‘Sober as a judge,’ said Stern, grinning at the three judges, none of whom returned the compliment.

  ‘And also when you booked him in at 6.42?’ he said, checking his notes.

  ‘As a judge,’ repeated Stern.

  ‘And when you locked him up at 6.49, and left him alone in his cell for nearly two hours?’

  ‘I wanted to give him enough time to think about what he was going to say, didn’t I?’ said Stern, smiling at the three judges.

  ‘While giving yourself enough time to down a few pints, having banged up another villain on a Friday night.’

  Stern clenched his fists and stared defiantly at his adversary. ‘What if I did have a couple of pints? I was sober enough to—’

  ‘Sober enough to take down Mr Rainsford’s statement at 8.23.’

  ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ said Stern, his voice rising with every word. ‘How many times do I have to tell you?’

  ‘And sober enough to remove the middle page of my client’s statement later that night to ensure you retired on a high?’

  ‘I never removed anything that night,’ Stern snapped back.

  ‘Then the next morning perhaps?’ said Sir Julian calmly. ‘I imagine you were sober enough to remove it the following morning.’

  ‘And I was sober enough the night before to make sure the bastard got no more and certainly no less than he deserved,’ shouted Stern, jabbing a finger in the direction of defence counsel.

  A stony silence hung over the court, as everyone in the room stared at the witness.

  ‘“And I was sober enough the night before to make sure the bastard got no more and certainly no less than he deserved,”’ repeated Sir Julian, returning Stern’s star