Writing for Fun
March 2019
Is It A Crime? - Bob Wendelkin
‘How do you plead, Guilty or Not-Guilty?’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what to plead as I have no memory of what took place,’ replied the prisoner at the bar.
The Judge looking at the prisoner said, ‘In that case you had better plead Not-Guilty.’
‘Then I’m Not Guilty,’ said the prisoner.
‘I didn’t say that,’ said the Judge, ‘but let’s carry on.’
‘Mr Lovelock for the Prosecution, would you care to open your address to the Court for the Prosecution?’
‘Yes, My Lord. This isn’t a simple trial. This is a murder case where there is no body of the Victim to be found. All the evidence collected by the Police indicate that the accused murdered his long-time girlfriend and pushed her body over the edge of the cliff into the sea where the tide removed the body and confined her to the deep.
‘I wouldn’t do that I loved Jean!’ cried out the accused.
‘Silence,’ said the Judge. ‘Your turn will come later in the trial to defend yourself. If you can not contain yourself you will be remove from the court. Carry on Mr Lovelock.’
‘We know that the defendant and Miss Jean Fairburn stayed at a local guest house for a few days then one afternoon the couple left the hotel to go for a walk along the cliffs and only the accused returned later that day. When asked where Miss Fairburn had gone the accused said he didn’t know. He said that he went to sleep and when he woke up she had gone. The owner of the guest house became suspicious of the way in which the accused was behaving that she thought she should inform the Police.’
The Prosecuting Lawyer took hold of a set of notes and read it out to the court. ‘The accused was asked what happened he said that they went for walk along the cliffs and after a time as it was such a nice day they lay on the grass to soak up the sun. He said that he asked Jean to marry him but she said that she was quite happy with their present arrangement. She had in effect refused his offer of marriage. He said he gave her a cuddle and they both stretched out on the grass. He said they he fell asleep by her side, then he awoke and found that he was surrounded by an intense bright white light that seemed to being shone from something above the clouds. The bright light he said seemed to punch a hole in the cloud and he said he thought he could see an object hovering, as it was not moving; he thought it must be a helicopter. He said that he felt quite tired and fell asleep with the bright light bearing down on him. When he woke he had no recollection of what had happened and Jean had gone all that remained of her was the small handbag that she always had with her. That’s what he told the Police,’ said the Prosecuting Counsel.
‘Now if you believe in Flying Saucers then you may accept his tall story. But the most likely explanation was that she had told him something that displeased him. Did she tell him that she would never marry him or was it that she was pregnant and she wanted him to marry her? We shall never know the true reason why he pushed her off the cliff or murdered her in some other manner. All we know is that she never returned from their walk along the cliffs.’
‘I’d like to call Police Office Lucas,’ replied Mr Lovelock.
The Police Officer entered the Box and was sworn in.
‘Tell me why you charged him with murder when no body was found?’
‘In cases where the evidence is short we have to rely on other evidence. We didn’t know anything about her disappearance until her mother came to the police and told us she hadn’t heard from her daughter for some weeks. When she said that she always used to phone her every couple of days. Her mother also told us that her daughter thought she was in an interesting condition and that she hadn’t told the Prisoner because she wasn’t certain how he would react to the information. We went to the area where he said they had gone for a walk. There was nothing to be found but when I looked over the cliff I could see that the sea was rushing past, I could see that if a body was thrown into the sea at this point it would soon be rushed away; it was on the cliff face that we found the handbag,’ replied the Police Officer.
‘That, My Lord, completes the case for the Prosecution.’ With that the Q.C. sat down and turned to his support and was heard to say, ‘That should fix him and time for an early lunch.’
The Judge then turned to the Defence Counsel. ‘It’s getting close to lunch we shall reconvene after lunch. Do you wish to question this Police Officer after lunch?’
‘Yes, My Lord, I would like to question him,’ replied the Defence Counsel.
‘Very well. Would the Counsels come to my chambers, straight away.’ With that the Judge got up and the Usher told the court to ALL RISE as the Judge left the court.
The two counsels with their support left the court and made their way to the Judge’s Chambers, they knocked on the door and were admitted.
The Judge opened the conversation to the Prosecuting Counsel asked, ‘I wonder if you would consider changing the charge from Murder to Manslaughter. If we had a body then the case would be simple but there is no body, who knows she may have walked off when he was asleep.’
‘I would agree My Lord if she had gone off I’m certain that she would have taken the handbag with her as she was never separated from it and to phone her Mother,’ said the Prosecuting Counsel. ‘Well Mr Eastern what does the Defence Counsel say?’ asked the Judge.
‘I have already asked my client if he would plead guilty to a lesser charge. His reply was that he knows in his heart that he would never hurt her and so his claim of innocence remains, but I’ll ask him again,’ replied the Defence Counsel.
‘Very well Gentlemen we will resume after lunch,’ said the Judge as he dismissed them.
* * *
‘All UP STANDING,’ said the Usher as the judge entered the court and resumed his seat.
‘Well, Mr Eastern, are you ready to present your Defence?’ asked the Judge of the Defence Counsel.
‘Yes my Lord. I have spoken to my client about what we spoke of just before lunch and he told me nothing had changed,’ replied the Q.C.
‘Very well present your Defence.’
‘I’d like to question the Police Officer.’
‘You have already been sworn in. Why did you charge my client with murder when she might have just got up and walked away from him when he was asleep?’
‘It was difficult but she hadn’t spoken to her mother for sometime, she said she was possibly pregnant and the handbag was found at the scene. When we asked the Prisoner for his account of the events he said he couldn’t say what happened to her, he said when he awoke she had gone,’ replied the Policeman.
‘In the end you had no real evidence that any crime had been committed, no witnesses, no body, nothing just a feeling that a crime had been committed. Thank you and I congratulate you on your promotion. No further questions,’ said the Defence Counsel.
‘Mr Eastern that last remark was totally out of order, anything like that again and I will report you to the Bar Counsel, The jury will ignore what he said,’ said the Judge as he wagged a finger at the defence counsel.
‘I now call my Client,’ said Mr Eastern.
The accused was duly taken to the witness box and sworn in.
‘Can you tell the court of your relationship with missing person?’
‘I am very much in love with Jean. I was so happy when she told me that she was going to have our child. I at once proposed that we should get married and look for a new life and home together. She said she loved me but her mind was unsettled and that she needed a little time to compose herself. I told her to take all the time she needed, that my mind was firm, I wanted us to be together for the rest of out lives. We then kissed and laid back onto the grass. Suddenly a very bright light shot out of the sky and surrounded us. I felt a great weight come over me and I must have passed out, when I came to Jean had gone and I have no recollection of what had happened while I was a sleep. I cannot tell you anymore of what happened on the cliffs.’
At that instant a very bright light shot through the high window of the court. Into this light appeared the image of a young woman, she appeared as a hologram.
‘Jean, Jean,’ cried out the defendant.
The image began to speak. ‘Tony, I’m so sorry that my going has caused you and others so much pain. When that bright shone on us I didn’t know that I was to be lifted into the air into a flying object that we saw above the clouds. What happened in there I have no remembrance but I think they have taken our baby. They told me I had been collected on more that one occasion as I was of interest to them. I also found out that you were in trouble, so I begged them to let me come to your defence. They said that they didn’t like to make their presence known but eventually they agreed to let me come as a hologram and defend you. Unfortunately, once you have been released no one will remember anything of my visitation,’ said Jean.
‘Jean, will we meet again?’ asked Tony
‘Yes, my love, we will meet again but you will not know me as your Jean.’
The hologram began to fade.
‘I think we can close this case as strange things have just occurred. Case dismissed; release the Prisoner in the dock. I shall report this matter,’ said the Judge as he banged his gavel.
Tony was released from the dock and was standing at the entrance when once again the bright light shot into the court room and everyone present fell asleep and never remembered anything of what had just happened.