Seven Dials

The jury sat waiting, sad and no longer really interested. They listened and watched because it was their duty.

Narraway continued towards Markham and stopped at his side, Pitt a step behind him.

“The body under the bridge was Tariq el Abd,” Narraway said in so low a voice that Pitt caught only every other word. “It was he who killed Lovat. Miss Zakhari admitted it, and it makes perfect sense of the evidence.”

Markham stood motionless. “How convenient for Miss Zakhari… and of course for Mr. Ryerson,” he replied with a glint of sarcasm. “Why did this Egyptian manservant kill Lieutenant Lovat? Do you know that as well?”

“No, I don’t, and it doesn’t matter.” Narraway’s voice was cold. “Perhaps Lovat misused his daughter, or his sister, or even his wife, for all I know. Just get on with it! Call the river police. Then Pitt will identify the dead man for you.”

Markham glanced at Pitt.

Pitt nodded.

Markham’s face was set hard. He disliked being told what to do, by anyone.

“Do you intend to proceed, Sir Anthony?” the judge enquired with a touch of irritation.

Markham looked up, as if already dismissing Narraway.

“Yes, my lord. I have just learned of some very remarkable events which shed a totally different light on Lieutenant Lovat’s death. With your permission, I would like to call Thomas Pitt to the stand.”

“This had better be relevant, Sir Anthony,” the judge said warily. “I will not have theatrics in my court.”

“The evidence will be dramatic, my lord,” Markham replied coldly. “But it will not be theatrical.”

“Then proceed with it!” the judge snapped.

“I call Thomas Pitt!” Markham said loudly.

Narraway looked very briefly at Pitt, then turned on his heel and walked two paces to the nearest row where there was a vacant seat, and left Pitt to go across the floor and climb up the steps to the witness stand.

Pitt swore to his name and place of residence, and waited for Markham to ask him about el Abd. He was only slightly nervous about answering. This was the first time he had not testified as a police officer. Now he was a person from the shadows, without a rank or an occupation to give him status.

“Were you acquainted with Miss Zakhari’s house servant, Tariq el Abd, Mr. Pitt?” Markham enquired.

“Yes.”

“In what capacity?”

“As a servant at Eden Lodge,” Pitt replied. “I did not know him personally.”

“But you spoke with him at some length?” Markham pressed.

“Yes, perhaps an hour altogether.”

“So you would know him if you saw him again?”

“Yes.”

“Have you seen him since then?”

The jurors were openly fidgeting.

The counsel for the prosecution rose to his feet. “My lord, my learned friend’s idea of drama is very different from mine. I have never heard anything so unutterably tedious. Whatever relevance can it have if this… gentleman… has spent time gossiping with Miss Zakhari’s house servant… or not?”

“I was establishing that Mr. Pitt was able to identify Tariq el Abd, my lord,” Markham said with injured i

“In the morgue,” Pitt replied steadily. “Yesterday.”

There was a gasp of breath indrawn around the room.

The judge leaned forward, his face dark and angry. “Are you saying that he is dead, Mr. Pitt?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“From what cause?”

The prosecution stood up. “My lord, Mr. Pitt has no established credentials in medicine. He is not qualified to give evidence as to cause of death.”

The judge resented the objection, but he could not argue and he knew it. He glared at the counsel for the prosecution, then swiveled back to Pitt. “Where was this man found?”

“Hanging by his neck on a rope from under London Bridge, I was told by the river police,” Pitt replied.

“Suicide?” the judge barked.

“I am not qualified to say,” Pitt answered him.

There was a moment’s total silence, then a nervous titter washed around the room.

The judge’s face was like ice. He looked at Markham. “Can you continue with your case in view of the man’s death?” he said with barely concealed anger. His face was pink. He would not forget that Pitt had made the court laugh at his expense.

“Most certainly, my lord,” Markham said vigorously. “I ca

“It was not Tariq el Abd who was trying to dispose of the body!” The counsel for the prosecution was on his feet, his voice harsh with indignation. “If Ayesha Zakhari did not kill Lovat, why was she outside in the garden with the corpse in a wheelbarrow? That is not the action of an i

“It is the action of a frightened woman!” Markham said instantly. “If you came upon the body of a murdered man with your gun beside him, might you not attempt to hide it?”

“I would call the police,” the counsel for the prosecution retorted.

“In a foreign country?” Markham was close to jeering. “You would have such confidence in their justice, when you are of a different race, a different language, a different culture?” He did not continue. He could see in the faces of the jurors that he had made his point.

The counsel for the prosecution swung around to the judge, his arms spread wide. “Why, my lord? What reason in the world could an Egyptian house servant have for murdering an English diplomat in the middle of London?”

There was a movement in the gallery. A man rose to his feet. He was slender, elegant, beautifully dressed, his thick hair waved back from an aquiline face.

Pitt was astounded. It was Trenchard! He must have come home on leave.

“My lord,” Trenchard said with the utmost respect. “My name is Alan Trenchard. I am with the British Consulate in Alexandria. I believe I may be able to answer the court’s questions on that subject. I have lived and worked in Egypt for over twenty-five years, and I have been able to find a certain amount of knowledge on the issues concerned here since Mr. Pitt left Alexandria, which I was therefore unable to tell him at the time of his enquiry.”

The judge frowned. “If Sir Anthony wishes to call you, then in the interest of justice, we should hear from you.”

Markham had no choice. He excused Pitt, and Trenchard climbed the steps up to the witness stand and turned to face the court.

Pitt sat next to Narraway and felt him stiffen as Markham moved forward again and Trenchard swore to his name and his residence.

Markham seemed perfectly relaxed. His clients, who yesterday had faced certain conviction, now suddenly were on the brink of acquittal. It had been none of his doing, it was entirely due to circumstance he could not have foreseen or contrived, but it was still going to be an astonishing victory for him.

“Mr. Trenchard,” he began, “were you acquainted with Lieutenant Lovat during his army service in Egypt?”

“Not personally,” Trenchard replied. “I am in the diplomatic service; he was in the military. It is possible we may have met, but I am not aware of it.”

The judge frowned.

The jury glanced around them, their interest still barely caught.

Pitt found his hands clenched, nails digging into his palms.