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Contents ( 83)
  2. ONE
  3. TWO
  4. THREE
  5. FOUR
  6. FIVE
  7. SIX
  8. SEVEN
  9. EIGHT
  10. NINE
  11. TEN
  12. ELEVEN
  13. TWELVE
  14. THIRTEEN
  15. FOURTEEN
  16. FIFTEEN
  17. SIXTEEN
  18. SEVENTEEN
  19. EIGHTEEN
  20. NINETEEN
  21. TWENTY
  22. TWENTY-ONE
  23. TWENTY-TWO
  24. TWENTY-THREE
  25. TWENTY-FOUR
  26. TWENTY-FIVE
  27. TWENTY-SIX
  28. TWENTY-SEVEN
  29. TWENTY-EIGHT
  30. TWENTY-NINE
  31. THIRTY
  32. THIRTY-ONE
  33. THIRTY-TWO
  34. THIRTY-THREE
  35. THIRTY-FOUR
  36. THIRTY-FIVE
  37. THIRTY-SIX
  38. THIRTY-SEVEN
  39. THIRTY-EIGHT
  40. THIRTY-NINE
  41. FORTY
  42. FORTY-ONE
  43. FORTY-TWO
  44. FORTY-THREE
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. SEVENTY-FIVE
  78. SEVENTY-SIX
  79. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  80. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  81. SEVENTY-NINE
  82. Acknowledgements
  83. OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK

Michael stopped speaking again. He had reached the part of the story he was dreading. The part he and Reid had forced themselves to ‘forget’ all those years ago. The reason they had never again discussed the case of Karl Hirst.

‘What changed in the case?’ Levy asked. ‘How did Hirst serve fourteen years if he was a dead cert to be acquitted?’

Michael cast his eyes to the floor, knowing that he had no choice but to answer.

‘It was me. I’m the reason Hirst was convicted.’

‘What do you mean?’ Sarah asked. ‘What did you do?’

Michael looked up. He felt the burning hint of tears beginning to threaten his eyes.

‘I couldn’t let him walk away. Not after what he had done to those kids. I couldn’t let him do that again, Sarah. And I knew as sure as I’ve ever known anything in my life; if that bastard was let out, he would do it again.

‘So I waited. I waited to see how the case went. Whether the prosecution could pull something out of the bag. But when I could see that wasn’t going to happen – when I could see he was definitely going to walk – I made a decision.

‘I contacted Adam Blunt before Tina Barker was due to give evidence. Said I needed to see him. We met in a pub on the Mile End Road where we knew no one in the case would stumble on us. I told him he was going to lose the case. That was nothing Blunt didn’t already know, but he said there was nothing he could do. And so I made a suggestion. I asked him to give me five minutes with Tina Barker the next morning. Before she was due to testify. To let me talk to her and give her some guidance, something that would help in her evidence. At first Blunt refused. He threatened to arrest me there and then; I guess he should have done. But I kept talking, and in the end he caved. Blunt wanted Hirst convicted as much as I did. More, probably. By the time we’d finished he’d agreed to do what needed to be done.

‘And so I met with Tina Barker the next morning. Blunt had arranged for her to be at court at 8 a.m., long before Derek or the prosecutor would be there. I was able to speak to her for ten minutes. And in that ten minutes I made her memorise every detail of the small tattoo of a flying bluebird that Hirst had on his right hand. Every single millimetre of the thing. And I coached her on when she should say she had seen it. To say it had been a glimpse as he restrained her before removing her fingers. Then a closer look – a longer look – as he smothered her brother. I gave her everything she needed to make an admissible identification from a feature unique to Hirst. An identification which would be enough to convict him.’