Contents (83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
‘You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried.’ For some reason Colliver was shaking his head and laughing. ‘You think Kash is innocent? You think Kash was bullied? If anything he was the reason I didn’t bloody come forward earlier, not Darren. And if anyone needs to spend their life in prison—’
‘Oh don’t go ramping up Simon Kash’s role now, Mr Colliver. Not again. Because that’s what you did once before, isn’t it? To save your own skin, you studied the evidence and you used it to switch your actions – helping Darren O’Driscoll to murder the Galloways – with those of Simon Kash, who did nothing more than drive you both from the scene.’
‘NO!’
Colliver’s one-word answer was a shout. Not enough to justify an intervention from Levitt. But close. And it told Michael that the time had come.
‘You relied on the police’s desperation to land Darren O’Driscoll to ensure you’d be believed, didn’t you? You knew they’d take anyone remotely connected, provided they got O’Driscoll too.’
‘That ain’t true. None of that is fuckin’ true. I, I don’t know where you’re getting this . . . this bullshit. You, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Your client is . . . Simon is . . .’
Colliver seemed close to shouting. Perhaps to rushing from the witness box. But suddenly he deflated. Did not even finish his sentence. Instead he just sat back, looking defeated. It seemed an odd reaction, but Michael did not linger on it. He had reached a critical point.
‘Tell me this, Mr Colliver. Who is Jane Gorr?’
‘What?’ Colliver was bewildered by the sudden change in subject.
‘Jane Gorr. She visited you in prison when you were remanded for murder. Six times, I believe. Who is she?’
‘She’s, she’s my mate’s bird.’ Colliver could not hide his confusion.
‘What mate? Jay Price?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Were you sleeping with her behind Jay Price’s back?’
‘Christ no.’
‘Why not? He’s not a close mate, is he?’
‘Yes he bloody is. He’s the best mate I’ve got.’
‘Really? So if Mr Price were to come to this court, stand in front of this jury and tell them that you and he hardly knew one another, that would be a lie, would it?’
Colliver froze. Michael’s shift from murder allegation to Jane Gorr and Jay Price had thrown him. Enough that Colliver had forgotten the content of Price’s statement. He remembered it now. And he must have known in that moment that he was lost.
‘I . . . I . . .’ Colliver’s words trailed off.
‘If Price had told this jury, for example, that Jane Gorr had not visited you six times so you could give her evidential details for Price to put in his statement against Darren O’Driscoll and Simon Kash, that would also be a lie, would it?’
‘I . . . I can’t say what is and ain’t in his statement, can I?’ Colliver tried to maintain his belligerence, but the fight had been beaten out of him. ‘I didn’t write it.’