‘Now, the accused did not give evidence. There is no legal obligation upon him to enter the witness box. The law decrees he is entitled to remain silent and his silence does not amount to guilt. You may have wished to hear from him and hear what he had to say. You may wonder what, if anything, he had to hide. Put such thoughts out of your mind. The accused has offered the defence of alibi and some evidence has been led in an attempt to support this. An accused does not require to prove he was elsewhere. However, if you believe this evidence, you acquit. If it merely raises a reasonable doubt in your minds, again you acquit. However, in the absence of evidence from the accused himself, you may find it easier to accept the Crown submission that the alibi evidence should be rejected. It is a matter entirely for you. But let me stress this. Even if you reject the alibi defence, that does not of itself mean that the Crown case is proved.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, will you now look at your copies of the indictment. The charge remaining before you is a charge of murder, the most serious charge in our law.

‘Murder in our law is constituted by any wilful act causing the destruction of life, whether intended to kill, or displaying such wicked recklessness as to imply a disposition depraved enough to be regardless of consequences. The language may seem archaic but it has stood the test of time. However, to put the matter quite simply, if a man discharges a firearm into the head of his victim, you may have no difficulty in concluding that he intended to kill his victim. Consequently, such a deed would undoubtedly amount to the crime of murder.

‘Now, when the trial commenced, there were two other charges on the indictment. The Crown have withdrawn these as the Advocate was perfectly entitled to do. Why he did this is his affair. No doubt there was some very good reason why they were initially before you. He does not have to justify his actions and this has no bearing on the one charge which remains.’

As his Lordship’s address was proceeding, Grant McAllister was pacing his office. Agitation had been replaced by impatience and excitement.

He was in possession of the first ballistics report. The knee-capping bullets had been recovered from the knees of their victim and were fired by the gun found in McGarry’s suit carry. He had him by the balls but was not ready to squeeze – just yet. No need to rush. McGarry was not going anywhere for a very long time.