With the Passage of Time by Peter Murphy

Author:Peter Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: No Exit Press
Published: 2024-03-19T11:59:26+00:00

24

‘Ready?’ Barratt asked, as she stood in front of the door for a moment, keys in hand.

Amanda took a deep breath, nodded, and unlocked the door.

‘Simon?’ she called out. ‘It’s me. Are you home?’

‘Living room,’ Simon called back.

They entered the living room, where Simon was settled in a red leather armchair, immersed in a copy of The Times, a glass of whisky on the small table next to his chair. Amanda approached the chair and kissed him on the cheek.

‘Where are the children?’ she asked.

‘In their rooms, doing their homework – or at least, that’s what they told me,’ he replied. He stood. ‘Barratt, this is a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t expected to see you.’ He indicated the whisky. ‘Will you join me?’

‘No thanks, Simon. I’ve still got a bit of work left to do.’

‘Well, have a seat. To what do we owe this pleasure?’

Barratt took his seat on the sofa. Amanda sat down next to him.

‘Amanda asked me to come home with her,’ Barratt replied, ‘to tell you about what’s been going on today. She’s been at Parkside police station, being interviewed by two CID officers, and she asked me to be there with her, to represent her interests.’

Simon stared at him blankly. ‘Interviewed? About what? The jury found her not guilty, for God’s sake. I thought that was the end of it.’

‘That was the end of it. The interview today was about another matter.’

‘What other matter?’

‘The police have information that Amanda was involved in a serious offence as long ago as 1962. Simon, I understand that this will come as a shock to you, but before I tell you anymore, can I just say that their case seems pretty thin to me. I’m not at all sure it will stand up.’

There was a long silence, during which Simon continued to stare blankly, his mouth wide open. Eventually, he blinked and forced his mind to start working again.

‘What kind of offence?’

‘They say that Amanda was one of three animal rights activists who broke into a building in Huntingdon, to liberate animals being used in medical experiments. They say she struck the security guard, a man called Harry Strack, over the head with a crowbar. Strack went into a coma, and only woke up recently, after more than twenty years: so, it’s a very serious case of grievous bodily harm, and anyone convicted of the offence would be facing a long prison sentence.’

Barratt paused to allow what he had said to sink in.

‘I didn’t do it, Simon,’ Amanda said quietly.

‘I read about that,’ Simon said, almost as if talking to himself, ‘that fellow Strack waking up suddenly after so long. It was in the papers. The doctors said it was a kind of miracle, something they couldn’t explain.’

‘Here’s where we stand now,’ Barratt continued. ‘Amanda has to attend the police station tomorrow morning to be charged with the offence formally. She will then appear before the magistrates. The DI in charge of the case was actually quite helpful, Simon. He

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