CHAPTER 22 The Trial

 

The weeks rolled by and Mary was the happiest she had ever been. Her pending motherhood suited her and everything at work was going smoothly.

Jock’s Feshie Forestry was doing far better than expected and he had bought a small tractor and other implements for the croft. The Duke of Gordon Hotel was taking all the eggs and vegetables that he could produce. Mary missed Rambo greatly but not as much as Jock did. They decided to get another dog once the baby was born. If the truth be known, Mary was enjoying the attention Jock was giving her, full of concern for her well-being and insisting on doing small menial tasks for her.

Their haven of happiness was broken when they both received citations to appear as witnesses at Inverness High Court in the case against James Arthur and Co later in the month.

By this time, Mary was heavily pregnant and was close to when the baby was due. However, she was determined to give evidence and get it over with. Jock was more concerned about losing time off work.

The day for their court appearance came round quickly. They were both in awe of the High Court’s solemn opening ceremony and thankful for the reassurance given by Sergeant McLeod and the female police officer, who helped Mary at Nan Cameron’s house, as they sat in the witness room waiting to be called.

Mary was the first to be called and in the witness box she took the oath of truth before a silent courtroom. Seeing how far Mary was into her pregnancy, the judge looked concerned and, after thanking her for attending in her condition, asked her if she was up to the task of giving evidence. Mary assured him that she was.

The four accused men sat in the dock, heads bowed in obvious embarrassment. Apart from Ian Greer, all showed signs of the injuries inflicted by Jock. Slim Jim still had a plaster on his right hand. Mack the Knife had a bandage on his head and Paddy Mckenna’s face showed scars of disfigurement from the boiling tea.

Mary answered all the questions from the procurator fiscal with ease, giving a factual and detailed account of the event in question. When she admitted that she was pregnant when ordered to strip and was threatened with rape, a chorus of ‘shame’ came from the public gallery. The noise was silenced by the judge, “Order! Order or proceedings will continue in private!”

The defence lawyer was William Liddle who Mary had already encountered in the case against Tommy Arthur in Glasgow. He spoke to Mary in an arrogant and condescending manner, questioning her with the view that she had a vindictive attitude to his clients and that what took place was a very exaggerated version of events.

Mary’s anger was roused and she answered, “Through the actions of the accused, I almost lost the baby that I have yearned for years and if you think I concocted such a story, you have been living a life of falsehood and don’t recognise the truth when it appears before you.” She saw the jury smiling and some were even stifling a little chuckle.

Mr Liddle muttered, “No more questions” and sat down with an embarrassed scowl on his face. The trial was then adjourned for lunch.

Mary, Jock, Sergeant McLeod and his colleague had lunch together in a nearby restaurant where Mary told them of her ordeal in the witness box. Back in the foyer of the courthouse, Jock left the group to go the toilet. As he approached the urinal, he heard the door behind him open but thought nothing of it.

Caught unaware, two arms suddenly had him in a vice-like bear hug from behind and lifted him off the ground, spinning him round to face a man holding an envelope in one hand and a colt revolver in the other.

“You have a choice,” he was told, “take twenty thousand pounds in this envelope to refuse to give evidence or take a bullet that will shut you up for ever.”

Jock’s mind went into overdrive, “Alright, I’ll take the money. When I left school, I would have had to plant nearly a million trees to earn that.”

“Wise choice,” sniggered the gunman and Jock felt his arms, which had been pinioned to his side, being released.

At that moment, the door opened and Sergeant McLeod walked in, immediately sized up the situation and punched the gunman on the side of the head, causing him to stagger across the floor. Jock immediately took advantage of the diversion and, using the judo hip throw, catapulted his adversary onto the urinal. The revolver was discharged and the noise vibrated through the whole building. The bullet tore a hole in Jock’s right shoulder, making him wince with extreme pain. The sergeant followed through his attack by kicking the revolver out of the gunman’s hand, drawing his baton and then hitting the gunman over the head with an almighty blow. His victim fell to the floor and lay there in an unconscious heap.

Court security and police rushed in and could not believe their eyes as they took in the scene. A big bear of a man lay sprawled and groaning over a urinal, another man lay on the floor bleeding from a head wound and banknotes were lying scattered on the floor. Jock was leaning against the wall, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his shoulder with a handkerchief and Sergeant McLeod was putting handcuffs on the injured man.

When Mary heard the gunshot from the gent’s toilet, she instinctively knew that Jock was involved and felt faint. The policewoman took her into the witness room for safety and when Mary’s contractions started, she immediately phoned for an ambulance.

Sergeant McLeod got the situation under control very quickly. He arranged for Jock to be taken to Raigmore Hospital in a police car, the prisoners were taken into custody and the weapon and money were sealed and labelled for forensic evidence. He then made his way to the private chambers of the High Court judge and gave him an eyewitness account of what had taken place. To say that the judge was furious was an understatement and he cancelled the court proceedings for the day.

The sergeant notified his superiors and then visited Jock in casualty at Raigmore Hospital. Fortunately, the wound was just a deep graze, which looked a lot worse on account of the amount of blood shed.

Although he protested, Jock was kept in overnight for observation due to the amount of blood he’d lost. When he asked about Mary, the sergeant told him that he would find out and report back after he had made enquiries at the courthouse.

Arriving at the courthouse, the sergeant was amazed to see a large gathering of newspaper reporters and two television crews being briefed by Chief Inspector Alistair Walker, who was acting as though he had taken control of the situation himself.

When Sergeant McLeod found out that Mary had been taken to the maternity ward in the same hospital, he returned to casualty. By this time, he felt that a bond of friendship had developed between him and Jock. He telephoned Nan Cameron to let her know what had happened and asked her to bring Mary’s suitcase which she had packed in anticipation of being taken to the maternity unit and some fresh clothes for Jock.

Later in the evening, as Jock was being interviewed in hospital by the Inverness CID, Nan and Jean entered the ward. Nan immediately gave the detectives a strong objurgation as to why they had not done enough to protect Mary and Jock. So intense and straight to the point was she that the detectives were glad to leave the ward.

Without permission and accompanied by Nan and Jean, Jock left casualty and they made their way to find Mary. Negotiating the many corridors, they finally arrived at the reception area of the maternity unit. Making enquiries as to the whereabouts and condition of his wife, he was given the news that he was the father of a baby girl who was now about fifteen minutes old, and that mother and daughter were doing well.

The news struck Jock like a thunderbolt, making him feel weak at the knees, just as though he had been given a knockout punch in the boxing ring. Despite the congratulations from Nan and Jean, he found it difficult to believe that he was now a father. Eventually he was allowed in to see Mary who greeted him with, “Jock Stewart, if you want any more children you can have them yourself.”

After kissing Mary gently on the forehead, he looked into the bedside cot where his daughter lay. As he put a hand on the side of the cot, a tiny hand reached out and gripped his finger. I am going to be responsible for this gift for the next twenty years he thought as he gazed into the cot.

Holding Mary’s hand, he satisfied her curiosity about the confrontation in the toilet with a very watered-down version of what had occurred. Nan and Jean were very disappointed that they had not been allowed in to visit Mary and the baby but were looking forward to seeing them the next day. As they all returned to Jock’s ward, they met Sergeant McLeod and told him the good news.

“You will remember this eventful day for the rest of your life,” said the sergeant, before adding his congratulations and confirmed that Jock would be able to attend court in the morning.

The newspaper headlines the next day were all about the drama at Inverness High Court. Stepping into the witness box to take the oath, Jock glowered at the prisoners in the dock who could not meet his gaze. The judge thanked him for attending and asked Jock about his wound and how his wife was.

“The wound is not as serious as it first appeared and my wife is now the proud mother of a baby girl who was born yesterday evening,” announced Jock. The judge smiled and offered his congratulations, at the same time as there was a ripple of applause from the public gallery.

Jock gave his evidence in a steadfast manner, aided by a very skilled procurator fiscal. The defence lawyer, Liddle, tried to find fault in Jock’s testimony, but Jock was resolute in his answers until finally Liddle suggested, “I put it to you Mr Stewart that my clients only came to frighten you and your wife with no intention of causing any harm and that you over-reacted.”

Jock, by this time, had been in the witness box for well over an hour and was annoyed with the arrogant manner in which he was being questioned. He replied, “Why then did they come armed and butcher my faithful terrier? Yes, I experienced fear, not for me but for my wife. They cut my telephone line, ordered my wife to strip naked and then threatened to trash my house which I have spent years and a lot of money on to make comfortable for my family.”

“No more questions,” said Liddle.

“Can I ask you a question?” enquired Jock.

“Yes, if you must,” was the haughty answer.

“Are you not ashamed to earn such a large salary defending the likes of these four pieces of scum that are sitting there, while ordinary people like me earn a modest living by the sweat of honest toil?”

“Mr Stewart, you are out of order,” declared the judge.

“If I am out of order then so is the truth and that is a sad day for justice in Scotland,” declared Jock.

“Another outburst like that and I will find you in contempt of this court,” commanded the judge, whereby Jock thought enough is enough and kept quiet.

That afternoon other witnesses such as police, medical staff and forensics were called and then the judge called a halt to the proceedings, stating that both the defence and the prosecution summing up would be held next day.

After visiting Mary, Jock drove home to Achlean, very much missing the welcome that he would have received from Rambo.

The following day, the courthouse was full of newspaper reporters and television crews were outside. When the summing up by both the prosecution and defence councils were completed, the jury retired to reach a verdict. Within thirty minutes, they returned and when the foreman of the jury was asked if they had reached a verdict he replied, “By a unanimous decision my lord, guilty on all charges.”

A burst of cheering erupted from the public gallery. After calling for order the judge announced sentence. Fourteen years’ imprisonment for Slim Jim, ten years for Mack the Knife, ten years for Paddy Mckenna and six years for Ian Greer. The prisoners, standing up to receive sentence, were shocked at the severe punishment and sat down in dismay before being led away to their cells by the court officials.

In his closing speech, the judge called on authorities in all walks of life to be aware of the evil tentacles of organised crime destroying the lives of ordinary citizens. “This trial all came about because a crime lord was innocently sent a cheque by a woman who, as a result of the actions of these men I have just sentenced, nearly lost her unborn child. It is ironic that a man who has served his country in armed conflict in the Falklands should be injured within the curtilage of my court while waiting to give evidence. This conduct cannot be allowed to continue in this country or civilisation as we know it will be eradicated.”

As the judge left the courtroom, Sergeant McLeod took Jock outside via the rear entrance to avoid him being photographed or interviewed by any of the newspapers or TV crews. He then took him in his own car to the hospital.

After visiting Mary and telling her the results of the court case, Jock was taken to his own vehicle which he then drove home to Achlean.

Driving up the glen, he encountered a police car which was stopping any vehicle going to Achlean to prevent reporters from trying to get an interview, such was the interest in the day’s verdict at Inverness High Court.