CHERUB: Brigands M.C. - Robert Muchamore Page 0,27
off before anyone sees the high score, there’s no way to corroborate what you said because you’re the only one that saw it.’
‘I get it,’ Dante nodded.
‘The thing is, out of all the evidence you gave, what you said about the bloody T-shirt is one of the few things that can be easily corroborated. And if you didn’t tell the truth about that, it makes it much harder for people to believe other things you said that can’t be corroborated.’
Dante looked angry. ‘So you’re saying I’m a liar?’
‘No,’ Vanessa said. ‘I’m saying that because you lied about one thing, people are much less likely to believe the other things that you said. And when people are being asked to convict a man of murder based solely upon your word it could make their decision difficult.’
Dante looked down between his legs and sulked. ‘So I ballsed everything up.’
Ross put an arm on his shoulder. ‘You made a small mistake when you were tired and upset. It’s not your fault.’
Vanessa nodded. ‘Can you tell me what really happened to the T-shirt?’
Dante spent two minutes explaining how the Führer got angry after his son Martin spat on Teeth’s Brigands patch, and how he’d then been asked to beat Martin up to save the club’s honour and to save Martin from a much more severe beating at the hands of the Führer.
Vanessa looked increasingly surprised as the story unravelled. It seemed too convoluted for Dante to be making it up, but it wasn’t every day you heard about a bunch of grown men encouraging a no-holds-barred fight between two boys.
There was an awkward silence in the room when Dante finished speaking. ‘I swear that’s the truth,’ he said. ‘But none of the Brigands will corroborate it. They’ll say I beat Martin up to make me look bad.’
Vanessa combed her hands through her long hair. ‘OK,’ she sighed. ‘I think the best thing is for us to find an interview room where you can record an amendment to your statement.’
‘How would the Führer’s lawyers find out about this, anyway?’ Dante asked. ‘I mean, we don’t have to tell them do we?’
Vanessa laughed. ‘Unfortunately we do. Everyone has a right to defend themselves in court and see all the evidence against them. Once the Führer is charged, his defence lawyers will have the right to see all the evidence we’ve collected, including your original witness statement.’
‘Just my luck,’ Dante said, banging his heel against the sofa.
Vanessa gave Dante a serious look. ‘I want you to read through your statement again, and if there’s anywhere else where you didn’t tell the absolute truth you need to tell me. OK?’
Dante nodded. The comment about the nosebleed had seemed like such a harmless lie that he’d forgotten it before the interview with Ross even ended.
‘I’m sorry I’m so useless,’ he said sourly.
Ross put a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s probably not that bad,’ he said, as he looked up at Vanessa. ‘The Brigands aren’t the only ones who have smart lawyers.’
Vanessa walked across and opened her office door. ‘Thank you for coming in, Dante. I’d like to have a private word with Ross now. Would you mind waiting outside with Jennifer for a few moments?’
10. LODGE
Once Vanessa’s office door closed she crashed into her chair and buried her head in her hands. Ross stared at her, frustrated.
‘How bad is it on a scale of one to ten?’ he asked, keeping his voice down because Dante was outside.
‘Seven or eight,’ Vanessa said. ‘I’d hoped Dante’s explanation for the lie about the T-shirt would be something other than the fact that he got into a bloody fight with the son of the man he accused of murdering his parents a few hours later. And Dante’s school record isn’t great. He’s been in fights and he’s been accused of bullying.’
‘He’s hardly a violent hoodlum,’ Ross said.
‘I know, but the Führer’s lawyers will try to portray Dante as a violent and disturbed kid who was severely traumatised by what he saw. He was young and tired and to top it all off they’ll have proof that he’s a liar.’
‘What about the attempted bombing? Does that help us?’
‘The judge would throw any mention of the bomb threat out of court unless we had clear evidence linking it to the Führer.’
‘He’s a smart kid though,’ Ross said. ‘He’ll look good on a witness stand and there’s a lot of incidental evidence tying Dante’s description of what happened to the bullet holes and the position of