wrote my thesis on the use of ESDA in criminal cases.”
“ESDA?” repeated Grace, for the benefit of everyone else in the court, other than the two of them.
“Electrostatic Detection Apparatus.”
“And you have since written two major works on the subject, and recently been awarded the National Medal of Science.”
“That is correct.”
“In addition to which, you—”
“I think you have established, Ms. Warwick,” interjected Lord Justice Arnott, “that the professor is preeminent in his field. Perhaps it’s time for you to show us what relevance his expertise has in this particular case. I only hope,” he added, turning to face the witness, “that my colleagues and I will be able to follow you, professor.”
“Don’t worry, Your Honor,” said Abrahams. “I’ll treat all three of you as if you were first-year students.”
Sir Julian held his breath, while Grace stared anxiously at the judges, waiting for a stern rebuke, but none was forthcoming. Their lordships just smiled, when Lord Justice Arnott said, “That’s most considerate of you, professor, and I hope you’ll forgive me if I find it necessary to ask you the occasional question.”
“Fire away at any time, Your Honor. And in answer to your first question, about the relevance of ESDA to this particular case, I have to admit, I wouldn’t have considered taking on this assignment had it not given me an opportunity to visit my mother.”
“Your mother lives in England?” asked Lord Justice Arnott.
“No, Your Honor, in Warsaw. But England’s on the way.”
“I’ve never thought of England as being on the way to anywhere,” said the judge, “but please continue, professor.”
“To do so, Your Honor, I must first explain why ESDA is now considered by the American Bar Association to be an important weapon in its armory. That wasn’t always the case. The change took place quite recently, when a congressman whom I intensely dislike told the court during his trial for fraud that he had read every page of a sensitive military procurement document, and suspected that some pages had been added at a later date. I was able to prove he had lied to the court, which resulted in him not only having to resign from office, but also ending up in jail for a long time.”
“But in this case, as I understand it,” said Lord Justice Arnott, “you will be attempting to prove the exact opposite, namely that a sheet of paper was removed, not added.”
“That is correct, Your Honor. And if you’ll allow me to examine the evidence in your presence, I believe I will also be able to establish whether it was Arthur Rainsford or DI Stern who lied under oath. Because they can’t both have been telling the truth.” The professor now had everyone in the courtroom’s close attention.
“Beyond reasonable doubt?” asked Arnott, raising an eyebrow.
“Scientists don’t deal in doubt, Your Honor. It’s either fact or fiction.”
This silenced his lordship.
“But in order to prove my case, Your Honor, I will need your permission to leave the witness box and conduct an experiment.”
The judge nodded. Professor Abrahams stepped down from the box and walked across to a machine that looked like a desktop photocopier. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves and turned to face the judges.
“Your Honor, may I suggest,” said Grace, “that you and your colleagues join us so we can all follow the experiment more closely?”
Lord Justice Arnott nodded, and all three judges left the bench and descended into the well of the court, where they were joined by both counsel to form a ring around the ESDA.
“Pay attention,” said Abrahams, as he always did when he was about to address the students at his lectures. “No one has suggested,” he began, “that Mr. Rainsford didn’t initial the first page of his statement that was later produced as evidence in court. The only dispute is whether there were three pages rather than two. And if I’m to prove that, I will require the original two-page statement.”
“This has been agreed by both sides, My Lords,” interjected Grace.
Arnott nodded to the clerk, who handed the original statement to Professor Abrahams.
“Now, I suspect,” said Abrahams, “that we will all need to be reminded of the wording of the original statement. I repeat, there is no dispute concerning page one from either party.” He began to read.
My name is Arthur Edward Rainsford. I am fifty-one years old and currently reside at 32 Fulham Gardens, London SW7. I am the sales director of a small finance company that specializes in investing in burgeoning pharmaceutical companies.
On May