‘In all, how many hours were spent on this exercise?’
‘I called the team off as dusk fell, about eight o’clock.’
‘So, your ten men were intercepting pedestrians in the estate and knocking on doors for nearly six hours?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘In that time, did they come up with one single eyewitness who either saw the attack or saw two men answering the description of my clients running through the estate?’
‘No, sir.’
‘So, after, what? over a hundred inquiries, you found not one shred of evidence to link my clients to the time and the place?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Thank you, Inspector. No further questions.’
Jack Burns was next. He was led through his lengthy statement from the first call in the canteen to the final formal charging of Price and Cornish with murder. Then Vansittart rose.
‘You have conducted a very thorough investigation, Mr Burns?’
‘I hope so, sir.’
‘Left no stone unturned?’
‘I would like to think so.’
‘How many officers were in the search team, the POLSA?’
‘About a dozen, sir.’
‘But they found no trace of Mr Price’s blood at or near the crime scene?’
‘No, sir.’
‘So here is a badly broken nose, streaming blood in a fountain, and not one single droplet fell to the pavement?’
‘None was found, sir.’
Burns knew better than to allow a lawyer to bait him.
‘You see, Mr Burns, my client will say that none of his blood was found there because he did not break his nose at that place, because he was never there that Tuesday. Now, Mr Burns . . .’
Vansittart had made a mini speech in place of a question. He knew there was no jury present to be impressed. He was talking to Stipendiary Magistrate Jonathan Stein, who looked at him expressionlessly and made notes. Miss Sundaran scribbled furiously.
‘Penetrating the estate itself, did your POLSA team search for anything else the miscreants might have dropped?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And how many binliners did they manage to fill?’
‘Twenty, sir.’
‘And were the contents searched with the finest of toothcombs?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And in twenty binliners, was there one shred of evidence linking my clients to the time and the place?’