"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups." "The police, who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecutors, who prosecute the offenders." "These are their stories." "You did one of these for me last month, didn't you?" "Yeah." "We're busy these days." "I have to say, I was surprised you'd come out on Sunday at all." "Mind you, a bailiff has got to be recession-proof." "Yeah." "Which is it?" "Flat 11." "Name's Marlowe." "Made redundant a year ago." "I don't like calling you guys out but I need the money." "We've all got family to look after." "There's mine now." "Mr Marlowe?" "Yeah, Mum." "I'm here now." "Mr Marlowe, open the door." "I'll pick it up on the way back." "Can you turn that down?" "I can't hear anything." "Mum, the cat can wait." "I've got to go." "Archie?" "Can you turn that music down a bit, son?" "Mr Marlowe, open the door." "Oh, dear God!" "Call the police." "Get the police!" "Archie Rahman." "He's a student." "Only been here since term started." "Did he have any regular visitors?" "Not as far as I know." "There was a drugs raid next door last month, wasn't there?" "Archie is not like that." "He's a good kid." "Far as I remember, he always had his head stuck in a book." "Sorry, I've got to take this." "Hello, Mum?" "Yeah, I'm all right." "I don't care if the cat's going hungry." "Bloke in the flat downstairs reckons he heard a barney coming from Archie Rahman's flat at about 4pm." "Male or female barney?" "He couldn't tell." "I don't think he could tell what day it was." "Been enjoying a little too much of the old wacky baccy." "All right, Pete?" "What are the highlights, mate?" "To knife wounds, one defensive in the arm, one in the abdomen, below the ribs." "What kind of knife?" "Difficult to say." "Probably four inch blade." "No sign of forced entry?" "No, but it's hardly the Bank of England." "No change, no spy-hole, one badly-maintained lock." "Attacker could have knocked and the lad just opened the door." "In his boxer shorts?" "Well, it happens." "Let's hope it is not that random." "Knife attack is bad enough on the streets." "But in your own home..." "Pete?" "Is this...what I think it is?" "Needs confirming, but yeah." "His 'n' hers body fluids." "Fresh...ish." "Lovely." "Well, whoever he was entertaining has long since gone." "And so has Archie Rahman." "No-one was seen in or out on Sunday afternoon?" "Not by anyone talking to us." "So our list of suspects can be filed under A for anyone?" "Security cameras are all fakes, only there as a deterrent." "That's what you get when you cut corners, gentlemen." "You just come from a budget meeting?" "Don't ask." "You don't fancy swapping your squad cars for bicycles, do you?" "Oh, that will be good." "I can see me and you on a tandem." "What's new there?" "You on the back stuffing your face and me at the front doing the legwork as usual." "It wasn't a serious suggestion, boys." "What have we got on Archie Rahman?" "He didn't do drugs, not attached to any gangs and kept himself to himself according to residents." "Chandler?" "All right." "Show them into an interview room." "Archie's parents are here." "Matt, keep chasing the neighbours." "Ron..." "I know, but someone has got to do it." "Why are you asking us all these questions?" "We're very sorry." "We are trying to understand what happened to your son." "What's to understand?" "He worked two jobs to pay his fees." "He studied hard." "He has done nothing wrong." "When was the last time you spoke to Archie?" "Saturday night." "I told him to stay in." "I told him that he could enjoy living his life..." "later." "Now he needed to..." "He was the first one in our family to go to university." "Mrs Rahman, we found two wine glasses in the kitchen of Archie's flat that had been drunk from." "Do you think he had been drinking with a friend?" "Maybe even a girlfriend?" "He did not have a girlfriend." "There was Darla." "He was never serious about her." "They broke up a few months ago." "OK." "And Darla, was she upset by the break up?" "I don't know." "She was wrong for him and he knew it." "Ali never approved of her because she... she was in a band." "He deserved better." "He deserved better than this." "I saw him last week to get my iPod back." "And it was all smiles, was it, Darla?" "No." "He was winding me up about my life, like always." "I told him to get lost." "He goes to college because his dad tells him to and then acts all posh like I'm beneath him." "I ain't taking that." "So why did you see him again on Sunday?" "I didn't." "I ain't seen him since." "Not even for a final farewell?" "I don't need a sympathy shag from Archie Rahman." "He ain't all that." "Can anyone verify where you were on Sunday?" "Yeah." "About 50 people saw our gig at the Waterhole in Walthamstow." "What's this about?" "What has he done?" "Archie was murdered on Sunday afternoon." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Archie." "Do you know if he was seeing anyone else?" "Archie's gone." "Do you believe her?" "Yeah." "They're just kids." "They leave home." "No matter how much you try to protect them, they all leave...eventually." "What are you on about, you daft old git?" "I remember." "I couldn't wait." "Knife was serrated, 10cm blade." "After that, we're guessing." "A forensic expert guessing?" "What would Quincy say?" "Who's Quincy?" "The woman upstairs was out all day with her kids." "The other flat has been empty since January." "What about mobile records?" "Still checking through them." "Let's hope something turns up or it's door to door for the next six weeks." "Which is why I brought you this." "Persian Pottery of the 11th Century." "Thanks, Teddy." "I was looking for that." "Evidence from Archie's flat." "Thought we could get fingerprint details " "And did you?" "Yeah, hundreds." "None useful." "Because it's a library book from Waterloo and City College library." "It was stamped out on Sunday." "I wasn't here on Sunday." "I'm a postgrad." "I only do a few shifts." "Could you tell us what time this book was checked out, please?" "All right." "Give me a minute." "I went out with a girl from here once." "Why?" "Did you need help with your homework?" "Amanda Teague." "We used to meet up after the library closed." "Go for a quickie in social sciences." "What's the matter with you?" "This is a place of learning." "We were learning." "Here you go." "Checked out on Sunday around 11:00 by Rebecca Anderson." "You sure it wasn't checked out by Archie Rahman?" "Not unless he looks like this." "The title of the book is Persian Pottery of the 11th Century." "I'm doing modern languages." "Why would I have a book about pottery?" "It's checked out in your name." "Since when did you lot care about a library book?" "Was it late?" "Were you in the college likely on Sunday?" "Till it closed at 6:00." "With anyone?" "Might have been." "Right, Miss Anderson, listen." "We haven't started asking the tough questions yet and he will have to shave again soon, so please..." "I was with my friend." "Does your friend have a name?" "Sally Douglas." "Do you know Archie Rahman?" "No." "Are you sure?" "Let me think about that for a second." "Yeah, I'm sure!" "This is serious, Rebecca." "Your pottery book was found in his flat when he was murdered." "I told you, it's not my book." "That library always get stuff mixed up." "I got a fine the other day for a book I'd never even heard of." "I bet that is what happened." "Where can we find your friend Sally?" "She helps out at her mum's hair salon in Stoke Newington." "I was at the library, doing an essay." "By yourself?" "No, with my friend Becky." "We were there until it closed." "This is Rebecca Anderson?" "And she was with you the whole day?" "Yeah." "We left about...six." "Is Becky in trouble?" "We are just trying to sort out a mixup, that's all." "Oh, right." "So, who do you reckon was having a bottle of plonk with Archie Rahman over Sunday lunch, then?" "You've got that look again." "What's up?" "You remember what I said about me and Amanda Teague?" "I'm eating!" "Rebecca and Sally said they were working in the library all day on Sunday until it closed at 6:00." "And?" "Yeah, still holding." "Yes, and?" "Thank you, you've been a great help." "Something was nagging at me, so I called." "On Sundays, the library closes at midday." "Giving one of them the chance to have a bit beef and Yorkshire pudding with Archie Rahman." "And maybe the chance to kill him." "Becks was with me the whole time." "Until the library closed at six?" "Yeah." "Except it closes before lunch on Sunday, doesn't it?" "That leaves us with a missing afternoon." "As detectives, we don't like missing afternoons." "Things can happen that we don't know about, you see, Sally?" "And that makes us as suspicious." "The library closes at 12:00 but the university doesn't." "We went into the reading room, carried on working, then went home." "Right." "This is a murder investigation." "You don't need to be part of it." "I'm not part of it." "If you're covering for your friend, you could be in trouble." "She's got nothing to do with it." "And what are you studying?" "Philosophy and Art History." "OK." "What's the lecture about?" "Ancient arts of Persia and the subcontinent." "I've really got to go." "So Rebecca's book is in Archie's flat on the subject Sally is studying." "I saw a Krypton Factor like that once." "Which do we believe is capable of murder?" "Sugar or spice?" "The bottom line is we haven't got any proof that either of those girls were anywhere near Archie Rahman when he died." "So..." "Devlin?" "Hiya." "Blinding." "Thanks." "Ange has got something for us." "As ever." "This is the high street round the corner from Archie's flat." "Less than a ten-minute walk." "That looks like Sally Douglas." "What do you think?" "Difficult to prove from this distance." "What shop is that, Ange?" "It's not." "It's a local cab firm." "Right." "Yeah, I was here Sunday." "Doing every shift I can to get me out the house." "Baby crying all the time can drive a man mad." "Yeah, lovely." "Do you recognise this girl?" "Is there a reward if I do?" "Yeah." "We'll leave you alone so you can get back to your in-tray." "OK." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "I remember her." "And why is that?" "She came in late afternoon, crying her eyes out." "Real emotional." "I don't suppose you got her name?" "No." "She just kept saying, "Take me home, take me home."" "I felt for her." "I reckon she was suffering man trouble." "Right." "Don't work too hard, eh?" "Right, so we know they're both lying." "Which one do you want to scare first?" "I don't mind." "As long as I can play 'bad cop'." "I swear I was in the library all day with my mate." "I've had enough." "You're coming to the station with us." "What for?" "We're thinking of throwing you a party." "How's that?" "You can't arrest me!" "Why do you think we carry police badges, Rebecca?" "It's not to get us into China Whites." "We can continue this at the station or you can tell us what really happened." "OK, get the cuffs out, Matt, please." "Happy now?" "OK, OK." "OK." "Sally rang me on Sunday night really upset and said that if anyone asked, we were at the library all day together." "And you didn't ask why your best mate was crying down the phone?" "I assumed she had had a row with her dad." "She always does." "Why has she got a book out under your name?" "I've got a bad credit rating." "I needed some kosher ID to secure my flat." "We swapped cards." "Is Sally in trouble?" "Yes, she is." "But not for swapping cards." "This is just a huge mistake." "My daughter has nothing to do with any boy." "Mrs Douglas, the fingerprints we've taken from your daughter have been matched to those found at the victim's flat." "That can't be right!" "Sally, I'm going to read you your rights." "Understand?" "You're arresting her?" "Hang on a second" " Mum, it's all right." "I'm ready." "Sally Douglas " "..my daughter and I have a right to see her." "Martin, they're arresting her." "Say nothing, sweet pea." "Nothing until we get a brief." "Understand?" "We can let you stay but you will have to calm down." "My daughter is here." "I should have been called." "You can't talk to her without me here." "Mr Douglas, she is over the age of 18." "We don't need your permission " "While under my roof, she needs my permission to do anything!" "You are under my roof at the moment." "I can allow you to stay as a courtesy but if you impede this interview," "I'll have you removed." "Do you understand?" "Good." "Sally Douglas, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Archie Rahman." "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned" " I need a lawyer here." "Now!" "Anything you do say may be given in evidence." "Is there anything you want to say, Sally?" "Say nothing." "Dad, I'm not a criminal." "It doesn't matter, sweet pea." "They can twist your words." "Listen to your father." "Sally, we can wait if you'd rather?" "I'll wait." "OK." "Get her the duty solicitor." "And make sure we've got someone from the CPS watching everything." "Sorry, Ron." "I've only just got out of court." "Not to worry." "Give me your coat." "Thank you." "Right, just make yourself comfortable." "I'll let them know we're good to go, OK?" "Sally?" "In your own time..." "I was in the library by the coffee machine." "This boy came over and started talking to me." "He said his name was Archie and he was doing Art History." "We talked and he made me laugh." "I liked him." "We went outside for a cigarette and we talked some more." "I realised we were doing the same course, just at different colleges." ""He was doing a similar project."" "So he invited me round to his flat." "Dear God." "We went there together... and he gave me some wine." "And I drank it... ..and I felt really weird." "I thought it was just the alcohol but I tried to stand up and I was too dizzy, so I fell back on the bed." "Then he started taking my clothes off." "Oh, Sally." "Jesus." ""Did you try to resist?"" ""I couldn't..." "I couldn't move my arms or... cry out." "I couldn't even say 'no'."" "And he raped me." ""While I was lying there."" ""I couldn't move and then I just passed out."" ""Any idea how long for?"" "A few minutes, I guess." "I started pulling my clothes back on when he came out of the bathroom and wanted to do it again." "I tried to run but he grabbed me so I got hold of a knife." "And I stabbed him." "But I didn't know what I was doing." "I just wanted to get out." "What did you do with the knife?" "I dropped it outside." "I just wanted to get away." ""Why didn't you tell the police?"" ""I wasn't thinking."" "I was just so ashamed." ""Did you see a doctor?" "No."" "Please, for God's sake, stop." "Did you tell anyone about this?" "How could I?" "I thought it was all my fault." "She was dizzy, she was paralysed." "What do we reckon?" "Rohypnol?" "Could be." "It's tasteless." "Straight in the wine glass, can knock her out." "Some poor girls don't even remember being raped." "No, they don't." "Don't take this all at face value." "You're saying you don't believe her?" "I'm saying I'm not 100%." "From where I was, I saw a nice young girl who has been through hell." "Don't forget that at the beginning of this, there is a dead teenager." "Precisely." "As a detective, I'd like to see evidence to back up her story." "When have we dealt with a murder-rape where the rapist is the dead body?" "I say good on her for fighting back." "Come on, Matt." "She threw the murder weapon God knows where." "She lied to us." "She got an alibi." "It wouldn't be the first time someone lied about being raped." "You OK?" "Yeah." "What do you think?" "Have you got enough?" "Unless we can prove her story is a lie, she'll walk on self-defence." "But worth us investigating?" "Alesha?" "I guess so." "Until we know exactly what happened in that flat, yes, it's worth investigating." "All right." "So what do we do with Sally?" "What we do with any suspected killer." "We get the charging officer and we put her away." "My client is not guilty, my Lady." "With respect to my learned friend, the Crown opposes bail." "Sally Douglas lied consistently to the police for over a week before being arrested." "She then made a statement which we believe to be false." "She could fail to appear before this court unless remanded." "My Lady, really, remand is unnecessary." "My client defended herself against a sexual attack." "She's 19 years old and still lives with her parents." "She's a hard-working young student who is not going to run away." "She was frightened, intimidated " "Yes, thank you." "I get the picture." "Bail is granted with the following conditions:" "Her passport will be surrendered and she should report to the local constabulary every day at noon." "What's next?" "You OK with this?" "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" "Sally's story is similar to " "James, we deal with sex crimes all the time." "Why should this one be any different?" "Then we have nothing to worry about." "Except our case is looking pretty thin." "Why do you say that?" "Well, for a start, she got bail." "That's no surprise." "Without Archie to speak for himself, her story sounds pretty convincing." "James?" "Do you think we're doing the right thing?" "Archie's dead." "We can't ignore that." "But what if it was self-defence?" "Then we'll deal with it but what if she's lying and it was murder?" "Would you be happy telling Archie's dad we have no case?" "If it's the truth, yes." "We don't know yet either way so do me a favour, keep that to yourself until we're through this circus." "My client was attacked by a predatory rapist " "There is Sally Douglas." "Sally?" "Are you expecting the CPS to drop the charges?" "You'll have to ask the CPS." "Mr Steel?" "Mr Steel?" "Don't you think justice has already been done?" "A rapist is dead, after all." "Let's first establish whether she was actually raped." "Are you calling the victim a liar, Mr Steel?" "Mr Steel?" "Has Miss Douglas been granted bail?" "Mr Steel?" "A young Asian boy is stabbed and nobody seems to care." "A pretty white girl is raped and suddenly it's headline news." "All we needed was PT Barnum and we could have sold tickets." "Do we have anything to prove this girl's story is false?" "No trace of GHB or Rohypnol in Archie's flat." "No residue in the glasses, no packaging." "Maybe bought from someone else." "Glasses were rinsed." "Possibly." "We haven't found the murder weapon." "Picked up by a passerby?" "She never said she hid it." "You seem to have the defence argument wrapped up." "So, James, why are we prosecuting?" "Her story is inconsistent with other accounts of drug rapes." "We can't dismiss her story for not fitting a known pattern." "How did she stab Archie a few minutes after the attack if she'd been drugged with a sedative?" "People react to drugs in different ways." "What if the effect had worn off?" "Or if she's the one who fought back?" "Fifteen-love to the defence." "So what's your case?" "Prove she's lying." "No rape occurred." "She stabbed him for another reason." "Any in mind?" "Crime of passion." "OK." "If you want to prosecute that successfully, you'll have to show that Sally knew Archie before that Sunday." "Let's start with her friends." "See what they have to say about her." "And if we don't find anything?" "Same as always." "If we can't build a strong enough case, we'll walk away." "Fine." "James?" "Is she..." "Is she letting her thing affect her?" "Her thing?" "You know." "What happened to her." "No." "Why would she?" "She's the best prosecutor we have, George." "Did Sally already know Archie?" "Why is it so hard to believe that a Bollywood boy wanted a piece of her?" "It's not but I need to know as much as possible." "So you can stitch her up in court?" "Rebecca, we'll go forward with this case or drop it, based on what I can find out." "Did Sally have a boyfriend?" "We talked about boys all the time." "She would have said something to me if she had." "So you think Sally's telling the truth?" "She isn't the first college girl to be taken advantage of." "But she said nothing until she was arrested." "She used you as her alibi." "She was a mate." "She asked for help and I didn't question it." "How is she?" "Have you not been round?" "The press are outside her house." "Her dad is not letting anyone in." "Well, it will be tough for her... ..but if she's strong, she'll handle it." "How long have you known Sally?" "Since she was 15." "Did she ever talk to you about boyfriends?" "She wanted my advice." "You know?" "What to say, what to wear." "Any boy in particular?" "She was bang into this bloke at sixth form." "They had only snogged but I could tell she was proper fixed on him." "Anyone since?" "Not as far as I know." "She was pretty gutted about being dumped." "I remember what that's like." "Yeah, but Theo was a real tosser about it." "Why?" "She broke her arm in an accident, yeah?" "Had a few days off school." "By the time she came back, he had moved on to someone else." "Something shiny and new had come along." "Boys never change." "I went back to the ex-boyfriend to see if they were still in touch and he barely remembers her." "One of those things." "She was more into him than he was into her." "Can we connect her to Archie?" "Nothing in her current circle of friends suggests she knew him before that Sunday." "Or any boy, for that matter." "Unless the police find something, I don't think we have a case." "Hang on a minute." "We have university staff to talk to, phone records to check, her family." "And why would she lie for so long?" "Why did she feel the need to have an alibi?" "Headline, James." "People lie about things they are ashamed of." "Would you care to join us?" "Why can't you put her away?" "You have a confession from her." "She stabbed my son." "She's claiming self-defence." "Every day!" "Every day, those bastards on the news talking about justice and rape." "We have to deal with the death of our son while his name is destroyed and you just sit here doing nothing." "I can assure you, we are not doing nothing." "I want this over with." "I just want it all to end." "I know this is difficult for you but it takes time to build a case." "Can't we just stop?" "Now?" "But then it would never go to trial." "If we drop this now, then there is a risk your son will be remembered for ever as a rapist." "I know but this is killing us." "We are doing all that we can just as fast as we can." "Mr Rahman, has something happened?" "I had a call from the press." "God, please don't let them influence you in any way at all." "You have to stop them." "They are threatening to publish." "Publish what?" "And old school report." "What report?" "We can't go through this again." "I'm sorry..." "Go through what again?" "Archie was suspended." "What was he suspended for, Mr Rahman?" "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." "The head said so." "But what was he suspended for, Mr Rahman?" "He attacked a girl." "He was 13." "He was suspended for a week for going into the girls' changing room " "With three other kids, all older than him, egging him on." "He pulled at a girl's clothing." "There was screaming, tears." "Enough to be taken seriously." "But it wasn't reported to the police." "My readers may skip that detail." "Russell, you can't run with this." "It'll prejudice the case." "No names will be mentioned." "It won't be difficult to work out which case you're referring to." "It's true, some of our readership can add two and two." "The tabloids are not where this should be played out." "My editor disagrees." "Your white, male editor?" "How can you, of all people " "What?" "Cos I is black?" "Be honest, we all love an enforced stereotype." "Thanks for the fair trade coffee." "You print this, we'll take you to court." "Yeah, I know." "And we'll publish an apology buried on page ten when the injunction comes through." "Good luck." "When did fighting the press become full time?" "It shows an escalation in Archie's behaviour." "A character pattern?" "Can't indict him for getting fresh in the girls' changing rooms at 13." "Something you want to tell me?" "It's a huge leap from kid full of hormones to a sex attacker." "Maybe." "But some make the jump." "How were we to know this?" "It's a school bloody report!" "Nothing came up about his past during the investigation?" "I thought we were investigating the person who held the knife?" "Natalie, please, we need something to prove this girl is lying or we'll have to walk away." "Maybe you'd like to talk to the boys?" "They've been doing more than sitting on their backsides with their fingers in their ears for the past few weeks." "Jellybean?" "Have you got something?" "Trying to get the details of the phone calls has been a nightmare." "Matty has been here all night piecing together the mobile records." "Anything linking Sally to Archie?" "There is a pattern in her outgoing calls but I can't make sense of it." "She keeps dialling this number but just for short bursts." "Ten seconds, 20 seconds." "Nothing long enough to have a conversation." "What's the number?" "It's an 0207 number." "I've been on it for hours this morning." "Nothing." "Incoming calls?" "Still being sorted by the phone company." "Still?" "Welcome to our world." "Make an urgent request, wait six months for a reply." "That's " ""Hello?"" "Hello?" "This is Matt Devlin of MIU, Bow Street." "You are?" "Right." "And where are you?" "Really?" "Thank you very much, madam." "You're not going to believe this." "There she is." "Who uses a payphone these days?" "Someone who needs to keep their relationship a secret, I guess." "So she is lying?" "Yeah, looks like it." "She pranks here, he rings back, they talk for as long as they like, the number stays under the radar, nothing suspicious on her bill." "Have you checked this?" "Yeah." "No relevant forensic detail." "The report is somewhere on my desk." "Get the outgoing call records for this number." "Hey." "You OK?" "Outgoing call records from Archie's payphone match a contract mobile belonging to Martin Douglas." "Sally's dad." "Who is paying for her mobile phone." "Sally did know Archie." "She had done for weeks." "So she lied about knowing him." "Doesn't mean that she lied about being raped." "True." "But do you really think that now?" "Most rape victims know their attacker." "Yeah, but why is she still lying about what happened?" "Maybe because she didn't think anyone would believe her." "Do you?" "I really want to." "If Sally is crying, "rape", has she any idea what she's doing?" "How much damage this does?" "No." "She really hasn't." "Then let's call Thompson." "Confront him with this, see what he says." "And why should I be discussing a deal with you?" "Because we can prove they were having a relationship." "'Prove' is such a strong word." "A mobile in her father's name was being used to call a public phone?" "Smacks of circumstantial to me." "Chris, that is bollocks and you know it." "A jury won't be that naive." "Depends how you present it." "Rather like his previous form." "Don't believe everything you read in the papers." "That was a wild interpretation of the facts." "Hi." "Hi." "I..." "I shouldn't be talking to you." "My boss is trying to convince your barrister to take a deal." "What for?" "You to plead guilty." "But why?" "It was self-defence." "Well, you lied about knowing Archie." "That means some people will think you lied about the rape as well." "Well, I'm not." "I'm telling the truth." "OK, but the next step is appearing in court." "The Old Bailey, where you'll have to tell everyone what happened to you." "I know." "I can do that." "Sally, I have been in there when someone has had to recount every single detail and it is hard and it is painful and heartbreaking." "If you go into court telling this story, it will be our job to prove that you are lying." "You do not have to put yourself through that." "You can tell me the truth now." "Did Archie rape you?" "Miss Phillips, don't talk to my client without my being present." "Of course." "Sorry." "See you in court." "Is there anything I need to know?" "No, nothing." "He wouldn't bite." "Is there anything I need to know?" "Yeah." "She wasn't raped." "If Thomson won't take the deal, she has to go down for murder." "Are you sure she's lying?" "Yep." "Although I still don't yet know why." "The defence will play on her girl-next-door appearance and hope the jury will cry with her." "Could be a tough one to get home." "But you're confident?" "I'd bet your salary on it." "But not your own?" "I'd hate to appear arrogant, George." "How many cases have we lost prosecuting genuine sex attackers?" "Too many." "No physical evidence, no forensic support, he said, she said, beyond reasonable doubt." "There has got to be a better way of prosecuting cases like this." "If I think of one, I'll let you know." "Oh, God, that is all I need." "My dry cleaners are still trying to get the tomato stain out of my suit from yesterday." "Be grateful it was just a tomato." "The unholy alliance of the right wing and the feminists want us to drop the case, while ethnic community leaders want us to put Sally Douglas against a wall." "We're running out of friends, here, James." "Who is up this afternoon?" "Ronnie Brooks." "The calls from the payphone were made every day, sometimes up to an hour." "And what was your conclusion from this?" "That Miss Douglas knew the victim and had done for several weeks." "Thank you." "No further questions." "Do you have Archie Rahman's fingerprints on the phone?" "No, we don't, but that's not unusual" " CCTV?" "No." "Eyewitnesses?" "No." "So you have no real evidence that the person on the end of the payphone was Archie Rahman?" "We made an assumption by process of elimination." "How very Sherlock Holmes of you." "Who else would she be calling in that block on a regular basis?" "I have no idea." "And neither do you." "No further questions." "Nothing further, My Lady." "All we are asking for here is some sensitivity." "What are you suggesting?" "Drop the case." "Save face now or confront a hostile press at the end of the week." "Throw in the towel halfway through?" "I'm thinking of the public purse." "I can do that for all of us." "Sally lied about what happened and a boy is dead." "Because he raped my girl." "And if she hadn't, I'd have bloody killed him." "This meeting is going nowhere - James, think about it " "Forget it, Chris." "I'm not arguing the toss with a bunch of lawyers who can see things the way they do." "The way 'they' do?" "Martin, let's go." "You know exactly who I mean." "Some bloody Paki rapist who thinks my girl is fair game and you're standing up for him!" "Archie Rahman is British." "And his family are from Bangladesh." "That makes no difference." "They don't even have proper laws over there." "They'd have bloody stoned - We'll finish this in court." "My girl has been destroyed by what happened." "Destroyed." "None of you lot bloody care!" "Martin, for God's sake - Don't you start." "Martin, this isn't helping." "Don't you dare!" "Sorry." "That is some temper." "Anyone else feel the need for a shower?" "Didn't Sally break her arm a couple of years ago?" "Yeah, just before she left school." "Why?" "Find a friend at the PCT." "I want to see that medical report." "Wow." "Isn't it?" "A spiral fracture." "You know what this means?" "It doesn't actually change anything but at least now we have the full picture." "Yeah." "Ugly as it is." "Who told you off when you were a kid?" "My mum." "I had my dad wrapped around my little finger." "Till he left." "Why?" "Most women I know would say the same as you." "Dads and their daughters." "But not Sally Douglas." "You're thinking of changing the strategy?" "Yeah, maybe." "James, her cross is tomorrow." "I'll have to go through everything again first but this could be the key to opening her up." "We will get home with this, won't we?" "Have I let you down before?" "We have to win, James." "I depended on the legal system and my attacker was still acquitted." "In the eyes of the law, I also cried, "rape"." "We have to do better this time." "Are you happy at home, Sally?" "Yes." "Do get on with your parents?" "Yeah, I guess." "With your dad?" "Yes." "Do you remember 13 October two years ago?" "No." "Really?" "You spend the night at AE." "Oh, yeah, I'd broken my arm." "Yeah, it was... a spiral fracture, according to the records." "Is that right?" "Yeah." "Must have hurt." "Yes." "How did you break it?" "It was an accident." "I fell over and broke my arm." "Oh, right." "Right." "I thought a spiral fracture was a very specific injury caused by a violent twist in the arm." "Say if someone grabbed your wrist and you were trying to get away." "What is the relevance of this line of questioning?" "My apologies." "I'll be more relevant." "Sally, who pays for your mobile phone and opens the bill every month?" "My dad." "When you wanted a job, who suggested you work for your mum's hair salon?" "My dad." "Who encouraged you to apply to London universities so you could carry on living at home?" "My dad." "Who is the disciplinarian in your house?" "My dad." "Who broke your arm on 13 October two years ago?" "Sally?" "Did your dad break your arm?" "Let me put this another way." "Can you remember if you were seeing anyone at that time?" "A boyfriend?" "I can't remember." "Weren't you going out with Theo Hallett?" "Yes." "Theo's black, isn't he?" "Did your dad break your arm because he disapproved of your boyfriend?" "My Lady, could you remind the witness that she is under oath, please?" "My Lady, please, my learned friend is simply tormenting the witness." "The witness murdered Archie Rahman because she couldn't admit to her father that she was having a relationship with him." "Isn't that the truth, Sally?" "You kept him a secret because you were scared of your dad finding out, terrified of what he might do to you." "Did you love Archie?" "Yes." "Yet you seem completely happy to destroy his name in this court, in front of his family." "He will be remembered forever as the boy who raped you." "Is that what you want?" "Is it easier to live with that than it would have been to tell your dad the truth?" "I'm so sorry, Dad." "I'm sorry." "Sally, did Archie attack you?" "Miss Douglas, you must answer Council's question." "Did Archie do anything to you?" "Archie threatened to..." "To what?" "To go round my parents' house and tell them who he was." "He said if he couldn't show public affection..." "I'd never seen him so angry, so upset." "I tried to stop him, but... we got into a fight, and..." "There was a knife." "What did you do with the knife?" "I picked it up." "Then I can't remember." "There was just blood everywhere." "Sally, just to be absolutely clear, Archie did not rape you?" "Sally, if you are lying about Archie raping you, we need to hear it." "His parents need to hear it." "Sally, for every genuine rape victim that will stand in that witness box, please tell us the truth." "Did Archie rape you?" "No." "Then why lie to us for so long?" "I just don't want my dad to hate me any more." "No more questions." "Have you reached a verdict on which you all agree?" "Yes." "In relation to count one on the indictment alleging murder, do you find the defendant Sally Douglas guilty or not guilty?" "Guilty." "Members of the jury, I'd like to thank you for your hard work..." "Vodka tonic, two blobs of ice and a very generous squeeze of lime." "How did you know I'd show up?" "You always do." "Why would this case be any different?" "Thank you."