Wig Betrayed Read Free

was growing tired of the conversation and being treated as some sort of subordinate.
    â€œWith all due respect, I didn’t come here to discuss Smither but why, if he is going to retire, can’t I at least start to take over his cases. I’m sure he won’t mind – give him more time to clear his desk.”
    I fully expected Peascod to bristle at my cheek but, as I was soon to discover, he always climbed down when confronted.
    â€œYes...Yes. Actually, Smither has asked me for some pre-retirement leave. So perhaps you could manage his list. Of course, it means you will have to travel around the British military bases in Germany but must continue doing the absences at Brockendorf too.”
    Anything to get away from that damned mess, even temporarily
!
    â€œI don’t mind that at all and will handle the extra work easily.”
    In fact, I was delighted. It would give me an opportunity to see Germany properly in my free time. Criminal trials, involving witnesses giving evidence, rotated between different military camps depending on where the personnel, military or civil individuals, were living. Now, it was time to broach the other matter on my mind.
    â€œBy the way, Judge, there is something else on my mind.”
    I told him about the golf club problem.
    â€œOh dear, oh dear.”
    Peascod’s eyebrows shot up and down like angry beetles.
    â€œOn the face of it, I agree with you, Courtley, but it’s a
general
we’re talking about.”
    â€œShould that matter?”
    â€œNo, no. But the Judge Advocate General does have to maintain a happy relationship with the top military people. It makes life considerably easier for everyone, you know. After all, we do work directly with the Ministry of Defence.”
    I decided to cut to the chase.
    â€œSo you think the prosecution should just hand the club back to the General, then?”
    â€œAh, well, yes. Or possibly no.”
    Peascod’s head wobbled frantically again.
    â€œWe’ll ask Veejag, shall we? He’s going to be trying the case. Veejag!”
    Plunt bustled in.
    â€œYes, Jarge?”
    â€œThe golf club case: General Hudibrass wants his golf club back. As the trial judge, it must be for
you
to decide whether it can be returned to the general before the trial.”
    I decided to chip in.
    â€œRemember, Private Merse seems to be implying in his statement that he has a claim of right to the club.”
    Plunt may have been called to the Bar and done pupillage but, having spent the last 30 years in the civil service, I suspected that his knowledge of criminal law was not that extensive anymore.
    â€œClaim of right, eh? Seem to remember that the Theft Act 1968 makes that a defence in law. Perhaps Merse will say that the General gave the club to him as a present.”
    Peascod sat back in horror.
    â€œNo general would make such a gift to a
private
.”
    I chipped in again.
    â€œBut if he did, or Merse
thought
he did, he can’t be dishonest or guilty of stealing, can he?”
    Plunt nodded and strutted around in small circles as he was wont to do when making important decisions.
    â€œCourtley’s right. The club is to remain with the prosecution – until the end of the trial, at least,” he declared.
    A week later, Peascod proved to be as good as his word and I was whisked off to do a proper criminal trial at last. For the first time, I settled down in my dreary office to read the papers in the case with a real sense of anticipation.
    The facts of the case were relatively straightforward, on the face of it. The defendants, in their tank (an armoured personnel carrier, abbreviated to APC in army terminology), had been engaged in a military exercise on Luneberg Heath – a place much used for British Army manoeuvres. The two soldiers had decided that they wanted refreshments, so left the main road and drove into a convenient rastplatz. There was no problem about the logistics of this