Bold Counsel (The Trials of Sarah Newby) Read Online Free PDF

important. I’ve been banged up for 18 years for something I didn’t do. Get that detail, did you?’
    ‘Of course. The fact that you could have gained parole by admitting your guilt is something the judges will have to take into account. It’s not the main point, but it’s not insignificant.’
    ‘So what is the main point then, darling? In your professional opinion.’ Once again the eyes focussed involuntarily on her blouse.
    Sarah sighed, and began to go through the details she had been studying on the train. At each stage she asked for his comments, to see if they tallied. It was not her job, of course, to sit in judgement on him, but she was encouraged to see that his story had a certain coherence. It was plausible, at least, and his stubborn refusal to accept parole showed his commitment to it. There were a few prisoners, she knew, who actually feared the outside world, and preferred life inside, but this man showed no signs of being one of them. At the end of their discussion she smiled.
    ‘Well, Mr Barnes, that’s our case. I won’t pretend that it’s watertight, but we have a chance, and I’ll do the best I can.’
    His eyes met hers, as they had done more frequently as the discussion progressed, an involuntary acknowledgment that she had a brain as well as breasts. For a second, anxiety replaced the bitter lust in his eyes.
    ‘Yeah, well make sure you do, darling, all right? I want my life back again.’
    ‘The world has changed a bit since you were young,’ Sarah said sympathetically. ‘If we win, you may need some help settling down.’
    It was kindly meant, but the comment fell on polluted ground. His face assumed a mocking leer which, she imagined, was uncannily like the expression Brenda Stokes might have seen on the face of her murderer.
    ‘What’s up, darlin’, hubby run off, has he?’ If the eyes had undressed her before, they were stripping her now. Sarah felt an angry flush warming her cheeks. Was her pain so obvious? Jason shifted the gum in his mouth, and laughed. ‘Nah, I’m not that desperate. You just get me out. I’ll sort out the totty on me own.’
    ‘Charmer, isn’t he?’ said Lucy, as the prison gates closed behind them. ‘Huge benefit to society, if we do manage to get him out.’
    Sarah searched the street for the taxi they had ordered. ‘Maybe Bob was right,’ she said. ‘I’d have been better off as a schoolteacher. Got more respect, at least.’
    As they walked towards the taxi, a group of schoolchildren surged towards them, swearing at a teacher who was failing to control them.
    ‘Or maybe not,’ said Lucy, watching. ‘After all, we’ve only got one delinquent client, not thirty. And he’s still locked up. So far, at least.’

4. Fingers of Death
    ‘S TOP THE car! Gary, he’s doing it!’
    ‘Just hold on, you little bugger! There’s services in three miles.’
    ‘He can’t wait! Mum, the seat’s wet!’
    ‘For God’s sake, Gary, stop here!’
    ‘Shit. OK, get the little pisser out. You take him, Shar.’
    The car, a blue Ford Orion with a rusting front wing and a yellow passenger door that Gary had promised to respray three months ago, screeched to a halt on the hard shoulder, taking another millimetre of rubber off the suspect front tyres. Sharon dumped her joint in the ashtray and lurched out onto the tarmac. She wrenched open the rear door and dragged her youngest, the dribbling Wayne, out onto the road, yanking his tracksuit bottoms down to his knees. They were already soaked with warm urine. A chorus of curses about the damp seat came from his two brothers. Then, before Sharon or Gary could stop them, the boys were out of the car and exploring the hard shoulder by themselves. A 40 ton wagon swerved violently as it passed them, the trucker leaning on his horn as the Orion shuddered in its wake.
    ‘Oi! Declan! Sean! Get back here, you little bastards!’
    By the time Gary hauled himself out of the car the kids were away, on some stupid