Man Overboard!, page 13
Some forty minutes later they were all seated in the equivalent of the village hall in Groomsport. The affair had created a good deal of local interest, and the room was full to capacity. The coroner was sitting with a jury and those who had been called for that purpose were standing awkwardly round the walls. Seats at one side of the hall were being kept for them by a young constable with a worried expression. Amongst those at the table, at the end of which was the coroner’s chair, were M‘Clung, Dr Anderson, Penrose, M‘Morris and Ferris, as well as Jefferson, who had just arrived from Bristol. In the background were other witnesses and members of the public. Sergeant Callaghan, looking more important than ever, was moving about, consulting a sheaf of papers in his hand, and speaking to various individuals. A second constable stood by the door.
On the stroke of eleven the coroner, Dr Adam Purdy, arrived and took his place, having bowed to those present. He spoke in a low tone to Sergeant Callaghan, and then turned to M‘Clung.
‘Are you headquarters people interested in this, sergeant?’ he asked.
‘There was a bit of doubt about what had really occurred, sir,’ M‘Clung replied, ‘but I expect this inquiry will clear it up. I don’t think we’ll need to trouble more with it anyway.’
‘But Callaghan’s handling the thing?’
‘Certainly he is, sir. We’re only just watching.’
Dr Purdy nodded and looked at Callaghan. ‘Now sergeant, if you’re ready.’
The preliminaries were got through quickly enough. One by one the jurors were called, answered their names, and took their seats. Then they were sworn and the proceedings proper commenced.
The first witness was Patrick M‘Gonigle, master of the smack Sally Ann. He deposed that with his crew of three hands he was out fishing on the night of Monday, September 9th. When they were returning about five-thirty on Tuesday morning he saw something in the water. They put about and found it was a body. They took it aboard and brought it into Groomsport and informed the police.
‘Whereabouts did you find the body?’ Callaghan asked.
‘Just off Groomsport, about three or four miles out,’ the skipper answered.
‘Would that be near the path of the Liverpool boat?’ the coroner queried.
‘It would be farther out, sir. She would pass about a couple o’ mile from the shore.’
‘Then can you tell me how the current sets?’
This, it appeared, was a large question, opening many sidelines and providing much ground for interrogations. The currents altered with the tides. They varied from month to month and depended to some extent on the prevailing wind. But at last Purdy obtained the definite statement that the general set was north or north-easterly. That was to say, in fact, that an object dropped into the sea from the Liverpool boat on its passage down the Lough would probably sooner or later find itself in the position from which this body was taken. Finally, the evidence was brought back from the intricacies of tides and currents by Callaghan, who asked whether the body M‘Gonigle had found was that now lying at the police barracks and upon which the inquest was being held. On giving the required assurance the skipper was told that that would do and with evident relief he stepped back from the witness chair.
Jefferson was then called and stated that he had inspected the body in question and it was that of his nephew by marriage, Reginald Wilcox Platt. He gave details of the unfortunate man’s age, history and position, and explained the business which had brought him to Belfast. He, Jefferson, had received a letter from deceased from Hillsborough, saying that his work was complete and that he was returning by Saturday night’s steamer.
Jefferson was questioned rather fully as to the possibility of the deceased having had a motive for suicide. The witness answered that he understood that there were debts, and that there had been debts and gambling at a previous period in the deceased’s life. At the same time he pointed out that the process, in which Platt had obviously believed, was likely to prove a source of increased prosperity for his firm, in which prosperity Platt would have shared. Giving it as his opinion only, he, Jefferson, did not think there could have been any adequate motive for suicide. Deceased’s manner the last time witness had seen him was normal. And the letter he had written a couple of days before his death was couched in quite normal terms. Besides, he was not, in the witness’s judgment, the man to commit suicide under any circumstances.
Jack Penrose was the next witness. He described the negotiations which had taken place between the Wrenn Jefferson firm and the party at Hillsborough, together with the business which had been done with Platt during his visit. He said that he had crossed by the same boat, and that out of politeness he had looked for Platt on board to have a drink with him, but he could not find him. He had gone to his cabin, but it was empty, though the man’s suitcase was partly unpacked. That must have been about a quarter-past eleven.
Ferris then told how he had driven Platt to the Liverpool boat on the Saturday night in question. He had not gone on board with him, but he had parked at the end of Corporation Square, opposite the Liverpool berth, and had accompanied him to the entrance to the sheds alongside the quay wall. Deceased had walked across the shed, and as witness turned away, he had seen him offering his ticket to the man at the gangway. Witness had then driven home. Deceased had appeared to be in a perfectly normal condition, and was neither excited nor depressed.
It had not been possible, Sergeant Callaghan explained at this point, to produce the officers of the Ulster Sovereign who had dealt with deceased, as they were in Liverpool. But statements had been obtained from them, which, if the coroner desired, he would put in.
Sworn statements from Purser Albert M‘Bratney and Cabin Steward James Thomson were then handed in. These stated briefly what these two officers had already told to French. Deceased had written to the Belfast office asking that a single berth stateroom should be reserved for him and had handed M‘Bratney the reply card sent him from the office. He had paid the excess and had been passed on to the cabin steward. The latter told about the conversation that he had had with the deceased and how in the morning he had found the stateroom empty and the bed undisturbed.
Both men referred in their statements to the two strangers who had inquired for Platt. One of these was a previous witness, Mr Penrose, the other they did not know. There being no further evidence on this point it was not followed up.
Dr Thomas Anderson deposed that he had examined the body of deceased, and with the help of Dr M‘Gowan had made a post-mortem. Death in his opinion was due to drowning. All the symptoms of such were present, and there was no weakness of any of the organs which could possibly have proved fatal. Nor was there any wound or injury which might have suggested an alternative cause. In reply to the coroner, he was of the opinion that death had occurred about three weeks earlier. This, the coroner pointed out, would exactly work in with the presumption that deceased had been drowned on the Saturday night on which he left Belfast for Liverpool.
Dr Andrew M‘Gowan, Groomsport, corroborated the testimony of the previous witness in every detail. This was the last witness and the coroner, after glancing through his notes, began his address to the jury. After the usual gambit about the importance of their office, he went on:
‘Your first duty will be to state the actual physical cause of death, your second, to indicate what brought this cause into operation, and your third, to say if in your opinion any person was to blame for the death, and if so, whom.
‘Now in answering the first of these, stating the actual physical cause of death, I do not think you will have much trouble. The doctors have told you the man was drowned. They have told you besides that there was no disease and that there were no injuries. And nothing was told you by anyone in any way inconsistent with this. You will therefore probably find in accordance with the medical evidence, that the deceased met his death through drowning.
‘Now as regards your second duty, which will be to state how in your opinion the deceased came to be drowned, there are three obvious possibilities to be considered: accident, suicide and murder. Let us take these in turn.
‘I think you will agree that we have had before us no evidence as to the possibility of accident, by which I presume we can only mean that the deceased fell accidentally into the sea while the boat was passing down Belfast Lough. But we are entitled to use our own knowledge and common sense, and I think these will tell us that such an accident is so unlikely as to be practically an impossibility. The decks of these ships—and indeed of all passenger ships—are well fenced, and only if a person climbed deliberately on to the rail and then lost his balance would there be danger of accident. Alone and on a wet night, it is not likely that the deceased would have been on deck at all, still less that he would have indulged in any such childish practice.
‘With regard to the second possibility, that of suicide, there is more evidence. Whether it is convincing or not will be for you to say. But here we have the fact that this young man was in debt and that he was not very popular among his fellows. There is no evidence of further troubles, but of course he may have had some of which we do not know. Against the theory of suicide you have heard the statement of his employer, that this new enterprise which the firm was about to undertake would mean greater prosperity, and that such prosperity would have been shared in by the deceased. Also statements that the deceased was not a suicide type, that he was in normal health and spirits prior to the occurrence, and that he had written stating that he was returning to Bristol that night. These points you will take into consideration when framing your verdict.
‘In connection with the third possibility, that of murder, I think you will agree that no evidence supporting this theory has been put before you. You may consider indeed that the evidence is against it. You will remember that the doctors have assured you that death occurred from drowning. Now it might be argued that if the case were one of murder, this could only be true if the deceased had been picked up from the deck by some powerful man, or a number of men, and thrown over the side. But, gentlemen, if this had occurred, do you imagine that the deceased would not have struggled, and if he had struggled, would not some sign remain on the body? Moreover, if he had been thrown over uninjured, would he not have cried out? And if he had cried out in his desperation would he not have been heard by the officer of the watch or some member of the passengers or crew? You will consider how far these suggestions are justified. But to your conclusion I think you must add the fact that no motive for the murder has been suggested, nor any other fact supporting the theory of murder has been brought forward. Speaking for myself alone I do not think that there should be much difficulty in rejecting this theory of murder. But of course, as I reminded you when I began these remarks, the decision is not one for me, but for you only.
‘If there is no point on which you would like me to address you further, I will ask you to retire and consider your verdict.’
The jury whispered among themselves, then the foreman stood up and said they did not want to retire as they were agreed on their verdict. It was, he added on a question from the coroner, suicide while of unsound mind.
M‘Clung was pleased. Once again his opinion had been vindicated. These Englishmen were barking up the wrong tree. He had known perfectly well that the thing was suicide, for the simple reason that it couldn’t well have been anything else. Trust the boys of Northern Ireland! They knew their way round without any help from across the Channel! This was one up on Scotland Yard.
M‘Clung was also pleased because he didn’t want a fresh job. He had all the work he could very well handle. An hour or two in the morning would complete the records of the case required for the department’s files and then he would be free to get that Saintfield affair finished.
Next day he sent a copy of the depositions to French, together with a few notes giving his and Rainey’s views. Then with a sigh of relief he put the case out of his mind and went resolutely back to his former work.
11
As Philip Jefferson Saw It
If Sergeant M‘Clung was satisfied with the result of the inquest on Reginald Platt, it was far otherwise with Philip Jefferson.
Ever since Platt’s disappearance Jefferson had been worried. He had not known what to think. Accident had certainly seemed impossible, but so to Jefferson had suicide. Platt, he felt positive, was not the man to commit suicide. And the fact that everyone who had known him appeared to hold the same view, lent almost overwhelming weight to his own opinion. Jefferson had indeed slowly been coming round to the view that something more criminal had taken place. Platt, so he had imagined, had stolen the secret, and he had either been murdered for it, or had voluntarily disappeared with the intention of making what he could out of it for himself.
So strongly did Jefferson realise the possibility of this theft, that he had insisted on the inclusion of a clause in the agreement between his firm and the Hillsborough party, stating that should the process have been previously sold to some other firm, his would be clear of any further liability in the matter.
In the process there would have certainly been ample motive. The more he thought over the process, the more impressed with the possibilities Jefferson had become. It was a big thing: almost incredibly big! There was in it not a fortune, but a dozen fortunes! His only fear was that his firm might not be strong enough to handle it. They must get ahead as soon as possible with arrangements to sell under licence to firms in other countries. And as for the English trade, they would have to extend their premises. They would bring petrol into their depot at Avonmouth, there make it inert, and from there send it by rail and road tanks to the distributors.
Then he had wondered whether the better plan would not be to install the converting plant at the sources of supply? The lesser bulk would then be hauled to Britain, besides giving the tankers the benefit of the safer cargo. But this would mean a world wide organisation. Jefferson wondered whether they would not have to go into one of the big combines.
But all of these tremendous possibilities were dependent on Platt not having stolen the process. How he wished he knew!
And now the matter had been brought a stage further. Poor Platt was not himself going to get any profit out of the process. But was someone else? Platt had either acted correctly all through and Jefferson’s doubts of him were misplaced, or if he had really stolen the thing, someone else had discovered the theft and determined to reap the benefit. Again, how he wished he knew!
These thoughts had passed through his mind before and during the inquest, but now he banished them in order to carry out the immediate necessities. The funeral had to be arranged, and his sister-in-law’s wishes ascertained as to whether it should take place in Ireland or England. He sent off a long wire, then consulted the sergeant as to the local arrangements necessary.
In due course there was a reply from Mrs Jefferson. The sisters had decided the funeral should take place in Ireland, and they were coming over to attend it. Jefferson accordingly went ahead with the arrangements.
But that evening as he sat in a corner of the lounge of the Station Hotel in Belfast, his thoughts returned to the fate of Platt. Was it really suicide? Or was it murder? Was the process his firm’s property, or was some other firm even then working on it.
Presently he decided that so far as he was concerned the affair could not be left where it was. Too much hung on the issue. He must make a further effort to reach certainty.
But what he should do was not so clear. At last he determined to see M‘Clung once again, put his doubts before him, and ask whether the sergeant could suggest any suitable action.
Next morning he called at police headquarters and was at once shown into M‘Clung. The sergeant received him courteously, but without enthusiasm, and Jefferson soon found that unless he could make a strong case, he would get but little sympathy.
‘I don’t want to keep you,’ he said with guile. ‘You’re a busy man and you have no time to waste. But I’d like to put up these points to you and get your opinion. I don’t know how far you have already considered them.’
M‘Clung made a non-committal reply and looked bored.
‘First,’ went on Jefferson, ‘there is the deceased’s character. I knew him pretty well, and I simply cannot imagine his committing suicide,’ and Jefferson went on to put his arguments as strongly as he knew how. He dilated on the character of Platt, the improbability that the man would kill himself because of financial difficulties without at least finding out whether he, his uncle by marriage, would help him, his belief in the process and knowledge that it would bring him in money, his writing the two letters to say he was returning to Bristol, and the normality of his manner on the day of his death. ‘Then,’ he concluded, ‘there is my last point. A man asked for Platt after he had gone aboard the ship. Who was that man and what did he want? No one has yet answered those questions. Someone knew that Platt was crossing that night. Who? So far as we are aware, Platt was acquainted with no one in Ireland. Suppose I suggest that this unknown man murdered Platt, how are you going to disprove it?’
‘No motive,’ said M‘Clung laconically.
‘Ah,’ Jefferson returned, settling down as it were to a fresh attack, ‘but how do you know that? Suppose Platt had discovered the secret? Suppose this unknown knew of it. Suppose he wanted it for himself. There’s plenty of motive there.’
‘But that’s only guesswork, sir,’ M‘Clung pointed out. ‘You may suppose anything you like, but we can only act on evidence. You’re very anxious to prove it was not suicide. May I ask just why?’
‘Well there’s not much mystery about that. I’m not anxious to prove it was not suicide, I only want to be sure what it was. You can see why easily enough. If it was suicide the secret is safe. If it was murder it has probably been stolen and is in the possession of some other firm. A difference of perhaps millions sterling.’
M‘Clung shook his head. ‘That’s not right, sir. You’ve forgotten that Mr Platt was drowned. If what you’re suggesting was true he’d have been knocked over the head or something first, to keep him quiet. But he wasn’t. There weren’t any signs of injury on the body and there wasn’t any dope. No, sir, I can understand you would be anxious, but there isn’t any call for you to suspect murder.’
