Read Online The Dragon's Tale: A Jack Lauder Thriller by Clive Hindle - Free Book Online

court will continue without your evidence.”
     
          Jack was champing at the bit to intervene here because he knew he had Harvey on the ropes but he decided to keep his own counsel because he could see an opportunity to strike Mick Harvey’s testimony from the record altogether and then what would the prosecution have left? It was a hard one to judge: press home the advantage from which he might or might not get a killer answer; or hope for the judge to halt the proceedings on the basis that the principal prosecution witness had discredited himself. All the same he was surprised when he went down to the cell block to visit his client only to find Lowther there. “Come to shore up your crumbling walls, Chief?” he asked cheerfully. Lowther grunted in response but there was no doubt he was here to persuade Harvey to continue.
     
         Jack sighed and was shown into an interview room to see his client. Peter sat there with the chess set which Jack had given him. A game was in progress. The Russian stood up and shook his hand, “I think you did very good,” he said.
     
          “Hmm, well I see the police are in there trying to rehabilitate Harvey right now.”
     
         “Why do they do this, Jack? They can see the man is a liar. What do they have against me?”
     
         “Well, they would say it’s not personal, although I am never sure what that means because, whenever it is said, it always looks personal to the victim. I think the problem is that the game takes over.”
     
         “The game?”
     
         “Yeah. Life is all a game in a sense. People are competing with each other for the same resources and instead of cooperating and sharing them out equitably they grab as much as they can for themselves. It is the same with the psyche. These officers gain energy from winning a case; conversely their energy is depleted if they lose. In a way it is the same for me but I recognise it and can control it to some degree. With them the game takes over; the personalities become irrelevant; they have to win. Hence. Then it’s not personal.”
     
         “So it’s just like this game here?” He pointed at his chess figures, a puzzled frown on his face.
     
         “Oh it’s more complex than that but, yes, chess is one way in which art can influence life.”
     
         “Will you play white? If so, your move.”
     
         Jack gave the pretence then of looking at the board, although he had already taken it in. White was in an interesting but dangerous position, with an obvious pawn capture of a knight, dxc6, but the temptation was to press harder for a greater advantage by moving the rook from a1 to c1, which should lead to Nxb4 but there was a dangerous black move for the queen which would open up the check. “Oh!” Peter exclaimed. “I thought you’d double-think that. Nonetheless he took the rampaging pawn on c6 with his queen but he knew a draw was now inevitable. “Did you see that?” he asked.
     
         “What, leaving the knight alone and risking the queen to a7? You‘d been working that one out!”
     
         “Ah, Jack! You are a true player. And a gentleman!”
     
          “Gentlemen and players! I’ve been called worse.”
     
         At the resumption he was sorry to see Mick Harvey come shuffling up from the dock moments before his client. He duly apologised to the court and, having purged his contempt, was allowed to return to the witness box. It was the worst of both worlds for Jack. The judge had rescued Harvey from a mauling and had provided a basis for the police to see him during the course of his evidence and influence where it was going next. “I noticed,” he opened up, “that Chief Superintendent Lowther came down to the cell block to see you?”
     
         “So what like?” He was still bristling with aggression, which was good.
     
         “Would you care to share your conversation with us?”