Chapter 58
One year later
The cameras flashed and clicked as Joe, flanked by Eve and Sarah, crossed the Strand towards the entrance to the Royal Courts of Justice.
There were crews everywhere, hundreds of them spread across the pavements, some standing, some sitting cross-legged, holding out sound equipment.
Eve felt Joe’s hand reach for hers and grip it tightly.
She knew the significance of this moment, but she also knew how hard he would find it to be in the spotlight like this.
She, too, was a little wary at the thought of being tomorrow’s front-page news.
Inside, they filed into their seats in the public gallery and were soon joined by Bella – who was just back from travelling – and Phillipa and Dorothy.
Sarah pointed out Harley and Grace, who were sitting in the row behind, and they exchanged smiles.
Eve noticed how Phillipa’s face lit up as she looked at her son.
The barristers stood together and spoke in hushed tones for a few moments, and then the judges came in.
The hearing began. Joe’s barrister stood up and opened the case.
Eve had met him and knew he was Sarah’s partner.
He spoke eloquently about the historic injustice, the unsafe conviction, the deplorable disclosure failures by the police, which had undermined any prospect of a fair trial.
The barrister for the police had little to say and Joe was told by the judge that his appeal was allowed, that he was finally a free man, no longer subject to the conditions of his licence. His conviction had been overturned.
Eve turned to Joe, who flung his arms around her.
Outside on the steps, the cameras clicked and flashed a second time as Joe spoke briefly to the press and the world to tell them what it was like to have spent twenty years being ignored and overlooked by the very institutions that were meant to have searched for the truth.
‘The police did this to me,’ he said. ‘The CCRC did this to me. And I’m here to say to them: you need to do better. Because I’m not the only one this has happened to.’
And then he turned to Bella, seeking her out and asking her to come and stand next to him. Hundreds of faces all turned towards her as she smiled shyly and stepped forward.
‘It was not just me who was denied justice,’ Joe told her as more flashbulbs went off.
‘And what happened to me was not your fault. You are a courageous young woman who was manipulated by the police when you were just a child. But you saw a glimpse of the truth and you looked hard to find it. Your mother would be proud of you, as am I.’
There was a lot of clapping and cheering. Eve felt as if she could burst with pride. The wheels of justice had certainly turned slowly, she thought. But history had been made. It was a day they would never forget.
She turned and took Joe’s hand, and they walked across the street and headed south towards Will’s chambers to drink champagne and celebrate the start of their new life together.