judge, she felt that the whole world was watching her; it probably was
in view of the notoriety of the case, particularly as it came hot on
the the heels of the much-publicised Andromeda Trial. As the whisper of
voices died away, and the TV cameras zoomed in on him, the judge opened
the papers in front of him and cleared his throat.
‘Cassiopeia Hardy, you stand here today accused of the wilful murder
of Colonel Dwight Phillips of the United Forces. How do you plead?’
Cassi hesitated but for a second, her short, natural golden hair
reflecting the lights high in the ceiling recesses. ‘Guilty!’
‘You have also been charged with conspiracy to murder..’ he consulted
his notes; ‘a Lieutenant Gregory Watson, Captain Willi Humboldt, and
Sergeant Stefan Whitaker, all serving members of the United Forces. How
do you plead on these charges?’
No hesitation this time. ‘Guilty!’
A murmur ran around the court room. Many people had tried to
eliminate this woman and here, it seemed, the establishment was
accomplishing what they had failed to do on so many occasions.
‘Before we consider any mitigating circumstances, I would like to
hear a review of the evidence against the accused.’ He looked at the
prosecutor. ‘If you would be so kind, Mr Adams.’
The Counsel for the Prosecution got to his feet, clearly without his
usual confidence. ‘My Lord, in view of the circumstances, I shall be
reasonably brief. The evidence against the Mrs Hardy consists solely of
her voluntary confession taken by one of my colleagues. It is somewhat
lengthy but, in it, she admits to the premeditated murder, and
conspiracy to murder, of the aforementioned deceased persons on
Thursday the third of July, nineteen-ninety-seven.’ He sat down.
The judge was dumfounded. ‘There are no witnesses?’
‘No, my Lord.’
‘No other evidence?’
‘None, my Lord.’
‘Not even circumstantial?’
The Prosecutor shook his head. ‘No, my Lord. And, in view of the
period of time which has passed, the gathering of forensic evidence is
no longer possible.’
‘Were the bodies not available for post-mortem?’
‘No, my Lord. The bodies have not been recovered.’
The judge leant forward. ‘You wouldn’t be trying to make a fool of
me, would you, Mr Adams?’
The prosecuting counsel swallowed and hurriedly shook his head. ‘No,
my Lord.’
There was silence for some time before the judge looked straight at
the defendant over the top of his prinz-nez. ‘Young lady, if I may be
so bold, how old are you?’
‘Twenty-two, sir.’
He stared at her for some time before turned to his clerk. ‘This is
not April Fool’s Day, is it?’
The clerk, clearly embarrassed, shook his head. ‘No, my Lord.’
The judge slowly leant back in his big chair which creaked a little -
he was a big judge. ‘Veyr well, gentlemen. I am intrigued and, for that
reason, will go along with this for the time being. But, first of all,
I will need a very convincing explanation as to how this young lady,
who is by her own admission, twenty-two years of age, could have
committed these alleged crimes which took place almost twenty-four
years ago - two years before she was born.’