Chapter Twelve
Oscar O’Shannessy had been contemplating retirement for several years, and the news that Matthew had conveyed to him made him realise that he would have to make a decision. Aged in his mid-seventies, with one heart attack and two minor strokes behind him, Oscar had to admit that he was not the barrister he would ever choose for himself if faced with serious criminal charges. His beloved wife had died more than a decade ago, but that did not stop him having a continuing conversation with her about everything that happened each day, and in his mind’s eye he saw her smiling with that familiar response – a mixture of amusement and scepticism.
Matthew had spoken to him on the phone a few days earlier, outlining Jessica Vandermeer’s instructions, and this placed him in an ethica
