‘Hang on, Andy – calm down a second. Keep listening. We need you to stay rational.’
Backhouse swung round to look at Straker as if he was about to throw a punch.
Calmly Straker asked: ‘Didn’t you tell me that only the FIA could access those “boxes”?’
In an instant Backhouse's mood seemed tempered, as if Straker had flicked a switch; as the point sunk in, he nodded emphatically.
Behind the trestle table, the prosecutor general had retaken control of the press conference, almost pushing Baryshnikov to one side. The prosecutor seemed to be preening himself, ready to answer questions.
Straker leant across and said: ‘So, Andy, I want you to ask Gazdanov this…’
Backhouse listened to what Straker was suggesting. And then nodded.
‘But you need to ask him about the FIA first, before you ask the big one, yes?’
Again Backhouse nodded his agreement.
Turning in to face the conference, Backhouse waited for the prosecutor general to finish his current declaration, so he could time his moment. It wasn’t going to be easy – twenty journalists were already screaming their follow-up questions.
Backhouse tried to ask his questions twice but was drowned out on both occasions.
Suddenly, there was a deafening ear-piercing whistle. With four fingers in his mouth, Backhouse had produced a shrill Top C at well over 120 decibels. No one could ignore it. People turned round to see where this shriek had come from. The ensuing quiet was just what Backhouse needed.
‘Mr Prosecutor,’ he said, ‘Birmingham Broadcasting here – can you confirm something for us? Have the FIA been engaged in decoding the “black boxes” as you called them?’
‘We have not needed to involve the FIA,’ said Gazdanov. ‘Mr Baryshnikov has provided the answers for us.’
Backhouse quickly looked at Straker who gave him a half smile. Turning back to face the speaker, Backhouse declared as loudly as before: ‘Mr Baryshnikov is well aware – as you should be before any trial of Ptarmigan or its people, sir – that only the FIA has the passwords to access those “boxes”. Unless the FIA have unlocked them first, anything you or Mr Baryshnikov says about the data on them is completely bogus.’
Léon Gazdanov did not look amused. His expression hardened: he half shut his eyes and started gesticulating dismissively. ‘We do not need input from the F–I–A,’ he said, pronouncing the initials as if he had an unpleasant taste in his mouth. ‘The FIA are as much to blame for the deaths of Russian citizens here as Ptarmigan. They were the so-called “experts” who signed off on the safety standard at this circuit. We do not want a biased opinion, or them trying to cover up their negligence. We now have better than an FIA expert, we have an insider – Mr Yegor Baryshnikov – from the heart of the very team that is to blame. He knows all the facts … and the truth.’
Gazdanov looked out across the conference, pleased that most of the journalists were keeping their heads down, suggesting they were recording his comments. ‘So, thank you, Mr Birmingham, we have all the information we need to secure a clean – and quick – conviction.’
Suddenly Straker leant across to Backhouse and whispered something in his ear. He felt the race engineer nod again before Backhouse bellowed: ‘Mr Prosecutor, could we please hear confirmation of your statement from Mr Baryshnikov?’
Gazdanov paused for a moment.
He was obviously thinking about the consequences of this request.
The prosecutor general then indicated to Baryshnikov that he should step forward.
Baryshnikov seemed to look at Gazdanov askance before answering: ‘We have data to form picture,’ he said and looked down.
‘What about your access to the “black boxes”?’ yelled Backhouse.
Straker was now studying Baryshnikov's face until his eyes hurt.
The Russian Formula One driver looked up and scanned the faces at the back of the crowd. ‘On my mother life,’ he said and paused. ‘We have data.’
Gazdanov reacted quickly, all but pushing Baryshnikov out of the way.
‘Forget the FIA and forget the black boxes,’ bellowed the prosecutor general. ‘We have an insider from the team to tell us all the truth. We can confirm, now, that – without doubt – Russian justice will be done.’
FORTY-TWO
Straker was fizzing when he, McMahon and Backhouse walked away from the press conference.
‘Well done, Andy,’ he said as they walked back to their car. ‘Stating the need for the FIA to be involved in reading the data loggers – the “black boxes” – won’t have been lost on some of those journalists. Hopefully, we can start prompting a little more scrutiny of such pronouncements from now on. It may not have much of a bearing on the legal position,’ he said to McMahon, ‘but we need to demonstrate that in relation to evidence the prosecution will be held to some standard of reality.’
Straker was encouraged that McMahon seemed to approve.
‘Okay then,’ said Straker as their car pulled away, ‘what did you both make of Baryshnikov's performance?’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Backhouse.
‘Think about it for a moment. A pretty obvious oddity … Why didn’t Yegor draw attention to who you were when you asked your question – why didn’t he identify you as one of the Ptarmigan team? Wouldn’t Gazdanov have made hay with that? Surely he would have launched into a diatribe against you, if he’d known. Surely he would have denounced you – saying you weren’t a journalist – that you had a direct interest in Ptarmigan – that you were biased, and declared that you were only there to distort the conference and the course of justice?’
McMahon seemed to register what Straker was saying.
‘And then, did you hear Baryshnikov's speech?’
Backhouse said: ‘What about it?’
‘Like hell he wrote that himself,’ said Straker. ‘It was grammatically correct, for one thing. He's nowhere near that fluent in English in normal conversation. Didn’t you hear the vocabulary he used? Words like “analysis”, “inferred”, “induced”, “causal link” … I’ve only met him once, but from that one encounter I would have to ask: Are those really expressions that Baryshnikov would use?’
Backhouse agreed they didn’t sound like Baryshnikov's normal vocabulary.
‘And then there was his body language – his demeanour?’
