‘Did I hear you correctly Mr Travers?’ he asked sharply. ‘Did you just say that you are not permitted to answer the prosecutor’s question?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘Oh, and exactly who is it who is denying you the right to answer the commission’s questions?’
Oh shit, here we go, Dan thought to himself, as he still wondered if he had the courage to continue.
‘Well Mr Travers?’ demanded the judge.
Dan swallowed. ‘I am unable to answer your questions due to the provisions of the Commonwealth Official Secrets Act.’
The prosecutor had heard a plethora of excuses from people attempting to thwart the commission’s enquiries but this was definitely a first. ‘Are you telling me that by answering the commission’s questions you will be compromising national security?’
Dan knew he had crossed the line of no return. The choice had been made and from here there was no turning back. He had to continue. ‘I cannot respond to that question,’ he said to the prosecutor.
‘What can you say Mr Travers?’ demanded the judge brusquely.
‘Nothing sir. Under the act I am not permitted to say anything regarding the matter currently before the commission.’
The judge had had enough. ‘Mr Travers, I am ordering that you answer the questions put to you by this commission, and I will warn you that failure to do so will place you in contempt of the commission and therefore liable to such sanctions as described in the act under which this commission was formed.’
Dan shrugged and tried to calm his racing heart. ‘I cannot answer your questions, and must rely on your judgment as to whether the commission chooses to impose its sanctions.’
‘I am ordering you to reply.’
‘Under the Official Secrets Act I cannot,’ Dan replied unsteadily. ‘I would also add that this commission was formed by the state of New South Wales whereas the Official Secrets Act is a federal act and I believe it has pre-eminence over state matters.’
The judge exchanged a glance with the prosecutor. ‘I’m going to call a brief recess. You may step down Mr Travers but I will want to proceed with your questioning the moment I return. Do not leave the building.’
‘All rise,’ called the clerk, as the judge left his bench and made his way from the court.
* * *
The prosecutor and an assistant made their way to the judge’s chambers where they were ushered into his presence.
‘What do you make of this?’ the judge asked.
‘It’s all bullshit. He’s trying to avoid the inevitable.’
‘Is there anything in his records that might give us a clue?’
‘Nothing recent, but prior to joining the police force as a civilian clerk he did serve in the army.’
‘Not army intelligence I suppose!’
‘No Your Honour. According to his file Travers was in the signals corps. That was probably when he signed the Official Secrets Act.’
‘So there’s no provable link between this man and anything that might be of significance to the nation’s security?’
‘Well, he was stationed in Canberra, and he did serve overseas in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but that’s about all we know about him. If we want anymore information we’re going to have to dig a lot deeper than we did the first time. We’ll have to see if ASIO has anything on him and hope they’d be willing to share their information with us.’
‘Will they help us?’
‘If they have nothing on him I’m sure they’ll say so, but I’m afraid that if he is involved in the intelligence community they’ll probably refuse to assist us and deny that they have anything of significance.’
‘So if we make a request for information, a denial from ASIO could mean either yes or no.’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘What do you suggest?’
‘I think we should put him back in the dock and see if he’ll come to his senses. In the meantime we place a request for further information with anyone he may have come in contact with, like army intelligence, ASIO, police intelligence and the federal police intelligence unit. In the meantime I’ll make sure that any phone calls he makes are intercepted.’
‘I want him followed as well,’ added the judge. ‘If he does have links to the intelligence community then he’ll know better than to continue using his current communications systems.’
‘I’ll have my assistant get straight on to it.’
‘Alright, let’s go back in and see if our friend Mr Travers has had a change of heart.’
* * *
This time the judge allowed the prosecutor to handle the questioning of Travers, concentrating instead on watching the man in the dock and the way he handled himself.
If the judge had had to describe Travers he would have been hard-pressed to find some distinguishing feature. The man appeared to be of average height, average size, average hair colour, average clothing, his skin was well-tanned like that of a man who worked outdoors rather than in a communications centre. The only non-average thing about the man was that he appeared to be a lot fitter than most men his age, and the judge wondered if that might be some sort of a hint that Travers really was connected to the intelligence industry. He certainly looked unremarkable enough, and the judge could see that Travers would blend in almost anywhere on Earth without attracting too much attention to himself. That might also explain why the man’s illegal activities had gone undetected for so long.
‘Well then Mr Travers,’ began the prosecutor, ‘you say that your dealings with Trusty Investigations are to do with national security?’
‘I never said anything of the sort,’ Dan replied, indignant at being misquoted.
‘Well then, what did you say?’ asked the prosecutor innocently.
‘I simply advised the commission that I couldn’t answer its questions.’
‘I asked you if you knew Trusty Investigations or Liam Ryan, and you claimed that you couldn’t answer due to the Official Secrets Act. I deduce from your reply that Trusty Investigations or Mr Liam Ryan must be associated with national security, otherwise the Official Secrets Act would not apply to your giving this commission the answers it seeks.’
Dan realised that he was being questioned by an expert. He knew he had to be on his guard at all times. To say anything at all was to fall into the prosecutor’s trap, no matter how innocent the questions may seem.
‘Well Mr Travers?’
‘I cannot respond to your conjecture due to …’
‘… the Official Secrets Act,’ sighed the prosecutor finishing Travers’ sentence for him.
The prosecutor returned to his desk and picked up a sheaf of papers. ‘I have here the phone records of a phone located in the office of Trusty Investigations and used by Liam Ryan. On it are numerous listings for calls made to and from a phone number in police headquarters. Would it surprise you to know that the phone number in police headquarters is the phone in your office?’
Dan swallowed involuntarily which made the judge smile. Got you!
‘Well Mr Travers what do you say to that?’ pressed the prosecutor.
‘I am unable to respond to that statement due to the provisions of …’
‘Yes,