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Beattie replied that, 'It would be a great stretch of the imagination for me to say it was anything like that.'
In my view, that short exchange between Roland Oliver, K.C. and Samuel Beattie saved Wallace's neck...
Think about it....
It was accepted by Prosecution and Defence (and by all serious students of the crime) that Qualtrough was the killer.
Therefore, if Wallace was Qualtrough he was setting-up his alibi in a suicidal fashion. Why?
Wallace was not a Liverpudlian. There is no evidence that he ever dabbled in amateur dramatics or was practised in disguising his voice. It is almost certain Wallace did not speak precisely like a native Liverpudlian, and highly likely he spoke distinctively differently. If Wallace was Qualtrough he knew there was a high probability he might be speaking to someone at the Chess Club who would know him personally to some degree, and therefore a high risk his voice would be recognised,
even if he was trying to conceal it. So far so good.
Wallace was put through to Beattie by waitress Gladys Harley. If Wallace was Qualtrough surely the last thing he would want would to be put through to someone who might recognise him. He would surely have said to Harley "There's no need to trouble anyone, dearie. Will
YOU just write down this message for me." 99% of waitresses would happily go along with this request, in my view. But no, Qualtrough is happy to be put through to someone senior. I also find it inconcievable that Wallace/Qualtrough could have remained calm and collected while simultaneously trying to fake a voice to fool Beattie, who was in life anything but a fool. He would have wavered, hesitated, exaggerated his "cover voice", all the while searching for any sign that Beattie smelt a rat. He could not know that he hadn't....
Likewise, half an hour later he would be speaking to Beattie face-to-face in the Chess Club, discussing the contents of the call. He could not be certain that something, somewhere in the back of Beattie's mind was ringing a little bell of recognition, perhaps just a vaguely familiar vowel sound or cadence...
Furthermore, even if Wallace gambled that he had got away with it so far, and resolved to continue with the plan to its murderous fruition the following night, common sense would have told him he could not be certain Beattie's memory might not in the fullness of time, by now aware of the terrible crime, concentrate on the voice on the phone, and cast doubt on the identity of the caller. Wallace could not know that Beattie would be so resolutely certain on the witness stand that the caller was NOT Wallace. Beattie might or might not be.
I am certain this one piece of evidence saved Wallace's life. If Beattie had said "I don't know", "Can't be sure", "Can't remember" or some such Wallace would have surely gone to the gallows.
How could Wallace know that Beattie's denial would be so steadfast? He couldn't. Therefore he would not have risked all on a plan that hinged on such an unknown. Therefore Wallace was not Qualtrough, and was not the killer.
Beattie's unshakeable certainty (and the complete lack of bloodstains) were the two strongest points in Wallace's favour. In my view it was Beattie's testimony that tipped the balance at the Court of Appeal...
In my view the killer was relaxed during that call, because he knew no-one could possibly recognise his "ordinary sounding" voice, and probably at that stage killing was the last thing on his mind.... Occam's Razor suggests the murder started as a cunningly planned burglary which went disastrously wrong...
btw, there is a reprint of the 1933 "Trial of William Herbert Wallace" just come out in the U.S. At about £55 it's steep, but less than half the price of the extremely rare original edition.
http://www.gaunt.com/w.htm
FWIW, my late grandfather, John Goodwin (1883-1949), was acquainted with Wallace as a fellow-member of the Central Chess Club. He swore to his dying day "Wallace didn't do it...", but alas, I have no insight into his reasoning...
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