The Case of the Sulky Girl пм-2

by Эрл Стенли Гарднер

  Perry Mason recognized the trap, yet had no alternative but to walk into it.

  "Objected to, Your Honor," he said. "The witness has given his testimony. The mental processes which led up to it are incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial, and, at best, matter only for crossexamination."

  "Sustained," said Judge Markham.

  Claude Drumm's smile was ironically sarcastic.

  "I will withdraw the question, Your Honor," he said. "It was an error upon my part. After all, if Counselor Mason desires to go into the matter, he is at liberty to do so upon crossexamination."

  "Proceed," said Judge Markham, pounding his desk with the gavel.

  "Who was with you on the occasion of your visit?" asked the deputy district attorney.

  "Mr. Arthur Crinston was with me when I went to the vicinity of the house, and both Mr. Arthur Crinston, and Mr. Don Graves were with me at the time I departed."

  "What happened while you were there, Judge Purley?"

  "I arrived at the grounds in the vicinity of the house, stopped my car to allow Mr. Crinston to get out, turned my car, shut off the motor, and waited."

  "During the time that you were waiting what did you do?"

  "Sat and smoked for the first ten or fifteen minutes, and looked at my watch rather impatiently several times during the last part of the period I was waiting," said Judge Purley.

  And he glanced, with just a trace of subdued triumph, at Perry Mason, his manner indicating that, being fully familiar with court procedure, he was going to get the damaging parts of his testimony in, whether the defense wanted them in or not. The inference to be drawn from the fact that he had glanced several times at his watch was that he was aware of the exact minute of his departure, and he was sufficiently adroit to get that inference across to the jury without violating the ruling of the court.

  Perry Mason eyed the witness with placid indifference.

  "Then what happened?" asked Claude Drumm.

  "Then Mr. Crinston came out of the house to join me. I started the motor of my car, and at that moment the window of the house in the southeast corner of the building was opened, and Mr. Norton thrust his head out of the study window."

  "Just a moment," said Claude Drumm. "Do you know of your own knowledge that that was Mr. Norton's study?"

  "No sir," said Judge Purley. "I only know it from the fact that it was the room in the southeast corner on the second story of the house, and is the room marked on the map and diagram as room number one, Mr. Norton's study."

  "Oh," said Drumm, "then the room is that which is indicated on Plaintiff's Exhibit A by the figure one marked in a circle?"

  "Yes sir."

  "Very well," said Drumm, "what did Mr. Norton say?"

  "Mr. Norton called down to Mr. Crinston, and said, as nearly as I can remember: 'Arthur, would it be all right for you to take Don Graves in to your house in your car and let him get the documents? Then I will send the chauffeur to pick him up. "

  "And," said Drumm, "what happened next?"

  "Mr. Crinston said, as nearly as I can remember: 'I am not in my own car, but with a friend. I will have to ask my friend if it will be all right. "

  "Then what happened?"

  "Mr. Norton said: 'Very well, do so, and let me know, and withdrew his head from the window."

  "Then what happened?"

  "Then Mr. Crinston came to me and said that Mr. Graves was to get some documents…"

  "Objected to," said Perry Mason in a casual tone of voice. "Anything which took place without the hearing of this defendant is admissible only as a part of the res gestae. By no stretch of the imagination can this be considered as a part of the res gestae."

  "The objection is sustained," said Judge Markham.

  "Very well. Then what happened?" asked Drumm suavely, smiling over at the jury as much as to say: "You see how technical the defense is in this case, ladies and gentlemen?"

  "Then," said Judge Purley, "Mr. Crinston went back to a position under the study window, and called up, as nearly as I can remember his words: 'It's all right, Edward. He can go with us. And at about that moment, the front door opened and the figure of Mr. Graves ran down the steps, Mr. Graves saying, 'I am ready, or words to that effect."

  "And then what happened?"

  "Then the three of us got in my automobile, Mr. Crinston sitting in the front seat with me, Mr. Graves sitting in the rear seat. I started the machine and started to drive up along the road, lettered on the map 'People's Exhibit B' as 'Winding Roadway. We traveled up that road until we were in a position on the curve…"

  "Just a moment," said Claude Drumm. "Can you take a pencil and indicate the exact point on the curve which you had approached when the event took place, concerning which you were about to testify?"

  Judge Purley nodded, got to his feet, and walked with ponderous dignity to the blackboard, turned up the map and marked a small oblong on the curve in the roadway.

  "This represents the approximate position of the car."

  "And what happened when the car was in that position?" asked Claude Drumm.

  "Mr. Graves looked back through the back window and exclaimed…"

  "Objected to," snapped Perry Mason. "Hearsay, incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, not part of the res gestae, not binding upon the defendant."

  "Sustained," said Judge Markham.

  Claude Drumm made a helpless gesture.

  "But surely, Your Honor, in view of what is to take place…"

  "The objection," said Judge Markham coldly, "is sustained. You may call Mr. Don Graves at the proper moment, counselor, and let him testify as to anything he saw. As to anything which was said or done outside of the presence of this defendant, and which is not a part of the res gestae, the objection is well taken."

  "Very well," said Drumm, turning to the jury, and all but bowing, "at the proper time I will call Mr. Don Graves, and Mr. Don Graves will testify as to exactly what he saw at that place.

  "Go on, Judge Purley, and tell the jury exactly what was done at that time and place with reference to what you, yourself, did in relation to the operation of the automobile."

  "I did nothing at exactly that place, but proceeded along the winding road, as indicated there on the map, for a distance of several rods, until I came to a place in the road which was wide enough to turn. There I turned the car by backing and twisting, and went back down the winding roadway, stopping once more in front of the house of Edward Norton."

  "And then what did you do?"

  "Then Mr. Graves and Mr. Crinston entered the house, and at their request I accompanied them. The three of us went up the stairs and into the room marked by the numeral 'one' in a circle on People's Exhibit A, and saw there a body, which was subsequently identified to me as that of Edward Norton, lying sprawled across the desk, with its head badly crushed. The body was lifeless at the time of my arrival. There was a telephone near one hand, and several papers, including a policy of automobile insurance, on the desk."

  "Did you notice, Judge Purley, what automobile was covered in that policy of insurance?"

  "Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial," said Perry Mason.

  "Your Honor," said Drumm, "this is vital, and I propose to connect it up. It is a part of the theory of the prosecution that the defendant, Frances Celane, made a statement to the effect that she was out driving this Buick automobile; that these statements were made after she had been advised that police had been notified that the Buick automobile had been stolen. In other words, she knew that Edward Norton had telephoned that the Buick automobile had been stolen. Frances Celane, knowing that…"

  "Very well," said Judge Markham, "there is no necessity for further argument, counselor, as to the relevancy of the testimony. Upon the assurance of the prosecution that the matter will be connected, I will overrule the objections as to its relevancy, and permit the question to be answered, subject to a motion on the part of the defense to strike out if the evidence is not subsequently connected. />
  "This ruling, however, goes only to the relevancy of the testimony. It is, of course, apparent that the evidence called for by the question is not the best evidence. The automobile insurance policy, itself, is the best evidence of its contents, but there seems to be no objection made upon that ground."

  Judge Markham looked down at Perry Mason with a puzzled expression on his face.

  Perry Mason seemed to smile, the faintest trace of a quiver at the corners of his lips.

  "No, Your Honor," he said, "there is no objection upon that ground."

  "Very well," snapped Judge Markham, "the objection, as made, is overruled. Answer the question."

  "The policy," said Judge Purley, "as I noticed at the time, or a few minutes later, covered a Buick sedan number 6754093, with a license number I2MI834."

  Claude Drumm made a gesture with his hand.

  "You may crossexamine the witness, Mr. Mason," he announced.

  Perry Mason regarded Judge Purley with a placid smile.

  "Judge Purley," he said, "did I understand you to say that when you went into the study you saw the body of Edward Norton lying across the desk?"

  "You did not," snapped Judge Purley. "I stated that I saw the body of a man who was subsequently identified to me as being that of Edward Norton."

  Perry Mason looked crestfallen.

  "My mistake," he said.

  There was a moment of silence, during which Judge Purley gazed at the courtroom with an air of complacent selfsatisfaction, the air of one who has given testimony in a very credible manner, and the manner of one who has confidence in his ability to avoid any trap which can be set for him by crossexamining counsel.

  "You see," explained Judge Purley, "I had never personally met Mr. Norton, despite the fact that I was quite friendly with Mr. Crinston and had, upon at least one prior occasion, driven Mr. Crinston to Mr. Norton's house."

  Perry Mason seemed to be smiling.

  "On how many occasions had you discussed any business matters with Mr. Norton on the telephone?" he asked.

  Judge Purley showed his surprise.

  "Why, I never talked with the man on the telephone in my life," he said.

  "Then you'd never discussed the trust fund of his niece, Frances Celane, with him?"

  Judge Purley's eyes bulged with surprise.

  "Good heavens, no! Of course not!"

  "Had you," asked Perry Mason, "ever discussed this trust fund with anyone else?"

  Drumm was on his feet.

  "Your Honor, that is objected to, not proper crossexamination, hearsay, incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial. Counsel has simply started upon a roundabout way of calling for conversations which could not possibly…"

  "Sustained!" snapped Judge Markham.

  Drumm sat down.

  There was silence in the courtroom. Perry Mason's face was expressionless.

  "Any further questions?" asked Judge Markham.

  "No, Your Honor," announced Perry Mason, to the surprise of the courtroom. "There is no further crossexamination."

  Chapter 21

  "Call Sergeant Mahoney," said Claude Drumm. Sergeant Mahoney, attired in a uniform, stepped to the front of the clerk's desk, held up his right hand to be sworn, then took the witness stand.

  "Your name is Sergeant E.L. Mahoney, and you were, on the evening of October twentythird of the present year, acting as desk sergeant at the Central Police Station in this city?" asked Claude Drumm.

  "Yes, sir."

  "You received a telephone call at about the hour of 11:14?" asked Drumm.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Just describe that call, Sergeant."

  "Mr. Edward Norton called, sir, and…"

  Perry Mason started to his feet, but Claude Drumm was the one who interrupted the witness.

  "Just a moment, Sergeant," he said. "Let me caution you that you are under oath, and are to testify only to the things which you know of your own knowledge. You didn't know that that call came from Edward Norton. You only know that someone called."

  "He said he was Edward Norton," blurted the sergeant.

  There was a ripple of laughter, which ran through the courtroom, and was promptly silenced by a banging of the judge's gavel.

  "Just tell what was said to you over the telephone," said Drumm, and glanced sidelong at Perry Mason, waiting for the attorney to object.

  But Perry Mason remained placidly indifferent.

  Judge Markham said: "Is it claimed that this is part of the res gestae, counselor?"

  Drumm looked uncomfortable.

  "There is no objection to it, in any event, Your Honor," said Perry Mason.

  "Very well," said Judge Markham. "Proceed, Sergeant."

  "This call came in, and I noticed the time of it," said Sergeant Mahoney. "It was fourteen minutes past eleven. The man said that he was Edward Norton, and that he wanted to report a stolen automobile, that a Buick sedan, belonging to him, No. 6754093, with a license number of I2MI834 had been stolen, and that he wanted the car picked up and the driver arrested, no matter who the driver might be. I believe that he stated that even if the driver should be related to him, he wanted him or her arrested."

  "You may inquire, counselor," said Claude Drumm, with the smiling gesture of one who had landed a telling blow.

  "Did that call come in all at once?" asked Perry Mason, casually.

  "How do you mean, sir?"

  "I am just testing your recollection," said Perry Mason.

  "Of course it came in all at once," said the sergeant.

  Perry Mason reached in his brief case and took out a newspaper.

  "You made a statement to the newspaper reporters when this matter was more fresh in your mind, Sergeant?"

  "Well, I believe I said something to them the next morning, yes."

  "And didn't you state at that time that the call was interrupted?"

  "Just a moment," said the Deputy District Attorney. "That is not the proper way to lay a foundation for an impeaching question."

  "I am just refreshing the recollection of the witness, if the Court please," said Perry Mason.

  Sergeant Mahoney made frantic gestures.

  Judge Markham smiled and said: "I think from the demeanor of the witness that his recollection has been refreshed. Proceed, Sergeant."

  "That's right," said Sergeant Mahoney, "I remember now. The call came in, and he was cut off right in the middle of the conversation—right at the first part of it, I think it was. He gave his name and address and wanted to know if he was talking with the police department, and said he had a crime to report. Then the line went dead. I looked up his telephone number in the book, to call him back, when the call came in again, and he went right along talking. He said he'd been cut off."

  "That," said Perry Mason, with emphasis, "is all."

  Claude Drumm looked puzzled.

  "What's that got to do with it?" he asked sharply.

  Judge Markham banged his gavel on the desk.

  "Order!" he snapped. "Is there any redirect examination, counselor?"

  "None," said Claude Drumm, but his eyes were thoughtful as he stared at Perry Mason.

  "The next witness," said Judge Markham.

  "Arthur Crinston," snapped Claude Drumm.

  Arthur Crinston arose from a seat within the bar, walked to the clerk, was sworn, and took the witness stand.

  "Your name is Arthur Crinston, and you are the surviving partner of the firm of Crinston & Norton, the said firm being composed of yourself and Edward Norton?"

  "That is correct, sir."

  "Edward Norton is dead?"

  "He is, sir."

  "Did you see the body of Edward Norton, Mr. Crinston?"

  "Yes sir. On the twentythird day of October of this year."

  "At about what time?"

  "I saw his body at approximately eleven thirtyfive or eleven thirtysix."

  "Where was his body?"

  "Lying across his desk in the study, with the top of the head crushed in."
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br />   "What did you do then?"

  "I notified the police."

  "Did you see the defendant, Frances Celane, on that night?"

  "I did."

  "At about what time?"

  "At approximately midnight or a little before."

  "Did you tell her anything about the death of her uncle?"

  "I did."

  "Did you mention anything about the reported theft of a Buick automobile?"

  "I did."

  "Did she make any statement to you at that time as to the said Buick automobile?"

  "That can be answered yes or no," said Judge Markham, in a cautioning tone of voice. "It is preliminary, merely."

  "Yes, she did," said Arthur Crinston.

  "At what time was this?"

  "At about midnight."

  "Who was present?"

  "Miss Celane, Mr. Don Graves, and myself."

  "There was no one else present?"

  "No sir."

  "What did she say?"

  "She said that she had taken the Buick automobile at about ten fortyfive o'clock and gone for a ride, returning at approximately fifteen minutes past twelve, midnight."

  "What was Mr. Norton doing the last time you saw him alive, Mr. Crinston?"

  "Standing in the window of his study calling down to me."

  "What did he say?"

  "He asked me if Don Graves could accompany me to the city; that is, to my residence."

  "And what did you tell him?"

  "I told him that I would have to ask Judge Purley, in whose car I was riding."

  "Then what happened?"

  "I stepped across to ask Judge Purley, and received an affirmative answer from him to my request. Then I returned to notify Mr. Norton. He was standing in his study—a few feet back from the window at that time. I called up to him that it was all right, and Mr. Graves, who had anticipated Judge Purley's consent, was then coming down the steps from the front doorway to join me."

  "Then what happened?"

  "Then I got in the front seat of the automobile with Judge Purley, Mr. Don Graves got in the rear seat, we started up the winding road shown on the map, until we came to a certain point, where we turned around and went back to the house. I take it that I cannot state any conversation that took place in the automobile?"