Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Curious Bride

"Can you tell us how far it is, of your own knowledge?" asked John Lucas of the witness.

"Not in just so many feet or so many inches," said the witness.

There was a moment of silence. "It is about twenty feet?" asked John Lucas, plainly nettled.

"Objected to as leading and suggestive," said Perry Mason.

"Sustained," Judge Markham snapped.

John Lucas paused for a thoughtful moment. "Your Honor," he said, "I will withdraw that question. I will ask at this time that the jury be taken to view the premises so that they may see for themselves."

"There will be no objection on the part of the defense," said Perry Mason.

"Very well," said Judge Markham, "you may examine this witness as to any other matters and at three thirty o'clock the jurors will be taken to view the premises."

John Lucas smiled triumphantly. "Mr. Crandall," he said, "could you hear anything which took place in Apartment B in the Colemont Apartments early in the morning of the sixteenth day of June of the present year?"

"Yes."

"What did you hear?"

"I heard a telephone ring."

"Then what did you hear?"

"I heard a conversation, some one talking into a telephone."

"Do you know who was talking?"

"No, I only know that there was the sound of a voice—a man's voice—that it was coming from Apartment B in the Colemont Apartments."

"What was said in the telephone conversation?"

"He mentioned the name of a woman—Rhoda, I'm pretty sure the name was. He pronounced the last name so that I couldn't get it, but it had a foreign sound, ending with 'ayne' or something like that—the way he pronounced it made it sound like a foreign name, but I'm not sure. He said that this woman was to call on him at two o'clock in the morning and give him some money."

"What did you hear after that?"

"I dozed off, and then I heard peculiar sounds."

"What sort of sounds?"

"The sounds of a struggle, a scraping and banging, the sound of a blow and then silence. After that I thought I heard whispers."

"Did you hear anything else at that time?" asked Lucas.

"Yes, sir."

"What was it?"

"The steady, persistent ringing of a doorbell."

"Was it repeated?"

"Yes, it was repeated."

"Can you tell me how many times?"

"No, it was repeated several times."

"When did that ringing take place, with reference to the sound of struggle?"

"During the time of the struggle, during the time the blow was being struck."

John Lucas turned to Perry Mason. "Crossexamine," he snapped.

Perry Mason straightened slightly in his chair. "Now, let's get this straight," he said. "You first heard the ringing of the telephone bell?"

"Yes."

"How did you know it was a telephone bell?"

"Because of the manner in which it rang."

"Just how was that?"

"It rang mechanically. You know how a telephone rings—a ring for a second or two, then two or three seconds of silence, then another ring."

"That woke you up?"

"I guess so. It was a warm night. The windows were open. I was sleeping very lightly. At first I thought the telephone was ringing in my apartment…"

"Never mind what you thought," Perry Mason said. "What did you do and what did you see and what did you hear? That's all we're interested in."

"I heard the ringing of a telephone bell," said the witness belligerently. "I got up and listened. Then I realized the telephone was ringing in the apartment house to the north—the Colemont Apartments. I then heard the sound of a voice talking over the telephone."

"Then later on," said Perry Mason, "you heard the struggle?"

"That is right."

"And during the struggle you heard the doorbell?"

"That is correct."

"Wasn't it the telephone bell that you heard?"

"No, sir, absolutely not."

"Why are you so certain that it was not?"

"Because it was not the sound of a telephone bell—it was an entirely different type of bell. In the first place, there was more of a whirring sound to it. In the second place, it rang at longer intervals than a telephone bell rings."

Perry Mason seemed much disappointed by the answer. "Could you swear," he said, "that you were absolutely certain it was not the telephone?"

"I am swearing it."

"You are swearing that it was not the telephone?"

"Yes."

"You are as positive that it was not the telephone as you are of any other testimony you have given in this case?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you know what time this was?" asked Perry Mason.

"It was somewhere in the vicinity of two o'clock in the morning. I don't know exactly. Subsequently, when I became more wide awake, I notified the police. It was then two twentyseven A.M. There had been an interval of perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes—I don't know exactly how long—I had been dozing."

Perry Mason slowly got to his feet. "Don't you know," he said, "that it is a physical impossibility for one who is in Apartment 269 of the Bellaire Apartments to hear the doorbell ringing in Apartment B in the Colemont Apartments?"

"It isn't an impossibility. I heard it," said the witness truculently.

"You mean you heard a bell ringing. You don't know that it was the doorbell."

"I know it was the doorbell."

"How do you know it?"

"Because I recognized the sound of the ring. I know it was a doorbell."

"But you don't remember ever having heard the doorbell ringing in that apartment before?"

"No, this was a very hot night. It was a quiet, still night. There were no noises. The windows were all open."

"Answer the question," said Perry Mason. "You never heard the doorbell ring in that apartment before?"

"I can't remember."

"And you haven't listened to the doorbell since, in order to tell whether it was the doorbell that you heard or not?"

"No, I haven't. I didn't do it because I didn't have to do it. I know a doorbell when I hear one."

Perry Mason dropped back in his chair, smiled at the jury, a smile which was a scornful comment upon the testimony of the witness, but a smile, by the way, which brought no answering expression to the eyes of the jurors. "That," he said, "is all."

John Lucas took the witness for redirect examination. "Regardless of the measurements in feet and inches," he said, "you may state whether the distance is too great for you to have heard a doorbell."

Perry Mason was on his feet. "Objected to, your Honor," he said, "as not proper redirect examination, as argumentative, as assuming facts not in evidence, as leading and suggestive. This witness has stated that to the best of his knowledge he never has heard a doorbell in this apartment. Therefore, it is not proper for him to state whether a doorbell could or could not have been heard. This is the conclusion for the jury to draw. Never having heard a doorbell ring, it is obviously impossible for him to tell whether he could have heard a doorbell ring. It is only a surmise on his part."

Judge Markham nodded thoughtfully, and said, "The objection is sustained."

Lucas frowned, and then said after a moment. "You were able to hear the telephone bell when it rang?"

"Yes."

"Was that bell distinctly audible or faintly audible?"

"It was distinctly audible. It sounded so plain that I thought it was my own telephone."

"In your experience," asked Lucas hastily, "are telephone bells and doorbells about equally loud?"

"Objected to," Perry Mason said, "as leading, suggestive, calling for a conclusion…"

Judge Markham nodded and said decisively, "Counselor, the objection is sustained. The question is improper."

John Lucas thought for a moment, leaned toward one of the deputies at his side, and whispered for several seconds. A look of cunning was on his face. Once or twice, as he whispered, he smiled. The deputy nodded. Lucas straightened in his chair, and said, "That's all."