Erle Gardner - The Case of the Phantom Fortune

"Against whom?"

"You."

"When does he want tointerrogate me?"

"Now."

"And if I don't choose togo?"

"Then I have a subpoenaordering you to appear before the grand jury tomorrow at ten o'clock."

Mason thought things over for amoment, then said, "Okay, I'll go." Mason turned to Della Street. "You mind the store until I get back,Della."

Mason's last view of his officebefore the door clicked shut showed Della Street and Paul Drake standing silent withapprehensive faces.

Hamilton Burger, the districtattorney, said, "This is in the nature of a formal hearing for the purposeof making a criminal complaint if the evidence indicates a crime has beencommitted, or preferring charges before the disciplinary division of the Bar Association,or both.

"Mr Mason, you are acquaintedwith Sergeant Holcomb of the police department and this is Drummond Dixon, anartist, and Drew Kearny. The other gentleman is Parley Fulton, a privatedetective employed on occasion by the Drake Detective Agency and we have here acourt reporter who is taking down the proceedings."

"Will I have a right to askquestions?" Mason asked.

"This is not a court hearing.We are trying to determine whether there is ground for taking action."

"Are you afraid to have thesewitnesses interrogated except by one side?"

"I'm not afraid of anything oranyone in connection with an investigation of this sort."

"Very well, then I want to havethe right to ask questions."

"I see no reason for you to begiven an opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses."

"Then I'll get up and walkout," Mason said. "If you're going to conduct a star-chamber sessionand try to influence witnesses to testify your way, I'm not going to haveanything to do with it."

"I'm not trying to influencewitnesses and you know it," Hamilton Burger said angrily "You've beenguilty of some rather sharp practices at times."

"Sharp but legal," Masonsaid. "When I represent a client I try to represent him."

"Well, there's no use havingall this bickering," Hamilton Burger said. "We'll proceed with thehearing and if you want to ask questions, you may ask them, but if thequestions are not within the bounds of propriety I will advise the witness notto answer them."

"At which stage I'll get up andwalk out," Mason said.

"Whereupon you'll be broughtbefore the grand jury," Hamilton Burger warned.

"At which time I'll tell myside of the story, that you were having a star-chamber session, that I waswilling to be present and answer questions but I wanted to have the matterfairly presented and to that end insisted on my right to ask questions."

"We'll start with ParleyFulton," Burger said. "What's your occupation, Mr Fulton?"

"I'm a private detective."

"Early this month were youemployed by anyone in such capacity?"

"I was."

"What person?"

"Paul Drake."

"That's the head of DrakeDetective Agency?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what were you ordered todo by Mr Drake?"

"I was given a photograph andtold to have Mr Dixon, whom I knew, practice making sketches from thatphotograph so that he could make a likeness in crayon."

"And what else were you told todo?"

"I was told to hunt up theeyewitnesses of the hold-up at the Pacific and Northern Supermarket, thewounded watchman and Mr Kearny here, and tell them I was investigating thecrime which had taken place there, involving the attempted murder of thewatchman. I was to ask them to give me a general description of what thehold-up man had looked like. That was on the morning of the fourth.

"I was instructed to take thesketch made by my friend, Drummond Dixon, submit it to the witnesses and askthem if that didn't look like the man they had seen."

"What was the name of the manwhose photograph you were given?"

"Collister Gideon."

"Do you know what has happenedto Collister Gideon?"

"Yes, I do now. He was killedearlier today."

"Did you know anything aboutthe background of Gideon?"

"I knew that he had beenconvicted of a crime. I knew that the photograph from which we made up ourspurious, synthetic 'composite' sketch was a police photograph."

"All right, what did youdo?"

"I carried out myinstructions."

"Were you present when Mr Dixonmade the sketch?"

"I was."

"Is this a copy of thesketch?"

"It is."

"And you showed this to thewitnesses?"

"Yes."

"And, in accordance with yourinstructions, did everything you could to get the witnesses to state that thatwas a reasonable likeness of the man they had seen who held up the Pacific andNorthern Supermarket shortly after midnight on the night Steven Hooks waswounded?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you familiar with theprovisions of the Penal Code that any person who attempts fraudulently toinduce any person to give false testimony is guilty of a felony?"

"Yes, sir."

"And that every person whoknowingly makes or exhibits any false writing or document to any witness withintent to affect the testimony of such witness is guilty of a crime?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yet your instructions were toget these two witnesses to identify the sketch of Collister Gideon as that ofthe man the watchman had seen, and the one Kearny had seen running from thesupermarket?"

"If they would, yes, sir."

"I think that covers it,"Hamilton Burger said.

"Just a moment," Masonsaid. "I'd like to ask some questions of this witness."

"Proper questions will bepermitted," Hamilton Burger said.

Mason turned to Fulton. "Fulton," he asked, "were you instructedto bribe these witnesses?"

"Certainly not."

"To intimidate them?"

"No, sir."

"To make any false statementsto them?"

"No, sir."

"You were simply to show thatsketch to the witnesses and ask them if that was the man?"

"Well, it was a little morethan that. I was told to do what I could to convince the witnesses that was theman they had seen."

"But not to bribe them?"

"No, sir."

"Not to make false statementsto them?"

"No, sir."

"Not to intimidate them."

"No, sir."

"That's all," Mason said.

Hamilton Burger said, "Allright, Mr Kearny, I'm going to ask you about what happened. You had aninterview with Mr Fulton, the detective who has just made a statement?"

"Yes, sir. I also had aninterview with Paul Drake and with Mr Mason, here."

"And you were asked to describethe man you had seen running from the supermarket?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you describe him?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you identify thesketch?"

"Hell, no!"

"Tell me what happened?"

"Well, right away Fulton started saying to me, 'Now, that's the man,isn't it? That picture answers your description.'"

"He kept suggesting to you thatwas the man?"

"Yes."

"And what did you do?"

"I said it wasn't theman."

"And you went to Paul Drake'soffice?"

"Yes, sir."

"What happened?"

"He took me to Mason's office.Mason wasn't quite as bad as the others, but he tried to get me to say thisfellow in the sketch was the one I had seen running out of the building."

"Did you do it?"

"No, after a while they got mesort of confused and I said there was something familiar about the eyes, butthe mouth was all wrong.

"To tell the truth, they got meso confused I can't remember where the face I saw leaves off and this face inthe sketch begins."

"You feel your ability to be atruthful witness has been impaired?"

"Yes."

"That's all," HamiltonBurger said.

"Just a minute," Masonsaid. "I have some questions."

"I don't think I will permityou to examine this witness, Mr Mason," Burger said.

Kearny said, "Don't get me wrong. I don'twant to accuse anyone of any crime. I just can't be certain to what extent mymemory has been impaired by the suggestions that have been made to me, that'sall."