Erle Gardner - The Case of the Troubled Trustee

"And all of a sudden, I realized it was time for that ten o'clock news I like to listen to on TV. I was just starting to go in the house to turn on the TV when I heard this shot."

"Did you turn on the television?"

"Sure did. Seems to me I missed the first couple of minutes of it. Remember I was mad that I turned it on in the middle of a commercial."

Mason said, "Your testimony may be very valuable, Mr. Holbrook. There was just the one shot?"

"Just the one shot. That's why I figured it wasn't a backfire. Usually you get a backfire and there'll be an interval of a second or two and then two or three more backfires, and then an interval and maybe one big backfire-something like that. This was just the one single explosion."

Mason said, "I'm going to ask you to come to court as a witness. Do you have any objection?"

"Well, I don't Want to get mixed up in things," Holbrook said. "But I don't want to be a party to an injustice."

Mason glanced at Paul Drake. "Would your wife's sister get a kick out of seeing your picture in the paper?"

Holbrook grinned. "Now, I'll say she would! She's a good sport. If she thought that there'd been a murder committed out there and she just missed it- Well, she'd get a kick out of it, but…" And here the smile left Holbrook's face. "I'm not so sure about Doris."

"That's your wife?" Mason asked.

"That's my wife, for better or worse. She's it."

Holbrook was thoughtful for a moment, then went on. "She's awful nice. Good housekeeper; mighty neat and considerate-can't say that I complain, but she isn't like Edith."

"Edith is the sister?" Mason asked.

"Edith is the sister."

"You drove to the airport to meet your wife's sister?"

"That's right."

"How far do you live from the airport?"

"Takes us twenty-five minutes."

"And she arrived on the ten-fifty plane?"

"That's right."

"Then you could have hardly listened to the ten o'clock news that night," Mason said.

A sudden frown creased Holbrook's forehead. "Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute," he said. "Oh yes, the plane was a little late. I remember we called up about ten o'clock. They said the plane would be fifteen minutes late. I'm pretty sure I watched both the nine o'clock and the ten o'clock news that night."

"You're sure about the nine o'clock news?"

"That's right. I was mad because I missed the first minute or two of the nine o'clock news, so I turned the set on again at ten."

Mason said to Della Street, "I think we're going to have to rely on Mr. Holbrook as a witness, Della."

Della Street nodded, handed Mason the subpoena.

Mason said, "Just to make it formal, Mr. Holbrook, I'm giving you a subpoena. This is made out for ten o'clock tomorrow morning. If you'll just be in court at ten o'clock, I don't think we're going to detain you very long because I think the prosecution is about ready to rest its case."

"Well, whatever's right is right," Holbrook said. "I just thought you ought to know about it. I called the office and they said you were in court but the Drake Detective Agency was investigating anything in connection with the case, so I told my story down there at the agency. That was right?"

"That was right," Mason said.

"Well, I was awfully glad to meet you people. I guess I didn't get your name, young lady."

"Della Street," she said, "Mr. Mason's confidential secretary, and have been for many years."

"I figured as much," Holbrook said, putting forth a big bony paw. "Even if you look young, you seem to know what's what. Pleased to meet you, Miss Street."

Then Holbrook solemnly shook hands with Mason and with Paul Drake. Della Street held the door open and Holbrook walked out.

Mason waited until the door had clicked shut; then he executed a little jig, grabbed Della Street around the waist, whirled her into a few steps of a dance, then released her to grab Paul Drake's hand and pump it up and down.

"Saved by the bell!" he said.

"You think that'll do it?" Drake asked.

"That'll do it," Mason said. "That's going to create a reasonable doubt."

"Suppose the prosecution comes up with someone who swears the shot was later?"

Mason grinned and said, "I'll then claim there were two shots, and the prosecution can't prove which shot was the fatal shot from the standpoint of time."

"It'll create a reasonable doubt?" Drake asked.

"It'll do better than that," Mason said. "It'll probably result in a verdict of acquittal on the theory that Dutton is telling the truth and Palmer was dead when he got there. Dutton just walked into a trap."

"It still would have been a lot better if he hadn't taken that gun and hidden it," Drake said.

Mason's face lost its smile. "Are you telling me?" he said. "I'm going to have to do quite a bit of arguing to get around that, but I'm going to make it appear that when he saw that gun, he naturally thought the woman he loved was involved."

"Desere Ellis?"

Mason nodded.

"Going to let him say that he's in love with her on the witness stand?" Drake asked.

Mason shook his head. "Heavens, no, I'm not going to let him say it. I'm going to let him try to keep from saying it; and then when the district attorney takes him on cross-examination, it's all going to come out and come out reluctantly. We'll have a romantic and dramatic scene in the courtroom."

"And, I take it," Drake said, "no defense attorney ever got an unjust verdict when there was a romantic and a dramatic scene in a courtroom?"

"Not one involving heartthrobs," Mason said, "and this is going to involve heartthrobs, orange blossoms, wedding bells and what have you.

"Come on, we're closing up the shop and I'm going to buy you folks the best dinner to be had anywhere in the city-a dinner with all the frills, including ice-cold vintage champagne."

The next morning as Judge Alvarado took his place on the bench and looked over the courtroom, it was quite apparent that the prosecution was discussing strategy on a matter which they considered to be of considerable importance.

Bailey and Hamilton Burger had their heads together in a whispered conference, as soon as the bailiff had rapped his gavel and Judge Alvarado had seated himself on the bench.

"The case of People versus Kerry Dutton," Judge Alvarado said. "The defendant is in court; the jurors are all present. It is so stipulated, gentlemen?"

"So stipulated," Perry Mason said.

"Yes, Your Honor," Hamilton Burger said. "It is so stipulated. May we have just a moment?"

Again there was a whispered conference; then Burger nodded his head somewhat reluctantly, apparently.

Immediately Bailey jumped to his feet. "If the Court please, that concludes the evidence of the prosecution. We rest our case."

A murmur of surprise ran through the spectators in the courtroom.

Judge Alvarado frowned. "It would have been perhaps fairer to the defense if the decision had been announced at the close of the courtroom session yesterday."

"We didn't know it at that time. We have just this minute reached our decision," Bailey said.

"Very well," Judge Alvarado said. "I will, however, be willing to grant the defense a reasonable recess so that it may meet this somewhat unexpected development."

"If the Court please," Mason said, arising and smiling at the jury, "the defense is not only willing but eager to proceed immediately."

"Very well," Judge Alvarado said. "Go ahead."

"And we do not wish to make an opening statement at this time," Mason said. "Our first witness is Desere Ellis."

"Come forward to the stand, Miss Ellis," Judge Alvarado said. "You have already been sworn and so it is not necessary for you to take an oath once more."

Desere Ellis came forward. This time she met the defendant's eyes with a quick flicker of a smile; then seated herself on the witness stand and turned to face Perry Mason.