Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Long-Legged Models

The bailiff stepped forward, touched Garvin on the arm.

Garvin straightened, and for a moment it looked as though he would completely lose control of himself. Then with poor grace, he followed the bailiff from the courtroom.

“Call Eva Elliott,” Hamilton Burger said.

Eva Elliott was obviously prepared to take full advantage of the dramatic aspects of the occasion. She had the appearance of a woman who had spent hours at a beauty salon as she walked with slow, deliberate grace to the witness stand.

“What is your occupation?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“I am a model and an actress.”

“What was your occupation on October seventh of this year?”

“I was employed as a secretary by Homer Garvin, Sr.”

“How long had you been so employed?”

“Nearly a year.”

“Referring to the seventh of October, I will ask you if anything unusual happened in your office on that day?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What?”

“Now just a minute,” Judge Decker said. “There seems to be no objection by defense counsel, but it would seem that there should be some connection here. Anything which happened on the seventh of October outside of the presence of this defendant would have no bearing upon the case unless there is some evidence indicating that the defendant consented, acquiesced, or in some way profited therefrom or that it is part of the res gestae.”

Hamilton Burger said, “We want to show exactly what Mr. Garvin did on that day. We want to show that he knew of certain things and was in a position to communicate them to the defendant.”

Judge Decker looked at Perry Mason. “Is there any objection from the defense?”

“No objection,” Mason said smiling.

“Very well. Go ahead and answer the question,” Judge Decker said, but his eyes, sharply accusing, regarded Perry Mason’s bland countenance.

“Well, what happened?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“Mr. Garvin telephoned me from Las Vegas. He told me to wait at the office until he arrived.”

“What time did he arrive at the office?”

“Around eight forty-five, almost an hour prior to the time he said he would arrive. He was highly nervous and he refused to talk with me until after he vanished into his bathroom and took a shower.”

“Now just a moment,” Judge Decker said. “Mr. Garvin was called as a witness by the prosecution. Are you now attempting to impeach your own witness, Mr. Prosecutor?”

“The witness was a hostile witness,” Hamilton Burger said. “He is quite definitely affiliated with the defendant, as was disclosed by his testimony.”

“Nevertheless he was a witness called by the prosecution.”

“There is no objection on the part of the defense,” Mason said.

“Well, there should be,” Judge Decker snapped.

Mason merely inclined his head out of deference to the Court, and continued to sit there saying nothing.

“Very well,” Judge Decker said, controlling himself with a visible effort, “under the circumstances, there being no objection, the witness will be permitted to answer the question.”

“You’re certain of the time element?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“Absolutely certain,” she said. “I resented being treated as a chattel. I felt that anything Mr. Garvin wanted to say to me could have been said before he—”

“Just a minute,” Judge Decker interrupted. “Your thoughts are not important as far as this case is concerned. You are simply asked if you were sure of the time.”

“I am sure of the time.”

“Now did Mr. Garvin say anything to you about Mr. Casselman?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“Yes.”

“Who was present?”

“Just Mr. Garvin and myself.”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘I have just talked with the man who I am certain killed Stephanie Falkner’s father. I have made an appointment to see him at eleven o’clock tonight.’ ”

“Then what did he do, if anything?”

“He took off his coat. I noticed the revolver which was in his shoulder holster. He took off this shoulder holster and placed it on his desk, and then went into the shower room to take a bath.”

“Can you identify the gun which was in that shoulder holster at that time?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“No, sir. I cannot. I am afraid of guns. I didn’t go near it. However, it looked exactly like the gun marked People’s Exhibit 30.”

“You may inquire,” Hamilton Burger said, turning to Perry Mason.

“Now what time was this?” Mason asked.

“When he arrived at the office, it was about a quarter to nine.”

“He told you he had already seen Casselman?”

“His exact words were ‘I have just talked with the man who I am certain killed Stephanie Falkner’s father. I have made an appointment to see him at eleven o’clock tonight.’ ”

“You remember his exact words?”

“I do.”

“But he didn’t mention Casselman by name?”

“He meant Casselman all right. He said...”

“I am not asking whom he meant. I am asking if he used Casselman’s name.”

“He did not use Casselman’s name.”

Mason said, “I have no further questions.”

Burger said, “I’ll call Mrs. Garvin, Jr., to the witness stand.”

Mrs. Garvin, a long-legged redhead, strode to the witness stand with every appearance of perfect composure. She smiled at the jurors, crossed her knees so as to display just the right amount of nylon, turned courteously and expectantly to the District Attorney.

Hamilton Burger said, “You are the wife of the witness Homer Garvin, Jr., who has just testified in this case. I show you a weapon marked People’s Exhibit Number 30, and ask you if you have ever seen that weapon before?”

“I can’t say,” she said smiling. “I have seen a gun which looked very much like that, but I am not an expert on firearms.”

“Where did you see that gun?”

“My husband left it on the dresser.”

“When?”

“On the night of the seventh of October.”

“At what time?”

“At approximately ten-thirty o’clock.”

“Did you see that gun on the eighth of October?”

“I did. Yes, sir.”

“And what did you do with reference to it, if anything?”

“I telephoned my husband at his office that he had left a gun on the dresser.”

“When did you telephone him?”

“When I got up and saw the gun there.”

“That was after your husband had gone to his office?”

She smiled and said, “I am a newlywed, Mr. Burger. I am trying to train my husband right. I let him get his own breakfast, and I sleep until about nine-thirty.”

The audience laughed. Judge Decker smiled, and the jurors grinned. The good nature of the witness and her complete poise were making a terrific impression.

“What did you do with reference to that gun?”

“Following my husband’s instructions, I took the gun to him at his office.”

“When?”

“At about ten-thirty on the morning of the eighth of October of this year.”

“Do you know whether that was the weapon we are referring to as the Junior Gun, or whether it was People’s Exhibit Number 30?”

“No, sir. I do not know. All I know is that I took the gun from the dresser to my husband. I can’t even swear that there was no discharged cartridge in the gun at that time. I do know that my husband took a gun from his pocket when he was undressing at about ten-thirty on the night of October seventh. I do know that a gun similar in every way to that gun was still on the dresser at ten o’clock in the morning. I am quite certain no one entered the bedroom after we retired. I do know I took the gun which was on the dresser to my husband at his office on the morning of October eighth at about ten-thirty o’clock. I know nothing more than that.”