Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Spurious Spinster

Mason looked at his watch, his eyes narrowed. “All right,” he said, “let’s get back to the courtroom. I’m going to have to do a little cross-examination and then we may know more than we do now.”

“Oh, for the love of Mike,” Drake said wearily, “quit butting your head against a brick wall, Perry. This is a case where there’s only one thing for you to do. Get up the minute court opens and suggest to the judge that while you think your client has a good defense, in view of the evidence that has been received there certainly is enough evidence to warrant binding the defendant over, and ask the court to make the order. In that way you’ll steal some of Hamilton Burger’s thunder and keep him from standing up and making an argument that will be directed primarily to the newspapers.

“That’s all Burger wants. Just an opportunity to stand up and speak his piece. He’ll argue about this young woman with her mask of innocence. He’ll talk about the satanic character that lurks underneath. He’ll thunder denunciations. He’ll intimate that there is still another body waiting to be discovered, and he’ll have his picture in the paper.

“After all, Perry, this thing... this limousine business doesn’t really mean anything. We all know that there was a ringer brought in to take the part of Amelia Corning on Saturday and what more natural than that she should have been brought in from Mojave. I will admit my face is a little red because I didn’t think of that limousine business but the police didn’t think of it either. This driver of the limousine had never been interrogated before.”

Mason didn’t waste time answering Drake. He called the waiter, signed the check, and said, “Come on, let’s get up to the courthouse. We’ve got work to do.”

Back in the courtroom Mason, waiting for Judge Elmer to return to the bench, said suddenly, “Paul, I want to find out who Endicott Campbell’s female friends are.”

“He doesn’t have any,” Drake said.

“Don’t tell me that,” Mason told him. “Of course the guy has women friends. His wife left him two years ago and—”

“He had one for a while,” Drake said. “That was before Susan Fisher came to the office. This woman was his secretary. She was a married woman. He had quite a crush on her and apparently it was reciprocated. At least, her husband thought so. He made quite a stink about it, threatened to shoot Campbell, and got the woman out of the office.”

“They’re not seeing each other now?”

“No.”

“He doesn’t call on any women?”

“Not since we’ve been shadowing him, Perry.”

“Then he’s wise to the fact that he’s being shadowed. No telephone calls? No women corning to the house?”

“Only one woman has called at the house,” Drake said, “and that’s a friend of Elizabeth Dow, the governess.”

“The fact that she’s a friend of the governess doesn’t keep her from also being a friend of Endicott Campbell,” Mason said.

“Not this one,” Drake said. “Here, I’ll give you the dope on it.” He took a notebook from his pocket, opened it, said, “Cindy Hastings, 1536 Rentner Road. That’s the address of the Tulane Apartments. She’s in 348. A nurse. Built something like Elizabeth Dow, the governess, only a considerably older woman. Angular. English. Flat-footed. Long-legged. Flat-chested. Horse-faced...”

“That’s enough,” Mason said. “Cross her out, but it’s a nice lead. What other friends does the governess have? People about her own age?”

“Apparently none,” Drake said. “At least we’ve been unable to uncover any. I have an idea they’re probably wise to the fact that we have shadows on them. They haven’t given us any inkling that they know but they must have some idea and they’re certainly being circumspect. They—”

A policewoman brought Susan Fisher into the court. As she seated herself behind Mason’s chair she leaned over towards the lawyer and said, “You think I’ve let you down, don’t you, Mr. Mason?”

“Frankly,” Mason said, “I don’t know.”

“Well, I can tell you one thing, Mr. Mason. That testimony is a mass of lies. I never knew Ken Lowry in his lifetime. I never had him in that automobile. I have told you the exact truth at all times I—”

Judge Elmer entered from his chambers and the bailiff pounded his gavel to bring the court to order.

Hamilton Burger seated himself at the prosecution’s table, permitted a swift glance of triumph at Mason, then lowered his eyes to some papers on the desk.

Harrison Flanders said, “If the Court please, our next witness is Norma Owens.”

Norma Owens identified herself as the manager of the office of the Corning Mining, Smelting & Investment Company.

Flanders said, “I show you a stiletto letter opener marked People’s Exhibit G, and ask you if you can identify that.”

“That particular letter opener is one that was on the desk of the defendant, Susan Fisher. She used it to open letters.”

“How do you identify it?”

“By its general appearance, and a little nick at the edge of the handle. I remember when that nick was put in there. Miss Fisher was using it to pry the lid off a can of paint.”

“No further questions of this witness,” Flanders said. “You may cross-examine.”

“No cross-examination.”

“I will recall Lieutenant Tragg for another question,” Flanders said. “You have already been sworn, Lieutenant Tragg. Just take the stand.”

Mason, looking out the window, his eyes focused on distance, seemed hardly aware of what was going on.

“You have made a search of the apartment of the defendant in this case, Lieutenant?”

“I have.”

“Among other things were you looking for a receipt for renting Car Number 19 from the We Rent M Car Company?”

“I was.”

“Did you find it?”

“I did.”

“Does it bear the signature of the defendant?”

“It does.”

“Will you introduce it, please!”

Tragg produced the paper.

“I ask that it be introduced in evidence as People’s Exhibit R,” Flanders said. He turned to Mason. “Cross-examine.”

Mason apparently didn’t hear what Flanders had said. His eyes narrowed in thought, he was staring out through the window.

“You may inquire, Mr. Mason,” Judge Elmer said.

Mason gave a little start, said, “Yes, Your Honor. Thank you.”

He rose to his feet, approached Lieutenant Tragg, who turned to face him expectantly, then said abruptly, “No questions,” and returned to his chair.

“That’s all, Lieutenant,” Flanders said. “That’s our case, Your Honor.”

Hamilton Burger got to his feet. “If the Court please,” he said, “I wish only to comment on matters which have been received in evidence but the Court will notice that we have here a murder — a cold-blooded, deliberate murder. In addition to that we have the disappearance of Amelia Corning. This is a very serious matter and there is no question but what the murder and the disappearance are related.”

“Just a moment,” Mason interrupted. “Are you preparing to argue the case now?”

“Certainly,” Hamilton Burger said.

“I doubt if there’s any need for argument,” Judge Elmer announced.

“Isn’t it proper,” Mason asked, “to give the defense, a chance to put on evidence?”

Burger looked at him in surprise. “There isn’t any evidence you dare to put on, none that you can put on.”

Mason said, “If the Court please, before being called to put on any evidence on my side of the case I would like to recall Endicott Campbell for further cross-examination.”

“We object to it,” Hamilton Burger said. “This is a favorite trick of Counsel, to wait until the testimony is all in so that he is familiar with the case of the prosecution and then recall some key prosecution witness for further cross-examination.”