Parnell Hall: The Innocent Woman

“Yes, it is.”

“The three of you went up and unlocked the office?”

“That’s right.”

“Who was it who actually unlocked the office at that time?”

“Frank did. Mr. Fletcher.”

“Mr. Fletcher has keys to the office?”

“Yes, of course.”

“As his partner, do you also have keys to the office?”

“Of course I do.”

“And I believe you testified that Miss Dearborn was in the habit of closing up the office at five-thirty. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then am I to assume she also had keys to the office?”

“Yes, of course.”

“So over the weekend-from Friday, April 30th, till Monday, May 3rd-the defendant was in possession to keys to the office. She could have gone there at any time, unlocked the door and taken money from the petty cash drawer. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And the same is true of you and Mr. Fletcher?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You had keys to the office. And Frank Fletcher had keys to the office. Over the weekend, either one of you could have gone to the office and removed money from the petty cash drawer. Is that right?”

A.D.A. Pearson was about to object, when he saw the smile on Marvin Lowery’s face. He shut up. Lowery was a good witness. The jurors liked him. Let him take care of himself.

“Sure,” Lowery said. “Frank could have done that. Or I could have done that. We have the keys to the office, so there was nothing to stop us from going there and taking money from the petty cash drawer.” He chuckled. “The only thing we couldn’t have done would have been put those bills in Miss Dearborn’s wallet. We had the keys to our place, but we didn’t have the keys to hers , you see.”

“I see,” Steve said. He nodded gravely. “That’s a very good point, Mr. Lowery. If you or Mr. Fletcher had taken any money from the petty cash drawer over the weekend, there was no way it could have wound up in Miss Dearborn’s purse. So those twenty dollar bills must have got there some other way. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“We know they got there, because you were present when Mr. Macklin discovered them in Miss Dearborn’s wallet. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And that was when Miss Dearborn arrived at the office at approximately nine o’clock on the morning of Monday, May 3rd?”

“That’s right.”

“Prior to that, you, Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Macklin had gone up to the office, examined the cash in the petty cash drawer and discovered a hundred dollars was missing?”

“That’s right.”

“I believe you stated that you were not testifying to hearsay, that you personally counted the money and determined the hundred dollars was gone. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Mr. Fletcher put five hundred dollars in the petty cash box? You personally saw him do it?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You personally counted the money and determined a hundred dollars was missing?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Am I to assume that on Monday morning when you counted the money, there was four hundred dollars in the petty cash box?”

For the first time Lowery frowned. “No, that’s not right.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“To begin with, that five hundred dollars wasn’t the only money in the petty cash box.”

“I see,” Steve said. “You mean there was already money in the petty cash box when Mr. Fletcher put the five hundred dollars in?”

“That’s right.”

“He didn’t remove that money and replace it with the five hundred dollars. He added the five hundred dollars to it. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I see. And how much money was there in the petty cash box before Frank Fletcher put the five hundred dollars in?”

Again, Pearson thought to object, but, as Lowery looked totally unconcerned, he kept quiet.

“There was two hundred and seventy-five dollars,” Lowery said.

“You know that for a fact?”

“Yes, I do.”

“How do you know?”

“I counted it.”

“You personally counted it, or you watched Frank Fletcher count it?”

“Both. I watched Frank count it, then I counted it myself.”

“And there was two hundred and seventy-five dollars?”

“That’s right.”

“And Fletcher added five hundred dollars, making a total of seven hundred and seventy-five dollars?”

“That’s right.”

“He put the five hundred in after you had counted the two hundred and seventy-five?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you count the money after he put the five hundred dollars in. That is, after he added the five hundred dollars, did you count the money again and get seven hundred and seventy-five?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Before that, you had counted the two hundred and seventy-five dollars that was originally in the box?”

“That’s right.”

“Any chance you were mistaken in the amount?”

“Absolutely not?”

“And why is that?”

“Because I concentrated on what I was doing.”

“I see,” Steve said. “And if you were concentrating on counting the money, how can you be sure while you counted the two hundred and seventy-five dollars, Frank Fletcher didn’t substitute some of the bills of the five hundred dollars before he added it to the box?”

Lowery smiled. “That couldn’t have happened.”

“Why not?”

“Because that five hundred dollars was sitting in plain sight right in front of me on the desk?”

“You’re sure of that?”

“Absolutely.”

A.D.A. Pearson made sure the jurors could see his broad grin.

Steve Winslow frowned. He looked mighty displeased with the answers he’d been getting. He rubbed his head. “Mr. Lowery, let me make sure I understand this. Is it your testimony that you personally counted the money in the petty cash box before and after Frank Fletcher put the five hundred dollars in; that you saw him put the five hundred dollars in; that you are certain that it was the same five hundred dollars Mr. Macklin wrote the serial numbers of; that there was no chance Mr. Fletcher substituted any of those bills before he put them in the box; that after he put the bills in, you counted the money in the petty cash box and came up with a total of seven hundred and seventy-five dollars? Is that right?”

“Absolutely. That’s exactly what happened.”

“Is it also your testimony that on Monday morning, May 3rd you personally counted the money in the petty cash box and determined a hundred dollars was gone?”

“That’s right.”

“I see,” Steve said. “Is it then your testimony that when you counted the money on Monday, May 3rd, there was six hundred and seventy-five dollars in the petty cash box?”

Lowery frowned.

“Is that right?” Steve said.

Lowery shifted position on the witness stand. “No, that is not right,” he said.

“Oh?” Steve said. “I thought you counted the money on Friday and determined there was seven hundred and seventy-five dollars in the box. Then you counted the money on Monday and determined a hundred dollars was missing. Granted math was never my strong suit, but even I would expect six hundred and seventy-five dollars would be left. Are you saying this was not the case?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“And why is that?”

Lowery shifted position on the stand again. He cleared his throat. “You have to understand. We are an active firm. In the process of doing business. It wasn’t as if we could close our doors just because this incident occurred.”

Steve Winslow raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I see. Are you trying to say the petty cash drawer was in use?”