Parnell Hall: The Innocent Woman

And it was the echo of that phrase that triggered the realization of what he’d just done.

Steve Winslow’s cross-examination of Frank Fletcher had raised the inference that Frank Fletcher had made a mistake and paid the defendant’s salary with some of the bills Mr. Macklin had recorded the serial numbers of. But Winslow hadn’t said so. He’d never actually voiced the thought. Never put it in words.

But Pearson had. He was the one making the suggestion. Granted in a negative context, but even so. He was the one bringing it up.

It took only a split second for all of that to register in A.D.A Pearson’s mind. But in that split second he had time to glance over at the defense table to see a totally demoralizing sight.

Opposing counsel Steve Winslow, grinning broadly.

Pearson fired back with Samuel Macklin. This was a change in plans. He’d intended follow Frank Fletcher with Marvin Lowery and save the detective for last. But after Fletcher’s poor showing, Pearson felt he needed to do something right away to win the jurors back.

In this regard, Macklin was a good bet. Solid, stocky, muscular, confident and self-assured, Macklin looked exactly like what he was-an ex-cop. He took the stand and testified to his twelve years on the force and seven years as a P.I.

Pearson’s smile let the jurors see how happy he was with Samuel Macklin’s qualifications.

“Now then, Mr. Macklin,” Pearson said. “Have you ever been employed by F. L. Jewelry?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Please tell us the specifics of that employment.”

“Certainly.” Macklin reached into his jacket pocket and took out a notebook. “If I could refer to my notes?”

“Please do.”

Macklin flipped the pages. “Here we are. I was approached on April 29th by Frank Fletcher of F. L. Jewelry to investigate the disappearance of money from his company’s petty cash drawer.”

“You agreed to that?”

“I agreed to the employment in as much as he and his partner were willing to follow my instructions in the matter.”

Pearson frowned. “Just what do you mean by that, Mr. Macklin?”

Macklin drew himself up. “There were many ways to proceed in the matter. I am not merely a functionary. If Mr. Fletcher wanted me to follow some prearranged plan of his own, he was in the wrong place. The way I work, if someone has a problem, I like to analyze it and present them with a solution. If I can’t do that, I don’t want the job. I know from experience that trying to implement someone else’s plan of action is never advisable Something always comes up they didn’t plan for. Better to start from scratch and devise your own plan that covers all eventualities.”

“Which is what you did in this case?”

“Absolutely.”

“And Mr. Fletcher agreed to your terms?”

“Yes, he did.”

“And what did you instruct Mr. Fletcher to do?”

“I told him to withdraw five hundred dollars from the bank in twenty dollar bills. I ascertained from him when his secretary would be out to lunch and arranged to come to his office then.”

“Which you did?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And when was that?”

“The next day. Friday, April 30th at 12:30 P.M.”

“And what happened at that time?”

“I met with Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Lowery. Mr. Fletcher gave me the five hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills. I sat at his desk and copied the serial numbers from the twenty dollar bills into my notebook.”

“Is that the same notebook that you have there?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And are the serial numbers still written in your notebook?”

“Yes, they are.”

“How many serial numbers have you written down?”

“Do you want me to count them?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Very well. One moment.” There was a pause while Macklin counted up the numbers. “There are twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five serial numbers?”

“That’s right.”

“All from twenty dollar bills?”

“Yes, of course. Five hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills.”

“Thank you. Let me have the notebook, Mr. Macklin. Your Honor, I ask that this be marked for Identification as People’s Exhibit Number One.”

“So ordered.”

There was a pause while the court reporter marked the notebook.

“Now then, Mr. Macklin,” Pearson said. “After you had written down the serial numbers, what did you do with the twenty dollar bills?”

“I gave them back to Mr. Fletcher.”

“And what did he do with them?”

“He put them in the petty cash box, and put the petty cash box in the petty cash drawer.”

“In your presence?”

“In my presence.”

“Was anyone else present at the time?”

“Yes, sir. Mr. Lowery.”

“Mr. Lowery was present when you gave the money back to Mr. Fletcher?”

“Yes, he was.”

“Mr. Lowery was present when Mr. Fletcher put the money in the petty cash box.”

“Yes, he was.”

“And the money Mr. Fletcher put in the petty cash box-was that the same money you gave back to him?”

“Yes, it was.”

“The same twenty dollar bills?”

“That is correct.”

“Mr. Fletcher didn’t put some of those twenty dollar bills aside and substitute some twenty dollar bills of his own?”

“No, he did not.”

“You’re certain on that?”

“Absolutely.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m a trained observer. That’s my job.”

“You saw Mr. Fletcher put the twenty dollar bills that you had given him in the petty cash drawer?”

“Yes, I did.”

Pearson smiled. “Thank you very much, Mr. Macklin. And was that the only time you were in the office of F. L. Jewelry?”

“No. I was there the next Monday.”

“Can you tell us what happened on that occasion?”

“Certainly. I met Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Lowery on the street in front of their office building at eight-thirty that morning.”

“And what happened then?”

“They went up and unlocked the office.”

“Who unlocked the office?”

“Mr. Fletcher.”

“What happened then?”

“We went in and Mr. Fletcher took the petty cash box out of the petty cash drawer. He opened it and examined the contents. I’m not allowed to tell you what he said, am I?”

“No. Only what you personally observed or did. So, never mind what Mr. Fletcher told you. But after he counted the money in the petty cash drawer, what did you do then?”

“We waited in the office till Miss Dearborn arrived.”

“And when was that?”

“Approximately nine o’clock.”

“And what happened when Miss Dearborn arrived?”

“I identified myself as a private detective and-”

“One moment. Am I to assume you had never seen her before?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m sorry. Please continue.”

“Well, like I say, I identified myself as a private detective and I asked her to empty her purse.”

“Did she do so?”

“Not at first.”

“Why was that?”

“As to why, I couldn’t tell you. The fact is, she didn’t want to open her purse. She wanted to know what was going on. Mr. Fletcher explained the situation to her-again, I understand I’m not allowed to say what he said. But he talked to her, and afterwards she agreed to let me look in her purse. I examined the money in her wallet and found she had four twenty dollar bills. I compared them to the serial numbers in my notebook.”

“With what result?”

“Two of the serial numbers matched.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I have the bills right here.” Macklin reached in his jacket pocket again, took out an envelope. He pulled two bills from the envelope. “I have one bill, serial number K30914335A and another bill, serial number B80632833D.”