Parnell Hall - The Wrong Gun

There was a pause, then Crumbly said, “That’s right.”

Vaulding nodded. “I see. And what expression did Mr. Timberlaine have on his face at the time?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

“How did Russ Timberlaine appear to you?”

“It was hard to tell. He wasn’t looking at me.”

“What was your impression?”

“Objection. Calling for a conclusion.”

“Sustained.”

The smile never left Vaulding’s face. “Tell me, Mr. Crumbly. When you got no response from Russ Timberlaine you stopped bidding. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“The bidding was closed and the gun was marked down for Mr. Burdett?”

“That’s right.”

“When that happened, did you happen to notice Russ Timberlaine then?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did he do?”

“He left.”

“He left the auction?”

“Yes, he did.”

“How did he leave?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

Vaulding frowned. “Your Honor, this witness is clearly hostile. Some latitude here would be appreciated.”

“Well, he hasn’t shown any hostility yet. Rephrase your question.”

“In your own words, can you describe how Russ Timberlaine left the auction?”

“I don’t know what to say. He just turned around and walked out.”

“Was the auction over?”

“No.”

“There were other guns left to be auctioned off?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know. Five or six.”

“Timberlaine didn’t stay to see them auctioned?”

“No, he did not.”

“I see. And what time was this, when Timberlaine left the auction?”

“I wouldn’t know exactly.”

“Would you know approximately?”

“It was around four o’clock.”

“Now, it was later that evening that the police arrived at the mansion, was it not?”

“Yes, it was.”

“And what time would that be?”

“I’m not sure. I think sometime between six and seven.”

“And had you seen Mr. Timberlaine between the time he left the auction and the time the police arrived?”

“No, I had not.”

“You had not seen him, spoken to him, or had any contact with him in any way?”

“No, I had not.”

“Did you look for him? After the auction, I mean. To apologize for not getting the gun, or to commiserate or to discuss what went wrong?”

“Actually, I did look around for him. But he wasn’t in any of the usual places.”

“Oh? And what were the usual places?”

“The places he would be apt to mingle with the guests. Like the patio or the bar.”

“Or the gun room?”

“No. I didn’t look there.”

“Was it one of the usual places?”

“Not in the same sense. More like one of the special places.”

“So you didn’t look there?”

“No.”

“Did you try his apartment?”

“No.”

“Why not? Wasn’t that a natural place to look?”

“I wouldn’t want to bother him there.”

“Why not?”

“I just wouldn’t.”

Vaulding smiled. “You mean if he was upset enough to hole up in his apartment and ignore his guests, you didn’t want to tangle with him?”

“Oh, Your Honor,” Steve said.

Vaulding held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I withdraw the question. No further questions, Mr. Crumbly.”

“Does the defense wish to cross-examine?”

Steve Winslow stood up. “I have one or two questions. Mr. Crumbly, you’ve testified Russ Timberlaine asked you to bid on the gun?”

“That’s right.”

“When did he ask you to do so?”

“Earlier that day.”

“Can you be more precise?”

“Yes. It happened that I had brunch with him. I say, it happened, because brunch is served all morning long, but we happened to eat at the same time. And he asked me if I would mind bidding for him.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“Of course. He was afraid Burdett would outbid him.”

“Tell me, had you ever done this before-bid for Mr. Timberlaine?”

“No.”

“Why do you suppose he asked you this particular time?”

“There were two items in the auction Russ particularly wanted. One was a derringer. Russ said Burdett had seen him examining the derringer and knew he wanted it, and was sure to outbid him for it. He figured he’d lost the derringer, and he wanted to make sure the other gun that he wanted didn’t get away.”

“And you agreed to this deception?”

“Well, I wasn’t particularly happy about it. But Russ Timberlaine is a dear and valued friend. I wasn’t going to turn him down. I wanted to help him.”

“Thank you. No further questions.”

“Any redirect, Mr. Vaulding?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“This witness is excused. Do you have another witness to call?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Call Melvin Burdett.”

When Burdett had taken the stand, Judge Hendrick said, “I remind you that you are still under oath. Proceed, Mr. Vaulding.”

“Mr. Burdett, directing your attention to the auction that took place at Russ Timberlaine’s mansion on the afternoon of the day of the murder-were you present at this auction?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Did you bid on any of the guns?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Among the guns you bid on, do you recall a derringer that you outbid Russ Timberlaine for?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You purchased that gun?”

“Yes, I did.”

“By outbidding Mr. Timberlaine?”

“That’s right.”

“This auction-did it have an intermission?”

“Yes, it did.”

“This derringer you bid on-was that before or after the intermission.”

“I think it was before the intermission.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I think it was, but I couldn’t swear to it.”

“Well, do you recall another gun you bid on-a cavalry piece, which you also purchased that afternoon?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Was that before or after the intermission?”

“That was after.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Do you know if you bid on that gun before or after you bid on the derringer?”

“After.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because … I’m just sure.”

Vaulding grinned. “Were you going to say because Russ Timberlaine left right after you bought the gun?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

“Did you notice when Russ Timberlaine left the auction?”

“Yes, I did.”

“When was that?”

“After I bought the gun.”

“The cavalry piece?”

“That’s right.”

“Now, regarding the cavalry piece-when you bought it, who were you bidding against?”

“Hank Crumbly.”

“He was the other principal bidder?”

“That’s right.”

“And you outbid him and bought the gun?”

“That’s right.”

“And it was immediately after that that Russ Timberlaine left the auction?”

“Yes, it was.”.

“You noticed that in particular?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why did you notice that in particular?”

“Because I wanted to see how he would react to my buying the gun.”

“Why, if you were bidding against Mr. Crumbly?”

“I knew Hank was really bidding for Russ.”

“You knew Mr. Crumbly was bidding for Mr. Timberlaine?”

“Of course I did.”

“How did you know that?”

“It was perfectly obvious.”

“Did anyone tell you Crumbly was bidding for Timberlaine?”

“No.”

“Or suggest to you Crumbly might be bidding for Timberlaine?”

“No. Of course not.”

“What about the decedent, Jack Potter? You already testified to having several conversations with him that weekend. Were any of those conversations about guns?”