The Case of the Glamorous Ghost

Chapter number 16

Della Street was waiting for Mason when he entered the courtroom. She handed him a chamois skin bag containing the gems that had been taken from Eleanor’s cold cream.

“Everything okay?” Mason asked.

“Okay, Chief,” she said. “Sadie’s waiting down in the car. One of Paul Drake’s men is with her. When you want her, step to the window and flip your handkerchief. Drake’s man will be watching. He’ll bring her up.”

Judge Moran took the bench and the bailiff pounded the court to order.

Judge Moran said, “The Court has decided that under the present circumstances there is no reason for ordering the exhumation of the body of the decedent. However, the Court wishes to state that it is the duty of the coroner’s physician not only to determine the cause of death but to discover any contributing causes. Apparently there is no independent reason to believe that the puncture marks in the arm of the decedent were made by a hypodermic. So far we have merely a conjecture on the part of the autopsy surgeon. The present ruling of the Court is that an exhumation will not be ordered. If there should be any new evidence indicating independently the presence of morphia, or that the decedent had been held a prisoner against his will, the Court will again consider the matter.

“Now as I understand it, counsel for the defense wished to ask additional questions on cross-examination of the witness Suzanne Granger.”

“If the Court please,” Hamilton Burger said, “we are prepared to resist such a request on the part of defendant’s counsel. We have some authorities...”

“What sort of authorities?” Judge Moran asked.

“Authorities indicating that in a criminal action the defendant cannot cross-examine piecemeal, that he must conclude his cross-examination of a witness before the witness is excused from the stand.”

“You don’t need to cite authorities to that point,” Judge Moran said. “The Court is quite familiar with them. However, Mr. District Attorney, in your search of the law did you also find a series of authorities holding that the trial judge is completely in charge of the order of proof and the examination of witnesses and is obligated to exercise his authority in the interests of justice?”

“Well, of course, Your Honor,” Hamilton Burger conceded, “that is a general rule. However, in this case...”

“In this case,” Judge Moran said firmly, “you put the witness Richey on the stand. You didn’t ask him about overhearing the conversation which Suzanne Granger had with the defendant. That matter was brought out afterward. Thereupon you put on the witness Richey for the second time. The Court granted you permission to do that. The Court feels that defendant’s request to interrogate Miss Granger in regard to the matters testified to by Richey is a reasonable request under the peculiar circumstances of this case — I repeat, Mr. District Attorney, under the peculiar circumstances of this case. The Court, therefore, orders Miss Granger to take the stand.”

Suzanne Granger arose, started toward the witness stand and said, “I am very anxious, Your Honor, to take the witness stand. The district attorney refused to...”

“Never mind that,” Judge Moran said. “You will take the witness stand. You have already been sworn. You are to be cross-examined by counsel for the defense. You will not volunteer any information. You will wait until questions are asked and then you will answer those questions, confining your answers to the subject matter called for by the question. In that way we will give the prosecution an opportunity to object to any improper questions.”

Mason said, “You have heard Mr. Richey’s testimony?”

“I did.”

“You returned to your apartment on the fifteenth of August and found that it had been searched and that acts of vandalism had been committed?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You complained to the management?”

“I spoke to Mr. Richey about it.”

“And what happened?”

“He went to the apartment, surveyed the damage, ordered the janitor and the maids to clean up. He asked me if I wished to notify the police. I told him I did not.”

“Why?”

“Because I was satisfied that it was the work of...”

“Now just a moment,” Hamilton Burger said. “I object, Your Honor, that this is not proper cross-examination, that the question is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, that the reason the witness did not want to call the police is entirely outside the issues of this case, and that if she had in her own mind an idea as to what had happened or why it had happened the prosecution is certainly not bound by some thought the witness may have. The witness can be examined as to facts and not as to thoughts.”

“I want to show bias and prejudice against the defendant in the case,” Mason said.

“Very well, reframe your question,” Judge Moran said. “The objection to the present question is sustained.”

“Did you,” Mason asked, “state to Mr. Richey that the vandalism was the work of Eleanor Hepner, or Eleanor Corbin as the case may be, who was spying on you in the adjoining apartment?”

“Same objection,” Hamilton Burger said.

“Overruled,” Judge Moran said. “Answer the question.”

“I did.”

“Was there any evidence, any fact, any proof that caused you to believe she had done this?”

“No evidence, no fact, no proof. It was my intuition if you want to call it that. Now I also want to state that...”

“Don’t volunteer any information,” Judge Moran said. “Wait until you are questioned.”

She tightened her lips.

“Now then,” Mason said, “later on you returned to your apartment?”

“I did.”

“And Mr. Hepner called on you that evening?”

“Yes.”

“Prior to the time Mr. Hepner called did you take a shower?”

“I took a tub bath.”

“Was it possible for anyone to have been concealed in your closet?”

“Definitely it was not. I looked in the closet. I unpacked a suitcase. I took some clothes out of the suitcase and hung them in the closet. There was no one there.”

“Thank you.” Mason said, “that is all.”

Hamilton Burger conferred in whispers with his associates, then said, “That is all.”

“Very well, you may leave the stand,” Judge Moran said, his manner showing that he was very puzzled.

“The prosecution rests. That’s the People’s case,” Hamilton Burger said.

Perry Mason got to his feet. “Now, Your Honor,” he said, “at this time the defense wishes to make an opening statement to the jury as to what it expects to prove.”

“Very well,” Judge Moran said.

The courtroom, which was now filled with spectators, broke into whispers and was quieted by the bailiff.

Perry Mason quietly stepped forward to stand in front of the jury.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he said, “we expect to produce evidence to show that Douglas Hepner was engaged in a very unusual occupation, that he made his living by means of collecting rewards as a free-lance detective.

“We expect to show that Douglas Hepner had been a gambler, that he had learned that the United States pays informers twenty percent of the value of merchandise smuggled into this country if an informer produces evidence resulting in the recovery and confiscation of the merchandise so smuggled.

“That was Douglas Hepner’s occupation.

“Douglas Hepner knew the defendant — well. They had discussed marriage many times. But Eleanor Corbin wanted him to quit that business and he had promised to buy an interest in an importing business after their marriage and cease his so-called free-lance detecting.

“However, Douglas Hepner, at the time of his death, was working on one last case on which he wanted the defendant to help him. We propose to show that Douglas Hepner was on the trail of a ring of smugglers who were professional smugglers, who were making a profession of bringing gems into this country illegally.

“We propose to show that in order to break up this ring, thereby getting a last reward which he would use as a stake to buy his way into this importing business, Douglas Hepner enlisted the aid of the defendant Eleanor; that he deliberately cast her in the part of a jealous, neurotic mistress who was to secure a room in apartment 360 because Douglas Hepner thought that Suzanne Granger was part of the smuggling ring.

“Suzanne Granger was making frequent trips to Europe. She was doing a considerable amount of painting and she carried back and forth many tubes of paint, tubes which would make an ideal place of concealment for gems if she had been so minded.”

Suzanne Granger jumped up, started to say something and was immediately silenced by a bailiff whom Judge Moran had placed at her side.

“Just a moment, Mr. Mason,” Judge Moran said. He turned to the courtroom. “Miss Granger,” he said, “you have repeatedly created a disturbance. The Court has placed a bailiff beside you. The Court intends to see that you conduct yourself in an orderly manner and do not interrupt proceedings of this court. Any further attempt at an interruption will be treated by the Court as a contempt. Do you understand?”

“Am I not going to be given an opportunity to...?”

“Not at this time, not in this manner and not at this place,” Judge Moran said. “Remain seated and be quiet. Now, Mr. Mason, go on with your opening statement.”

“We expect to show,” Mason said, “that Douglas Hepner was mistaken about one thing, and that was the identity of the woman who acted as custodian of the smuggled gems and the location of the smuggled gems. We expect to show that the actual custody of the gems was in a place and was carried out in a manner far more ingenious and subtle.

“We expect to show that the defendant Eleanor carried out the instructions of Douglas Hepner; that she duly secured lodgings with Ethel Belan as has already been established by the evidence of witnesses.

“We expect to prove that at the last minute Douglas Hepner discovered the real secret of the smuggling ring; that Douglas Hepner had one other female accomplice, a woman who had been working with him for some period of time; that Douglas Hepner actually recovered a small fortune in gems and that he thereupon communicated with this woman and told her that his life was in danger.

“We expect to show that Douglas Hepner left the Belinda Apartments surreptitiously using the freight elevator, that he proceeded to a hideout apartment he maintained under a pseudonym; that he was followed by the conspirators who believed he had these gems in his possession. We expect to show that his enemies trapped Douglas Hepner in his apartment, doped him with a large injection of morphia, that he thereupon was held prisoner while a determined effort was made by the heads of the smuggling ring to recover the gems. That they not only searched him but ransacked his apartment; that he was held prisoner all day, and was given a second injection of morphine shortly before his death. That when they failed to recover the gems they killed Douglas Hepner under such circumstances that the crime would naturally be framed on the defendant Eleanor, hoping thereby to make it appear that any story she might tell would be a self-serving declaration subject to suspicion and regarded with skepticism by the district attorney.”

Hamilton Burger, smiling scornfully, whispered to one of his assistants, then leaned back and shook with silent laughter.

“And,” Perry Mason went on, “the proof of this is that Douglas Hepner did recover those gems and that the defense now has those gems in its possession and knows the identity of the smugglers.”

Mason suddenly took a piece of chamois skin from his pocket, spread it on the counsel table, picked up the chamois bag Della Street had given him and poured a cascade of glittering gems onto the chamois skin.

Hamilton Burger jumped up. “What’s this? What’s this?” he asked, striding forward.

The jurors craned their necks.

“We expect,” Mason went on, “to introduce these gems in evidence and...”

“Your Honor, Your Honor,” Hamilton Burger shouted. “I object Counsel can’t produce his exhibits before the jury at this time. He can only tell the jury what he expects to prove.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” Mason said. “I expect to prove to the jury that Douglas Hepner had recovered these gems.”

“Those are the gems Ethel Belan described,” Hamilton Burger said. “Those were in the possession of the defendant. The mere fact that the defense produces them now...”

Judge Moran interrupted sternly. “Counsel for the prosecution can argue the prosecutor’s case to the jury at the proper time. It will not be argued now.”

“I object to this evidence being produced in front of the jury.”

Mason said, “I am merely showing the jury what I expect to prove, Your Honor, and I may state at this time that Douglas Hepner had made one very simple mistake. Knowing that Webley Richey, one of the clerks in the apartment house, was a member of the smuggling ring, he naturally assumed that Suzanne Granger, with her frequent trips to Europe, was part of the ring. The true, diabolically clever scheme didn’t occur to him at first. When it did occur to him he found the gems. He found them in a hiding place so ingeniously constructed that it was extremely difficult to detect. However, in entering that hiding place he set off a burglar alarm and when he did that he knew he was trapped. There had already been one attempt on his life and he knew that if he were caught leaving the apartment house with the gems in his possession it would be sure death.

“So he locked the door of the apartment. He telephoned his assistant to report what he had found, and he then concealed the gems in the one place where he thought he had any faint chance of keeping them secreted. He had to do all this in a matter of seconds.

“Then he unlocked the apartment door and stepped into the hall, expecting to be seized and searched, expecting to have to battle for his life.

“To his surprise no one was there. He was not molested. Knowing he didn’t have the gems on him gave him a surge of confidence. He raced for the freight elevator and pressed the button.

“It seemed ages before the lumbering freight elevator came up and stopped. Everything seemed to be clear. He sneaked out the rear entrance of the apartment house and sought sanctuary in his hideout apartment. I do not think Douglas Hepner even knew he was being trailed, or once in his apartment he would not have responded to that knock on the door. Obviously he expected someone else, for he opened the door — and then Douglas Hepner knew he had gambled and lost Hands grabbed him, arms held him, a hypodermic needle jabbed him.”

“Oh, Your Honor,” Hamilton Burger interrupted. “All of this is plainly improper. Counsel only has the right to outline the evidence he expects to put on. He is building up a suspense story here that sounds like a movie scenario. He can’t prove this. He’s talking about the thoughts and emotions of a dead man. He’s outlining hearsay. He’s rationalizing...”

“I think the objection is well taken,” Judge Moran interposed. “Defense counsel has unquestioned oratorical ability. He is now telling a story, not reciting what he proposes to prove.”

“But I do propose to prove it, Your Honor,” Perry Mason protested. “I expect to put on witnesses who will establish the facts and these other matters are fair inferences to be drawn from those facts.”

“Just how do you expect to prove these things?” Judge Moran asked.

Perry Mason said, “I have waiting downstairs a surprise witness who will prove these things. I need only to step to this window and wave my handkerchief and this witness will be on her way up.”

Hamilton Burger, livid with anger, said, “Your Honor, I must object to this statement. There is perhaps no law that counsel should not be dramatic, but counsel must at least be truthful.”

Mason stepped to the courtroom window, waved a handkerchief, said, “If I may have a moment’s indulgence, Your Honor, I have given the signal which will bring my witness here.”

Hamilton Burger said, “Your Honor, I also wish to object to any proof concerning any statement that Douglas Hepner may have made to any persons about his life being in danger or about having recovered any gems. Unless that was a dying declaration it would be hearsay, it would have no part in this case.”

Mason turned to face the Court. “Your Honor, this was a dying declaration. That is why the morphia becomes important. Hepner specifically told this witness that he doubted if he could leave the apartment house alive. It was also a part of the res gestae.”

Hamilton Burger, so angry he could hardly talk, said, “Your Honor, that is simply an attempt to put the cart been a horse or the cart wouldn’t have been there. Here before the horse and then try to show that there must have we have drama deliberately concocted. Counsel asks to capture the interest of the jury by going to the window and waving a handkerchief. Why all this cloak-and-dagger business?”

“Because,” Mason said, “in the event this witness had been seen in the building she might have been killed before she could testify. I propose to show that Webley Richey and Ethel Belan were partners in a smuggling ring of enormous proportions and...”

“Ethel Belan!” Burger exclaimed.

“Exactly,” Mason said. “Why did you think one of her closets was three and a half feet shorter than any other closet in the building?”

“Here we go again,” Burger shouted. “Counsel makes an opening statement that sounds like a dime novel, then he starts smearing the prosecution’s witnesses. Let him cease this talk and put on his proof if he has any.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Mason said, “and I notice my surprise witness has just entered the courtroom. Miss Payson, please come forward and be sworn.”

Sadie Payson marched up to the witness stand, held up her hand and was sworn.

After the first preliminary questions and answers, Mason said, “You knew Douglas Hepner in his lifetime?”

“Yes.”

“What was your relationship to him?”

“I was associated with him in business.”

“What sort of a business?”

“Recovering smuggled gems.”

“Do you know when Douglas Hepner died?”

“On the sixteenth of August.”

“At what hour?”

“I know when the autopsy surgeon says he died.”

“Some time before that had you had a conversation with Douglas Hepner?”

“I had.”

“Did he tell you that he expected to die?”

“Now just a moment,” Hamilton Burger said, “I object to that question as leading and suggestive. It also calls for hearsay evidence.”

Mason said, “It is part of the res gestae, Your Honor, and it is a dying declaration.”

Judge Moran said, “It would seem to require that more foundation be laid before it can be described as either. At the present stage of the evidence I am inclined to sustain the objection. However, I would like to have you lay as complete a foundation as possible before the Court is called upon to rule finally on the matter.”

Mason turned to face the witness. He picked up a sheet of paper which he had dropped over the pile of gems in the chamois skin on the counsel table.

As he picked up the paper, Sadie Payson’s eyes caught the glitter of the gems.

“Oh, you did find them!” she exclaimed. “You did find them! Those are the ones Doug telephoned about! He told me he had them. He told me they...”

“Order, order!” shouted the bailiff.

“The witness will be silent,” Judge Moran thundered.

But there could be no mistaking the spontaneous nature of the exclamation Sadie Payson had given. No amount of rehearsal could have accounted for that joyful exclamation.

Judge Moran said, “Court is going to take a ten-minute recess. The Court would like to see counsel for both sides in chambers. Mr. Mason, I would suggest that those gems should not be left lying there on the counsel table. If you wish to mark them for identification you may deliver them to the clerk for safekeeping.”

“Court will take a ten-minute recess.”