The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece

Chapter 21

Judge Markham, settling himself in the massive swivel chair behind the bench, glanced at the jury box and said, “May it be stipulated, gentlemen, that the jurors are all present and the defendant is in court?”

“So stipulated,” Mason said.

“And so stipulated for the Prosecution,” Hamilton Burger announced.

“I believe Mr. Duncan was on the stand for further crossexamination,” Judge Markham said. “Come forward, Mr. Duncan.”

Duncan strutted to the witness stand, his manner radiating importance. “I think I have just one more question,” Mason said, when the witness had taken his seat. “I believe you stated, Mr. Duncan, that you talked with your client, Mr. Maddox, until approximately eleven o’clock and then went to bed?”

“Yes, around eleven.”

“Then you were in your client’s bedroom until approximately eleven o’clock?”

“Yes.”

“You went in there following the termination of the conference to which you testified yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“And remained there all during that time?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain you didn’t leave the premises?”

“No, I…” his voice trailed away into silence.

“Go on,” Mason said.

“I don’t see that it makes any difference,” Duncan snapped, flashing a swift glance at the district attorney.

Blaine jumped to his feet. “Your Honor,” he said, “it’s objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, and not proper crossexamination.”

“Overruled,” Judge Markham snapped.

“Come to think of it,” Duncan said, “I did go out for a few moments.”

“Did Mr. Maddox accompany you?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you go?”

“We went to a drug store a couple of blocks from the house.”

“How long were you there?”

“About ten minutes.”

“And during that tenminute period, what did you do?”

“That’s objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not proper crossexamination. The direct examination of this witness related to the fixing of time and to the time when he went to bed. The witness fixed that by testifying what he did during the evening. When the defense shows that the witness went out, it makes no difference where he went or what he did. It is only a question of determining how long he was gone.”

“I think I’ll sustain the objection,” Judge Markham announced.

“Did you put in a telephone call?” Mason asked.

“Same objection.”

“Same ruling,” Judge Markham snapped.

“Isn’t it true that at exactly eleven o’clock in the evening you were putting in a telephone call to Mrs. Doris Sully Kent in Santa Barbara, and therefore couldn’t have been in the residence of Peter Kent?”

“Same objection,” Burger snapped.

“If Counsel will amend that question so that witness is asked whether he wasn’t putting in a long distance telephone call at some other place at the time when the witness has previously stated he had returned to the house, I will permit the question,” Judge Markham ruled. “But I do not think it is necessarily relevant, pertinent or proper crossexamination to include in that question the name of the person to whom the telephone call was being made.”

“Very well,” Mason said, “didn’t you put in a telephone call at exactly eleven o’clock from the drug store, Mr. Duncan?”

“It was before eleven. Five minutes to eleven. We were back in the house by eleven o’clock.”

Mason smiled and said, “That’s all.”

Burger and Blaine held a whispered conversation, then Burger announced, “No further questions, Your Honor. Our next witness is Edna Hammer. I think the Court will realize that this young woman, who is a niece of the defendant, is a hostile witness. It may be necessary for me to interrogate her by leading questions…”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Judge Markham interrupted. “Miss Hammer, take the stand.”

Edna Hammer came forward, was sworn, and seated herself in the witness stand. Her face was pale and drawn. “Your name is Edna Hammer, you’re a niece of the defendant, and you resided with him at his house at 3824 Lakeview Terrace, Hollywood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And were so residing there on the night of the thirteenth and the morning of the fourteenth of this month?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you familiar with the appearance of a certain carving knife which was customarily kept in the top drawer of the sideboard in the defendant’s residence?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you see that knife on the morning of the thirteenth?”

She lowered her eyes, bit her lip and said nothing.

“Answer the question,” Judge Markham ordered.

“I saw a knife which resembled it.”

“Where was that knife?”

“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” Mason said.

“We propose to show, Your Honor, that it was in the possession of the defendant,” Burger stated.

“Upon that assumption, the objection is overruled.”

“Answer the question,” Burger said.

“A carving knife, similar in appearance to the one customarily kept in the sideboard drawer, was in my uncle’s bedroom, under the pillow of his bed.”

“That was on the morning of the thirteenth?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do with the carving knife?”

“I replaced it in the sideboard drawer.”

“Did you mention finding it to your uncle?”

“No.”

“Did you take precautions of any sort to see that this carving knife did not come into the possession of your uncle after you had so replaced it in the sideboard drawer?”

“I locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth.”

“And when did you next see the carving knife?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I saw a carving knife, but I am not certain that it was the same one.”

“I call your attention to the knife introduced as People’s Exhibit Number Two. Did you see that knife on the morning of the fourteenth?”

“Yes… I guess so.”

“Where?”

“Under the pillow of the bed in Uncle’s room.”

“And it was in approximately the same condition that it now is? That is, with reference to the stains on the blade?”

“Yes.”

“Now, then, when you locked that sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth, was the knife inside the drawer?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“Because I didn’t open the drawer to look.”

“Who was with you at that time?”

“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” Mason said.

“Overruled.”

“Mr. Mason.”

“You mean Perry Mason, the attorney, seated here in the courtroom?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is this knife, People’s Exhibit Number Two, different in any way from the knife which you placed in the sideboard drawer on the morning of the thirteenth?”

“I don’t think so. It is similar to the knife which I put in the drawer there at that time.”

“When you made a statement to the officers on the morning of the fourteenth you stated it was the same knife, didn’t you?”

Judge Markham glanced over at Perry Mason as though expecting to hear an objection, but Mason remained motionless and attentive.

“Yes, I guess so.”

“Now you will only admit that it’s similar to the knife you found under your uncle’s pillow on the morning of the fourteenth and placed in the drawer. Can you explain the apparent discrepancy in these two answers?”

“Only that when I came to think the matter over, I realized that many knives might look alike.”

“And so far as you know, this knife, People’s Exhibit Number Two, is the same knife which you found under the defendant’s pillow on the morning of the thirteenth and placed in the sideboard drawer, is that right, Miss Hammer?”

“It is similar in appearance to that knife,” she said.

“Crossexamine,” Hamilton Burger announced triumphantly.

Mason began his questions soothingly. “How did you happen to discover the carving knife under your uncle’s pillow on the morning of the thirteenth, Miss Hammer?”

“I… I… was worried about him.”

“In other words you had reason to believe that he might have been walking in his sleep the night before, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“And your anxiety about his sleepwalking was due to the fact that it was approaching a period of full moon?”

“Yes,” she said in a low voice.

“How did you know, Miss Hammer, that sleepwalkers are more apt to become active during the full of the moon?”

“I read it.”

“In a book?”

“Yes.”

“A medical book?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get that book?”

“I sent away for it.”

“You’d studied that book prior to the time you locked the sideboard drawer?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Over how long a period of time?”

“Perhaps six weeks or two months.”

“Now, directing your attention to this knife, Defendant’s Exhibit A, I will ask you if you have ever seen that knife before?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you put that knife in the sideboard drawer at a date subsequent to the murder, in accordance with instructions from me?”

Hamilton Burger jumped to his feet, started to object, then slowly sat back in his chair.

“Yes, sir.”

“I told you, I believe,” Mason said, smiling over at the district attorney, “that I desired to plant the knife in the sideboard drawer and have it discovered the next day by Sergeant Holcomb; that I wanted to confuse the issues and make it increasingly difficult for the district attorney to get witnesses to identify the murder knife as the one which had been in the sideboard drawer, didn’t I?”

District Attorney Burger blinked his eyes as though doubting his senses. Judge Markham leaned forward, started to say something, paused and stared at Mason, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Blaine jumped to his feet. “Your Honor, I think Counsel should be warned that, if this question is answered in the affirmative, the district attorney’s office cannot afford to ignore the cold record, but will take steps to see that such unprofessional conduct is…” The district attorney grabbed his assistant by the coat, pulled him back to his chair.

“Answer the question, Edna,” Mason said, paying no attention to Blaine’s comment.

“Yes, sir.”

“And this knife which I gave you is the one which I have had marked for identification as Defendant’s Exhibit A?”

“Yes, sir, I think so.”

Edna Hammer’s voice was low and embarrassed. Her eyes reflected the confusion of her mind.

“And you did lock this knife, Defendant’s Exhibit A, in the drawer?”

“Yes.”

“But it wasn’t there when you opened the drawer the next morning?”

“No, sir.”

Mason said kindly, almost conversationally, “So you’ve known you were walking in your sleep for about six weeks or two months, Edna?”

The counsel at the district attorney’s table were deeply engaged in a whispered consultation. The question slipped by their ears unnoticed. Edna Hammer, her mind in a half daze by the brazen manner in which Mason had publicly proclaimed their conspiracy, was thrown off her guard.

“Yes, sir,” she said, mechanically.

It was Judge Markham who grasped the significance of the question and answer. He leaned forward to stare at the witness and said, “What was that answer?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and then suddenly realizing what she had said, “Oh, I didn’t mean that… I didn’t…”

“What did you mean, Edna?” Mason asked.

“What’s this? What’s this?” Hamilton Burger shouted, getting to his feet. “I object. Not proper crossexamination.”

“The question relating to her sleepwalking has already been asked and answered,” Mason said. “I am now giving her an opportunity to explain what she meant by her answer.

“And I object.”

“Very well, Your Honor, I’ll withdraw the question. The first answer speaks for itself,” Mason said. Burger, looking very much annoyed, slowly sat down. Mason asked, in a kindly tone, “Did you habitually use that receptacle under the coffee table as a place in which to conceal articles from time to time, Edna?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So that when you locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth and went to sleep with the thought uppermost in your mind that your uncle might get the carving knife in his possession while walking in his sleep, you walked in your sleep, and, not trusting the locking of the sideboard drawer to safeguard the knife, took the knife from the drawer and placed it in that oblong receptacle under the coffee table at exactly quarter past twelve, didn’t you?”

“Objected to!” Burger shouted. “This is not proper crossexamination. This is argumentative. This is utterly improper. There is no proper foundation laid.”

“Indeed there is,” Mason assured the Court. “This witness has testified to locking the sideboard drawer; has testified to seeing the knife on the morning of the thirteenth, and to next seeing this knife on the morning of the fourteenth. I have the right to crossexamine her to show that she must have seen it earlier on the morning of the fourteenth, to wit, when she took it from the sideboard drawer.”

“But,” Burger protested, “if she did this while walking in her sleep, she wouldn’t know anything about it.”

“In that event,” Mason answered, “she can answer the question by saying, ‘I don’t know.’“

Judge Markham nodded. “The objection is overruled,” he said.

Edna Hammer said in a voice which was almost a wail, “I don’t know.”

Mason waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “That’s all,” he said. Hamilton Burger exchanged glances with young Blaine, then they plunged once more into whispered consultation.

“Any redirect examination?” Judge Markham asked.

“If we may have the indulgence of the Court for just a moment,” Burger said, “this whole case has taken rather a peculiar turn.” Blaine engaged in vehement whisperings but Burger slowly shook his head. Burger said, after a moment, “Very well, I’ll ask Miss Hammer a few questions on redirect examination. Did I understand you to say that you had been walking in your sleep, Miss Hammer?”

“Yes.”

“When did you first know that you were a sleepwalker?”

“About six weeks or two months ago. Perhaps a little longer.”

“How did you find out you had been walking in your sleep?”

“I had been worrying about some rather important papers of Uncle Pete’s. He’d left them in the writing desk in the living room. I told him I didn’t think it was a safe place and he said it was all right, that no one would bother them. I went to sleep worrying about them and in the morning, when I got up, the papers were in my bedroom under my pillow.”

Burger turned to Blaine. His manner was that of saying, “I told you so.” Blaine squirmed uncomfortably, made more whispered suggestions to Burger. Burger whirled back to face her. “Why didn’t you tell us this?” he asked.

“No one asked me.”

“And you got this book on sleepwalking at that time?”

“I sent away for it, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to study up on it and see if I could cure myself, and I wanted to see if it was hereditary. In other words, I wanted to see if it might be a family trait.”

“And did you do any more sleepwalking?”

“Yes.”

Burger turned savagely to Blaine. Mason, looking across the gap between the counsel tables, grinned at the two lawyers who were carrying on a spirited argument in whispers, the hissing sibilants not sufficiently audible to allow spectators to hear what was being said, but loud enough to convey Burger’s general tone of exasperation. “That’s all,” Burger snapped, overruling Blaine’s whispered suggestions.

“Any recrossexamination?” Judge Markham inquired of Perry Mason.

Mason shook his head. “No, Your Honor, I’m quite satisfied with the testimony of this witness as it is.”

“That’s all, Miss Hammer,” Judge Markham said. “Call your next witness, Mr. Burger.”

“Call Gerald Harris.” Harris glanced solicitously at Edna Hammer as he came to the witness stand. She gave him a wan smile. When Harris had been sworn, Burger brushed aside a whispered suggestion from Blaine and began to question the witness. “Your name is Gerald Harris?”

“Yes.”

“You are acquainted with Peter Kent, the defendant?”

“I am.”

“You were in his house on the evening of the thirteenth?”

“I was.”

“I show you a knife, Mr. Harris, which has been introduced in evidence as People’s Exhibit Number Two, and ask you whether you have ever seen that knife before.”

“I have, on several occasions.”

“Where?”

“When I was a guest at Mr. Kent’s house. That was the carving knife which Kent used to carve turkey and roasts. There was, I believe, a smaller carving set used for steaks.”

“Do you know where this knife was kept?”

“I do.”

“Where?”

“In the sideboard in the dining room.”

“Do you know precisely where in the sideboard that knife was kept?”

“Yes, sir, in the top drawer. There was a plushlined section built to accommodate that carving knife.”

“Did you have occasion to go to that drawer in the sideboard on the evening of the thirteenth of this month?”

“I did.”

“At what time?”

“At approximately nineforty.”

“What were you doing?”

“Getting some accessories with which to make some drinks.”

“Was the carving knife there at that time?”

“It was not.”

“You’re positive of that?”

“I am.”

“Was there a lock on the drawer of that sideboard?”

“There was.”

“Was that sideboard drawer locked or unlocked at the time you have mentioned?”

“Unlocked.”

“Where were you at the time the crime was committed?”

“In Santa Barbara.”

“Who sent you there?”

“Peter Kent.”

“At whose suggestion?”

“At the suggestion of Perry Mason.”

“Do you know whether Mr. Coulter, the butler, went to the sideboard drawer that evening?”

“I know of one occasion on which he went there, yes.”

“Was that before or after the occasion on which you noticed the carving knife was not in the drawer?”

Harris fidgeted and said, “I would prefer not to answer that question.”

“Never mind your preferences. You’re here as a witness and under oath. Answer the question.”

Harris said in a muffled undertone, “Before.”

“Speak up,” Burger said, “so the jury can hear you. What did you say?”

“I said that it was before.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw Mr. Coulter at the sideboard.”

“What was he doing?”

“He had the sideboard drawer open. I don’t know whether he had been taking something out or putting something in. He closed the drawer and walked away.”

“How long was that before you opened the drawer in the sideboard?”

“About five minutes, I would say.”

Burger nodded triumphantly to Perry Mason. “You,” he said, “may crossexamine.”

Mason inquired, almost casually, “By the way, you’re secretly married to Edna Hammer, the witness who was just on the stand, aren’t you?”

The courtroom, which had been tensely silent for some minutes, rustled with motion as the spectators leaned forward to catch Harris’s answer. Harris hesitated a moment, then said, “Yes, I am.”

“When were you married to her?”

“On the tenth of last month.”

“Where?”

“In Yuma, Arizona.”

“That marriage was kept a secret?”

“Yes.”

“Following that marriage Edna Hammer placed a spring lock on her bedroom door, did she not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You,” Mason asked, “had a key to that door?”

Harris showed his embarrassment. Burger jumped to his feet and said, “That, Your Honor, is objected to. It’s improper crossexamination.”

“I’ll withdraw the question,” Mason said, “subject to my right to ask it later, after I have laid a proper foundation.” Burger once more slowly sat down, his manner that of being ready to leap instantly to his feet. Mason sprawled out in his chair with his long legs crossed in front of him, seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. “So you went to Santa Barbara on the night of the murder?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“And that was at my suggestion?”

“It was.”

“Who went with you?”

“Miss Warrington, Mr. Kent’s secretary.”

“Anyone else?”

“No, sir.”

“You’re positive of that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You went, I believe, to the residence of Mrs. Doris Sully Kent.”

Burger said, “Just a moment, Your Honor, I think that question is plainly incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not proper crossexamination. It makes no difference where he went or what he did while he was in Santa Barbara.”

Mason smiled and said, “Counsel, himself, has opened the door, Your Honor. In endeavoring to show the jury that I was in charge of things at the house and had sent this witness to Santa Barbara, he asked him where he was at the time of the murder. I, therefore, have the right to inquire most painstakingly and in the greatest detail in order to explore this phase of his testimony.”

Judge Markham started to say something, then checked himself and said, “Objection overruled.”

“Answer the question, Mr. Harris. Did you go to Mrs. Doris Sully Kent’s residence?”

“I did.”

“What did you do on arriving in Santa Barbara?”

“I went to Mrs. Kent’s house. A Mr. Jackson from Mr. Mason’s office was watching the house. He offered to stay on duty until two o’clock, but I knew he had work to do in court in the morning so I told him to take Miss Warrington to a hotel and I’d stay there to watch the house. He and Miss Warrington drove away in Mr. Jackson’s car and I parked my car where I could see the house, and waited until I was relieved by a private detective some time around eight or nine o’clock in the morning.”

“Were you there in front of Mrs. Kent’s residence at three o’clock in the morning?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What happened?”

“Mrs. Kent received a telephone call.”

“Could you hear what she said over the telephone?”

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“Your Honor,” Hamilton Burger protested, “the vice of this entire line of questioning now becomes apparent. This witness is hostile to me, friendly to the Defense, as was plainly evidenced by his manner in answering the one important question for which I called him. Now, under the guise of crossexamination, and by the use of leading questions, the defendant is seeking to establish something which could not be established on direct examination.”

“But, Your Honor,” Mason pointed out, “Counselor himself asked this witness where he was at the time of the murder, and…”

“And you desire to test his recollection by crossexamination upon this particular point?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“I think,” Judge Markham said, “that the ruling of the Court will be that you may examine him as to where he went, what he did and what he saw, and generally what he heard, but not specifically as to what other persons may have said in his presence; I think that’s going too far afield, particularly if it covers matters which may either be inadmissible, or may only be admissible as a part of the defendant’s case.”

“Very well, Your Honor.”

There was a moment’s silence. “Proceed, Counselor,” Judge Markham said to Perry Mason.

“At the time that telephone conversation took place where were you?” Mason asked.

“Across the street from Mrs. Doris Sully Kent’s residence.”

“Do you know her personally?”

“Yes.”

“Did she answer the phone in person?”

“Objected to,” Hamilton Burger snapped, “on the same grounds. Counselor Mason can’t prove his case by crossexamining my witness.”

“I can if he opens the door on his direct examination,” Mason insisted.

“I think I’ll overrule that objection,” Judge Markham said. “It might test the recollection and credibility of the witness. However, I’ll not permit his recollection to be tested by a showing of what that conversation consisted of. I think that’s a part of the defendant’s case.”

“Did she answer the telephone?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“Did you see her clearly?”

“Yes.”

Mason said, “By the way, did you know…” Mason stopped abruptly in midsentence, as, swinging about in his swivel chair, his eyes rested on the crowded court room. Suddenly he was on his feet. “Your Honor,” he said, “I happen to notice that Mrs. Doris Sully Kent is in the courtroom. I understand that Mrs. Kent was originally subpoenaed by the Prosecution but, in view of the fact that certain legal proceedings had been instituted by her seeking to set aside a divorce decree, there is some question as to whether she is competent to testify as a witness against the defendant in this action. A short time ago a complete settlement of the various claims under dispute was negotiated, so that the final decree of divorce in the case of Doris Sully Kent versus Peter B. Kent has now dissolved the marriage between them. Inasmuch as Mrs. Kent is now in the courtroom, I wish to use her as a witness for the Defense. May I ask the Court to instruct Mrs. Kent not to leave the courtroom until I can have a subpoena served upon her?”

Judge Markham frowned, said, “Mrs. Doris Sully Kent, will you please stand up?” The blonde young woman arose while necks craned toward her. “You will not leave the courtroom,” Judge Markham ordered, “until Counsel has an opportunity to serve a subpoena upon you, and in order to facilitate the immediate service of such a subpoena, the Court will take a recess of ten minutes, during which Mrs. Kent will be instructed not to leave the courtroom. During the recess the jury will remember the usual admonition of the Court not to discuss the case with anyone nor permit it to be discussed in your presence, and not to form or express any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused until the case is finally submitted to you. Court will take a tenminute recess.”

Judge Markham started for his chambers. The courtroom became a babble of noise. Mason, stepping to the Clerk’s desk, had the subpoena issued, handed it to the bailiff with instructions to serve it upon Mrs. Kent. Casually, Perry Mason strolled toward the door which led to the judge’s chambers. He was joined by Hamilton Burger, who said, with frigid formality, “I think it would be well for us to visit Judge Markham together, Mr. Mason.”

“Oh, very well,” Mason assented. Together, the pair entered the judge’s chambers. Judge Markham, seated behind a desk which was piled high with law books, looked up from the index of the Penal Code which he was reading. His manner was that of one who has been interrupted in a hasty search for something important.

“I didn’t want to make the suggestion in front of the jury, Judge Markham,” Burger said, with cold formality, “but I feel that Mr. Mason’s conduct amounts to a contempt of Court.”

“My conduct?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“In doing what?”

“In deliberately planting that duplicate knife in the sideboard drawer in order to confuse the authorities in the case.”

“But I didn’t plant any knife with any such purpose,” Mason said.

Judge Markham frowned, his face was grave with concern. “I am afraid, Counselor…” he began. At something he saw in Mason’s face he paused abruptly.

Burger said vehemently, “You can’t get away with that, Mason. Edna Hammer has sworn absolutely, on her oath, that such were your intentions.”

“But she doesn’t know anything about my intentions,” Mason pointed out. “She isn’t a mind reader. She didn’t qualify as a telepathic expert.”

“But she testified that you told her what your intentions were.”

“Oh, yes,” Mason admitted, “I told her that.”

“Am I to understand,” Judge Markham asked, “that you now claim you made a false statement to her?”

“Why, certainly,” Mason said, lighting a cigarette.

“What the devil are you getting at?” Burger inquired.

Mason said, “Oh, I knew she must have been walking in her sleep. You see, Burger, she had the only key to the sideboard drawer, and yet the knife had disappeared. Of course, there was some chance that Kent might have picked the lock or had a duplicate key, so while Kent was in jail, I thought I’d make another test. My theory was that Edna Hammer was herself a sleepwalker; that she was worried about her uncle, and went to bed with the thought of that carving knife preying on her mind. My experience with her, when she hid a cup in the receptacle under the coffee table, convinced me she had used that place to conceal things in before. So what more natural than that she should worry about the knife in her sleep, decide the sideboard drawer was not a safe hiding place, arise and, clad only in a nightgown, unlock the sideboard drawer, take out the knife, lock the drawer again and hide the knife in the receptacle under the table? I felt that the only way I could find out about this was by duplicating the circumstances, so I gave her another carving knife and impressed upon her how important it was that it should be locked in the drawer. It was a moonlight night and she went to sleep with the knife on her mind. Habit reasserted itself. When I start introducing my case, Mr. Burger, I shall show that this knife marked Defendant’s Exhibit A was the same knife which I gave her to place in the sideboard drawer, and that it was subsequently discovered by one of Paul Drake’s detectives in the oblong receptacle under the top of the coffee table.”

“Do you mean you’re going to claim she killed Rease?” Burger shouted. “Why, that’s preposterous! It’s absurd!”

Mason inspected the end of his cigarette. “No,” he said, “I don’t think I’ll make any such claim. My case will doubtless be developed as we go along, Mr. Burger, but this discussion was confined to a suggestion on your part that I be considered in contempt of Court and also, I presume, held for disciplinary action on the part of the Bar Association. I merely mentioned this in order to explain that I had simply been conducting a test.”

Mason turned and strolled from the chambers. Slowly Judge Markham closed the Penal Code, put it back into place in the row of books along one side of his desk. He looked at Burger’s face and tried to keep from smiling.

“I,” the district attorney said, “will be damned.” Turning, he stamped from the chambers.

Judge Markham, looking over the courtroom, said, “You have now served your subpoena, Mr. Mason?”

“I have.”

“I believe Mr. Harris was being crossexamined?”

“Yes.”

“Come forward, Mr. Harris.”

There was no response. Burger, craning his neck, said, “Perhaps he has stepped out for a moment.”

“I had one more question I wanted to ask on crossexamination of Mr. Maddox,” Mason said, “we might fill in time by having Mr. Maddox come forward, if the Court will permit me to reopen the crossexamination for the purpose of asking that one question.”

“Any objection?” Judge Markham asked of Hamilton Burger.

“I may say for the benefit of Counsel,” Mason said, “that the question has become necessary because of unforeseen developments, to wit, the fact that Mrs. Doris Sully Kent is going to be a witness.”

“No,” the district attorney said, “I’ll make no objection to having the witness recalled. I think I have a question that I would like to ask him on redirect examination.”

“Mr. Maddox will please come forward,” the bailiff said. Once more there was no answering stir from the witnesses in the courtroom.

“Have you some other witness you can call?” Judge Markham inquired.

“Begging the Court’s pardon,” Mason said, “I would like to finish with the crossexamination of Mr. Harris before the case goes any further. The only exception I think I would care to make would be to ask a single question of Mr. Maddox.”

“Very well,” Judge Markham said.

There were several seconds of uncomfortable silence, then Judge Markham whirled around in his chair. “The Court will take a brief recess, during which the bailiff will find the missing witnesses,” he said.

Mason turned around to Peter Kent, slapped his hand down on Kent ’s knee, whispered, “All right, Peter. Within thirty minutes you’ll walk out of this courtroom a free man.”