The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ten minutes later when Judge Hobart, assisted by the district attorney, had carefully checked the numbers of the bills found in Kelsey’s wallet, Judge Hobart said, “These numbers check, Mr Mason. I take it, Mr Hastings, that a motion to dismiss the case against Mrs Bancroft is in order.”

“I make that motion now,” Hastings said somewhat sheepishly.

“Now, I want to say something,” Kelsey said.

“Anything you say can be used against you,” Judge Hobart said. “You don’t have to make any statement. If you do make any statement it is to be made freely and voluntarily and can be used against you.”

“I know what the score is,” Kelsey said wearily. “I just want to state that Mr Mason had it all doped out except one thing. I actually shot Gilly in self-defence. I accused him of cheating, accused him of lying and accused him of having made a shake-down that I knew nothing about.

“He denied the accusation and I told him I intended to search him. I started for him and he grabbed a knife, which he had evidently taken from the galley, and came for me. I shot him.”

“Then what did you do?” Judge Hobart asked.

“I searched him for money. I didn’t find as much as I thought I was going to find but I did find what was left of the thousand dollars that he had secured from Mrs Bancroft earlier. He was a complete double-crosser and a heel and when he knew I was going to discover what he had done he tried to kill me.”

“What did you do with the gun?” Judge Hobart asked.

“I took that gun and concealed it where it wouldn’t be found. Later on when I learned the story Mrs Bancroft had told the press I reloaded one chamber in that gun and tossed away the empty cartridge. I got a skin-diver’s outfit, went down, located the purse, took out the money, planted the gun near the purse. I felt that under the circumstances I was entitled to that money. It had been my brains that had enabled Gilly to cash in on the idea.”

Judge Hobart turned to Mason. “What happened to the bullet that Mrs Bancroft fired?”

“There was only one thing that could have happened to it,” Mason said. “It missed Gilly when he stumbled forward, probably missing him by a scant half-inch, went past his head and out through the open door of the cabin. Remember that Gilly had been raising the anchor, that he had the motor started, that he threw the clutch into gear as he started back and then entered the cabin. The side door must have been open. The bullet Mrs Bancroft fired must have gone through that door.”

Judge Hobart frowned thoughtfully. “This has been a most interesting and a most significant case,” he said. “The defendant is to be congratulated upon the strategy by which her counsel trapped the real murderer.

“Now may I ask, as a matter of information, whether it is true that the witness, Drew Kirby, was mistaken as to the identity of the man who was with Mrs Bancroft earlier on the evening of the tenth?”

“He was mistaken,” Mason said, “and that person was actually Irwin Victor Fordyce.”

“And what has happened to Fordyce?” Judge Hobart asked.

“He was either murdered,” Mason said, “or he has seen fit to disappear in order to keep himself out of circulation.”

Harlow Bancroft arose. “May I make a statement, if the Court please?”

“Go ahead,” Judge Hobart said.

“I think Irwin Fordyce disappeared because he knew the police were looking for him in connection with a service station holdup. I think he felt that he had two strikes against him because of a previous conviction.

“I want to take this opportunity to state publicly that we can all of us make mistakes. I have made my own mistakes. At one time in my irresponsible youth, I stole an automobile and served a term in the penitentiary for stealing that automobile. I have since lived that down and tried to make good. I want to state publicly here and now that if Irwin Fordyce will surrender himself I will see to it that he has a fair trial and the best legal brains that money can buy. I will pay Mr Mason’s fee to defend him, and if he is guilty of the service station holdup, he has to pay the penalty. If he isn’t guilty of the service station holdup, I am going to see that he is acquitted and if he is acquitted I am going to see that he has a responsible position in one of my companies and that he has an opportunity to work up.”

Newspaper photographers crowded forward with flashguns blazing intermittently.

Judge Hobart smiled slightly and said, “I am glad you made that statement, Mr Bancroft. That was spoken like a man and I feel certain that in the years to come you will be glad you have said what you have just stated.

“And as far as your comments about the best legal brains that money can buy, I think the outcome of this case speaks for itself.

“The defendant is released from custody. Mr Kelsey is in the hands of the sheriff. The Court will impound this money found on him as evidence and court is now adjourned.”