The Naked Typist

35

When court reconvened,Dirkson called Phil Danby to the stand.

“Mr. Danby,” Dirkson began, “are you connected with Castleton Industries?”

“Yes. I’ve been employed by them for the past fifteen years.”

“In what capacity?”

“My title is business manager, but I serve in several capacities. Chief among them is being personal assistant to Milton Castleton.”

“You are referring to Milton Castleton, retired head of Castleton Industries, the grandfather of the decedent, David Castleton?”

“That’s right. Up until his retirement, I served as his personal assistant at the company. Since his retirement, I have served as his liaison to the company.”

“Am I to assume that, though retired, Mr. Castleton still has an active role in the business?”

Danby smiled. “I think that would be a safe assumption.”

“Mr. Danby, where do you work?”

“I divide my time between Mr. Castleton’s office, which is in his apartment, and the company itself. I am, as I said, his liaison.”

“And you still have an active role in the company?”

Danby smiled. “Very much so.”

“Mr. Danby, are you familiar with the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder?”

“Yes, I am.”

“How did you happen to meet her?”

“Mr. Castleton is currently writing his memoirs and employing secretaries to type them. He advertised in the Times and she answered the ad.”

“She came to apply for the job?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me, did she give you the name Kelly Wilder?”

“No.”

“Or Kelly Clay?”

“No.”

“What name did she give you?”

“Kelly Blaine.”

“Kelly Blaine?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me, did she get the job?”

“Yes, she did.”

“She went to work for Castleton Industries?”

“No, for Milton Castleton. The writing of his memoirs he considered a personal matter, not a function of the company.”

“Then he was employing her and paying her salary, rather than the company?”

“That’s right.”

“So where was she working?”

“In an office in his apartment.”

“How long did she work for Milton Castleton?”

“About two weeks.”

“And during that time did she ever meet Milton Castleton?”

“No, she did not. Her dealings were entirely with me.”

“Tell me, Mr. Danby, at the time of David Castleton’s death, was Kelly Clay Wilder still working for Milton Castleton?”

“No, she was not.”

“How did that employment come to be terminated?”

Danby took a breath. “It was on the afternoon of June twenty-first. Milton Castleton was not there. He was off at a doctor’s appointment. Kelly Wilder was in her office, typing at her word processor.”

“She had her own office?”

“Yes, she did.”

“Go on.”

“I was in Milton Castleton’s office next door. Looking up some facts on his computer. And I happened to notice Miss Wilder through the window.”

“The window?”

“Yes. Mr. Castleton’s office and Miss Wilder’s office were side by side. There was a window between them.”

“You saw her through the window?”

“Yes.”

“Could she see you?”

“No. It’s a one-way glass.”

“What caught your attention at the time?”

“The screen of her word processor.”

“What about it?”

“I have to explain. She was supposed to be typing memoirs. In other words, prose. But that wasn’t what was on the screen of her terminal. From that distance, I could tell exactly what it was, but I could tell it wasn’t prose. Screens were coming on, one after another, with symbols and instructions on them. That doesn’t happen when you’re typing. That happens when you’re working in the Disk Operating System of the computer.”

“Had Kelly Wilder any reason to be working in the Disk Operating System?”

“Absolutely none. Her job was simply to use a word processor that was functioning as a typewriter.”

“I see. And from this, what conclusion did you draw?”

“Objection,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Sustained.

Steve Winslow leaned across Kelly Wilder, tugged Fitzpatrick’s arm. “Let this go in,” he whispered.

Dirkson thought a moment. “Tell me, at that time, in your own mind, did you form any opinion about the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And what was that?”

“She was an industrial spy.”

“That was your evaluation of her?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Can you tell me why you formed that opinion?”

“I could think of no other reason why she would be playing with the computer terminal.”

“That terminal was hooked into the main computer?”

“Yes, it was.”

“It would have access to the records of Castleton Industries?”

“Absolutely. The computer in Milton Castleton’s office carried all the data of the entire company.”

“Does Castleton Industries have industrial secrets worth stealing?”

Fitzpatrick looked at Winslow. Steve shook his head. “Let it go in.”

Danby smiled. “I would imagine a competitor would pay a small fortune to get the inside track on Castleton Industries.”

“I see,” Dirkson said. “So how did you feel when you saw this?”

“I was outraged, of course. You have to understand. I have a great sense of loyalty to Castleton Industries and Milton Castleton.”

“So what did you do?”

“I tried to stop her.”

“How?”

“I ran out of the office to her office door. I took out a key and unlocked it.”

“The door was locked?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“That was one of the specifications of the employment. That she would work alone in an office with the door locked.”

Dirkson nodded, as if that arrangement were perfectly reasonable, and did not follow up on the subject. “I see,” he said. “So you unlocked the door and opened it?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did you find?”

“Miss Wilder was sitting at the word processor. When she saw me, she leapt up.”

“What did you do?”

“I made for the machine.”

“What did she do?”

“When she saw what I was doing she lunged for the machine, pressed a button on the keyboard.”

“What happened?”

“Whatever had been on the screen disappeared and was replaced by the page she’d been typing.”

“Did you get a look at what had been on the screen before?”

“No, I did not.”

“What did you do then?”

“I confronted her, demanded to know what she’d been doing.”

“Did she answer?”

“No, she didn’t. She kept backing away from me, around the desk.”

“What did you do?”

“I followed her.”

“What happened then?”

“When the desk was between me and the door, she turned and ran.”

“Out the door?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

“I chased her.”

“What did she do?”

“Ran down the hall and out the front door of the apartment.”

“What did you do then?”

“I ran to the front door. By the time I got there, she was gone.”

“I see,” Dirkson said. “Tell me, Mr. Danby. What was the defendant wearing at that time?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“She was naked.”

“Naked? And why was that?”

“That was one of the requirements of the job. Mr. Castleton’s secretaries typed nude. That was why it was specified they would work alone in their own office with the door locked.”

“I see,” Dirkson said. “So for the two weeks the defendant had been working there, she had been working naked?”

“That is right.’

“She was naked when you confronted her and accused her of being an industrial spy?”

“That’s right.”

“She was naked when she ran out of her office and out the front door?”

“Yes, she was.”

“I see,” Dirkson said. “Tell me, Mr. Danby. From the time she ran out the front door of Milton Castleton’s apartment, did you ever see the defendant again?”

Danby shook his head. “Not until today.”

“Let me ask you this. Did you ever talk to her again?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And when was that?”

“The first time was on June twenty-seventh.”

“The day before David Castleton was killed?”

“That’s right.”

“And how did that happen?”

“She called the office.”

“Mr. Castleton’s office?”

“Yes.”

“Who answered the phone?”

“I did.”

“And it was the defendant, Kelly Clay Wilder?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Did she identify herself?”

“Not as Kelly Wilder. She identified herself as Kelly Blaine.”

“Which was the name you’d known her by?”

“Yes.”

“What did she want?”

“She wanted to talk to Mr. Castleton.”

“Did she talk to Mr. Castleton?”

“No. I told her she couldn’t talk to him, she’d have to talk to me.”

“What did she do?”

“She said, ‘Too bad,’ and hung up.”

“What happened then?”

“She called back an hour later.”

“What did she want?”

“The same thing. To talk to Mr. Castleton.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That if she’d come to the apartment, Mr. Castleton would be willing to talk to her.”

“I assume you’d conferred with Mr. Castleton in the meantime?”

“Yes, I had.”

“What did she say to that?”

“She wouldn’t do it. She said she wanted to meet Mr. Castleton alone in a public place. I told her that was out of the question. Mr. Castleton was in poor health, he wasn’t going to meet her in a public place and certainly not alone.”

“What happened then?”

“She said ‘Too bad,” and hung up.

“Did she call back again?”

“Yes, she did.”

“What happened in that conversation?”

“She repeated her demands. I told her they were out of the question. Then I suggested a compromise.”

“What was that?”

“While Mr. Castleton couldn’t go and meet her, he would send his grandson, David, in his place.”

“What did she say to that?”

“We talked about it some, and the end result was she agreed to the arrangement.”

“She agreed to meet David Castleton?”

“That’s right.”

“And this was on June twenty-eighth, the day he was killed?”

“That’s right.”

“And that was the last time you talked to the defendant?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Then let me ask you this. Did you speak to David Castleton on June twenty-eighth?”

“Yes, I did.”

“At what point did you speak to him?”

“After the last phone call from the defendant, I conferred with Milton Castleton, then I called David Castleton on the phone.”

“Called him where?”

“At work. At his office. At Castleton Industries.”

“What did you tell him at that time?”

“I told him it had been arranged for him to meet the defendant that evening, and immediately after work he should come by his grandfather’s apartment to confer with me and Milton Castleton and then go meet the defendant.”

“Did he agree to this?”

“Of course.”

“Did he come to Milton Castleton’s apartment?”

“Yes, he did.”

“What time was that?”

“Around five-fifteen.”

“He met with Milton Castleton at that time?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Were you present at that meeting?”

“Yes, I was.”

Dirkson turned to Judge Wallingsford. “Your Honor, I maintain that the conference between David Castleton and his grandfather, Milton Castleton, on the evening of David Castleton’s death is part of the res gestae and therefore admissible in evidence.”

Judge Wallingsford frowned. “So far, there’s been no objection from the defense. Let’s proceed, and deal with this if and when there is one.”

“Very well,” Dirkson said. He turned back to the witness. “Now, Mr. Danby, what was the substance of that meeting between David Castleton, Milton Castleton and yourself?”

“It was in the nature of a briefing.”

“A briefing?”

“Yes. We told him what was going to happen and what we expected him to do.”

“Which was?”

“Primarily, to find out who she was and what she wanted.”

“And why was that?”

“Well, you have to understand. At this time, we had no idea who the defendant was. We knew her only as Kelly Blaine. And we knew that name was bogus.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because we’d tried to get in touch with her and failed. The name she gave us was obviously bogus. The address she gave us did not exist.”

“Why were you trying to get in touch with her?”

“To find out what her game was. At first it seemed obvious. On the afternoon of the incident, when she left work, her attorney, Steve Winslow, showed up, charging us with sexual harassment and unjust termination and demanding a settlement on the part of the defendant.”

“And how was that situation handled?”

“We paid him off. Milton Castleton wrote him a check for fifty thousand dollars.”

“Fifty thousand dollars?”

“Yes. At the time it seemed dirt cheap. We were glad to pay and be rid of her. Because this seemed to indicate she was not an industrial spy after all, just an unscrupulous woman pulling a shakedown.”

“If that’s true, why did you want to get in touch with her?”

“Because we weren’t entirely convinced. There was still that business about her playing with the computer. We’d talked to her attorney, but we wanted to talk to her personally to make sure the matter was absolutely settled.”

“And did you?”

“No. That was when I tried to contact her and learned that the name, address and telephone number she had given us were bogus.”

“What did you do then?”

“Well, that confirmed our worst fears. Despite the settlement, we were afraid of what this woman might do next. So we made every effort to find out who she was.”

“How did you do that?”

“We sent David Castleton to her attorney’s office. We primed him to tell a story indicating that he was attracted to the defendant and wanted to date her.”

“And did that approach work?”

“No, it did not.”

“He was not put in touch with the defendant?”

“No, he was not.”

“So David Castleton knew all about the situation before you called him in on the night that he was murdered?”

“That’s right.”

“Getting back to that night, he met with you and Milton Castleton after work, then went out, presumably to meet the defendant?”

“That’s right.”

“And where was he going to meet her?”

“At the Cove, a singles bar on Third Avenue.”

“Who chose that as the meeting place?”

“We did. It was a place near the office where David was used to going. I suggested that location in my last phone call with the defendant.”

“And she agreed to it?”

“Yes, she did.”

“She agreed to meet him there?”

“Yes.”

“At what time?”

“Seven o’clock.”

“What time did David Castleton leave his grandfather’s apartment that night?”

“I’m not exactly sure. About six-fifteen or six-thirty.”

“And that was the last time you saw David Castleton alive?”

“Yes, it was.”

“And the instructions you gave him at that time were to meet with the defendant, try to find out what she wanted and in particular to try to find out her real name and address?”

“That’s right.”

“Thank you. That’s all.”

Judge Wallingsford had just turned toward the defense table when Dirkson said, “Excuse me, Your Honor, that’s not all. I’m sorry, Your Honor, there’s one more matter I forgot to bring up. Mr. Danby, are you familiar with the defendant’s brother, Herbert Clay?”

“Yes, I am.”

“How do you happen to know him?”

“He was an employee of Castleton Industries.”

“Who was his immediate superior in the firm?”

“David Castleton.”

“Do you happen to know if Herbert Clay owned a gun?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did you ever see that gun?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How did you happen to see it?”

“He had the gun for his work. As bookkeeper, it was sometimes his job to deposit large sums of cash. He carried the gun for his protection.”

“You saw him on some of those occasions?”

“Oh, yes. In many instances I actually gave him the money.”

“So you were familiar with his gun?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m familiar with it, but I’ve certainly seen it.”

“I show you a gun marked for identification People’s Exhibit Three, and ask you if that is the gun Herbert Clay had?”

Danby took the gun, looked it over. “I can’t identify positively, but it certainly looks like it.”

“Thank you,” Dirkson said. He took the gun back from the witness. “Now, did there come a time when Herbert Clay left the employ of Castleton Industries?

“Yes, there did.”

“Can you tell us what happened at that time?”

“Yes. When it became clear that Herbert Clay was not going to be returning to the firm, and we were going to have to replace him, we naturally cleaned out his office to make way for the new bookkeeper.”

“Did you clean out the office yourself?”

“No. I ordered it done.”

“Where you present when the office was cleaned out?”

“Yes, I was.”

“What was done with Herbert Clay’s belongings?”

“They were packed in boxes.”

“Including the things in his desk?”

“Yes.”

“Were you present when his desk drawers were cleaned out?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Why?”

“While the employees were packing, I was sorting.”

“What for?”

“To differentiate between Herbert Clay’s personal possessions and those belonging to the company. Naturally, all company papers and files needed to be turned over to the new bookkeeper.”

“I see. So you did the sorting yourself?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And in cleaning out his desk, did you happen to find his gun?”

“No, I did not.”

“The gun was not in his desk at the time?”

“No, it was not.”

“Thank you,” Dirkson said. “That’s all.”

Steve Winslow stood up. “Mr. Danby, you mentioned me in your testimony, did you not?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You said on the afternoon of the incident when Kelly Wilder left Milton Castleton’s employ, I came to Milton Castleton’s apartment, accused you of sexual harassment and improper termination, and effected a settlement. Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Fine,” Steve said. “On that occasion, when I came there and made those accusations, what explanation did you give for the defendant leaving her job?”

“Objection, Your Honor. Incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.”

Judge Wallingsford frowned. “Let’s have a sidebar.”

When the attorneys had gathered at the sidebar, Judge Wallingsford said, “Mr. Winslow, I tend to agree with Mr. Dirkson. This is certainly a side issue and hardly relevant.”

“It relates to his bias,” Steve said.

“We freely admit his bias, Your Honor,” Dirkson said. “The witness is fiercely loyal to Castleton Industries and is biased against the defendant because he believes that she killed David Castleton. Any remarks he may have made about her leaving her employment are certainly a side issue.”

“I suppose that would depend upon the answer given,” Judge Wallingsford said. “Mr. Winslow, are you assuring me his answer will show bias?”

“The point is actually moot, Your Honor,” Steve said. “The question is admissible for another reason.”

“What is that?”

“It’s an elemental rule of law that when the prosecution introduces part of a conversation on direct examination, the defense is entitled to the entire conversation on cross.”

“But I didn’t ask for any conversation,” Dirkson said.

Steve smiled. “Come, come. Didn’t the witness testify that I came to Milton Castleton’s apartment, accused him of sexual harassment and demanded a settlement?”

“But that’s not asking for a conversation.”

“Do you contend that I came there and handed them my demand in writing, or perhaps conveyed it to them by mental telepathy?”

Dirkson frowned.

Judge Wallingsford said, “I think that’s conclusive, Mr. Dirkson. As far as the court is concerned, the door is open. The objection is overruled.”

After the judge and the lawyers had resumed their positions, Steve Winslow said, “I’ll repeat the question, Mr. Danby. On the occasion when I came to Milton Castleton’s apartment, accused you of sexual harassment and demanded a settlement, what explanation did you give for the defendant leaving her employment?”

Danby shifted position on the witness stand. “I believe I said that she had made improper advances toward me.”

“You believe you said that?”

“No, I said that.”

“That is what you said, Mr. Danby?”

“Yes, it is.”

“That’s mighty strange. You just got on the witness stand under oath and told us the defendant left Milton Castleton’s employ because you caught her playing with the computer terminal and thought she was an industrial spy. Did you not so testify?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well, gee, which is correct, Mr. Danby? The story you told on the witness stand, or the story you told me that day in Milton Castleton’s apartment?”

“I have testified to the truth.”

“Then the story you told me in Milton Castleton’s apartment was a lie?”

Danby took a breath. “It was not the entire truth.”

“The entire truth? It wasn’t true at all, was it?”

“Well …”

“Was it true or wasn’t it?”

“No, it was not.”

“It was a lie, was it not, Mr. Danby?”

“Objection. Already asked and answered.”

“Overruled.”

“Yes, it was.”

“The story you told me that afternoon in Milton Castleton’s apartment about how the defendant left her job was a lie, is that right?”

“Objection. Already asked and answered.”

“Sustained.”

“Mr. Danby, why did you lie to me that afternoon in Milton Castleton’s apartment?”

“Objection.”

“Overruled.”

Danby hesitated. He seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. “You were the defendant’s attorney. We didn’t know what you knew. Since we were dealing at arm’s length, we didn’t want to give you any information you didn’t already have. We didn’t know what the situation was, we were playing it very cautiously.”

“When you say we, you mean you and Milton Castleton?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me, Mr. Danby. Did you just lie to me, or did you lie to Milton Castleton as well.”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

“Did Milton Castleton know the story you were telling me was a lie?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

“Mr. Danby, getting back to your explanation of why you lied to me, you say it was because you didn’t know what was going on and you didn’t know what I knew. Is that right?”

“Yes it is.”

“So you were trying to protect yourself?”

“That’s right.”

“By yourself, you mean you and Milton Castleton?”

“That’s right.”

“Mr. Danby, I take it that you are fiercely loyal to your employer?”

“It is no secret that I am loyal to Milton Castleton.”

“And you would do anything to protect him? Even lie?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

“Thank you. That’s all.”