Q. And just then this Ford car drove up outside? A. That’s it.
Q. And then you left your office and went outside and asked how many gallons of gas the woman wanted? A. Yes, sir, and she held up five fingers. So I filled up the tank.
Q. She held up her hand, and you don’t remember whether she was wearing gloves or not? You remember one thing, but not the other? A. She held up her hand. I don’t remember about the gloves.
Q. I see. You filled up the tank, you say? Filled it up? With five gallons of gas? A. Right.
Q. Now, Mr. Collins, don’t you know what the capacity of a Ford gasoline tank is? A. Sure I know. Around eleven gallons.
Q. Then you made a mistake when you said you filled the tank up with five? A. No, sir, I did fill her up. Or pretty near.
Q. Oh, you mean the tank wasn’t empty? Or very low? A. That’s right. It had around five gallons in it already, because when I put in my five the gas came almost up to the cap.
Q. I see, I see. In other words, when this woman drove up and signified by spreading five fingers that she wanted five gallons of gas, her tank wasn’t empty, or nearly empty? It still was about half full? She could have gone on for quite a way on what was in the tank? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Didn’t it strike you as strange that a motorist should stop for gas with a half full tank? A. I don’t know about that. Some folks are leery about being caught without gas on a trip. But still I remember I did think it was sort of queer.
Q. You thought it was sort of queer. Didn’t it strike you why it was queer?
Mr. POLLINGER. Object. What the witness thought.
THE COURT. Strike it out.
Q. Mr. Collins, you said a moment ago that the woman held up five fingers to indicate how much gasoline she wanted. Didn’t she speak at all? A. Not a word.
Q. You mean she didn’t open her mouth to utter a syllable during the entire five minutes you were attending to her and her car? A. She didn’t say a single word.
Q. Then you didn’t hear her voice at all, at any time? A. No.
Q. If this defendant rose in this courtroom and said something you would not be able to identify her as the driver of that car by reason of her voice alone? A. Sure not. How could I? I didn’t hear the driver speak.
Q. You have identified this defendant as the driver of that car solely because of a resemblance in physique, in build, from the chest up? Not by reason of her voice or face, which was covered? A. Yes. But a big woman, husky like she is—
Q. Now, this veil you identified. You testified, I believe, that it is positively the same veil you saw the woman in the car wearing? A. Positively.
Q. It couldn’t be a different veil that just looks the same? A. Sure it could. But I ain’t seen a veil like that on a woman in twenty years. And then I took particular notice of the — the — I don’t know how you would say it — that word—
Mr. POLLINGER. The mesh?
Mr. ANGELL. Will the prosecutor kindly refrain from putting the answer into the witness’s mouth? A. That’s it. The mesh, the weave, like. I took particular notice of it. Like waves set so close together you couldn’t see anything behind it. I’d know that veil anywhere.
Q. You’d know the veil, you remember the design of the mesh, but you don’t remember the color of her coat or hat, or whether she was wearing gloves? A. I told you a hundred times already.
Q. You testified before that the Ford drove up from the direction of Camden? A. Yes.
Q. But you were in your office when the car stopped outside for gas? A. Yes, but—
Q. You didn’t actually see it coming down Lamberton Road from Camden? A. It was stopped when I came out, but it was facing the Trenton way. So it must have come from the Camden way.
Q. But you didn’t actually see it coming? A. No, but—
Q. It could have come from the direction of Trenton and driven into your station to park in such a manner that it would seem to have come from the direction of Camden? A. I suppose so, but—
Q. You’re sure this car drove up on the night of June first, not May thirty-first or June second? A. Oh, sure.
Q. You don’t remember the color of the driver’s coat, but you do remember the exact date? A. I told you before—
Mr. ANGELL. That is—
Mr. POLLINGER. May I suggest that counsel permit the witness to finish what he has to say? He’s been trying to explain to counsel for five minutes now without any success.
Mr. ANGELL. Do you think five more minutes would result in better success, Mr. Pollinger? If so, I’ll gladly extend my questions. Besides, the prosecutor didn’t permit counsel to finish himself. I was about to say: That’s all.
Q. Mr. Collins, aside from the question of identification of the driver, you’re positive that she drove the identical car as shown in Exhibit 17? A. Positive, sir.
Q. You’re also positive it drove up at 8.05 on the night of June the first for the good and sufficient reasons you gave? A. Positive.
Q. There was no one else in the car with the woman? A. No, sir.
Q. She was all alone? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And she wore this very veil I hold in my hand? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And, no matter from what direction she came, at least she did drive off toward Trenton? A. Yes, sir.
Q. You stood there and watched her drive off toward Trenton? A. Till she was out of sight.
Mr. POLLINGER. That’s all, Mr. Collins.
Q. You say the woman was all alone in the car, Collins? A. That’s what I said, sure. It’s the truth.
Q. This was a coupé, was it not, with a rumble-seat in the rear? A. Sure.
Q. Was the rumble-seat open? A. No. It was shut tight.
Q. It was shut tight. Then it was possible for someone to have been hiding in the closed rumble-seat compartment without your suspecting it? You can’t swear the woman was all alone in the car? A. Well—
Mr. POLLINGER. I object to both the form and substance of the question, Your Honor. Counsel is trying—
Mr. ANGELL. Now, now, let’s not argue about it, Mr. Pollinger. I’m satisfied. That’s all, Collins.
Witness excused.
“It’s coming,” muttered Bill to Ellery the next morning in court.
The man himself was an enigma. Pollinger was a slight dyspeptic fellow with shrewd eyes and the ageless air of the professional gambler. He was the coolest person in the jammed courtroom, thin and small and immaculate, as alert and harmless-looking as a sparrow.
Jessica Borden Gimball sat on the leather-upholstered witness bench behind the prosecutor’s table, her gloved hands folded. She was dressed in widow’s black, unadorned by any ornaments. With her sallow pinched face, unrelieved by cosmetics, her hollow eye-sockets and dry skin, she almost gave the illusion of a woman aged by a hard and uncertain lower-class existence. Andrea sat beside her, pale as death.