JUDGE HEATH: Denied.
STEVENS: Exception . . . Ladies and gentlemen of the jury! We cannot pass judgment on Karen Andre without passing it on Bjorn Faulkner. He had put himself beyond all present standards; whether it was below or above them, is a question for each of us to decide personally. But I'll ask you to remember that he was the man who said he needed no justifications for his actions: he was the justification; the man who said that laws were made for the fun of breaking them. If you'll remember that, you will understand that the life into which he was thrown in his last few months was as impossible to him as that of a tiger in a vegetarian cafeteria. And to escape it, he would be driven to the most desperate means - - including suicide!
[STEVENS pauses, then calls]
Our first witness will be James Chandler.
CLERK: James Chandler!
[CHANDLER, middle-aged, precise, dignified, enters and takes the stand]
You solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?
CHANDLER: I do.
STEVENS: Your name?
CHANDLER: James Chandler.
STEVENS: Your occupation?
CHANDLER: Handwriting expert of the New York Police Department.
[STEVENS takes the letter read by INSPECTOR SWEENEY and hands it to CHANDLER]
STEVENS: Do you recognize this letter?
CHANDLER: Yes. It is the letter found in Mr. Faulkner's penthouse on the night of his death. I have been called upon to examine it.
STEVENS: What were you asked to determine?
CHANDLER: I was asked to determine whether it was written by Mr. Faulkner.
STEVENS: What is your verdict?
CHANDLER: This letter was written by Bjorn Faulkner.
STEVENS: Your witness.
FLINT: Mr. Chandler, it has been called to your attention during the inquest that Miss Andre was in the habit of signing Faulkner's name to unimportant documents, at the time she was employed as his secretary. Have you compared those signatures with Faulkner's real ones?
CHANDLER: I have.
FLINT: What is your opinion of them?
CHANDLER: I can compliment Miss Andre on her art. The difference is very slight.
FLINT: With Miss Andre's knowledge of Mr. Faulkner, is it possible that she could have forged this letter so perfectly as to escape detection?
CHANDLER: It is not probable; but it is possible.
FLINT: That is all.
[CHANDLER exits]
STEVENS: Siegurd Jungquist!
CLERK: Siegurd Jungquist!
[JUNGQUIST enters and takes the stand. He is a man in his late thirties, a little timid in a quiet, reserved way, with a naive face and questioning, as if constantly wondering, eyes. He is Swedish and speaks with an accent]
CLERK: Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?
JUNGQUIST: I do.
STEVENS: What is your name?
JUNGQUIST: Siegurd Jungquist.
STEVENS: What is your occupation?
JUNGQUIST: My last job was secretary to Herr Bjorn Faulkner.
STEVENS: How long have you held that job?
JUNGQUIST: Since beginning of November. Since Miss Andre left.
STEVENS: What was your position before that?
JUNGQUIST: Bookkeeper for Herr Faulkner.
STEVENS: How long did you hold that job?
JUNGQUIST: Eight years.
STEVENS: Did Mr. Faulkner give you Miss Andre's position when she was dismissed?
JUNGQUIST: Yes.
STEVENS: Did Miss Andre instruct you in your new duties?
JUNGQUIST: Yes, she did.
STEVENS: What was her behavior at that time? Did she seem to be angry, sorry or resentful?
JUNGQUIST: No. She was very calm, like always, and explained everything clearly.
STEVENS: Did you notice any trouble between Miss Andre and Mr. Faulkner at that time?
JUNGQUIST: [Amused, with a kindly, but superior tolerance] Herr Lawyer, there can be no more trouble between Herr Faulkner and Miss Andre as between you and your face in the mirror!
STEVENS: Have you ever witnessed any business conferences between Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Whitfield?
JUNGQUIST: I never been present at conferences, but I seen Herr Whitfield come to our office many times. Herr Whitfield he not like Herr Faulkner.
STEVENS: What makes you think that?
JUNGQUIST: I heard what he said one day. Herr Faulkner was desperate for money and Herr Whitfield asked him, sarcastic-like, what he was going to do if his business crash. Herr Faulkner shrugged and said lightly: "Oh, commit suicide." Herr Whitfield looked at him, very strangely and coldly, and said, very slowly: "If you do, be sure you make a good job of it."
[An ATTENDANT enters and hands a note to STEVENS. STEVENS reads it, shrugs, astonished; then turns to JUDGE HEATH]
STEVENS: If your Honor please, I would like to report this incident which I consider as a hoax and whose purpose I would like to determine. A man has just called on the telephone and insisted on talking to me immediately. When informed that it was impossible, he gave the following message just brought to me.
[Reads note]
"Do not put Karen Andre on the stand until I get there." No signature.
[The crash of her chair pushed back so violently that it falls makes all eyes turn to KAREN. She stands straight, eyes blazing, her calm poise shattered]
KAREN: I want to go on the stand right away!
[Reaction in the courtroom]
FLINT: May I ask why, Miss Andre?
KAREN: [Ignoring him] Question me now, Stevens!
STEVENS: [Very astonished] I'm afraid it's impossible, Miss Andre. We have to finish the examination of Mr. Jungquist.
KAREN: Then hurry. Hurry.
[She sits down, showing signs of nervousness for the first time]
JUDGE HEATH: [Rapping his gavel]I shall ask the defendant to refrain from further interruptions.
STEVENS: Now, Mr. Jungquist, where were you on the night of January sixteenth?
JUNGQUIST: I was in our office in the Faulkner Building. I was working. I been working late for many nights.
STEVENS: What did you do when you heard of Mr. Faulkner's death?
JUNGQUIST: I want to call Herr Whitfield. I telephone his home in Long Island, but butler say he not home. I call his office in town, but no answer, no one there. I call many places, but not find Herr Whitfield. Then, I call his home again and I have to tell Mrs. Faulkner that Herr Faulkner committed suicide.
STEVENS: And when you told her that, what were Mrs. Faulkner's first words?
JUNGQUIST: She said: "For God's sake, don't give it to the newspapers!"
STEVENS: That is all.
[KAREN jumps up, ready to go on the stand]
FLINT: Just one moment please, Miss Andre. Why such hurry? Whom are you expecting?
[KAREN sits down reluctantly; without answering]
Mr. Jungquist, you have been employed by Bjorn Faulkner for over eight years, haven't you?
JUNGQUIST: Yes.
FLINT: Did you know all that time how crooked and criminal your boss's operations were?
JUNGQUIST: No, I did not.
FLINT: Do you know now that he was a criminal and a swindler?
JUNGQUIST: [With the quiet dignity of a strong conviction] No, I do not know that.
FLINT: You don't, eh? And you didn't know what all those brilliant financial operations of his were?
JUNGQUIST: I knew that Herr Faulkner did what other people not allowed to do. But I never wonder and I never doubt. I know it was not wrong.
FLINT: How did you know that?
JUNGQUIST: Because he was Herr Bjorn Faulkner.
FLINT: And he could do no wrong?