“Yes, I’m married. I haven’t been divorced.”
“What is your wife’s name?”
“She’s a model. She goes under the professional name of Dawn Manning.”
“All right,” Mason said. “Now, let’s get this straight. On this Monday night, the night of the murder, the eighth of this month, you went up to Loretta Harper’s apartment. Where is that?”
“That’s about a mile and a half south of Borden’s place, in the town of Mesa Vista.”
“What time did you go there?”
“I went there right after I had left Borden’s place.”
“You didn’t have dinner at Borden’s place?”
“No, Miss Harper had cooked dinner for two friends and myself. There was a foursome.”
“And you became drunk?”
“Well, I’ll change that, I didn’t mean it that way. We had some cocktails before dinner and we were giving some toasts. I guess I got a little too much. I was mixing cocktails in the kitchen. There were some cocktails left in the shaker that no one wanted, and I didn’t want to pour them down the sink. I very foolishly drank them, and then there was some wine with the meal and I began to get a little dizzy. I wasn’t drunk, I was just feeling the liquor a little bit, and I began to get sleepy.”
“So what happened?”
“I rested my head on my hand, and... well, I guess I went sound asleep there at the table. I was terribly embarrassed. They put me in the bedroom and I stretched out on the bed.”
“With your clothes on?”
“I believe they took my shoes off, and took my coat off and hung it on the back of the chair... Well, the next thing I knew, Loretta woke me up and it was then about twenty minutes past ten. Loretta had just come in and she told a story about being held up, and—”
“Never mind what anyone said,” Hamilton Burger interrupted ponderously. “Just describe what happened. Since Mr. Mason is so concerned with getting at this time element, we’ll let him get all the facts.”
“Well, I asked how long I’d been asleep and then I looked at my watch and suddenly remembered that I was supposed to have gone down to Dr. Callison’s place to pick up this dog. I asked one of the guests to call Dr. Callison and say I’d be right down. And, believe me, I sprinted for my car.”
“Which you’d left parked in front?”
“That’s right. Where else would I leave it?”
Judge Erwood said, “The witness will confine himself to answering questions. There is no occasion for repartee. Counsel is simply trying to get the picture clear in his own mind, and the Court confesses that the Court wants it clarified as much as possible. Go on, Mr. Mason.”
“And then?” Mason asked. “What did you do then?”
“I made time getting out to Dr. Callison’s kennel. She was very nice about it. I explained to her that I’d had a little something to drink, so she took her station wagon and drove me up to Borden’s house.”
“What gate?”
“The back gate.”
“You had a key to that?”
“Yes, that’s close to the kennels.”
“And what did you do?”
“We put the dog in the kennel, and... well, that was it.”
Mason eyed the witness thoughtfully. “Why didn’t Dr. Callison turn around and drive back in her station wagon?”
“She wanted to come in to talk with Mr. Borden.”
“So you entered the house at about what time?”
“A few minutes before eleven, perhaps quarter to eleven.”
“And you tried to locate Mr. Borden, didn’t you?”
The witness fidgeted.
“Go ahead,” Mason said. “You tried to locate Mr. Borden?”
“Well, I went in the study and he wasn’t there.”
“So what did you do?”
“I told Dr. Callison to sit down and I’d find him, and... well, I did the honors.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I bought her a drink.”
“What do you mean by bringing her a drink?”
“I got some liquor from the compartment back of the bar and gave her a drink.”
“Did you customarily ‘do the honors’ for guests when Mr. Borden was not there?”
“Well, not customarily, but Dr. Callison is... well, sort of a privileged individual, sort of a special personage.”
“I see,” Mason said. “Then what happened?”
“I looked around for Mr. Borden.”
“Did you call his name?”
“Yes.”
“Did he answer?”
“No.”
“And then what happened?”
“I can’t remember a lot of details, but the burglar alarm went off, and the lights came on, and I heard the dogs barking.”
“Then what?”
“Well, then I ran out and tried to find out what all the commotion was about. I whistled the dogs to me and put them in the kennels. When I came back, Dr. Callison was on the telephone talking with someone. I presume it was someone at the gate.”
“Never mind your presumption,” Drew interrupted.
“The Court will draw its own conclusions and presumptions, Mr. Prosecutor,” Judge Erwood remarked testily. “The witness will continue.”
“Well, then the phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing, so I answered, and... well, then I told them I was Borden.” Mason turned to the prosecutor. “I will ask the prosecution if the exposed films which were in the film holders and in the camera have been developed and printed. I believe the prosecution offered to produce prints of those.”
“Do you have those prints, Mr. District Attorney?” Judge Erwood asked. “The Court will be interested in viewing them.”
Hamilton Burger said, “I am quite certain, if the Court please, that they have no significance as far as this case is concerned. The prosecution and the police are quite satisfied that these films had been taken at a much earlier date.”
“The question,” Judge Erwood said somewhat testily, “is whether you have them.”
“Yes, Your Honor, we have them.”
“Will you produce them, please, and give them to the Court? And I think you should show a copy to counsel for the defense.”
“We are going to object to having these pictures received in evidence,” Hamilton Burger said. “We are willing to show them to the Court if the Court requires, but they are not proper evidence, they have no bearing on the case. We feel quite certain they were taken some days earlier.”
“Why don’t you want them in evidence?” Judge Erwood asked curiously.
“When the Court sees the nature of the pictures, the Court will understand,” Hamilton Burger said. “The decedent was an amateur photographer. Evidently he was engaged in some sort of a friendly rivalry or contest with some other amateur photographers, and an attempt was being made to create some amateur art calendars. There is nothing actually illegal or indecent about these pictures, but they are, nevertheless, very beautiful pictures of a very beautiful woman. The Court will understand the manner in which evidence of this sort could be seized upon by the public press.”
Hamilton Burger passed up a series of five-by-seven prints to the judge, then grudgingly extended a duplicate series to Perry Mason.
Mason regarded the pictures with thoughtful appraisal.
The photographs showed Dawn Manning posing in the nude against a dark background. She was turned so that her left side was toward the camera. The poses were artistic, with the left arm stretched in front of her, her right leg extended behind with the toes just touching the floor. She was leaning slightly forward. Apparently the attempt on the part of the photographer had been to capture the semblance of motion. The posing was remarkably similar to that of metallic ornaments which at one time graced the radiator caps of automobiles.