Judge Erwood frowned thoughtfully, then turned to Mason. “Can you narrow your question?” Erwood asked.
“With reference to what took place at the home of Meridith Borden,” Mason added.
“With that addition,” Judge Erwood said, “the objection is overruled.”
“I do, indeed. I know exactly what happened.”
“Will you please tell us,” Mason said, “exactly what happened, commencing at the time you had occasion to be in or about the grounds of Meridith Borden’s estate.”
“I was driven through the gates,” she said, “by Dawn Manning. Dawn lost control of the car. She was trying to drive with one hand and holding a gun with the other, and—”
“Just a minute, just a minute,” Hamilton Burger interrupted. “If the Court please, we are now getting into something that is entirely extraneous. The answer shows plainer than any objection I could make the vice of permitting counsel to put a witness on the stand and ask a blanket question covering activities which are in no way connected with the issues before the Court.”
Judge Erwood said, “I will ask the witness a question. What time was this, Miss Harper?”
“You mean when we entered the grounds?”
“Yes.”
“It was, I would say, right around nine o’clock.”
“The objection is overruled,” Judge Erwood said. “The witness will be permitted to tell her story. Counsel for both sides will note that we are now dealing with events which happened on the premises where the murder took place, at a time when the expert medical testimony indicates the murder could have taken place. Under those circumstances, the defense is entitled to call any witness and ask any question that will shed light on what happened. This is a court of justice, not a gym wherein counsel may practice legal calisthenics. Proceed, Miss Harper.”
“Well, Dawn Manning was driving with one hand. The other hand was holding a gun. The roads were wet, she lost control of the car and started to skid. Just at that time another car, driven by George Ansley, the defendant in this case, was coming out of the Borden place.”
“And then what happened?” Mason asked.
“This car being driven by Dawn Manning ticked the front of the Ansley car and we shot through the hedge and the car turned over.”
“Go on,” Mason said.
“I was thrown clear of the car when it turned over. I hit with something of a jar, but it wasn’t bad enough to hurt me at all. It was sort of a skid... that is, I slid along on the wet grass. There was a lawn. It had been raining and the grass was long and wet.”
“Go on,” Mason said. “What happened?”
Judge Erwood was leaning forward on the bench, his hand cupped behind his ear so that he would not miss a word.
Over at the prosecution’s table, Sam Drew and Hamilton Burger were engaged in a whispered conference. It was quite evident that they were far from happy.
“Well,” Loretta Harper went on, “the first thought that flashed through my mind—”
Mason held up his hand.
“We’re not interested in your thoughts,” Judge Erwood said. “We wanted to know what you did.”
“Well, I got up and stood there for a moment, and then I saw Mr. Ansley coming with a flashlight. The flashlight, however, was giving just a faint illumination, a reddish glow, not enough to do much good.”
“When you say it was Mr. Ansley coming,” Mason said, “you are referring to the defendant in this case?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what did Mr. Ansley do?”
“Mr. Ansley walked around the car, and then I saw Dawn Manning lying there where she had skidded after being thrown from the car. She was unconscious.”
“Then what happened?”
“Mr. Ansley started to lean over to look at her and then the light went out and it was impossible to see anything. He threw the flashlight away.”
“Did you see him throw it?”
“Well, I saw his hand go back. I could dimly make that out. It was pretty dark, but I saw that, and then I saw the flash of reflected light from a nickel-plated flashlight as he threw it away, and I heard it thud when it hit the ground.”
“Go on,” Mason said. “Then what happened?”
“Mr. Ansley started toward the house. I knew that he was going to—”
“Never mind what you thought,” Mason said. “We’re only interested in what you did.”
“Well, I grabbed Dawn Manning by the heels and I pulled her along the wet grass for a distance of... oh, I don’t know, fifteen or twenty feet, almost up against the wall.”
“And then what?”
“Then, I... well, I arranged my clothes just the way hers had been so it would look as though I had skidded along the grass, and put myself in the position she had been occupying, and shouted for help.”
“Then what?”
“I waited a few seconds and shouted ‘Help’ again.”
“Then what?”
“Then I heard steps coming toward me. Mr. Ansley was coming back. That was what I wanted.”
“Go on,” Mason said. “What did you do?”
“I waited until he was near enough so he could see the way I was lying, and then I straightened up and pulled my skirt down a little and asked him to help me up.”
“What did he do?”
“He gave me his hand and I got to my feet. He wanted to know if I was hurt and I told him no, and he said he would drive me home.”
“And where was Dawn Manning all this time?” Mason asked.
“Dawn Manning,” she said with acid venom, “had recovered consciousness, had regained possession of the gun and had gone—”
“Just a minute, just a minute,” Hamilton Burger interrupted. “We submit, if the Court please, that the witness is testifying as to things about which she knows nothing of her own knowledge.”
“Did you see Dawn Manning regain the gun?” Judge Erwood asked.
“No, sir. I only know what she must have done. It was exactly what happened. She wasn’t lying there when I got to my feet. She had recovered consciousness, and—”
“Now, just a minute, just a minute,” Judge Erwood interrupted. “I want you to understand, Miss Harper, that you can only testify as to things you know of your own knowledge, not as to conclusions. Now, did you see Dawn Manning recover consciousness and get to her feet?”
“No, I didn’t see her, but by the time I got to my feet and after I had talked for a few minutes with Mr. Ansley and got him to agree to take me home, I had to walk around the front of the car, and I could look into the darkness and see that Dawn Manning was no longer where I had left her. She had recovered consciousness and moved.”
“Did you see her move?”
“No, but I know she wasn’t there where I had left her.”
“Then that’s all you can testify to,” Judge Erwood said. “Proceed with your questioning, Mr. Mason.”
“Did the defendant take you home?” Mason asked.
“No.”
Judge Erwood looked at her with a frown. “I thought you said that he took you home.”
“He thought he took me home, but he didn’t.”
“What do you mean by that?” Judge Erwood asked impatiently.
“I asked him to take me home and he said he would. He asked me where I lived and I told him the Ancordia Apartments, and he took me there.”
“Then he took you home!” Judge Erwood snapped.
“No, sir, he did not.”
The judge’s face flushed.
“I think the witness means,” Mason hastened to explain, “that she didn’t live at the Ancordia Apartments.”
“Then why did he take her there?” Judge Erwood asked.
“Because that’s where she told him she lived.”