“This is a highly irregular manner of receiving evidence,” Judge Osborn snapped. “The witness Goshen should speak for himself.”
“He will,” Hamilton Burger promised. “I’m simply taking up Mason’s challenge and proving that I had the evidence I said I had. The Court will observe that it has only taken some twenty minutes of the Court’s time.”
“Very well,” Judge Osborn said. “It is of course a most unusual situation, the defendant’s counsel permitting all this hearsay evidence without objection.”
Sergeant Holcomb said, “It isn’t hearsay, Your Honor. I was sitting right there when Goshen made the identification. I heard what he said.”
“That’s exactly what is meant by hearsay,” Judge Osborn said. “You don’t know whether the man at the garage was Perry Mason. You only know what the witness said. The witness should speak for himself.”
“Well, he will,” Hamilton Burger interposed hastily. “He’ll be my next witness, if the Court please.”
“Very well, finish with this witness,” Judge Osborn said.
“I’m finished with him now,” Burger announced triumphantly.
Sergeant Holcomb started to leave the stand.
“Just a minute,” Mason said. “I want to ask you a few questions about that identification at the Sleepwell Auto Court, Sergeant. Now, you’ve known me for some time?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You recognized me when I ran out of the cabin and you said to Goshen, There he is. There’s Mason now,’ or words to that effect?”
“I don’t think I had to say anything like that. He recognized you as soon as he saw you.”
“You may not have thought you had to say it, but you did say it.”
“I may have.”
“The man who ran out had his hat in front of his face?”
“You had your hat in front of your face, trying to keep people from taking your picture.”
“Then this man turned his back and walked back to the cabin?”
“That’s right. That’s exactly what you did.”
“How far did the man run from the cabin before he turned around and ran back?”
“Oh, some thirty or forty feet.”
“There were several newspaper photographers there?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How do you know they were newspaper photographers?”
“Well, I... I...”
“In other words, you just assumed they must have been newspaper photographers, is that right?”
Holcomb said angrily and sarcastically, “That’s right. I’m just a dumb cop, but when a newspaper gives me a tip, when I see a bunch of guys carrying press cameras with flash bulbs fixed in reflectors, I just get credulous enough to think they’re newspaper men. It’s careless of me!”
“Oh, so you had a tip from a newspaper?”
“Well, I used methods of my own.”
“How did you know I was there at this auto court?”
Holcomb grinned. “A little bird told me.”
“And when you got there, there were some half dozen photographers there?”
“Right.”
“Some of them took your picture?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can you remember any of them? Would you know them if you saw them again?”
“Why, I don’t know,” Sergeant Holcomb said. “I...”
“If you can identify the man you saw running out of the cabin, why couldn’t you identify some of the photographers?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, that’s sort of hard to do when those flash bulbs are popping in your eyes. I...”
“Oh, so you were dazzled by flash bulbs?” Mason said.
“Not enough so I couldn’t recognize you,” Sergeant Holcomb shouted.
“I see,” Mason said, smiling. “The flash bulbs dazzled you so you couldn’t see any of the other men, but they didn’t dazzle you enough so you couldn’t see me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, how about those other men — can you describe them?”
“I can describe some of them.”
“Well, go ahead.”
“Well,” Sergeant Holcomb said, “there was a photographer right next to me, the man who came up and took my picture at the first. He was wearing a black overcoat.”
“About how old?”
“I couldn’t tell how old he was from looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He was a youngish man.”
“About how tall?”
“Oh... fairly tall, perhaps about as tall as you are.”
“About how heavy?”
Holcomb looked Mason over thoughtfully and said, “Somewhat your build.”
“Did you talk with this man?”
“I don’t think so. I tell you I was looking at you when you ran out of the cabin. I had my headlights on and you ran right into those headlights and put up your hat to shield your face, and — acted just like a shyster lawyer caught in a web of his own trickery, and...”
“That will do!” Judge Osborn shouted, pounding with his gavel. “That is absolutely uncalled for, Sergeant Holcomb! You know better than that.”
Sergeant Holcomb said angrily, “Well, he’s trying to insinuate I couldn’t see him.”
“Nevertheless, these personalities are uncalled for. Now, while you’re in this court, Sergeant, you confine yourself to answering questions. Otherwise the Court is going to have to take some disciplinary action. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Holcomb said sullenly.
“Now, you say this man who was standing next to you took your picture as you drove up?” Mason asked.
“That’s right.”
“What were you doing when the picture was taken? Do you remember?”
“I remember exactly,” Sergeant Holcomb said. “I was leaning forward to turn off the ignition, and also the switch on the dashboard which controlled the dash and panel lights, so this man Goshen could get a better view; that is, so he could look through the windshield without having lights in his eyes.”
Mason said, “I’ll show you a photograph, Sergeant Holcomb, and ask you if that’s the photograph which was taken of you at that moment by this photographer who was standing beside your car. You’ll notice it shows the witness Goshen sitting in the car and you’re leaning forward to...”
“That’s the picture,” Sergeant Holcomb said. “That’s the one that was taken at that moment.”
“That was the only time you leaned forward, when you turned off the ignition and the dash and panel lights?”
“That’s right. That’s the picture that was taken by that photographer who was standing right next to me.”
“And that flashlight didn’t dazzle your eyes?”
“Not mine,” Sergeant Holcomb said. “My eyes are good. I’m accustomed to driving a lot at night and headlights don’t bother me. I can look right past a glare and... No, sir, those flashlights didn’t bother me at all. They didn’t keep me from seeing everything that was going on.”
“Now, at about that time,” Mason said, “there was another photographer directly in front of the automobile who took a photograph right through the windshield, wasn’t there?”
“I believe so, yes, but you can’t mix me up by making the claim that those flashlight bulbs blinded us, because they didn’t.”
“No, no,” Mason said, “I’m not making that claim. I’m simply trying to identify the order in which the photographs were taken. Now, here is another photograph which shows you leaning forward in the automobile and apparently was taken immediately before, or immediately after the photographer who was on your left had taken his picture. This, however, is taken from the front of the car, looking through the windshield.”