“Had you ever seen that gun before?”
“Before what?”
“Before you put it in the golf bag.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where?”
“I refuse to answer on the ground that the question may incriminate me.”
“Had you ever seen it prior to the fifth of this month?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you know?”
“Because I don’t know whether this was the same gun I saw or not.”
“You saw a gun that was like it in appearance?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I can’t recall all the places I have seen similar gun. The company undoubtedly manufactures hundreds of thousands of these guns and I have seen them in display cases in sporting goods stores, and in various other places.”
“And,” Ellis said, leveling an accusing forefinger at the witness, “some of those ‘other places’ included a woman’s handbag, did it not?”
“Yes.”
“What woman?”
The witness hung his head. “Mrs. Hastings,” he said.
“Aha!” Ellis said. “Now, after all this painful agony on examination you admit that you saw this gun in the handbag of the defendant.”
“Now, just a moment, if the Court please,” Mason said. “I object to the side comments by counsel and also to the question itself. The witness didn’t say he had seen this gun in the defendant’s handbag.”
Morton Ellis said, “It could have been the same gun, for all he knows.”
“And it could have been a different gun, for all you know,” Mason said.
“I’m going to sustain the objection to the question in its present form,” Judge Fallon said.
“Very well,” Morton Ellis said, “we’ll let it go at that. Now then, was any statement made to you as to where the gun came from?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What was the statement?”
“Mrs. Hastings said that her husband had given it to her and told her to keep it in her handbag, that he believed in women having some form of protection when they were out alone at night. If she should have a blow-out or car trouble of some sort she would be completely helpless stalled by the side of the road.”
“That,” Morton Ellis announced triumphantly, “is all.”
“Just a moment,” Mason said. “I have a question or two on cross-examination. You have said that you saw such a gun in the handbag of Mrs. Hastings?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And that Mrs. Hastings told you her husband had given it to her for her protection, particularly when she was driving at night?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did she say anything about how often she carried it?”
“Well, not in so many words, but I gathered that she carried it a good deal of the time in her handbag.”
Judge Fallon looked at Ellis. “That of course is a conclusion. Does the prosecution wish to strike it out?”
Ellis smiled and said, “The prosecution does not wish to strike it out, Your Honor. Let defense counsel go right ahead. Such a cross-examination may be a little hard on his client but the prosecution certainly doesn’t want to stop it in any way.”
“There is no need for making such a comment,” Judge Fallon said. “The Court merely called attention of the prosecution to the fact that the witness had testified to an obvious conclusion.”
“And the prosecution has no desire whatever to interpose objections to this line of testimony,” Ellis said.
Mason turned to the witness. “You gathered from the conversation you had that she had been given this gun, that it was her property?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And that she was carrying it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And knew how to use it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Ellis turned to survey the spectators in the courtroom with a broad, triumphant grin.
“And you say this was Mrs. Hastings, with whom you had these conversations?”
“Yes, sir.”
Mason’s eyes twinkled. “Was it Adelle Sterling Hastings, the defendant in this action?”
“No, sir. Those conversations were with Minerva Shelton Hastings, the former wife.”
Abruptly the grin faded from Ellis’s face. A look of sickly consternation replaced it as he jumped to his feet. “Now just a moment, Your Honor, just a moment,” he said. “This now appears to have been a carefully planned trap hatched up between defense counsel and this witness, knowing that when he said Mrs. Hastings I would assume he meant the defendant. I object to these questions, I move to strike out the answers on the ground that they are conclusions of the witness.”
Judge Fallon said sharply, “You had your opportunity to interpose an objection. The Court noticed the manner in which the witness referred, not to the defendant, but to Mrs. Hastings, and knowing that there were two Mrs. Hastings the Court followed the examination with considerable care. The witness carefully refrained from ever mentioning the defendant. He referred simply to Mrs. Hastings.”
“It was a trap — a deliberately prepared trap,” Ellis said.
“I know of no law,” Judge Fallon said, “which prevents defense counsel from putting traps along the road he expects his adversary to follow. I’m afraid, Mr. Deputy District Attorney, you’re going to have to look out for your own traps. In view of the fact that there were two Mrs. Hastings, the Court noticed the peculiar wording of the answer of the witness and wondered if you intended to ask the witness to specify which Mrs. Hastings he was referring to. The answers will stand.
“Do you have any more questions of this witness, Mr. Mason?”
“I have no further cross-examination,” Mason said.
Beason started to leave the stand.
“Just a moment, just a moment,” Ellis said. “I have a couple of questions.”
Beason settled back into the seat.
“You discussed your testimony with Mr. Mason before coming into court?” Ellis asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“And did Mr. Mason tell you that you probably would be asked if you had ever seen a gun similar in appearance to the one which has been introduced in evidence in this case as the murder weapon?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And did you tell Mr. Mason that you had seen such a gun in the possession of Minerva Hastings?”
“Yes.”
“And didn’t Mr. Mason tell you that if you had an opportunity you were to state that you had seen such a gun in the possession of Mrs. Hastings, without mentioning that it was Minerva Hastings?”
“He said something to that effect, yes.”
“Now then,” Ellis said, smiling triumphantly, “did you ever see a similar gun in the possession of the defendant, Adelle Sterling Hastings? Now, answer that question yes or no.”
“Yes.”
“Was it in her handbag?”
“Yes.”
Again Ellis turned to the spectators in the courtroom with a triumphant smile. “That,” he announced, “is all.”
Again Beason started to leave the stand.
“Just a moment,” Mason said, “I have a few questions on recross-examination.
“Did you ever see a gun in her purse more than once?” Mason asked.
“Yes. There was another time.”
“When was that?”
“I can’t remember the exact date.”
Mason said, “Then you saw two guns in her possession. One,” Mason said, holding up the index finger of his left hand, “the gun that the decedent purchased which was not the fatal gun, and two,” here Mason held up the index finger of his other hand, “the gun that was the fatal gun?”
“Just a minute, just a minute,” Ellis said, “I object to the question as calling for a conclusion of the witness.”
“I don’t see how that calls for a conclusion of the witness,” Mason said.