“Now, what the hell?” Drake asked.
Mason picked up the cocktail glass, drained it, and smiled. “I think,” he said, “I’m beginning to see daylight... A shortage of ten thousand dollars.”
“The original figure was twenty thousand,” Drake said.
Mason nodded. “Remember, however, that when Franklin Gage entered the office he said that he had been working on a business deal and had taken ten thousand dollars out, that the deal had fallen through and he was in the process of replacing the ten thousand dollars in the cash drawer.”
“I don’t get it,” Drake said.
“If we can get those people in court tomorrow morning perhaps we’ll get lucky,” Mason said.
“But you assured them that those business matters wouldn’t come out.”
“I think they won’t,” Mason told him. “Now then, I’m going to have another cocktail and then we’re going to order one of these fabulous Italian dinners and relax while we eat it.”
17
Ralph Gurlock Floyd arose with something of a flourish when the case of the People vs. Diana Douglas was called.
“I think, if the Court please, we can rest the prosecution’s case.”
“I certainly would think so,” Judge Elliott said. “In fact, I think this whole matter could have been disposed of yesterday afternoon. I take it there is no defense.”
“Indeed there is a defense,” Mason said.
“I want to repeat that this court is not interested in fishing expeditions, Mr. Mason. I am not going to preclude the defendant from putting on any legitimate defense, but it would seem virtually mathematical that there is no defense and can be no defense to the array of facts which have been marshaled this far by witnesses.”
“If the Court please,” Mason said, “I would like to recall one of the officers for just one or two questions on further cross-examination.”
“That’s irregular,” Floyd protested. “That motion should have been made earlier.”
“Oh, come, come,” Judge Elliott said, “one thing is certain. I’m not going to preclude this defendant from an opportunity to cross-examine any witness of the prosecution. I take it, Mr. Mason, there’s some particular significance in connection with this?”
“There is, Your Honor.”
“Recall the witness,” Judge Elliott said.
Mason motioned to the officer. “Take the stand,” he said. “Remember you’ve already been sworn. Now, you have the bag which has been identified as the cloth purse which the defendant had in her possession when the ticket seller at the airlines saw the gun in the purse, the same purse which the stewardess noticed on the airplane?”
“That’s right.”
“You have both the gun and the purse,” Mason said. “Now, have you tried putting the gun in the purse?”
The officer smiled patronizingly. “Of course we have. It fits so snugly that the cloth is stretched tight and the purse is bulged out of shape. That’s why it was so noticeable.”
“Please put the gun in the purse,” Mason said.
The clerk handed the two exhibits to the officer. He took the purse, opened it, inserted the muzzle of the gun, then gradually worked the gun into the purse, explaining as he did so, “You can see what a snug fit it is and how it is necessary to twist the cloth of the purse so it fits over the grip of the gun, which, of course,” he added with a quick look of triumph at the Deputy District Attorney, “explains why the defendant lost the credit card out of the purse when she was taking the gun out.”
“All right,” Mason said, “you have the gun in the purse now.”
“That’s right.”
“And you can close the purse?”
“Yes, you can barely close the purse, and,” the witness went on, “when you open the purse anyone who looks in it can see a part of the gun... the wooden butt of the weapon.”
“Exactly,” Mason said. “Now, a gun has two outlines, the convex outline and a concave outline, does it not?”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” the officer said.
“Well,” Mason said, “a gun is made generally on a curve so that when you hold the butt of the gun in your hand in a shooting position the barrel of the gun is elevated so that you can aim down it.”
“Oh, certainly, that’s right.”
“And, by the same sign, when you turn the gun over, the position is reversed. That is what I would call the concave position.”
“All right,” the officer said.
“Now then,” Mason said, “you have put the gun in the purse in a concave position. Could you reverse that position and put it in a convex position?”
“Not and close the purse,” the officer said. “The fit is too snug. In fact, I don’t know if you could even get the gun in the purse in what you refer to as the convex position.”
“All right,” Mason said, “now, it’s taken you a little time to get the gun in the purse.”
“It’s a snug fit,” the officer admitted.
“Now, take it out,” Mason said. “Let’s see how fast you can take it out.”
“What do you mean, how fast I can take it out?”
Mason turned up his wrist and consulted the second hand of his wristwatch. “Let’s see exactly how long it takes you to take the gun out.”
“Oh, I see,” the officer said, “one of those tests, uh?”
He started pulling frantically at the gun in the purse, managed only to jam it tighter against the cloth. To get the gun out, it was necessary for him to take the top of the purse and start pulling the cloth back a fold at a time.
“Five seconds,” Mason said.
The officer fumbled frantically.
“Ten seconds,” Mason said. “Twelve seconds. Now you have the gun out. Now, it is in an upside-down position. If you wanted to shoot it you’d have to turn it around in your hand. Please do so.”
The officer shifted the gun rapidly in his hand.
“Now, that is a single-action gun,” Mason went on. “It can’t be cocked and discharged by simply pulling the trigger. You have to pull back the hammer. Do that.”
The officer did so.
Mason smiled. “Do you think you could beat that time?”
“Oh, sure, I could,” the officer said, “now that I know what you’re getting at I could beat it all to pieces.”
“All right,” Mason said, “put the gun back in the purse, close the purse; then get ready, pull the gun out of the purse, turn it to a firing position, cock the hammer of the gun, and pull the trigger. Start when I say ‘ready’, and we’ll time it until the trigger clicks.”
“I’m afraid I don’t see the object of this test, interesting as it may be,” Judge Elliott said.
“It is simply this, Your Honor,” Mason said. “Moray Cassel, the victim, was shot in the forehead by one bullet. Moray Cassel was wearing a revolver in a shoulder holster at the time of his death. I understand that he habitually carried this weapon with him.
“Is it reasonable to suppose that he stood there inactive while the defendant fumbled with her purse and—”
“I see, I see,” Judge Elliott said. “Go ahead with the test.”
Ralph Gurlock Floyd was on his feet. “We object, Your Honor. It’s not a fair test. It is not conducted in accordance with conditions as they existed at the time of the crime. How do we know that the defendant had the gun in what Mr. Mason calls a concave position in her purse when she entered Cassel’s apartment. She might have stood outside of the door and done all of the fumbling before Cassel opened the door.
“In that event she would have had the gun in her hand, ready to fire.”
“Nevertheless,” Judge Elliott said, frowning thoughtfully, “it’s an interesting hypothesis and the Court is not going to preclude the defendant the opportunity to advance it. Go ahead, let’s make the test and take the time.”