Quite calmly and casually, Medford called for the list of numbers on the bills and that list was received in evidence. Then Medford produced a leather satchel and asked Nelson if he had ever seen it before.
“I have,” Nelson said.
“When?”
“At the time and place I have referred to. That was the satchel which Mr. Faulkner carried with him to the bank.”
“The satchel in which the twenty-five thousand dollars in cash was placed?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you certain that is the identical satchel?”
“Quite certain.”
“You may cross-examine,” Medford said to Mason.
“How do you know it’s the same satchel?” Mason asked.
“I noticed it particularly when I put the money in it.”
“You put the money in it?”
“Yes. Mr. Faulkner raised it to the little shelf in front of the cashier’s window. I unlocked the wicket, swung it back on its hinges and personally placed the twenty-five thousand dollars in the satchel. And at that time, I noticed a peculiar tear in the leather pocket on the inside lining of the satchel. If you’ll notice, Mr. Mason, you’ll see for yourself that that tear is still there. It’s a rather peculiar, jagged, irregular tear.”
“And you identify the satchel from that?” Mason asked.
“I do.”
“That’s all,” Mason said.
Sergeant Dorset was the next man on the witness stand. He testified to the conditions he had found at Faulkner’s house when he arrived, the position of the body, the discovery of the satchel under the bed in the bedroom, the place where Faulkner’s coat, shirt and tie had been found tossed carelessly on a chair, the safety razor on the shelf, still uncleaned, with the lather and hairs still adhering to the blade. The lather was partially dry, which, in his opinion, indicated that it had been “some three or four hours” since the razor had been used. The face of the corpse was smooth-shaven.
Medford desired to know whether Sergeant Dorset had seen the defendant there.
“I did, yes, sir.”
“Did you talk with her?”
“I did.”
“Did she accompany you upon any trip?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where did she go?”
“To the residence of one James L. Staunton.”
“That was at your request?”
“It was.”
“Did she make any objection?”
“No, sir.”
“Was there a fingerprint expert present in the Faulkner house?”
“There was.”
“What was his name?”
“Detective Louis C. Corning.”
“Did he examine certain articles for fingerprints under your direction and supervision and in accordance with your instructions?”
“He did.”
“You may take the witness,” Medford said to Perry Mason.
“Just how did Mr. Corning examine the fingerprints?”
“Why, through a magnifying glass, I presume.”
“No. That isn’t what I meant. What method did he use in perpetuating the evidence? Were the fingerprints developed and then photographed?”
“No. We used the lifting method.”
“Just what do you mean by that?”
“We dusted certain objects to develop latent fingerprints, and then placed adhesive over the fingerprints, lifting the entire fingerprints from the object, then covering the adhesive with a transparent substance so that the fingerprints could be perpetuated and examined in detail.”
“Who has the custody of those fingerprints?”
“Mr. Corning.”
“And he has had such custody ever since the night of the murder?”
“To the best of my belief, he has. However, I understand he’s going to be a witness, and you can ask him about that.”
“The method of perpetuating the fingerprints was suggested by you?”
“It was.”
“Don’t you consider that rather a poor method to use?”
“What other method would you have preferred, Mr. Mason?”
“I wouldn’t have preferred any method,” Mason said. “But I have always understood that it was more efficient and better practice to develop the latents and then photograph them in their position on the object, and, if the fingerprints seemed to be important, to bring the object into court.”
“I’m sorry that we can’t accommodate you,” Sergeant Dorset said sarcastically, “but it happens that in this particular case the fingerprints were all over the bathroom of a dwelling house which was in use. We were hardly in a position to dispossess the tenants, and keep all fingerprints intact. We used the lifting method, which I believe is infinitely preferable to the other where the circumstances justify it.”
“What circumstances justify it?” Mason asked.
“Circumstances such as these, where you are dealing with objects that can’t readily be brought into court.”
“Now what means did you use to identify the places from which the fingerprints had been taken?”
“I didn’t use any, personally. That is entirely within the province of Mr. Corning, and you will have to ask him those questions. I believe, however, he prepared envelopes on which the exact location from which each print had been lifted were printed and kept the prints straight by that method.”
“I see. Now, did you have occasion that night to look into the other side of the duplex house — the side which was, I believe, utilized as an office for the real estate corporation of Faulkner and Carson?”
“Not that night, no.”
“You did the next morning?”
“I did.”
“What did you find?”
“An oblong glass tank, which had been apparently used as an aquarium or fish tank, had been drained of water, apparently by means of a section of long, flexible rubber tubing of an inside diameter of approximately one-half inch. The glass tank had then been turned over on its side and the mud and gravel in the bottom of the tank had been dumped out on the floor of the office.”
“Did you make any attempt to get fingerprints from that tank?”
“No, sir. I didn’t take any fingerprints from the glass tank.”
“Did you try to take any?”
“I didn’t personally, no, sir.”
“Did you suggest that anyone else do so?”
“No, sir.”
“As far as you know, none of the police made any attempt to develop fingerprints from that tank?”
“No, sir.”
“May I ask why?”
“For the simple reason that I didn’t consider the overturned tank had any connection whatever with the murder of Harrington Faulkner.”
“It may have?”
“I don’t see how it could have.”
“It is quite conceivable that the same person who murdered Harrington Faulkner might have drained that tank and overturned it?”
“I don’t think so.”
“In other words, because you, yourself, personally, didn’t see how there could have been any connection between the two crimes, you let this evidence be destroyed?”
“I’ll put it this way, Mr. Mason. In my capacity as an officer on the police force, it is necessary for me to make certain decisions. I take the responsibility for those decisions. Obviously, we can’t go around fingerprinting everything. We have to stop somewhere.”
“And this was your stopping place?”
“That’s right.”
“You usually take fingerprints in case of a burglary, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yet you didn’t in connection with this one?”
“It wasn’t a burglary.”