“Atta girl!” Mason said. “I’m getting you convinced, and you’re skeptical, Della. If I can convince you, it’s a certainty I can get at least one or two of the jurors looking at it my way.”
“Remember,” she warned, “Hamilton Burger has the closing argument.”
“If he argues that point,” Mason said, “he’s simply floundering around in a legal quicksand. There were two guns. His own evidence shows there were two guns. He’s never found that second gun. And since he hasn’t found it, he can’t refute the claim that Stephanie Falkner, desperately in love with Homer Garvin and trying to protect him, switched the guns and is willing to take the chance of being convicted in order to protect the man she loves.”
“Well,” Della Street said, “it’s going to be quite some show and— Hang it, Chief! She must have done it!”
“Of course, she did,” Mason said. “And that’s why she won’t go on the stand.”
Chapter Twenty
Judge Decker said, “It will be stipulated, I take it, gentlemen, that the jurors are all present, and the defendant in court.”
“So stipulated,” Mason said.
“The defense will proceed with its case.”
“If the Court please,” Mason said, “a certain matter has come to my attention which makes me wish to ask a few additional questions of one of the prosecution’s witnesses.”
“We object,” Hamilton Burger said. “The prosecution has rested its case, the evidence is closed as far as the prosecution is concerned.”
“Which witness?” Judge Decker asked Mason.
“Eva Elliott,” Mason said.
“The defense motion will be granted. The case is reopened. Eva Elliott will return to the stand for further cross-examination,” Judge Decker ruled.
Eva Elliott was called back to the stand. Mason, looking at his wristwatch, made a rapid calculation in regard to time.
Eva Elliott settled herself on the witness stand in the best tradition of the motion picture witnesses.
Mason said, “Just one or two more questions on cross-examination, Miss Elliott. Did you have any secretarial experience before you started working for Mr. Garvin?”
“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, and not proper cross-examination,” Hamilton Burger said.
“Sustained,” Judge Decker said.
“It was part of your secretarial duties to make out vouchers in payment of bills which were incurred by the Garvin enterprises?”
“Yes.”
“You habitually typed out checks covering those bills and Mr. Garvin would sign those checks?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What audit did you make of those bills?” Mason asked.
“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, and not proper cross-examination,” Hamilton Burger said.
“Sustained,” Judge Decker snapped.
“Isn’t it a fact,” Mason asked, “that during the time you were with Mr. Garvin, you made out and got his signature on several checks amounting to several thousand dollars payable to the Acme Electric and Plumbing Repair Company of 1397 Chatham Street, and the Eureka Associated Renovators of 1397 Chatham Street, when, as a matter of fact, there were no such firms, and no orders had ever been given to those firms?”
“Just a moment! Just a moment!” Hamilton Burger shouted. “Your Honor, this is completely outside the issues of this case. It is not proper cross-examination. It is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.”
Judge Decker stroked his chin. “It would seem at first blush to be completely outside of the issues,” he said, “unless counsel can assure the Court that he intends to connect it up in that it might show bias.”
“My next question,” Mason said, “will be to question the witness whether the person who was sending in these bills was not engaged in a conspiracy with her, and that this witness is therefore prejudiced and biased against Mr. Garvin, her former employer, because of fear that her defaultation will be discovered.”
Judge Decker frowned. “I think I am going to permit the questions,” he said. “It’s rather a technical, legal point by which evidence which otherwise might well be extraneous is introduced into a case, but it needs only a glance at the face of this witness to tell that there is something here which is—”
Eva Elliott interrupted. “Your Honor, I swear to you that I didn’t get a penny of it. Mr. Casselman promised to—” She stopped.
“Go on,” Judge Decker said.
“I don’t think she should be permitted to volunteer a statement,” Hamilton Burger said. “This is a very technical point. It is a matter which is being dragged in by the ears for the purpose of discrediting a witness whose actual testimony is not open to doubt and who has testified to a fact which is uncontradicted.”
“It is uncontradicted as yet,” Judge Decker said, “but the defense has not put on its case. The witness will kindly compose herself. You mentioned the name of Mr. Casselman, Miss Elliott.”
Eva Elliott started to cry. “He promised to have me as his entertainer when the new motel went up. He lied. He couldn’t make good. He promised me a floor show...”
The door of the courtroom opened. Marie Barlow, quite evidently in the last stages of pregnancy, carrying a paper package in her hand, moved with slow, measured steps down the aisle of the courtroom.
Judge Decker looked at her. The jurors looked, and spectators turned to look.
Marie Barlow approached the mahogany rail which divided the counsel tables from the courtroom, extended the paper parcel toward Perry Mason.
Mason took the parcel in his hand, turned to the witness.
Slowly, dramatically, he tore the paper from the package and brought out the bloodstained towels.
“Eva,” he said, “after you shot George Casselman you wiped off some of the blood with towels and put those towels in your purse. You concealed them in the back of a filing cabinet in Mr. Garvin’s office. Then you substituted the Safe Gun, which you had used in the killing, for the Holster Gun which you took from Mr. Garvin’s holster while Mr. Garvin was in the shower. You put the Holster Gun back in the safe, didn’t you?”
Eva Elliott got to her feet, then sank back into the witness chair. “I did it in self-defense,” she sobbed. “When I found out about what he had done, I... I...”
“Now just a minute! Just a minute!” Hamilton Burger shouted. “This whole matter now has the appearance of being a well-rehearsed, carefully-staged attempt to stampede the jurors.”
Mason resumed his seat at the counsel table and grinned at Hamilton Burger.
“That’s all, Mr. Burger,” he said. “Rest your case, if you dare do so. The defense will put on no evidence.”
“You have no further questions of this witness?” Judge Decker asked incredulously.
“None, Your Honor,” Mason said.
Hamilton Burger sat indecisively for a minute. “I would like to ask the Court for a thirty-minute recess,” he said. “It may be that the prosecution will...”
“Do you have any questions of this witness?” Judge Decker asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
Judge Decker glanced at Perry Mason. “Does the defense oppose the motion for a thirty-minute recess made by the District Attorney?”
“The defense opposes the motion,” Mason said. “The defense does not intend to put on any evidence, and we would like to start the argument so that we can go to the jury this afternoon.”
“Very well,” Judge Decker said. “Proceed with your case, Mr. Prosecutor.”
“That is all of our case. We had already rested.”