“And that means?” Judge Flint asked.
“It means that the projected print is not the print of the defendant at all but is the print of Dorrie Ambler.”
“You’re absolutely certain of that?” Judge Flint asked.
“Absolutely certain.”
Judge Flint turned to Perry Mason. “Mr. Mason,” he said, “you stand charged before this Court with a very grave offence, an offence which could well lead to disciplinary action or disbarment proceedings. It would certainly lead to a charge of contempt of Court. I am going to ask you to plead on the charge of contempt of Court right here and right now.
“In view of the fact that this matter came up while the jury was present, I am going to have it determined while the jury is present. Now then, Mr. Mason, I am going to ask you how it happened that in pretending to take an imprint of the defendant’s thumb you substituted a slide with the imprint of Dorrie Ambler.”
“Mason said, “I am sorry, Your Honor, I have no explanation.”
“In that event,” Judge Flint said, “the Court is going to—”
“May I make one statement?”
“Very well,” Judge Flint snapped. “Make a statement.”
“I simply suggest,” Mason said, “that in order to avoid any confusion, the witness, Lieutenant Tragg, take a fingerprint of the defendant’s thumb. Then we will project that on the screen and Lieutenant Tragg can see how many points of similarity he finds between that and the print of the dead woman. In that way there can be no question of confusion. I have here an acetate slide coated with a substance which will show the fingerprint characteristics.”
Judge Flint hesitated.
“I would like very much to have that done,” Hamilton Burger said.
“Very well. You may proceed,” Judge Flint said.
Mason handed a slide to Lt. Tragg who inspected it carefully, took a magnifying glass from his pocket, looked at it, then approached the defendant, took her thumbprint, returned to the projector, removed the slide which was in the projector and inserted the slide of the thumbprint he had just taken.
“Now then,” Mason said, “perhaps the Lieutenant will be good enough to tell us how many points of similarity there are between that fingerprint, the fingerprint of the dead woman and the fingerprint of Dorrie Ambler.”
Lt. Tragg adjusted the focus just right, then approached the projected print.
Suddenly he stopped.
“They coincide,” he said.
“What coincides?” Hamilton Burger snapped at him.
“The points of similarity which I have traced on the paper in red and in green coincide with the pattern now projected on the screen.”
Hamilton Burger said, “Well— They can’t.”
“But they do,” Mason said. “It’s quite evident. The Court can see for itself, and the jurors can see the same thing.”
“Now, just a moment!” Hamilton Burger shouted. “Here’s some more hocus-pocus. I insist that we have this phase of the matter disposed of in the absence of the jury.”
“We’ve had the rest of it in the presence of the jury,” Judge Flint said. “I think we’ll clear up this entire situation in the presence of the jury... Now Lieutenant, exactly what is the meaning of this?”
“I don’t know,” Lt. Tragg said.
“I suggest,” Mason said, “that it means the projected fingerprint which I put on the screen was the fingerprint of the defendant and that the prosecutor’s charge that I had juggled slides, the prosecutor’s charge that I had substituted fingerprints and all of his remarks concerning misconduct, were unjustified, were accusations made in the presence of the jury and constituted misconduct on the part of the prosecutor.”
“Now, let’s get this straight,” Judge Flint said. “Lieutenant, look up here. Now, Lieutenant, is it true that there are eighteen points of similarity between the fingerprint of the defendant and the fingerprint of Dorrie Ambler?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“How could that happen, Lieutenant? You have just testified under oath that twelve points of similarity would show an absolute identification; yet you have here eighteen points of similarity between the prints of two different people.”
“I’m afraid,” Lt. Tragg said, “that there’s something here I don’t understand. I have now noticed more points of similarity. I could go on and probably get many other points of similarity.”
“And what does that mean?” Judge Flint asked.
“It means,” Perry Mason said dryly, “that either the science of fingerprinting is breaking down or that this defendant and Dorrie Ambler are one and the same person, in which event there never was any Dorrie Ambler and the testimony of the witness, Dunleavey Jasper, that he saw the two women together and noticed their similarity is absolute perjury.
“The Court will notice that other witnesses have testified to the similarity of appearance of Dorrie Ambler on the one hand and the defendant on the other, but no witness has been produced who had seen them together, and no witness could be produced who had seen them together because there was only one person. Therefore the testimony of Dunleavey Jasper that he saw them together is—”
Judge Flint shouted, “Bailiff, apprehend that man! Keep him from leaving the courtroom.”
Dunleavey Jasper, halfway through the swinging door was grabbed by the bailiff. He turned and engaged in a frantic struggle.
The courtroom was in an uproar.
Judge Flint shouted, “The spectators will be seated! The jurors will be seated! Court will take a fifteen-minute recess.”
Chapter Fifteen
As court was reconvened amidst the breathless hush of excitement, Mason got to his feet. “If the Court please,” he said, “it appearing that there never was any such person as Dorrie Ambler, and in view of the fact that the prosecutor now knows a confession of perjury has been obtained from Dunleavey Jasper, I move the Court to instruct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty and discharge the defendant from custody.”
“Does the prosecutor have any statement?” Judge Flint asked.
Hamilton Burger dejectedly got to his feet.
“I don’t understand it, Your Honor,” he said, “and I think that the patience of the Court has been imposed upon by reason of the fact that the defence did not disclose this matter to the Court at an earlier date but chose to present it in this dramatic manner. However, that is a matter for the Court to take up with counsel for the defence. As far as the present motion is concerned, I will verify the fact that Dunleavey Jasper has made a confession.”
“I think,” Judge Flint said, “that it would clarify matters if the general substance of that confession were a part of the record. Would you care to make a statement, Mr. Prosecutor?”
“It seems,” Burger said, “that Dunleavey Jasper, Barlowe Dalton, and a young woman named Flossie Hendon, stole this Cadillac car and started south.
“These people had committed various crimes before they stole the Cadillac. Afterwards they committed other crimes, among them the holdup of the branch bank at Santa Maria where they secured some eighteen thousand dollars. They divided eight thousand dollars of this money into three equal lots, and the balance of ten thousand dollars was wrapped in paper, held in place with rubber bands, and placed in the glove compartment of the stolen automobile.
“They went to the Montrose Country Club intending to steal valuable furs from the cloakroom, to hold up the cashier for the large sum of money which they thought would be in the safe that evening. They left their getaway car with Flossie Hendon at the wheel, and she was supposed to be there with the motor running, ready to help them escape as soon as they had completed their crime.