“A by-product of any fire is carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas which has a strong affinity for the red blood cells of the body. Its presence is easily detected not only in the bloodstream but in the respiration passages and the lungs, where small granules of carbon can be found if a person has breathed in smoke. Tissues taken from Iris Young’s nasal and bronchial passages and lungs contained such granules. Also, samples of her blood indicate that carbon monoxide had forced the vital oxygen out of her red cells and caused death by asphyxiation. So what she died of is clear. How it happened is another matter.
“It was at first believed that Iris Young while leaning over in the act of lighting the gas log lost her balance and fell, that she struck the upper area of her face hard enough to cause bleeding and to render her unconscious. But now let’s ask some basic questions:
“Was blood found on the gas log? No.
“Anywhere near it? No.
“Any place in the room at all? Yes. On the head of the cane.
“What type of blood was it? AB negative.
“Did it, in fact, come from Iris Young’s body? Yes.
“Did it contain evidence of carbon monoxide? No. I repeat, no. The blood on the cane came from a woman who had not breathed in any smoke at all.
“Is it possible that Iris Young’s head wound was the result of her falling on her own cane? No. The force of such a fall would not have been enough to cause the kind of injury she sustained.
“How, then, did she die? She was struck. She did not fall and strike anything, she was struck with her own cane.
“Could this blow have been an act of impulse and the fire a desperate attempt to cover up the attack? No. I believe that the fire was, in fact, the main event, premeditated, carefully planned even down to the date, July Fourth, when the sound of an explosion would be nothing unusual. The holiday also made it easier to get the other people out of the house — Admiral Young to watch a fireworks display with his daughters, and the housekeeper to babysit her grandson while his parents went out celebrating. Oh yes, it was carefully planned, all right, except that explosions and fires are not predictable whether they’re arranged by an amateur or a professional. As many prisoners are painfully aware, arson doesn’t necessarily burn up evidence of itself.
“Iris Young was meant to be cremated in that fire. Perhaps that would have happened if she’d been fatter, since body fat acts as a fuel, but Iris Young was a thin woman. Her cane was meant to be destroyed and it was, but only partially. The part that was left provided the blood samples to compare with those taken from her body.
“There is still another object which was intended for destruction, or at least for damage enough to render it useless as evidence.”
He walked over to the table where the exhibits were displayed and picked up a candlestick wrapped, like the cane, in transparent plastic.
“Here it is. An antique silver candlestick, ten inches high, bent, as you can see, by the force of the explosion and somewhat discolored by smoke. According to the housekeeper and the members of the family, it’s one of a set of four always kept on the buffet in the dining room. How did it get from the buffet in the dining room to the floor of Iris Young’s sitting room? The obvious explanation is that she took it there herself. But let me read a couple of sentences from a statement given to one of my deputies by the housekeeper, Mrs. Norgate:
“ ‘Miranda Shaw liked to use candles on the dinner table because she thought they made her look more youthful. But lately Mrs. Young had gotten so she couldn’t stand them. She said flickering lights gave her a headache.’ There’s no reason to doubt Mrs. Norgate’s word. Moreover, the same observation has been made by other members of the household, that Mrs. Young hated candles. Yet this candlestick was found in her room. Without her fingerprints on it, without, in fact, any fingerprints on it at all. I have lost count of the curious facts in this case but this must be number five or six. Or ten. Or fifteen. More questions arise:
“What was the candlestick doing in Iris Young’s room? It was doing what came naturally, holding a candle.
“And what was the candle doing? Committing a murder.
“And what does all this add up to? The following sequence of events: Iris Young was struck with her own cane, the candle was lit and its holder wiped clean, the gas was turned on and the murderer left the house.”
The District Attorney paused again, not for effect but because one of the jurors, a retired librarian, had raised her hand.
“Yes, Mrs. Zimmerman?”
“Why don’t you bring in some witnesses?”
“I will, of course. But in order to save both time and the taxpayers’ money — two important advantages of the grand jury system — I’m calling only enough witnesses to present my case without the kind of detail and repetition necessary in a criminal trial.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
The foreman intervened. “The calling of witnesses — who, when, how many — is up to the District Attorney, Mrs. Zimmerman.”
“But he’s just standing there telling me what to think.”
“He’s giving you material for thought. That’s an entirely different matter... Please continue, Mr. District Attorney.”
“Thank you, Mr. Foreman. I would like to go back for a minute to the results of the autopsy performed on Iris Young. Tissue removed from her air sacs and breathing passages showed carbon particles which indicated that she died of asphyxiation caused by the inhalation of smoke. Tissue removed from other areas, especially the abdominal cavity, showed traces of other chemicals, in particular flurazepam hydrochloride. This is a crystalline compound readily soluble in either alcohol or water and rapidly absorbed and metabolized by the body. It’s a commonly used sedative sold, by prescription only, under the name Dalmane. That Iris Young, a semi-invalid, should have taken something to induce sleep is not surprising. But the circumstances are peculiar. Dalmane is a very quick-acting drug meant to be administered only after the patient has retired or is about to retire. Iris Young was in her sitting room, fully clothed. So we have another curious fact to add to our growing list.
“And on the heels of that one we come to still another. Dalmane, as I said before, is available by prescription only in fifteen-milligram orange and ivory capsules or thirty-milligram red and ivory. Dr. Albert Varick, Mrs. Young’s personal physician, is attending a medical conference in Puerto Rico this week but we have his sworn statement available for you to read. The gist is as follows: From time to time Dr. Varick has prescribed various medications for Iris Young, mainly Indocin, to alleviate the pain of her chronic arthritis. But according to his records and Iris Young’s medical file, Dr. Varick never issued her a prescription for Dalmane. Yet there was such a prescription in that house. A police sergeant will give you the details about it later.
“Now, before calling my first witness, Admiral Cooper Young, I feel you should be told in advance that Admiral Young did not wish to testify and so stated when he was served with a subpoena. He cannot by any means be called a hostile witness, but he is a reluctant one, agreeing to testify only because he believes it’s his duty to assist in the enforcement of the law. Please bear this in mind as you listen to him.”