“Tell me, had you ever done this before-bid for Mr. Timberlaine?”
“No.”
“Why do you suppose he asked you this particular time?”
“There were two items in the auction Russ particularly wanted. One was a derringer. Russ said Burdett had seen him examining the derringer and knew he wanted it, and was sure to outbid him for it. He figured he’d lost the derringer, and he wanted to make sure the other gun that he wanted didn’t get away.”
“And you agreed to this deception?”
“Well, I wasn’t particularly happy about it. But Russ Timberlaine is a dear and valued friend. I wasn’t going to turn him down. I wanted to help him.”
“Thank you. No further questions.”
“Any redirect, Mr. Vaulding?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“This witness is excused. Do you have another witness to call?”
“Yes, Your Honor. Call Melvin Burdett.”
When Burdett had taken the stand, Judge Hendrick said, “I remind you that you are still under oath. Proceed, Mr. Vaulding.”
“Mr. Burdett, directing your attention to the auction that took place at Russ Timberlaine’s mansion on the afternoon of the day of the murder-were you present at this auction?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Did you bid on any of the guns?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Among the guns you bid on, do you recall a derringer that you outbid Russ Timberlaine for?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You purchased that gun?”
“Yes, I did.”
“By outbidding Mr. Timberlaine?”
“That’s right.”
“This auction-did it have an intermission?”
“Yes, it did.”
“This derringer you bid on-was that before or after the intermission.”
“I think it was before the intermission.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I think it was, but I couldn’t swear to it.”
“Well, do you recall another gun you bid on-a cavalry piece, which you also purchased that afternoon?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Was that before or after the intermission?”
“That was after.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Do you know if you bid on that gun before or after you bid on the derringer?”
“After.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because … I’m just sure.”
Vaulding grinned. “Were you going to say because Russ Timberlaine left right after you bought the gun?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
“Did you notice when Russ Timberlaine left the auction?”
“Yes, I did.”
“When was that?”
“After I bought the gun.”
“The cavalry piece?”
“That’s right.”
“Now, regarding the cavalry piece-when you bought it, who were you bidding against?”
“Hank Crumbly.”
“He was the other principal bidder?”
“That’s right.”
“And you outbid him and bought the gun?”
“That’s right.”
“And it was immediately after that that Russ Timberlaine left the auction?”
“Yes, it was.”.
“You noticed that in particular?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why did you notice that in particular?”
“Because I wanted to see how he would react to my buying the gun.”
“Why, if you were bidding against Mr. Crumbly?”
“I knew Hank was really bidding for Russ.”
“You knew Mr. Crumbly was bidding for Mr. Timberlaine?”
“Of course I did.”
“How did you know that?”
“It was perfectly obvious.”
“Did anyone tell you Crumbly was bidding for Timberlaine?”
“No.”
“Or suggest to you Crumbly might be bidding for Timberlaine?”
“No. Of course not.”
“What about the decedent, Jack Potter? You already testified to having several conversations with him that weekend. Were any of those conversations about guns?”
“Of course they were. They all were. He was the gun expert. I was naturally asking him the value of guns.”
“But not who was bidding on them?”
Burdett stuck his jaw out. It had been several days since his first appearance in court, and he had obviously made every effort to control himself and prepare a cool and rational answer to that particular question. But his indignation was still quite apparent. “Certainly not,” he said evenly. “That would be unethical.”
“And in order to bid on guns, you wouldn’t do anything unethical.”
Burdett exhaled. “Come on, give me a break. In the first place, I wouldn’t ask. And if I did, Potter wouldn’t tell me. He’s a professional. In fact, if someone was making improper inquiries, the first thing Jack Potter would do would be report it to Russ.”
“Report to Mr. Timberlaine? Why would he do that?”
“Don’t be silly. He was Russ’s expert. Russ hired him.”
“Russ Timberlaine hired Jack Potter?”
“Of course he did.”
“You mean Jack Potter was being paid for being there that weekend?”
“Of course he was. He was working. He was there as the resident expert.”
“So Russ Timberlaine had every reason to expect and demand loyalty, not only as a friend but also as an employer?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
Vaulding, having made his point, smiled at the jury and said, “No further questions.”
Steve Winslow stood up. “I have a few questions, Your Honor. Mr. Burdett, you say Jack Potter didn’t tell you Timberlaine intended to bid on the gun?”
“Of course not.”
“And no one else told you?”
“No, they did not.”
“And yet you said you knew. Not you thought, not you suspected, not you guessed, you knew.”
“That’s right. I knew.”
“How? How did you know?”
“It was obvious.”
“That’s what you said before. It may be obvious to you, but it’s not obvious to me, and it’s probably not obvious to the jurors. Could you please explain what you mean? Why was it obvious? What convinced you that Henry Crumbly was actually bidding on that gun for Russ Timberlaine?”
“O.K.,” Burdett said. “To begin with, I expected Russ to bid on the gun. Even without anybody telling me anything. Just from reading the program description. It was a period piece, it was a collector’s item, it had a history. It was just the type of gun he would naturally want. When Russ didn’t bid on it, I was surprised. Then when Crumbly started bidding, I knew what had happened.”
“How did you know? How could you tell Crumbly wasn’t bidding for himself?”
“It was obvious. First off, it wasn’t Hank’s type of gun. It was a period piece with a history, and Hank and Judy-that’s Hank’s wife, Mrs. Crumbly-they have a more contemporary collection.”
“Second, the price was way out of line. Hank went thirty thousand for the gun. No offense, but the Crumblys don’t have that kind of money. That’s a good twenty-five thousand more than I’ve ever seen the man bid for a gun. It did not take a genius to know the man was bidding for someone else. Since I expected Russ to bid on the gun, and since Hank is friendly with Russ, when I say I knew, trust me, I knew.”
“I see. So when you say you knew, you don’t mean that anyone told you anything? What you mean is you deduced this yourself from your knowledge of the parties involved?”
“Exactly.”
“So basically, you knew Crumbly was bidding for Timberlaine because Timberlaine really wanted the gun?”
“That’s right.”
“And yet you bid against him. Made a point of outbidding him and getting the gun away from him.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Why? Do you hate him that much?”
“Hate him?” Burdett looked shocked. “Don’t be silly. Russ Timberlaine is a gentleman and a collector. I admire and respect him.”
“Then why would you go out of your way to thwart and frustrate him in this matter?”
“Are you kidding me? Competition is what it’s all about. What do you think an auction is? Why do you think people bid? All right, for some people it’s a hobby. For some people it’s a job. But to me it’s sport. It’s a game. And Russ Timberlaine is one of the star players.” Burdett smiled. “It’s a pleasure to play in the same ballpark with him.”