39
Vaulding led off the afternoon session with Martin Kessington, who even without his white suit and clipboard, still managed to give the impression of being in charge.
“Mr. Kessington,” Vaulding began, “are you familiar with the defendant, Russ Timberlaine?”
“Yes, I am.”
“How do you know him?”
“He is my employer.”
“In what capacity are you employed?”
“I am in charge of his household. I suppose in England you would call me his butler. But I’m actually more than that. In the household, I am his second in command.”
“Is that a considerable job?”
Kessington smiled. “Somewhat. Mr. Timberlaine’s mansion has forty-eight rooms. He has a staff of fourteen. He likes to entertain, has frequent guests, and often holds auctions or other functions that attract other gun collectors. Most weekends the mansion is full.”
“I see. And this particular weekend-how many guests were there?”
“Around fifty.”
“They were there for what purpose?”
“They were collectors and dealers invited specifically for the gun auction.”
“Which was on Saturday afternoon?”
“That’s right.”
“Directing your attention to Saturday evening following the auction-did anything out of the ordinary happen then?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Could you tell us what that was?”
“Yes, sir. It was around five-thirty. I was out on the patio with the guests seeing that cocktails were served prior to dinner. I was approached by one of the guests at that time.”
“And who might that be?”
“Miss Tracy Garvin.”
“Miss Tracy Garvin? You say she was a guest there that weekend?”
“That’s right.”
“Aside from being a guest, did you know who Miss Garvin was?”
“I knew she was the secretary of Mr. Winslow, the attorney.”
“You are referring to Steve Winslow, the defense attorney present in court?”
“That’s right.”
“He was also a guest there that weekend?”
“Yes, he was.”
“And you say his secretary, Miss Garvin, approached you?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Without getting into what she said, can you tell us what you did?”
“Yes, sir. I followed her from the patio to the gun room.”
“What did you find when you got there?”
“I found Mr. Winslow standing watch over Jack Potter, who was lying dead on the floor.”
“Dead?”
Martin Kessington held up his hand. “I take that back. I am not a doctor. It is not my determination to make. He looked dead to me, but I couldn’t swear to it.”
Vaulding smiled. “Well, let’s talk about what you can swear to. What, specifically, did you see?”
“I saw the body lying on the floor. The body appeared to me motionless. I went over and looked closely, but could not see any sign of breathing. There was a wound in the head, from which blood had come. I assumed at the time it was a bullet wound, though of course I had no way of knowing for sure.”
“What led you to believe this was a bullet wound?”
“There was a gun lying next to the body.”
“Can you describe the gun?”
“Certainly. It was a Colt.45 revolver with the initial R carved in the handle.”
“You’re certain of that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Did you touch the gun?”
“No, I did not.”
“But you could see the R in the handle?”
“Yes, it was facing up.”
“Tell me, had you ever seen that gun before?”
“Objected to as leading and suggestive,” Steve Winslow said.
“Sustained,” Judge Hendrick said. “Mr. Vaulding, this is an area where for obvious reasons care should be taken not to lead the witness.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Rephrase your question.”
“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Kessington, at the time that you saw the gun, did you think that you recognized it?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What did you think you recognized it to be?”
“When I saw the gun, I thought it was a gun from Russ Timberlaine’s collection. Specifically, a collector’s item, a gun once owned by Pistol Pete Robbins.”
“You were familiar with this gun?”
“Yes, I was.”
“You had seen the gun before?”
“Yes, I had.”
“You are familiar with all of the guns in Russ Timberlaine’s collection?”
“No, I am not.”
“Why were you familiar with that particular gun?”
“It had been brought to my attention.”
“By whom?”
“By Russ Timberlaine.”
“Russ Timberlaine brought that gun to your attention?”
“Yes, he did.”
“When was that?”
“The week before the murder.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“No, I can’t. It was on one of the days of the week before the murder. I believe it was toward the beginning of the week. Might have been Monday or Tuesday. Possibly Wednesday.”
“At any rate, Russ Timberlaine brought it to your attention?”
“Yes, he did.”
“How did that happen?”
“He called me into the gun room and showed me the gun.”
“Where was it?”
“In a glass-topped case.”
“Was the gun in the case at the time?”
“Actually, the case was open and Russ Timberlaine had taken it out of the case.”
“And he showed you the gun?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Did he make any statement to you at the time?”
“Yes, sir. He said this was not his gun. He said he believed his gun had been stolen and that this was a duplicate that had been left in its place.”
“Why was he pointing this out to you?”
“He wanted to know who could have had the opportunity to have taken the gun. See, the case it was in had been kept locked. Unfortunately, one of the keys to it was kept in the office, which was not kept locked.”
“Did you point this out to Russ Timberlaine?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What did he say?”
“He seemed to think if the gun had been taken, it must have been two weekends before when there had been guests at the mansion. He wanted to know if I had seen anyone going in or out of the office on that occasion who might have taken the key.”
“And had you?”
“No, I had not.”
“Getting back to the gun that you found lying next to the body-you said when you saw the gun you first thought it was the original Pistol Pete gun?”
“That’s right.”
“If I understand your testimony, you knew that that gun had been stolen.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then why did you assume that the gun next to the body was the stolen gun and not the one that had been found substituted?”
“From what Mr. Timberlaine said. When he called me in and showed me the substituted gun.”
“What was that?”
“He suspected something like this would happen.”
That answer was greeted by a loud murmur in the courtroom. Judge Hendrick silenced it with his gavel.
“That was the week before the murder?” Vaulding asked.
“That’s right.”
“And Russ Timberlaine told you he suspected something like this would happen?”
“Not this exactly, of course.”
“Yes, but something similar?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
“Mr. Kessington, to the best of your recollection, what exactly was it Russ Timberlaine said?”
“He said he was afraid someone had stolen his gun to frame him for a crime. He said, ‘What if my gun were found at the scene of a crime? Everybody knows it’s my gun. I’d have a devil of a time proving I didn’t do it.’”
“I see. So when you saw the gun lying next to the body …?”
“I thought of what Russ Timberlaine said, of course. That’s why I immediately thought it was the stolen Pistol Pete gun.”