Case of the Footloose Doll (14 page)

“It is exactly the type of injury which would have been inflicted with a round bar of some sort.”

Mason said, “The photographs of the accident show the body on the right-hand side of the car with the head and shoulders partially protruding from the opened door?”

“Yes.”

“Indicating that the person had opened the car door and started to jump out?” Mason asked.

“I wouldn’t say as to that.”

“How could the position of the body be accounted for otherwise?”

“The body could have been deliberately placed in that position.”

“You mean,” Mason said, “that some person, and I take it you have in mind the defendant, could have partially opened the door of the car, held the head and part of the shoulders of Fern Driscoll out of the car with one hand while driving over the bank with the other?”

“That could have been done. Yes, sir.”

“Holding a body half—in and half—out of the car with the right hand, driving the car with the left hand?”

“It could have been done.”

“It would have taken a great deal of strength?”

“It might have.”

“And would have necessitated the driver of the car remaining in the car while it plunged down the deep canyon?”

“Yes.”

“What assurance, then, did the driver have that she wouldn’t be killed or seriously injured in the plunge?”

The witness hesitated. “Quite naturally, she couldn’t have had any assurance at all.”

“The bank was so steep that it was rather unusual for one of the persons in the car to be uninjured?”

“It was very unusual, almost miraculous.”

“Then what would have been the motive for the defendant to have killed Fern Driscoll and held her body partially out of the car, if the probabilities were the defendant would also be killed?”

“If the Court please, that’s argumentative,” Calvert objected.

Judge Bolton smiled. “It is argumentative, but this witness, as an expert, has given reasons for his conclusions which give counsel the right to question his conclusions. The objection is overruled. Answer the question, Doctor.”

The witness pursed his lips, shifted his position in the witness chair.

“Of course, I can’t duplicate the defendant’s reasoning. She may well have contemplated suicide.”

“Then the murder of Fern Driscoll would have done her no good?” The witness squirmed uncomfortably. “That I believe, is obvious.”

“Now,” Mason went on, “assuming that the decedent, whom you autopsied, had become panic-stricken when the car started to go over the grade and had jerked open the door on the right-hand side of the car trying to get out, would the position of the body, under those circumstances, have been the same as that of the body shown in this photograph?”

“Well . . . it could have been.”

“And if the decedent had done that,” Mason said, “isn’t it possible that the doorpost of the automobile could have struck the back of her head at the first impact and left a depressed fracture exactly such as you have described?”

“Well . . . I don’t know.”

“Of course, you don’t know,” Mason said. “You’ve testified to a whole series of surmises. Now, I’m asking you if it isn’t possible that the injury could have been sustained in that manner.”

“It is possible, yes.”

“And isn’t it equally possible, as far as anything that you know of your own knowledge, from anything that you discovered at the autopsy, that the injury could just as well have been caused in that manner as by a blow inflicted with a round bar?”

“Well . . . perhaps.”

“Yes or no?” Mason asked.

“Yes,” the harassed witness blurted. 

“Thank you,” Mason said, smiling. “That’s all.”

Calvert put on the stand the manager of the Consolidated Sales and Distribution Company, who testified that the defendant had applied for a position with him and had given her name as Fern Driscoll; that she had given the social security number of Fern Driscoll; that she had stated her place of residence was Lansing, Michigan; and had further stated that she had recently arrived in the city and was looking for work.

Mason asked no questions on cross-examination.

The manager of the apartment houses testified that the defendant rented an apartment, giving the name of Fern Driscoll and showing a driving license and social security card in the name of Fern Driscoll.

Again there was no cross-examination. “Call George Kinney,” Calvert said. George Kinney held up his right hand, was sworn, gave his place of residence as Lansing, Michigan, and was, it turned out, the cashier of the Baylor Manufacturing and Development Company. George Kinney was also a shrewd individual who listened carefully to questions and had apparently been coached by some astute attorney as to exactly what he was to say, and exactly what he was to refrain from saying.

“Were you acquainted with an employee of the Baylor Manufacturing and Development Company named Fern Driscoll?”

“I was. Yes, sir.”

“How long had she been in the employ of the corporation?”

“Two years, approximately.”

“When did she sever her connections with the company?”

“On the ninth of last month.”

“At the time she severed her connections, did you give her any money?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How much?”

“I gave her a check covering the amount of her wages and severance pay.”

“Did you give her anything else?”

“No, sir.”

“During the period of her employment, had you come to know Fern Driscoll personally?”

“Yes, sir.”

“At the time she terminated her employment, did you discuss with her the fact that her action was rather abrupt, and did she then and there make a statement to you as to the reason she was leaving the company?”

“Objected to,” Mason said. “Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial.

Hearsay as far as this defendant is concerned.”

“Sustained!” Judge Bolton snapped.

“Did you notice her appearance at that time?”

“I did.”

“Was there anything unusual in her appearance?”

“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. Not binding on the defendant,” Mason said.

“I’ll hear the testimony,” Judge Bolton said. “I think that may be pertinent. In view of the contention of the prosecution, the objection is overruled.”

Kinney said, “She was very shaken. She was very white. She undoubtedly had been crying. Her eyes were swollen and red.”

“That’s all,” Calvert said.

“You say that you knew her rather intimately?” Mason asked.

“I knew her personally, yes.”

“By the way,” Mason asked, “did she own an automobile?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you know what kind of car it was?”

“I’m not sure of the make of the car, but I think it was a Ford. It was, I believe, about three years old. She had recently purchased it secondhand.”

“That car was registered in Michigan? It had Michigan license plates?”

“She lived in Michigan, purchased the car in Michigan, and drove the car in Michigan,” Kinney said with polite sarcasm. “One would naturally assume it had Michigan license plates.”

“Thank you,” Mason said with elaborate politeness. “That’s all.”

“I have one further question which perhaps I should have asked on direct examination,” Calvert said.

“Very well,” Judge Bolton said. “Ask your question.”

“Shortly prior to the time Miss Driscoll left your employ, did Mr. Forrester Baylor have you withdraw rather a large sum of money from the bank for him, and did you turn that money over to him in cash?”

“Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” Mason said.

“If the Court please,” Calvert said, “I would like to show that, at the time she left Michigan, Miss Driscoll had a rather large amount of money in her purse. I have shown that the defendant could not possibly have acquired some four thousand dollars in addition to her own bank account and salary check by any legitimate means. I would like to be permitted to show by inference that Fern Driscoll received rather a large sum of money from Forrester Baylor.”

“You intend to show that by inference?”

“It is the only way I can show it, Your Honor.” Judge Bolton shook his head. “The objection is sustained.”

“If the Court please,” Calvert insisted, “I feel that we are entitled to resort to circumstantial evidence to prove motivation for the death of Fern Driscoll, particularly as we intend to show that Carl Harrod had acquired all this information.”

“You may resort to circumstantial evidence,” Judge Bolton said, “and draw logical inferences from it, but you can’t establish the circumstantial evidence by inference.”

“Very well,” Calvert said, “I have no further questions of this witness.”

“No further cross-examination,” Mason said “Call your next witness,” Judge Bolton said.

“Call Sgt. Holcomb,” Calvert announced.

Holcomb took the witness stand, testified that he was a member of the Homicide Squad; that he had been so employed on the second of the month; that on that date he had been called to an apartment occupied by Carl Harrod; that the person who had called him had given her name as Nellie Harrod and had stated that she was the wife of Carl Harrod; that when he arrived there Carl Harrod was dead.

“Did you make a search of the apartment occupied by this defendant under the name of Fern Driscoll?”

“I did.”

“Did you find any money in that apartment?”

“Yes.”

“What did you find?”

“I found four hundred and thirty—six dollars in currency of various denominations, and then I found forty new one-hundred dollar bills.”

“No other money?”

“No other money.”

“I may wish to recall Sgt. Holcomb later for other aspects of the case,” Calvert said, “but I have no further questions in regard to this matter. You may cross-examine, Mr. Mason.”

Mason said, “I have no questions.”

Sgt. Holcomb left the stand.

Foley Calvert said, “If the Court please, I have one more witness I would like to put on before the noon adjournment. This witness will give you very brief testimony.”

“Very well,” Judge Bolton said, glancing at the clock.

“Miss Irma Karnes,” Calvert called.

Irma Karnes, a rather thin, young woman with a prominent, pinched nose, small lips, and eyes which peered out through heavy-lensed glasses, came forward and took her seat on the witness stand.

“Your name is Irma Karnes? You reside here in this city?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And were so residing on the second of this month?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What was your occupation on the second of this month?”

“I was manager of the notions department in the Arcade Novelty Company.”

“And where is the Arcade Novelty Company, with reference to the apartment occupied by the defendant, if you know?”

“About three and a half blocks.”

“Are you open during the evening?”

“Yes, until eleven-thirty.”

“Can you describe the nature of the business?”

“It is a varied business. There is a penny arcade, so called, with the peep-show type of entertainment. There are electric guns shooting at moving game and electric machine guns shooting at airplanes. In fact, there are a whole host of novelty machines. Then back in the arcade we keep a line of notions and novelties.”

“Such as what?” Calvert asked.

“Bottle openers, ice picks, corkscrews, tumblers, plastic buckets for ice, thermal containers for ice cubes, needles, threads, buttons, neckties, shaving supplies, razor blades. In short, a whole list of notions and novelties of the kind persons might want to buy at night.”

“You mentioned ice picks?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, do you remember any transaction connected with ice picks on the second of this month?”

“Yes, sir. I do indeed.”

“What was that transaction?”

“A young woman came in and bought three ice picks. As it happened, those were all of the ice picks we had on display in the little glass compartment where we keep the ice picks. After she had gone, I went to replace the stock and then found that we had only half a dozen ice picks left in stock.”

“So what did you do then?” Calvert asked.

“Is this relevant to the case?” Judge Bolton asked 

“Quite relevant. Your Honor.”

“Very well, go on. There seems to be no objection on the part of defense counsel. However, it would seem to me to be somewhat remote.”

“It is simply for the purpose of making an identification, if the Court please.”

“Very well. She may answer.”

The witness said, “I put those six ice picks in the display stand. I took some Scotch tape and price tags, preparing to put price tags on the ice picks, but before I did so, I looked up the catalog number and put a gross of ice picks on our want list. It was then I discovered that there had been a paste-over in the catalog and that ice picks had gone up in price.”

“So what did you do?”

“The other ice picks had been thirty-eight cents, three for a dollar. I found I would have to sell the new ice picks at forty-one cents straight, in order to keep our margin of profit, so I put the new price on those ice picks.”

“And were some of those ice picks purchased that same evening while you were there in the store?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Who purchased them?”

She pointed a long finger at Mildred Crest. “The defendant came in and purchased three ice picks.”

“At the new price?”

“At the new price.”

“And that new price was written on labels fastened to the ice picks and covered with transparent plastic tape?”

“Yes.”

“And those were the three ice picks which were purchased by the defendant in this case?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That is all. You may cross-examine,” Calvert said.

“Just a moment,” Judge Bolton announced. “It appears that it is time for the usual noon recess. Court will take a recess until two o’clock this afternoon. The defendant is remanded to custody.” 

Chapter 12

PERRY MASON, Della Street, and Paul Drake sat in the little private dining room in the restaurant which they patronized so frequently when Mason was in court.