The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece (18 page)

"That was three o'clock in the morning. I looked at my watch. It made me so damn mad to be wakened at that hour, because I couldn't get back to sleep."

Mason took some typewritten notes from his desk. "Did you," he asked, "say over the telephone, in answer to Maddox's call, words to this effect?" and Mason read slowly from his notes, "'Hello… Yes, this is Mrs. Kent… Yes, Mrs. Doris Sully Kent of Santa Barbara… What's that name again, please?… Maddox… I don't understand your calling at this hour… Why, I thought that was all fixed… Your lawyer has arranged a conference, and I'll meet you, as agreed… You can get in touch with Mr. Sam Hettley, of the firm of Hettley and Hettley, if you want any more information. Good-by."

"Why, yes!" she exclaimed. "Those must have been my exact words! How did you know?"

Mason shook his head, went on with his questioning. "Then what did you do?"

"Tried to sleep for an hour or so and then got in my car and drove to Los Angeles."

"Where was your car?"

"It happened that it was in a neighbor's garage, about half a block down the street."

"Did you make any attempt to sneak out of your house?"

She shook her head. "Not consciously. There'd been someone hanging around in front of the house. I thought perhaps Peter had decided to put a detective on me, which would have been foolish because I'd never have left a back trail he could have followed. I've had detectives on my trail before."

"So you tried to sneak out?"

"Well, I didn't go out with a brass band."

"Went out the back door?"

"Yes."

"And along the cement walk?"

"No, I kept to the grassy stretch on the side."

"So your feet wouldn't make any noise?"

"Yes."

"And you weren't followed when you came to Los Angeles?"

"No, but I met a man in the hallway of the office building where my lawyer has his office, who looked like a detective. I was a little bit frightened. I told my lawyer to be careful and fix things so Maddox and Duncan didn't leave the office for an hour after I left."

"One more question," Mason said. "Where were you on the thirteenth?"

"The day before the murder?"

"Yes."

"In Los Angeles."

"Doing what?"

"Shopping and consulting with my lawyers."

"Anything else?"

She thought a minute, then laughed and said, "I saw Pete on the street and followed him for a while."

"Why?"

"I don't know – just curiosity, I guess. I followed him here and knew he'd been consulting with you. I'd fired my Santa Barbara lawyers, and when I saw Pete come here I knew things were coming to a head, so then was when I went to see Hettley."

"How far did you follow Mr. Kent?"

"Until he started for Hollywood. I thought some of stopping him and talking settlement. I wish I'd done it now."

"That," Mason said, "is better. Inasmuch as your appearance in court has been made through Hettley and Hettley, you'll have to have them sign the releases. You get those releases and I'll have a check for twenty-five thousand dollars all ready for you."

"That's okay," she said, "I made Hettley and Hettley sign the request for dismissal and all of that a couple of days ago. I have all of the necessary papers with me."

"How did you get them to do that?"

"Do we have to go into that?" she asked.

"I'd like to get a complete picture of the situation."

"It was simple," she told him, her lips curving in a smile, "I told them that I'd made some perjured allegations in my complaint and asked them if they wanted to go ahead with the case in view of that fact. I told them that I'd made some very damaging admissions to a very attractive young woman who, it turned out, was a detective, and the other side knew of my perjury. Naturally, they were so anxious to get out they told me never to darken their doors again. I paid them five hundred dollars for drawing up the papers and they washed their hands of the entire case."

"Do you always play both ends against the middle?" he asked her.

"Sure. I'm attractive. Men never married me for love – not the kind I married. They were old buzzards with money… If I ever marry again, it'll be for love. I'm tired of gold-digging."

"Thinking of getting married?" he asked her.

"No, of course not."

"Very well," he told her, "I'll have your money in the morning."

He escorted her to the door. She turned in the corridor and said, "You won't tell Hettley and Hettley about the trick I've pulled on them, will you?"

"Not me," Mason told her. "All I want is to have the releases and dismissals in proper form and you'll get your twenty-five thousand dollars. You'll also be subpoenaed as a witness for the defense."

"Swell," she told him.

"And don't make the mistake of trying to change your story after I get you on the stand," he told her.

"Don't worry," she said, "I know enough about men to know when I'm monkeying with a buzz saw. I'll play ball with you, Mr. Mason."

He bowed, smiled and closed the door. Della Street emerged from the law library, carrying a notebook and pencils. "The damn little double-crosser," she said. "I could snatch her hair out. What a little tramp she is!"

Mason chuckled and said, "Anyone who can slip one over on Hettley and Hettley is entitled to it. It was a case of diamond cut diamond. They thought they were going to stick her plenty. She just beat them to it."

"I hated to see you give her twenty-five thousand dollars," Della Street said. "I'll bet she'd have dismissed her case anyway. She's crazy over Pritchard."

"Don't worry," Mason told her; "your friend, George Pritchard will get most of it. And he needs the money to pay off Myrna Duchene. You might get Myrna on the telephone and suggest that now would be a good time to drop into Pritchard's hotel and threaten to have him arrested unless he kicks through with the money by tomorrow morning."

Della Street reached for the telephone. "And will that give me pleasure," she exclaimed.

"So stipulated," Mason said.

"And so stipulated for the Prosecution," Hamilton Burger announced.

"I believe Mr. Duncan was on the stand for further cross-examination," Judge Markham said. "Come forward, Mr. Duncan."

Duncan strutted to the witness stand, his manner radiating importance. "I think I have just one more question," Mason said, when the witness had taken his seat. "I believe you stated, Mr. Duncan, that you talked with your client, Mr. Maddox, until approximately eleven o'clock and then went to bed?"

"Yes, around eleven."

"Then you were in your client's bedroom until approximately eleven o'clock?"

"Yes."

"You went in there following the termination of the conference to which you testified yesterday?"

"Yes."

"And remained there all during that time?"

"Yes."

"Are you certain you didn't leave the premises?"

"No, I…" his voice trailed away into silence.

"Go on," Mason said.

"I don't see that it makes any difference," Duncan snapped, flashing a swift glance at the district attorney.

Blaine jumped to his feet. "Your Honor," he said, "it's objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, and not proper cross-examination."

"Overruled," Judge Markham snapped.

"Come to think of it," Duncan said, "I did go out for a few moments."

"Did Mr. Maddox accompany you?"

"Yes."

"Where did you go?"

"We went to a drug store a couple of blocks from the house."

"How long were you there?"

"About ten minutes."

"And during that ten-minute period, what did you do?"

"That's objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not proper cross-examination. The direct examination of this witness related to the fixing of time and to the time when he went to bed. The witness fixed that by testifying what he did during the evening. When the defense shows that the witness went out, it makes no difference where he went or what he did. It is only a question of determining how long he was gone."

"I think I'll sustain the objection," Judge Markham announced.

"Did you put in a telephone call?" Mason asked.

"Same objection."

"Same ruling," Judge Markham snapped.

"Isn't it true that at exactly eleven o'clock in the evening you were putting in a telephone call to Mrs. Doris Sully Kent in Santa Barbara, and therefore couldn't have been in the residence of Peter Kent?"

"Same objection," Burger snapped.

"If Counsel will amend that question so that witness is asked whether he wasn't putting in a long distance telephone call at some other place at the time when the witness has previously stated he had returned to the house, I will permit the question," Judge Markham ruled. "But I do not think it is necessarily relevant, pertinent or proper cross-examination to include in that question the name of the person to whom the telephone call was being made."

"Very well," Mason said, "didn't you put in a telephone call at exactly eleven o'clock from the drug store, Mr. Duncan?"

"It was before eleven. Five minutes to eleven. We were back in the house by eleven o'clock."

Mason smiled and said, "That's all."

Burger and Blaine held a whispered conversation, then Burger announced, "No further questions, Your Honor. Our next witness is Edna Hammer. I think the Court will realize that this young woman, who is a niece of the defendant, is a hostile witness. It may be necessary for me to interrogate her by leading questions…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Judge Markham interrupted. "Miss Hammer, take the stand."

Edna Hammer came forward, was sworn, and seated herself in the witness stand. Her face was pale and drawn. "Your name is Edna Hammer, you're a niece of the defendant, and you resided with him at his house at 3824 Lakeview Terrace, Hollywood?"

"Yes, sir."

"And were so residing there on the night of the thirteenth and the morning of the fourteenth of this month?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you familiar with the appearance of a certain carving knife which was customarily kept in the top drawer of the sideboard in the defendant's residence?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you see that knife on the morning of the thirteenth?"

She lowered her eyes, bit her lip and said nothing.

"Answer the question," Judge Markham ordered.

"I saw a knife which resembled it."

"Where was that knife?"

"Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial," Mason said.

"We propose to show, Your Honor, that it was in the possession of the defendant," Burger stated.

"Upon that assumption, the objection is overruled."

"Answer the question," Burger said.

"A carving knife, similar in appearance to the one customarily kept in the sideboard drawer, was in my uncle's bedroom, under the pillow of his bed."

"That was on the morning of the thirteenth?"

"Yes."

"What did you do with the carving knife?"

"I replaced it in the sideboard drawer."

"Did you mention finding it to your uncle?"

"No."

"Did you take precautions of any sort to see that this carving knife did not come into the possession of your uncle after you had so replaced it in the sideboard drawer?"

"I locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth."

"And when did you next see the carving knife?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I saw a carving knife, but I am not certain that it was the same one."

"I call your attention to the knife introduced as People's Exhibit Number Two. Did you see that knife on the morning of the fourteenth?"

"Yes… I guess so."

"Where?"

"Under the pillow of the bed in Uncle's room."

"And it was in approximately the same condition that it now is? That is, with reference to the stains on the blade?"

"Yes."

"Now, then, when you locked that sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth, was the knife inside the drawer?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"Because I didn't open the drawer to look."

"Who was with you at that time?"

"Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial," Mason said.

"Overruled."

"Mr. Mason."

"You mean Perry Mason, the attorney, seated here in the courtroom?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is this knife, People's Exhibit Number Two, different in any way from the knife which you placed in the sideboard drawer on the morning of the thirteenth?"

"I don't think so. It is similar to the knife which I put in the drawer there at that time."

"When you made a statement to the officers on the morning of the fourteenth you stated it was the same knife, didn't you?"

Judge Markham glanced over at Perry Mason as though expecting to hear an objection, but Mason remained motionless and attentive.

"Yes, I guess so."

"Now you will only admit that it's similar to the knife you found under your uncle's pillow on the morning of the fourteenth and placed in the drawer. Can you explain the apparent discrepancy in these two answers?"

"Only that when I came to think the matter over, I realized that many knives might look alike."

"And so far as you know, this knife, People's Exhibit Number Two, is the same knife which you found under the defendant's pillow on the morning of the thirteenth and placed in the sideboard drawer, is that right, Miss Hammer?"

"It is similar in appearance to that knife," she said.

"Cross-examine," Hamilton Burger announced triumphantly.

Mason began his questions soothingly. "How did you happen to discover the carving knife under your uncle's pillow on the morning of the thirteenth, Miss Hammer?"

"I… I… was worried about him."

"In other words you had reason to believe that he might have been walking in his sleep the night before, is that right?"

"Yes."

"And your anxiety about his sleepwalking was due to the fact that it was approaching a period of full moon?"

"Yes," she said in a low voice.

"How did you know, Miss Hammer, that sleepwalkers are more apt to become active during the full of the moon?"

"I read it."

"In a book?"

"Yes."

"A medical book?"

"Yes."

"Where did you get that book?"

"I sent away for it."

"You'd studied that book prior to the time you locked the sideboard drawer?"

"Yes, sir."

"Over how long a period of time?"

"Perhaps six weeks or two months."

"Now, directing your attention to this knife, Defendant's Exhibit A, I will ask you if you have ever seen that knife before?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you put that knife in the sideboard drawer at a date subsequent to the murder, in accordance with instructions from me?"

Hamilton Burger jumped to his feet, started to object, then slowly sat back in his chair.

"Yes, sir."

"I told you, I believe," Mason said, smiling over at the district attorney, "that I desired to plant the knife in the sideboard drawer and have it discovered the next day by Sergeant Holcomb; that I wanted to confuse the issues and make it increasingly difficult for the district attorney to get witnesses to identify the murder knife as the one which had been in the sideboard drawer, didn't I?"

District Attorney Burger blinked his eyes as though doubting his senses. Judge Markham leaned forward, started to say something, paused and stared at Mason, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Blaine jumped to his feet. "Your Honor, I think Counsel should be warned that, if this question is answered in the affirmative, the district attorney's office cannot afford to ignore the cold record, but will take steps to see that such unprofessional conduct is…" The district attorney grabbed his assistant by the coat, pulled him back to his chair.

"Answer the question, Edna," Mason said, paying no attention to Blaine's comment.

"Yes, sir."

"And this knife which I gave you is the one which I have had marked for identification as Defendant's Exhibit A?"

"Yes, sir, I think so."

Edna Hammer's voice was low and embarrassed. Her eyes reflected the confusion of her mind.

"And you did lock this knife, Defendant's Exhibit A, in the drawer?"

"Yes."

"But it wasn't there when you opened the drawer the next morning?"

"No, sir."

Mason said kindly, almost conversationally, "So you've known you were walking in your sleep for about six weeks or two months, Edna?"

The counsel at the district attorney's table were deeply engaged in a whispered consultation. The question slipped by their ears unnoticed. Edna Hammer, her mind in a half daze by the brazen manner in which Mason had publicly proclaimed their conspiracy, was thrown off her guard.

"Yes, sir," she said, mechanically.

It was Judge Markham who grasped the significance of the question and answer. He leaned forward to stare at the witness and said, "What was that answer?"

"Yes, sir," she said, and then suddenly realizing what she had said, "Oh, I didn't mean that… I didn't…"

"What did you mean, Edna?" Mason asked.

"What's this? What's this?" Hamilton Burger shouted, getting to his feet. "I object. Not proper cross-examination."

"The question relating to her sleepwalking has already been asked and answered," Mason said. "I am now giving her an opportunity to explain what she meant by her answer.

"And I object."

"Very well, Your Honor, I'll withdraw the question. The first answer speaks for itself," Mason said. Burger, looking very much annoyed, slowly sat down. Mason asked, in a kindly tone, "Did you habitually use that receptacle under the coffee table as a place in which to conceal articles from time to time, Edna?"

"Yes, sir."

"So that when you locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth and went to sleep with the thought uppermost in your mind that your uncle might get the carving knife in his possession while walking in his sleep, you walked in your sleep, and, not trusting the locking of the sideboard drawer to safeguard the knife, took the knife from the drawer and placed it in that oblong receptacle under the coffee table at exactly quarter past twelve, didn't you?"