The Case Of The Howling Dog pm-4

by Erle Stanley Gardner

  Claude Drumm nodded.

  "Did you have occasion, on the evening of October 17th of this year," he asked, "to see a dead body in the house at 4889 Milpas Drive?"

  "I did."

  "Whose body was that?"

  "It was the body of Clinton Forbes."

  "He had rented that house under the name of Clinton Foley?"

  "He had."

  "And who resided there with him?"

  "Mrs. Paula Cartwright, who went under the name of Evelyn Foley and posed as his wife; Ah Wong, a Chinese cook, and myself."

  "There was also a police dog?"

  "There was."

  "What was the name of the dog?"

  "Prince."

  "How long had Mr. Forbes owned this police dog?"

  "Approximately four years."

  "You had become acquainted with the dog in Santa Barbara?"

  "I had."

  "And the dog accompanied you to this city?"

  "He did."

  "And you, in turn, accompanied Mr. Forbes and Mrs. Cartright?"

  "I did."

  "At the time you saw the dead body of Clinton Forbes, did you also see the police dog?"

  "I did."

  "Where was the police dog?"

  "In the same room."

  "What was his condition?"

  "He was dead."

  "Did you notice anything which would indicate to you the manner of death?"

  "Yes, the police dog had been shot, and Mr. Forbes had been shot. There was a .38 Colt automatic lying on the floor. There were also four empty cartridges on the floor of the room, where they had been ejected by the automatic mechanism of the weapon."

  "When did you last see Clinton Forbes alive?"

  "On the evening of October 17th."

  "At approximately what hour?"

  "At approximately the hour of six-fifteen o'clock in the evening."

  "Were you at the house after that hour?"

  "I was not. I left at that time, and Mr Clinton Forbes was alive and well then. The next time I saw him he was dead."

  "What did you notice about the condition of the body?" asked Drumm.

  "You mean about the shaving?"

  "Yes."

  "He had evidently been shaving. There had been lather on his face, and some of it still remained. He was in the library of his house, and there was a bedroom adjoining the library, and a bathroom adjoining the bedroom."

  "Where was the dog kept?"

  "The dog," said Thelma Benton, "had been kept chained in the bathroom since the time when a complaint was made by a neighbor."

  "I think," said Claude Drumm, "that you may cross-examine upon the matters thus far brought out in evidence."

  Perry Mason nodded his head languidly. The eyes of the jurors shifted to him.

  He spoke in a deeply resonant voice, but without emphasis, and in a low tone.

  "The complaint was made that the dog was howling?" he asked, almost conversationally.

  "Yes."

  "By the next door neighbor?"

  "Yes.

  "And that neighbor was Mr. Arthur Cartright, the husband of the woman who was posing as the wife of Clinton Forbes?"

  "Yes."

  "Was Mrs. Cartright in the house at the time of the murder?"

  "She was not."

  "Where was she, if you know?"

  "I don't know."

  "When did you last see her?"

  Claude Drumm was on his feet.

  "Your Honor," he said, "it is obvious that this will be a part of the case of the defendant. It is improper cross-examination at this time."

  "Overruled," said Judge Markham. "I will permit the question because you asked, on direct examination, about the various occupants of the house. I think the question is proper."

  "Answer the question," said Perry Mason.

  Thelma Benton raised her voice slightly and spoke rapidly.

  "Paula Cartright," she said, "left the house on the morning of the 17th of October. She left behind her a note stating that..."

  "We object," said Claude Drumm, "to the witness testifying as to the contents of the note. In the first place, it is not responsive to the question. In the second place, it is not the best evidence."

  "No," said Judge Markham, "it is not the best evidence.

  "Where then," asked Perry Mason, "is the note?"

  There was a moment of awkward silence. Thelma Benton looked toward the district attorney.

  "I have it," said Claude Drumm, "and intend to introduce it later on."

  "I think," said Judge Markham, "the cross-examination upon this point has proceeded far enough, and that the question as to the contents of the note will not be permitted."

  "Very well," said Perry Mason, "I think that is all at this time."

  "Call Sam Marson," said Claude Drumm.

  Sam Marson was sworn, took the witness stand, testified that his name was Sam Marson; that his age was thirty-two; that he was a taxicab driver, and had been such on the 17th of October of the present year.

  "Did you see the defendant on that date?" asked Claude Drumm.

  Marson leaned forward to stare at Bessie Forbes, who sat in a chair directly back of Perry Mason, flanked by a deputy sheriff.

  "Yes," he said, "I seen her."

  "When did you first see her?"

  "About ten minutes past seven."

  "Where?"

  "In the vicinity of Ninth and Masonic Streets."

  "What did she do?"

  "She signaled me, and I pulled in to the curb. She told me she wanted to go to 4889 Milpas Drive. I took her out there and then she told me to go and ring up Parkcrest 62945 and ask for Arthur, and tell him to go over to Clint's house right away, because Clint was having a showdown with Paula."

  "Very well, what did you do?" asked Claude Drumm.

  "I took her there and went and telephoned, like she said, and then I came back.

  "Then what happened?"

  "Then she came out and I took her back to a place right near the Breedmont Hotel, and she got out."

  "Did you see her again that night?"

  "Yes."

  "When?"

  "I don't know. Near midnight, I guess. She came up to the taxicab and said that she thought she'd left the handkerchief in the cab. I told her she had, and gave it to her."

  "She took it?"

  "Yes."

  "And that was the same person you had taken out to the residence at 4889 Milpas Drive?"

  "Yes, that was the one."

  "And you say that is the defendant in this case?"

  "Yes. That's her."

  Claude Drumm turned to Perry Mason.

  "You may cross-examine," he said.

  Perry Mason raised his voice slightly.

  "The defendant left a handkerchief in your taxicab?"

  "Yes."

  "What did you do with it?"

  "I showed it to you, and you told me to put it back."

  Claude Drumm chuckled.

  "Just a moment," said Perry Mason. "You don't need to bring me into this."

  "Then keep yourself out of it," said Claude Drumm.

  Judge Markham banged with his gavel.

  "Order!" he said. "Counselor, did you wish to ask to have that answer stricken out?"

  "Yes," said Perry Mason, "I move to strike it out on the ground that it is not responsive to the question."

  "The motion is denied," said Judge Markham sternly. "The court believes that it was responsive to the question."

  A broad smile suffused the face of the deputy district attorney.

  "Did the deputy district attorney tell you what you were to testify to in this case?" asked Perry Mason.

  "No, sir."

  "Didn't he tell you that if I gave you the slightest opportunity, you were to testify that you had given that handkerchief to me?"

  The witness squirmed uncomfortably.

  Claude Drumm got to his feet with a vehement objection. Judge Markham overruled the objection,
and Sam Marson said slowly, "Well, he told me that he couldn't ask me about what you had said to me, but that if I got a chance, it was all right to tell the jury."

  "And did he also," asked Perry Mason, "tell you that when he asked you if the defendant was the person who had engaged your taxicab on the night of October 17th, you were to lean forward and look at her, so that the jury could see you were studying her features?"

  "Yes, he told me to do that."

  "As a matter of fact, you'd seen the defendant on several occasions prior to the time you gave your testimony. She'd been pointed out to you by the officers, and you'd seen her in the jail. You'd known for some time she was the person who engaged your taxicab on that night, isn't that right?"

  "I guess so, yes."

  "So that there was no necessity whatever for you to lean forward and study the features of the defendant before you answered that question."

  "Well," said Marson uncomfortably, "that's what I was told to do."

  The smile had faded from Claude Drumm's face, and was replaced by a frown of irritation.

  Perry Mason slowly got to his feet, stood staring for a long moment at the witness.

  "Are you absolutely certain," he said, "that it was the defendant in this case who hired your taxicab?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And absolutely certain that it was the defendant who came to you later on the same evening and asked you about the handkerchief?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Isn't it a fact that you were not certain at the time, but that this feeling of certainty in your mind has been built up, following interviews with the authorities?"

  "No, I don't think so. I knew her."

  "You're certain that it was the defendant upon both occasions?"

  "Yes."

  "And you're certain that it was the defendant who called for the handkerchief, as you are that it was the defendant who hired you to take her out to Milpas Drive?"

  "Yes, it was the same person."

  Perry Mason turned abruptly and dramatically toward the back of the crowded courtroom. He flung out a hand in a swiftly dramatic gesture.

  "Mae Sibley," he said, "stand up." There was a slight commotion, and then Mae Sibley stood up.

  "Take a look at that person and tell me if you have ever seen her before," said Perry Mason.

  Claude Drumm jumped to his feet.

  "Your Honor," he said, "I object to this form of testing the recollection of the witness. It is not a proper test; nor is it proper cross-examination."

  "Do you intend to connect it up, Counselor?" asked Judge Markham of Perry Mason.

  "I will do better than that," said Perry Mason. "I will withdraw the question, as it was asked, and ask you, Samuel Marson, if it is not a fact that this woman who is now standing in the courtroom is not the woman who called for the handkerchief on the evening of October 17th of this year, and the woman to whom you gave the handkerchief which had been left in the taxicab?"

  "No, sir," said Samuel Marson, pointing toward the defendant, "that was the woman."

  "There's no chance you're mistaken?" asked Perry Mason.

  "No, sir."

  "And if you are mistaken as to the identity of the woman who called for the handkerchief, you might also be mistaken as to the identity of the woman who was taken by you to that house on Milpas Drive?"

  "I ain't mistaken about either of 'em, but if I was mistaken on one, I could be mistaken on the other," said Marson.

  Perry Mason smiled triumphantly.

  "That," he said, "is all."

  Claude Drumm was on his feet.

  "Your Honor," he said, "may I ask for a recess until tomorrow morning?"

  Judge Markham frowned and nodded his head slowly.

  "Yes," he said, "the Court will adjourn until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. During the recess, the jury are admonished not to talk about the case among themselves; nor to permit it to be discussed in their presence."

  Judge Markham banged his gavel, arose and stalked majestically toward his chambers in the rear of the courtroom. Perry Mason noticed Claude Drumm glance significantly at two deputies, and saw these deputies push their way through the crowd to the side of Mae Sibley. Perry Mason also pushed his way through the crowd, his shoulders squared, chin outthrust. He reached the young woman's side but a few moments after the deputies had closed in on her.

  "Judge Markham wants to see all three of you in his chambers," he said.

  The deputies looked surprised.

  "This way," said Perry Mason, and, turning, started pushing his way back toward the space within the bar.

  "Oh, Drumm," he called, raising his voice.

  Claude Drumm, who was about to leave the courtroom, paused.

  "Would you mind stepping into the chambers of Judge Markham with me?" asked Perry Mason.

  Drumm hesitated a moment, then nodded.

  Together, the two attorneys entered the chambers. Behind them came the two deputies and Mae Sibley.

  The Judge's chambers were lined with law books. A huge desk in the center of the room was littered with an orderly array of papers and law books that were held open. Judge Markham looked up.

  "Judge," said Perry Mason, "this young woman is a witness of mine. She is under subpoena for the defense. I noticed that at a signal from the deputy district attorney, two deputies have approached her. May I ask the Court to instruct the witness that she needs to talk to no one until she is called as a witness, and to instruct the deputies that they are not to annoy her?"

  Claude Drumm flushed, walked back and kicked the door shut.

  "Now, then," he said, "since you've brought this subject up, and since court isn't in session, we'll settle it right here and now."

  Perry Mason glared at him belligerently.

  "All right," he said, "go ahead and settle it."

  "What I intended to do," said Claude Drumm, "was to find out from this young woman if she had been paid to impersonate the defendant. I wanted to find out if an arrangement had been made with her to approach this taxicab driver and claim that she was the person who had hired the taxicab earlier in the day, and who had left a handkerchief in the cab."

  "All right," said Perry Mason, "suppose she said yes to all of that; then what did you intend to do?"

  "I intended to discover the identity of the person who had paid her to make such false representations and to get a warrant for his arrest," said Claude Drumm.

  "All right," said Perry Mason in an ominous drawl, "I'm the person. I did it. What are you going to do about it?"

  "Gentlemen," said Judge Markham, "it seems to me this discussion is getting somewhat beyond the subject."

  "Not a bit of it," said Mason. "I knew this was coming and I want to have it settled right here and now. There's no law against a woman impersonating another. It's no crime to claim to be the owner of lost property, unless the claim is made for the purpose of obtaining the possession of that lost property."

  "That was exactly the purpose of this deception," shouted Claude Drumm.

  Perry Mason smiled.

  "You'll remember, Drumm," he said, "that I rang up the authorities and turned the handkerchief over to them, just as soon as it had been given to me, and that Miss Sibley gave it to me just as soon as she received it from the taxi driver. What I was doing was testing the recollection of the taxi driver. I knew blamed well that by the time you got done coaching him, he'd be so positive of the identity of the defendant, that no amount of cross-examination would shake him. I cross-examined him first, and by an object lesson, rather than by questions, that's all. I was within my rights."

  Judge Markham looked at Perry Mason, and there was a twinkle in his eyes.

  "Well," he said, "the Court isn't called upon at this time to pass upon the ethics of the question, and it isn't called upon to pass upon the question of whether there was a larceny of a handkerchief. The Court is only called upon to pass upon your request, Counselor, that your witnesses be allowed to give their testimony in court, a
nd that the officers do not seek to intimidate them."