If I Die Before I Wake

by Sherwood King

  I jumped up, but Bannister caught her.

  ‘May it please the Court!’ he said. ‘The witness is in no condition to continue. I ask for an immediate adjournment.’

  ‘Request granted,’ said Judge Ditchburne. ‘The Court stands adjourned until ten o’clock tomorrow morning.’

  I watched them carry Elsa into the judge’s chamber. She really had fainted.

  A newspaper man behind me was talking about her.

  ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘Imagine being chauffeur for a dame like that. And he wanted to go back to sea!’

  ‘Well, he might have been dumb, but she wasn’t, that’s a cinch.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Why, what else do you think she got him to stay for? Maybe that’s why she fainted, she thought Bannister was on to it.’

  ‘Well, I’ll tell you one thing – if they burn him, I’m going after that job myself. Did you happen to notice her eyes?’

  ‘Her eyes!’

  They started to laugh, but stopped when I turned around.

  ‘You’ve got her all wrong,’ I said. I wanted to bust them, but the guard yanked me away.

  ‘O.K.,’ one said. ‘You ought to know, if anybody does!’

  ‘You bet I ought,’ I said.

  IV

  All during the next day, and the next, Galloway trotted out one witness after another. Each made it look worse for me than the last.

  Steve Crunch, the truck driver, made it seem that I’d been drunk the night of the murder or I would never have run into his truck – not with the red light showing.

  The man who’d come up in a bathrobe on the beach the next moment after I’d fired the shot made a lot about that. He told about taking the gun away from me and repeated the remark I had made about shooting it off for a whim.

  Grisby’s doctor, who’d made the blood test, said it checked with the blood on the money I’d hidden, also the blood I’d tried to ‘wash out’ in the car. And I had been careful not to do too good a job, so that the stains could be analyzed!

  Then Galloway brought out the bank guard. He said that he had noticed me particularly because I had seemed nervous.

  He proved to everyone’s satisfaction that I had stood and watched Grisby draw the five thousand out of the bank; Bannister couldn’t shake his identification.

  A lot of others followed – people I’d never seen before, but who had seen me, and remembered. All came up and took a crack at me.

  When they’d all finished, Galloway gave a little nod to the jurors, like he was making them a present of the case, all tied up in silk ribbons. Then he looked at Judge Ditchburne.

  ‘The People rest,’ he said.

  Just like that. Not a word about the gun in the car being different from the one used to kill Grisby. Not a word about how Grisby had happened to be down on Wall Street, dead and dry, when I’d left him on the beach or thrown him into the Sound (depending on which confession of mine they wanted to take seriously, if any). Not a word about how the speedboat could have got back to the pier.

  ‘How come?’ I asked Bannister.

  ‘He’ll bring it up in his summary. He wants to see first what I’m going to do.’

  ‘Well,’ I said, ‘what are you going to do?’

  ‘There isn’t much I can do, except try to raise a reasonable doubt about your guilt. We went over that.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. But how are you going to do that? That’s what I’m wondering about.’

  ‘Watch!’ he said.

  Galloway had reached his table and was waiting for Bannister to begin, smiling at the jury to show how pleased he was with himself. The smile seemed to say, ‘Don’t let him kid you. He’s going to do his best, he’s paid to, but he hasn’t a chance if you don’t let him kid you. The kid’s guilty as hell and everyone knows it, even him.’

  Bannister got up and faced the judge.

  ‘Your Honor,’ he said, ‘I move that the case against the defendant be dismissed for lack of evidence.’

  There was a gasp that started with Galloway and ran all around the courtroom to the judge.

  ‘Denied,’ he said shortly.

  Bannister looked surprised. It must have been an act. Even I wasn’t surprised. There was enough evidence to send me to the chair a dozen times over, and Bannister knew it.

  The funny thing was – it you could call it funny – that Grisby had known all the tricks and had used them to build up the evidence against me. And now here was Bannister, his partner, asking the judge to throw the case out of court because of lack of evidence – fighting his head partner and not knowing it. Or did he know it?

  Anyway, he hadn’t got very far.

  ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘May it please the Court – ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I shall attempt to prove that the case against my client is purely circumstantial, that there is certainly a reasonable doubt of his guilt, at least on the charge of wilful intent to murder, and that the only real charge against him can be one of accidental, or excusable, homicide. I call first upon the District Attorney for the fatal bullet.’

  This was the bullet used to kill Grisby. Bannister took it and offered it in evidence as Defendant’s Exhibit A. When it was tagged, he held it up before the jury. Then he put the ballistics expert on the stand and got him to admit that the fatal bullet had not been fired from the gun known to have been in my possession.

  ‘Now,’ he said, ‘it is not the purpose of the defense to attempt to show that Laurence Planter, the defendant, did not shoot Lee Grisby. That is admitted. The purpose is to show that it was an accident and no more, in which case you, the jury, must return a verdict of ‘Not Guilty.’ You have just learned that the State does not even have the evidence of the gun that was used. How then can it prove that he shot Lee Grisby, let alone that he shot him purposely, with deliberate intent to rob, as the State contends? The truth is that it cannot prove it. It is simply accepting the statement of the defendant himself, made in his voluntary confession, that he did shoot him.’

  Of course, when it came his turn, Galloway tore that all to pieces. He turned the missing gun business around to convince the jury that I had shot Grisby purposely, after deliberate advance planning, otherwise why the second gun? And where was this second gun? Could I – would I – produce it? Of course not. I had thrown it away, as any murderer would have, in either the swamp or the Sound. The accident idea, a trick to fool the jury, had come later, after I’d been caught. No, it was a clear case of premeditated murder, and the second gun only went to prove it. But this came later.

  Bannister went on:

  ‘And how does the State account for the fact that the body was found down on Wall Street? The State’s own witnesses, by their sworn testimony, have proved that it would have been absolutely impossible for the defendant to have taken the body there in the speedboat and then have returned the same way. Yet they do not say a word about that, and why? Because they know that there wasn’t time for the round trip – and the boat was tied up at the pier on my beach.’

  He brought out witnesses to tell how long it took to make the trip – at least a half hour each way on a dark night, and only an expert could do it. Galloway just turned that around, too, and made things worse for me than ever. He used McCracken’s idea, that I had left Grisby for dead on the beach, and that he had then taken himself down to Wall Street in the speedboat. (How it got back didn’t matter, he said, because the police didn’t even look to see if it was at the pier until after two the next morning, plenty of time for me to have brought it back after Mrs Bannister had seen me at the garage at eleven, provided she was telling the truth.) And what he planted in the minds of the jury was the idea of my leaving a man to bleed to death on the beach without any effort to help him.

  ‘Doesn’t that show intent? Doesn’t it show a vicious cruelty of mind, the sort of cold-blooded nature necessary to have planned this thing, planned it in all i
ts grisly details, for the sake of a paltry five thousand dollars?’

  This, like the gun business, came in Galloway’s summary. Right now Bannister was closing his case. He was giving the jury a long-winded talk that sounded good but that said nothing, except that they should put themselves in my place. Small chance!

  I turned around to look at Elsa. Everything else faded away, and I knew that it did for her too. And all at once tears came to her eyes.

  I turned around just as Bannister said suddenly:

  ‘The defense rests!’

  For a second there wasn’t a sound. Then Bannister came clumping back to the table and the whole courtroom began to buzz.

  Galloway jumped up. He faced Judge Ditchburne.

  ‘Your Honor,’ he said, ‘ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You have heard the evidence. It is conclusive. Nothing the defense counsel has said has changed the true course of that testimony one iota. Let’s take his points one by one.’

  This is where he began to tear down everything that Bannister had said, turning it all against me. It didn’t take long. And then he went to the table where the exhibits were and snatched up the cap. He brought it over to the railing that ran in front of the jury box. He leaned on the railing and talked to each of the jurors in turn.

  ‘The defense will have you believe that the shooting of Lee Grisby was an accident. Their whole defense is based on that plea. They say that we have only circumstantial evidence to support our contention that, far from being an accident, the shooting was murder committed in cold blood. Of course we have only circumstantial evidence with which to prove this. Ninety-nine murder cases out of a hundred are based on the same sort of evidence. How could it be otherwise? People don’t go around committing murder under the eyes of the police. Yet should they be allowed to go free, to murder again, because no one saw the actual firing of the shot? The defense knows better – and even if it doesn’t, the jury knows better.’

  He stopped and held up the cap so that everyone could see.

  ‘But even disregarding the sworn testimony of witnesses,’ he went on, ‘here is a silent witness – yet one that tells all you need to know. Ladies and gentlemen, here is positive proof that the shooting of Lee Grisby was murder wilfully committed.’

  What was all this? Even the judge looked interested.

  ‘Because,’ Galloway shouted, ‘if the shooting had been an accident, Grisby would not have been carrying this cap. He would have had no reason to carry it. His keen legal mind would have been thinking of sparing this young man, not of incriminating him. Yet see him stagger from the scene, knowing himself mortally wounded. See him, even so, clutching in his last death throes to the one piece of evidence that he knew was certain to tell its story to the world – the grim, silent proof that he was murdered, the grim, silent proof of who that murderer was, the cringing, white-faced killer that sits before you now, Laurence Planter!’

  I jumped as though I’d been shot out of the electric chair itself.

  ‘Wait!’ I yelled. ‘I—’

  The judge banged his gavel. At the same time Bannister grabbed me by the arm and tried to pull me back down into the chair.

  ‘Sit down, you fool,’ he said. ‘Sit down! At least you’ve a chance now. Don’t spoil it.’

  I shook him off.

  Judge Ditchburne glared at me.

  ‘The defendant will please—’

  ‘Listen!’ I said above the noise.

  The guard yanked me down into the seat. He held one arm, Bannister the other.

  The judge kept rapping for order.

  ‘Am I to understand that the defendant wishes to make a statement?’

  I was trying to get up.

  ‘Yes!’ I yelled.

  ‘I think if defense counsel had deemed it in your best interests to testify in your own behalf, he would have placed you on the stand at the proper time. As it is—’

  ‘I don’t care what he thought,’ I said. ‘All I want is the chance—’

  ‘Very well, then, if counselor wishes, I shall grant a brief recess for discussion. I should only like to say to the defendant that Mr Bannister has conducted the case very ably up to this point, under the circumstances, and should advise against jeopardizing the case by too hasty action. If you wish, you can discuss the matter in my chambers.’

  ‘Thank you, Your Honor,’ said Bannister. He looked at me and scowled.

  V

  We filed into the judge’s chambers and stood looking at each other. Bannister was so mad his nose was twitching.

  The judge went over to a red leather couch and settled himself for a nap.

  ‘Take your time,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.’

  He went to sleep.

  ‘Now what?’ asked Bannister. ‘I told you why I didn’t want to put you on the stand. It will just be playing into Galloway’s hands!’

  ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘You’ve been swell. No one could have done better. But if the jury goes out now, the way things are, they’ll send me to the chair sure. And what else can I do but tell them what really happened?’

  ‘Well,’ he said, ‘what really did happen?’

  ‘I told you – Grisby wanted to get away from his wife. He took this way of doing it.’

  ‘They’ll never believe it. You follow my advice and stick to your story that it was an accident.’

  ‘Supposing I don’t?’

  ‘Then I’m through with the case – right now.’

  Elsa came in. She looked worried – plenty.

  ‘Are you sure you ought to take the stand?’ she asked me.

  ‘It’s my only chance.’

  ‘Well, he’s not going to do it so long as I’m defense counsel,’ said Bannister. ‘Not with any story about Grisby’s wife. Galloway knows he didn’t have a wife. He’d make chumps of us.’

  ‘But it’s his life,’ said Elsa. ‘If he feels he must talk, it’s his right. Only—’

  ‘It’s his right,’ said Bannister, ‘but if he does, I’m through. And it’s the end of him – they’ll convict him sure.’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Not when I get through talking.’

  Bannister started for the door. Then he stopped and turned around.

  ‘By what wild reasoning do you arrive at such a conclusion?’ he asked. He shook his head sadly. ‘No, I’ll have the Court appoint a lawyer for you. If he wants you to talk – fine. But I’m through.’

  ‘Marco—’ said Elsa. ‘Please—’

  ‘He’ll stay,’ I said. ‘He’ll stay because I’m going to tell the jury just what happened – just who killed Grisby, and why. I was stalling when I said I’d tell them about Grisby’s wife. What I’m going to tell them now will be the truth.’

  ‘Now you’re talking like a child. Come, Elsa.’

  ‘All right,’ I said. ‘But if you leave it’ll look as though you didn’t want me to tell them – and for a good reason.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Yes – that you killed Grisby!’

  Bannister’s mouth dropped open. Elsa stared first at him, then at me. She wasn’t surprised, just frightened.

  ‘You mean,’ he said, ‘that you’d actually get up there and tell such a preposterous – why, we talked that over before; I showed you then how absurd it was. You’d be laughed right out of court.’

  ‘That would be fine,’ I said. ‘Anyway, I’m going to see.’

  Bannister thought for a moment, pulling his nose. Then he shrugged.

  ‘All right,’ he said. ‘But I warned you.’

  The judge snored and woke up.

  ‘Let’s go,’ I said.

  Going out behind Bannister, Elsa squeezed my hand.

  ‘I know it will work out all right,’ she said. ‘I know it will!’

  I was sworn in and took the stand.

  ‘Defendant may proceed,’ said Judge D
itchburne.

  I told them everything, just as I’d spilled my guts to Bannister in the letter I’d written, and which I’d later torn up. I said that he must have seen that letter, and that he must have laid for Grisby—

  When I’d got that far, the courtroom began to buzz. The judge looked over at me and banged his gavel as though it was me he was hitting.

  ‘Am I to understand,’ he asked angrily, ‘that you are confessing to having been in a murder plot against your own lawyer?’

  ‘Yes. Except that I didn’t want to do it. I had to. Grisby said he’d kill me if I didn’t!’

  ‘Am I to understand further,’ he said, ‘that you are accusing him now of having killed Lee Grisby himself?’

  I got half way out of the chair.

  ‘Yes!’ I said. ‘BANNISTER KILLED GRISBY! That’s what I wanted to tell you.’

  The courtroom was in an uproar now. Everyone looked at Bannister. He just sat there, cool as could be.

  The judge banged for silence. I went on:

  ‘He said that the jury wouldn’t believe it if I told them that I hadn’t shot Grisby. He said our only chance was to pretend that I had shot him, and that it was an accident. Well, I didn’t shoot him – not with the gun in the car or with any other gun. I didn’t shoot him at all. He left of his own accord. He took that boat down to Wall Street himself – to kill Bannister. No one would think he had done it if he was supposed to be dead himself – that was the idea. But he’d no sooner got down to Wall Street than Bannister killed him.’

  I was excited, but so was everyone else, even the judge. He looked over at Bannister almost apologetically.

  Bannister stood up. He wasn’t a bit flustered. He smiled at Judge Ditchburne and then looked over at Galloway.

  ‘May it please the Court—’

  Galloway was on his feet, too.

  ‘But this it outrageous,’ he said. ‘It’s obviously a last-minute grasping at straws. I ask Your Honor to disregard—’