by Carol Baxter
‘Do you think more or less of a man who has violated his word of honour to you?’ Carson asked.
‘Less.’
It was time to introduce the subject of Haden’s venereal disease. Carson did so indirectly, by asking for the names of the doctors she herself had seen. He then enquired bluntly, ‘Do you have the malady?’
‘No,’ was her mortified response.
The point was made. Her honour, of sorts, was maintained.
Released from the stand soon afterwards, she stumbled from the courtroom sobbing hysterically, ‘They’re crucifying me, crucifying me!’
She had exposed herself in the most humiliating way to save Bill. She wouldn’t know until the end of the trial whether it was worth it.
Carson recalled Police Officer Hudson and asked about the scrunched-up telegram from Clarke’s wife found on the floor of Mrs Miller’s house. Hudson claimed that he had passed it to the investigators on the morning of Clarke’s death.
It wasn’t hard to see where Carson was heading. Either Hudson was lying or one of the state’s investigators had crumpled the telegram and tossed it aside. Whatever the situation, it was evidence of incompetence on the part of a state employee, an incompetence that was especially alarming when a man’s life was at stake.
What was also clear was that Carson was whittling away at a case that had initially seemed cut-and-dried. So when Carson recalled a second state witness, Attorney Huston, everyone listened closely.
Carson drew Huston’s attention to the time when he and the two aviators and Officer Hudson went to the sleeping porch. He then asked, ‘When Officer Hudson took the pistol from the bed, after covering it with his handkerchief, what did he do with it?’
‘Slipped it into his hip pocket.’
‘He did not place it in a box?’
‘He did not.’
‘Was there blood on the gun?’
‘It was running with blood.’
As Carson heard the spectators’ murmurs of comprehension, he was reassured that they had put the pieces together. Police Officer Hudson had picked up the blood-soaked gun, wrapped it in his handkerchief, and stuffed it into his pocket—not into the gun box as he had claimed. When he later handed it to the ballistics expert, it was wiped clean of blood and fingerprints. Lancaster hadn’t wiped off the fingerprints to hide his culpability, as the prosecution had intimated. It was the policeman himself who had destroyed this vital piece of evidence.
Hawthorne attempted to shake Huston’s testimony, knowing that it had seriously undermined the state’s case.
Huston didn’t budge.
Chapter Forty-Three
Perception is everything.
Carson knew that in cases dominated by circumstantial evidence, a defendant’s appearance and reputation could sway the jury. Jurors, being human, tend to favour those they like. Bill was an especially likeable fellow so Carson called him as his first witness for the defence.
He spent the next few hours introducing Bill to the court, tracing his air force career during the Great War and presenting a character reference from a commanding officer. He then tracked Bill’s rise to international fame in the years that followed. Recognising that he would also have to confront issues that might argue Bill’s lack of integrity, he mentioned his English wife and children in his questions about the Australian flight. Bill said that he and Chubbie had split their earnings three ways, sending one third to his wife—about $4000 or $5000—and dividing the remainder between themselves. He also told the court that he had been only twenty years of age when he had married Kiki, a widow with private means.
When Carson asked Bill to identify Kiki’s religion, his response—‘Roman Catholic’—spoke volumes to an audience aware of the religion’s inflexible attitudes to divorce.
When the judge adjourned court for the day, the jurors had been shown an honourable man, a war hero no less, a person unlikely to commit such a heinous and cowardly deed as the cold-blooded murder of a defenceless man.
Haden Clarke wasn’t mentioned until the following morning when Carson questioned Bill about their relationship. He asked him to read entries from his diary showing that Haden was a drinker and also elicited from him that Haden had a temper. He then raised the question of Haden’s integrity by asking Bill if he had told Haden the truth about his relationship with Chubbie.
‘I did on the last day before I left. I had a confessional talk with him on the sun porch and told him things I haven’t told him before.’
‘What else was said?’
‘I told him of Mrs Keith Miller’s weaknesses as far as liquor was concerned and asked him to keep on the water wagon and assist her while I was away.’
‘Were any promises made?’
‘He promised to take care of her for me. He said, “Bill, I will take care of her in such a way as to make you remember my friendship forever.”’
As the hours passed, Carson interrupted Bill’s testimony to call five character witnesses. Keith Bon, who had been Chubbie’s host in Singapore in 1928, said that he had travelled from France to testify for his friend. He was joined by Captain Frank Upton, holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Rex Gilmartin, commander of the Aviation Post of the American Legion, Lieutenant A. Irving ‘Bing’ Boyer, a former lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, and Clyde Pangborn, around-the-world flier. All attested to Bill’s high reputation both in the American aviation industry and internationally. They also indicated that he was a calm-tempered, generous and honourable man.
Carson turned his attention again to Bill’s character when he questioned him at length about Latin American Airways. He showed the court that Bill had abandoned the operation soon after receiving confirmation of his partners’ lawless intentions. Carson then raised the subject of Russell’s revelations about Chubbie’s new relationship and asked, ‘What did you say to Russell?’
‘I wrote down what I said to him. It was: “I don’t believe the statements. I know Chubbie and I trust her.”’
Bill described his return trip to Nogales and his brief conversation with Tancrel during which he officially cut his ties with the airline. He told the court that he hadn’t in fact said anything to Tancrel about Chubbie or Haden or their relationship at that time.
Carson asked about the letters he received from them in St Louis and how he had reacted. Bill said that he had shown them to Gentry and had then drunk a bottle of Scotch. ‘I was very blue and behaved like a schoolboy.’ By Saturday he was feeling a bit better. He discussed the situation with Gentry and his father and they all decided that he should fly to Miami to talk to Chubbie.
‘You said you took steps the following Monday to purchase the pistol which was to replace the one loaned you by Huston?’
‘Yes. It was a dishonest act, I admit, to pawn the pistol and then not redeem it. Huston had said that if the western venture wasn’t a go he would try and help me when I came back. I wanted to replace the pistol and keep in his good graces.’ He explained that Gentry’s father had lent him $100 to assist him on the Miami trip, so he had used some of the money to purchase a replacement gun and box of cartridges. He set off from St Louis on Tuesday, 19 April, and spent the night in Nashville, Tennessee, where he loaded the pistol.
‘Why did you load it in the hotel room?’
‘I know of no reason except that the pistol Huston loaned me was loaded.’ He would later add that he frequently carried firearms on his flights and that they were usually loaded. Unspoken was the obvious: that an unloaded gun was of little use in the event of trouble.
‘Captain Lancaster, did you kill Haden Clarke?’ thundered Carson.
The dramatic question broke through the early morning rustles as the spectators—hundreds of women again—settled to hear the day’s testimonies. Everyone froze, their eyes on the defendant, as they waited for his answer.
In a clear, steady voice Bill said, ‘I did not.’ And so began his third day on the witness stand.
Carson had decided to begin t
he session by disposing of the claims made by one of the jailbird witnesses. Bill had sent him a note during Tancrel’s testimony which provided proof that Tancrel was lying. ‘Captain Lancaster,’ Carson asked, ‘did you ever tell Tancrel, when referring to Haden Clarke, that you would get rid of that “son of a bitch”?’
‘Mr Carson, I have never ever referred to anyone as a “son of a bitch”. In England, that word doesn’t mean anything. The testimony of both Tancrel and Russell was a tissue of lies.’
‘Well, what expression do you use as your swearword?’
‘Do you want me to say it?’ Bill enquired hesitantly.
‘Yes.’
‘Bastard.’
Carson resumed his questions about the evening of 20 April, asking if there had been any discussion about Haden’s malady. Bill said that Haden had mentioned the problem after they retired to the sleeping porch, saying that he was suffering pain and that Bill wasn’t to be alarmed and to think he was visiting Chubbie if he heard him walking around. He was often up five or six times a night.
Bill then hesitated and said to Carson, ‘I didn’t tell all of this conversation to Mr Hawthorne or Mr Jones when I was first arrested. I wanted to protect Haden’s name and to keep his mother from knowing about the malady. I didn’t think all this would come out. I do not want to tell of that conversation now and I will not unless it is absolutely necessary.’
‘Captain Lancaster, the responsibility of this line of questioning rests with me,’ Carson responded firmly and urged Bill to continue.
With obvious reluctance, Bill said, ‘Haden told me that he had had the disease for some time and was getting relapses. He was almost in tears when he told me.’
‘While you and Haden were talking that night, did Haden tell you of his intimate relations with Mrs Keith Miller?’
‘Yes. The last talk I had with Haden, he was straight with me and told me many things.’
‘Did he say anything about the permanence of his love for Mrs Keith Miller?’
‘Yes. He was very frank. He said, “I have had many affairs in my life, but this time I am absolutely in love. I shall do everything in my power to make her happy. Now I have something to work for.”’ Bill added that Haden’s evident sincerity had impressed him.
‘Did he discuss his age?’
‘Yes. He told me that he wasn’t thirty-one as he had previously said. He said he was twenty-six or twenty-seven. He asked me if I thought it would make any difference with Chubbie. I told him, “You must tell her.”’
‘Was there any discussion about his other false claims?’
‘Only about the book. He said he didn’t know whether he would be able to put the book over. I remember the phrase he used. He said he didn’t know if he could make the grade. He said that he had slightly exaggerated his qualifications before and wanted to put it straight.’
‘Did he talk about his finances?’
Bill said that Haden had talked at length about his financial difficulties, remarking that everyone had turned to writing because of the depression, making it even harder to make money.
Hawthorne asked about the outcome of the conversation.
‘I told him that he must talk to Chubbie the next morning, that he must tell her what he had told me tonight, and that if she loved him she would overlook his mis-statement.’ He added that Haden had been so frank and honest, and had appeared so very sorry, that he had started talking about his trip so as to ease the tension and Haden’s distress. He mentioned that Haden had laughed when he’d said, ‘Can you imagine a captain in the United States Navy bringing a paper-hanger’s card out of his pocket and saying that he had laid thousands of miles of wallpaper?’
Carson continued his interrogation, eliciting from Bill that he’d had a bad trip from St Louis and was dog-tired and in desperate need of sleep. As he lay in bed yawning, he said to Haden that they should talk it over with Chubbie in the morning. ‘I can remember his last words,’ he told the court. ‘He said, “Bill, you’re the whitest man I ever met.”’
‘What happened next?’
‘I was awakened by a noise, a bang. When I first came to, I think I had the impression that it was a window bang. I called out, “What’s that, Haden?”’
‘What did you then hear?’
‘A sort of a gurgling was coming from Haden’s bed. I switched on the light at the foot of my bed. Haden was lying on his bed. As soon as I looked at him I saw something bad had happened. There was blood running over his face.’ Bill placed his hand under his right jaw to show the location.
‘Did you see the pistol?’
‘Not right away. I jumped from my bed and ran to his. I shook him by the shoulder. I said, “What have you done?” Haden didn’t reply. Then I saw the pistol.’
Carson asked if the pistol was in Haden’s hand.
‘No. It was on the bed by his right hip.’ Tears came to Bill’s eyes and his voice shook as he described the position of Haden’s arm and hand.
‘When and where did you last see the pistol before you saw it by Haden’s hip?’
‘On the table between our beds. I had unpacked it from the cardboard box.’ Bill explained that, after he mentioned he had an appointment with Huston the following morning, Haden had asked what he had done about Huston’s gun. Bill told the court, ‘I got the gun out of the box and showed it to him. He took it in his hand and I cautioned him that it was loaded. I can’t remember if he put it in the box or if I did.’
‘What did you do when you first saw the blood?’
‘First, I caught him by the shoulder and I believe I said, “For Christ’s sake, what have you done?” I looked in the hall through the door. There was no light there. I went back and asked him to speak to me. He was just moaning and moving his head from side to side. He was moving his legs a little. I looked around and I could see no notes nor anything to indicate what had happened.’
‘When did you make the notes?’
‘After trying to get him to speak to me the second time, I sat down on a chair at the typewriter. I don’t know how long it took me, probably five minutes. I then took a pencil and the notes and went over to the bed and asked him to speak to me again. I asked him to sign the notes. He was just moaning and didn’t speak. I shouted out, “Chubbie” and got no reply. Then I did something I shouldn’t have done. I scribbled Haden on one of them and H on the other and put them on the table.’
‘What did you do next?’
‘I rushed through the hall and banged on Chubbie’s door. There was a slight delay and the door opened. The room was in darkness. She asked me what was the matter and I told her that Haden had shot himself. I think she said, “Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no gun.” I told her, “Yes there is. I brought one back for Huston.” She ran into the sun parlour and took Haden’s head on her lap. I went downstairs to telephone the doctor.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘I returned upstairs and found Chubbie holding Haden’s head up. She asked me if I had phoned for the doctor. I told her I had and suggested that she call Haden’s doctor, which she went downstairs to do. She came back upstairs and had a wash cloth which she wet and wiped the blood off his head.’
‘Who arrived first?’
‘The ambulance or Huston arrived about the same time. I met somebody at the door and took them upstairs.’
‘Was there any discussion with the ambulance men?’
‘Yes, we discussed if Haden’s feet should be raised as they were striking the rails of the bed.’
‘Did you do it?’
‘I got the pillow from my bed and started to do it, but one man said, “Don’t do that. The blood will run to his head.”’
‘What did you do with the pillow then?’
‘I put it back on my bed.’
There were a few ‘hmms’ from spectators as they realised they had just heard the explanation for the unruffled pillow.
Bill also confirmed that he had asked if Haden was likely to speak again,
because he wanted to know why he had shot himself. And he too had seen Officer Hudson put a handkerchief over the bloodied gun and put it into his hip pocket.
There was one final issue Carson thought the jury should hear about: Bill’s treatment by the state attorney’s office.
Bill told the court that he had chosen not to have Attorney Huston represent him during the days of questioning after Haden’s death because he had elicited from Hawthorne that it was the state attorney’s duty to protect the innocent as well as convict the guilty. He also said that the state attorney and his men had been fair to him and that he had told them the truth, except about the notes. ‘They didn’t ask me if I wrote them, and if they had, I probably would have said that I did not.’ He added that he had tried to be fair to them as well and had told them about the belongings left in his plane.
‘Were any exhibits now in this trial taken from the plane after you told Mr Hawthorne?’
‘Yes, my diary.’
Chapter Forty-Four
Listening to the accused testify is always one of the most gripping moments in a criminal trial, first as he (or she) dutifully follows the defence’s lead and, later, as he ducks and weaves in his attempts to escape the prosecutor’s deadly blows. Spectators—again mostly women—pushed and shoved to get into the courtroom on the afternoon Hawthorne began Bill’s cross-examination.
‘Captain, the first question you answered this morning was if you killed Haden Clarke and I believe you answered in the negative?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then who did kill Haden Clarke?’
‘Haden Clarke committed suicide.’
Hawthorne picked up the ‘suicide notes’ and asked if he had written them. Bill admitted that he had.
‘Positive?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you as positive as you were positive on April 22, when I questioned you, that you had not?’
‘You never asked me if they were my work but, if you had, I would have said they were not.’ He added that no one else in the state attorney’s office had asked him either.
