The Case of the Singing Skirt

gun.'

'Yes, Your Honor.'

'It is now becoming apparent that we can't close this case today. I would suggest that the ballistics expert make such an examination before court convenes tomorrow morning.'

'Yes, Your Honor,' Hamilton Burger said.

'Now go ahead with your cross-examination, Mr. Mason.'

Mason said, 'There was an altercation with the defendant prior to her discharge?'

'I don't know what you mean, an altercation,' Anclitas said. 'She attacked me.'

'In what way?'

'Striking and clawing.'

'And you hit her?'

'I defended myself.'

'You hit her?'

'I tell you, I defended myself.'

'You hit her?'

'What was I supposed to do, stand there and let my face get clawed? I tried to keep her off.'

'You hit her?'

'All right, I hit her!' Anclitas shouted.

'Thank you,' Mason said. 'I believe you hit her in the eye.'

'I don't know where I hit her. I popped her one.'

'You saw her with a black eye?'

'I saw her with a black eye.'

'And you have been sued for seventy-five hundred dollars actual and punitive damages because of this assault you made on the defendant?'

'I object, Your Honor,' Hamilton Burger said. 'That's not proper cross-examination. It's incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.'

Judge Keyser, plainly interested, leaned forward to study George Anclitas. 'The objection is overruled,' he said. 'It goes to show the bias of the witness.'

'Answer the question,' Mason said.

'All right, so I'm getting sued. Any lawyer can file a suit. She hasn't collected anything and she isn't going to.'

'You propose to see to it that she doesn't collect?'

'That's exactly right. You just slapped a nuisance value suit on me, hoping I'd compromise. I've got news for you, Mr. Mason. You ain't going to get a dime.'

'And as a result you don't like me?' Mason asked.

'Since you asked me the question and since I'm under oath,' Anclitas said, 'I don't like any part of you. I don't like the ground you walk on.'

'Now then,' Mason said, 'you took one look at this gun and said that was the gun you had given Helman Ellis.'

'That's right.'

'You didn't look at the number?'

'I didn't need to. I know the gun.'

'What do you know about it?'

'Look,' Anclitas said, 'my partner bought four guns, Mr. Mason. He bought them all at once. He bought them from the Rowena Hunting and Fishing Store. He brought them to the place of business and gave them to me.'

'Do you know the numbers?'

'Why should I know the numbers?' Anclitas asked in disgust. 'I should go around carrying gun numbers in my head!'

'The guns were all alike?' Mason asked.

'All alike. It was a special order.'

'Your partner went in and picked them up?'

'I placed the order, and then after the manager of the store told me the guns were in, I sent Slim Marcus down to pick them up.'

'The guns were all identical in appearance?'

'That's right.'

'Then how can you tell that this was the gun you gave Helman Ellis? How do you distinguish it from any of the other guns if you didn't look at the number?'

'Because I know the gun.'

'How do you know it?' Mason asked. 'What is distinctive about it? What differentiates it from any of the other guns?'

'Well, for one thing, this particular gun has a little nick on the front sight.'

'Anything else?'

'I don't think so.'

'Where are the other three guns?'

'I have them.'

'Where?'

'At my place of business, naturally. I don't carry three guns with me, one in each hip pocket and one in the side coat pocket,' Anclitas said sarcastically.

'If the Court please,' Mason said, 'I see it is approaching the hour of the afternoon adjournment. I would like to have the witness instructed to return to court tomorrow morning and bring those guns with him.'

Hamilton Burger, his face flushed with indignation, was on his feet.

'Here we go again, Your Honor, a typical Perry Mason trick. It's a well-known fact that when Mason gets in a case he starts digging up guns out of anywhere and everywhere. He gets them in the case and juggles them all around and gets everybody confused. Those three guns that George Anclitas has have nothing more to do with this case than the stock of guns in the gun display counter in the Rowena Hunting and Fishing Store.'

'I'm inclined to agree with the district attorney,' Judge Keyser said. 'I fail to see where they have any bearing in this case.'

Mason said, 'The witness has identified the gun that he gave Helman Ellis by stating that it had a slight nick in the front sight. There were no other marks of identification.'

'Well, that one mark of identification is all he needs under the circumstances,' Hamilton Burger blazed.

Mason abruptly pushed the gun into the district attorney's hands. 'All right,' he said, 'if that's the way you feel about it, point out the nick in the front sight so the Court can see it.'

Hamilton Burger shouted, 'Point it out yourself! I'm not taking orders from you!'

'Then perhaps we'll let the witness point it out,' Mason said. 'I only suggested you do it because you were so positive that this mark of identification was sufficient. I will hand the gun to the witness and ask him to point out the identifying mark on the front sight.'

Mason turned to Anclitas. 'Perhaps, Mr. Anclitas, you'll be good enough to leave the witness stand, step up here and point out the notch or nick on the front sight to the Court and to the district attorney.'

'He can point it out to the Court,' Hamilton Burger said. 'He doesn't need to point it out to the district attorney. The district attorney knows what gun this is. The district attorney does want to state to the Court, however, that the greatest care should be taken to see that these tags marking the guns as Exhibits are not switched. At the moment, defense counsel has two guns in this case, and if he's given the faintest opportunity-'

'That will do,' Judge Keyser interrupted coldly. 'There is no occasion for such statements. The witness will step forward and point out the nick on the front sight of the gun to the Court.'

Anclitas came forward, said, 'It isn't so much of a nick, really, just a place where the metal was scraped. We had an argument about whether a manicurist's nail file was hard enough to cut steel, and I drew the edge of the file along here. I-'

Abruptly Anclitas stopped, looked at the gun, then turned the gun over, held it to the light and said, 'Well, I guess it wore off. It wasn't a deep cut in the metal, just a place where we'd sort of cut through the bluing on the steel.'

Judge Keyser leaned forward. 'But I don't see any place where the bluing has been cut through.'

'Neither do I,' Anclitas admitted.

'Yet,' Perry Mason said, 'this was the only mark of identification on which you said you relied in swearing under oath that this was the gun you had given Helman Ellis.'

'Well, it was found in his boat, wasn't it?'

'The question is,' Mason said, 'how you can be sure.'

Anclitas turned the gun over and over in his hand. 'Well,' he said, 'I'm certain, that's all. I just know this is the gun but… well, I don't seem to see the place where the nail file left a mark on the front sight.'

Mason, feeling his way cautiously, said, 'Now, let me see if I understand you, Mr. Anclitas. You bought four guns at one time?'

'That's right.'

'And one of those guns you gave to Helman Ellis?'

'I've already said so half a dozen times.'

'And there was a dispute as to whether an ordinary manicurist's nail file was hard enough to leave a mark on a gun barrel?'

'Yes, sir.'

'And was a bet made on that?'

'Yes, sir.'

'With whom?'

'With my partner, Slim Marcus.'

'How much was the bet?'

'Fifty dollars.'

'Do you remember how the subject came up?'

'Oh, Your Honor,' Hamilton Burger said, 'this is completely incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. It's not proper cross-examination. Counsel is quite obviously simply trying to prolong proceedings