The Wrong Gun

Timberlaine had gone white as a sheet. “Smile,” Steve said out of the corner of his mouth.

Timberlaine gawked at him. His lips trembled. His eyes blinked.

“No matter how bad it is, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Steve said. “Just grin and bear it.”

When the witness had been installed on the stand, Vaulding said, “State your name.”

“Frederick Henson.”

“Mr. Henson, I ask you to look around the courtroom and tell me if you see anyone you recognize.”

“Yes, sir. Him.”

“Let the record show that the witness is pointing at the defendant, Russ Timberlaine. That is correct, is it not, Mr. Henson? It is the defendant, Russ Timberlaine, whom you recognize?”

“Yes, sir. That’s him all right.”

“Where do you know him from?”

“He was in my shop.”

“He was a customer in you shop?”

“That’s right.”

“When was this?”

“On July 16th.”

“Are you sure of that date?”

“Yes, I am.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“When you asked me, I looked it up.”

“I see. And just what was it the defendant bought from you on that occasion?”

“A Colt.45 revolver.”

33

“Why the hell did you buy the gun?”

“Take it easy,” Timberlaine said.

“Easy, hell,” Steve said. “You lie to me, you hold out on me. I prepare my whole defense on the basis of the fact there’s no way in hell the cops can prove you bought that gun. And what happens? The whole thing blows up in my face because you did buy that gun.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh? You mean the witness is lying?”

“No. He’s not lying.”

“How can that be?”

“Well, I bought that gun, but it’s not the one I showed you.”

“What?”

“The gun I brought you in your office-the one I said I found substituted for the real gun-well, I didn’t buy it, and everything I told you was true. I found that gun just like I said.”

“And the one you bought?”

Timberlaine grimaced. “Like I said, I was afraid someone was trying to frame me with the gun. So I pulled a switch.”

Steve looked at him. “You pulled a switch?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“After.”

“After what?”

“After I gave you the gun. To test the bullets. When you gave it back to me I substituted it for my gun.”

“Wait a minute. By that you mean-?”

“The gun I bought. The one the witness just testified about.”

“You bought that gun and substituted it for the one you found?”

“That’s right.”

“You bought that gun before you came to my office?”

“That’s right. The day before.”

“You filed the serial number off it and carved the initial R in the handle?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did you use to file off the serial number?”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Oh. No, it wasn’t the file found in my room. There’s a grindstone in the tool shed. I used that.”

“The day before you came to my office?”

“That’s right.”

“But the gun you brought me in my office was-?”

“The other gun. The one I found.”

“You had me test the bullets and then you switched guns?”

“That’s right.”

“There’s no chance you switched the guns first?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“There’s no chance the gun you gave me and had me test bullets in was the gun you bought?”

“Not at all.”

“And the bullets I tested are in a safe-deposit box?”

“That’s right.”

“Where’s the gun?”

“In a safe-deposit box.”

“The same safe-deposit box?”

“No, a different one.”

“You rented a different box just for the gun?”

“Sure.”

“So the gun and the bullets are in separate boxes?”

“Hell, they’re in separate banks.”

Steve sighed. “Well, thank God for that.”

“Why’s that?”

“We may have to produce the gun. If so, we may not necessarily want to produce the bullets.”

“Why do we have to produce the gun?”

“Why do you think? Look, here’s the way it’s gonna go. Vaulding’s probably gonna serve a subpoena duces tecum on us, ordering us to produce the gun you bought. Of course, he won’t expect us to do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because he thinks he already has it. People’s Exhibit Four. The subpoena will be just to embarrass us. He orders us to produce the gun. We can’t do it. He smiles and points out to the jury that the gun you bought is identical to the gun that’s been introduced in court as the murder weapon. As far as the jury’s concerned, that will be enough to convince ’em the gun in court is the gun you bought.”

“It is the gun I bought.

“I know,” Steve said. “But only because you switched guns. The jury doesn’t know that. As far as they’re concerned, there’s only two guns in the case, the real gun and the fake gun, and they’re both here in court. They don’t know about your substituting a fake gun you bought for a fake gun you found. As far as they’re concerned, there’s only one fake gun. And it’s the murder weapon, and it’s here in court, and the witness on the stand just testified to the fact that you bought it.”