The Wrong Gun

“No.”

“Or suggest to you Crumbly might be bidding for Timberlaine?”

“No. Of course not.”

“What about the decedent, Jack Potter? You already testified to having several conversations with him that weekend. Were any of those conversations about guns?”

“Of course they were. They all were. He was the gun expert. I was naturally asking him the value of guns.”

“But not who was bidding on them?”

Burdett stuck his jaw out. It had been several days since his first appearance in court, and he had obviously made every effort to control himself and prepare a cool and rational answer to that particular question. But his indignation was still quite apparent. “Certainly not,” he said evenly. “That would be unethical.”

“And in order to bid on guns, you wouldn’t do anything unethical.”

Burdett exhaled. “Come on, give me a break. In the first place, I wouldn’t ask. And if I did, Potter wouldn’t tell me. He’s a professional. In fact, if someone was making improper inquiries, the first thing Jack Potter would do would be report it to Russ.”

“Report to Mr. Timberlaine? Why would he do that?”

“Don’t be silly. He was Russ’s expert. Russ hired him.”

“Russ Timberlaine hired Jack Potter?”

“Of course he did.”

“You mean Jack Potter was being paid for being there that weekend?”

“Of course he was. He was working. He was there as the resident expert.”

“So Russ Timberlaine had every reason to expect and demand loyalty, not only as a friend but also as an employer?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained.”

Vaulding, having made his point, smiled at the jury and said, “No further questions.”

Steve Winslow stood up. “I have a few questions, Your Honor. Mr. Burdett, you say Jack Potter didn’t tell you Timberlaine intended to bid on the gun?”

“Of course not.”

“And no one else told you?”

“No, they did not.”

“And yet you said you knew. Not you thought, not you suspected, not you guessed, you knew.”

“That’s right. I knew.”

“How? How did you know?”

“It was obvious.”

“That’s what you said before. It may be obvious to you, but it’s not obvious to me, and it’s probably not obvious to the jurors. Could you please explain what you mean? Why was it obvious? What convinced you that Henry Crumbly was actually bidding on that gun for Russ Timberlaine?”

“O.K.,” Burdett said. “To begin with, I expected Russ to bid on the gun. Even without anybody telling me anything. Just from reading the program description. It was a period piece, it was a collector’s item, it had a history. It was just the type of gun he would naturally want. When Russ didn’t bid on it, I was surprised. Then when Crumbly started bidding, I knew what had happened.”

“How did you know? How could you tell Crumbly wasn’t bidding for himself?”

“It was obvious. First off, it wasn’t Hank’s type of gun. It was a period piece with a history, and Hank and Judy-that’s Hank’s wife, Mrs. Crumbly-they have a more contemporary collection.”

“Second, the price was way out of line. Hank went thirty thousand for the gun. No offense, but the Crumblys don’t have that kind of money. That’s a good twenty-five thousand more than I’ve ever seen the man bid for a gun. It did not take a genius to know the man was bidding for someone else. Since I expected Russ to bid on the gun, and since Hank is friendly with Russ, when I say I knew, trust me, I knew.”

“I see. So when you say you knew, you don’t mean that anyone told you anything? What you mean is you deduced this yourself from your knowledge of the parties involved?”

“Exactly.”

“So basically, you knew Crumbly was bidding for Timberlaine because Timberlaine really wanted the gun?”

“That’s right.”

“And yet you bid against him. Made a point of outbidding him and getting the gun away from him.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Why? Do you hate him that much?”

“Hate him?” Burdett looked shocked. “Don’t be silly. Russ Timberlaine is a gentleman and a collector. I admire and respect him.”

“Then why would you go out of your way to thwart and frustrate him in this matter?”

“Are you kidding me? Competition is what it’s all about. What do you think an auction is? Why do you think people bid? All right, for some people it’s a hobby. For some people it’s a job. But to me it’s sport. It’s a game. And Russ Timberlaine is one of the star players.” Burdett smiled. “It’s a pleasure to play in the same ballpark with him.”

39

Vaulding led off the afternoon session with Martin Kessington, who even without his white suit and clipboard, still managed to give the impression of being in charge.

“Mr. Kessington,” Vaulding began, “are you familiar with the defendant, Russ Timberlaine?”

“Yes, I am.”

“How do you know him?”

“He is my employer.”

“In what capacity are you employed?”

“I am in charge of his household. I suppose in England you would call me his butler. But I’m actually more than that. In the household, I am his second in command.”

“Is that a considerable job?”

Kessington smiled. “Somewhat. Mr. Timberlaine’s mansion has forty-eight rooms. He has a staff of fourteen. He likes to entertain, has frequent guests, and often holds auctions or other functions that attract other gun collectors. Most weekends the mansion is full.”

“I see. And this particular weekend-how many guests were there?”

“Around fifty.”

“They were there for what purpose?”

“They were collectors and dealers invited specifically for the gun auction.”

“Which was on Saturday afternoon?”

“That’s right.”

“Directing your attention to Saturday evening following the auction-did anything out of the ordinary happen then?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Could you tell us what that was?”

“Yes, sir. It was around five-thirty. I was out on the patio with the guests seeing that cocktails were served prior to dinner. I was approached by one of the guests at that time.”

“And who might that be?”

“Miss Tracy Garvin.”

“Miss Tracy Garvin? You say she was a guest there that weekend?”