“You all went up together and unlocked the door?”
“That’s right.”
“And what did you do then?”
“I took the cash box out of the petty cash drawer.”
“In Miss Dearborn’s desk?”
“That’s right.”
“What did you do then?”
“I examined the contents.”
“And what did you find?”
“There was a hundred dollars missing.”
“A hundred dollars?”
“That’s right. Five of the twenty dollar bills were gone.”
“I see. And what did you do then?”
“We waited for Miss Dearborn to come in to work.”
“What time did she come in?”
“Nine o’clock.”
“What happened then?”
“Mr. Macklin identified himself, showed Miss Dearborn his I.D., and asked her to empty her purse.”
“What did Miss Dearborn do?”
“She seemed somewhat flustered. She-”
“One moment,” Judge Dalrymple said. He looked down at the defense table where Steve Winslow sat, looking unconcerned and somewhat bored, almost as if he weren’t paying attention. Judge Dalrymple cleared his throat. “So far there has been no objection from the defense. Still, if the witness would avoid giving his opinion as to what the defendant thought or felt.”
“Yes. Sorry, Your Honor,” Frank Fletcher said. “Ah…Could you repeat the question?”
“What did the defendant do when Mr. Macklin asked her to empty her purse? Never mind what you thought or felt-just confine yourself to what she said and did.”
“Right. Well, as I recall, she asked me what was going on. Am I allowed to say that? And I told her there’d been a robbery and Mr. Macklin was investigating it, and I asked her if she’d cooperate with him in clearing the matter up.”
“What happened then?”
“She withdrew her objection and allowed him to look in her purse.”
“Did he find anything significant?”
“Yes, he did.”
“What was that?”
“She had some twenty dollar bills in her change purse. Mr. Macklin took them and compared them to the list of serial numbers he had written down.”
“With what result?”
“Two of the bills were on the list.”
“The serial numbers matched?”
“Yes, they did.”
“What did you do then?”
“I called the police. They came and arrested Miss Dearborn.”
A.D.A. Pearson smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Fletcher. That’s all.”
Judge Dalrymple looked over at the defense table where Amy Dearborn’s long haired lawyer sat looking bored as ever. “Does the defense wish to cross-examine?”
Steve Winslow sighed. “I have one or two questions, Your Honor.” He got to his feet, stretched, crossed in to the witness stand. He frowned, rubbed his head. “Mr. Fletcher, correct me if I’m wrong. This happened on May 3rd?”
“Yes, it did.”
“That was the day you called the police and they arrested Miss Dearborn?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you also mention May 3rd as the day Miss Dearborn left your employ?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That was her last day with your firm?”
“Yes, it was.”
“I believe you said you fired her, is that right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“
Frank Fletcher was a thin-faced man with a rather arrogant quality when he smiled. He did so now. “You
“I certainly do.”
“I fired her for stealing.”
“I see.” Steve Winslow nodded gravely. He turned, walked over to the jury box. Turned back to the witness. “Mr. Fletcher, you weren’t here for jury selection. But we had quite a discussion of the concept of innocent until proven guilty. Are you familiar with that concept?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then how can you have fired the defendant for theft when she has not been found guilty of theft?”
Frank Fletcher drew himself up. “I consider that a mere formality.”
“Formality?” Steve said. “You consider our judicial system a mere formality?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Pearson said. “Incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. Let counsel stick to the facts.”
“Sustained,” Judge Dalrymple snapped. “Mr. Winslow, try to move it along.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Steve said. As if taking his cue from the judge’s admonition, he picked up the pace. “The fact is, you believe the defendant is guilty of theft?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You base that belief on the fact she had two of the twenty dollar bills in her possession?”
“Yes. And the fact she was alone in the office Friday night and had the opportunity to take them.”
“You consider that conclusive?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Beyond any reasonable doubt?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, let me see if I can change your mind,” Steve said. “You stated that you withdrew the twenty dollar bills from the bank and placed them in the cash drawer?”
“That’s right.”
“Before you did so, you gave the bills to your detective, Mr. Macklin. He wrote down the serial numbers. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Did he put the bills in the cash box.”
“No. I did.”
“After he wrote down the serial numbers, he returned the bills to you and you put them in the cash drawer?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And what was the amount you put in the cash drawer?”
“Five hundred dollars.”
“In twenty dollar bills?”
“That’s right.”
“At five per hundred, that would be twenty-five twenty dollar bills. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
