The Case of the Troubled Trustee

'That's all,' Mason said.

Bailey was again on his feet, 'I'm going to ask one more question on redirect. Isn't it a fact that the defendant was fully aware of your feeling that the trust fund would be exhausted?'

'Objected to,' Mason said, 'as calling for a conclusion of the witness.'

'All right, all right, if I have to do it the long way around, I'll do it the long way around,' Bailey said in exasperation. 'Isn't it a fact that the defendant let you know by his own words that he understood you felt the termination of the trust would leave you with no funds?'

'Objected to as calling for a conclusion of the witness and on the further ground that it is leading and suggestive.'

'It's redirect examination,' Bailey said.

'I don't care what it is,' Mason said. 'A man has no more right to lead his witness on redirect than he does on direct. Furthermore, this calls for a conclusion of the witness as to what the defendant said. Let's have a question calling for the defendant's exact words.'

Bailey waved his hands in a gesture of dismissal. 'I think the jury understands the situation. I'm not going to bicker with counsel. That's all, Miss Ellis.'

Mason smiled. 'That's all.'

'I'll call Mrs. Rosanna Hedley to the stand,' Bailey said.

Mrs. Hedley assumed her position on the witness stand with a very visible chip on her shoulder. She didn't intend to be confused by any attorney.

'Did you ever hear a conversation between Desere Ellis and the defendant in which she asked him about the condition of the trust funds?' Bailey asked.

'Yes, sir.'

'Do you remember when that was?'

'I remember exactly when it was. That was on the fourth day of July, on the evening of the fourth of July.'

'Who was present?'

'My son was present, that is, he had been present.'

'And by your son, you mean Fred Hedley?'

'That's right,' she said. 'Fred Hedley, the artist.'

Bailey smiled almost imperceptibly. 'Exactly,' he said. 'Was Fred there at the time of this conversation?'

'No, he had left the room.'

'Then who was present?'

'Just Miss Ellis, the defendant, and myself.'

'And what did Miss Ellis say?'

'She asked the defendant how the trust was coming what she could count on.'

'And what did the defendant say in response to the question?'

'He told her that he thought the trust funds would last Out the duration of the trust, letting her have the same allowance she'd been having.'

'Move to strike the answer,' Mason said, 'as not being responsive to the question and as being a conclusion of the witness. The witness should state the exact words used by the defendant as nearly as she can recollect.'

'The motion is granted. The answer will go out. The witness will answer the question as to exactly what the defendant said.'

'You mean I have to give his exact words?' Mrs Hedley asked.

'As nearly as you can,' Judge Alvarado explained, not unkindly. 'When you give your impression of his words, you are not giving the exact words but a conclusion you drew from the conversation. Can you remember exactly what he said?'

'Well, as nearly as I can remember, he said, with one of those oily smiles, 'Don't worry, Desere, there will be money enough in the trust fund to keep your allowance until the trust expires.'

'Cross-examine,' Bailey snapped.

Mason smiled. 'His smile was oily, Mrs. Hedley?'

'Oily,' she repeated.

'What do you mean by an oily smile?' Mason asked.

'You know what I mean, a smirk, a simper.'

'Greasy?' Mason asked.

'Oily!' she snapped.

'That gives a pretty good picture of your feeling for the defendant, does it not?' Mason asked.

'A feeling which events have amply justified,' she said acidly.

'Now then,' Mason said, 'he told her there would be enough money to last Out the trust?'

'Yes.'

'In other words,' Mason said, 'he was predicting the future. We might have had another crash in the security market.'

'Yes,' she said, 'the world might have come to an end.'

'And there was enough money in the trust to carry through Desere's allowance to the end of the trust, was there not?' Mason said.

'That much and nearly two hundred and fifty thousand more.'

'Then he didn't lie to her, did he?'

'He deceived her.'

'But he didn't lie to her.'

'Objected to as argumentative, as calling for a conclusion of the witness,' Bailey said. 'If the defense is going to be technical, I'll be technical.'

Mason smiled blandly and said, 'I'll withdraw the question. I think the jury has the picture in mind,' and sat down.

Bailey called a ballistics expert, who identified the Smith amp; Wesson revolver introduced in evidence as the murder weapon. He then called a firearms dealer who identified the gun as having been sold by him to the defendant, and introduced in evidence the certificate of purchase, bearing the signature of the defendant.

Bailey also introduced maps showing the scene of the murder; photographs of the terrain; of the body, and of the clothes worn by the decedent. He introduced the coat worn by Palmer when the body was discovered and called attention to the fact that the labels had been cut from the garment.

The coronor testified there were no keys, no money, no handkerchief, no knife, nothing in the pockets.

Bailey called Lt. Tragg to the stand. Tragg testified to having been advised of the murder, going to the golf club, inspecting the body and the premises; then looking in the culverts along the road leading from the golf club.

'Why did you do this?' Bailey asked.

'It's a routine police procedure.'

'What did you find, if anything?'

'I found this gun, tagged People's Exhibit A-G, in a culvert, one and three-tenths miles from the entrance to the golf club.'

'And what did you do with that gun?'

'I traced the registration on it.'

'How long did that take you?'

'Only a few minutes after it was found. We ran down the serial number.'

'What else did you do, if anything?'

'When we connected the serial number with the defendant, we got the license number of his automobile and put out an all-points bulletin.'

'And did that all-points bulletin include certain cities in Mexico?'

'We have an arrangement on important homicide cases by which the Mexican police in Ensenada, Tijuana and Mexicali co-operate with us.'

'And what did you find?'

'We found the defendant registered in Ensenada-'