The Case of the Lazy Lover (24 page)

"Well, it was out at his house. That is, out at the part of the house he calls his office – the place he has set aside for his office work."

"That was Monday evening, the night of the murder?" Mason asked.

"Yes, sir."

"What did you talk about?"

"Objected to, if the Court please, as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial."

"Sustained."

"Was anyone else there with you at that time?"

"No, sir."

"Now when you drove away from that house did you take Mr. Allred with you?"

"Yes, sir. I did."

"In the automobile with you?"

"Yes, sir."

"You took him up to the Snug-Rest Auto Court, didn't you?"

"Objected to as leading and suggestive."

"Sustained."

"Where did you take him?"

"To a car rental place on Seventh Street."

"Then what did you do?"

"I stopped the car and let him out"

"Did Mr. Allred tell you why he wanted you to take him there?"

"He said he wanted to rent a car."

"Did he say where he wanted to go in that car?"

"No, sir."

Paul Drake, pushing his way through the spectators, opened the gate in the mahogany railing which separated the bar from the spectators, tiptoed to Mason's side and whispered, "I've just found out, Perry, that the D. A.'s office knows all about how Allred got to the Snug-Rest. He rented a car and driver to take him up there. He got there between nine-thirty and ten-thirty, the driver isn't certain of the time. Of course, that doesn't help you any because, while it corroborates Mrs. Allred's story, it also ties right in with Fleetwood's story."

"Thanks," Mason said in a whisper.

The lawyer turned to Jerome. "Mr. Jerome, you knew where Mr. Allred was going, didn't you?"

"No, sir."

"But you surmised it?"

"Objected to as argumentative, as an attempt to cross-examine his own witness," Danvers said.

"Of course," Mason pointed out to the Court, "this is a hostile witness and…"

"The Court understands," Judge Colton interrupted. "If you want to assure the Court that this is your witness and you are calling him to prove some specific point which you can state to the Court, the situation will then be different. As matters now stand, this is merely a fishing expedition with one of the prosecution's witnesses, and the Court will hold you to strict rules of procedure on direct examination. I take it, Mr. Mason, that you are not prepared to make any statement to the Court and Counsel of what you expect to prove by this witness?"

"No, Your Honor."

"I thought not."

"But," Mason said, turning again to the witness, "you did follow Mr. Allred, didn't you?"

"Objected to as leading and suggestive."

"Sustained."

"Were you at any time on Monday night in the vicinity of the Snug-Rest Auto Court?"

"Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. No proper foundation laid."

"Sustained."

"When was the last time you saw Bees Allred alive?"

"Objected to as already asked and answered."

"Sustained."

"When was the last time you talked with Robert Fleetwood before Allred's death?"

"I can't remember."

"Did you talk with Fleetwood at any time on Monday?"

"I can't remember."

"Did you receive any message on Monday which had been left for you by Fleetwood?"

"Objected to as assuming a fact not in evidence, and attempting to cross-examine his own witness."

Judge Cotton said, "Mr. Mason, before I rule on that objection, I want to reiterate the position of the Court, which is that of being opposed to fishing expeditions by Counsel. Now, if you have reason to believe…"

"I do, Your Honor. The witness, Fleetwood, has stated that he did leave a message for this witness."

"Very well, the objection is overruled. Answer the question."

Jerome said, "I received a message which I was told had been left for me by Fleetwood. It said not to make any settlement with Allred until I had talked with Fleetwood."

"And when you talked with Fleetwood, what did he tell you?"

"Objected to as hearsay, incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial."

"Sustained."

Judge Cotton said, "I wish to call to the attention of Counsel that my position on all of these questions will be the same. If Counsel can state to the Court that he is prepared to prove some specific fact by this witness, there will be a great deal more leniency in connection with the examination of this witness.

"However," Judge Cotton went on, "it seems that we have reached the noon hour, and the Court will adjourn until two o'clock this afternoon. The defendant, in the meantime, is remanded to the custody of the sheriff. That's all, Mr. Jerome. You will leave the witness stand and return at two o'clock this afternoon for further examination. Court's adjourned."

Mrs. Allred leaned over and touched Mason's arm. "I want to talk with you," she said tensely.

Mason said to the deputy sheriff, "My client wants to confer with me. May I have a few minutes?"

"Okay," the deputy said. "Not too long."

Mason nodded, took Mrs. Allred's arm and escorted her over to a corner of the courtroom. "What is it?" he asked.

She said, "It's the truth, Mr. Mason."

"What Fleetwood has said."

"You mean you were in the turtleback of that automobile?"

"Yes."

Mason said grimly, "This is a hell of a time to say so."

"I can't help it, Mr. Mason. I had Pat to think of."

"What about Pat? What does she have to do with it?"

"Nothing, Mr. Mason. Nothing at all. Now don't misunderstand me. Please don't misunderstand me on that. That would be the last straw."

"I was merely taking what you said at its face value."

"No, no. When I said I had to protect Pat, I meant that I felt it would be bad for her if I should admit I'd driven that automobile over the grade. I – well, that was what was in my mind all along – to try and avoid putting Pat in an embarrassing position."

Mason said, "Well, suppose you try telling me the truth for a change. Just what did happen?"

"It was almost the way Bob Fleetwood said. He did drive the automobile off the road and stop, and I got out and ran down to the road. He called to me and told me that my husband was unconscious. I stopped then, and I saw him standing in front of the headlights. I saw him throw a gun just as far as he could throw it out into the darkness. And then I saw him turn and walk away from the automobile."

"I think it was because he threw away that gun that I was convinced. I knew he never in the world would have done that if my husband hadn't been unable to hurt him. And, the way he did it, made me think that – well, you know, there was a certain gesture of finality about it. So I fumed around and tiptoed back to the car and peeked inside to see just what the situation was.

"Bertrand was slumped over in a corner of the car, utterly motionless. You couldn't hear a sound."

"Fleetwood said he was breathing very heavily," Mason said.

"Fleetwood is lying about that. My husband was dead."

"You're certain?"

"I should be certain. I stood there for a moment by the door of the car. Then I put my foot on the running board, raised myself up and said, 'Bertrand.' He made no answer. I leaned over and felt of his wrist. it had that peculiar clammy feeling that tells its own story. But I wanted to make sure. I felt of his pulse. He was dead."

"Then why didn't you go back and call the police?"

She said, "I didn't realize the situation in which I'd placed myself until after I'd entered the automobile. I realized then that the ground was so soft that every single track showed.

"Bob Fleetwood is right about one thing. After I got in the luggage compartment, I lay there for a while, very cramped in that small space. Then I remembered we always kept an electric lantern in there for use in case of an emergency in changing tires. I found the electric lantern and switched it on. By examining the catch, I felt sure I could pry the catch back and get the lid of the luggage compartment open if I had a lever of some sort. Then I thought of the jack handle. I found that and tried it. It was pretty hard to manipulate things while the car was moving over the road, particularly that dirt road. It was a little rough.

"However, I finally got the catch back and got the lid so I could raise it. I was just in the act of raising the lid when the car turned off the road and stopped. I pushed the cover of the luggage compartment up far enough to get out, and jumped to the ground. I heard the lid bang down behind me, and I started running.

"I don't think I'd gone over thirty or forty feet when I heard Bob Fleetwood call out that everything was all right and not to worry; that Bertrand was unconscious.

"I kept right on running, but I looked back over my shoulder and saw Bob Fleetwood throw the gun away. Then he walked away from the car. And, as I told you, I returned to the car and found my husband was dead.

"It wasn't until that time I realized that from the nature of the ground in which the car was sitting my tracks showed. They showed just exactly what I had done, and I knew that if I left tracks going back to the automobile, then leaving the automobile and going back to the road again, it would look as though I had returned to kill my husband with the jack handle.

"So I thought I'd drive the car to some place where the ground was firmer, where I could get out without leaving tracks. Then I got the idea, why not drive the car off the grade and make it look as though my husband had lost control of the car?

"Well, I did that, and that was when I got the idea of pretending that Bob had stolen my car. I thought that would pass the buck to him, and then if anything turned up, in order to save his own skin, he'd have to say that he killed Bertrand in self-defense, I… well, I guess I didn't do a very good job of thinking, but I'd been through a lot that night, Mr. Mason."

Mason said, "Is this the truth?"

"It's the truth."

"Look at me."

She met his eyes.

"If I'd known this a long while ago," Mason said, "I could probably have tied the killing to Bob Fleetwood. As it is now, you've lied and Fleetwood has lied. A judge or jury will have to toss up to decide which is telling the truth.

"The fact that Fleetwood threw the gun away makes me feel your husband was dead when Fleetwood left the car, but because you lied at the start, you've given Fleetwood all the trumps to play against us."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mason."

"Look here, is this the truth?"

"Yes."

Mason said, "If you are changing your story simply because you think Fleetwood's testimony has given you a good chance to crawl out from under, you're a fool."

"No, I'm not just changing my story. I'm – I have Pat to think of… I…"

She started to sob.

Mason said, "Well, I'm not going to let you change your story. I'm not going to let you tell any story for a while. You aren't to talk with anyone – anyone. Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"And don't ever forget, a good lie can sometimes have all the grace of artistry, but only the truth can have the ring of sincerity."

And Mason raised his hand, beckoned to the deputy.

Chapter 19

Mason, Della Street and Paul Drake sat at a luncheon table in a restaurant at the country town where John Colton was presiding over the preliminary investigation.

"Well," Mason said, "at this late date, my client tells me another story, Paul."

"The same thing that Fleetwood says?"

"Just about. She says her husband was dead when she entered the car after Fleetwood had left it. If she's telling the truth on that, I don't know how I'm ever going to get a jury to believe her."

"I'd say that Allred must have been dead when Fleetwood threw the gun away," Drake said. "Otherwise, Fleetwood would hardly have thrown the gun. That's the act of a man who is trying to get rid of a murder weapon. He'd struck Allred on the head hard enough to kill him, and he knew it. The weapon he used had been the barrel of the gun, and when he threw the gun away it was a very natural, logical, and typical effort on the part of a murderer to get rid of the murder weapon."

"I know," Mason said, "but I don't know whether a jury will know. In all probability, the other way is better. If it's the truth."

"What other way?" Drake asked.

"Make the jury realize the character of Bertrand Allred. Let the jury feel that Allred was still alive when his wife got in the car; that she started to drive him home; that Allred regained consciousness and started struggling with her, trying to overpower her; that she hit him then and killed him in self-defense."

"You could make quite a case that way," Drake said.

"It's a case that would appeal to the sympathies of the jurors all right, particularly in view of Fleetwood's testimony. But what bothers me is that I can't be certain it's the truth. Mrs. Allred may be trying to climb aboard and ride along on Fleetwood's story."

"Well, what do you care? Fleetwood has to give her a free ride – now."

"But I'm afraid to have her tie to something unless it's the truth. Believe me, Paul, when you're in a jam the truth is the only thing solid enough and substantial enough to rely on."

"Of course, your client hasn't been on the stand yet," Drake pointed out. "The only one she's told her story to is you."

Mason said, "I'd like to reopen the case. I'd like to cross-examine Fleetwood a little more in detail about his reason for throwing the gun away, and just what he was trying to accomplish. And yet, there was something about the whole story…" Mason pushed the lunch dishes to one side, took the diagram Humphreys had made from his pocket and spread it on the table. He carefully studied the tracks.

"It's mathematical," Drake said. "That part of Fleetwood's story has to be true. It's corroborated by his tracks."

Mason, studying the diagram Humphreys had given him, suddenly began to chuckle.

"What is it?" Drake asked.

"Darned if I know, Paul," the lawyer said, "but I have an idea germinating in my mind. There's a very strong possibility that Mrs. Allred is still lying to me."

"You mean now?"

"Right now. That her present story is false."

"But why would she do that?"

"Because Fleetwood has told such a damn good lie that she thinks there's no use trying to fight against it, and because by corroborating Fleetwood's story she stands a better chance of getting the sympathy of a jury than by telling the truth, which no one will believe."

"What is the truth?" Della Street asked.

'That," Mason said, "is something I propose to find out after lunch."