The Case of the Troubled Trustee (21 page)

"I would say about three minutes."

"So you arrived at the seventh tee at exactly four minutes after ten?"

"We could give or take a few seconds, but for practical purposes, right around four minutes after ten."

"So it takes you about three minutes to go from the seventh tee to the clubhouse?"

"Yes."

"Now, you have heard the detective, Tom Fulton, testify that you left the golf club at ten-twenty-two?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you, by any chance, look at the clock on your automobile when you left?"

"I was rather excited. I didn't look at the clock at that exact moment. No, I remember I did look at it when I stopped the car at the culvert."

"And what time was it then?"

Dutton smiled. "Frankly, I have forgotten, Mr. Burger. The time registered with me but it didn't seem to have any particular significance. I do remember, however, looking at the clock. I think it was right around ten-twenty-five or something like that. I am not sure."

"Why did you glance at the clock?"

"Just a mechanical reflex, I guess."

"I see," Hamilton Burger said. And then suddenly added, "Oh, by the way, had you made up your mind to go to Ensenada at that time?"

"I was thinking of it, yes."

"So," Burger said casually, "you probably were checking the time to figure about how long it would take you to make the trip."

"I could have been, yes."

"Well, that sounds very reasonable," Burger said.

Dutton nodded.

"Now, let's see," Burger went on, "you got to the seventh tee at four minutes past ten. You were expecting to meet Rodger Palmer there, and, of course, expected him to be alive?"

"Yes, sir."

"There was a glow in the sky, that is, you could see the reflection of the lights of the city?"

"Yes, sir, quite a glow."

"Enough light for you to walk by and find your way?"

"Yes, sir."

"Not bright light, but a diffused light such as one would naturally expect on a golf course from the lights of the city reflected by the atmospheric impurities?"

"Yes, sir."

"And if Rodger Palmer had been standing up to meet you when you reached the seventh tee, he would have stood silhouetted against the skyline?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you must have suspected something was wrong almost immediately on reaching the seventh tee and failing to see him?"

"I think I did. I think that's what started me looking around."

"Looking around?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean by looking around?"

"Well, taking a few steps; looking on the ground."

"Looking on the ground?" Hamilton Burger said, his voice suddenly changing. "So, you began looking for the man you were to meet on the ground?"

"Well, I was looking around. He wasn't standing up. He had to be someplace if he was there."

"I see," Hamilton Burger said, "so within a few seconds of the time you arrived at the seventh tee you began looking for him on the ground?"

"I didn't say within a few seconds."

"No, you didn't," Hamilton Burger said, "but it follows as a necessary inference. You expected him to meet you. You looked around; you didn't see him outlined against the lights of the horizon. So you started looking around. Now, it didn't take you over two or three seconds to ascertain that he wasn't standing up silhouetted against the horizon. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir."

"So then, right away, you began looking around- You'll pardon me, Mr. Dutton, I want to be fair with you. I want to see that the jury understands your story, that's all. It was within a few seconds, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it was."

"So, you were then looking on the ground at least by five minutes after ten?"

"I guess I must have been, yes."

"And as soon as you looked on the ground, you discovered the body?"

"Well, not right away."

"But within a matter of seconds, eight or ten seconds?"

"I don't know that it was eight or ten seconds."

"Well, let's time it," Hamilton Burger said. "Just get up from the witness stand, if you will, and start walking around in a circle. I'll consult my watch and let you know when ten seconds are up."

The witness got up from the stand and started walking.

He made a circle, then another circle.

"That's ten seconds," Hamilton Burger said. "Now then, considering your starting place as being at the seventh tee, would the body have been within that circle?"

"Well perhaps a little wider circle."

"Then, perhaps it was twenty seconds after you started looking around that you found him?"

"I would say so. Perhaps even as much as thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds would be the extreme limit?"

"I would say so, yes, sir."

"All right, then, within that circle that you made in thirty seconds, your foot struck against something?"

"Well, I saw something dark and prodded it with my foot."

"And found it was a body?"

"Yes, sir."

"And immediately dropped to your knees?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now then," Hamilton Burger said, "that was within thirty seconds. Let's say that you dropped to your knees- Oh, let's give you plenty of time, Mr. Dutton. Let's say that by six minutes past ten you had dropped to your knees by the side of the body."

"Yes, sir."

"That seems fair to you?"

"I think it is very fair."

"And you ascertained at once the man was dead?"

"Well, within a few seconds."

"Ten seconds again, Mr. Dutton?"

"I would say so, yes. Well within ten seconds."

"Now then," Hamilton Burger said, "you ascertained the man was dead and then what?"

"Well, I was just going to run and call the police when my foot struck against something heavy and I reached down and saw it was this gun."

"And then what did you do?"

"I recognized the gun as mine."

"You were sure it was yours?"

"I felt certain it was."

"So then what?"

"Then I suddenly realized I was in a peculiar position.

"One would certainly say so," Hamilton Burger said. "In fact, that's the understatement of the week. You werein a most peculiarposition."

"Yes, sir."

"So you wanted to stop and take a while to think it over?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, eventually you reached a decision and decided to leave the golf club without reporting the fact that you had found the body to the police?"

"Yes, sir."

"Once you reached that decision, you hurried from the seventh tee, out through the club house, crossed to where your car was parked, jumped in and drove away?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now then, we have that time fixed," Hamilton Burger said. "That was ten-twenty-two. Now, by ten-o-six you had found the body and found the gun; that left you with an interval of over fifteen minutes, Mr. Dutton."

"Well, I didn't think it was that long."

"The indisputable evidence shows that it was that long, Mr. Dutton. An interval of fifteen minutes, during which time you were sitting by the corpse, holding that gun."

"It couldn'thave been that long."

"What else were you doing?" Burger asked.

"I- Nothing else."

"Fifteen minutes," Hamilton Burger said. "A quarter of an hour. What were you trying to do, Mr. Dutton?"

"I was trying to clarify the situation."

"Were you, perhaps, concealing any evidence?"

"Certainly not. I wouldn't do that."

"But you knew the gun was evidence?"

"I assumed it was."

"And you concealed that."

"I took it with me."

"And concealed it in a culvert?"

"Yes, sir."

"So then you didconceal evidence?"

"Well, yes."

"Then there's no need in assuming a self-righteous attitude in front of this jury," Hamilton Burger said, "that you wouldn't conceal evidence. So, I'm going to ask you again, what you were doing during those fifteen long minutes, during that quarter of an hour that you sat there in the dark by the corpse?"

"I don't know. I was trying to adjust myself."

"Now, you could see the sky. That was rather well lighted?"

"Yes, the horizon was lighted."

"But the ground was dark?"

"Well, not too dark."

"But dark enough so that you didn't see the body immediately?"

"I saw something dark."

"But you have just told us that it took from twenty to thirty seconds; in your own words, you were walking around for perhaps thirty seconds."

"Well, it wasn't that long. It was- I'll go back to my original statement that it was eight or ten seconds."

"Then you want to change your testimony that it was not thirty seconds?"

"I think the thirty seconds was an estimate of time that you placed on it. 1 said it was longer than ten seconds; that it might have been twenty seconds and you said you would give me thirty seconds to be sure and be fair."

"Yes, yes," Hamilton Burger said, "then your own estimate was twenty seconds?"

"Yes, sir."

"But nowyou say you think it was less than ten seconds"

"Well, after all, I didn't carry a stopwatch."

"That's right," Hamilton Burger said, "you didn't carry a stopwatch but you did testify to this jury under oath that you thought it was longer than ten seconds; that it might have been twenty seconds."

"Well, yes."

"Now you insist that it was under ten seconds."

"I think it could have been."

"Which was right?" Hamilton Burger asked, his voice taking on an edge, "ten seconds or twenty seconds?"

"I would say nearer ten seconds."

"Now, you picked up this gun?"

"Yes."

"And thought it was yours?"

"Yes."

"What made you think so?"

"Well, I saw it was a Smith and Wesson revolver of exactly the same type I had purchased."

"You sawit was a Smith and Wesson revolver?"

"Yes, sir."

"How could you do that if it was so dark you couldn't see the corpse for a matter of ten or twenty seconds? How in the world could you tell the make of the gun?"

"I had a small pocket flashlight."

"You what?" Hamilton Burger exclaimed, as though the defendant had just admitted to murder.

"I had a small pocket flashlight."

"Well, why in the world didn't you tell us about that?"

"Nobody asked me."

"Oh, you had a pocket flashlight with you and you didn't tell us about it because no one asked you."

"That's right."

"Do you have any other incriminating admissions to make that you have hitherto withheld because nobody has asked you?"