The amount of people who had come to the courthouse on that day surprised Fred. He had no idea that there were so many people involved in his case. He saw all of his coworkers and wondered what they were thinking. 'They can't think that I murdered Fred ' . He was hoping for the best but he was now on trail for his life.
Perry Mason listened carefully to Hamilton Burger as he spoke to the jury about the murder. He spoke of how this murder was just a murder of pure greed. Fred had won a lottery that was large and the victim felt that he was entitled to a part of the winnings. Earlier that day Mr. Kenney had gone in on a pool and they were supposed to be sharing the winnings. But when Fred Kenney got the winning ticket he selfishly wanted the money for himself. This is to be decided by another commission. I stand here to prove that Fred went over to Giles' house to convince Giles to stop the lawsuit that he and his coworkers had placed against him. When Giles had refused he murdered him."
You could have heard a pin drop as the people in the courtroom listened to the district attorney. But now it was time for Perry Mason to address the court and this was one of the ways that he shined. As he walked over to the group that would possibly decide the fate of his client, Perry looked them each in the eye. He wanted each juror to feel that they could hold the key to a young man's future. He wanted each and everyone of the jurors to listen and realize that Fred had no reason to want Giles Allen dead.
As Perry addressed the jury the room was once more silent . Perry said "I am here to prove to you that Fred Kenney had nothing to do with the murder of Giles Allen. We all know that it is said that money is the root of all evil and the winning of the lottery ticket was the beginning of the downfall of Fred's life. Up until the time that my client hit the lottery he had a good job a wife and a home. He had a mortgage yes, but he was doing all right financially. Anyone could use the money, and when he won the lottery he purchased the ticket with his own money. Giles and his group of coworkers had indeed been to any attorney about the lottery and this will be settled by the lottery shortly. Fred would stand to gain little by the death of Giles. Giles has a wife and there are eleven other people who would still be sharing the winnings. There would be no monetary gain. We have proof that it was Giles that called Fred, not the other way around. My client is innocent." With that Perry Mason went back to his desk and took a seat.
Once the opening statements had completed Hamilton Burger called to the stand Lr. Tragg . Lt. Tragg was a competent police officer who had worked the homicide unit for many years. He was well known by both Hamilton Burger and Perry Mason. He went over the complete scene and what he had observed on the day of the murder. Perry listened intently to what he had to say and when it was his turn to question him he stood up and said "No questions."
The next witness to come to the witness stand for the prosecution was the doctor. The doctor went into great detail about the position of the shot and the damage that had occurred to Giles' body as the bullet went through the internal organs. "I can say positively that Giles died almost instantly." he told the court.
It was now Perry Mason's turn to question the doctor . Everything that Perry Mason did was deliberate in the courtroom. He looked down at some papers and put his head on his chin. He then got up and walked up to the witness stand with a puzzled look. "I would like to know that if you think that Giles died there on the living room floor and that he body was not moved, how did his body end up face down. If he was facing his murderer wouldn't he have fallen back on his back if he died instantly.?" Perry asked the doctor.
The doctor thought for a moment and said "I do not have an exact answer for you sir. There is the possibility that because the murderer was so close to the victim that as the man was struck by the bullet he was twisted around. But, there was no sign that Giles Allen moved on his own power once he was shot." the doctor told the jury and Perry Mason definitely.
The next person to take the witness stand was going to be Fred's boss Mark Williams. Perry wanted to bide a little time so that he could wait to hear from Paul Drake. Perry stood up and asked "Your honor I would like to make what might become a lengthy cross examination of this man and I see that it is already eleven thirty. I am asking for a lunch break now."
The judge looked up at the time and agreed. With the bang of his gavel court was adjourned until two o'clock.
Paul Drake had been very busy all morning looking into the different people that thought they might have won the lottery. Each and everyone of them were understandably upset about what had happened. But Mark Wiliams had taken it to another height all together. As Paul dug and dug he found that Williams had a second mortgage out on his home and was in arrears for back taxes. He needed the money badly. As Paul looked at his watch he saw that it was now twelve thirty and made a call to Perry telling about what he had learned about Fred's boss Mark Williams.