The Case of the Neglectful Fireman
Chapter 12
12.1
Perry Mason had his hand cupped around Della Street's elbow as they entered the courtroom. He led her past newspaper reporters shouting questions at the attorney. Mason smiled and repeated over and over, "No comment." When he reached the defense table, Seth Palmer stood up and shook hands with his lawyer.
Della took her place next to Seth Palmer. Mason opened his briefcase, removed a few papers and handed them to Della who arranged them on the table.
Seth leaned over to Mason and whispered to the attorney. "Mr. Mason, I don't mind admitting I am scared. You can get me out of this mess, can't you?"
"Relax, Seth," Mason soothed. "We are just beginning. We have a long way to go."
Della placed her hand over Palmer's. "Mr. Mason will do all that he can to help you. Remember, this is only a hearing but is still important that you maintain your composure. Don't react to anything that is said." Della patted his hand and smiled. Seth smiled back at her and settled back in his chair.
Perry winked at Della. She always had a soothing effect on his clients. It was the reason he always left calming the clients to her. He watched as Hamilton Burger entered the courtroom with one of his deputies. Lt. Tragg was not far behind. He sat next to Burger on the aisle.
The judge's chambers door opened and Judge Joseph Coleson entered the courtroom as the bailiff called out, "All rise! The Honorable Judge Joseph Coleson presiding."
Della and Perry stood up. Perry grabbed Seth's arm and pulled him to his feet. The judge took his place behind the bench and sat down. "In the matter of the People versus Seth David Palmer, is the prosecution ready?"
Hamilton Burger rose to his feet and responded, "Yes, Your Honor."
"Mr. Mason, is the defense ready?"
Mason stood up. "The defense is ready."
"Mr. Burger, would you like to make an opening statement?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"You may begin, Mr. Burger."
Hamilton Burger got up and started addressing the court. "The defendant, Mr. Seth Palmer, was being blackmailed. Five years ago, the young fireman allowed a man to die in a fire. That's right, a fireman whose job is to protect the lives of those caught in a fire walked away from a man trapped in debris caused by that fire. He left the man behind to die. And, die he did. But, another fireman, Ted Jacoby saw him run from the scene. He saw Seth Palmer leave that man behind. He began blackmailing Mr. Palmer. He had taken a video on his phone. It showed Mr. Palmer running from his duty of helping the trapped man who was unable to help himself. Mr. Jacoby sent a copy of that video to the defendant. Seth Palmer had been paying blackmail to Ted Jacoby for five years… until he decided he would pay it no more.
"And how did he get out of paying that blackmail? Did he finally come to terms with his blackmailer? The answer is no, he did not. He found another way out of paying Mr. Jacoby.
"The prosecution will not praise Mr. Jacoby as a model citizen. He was a blackmailer and he too allowed that man to die instead of helping him. But, did that give Mr. Palmer the right to murder him in cold blood? No, no man has the right to take the life of another under those circumstances. Mr. Palmer could have decided to face his own actions and rendered the blackmail useless but that was not his decision. We will show that Mr. Palmer had motive and opportunity to kill Ted Jacoby, using another fire as the backdrop. We will produce witnesses who saw him standing over the dead body with a .22 in his hand and… when we produce enough evidence, we will ask that he be bound over for trial for murder in the first degree." Hamilton Burger sat back down.
"Mr. Mason, would you like to make an opening statement?" the judge asked.
Perry Mason stood up. "No, Your Honor. We will reserve our opening statement for when the defense puts on its case."
"Very well then. Mr. Burger, call your first witness."
"The people call Gabriel Nunez to the stand." Once Nunez had taken the oath and sat down in the witness stand, Burger approached him. "Please state your name and occupation for the court."
"My name is Gabriel Nunez and I work for the Los Angeles medical examiner."
"Did you have the opportunity to do the autopsy on Ted Jacoby?" Burger asked.
"I did."
"And what were your findings?"
"The deceased died from a bullet wound to the chest that entered his heart thereby stopping it." Nunez looked over at Perry Mason.
"Were you able to identify the bullet?" Burger asked.
"No, Mr. Burger. I do not shoot or own any guns. If they were outlawed, Mr. Jacoby would not have ended up on my table."
Mason rose to his feet. "Objection, Your Honor. We ask that the witness stick to facts. His opinion of whether guns should be outlawed is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial!"
"Sustained," Judge Coleson immediately ruled. "The witness will answer with facts."
Burger turned back to his witness. "Is this the bullet you removed from the deceased?"
Nunez examined the bullet carefully turning it around in his fingers. "Yes, this is the bullet. The police officer had me make a mark on it. This is it, right here," he said pointing at the mark he had made.
"Let the record show the deputy medical examiner has identified this bullet as the one that was removed from Ted Jacoby's chest," Burger exclaimed loudly. "We would like this entered as the people's exhibit A."
Perry got up, walked over to Hamilton Burger, examined the bullet and said, "No objections." He then returned to his seat.
"Now, Mr. Nunez," Burger said, "this bullet having caused Mr. Jacoby's death… at what time did you set the time of death?"
"He died between eight-thirty and nine o'clock."
"Thank you, Mr. Nunez." Burger turned around and headed to his seat. "Your witness, counselor."
Perry stood up. "Isn't it true that the fire would have some effect on establishing the time of death? Just as the cold would have?"
"Yes, that is true."
"Taking that into consideration, wouldn't it be possible that the deceased could have died as early as say… eight o'clock or even a quarter to eight?"
"It is possible but not likely. There was a fire raging that was moving swiftly. He probably would have been engulfed in flames." Nunez said. He wasn't about to let Mason make a fool out of him as he did so many other expert witnesses.
"So you are an expert on fires, then?" Perry said, faking surprise.
"Well… no… I am not."
"Then how could you possibly know how fast that fire would have been able to spread?" Mason demanded.
"Well… I just assume that… "
"Don't assume. Answer my questions with facts. Since you are not an expert on fires then you could not possibly know how fast they spread, now could you?"
"No, I guess not," Nunez shot Mason a look of disdain.
"Then not knowing how fast they can spread, it is possible that Jacoby died between seven forty five and eight o'clock, is it not?" Mason demanded in his courtroom booming voice.
"Yes," Nunez conceded, "it is possible but not likely."
"But possible," Mason repeated.
"Yes," Nunez said.
Perry Mason smiled. "Thank you. No more questions."
"Mr. Burger, any re-direct?" Judge Coleson asked.
"No, Your Honor."
"Call your next witness."
"The people call Lt. Arthur Tragg to the stand." Burger waited until Tragg was sworn in and sat down. "Lieutenant, you were on duty the night of the murder. Is that correct?"
"Yes, I was."
"And you were called to the scene by whom?"
"Denny Boulder, the man in charge of putting out the fire."
"And when you got to the building where the murder took place, what did you find?" Burger asked.
"There was a fire in the building. Mr. Jacoby had been moved by the fireman and taken to the first floor."
Perry looked over at Della. Neither of them had been told this, despite that they had requested and received the police report on the fire.
"And why was he moved?" Burger inquired.
"Because the fire had spread on that floor and the fireman in charge was afraid that the body might be destroyed in the fire."
"And what did you do next?"
"I examined the body. Ted Jacoby had a bullet wound to the chest."
"And did you find out if anyone had witnessed the shooting?" Burger asked.
"I did. There were no witnesses to the actual shooting but two firemen came upon the body. They had told me that they found the defendant standing over the body with a gun in his hand."
"Your Honor," Mason said as he stood up, "I object to this as not best evidence. Mr. Burger should call the witnesses themselves."
"Oh, I intend to, Mr. Mason." Burger smiled.
"Mr. Mason, I see no reason Lt. Tragg can't testify as to what the witness told him. Overruled." Coleson turned to Burger. "You may continue, Mr. Burger."
"Did you do a ballistic test on the gun in question?" Burger asked.
"Yes. It was fired from the gun that was found at the murder scene."
Burger went to the evidence table and picked up the .22. "Can you identify this weapon, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, it is the gun that shot the bullet that killed Ted Jacoby. It has my mark on it."
"Were you able to determine who the gun was registered to?"
"Yes, it is registered to the defendant," Tragg told the court.
Burger had the gun entered as Exhibit B. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Your witness."
Perry stood up. "Lieutenant Tragg, did you examine the murder scene?"
Tragg showed uneasiness as he selected his words carefully. "Not at that time. The fireman in charge would not allow me to go to the murder floor due to the fire."
Mason displayed disbelief. "You mean to tell me that you did not see the murder scene on the night of the murder?"
"That's what I said, counselor," Tragg snapped. "I did, however, see it the following day."
"Then you cannot say in all honesty that the murder scene had not been disrupted, can you?" Perry asked.
Tragg resented Mason's line of questioning. He knew fully well the fire chief could stop anyone, including police, from going into a burning building. "No, counselor, I can't since I am pretty sure the fire was disrupting the scene at the time."
The courtroom broke out in laughter. "Order!" Judge Coleson shouted as he banged his gavel.
"Besides the fire," Perry said with a smile, "you cannot say for certain that one of the firemen did not disrupt the scene, can you?"
"No, I cannot."
"Maybe then, Lieutenant," Perry said as he walked to his table to take a document from Della, "you can explain to the court why your police report did not mention that you were unable to survey the murder scene the night of the murder."
"I wasn't aware it didn't," Tragg snapped at Mason.
Mason handed him the report. "Let me refresh your memory, Lieutenant. Read your own report."
Tragg's face had turned beet red. He did not remember not having put that in the report. He had been up all day and all night and had to turn the report in. He read the section that Mason had pointed out.
"Does the report say that you were unable to see the scene directly after the murder, Lieutenant?"
"No, it does not," Tragg said, containing his anger at Mason.
"Why is that, Lieutenant? The murder scene could have been altered for all you know, couldn't it?"
Burger stood up. "Oh, Your Honor, Mr. Mason is making a big deal over what is standard procedure by the Fire Department. They always stop people from entering a building on fire and Mr. Mason knows that."
"We are all aware of fire department procedures, Mr. Burger. I don't think that is what Mr. Mason is questioning. He is questioning the fact that the murder floor could have been disturbed and the fact that none of that was in Lt. Tragg's report. Your objection is overruled. Continue, Mr. Mason," Judge Coleson ruled.
"I ask you again, the murder scene could have been altered and by humans this time, could it not?" Mason thundered.
"It could have but that doesn't change the fact that your client was standing over the dead body with the murder weapon in his hand, does it, counselor?" Tragg growled back at Mason.
"No, Lt. Tragg, it doesn't. Nor does it change the fact that either one of those firemen who claim to have seen him standing over the dead body with the murder weapon could have changed or covered up facts that would have proven the innocence of the defendant, does it?" Mason boomed.
"Your Honor, I object! Mr. Mason is badgering the witness," Burger exploded.
"Overruled, Mr. Burger!"
"Lieutenant?" Mason continued to thunder.
Lt. Tragg knew Mason had him trapped. There was only one way to answer. "No, it doesn't change the fact that they could have altered it."
"I noticed Mr. Burger did not happen to ask you about a paraffin test," Mason started to say when Hamilton Burger jumped to his feet.
"Your Honor, that was not covered in direct examination," Burger shouted.
"No, it wasn't, was it, Mr. Burger? I believe that is the point Mr. Mason is making. He has every right to question this officer on what procedures he took on the night of the murder. Overruled!"
"Was a paraffin test performed on the defendant, Lieutenant Tragg?" Mason asked.
"No, it was not," Tragg snapped back at Mason.
Mason turned on all the dramatics he could. "You mean to tell this court that you accused this man of shooting Ted Jacoby to death and you did not even perform a paraffin test on him to find out if he had even fired a weapon?"
Being a veteran of testifying dozens of times, Tragg contained the anger he now felt for the man in front of him when he answered. "That is right, counselor. There was a fire raging. I had witnesses running in and out of the fire. I had a dead body and I was unable to get to the murder scene. I did the best I could with what I had to work with," he growled at Mason.
"But not good enough, Lieutenant. A man's life is at stake. I have no further questions for this witness," Perry said and sat down.
Della whispered to him. "Perry, why didn't you ask about what he did find when he was able to survey the scene?"
"Because, Della, by that time it would not have been pertinent. It could easily have been altered. I wondered why Hamilton did not question him about it and then it hit me it was not in the report and neither was there anything about a paraffin test."
Tragg angrily stepped down from the stand and returned to his seat by Hamilton Burger. "The son of a …"
"Easy, Tragg, we knew this might happen. In fact, I told you, I was sure it would. Perry doesn't miss much. If I had been in his place, I would have done the same thing. It doesn't weaken our case once we put the rest on. Don't worry about it."
"Mason was just getting back at me for dancing with Della all evening," Tragg grumbled.
"Perry is a professional. He would never do that in court, you know that, Tragg. He was within his rights," Burger soothed. "He was just trying to protect his client."
"Mr. Burger, call your next witness," Judge Coleson called out, interrupting Burger and Tragg.
Hamilton Burger stood up. "The defense calls Denny Boulder to the stand." Boulder came from the back of the courtroom. He glanced at Mason as he passed him. His look was of pure hatred. Burger waited for his witness to be sworn in and walked to the witness stand.
"Mr. Boulder, you are in charge of the fire station in which the defendant works, are you not?"
"That is correct," Boulder answered.
"On the day of the murder, did you witness a fight between the defendant and the deceased?"
"I did."
"Will you tell the court what the argument was about?" Burger asked.
"Seth Palmer accused Ted Jacoby of blackmailing him."
"Is the man that accused Mr. Jacoby of blackmailing him in this courtroom?" Burger inquired.
"Yes, he is sitting beside Perry Mason," Boulder replied.
"Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant as the man who accused Ted Jacoby of blackmailing him." Burger returned his attention back to Boulder. "What happened next?"
"Well, Ted told Seth he did not know what he was talking about. Then Seth told him he was not paying one more cent of blackmail. He said he had hired Perry Mason and if he continued to blackmail him, they would go to the police, as blackmail was a federal offense. Ted tried to leave and Seth grabbed him. He told him he was not letting him go until he agreed not to blackmail him anymore."
"Then what happened?" Burger urged him along.
"Well, then Ted told Seth that he was in no position to dictate. He said he would continue to pay him or he would tell the world what he did… that he had killed a man. Then he said something like, 'What would it be? The money or jail'?"
"And what happened next?"
"Seth said that he would kill him first," Denny Boulder stated, causing a murmur around the courtroom.
"And how did Mr. Jacoby react to that?"
"He did not get a chance to react to it. Seth was thinking that Jacoby was not going to back down and…"
"Objection!" Perry called out as he stood up. "Mr. Boulder could not possibly know what Seth Palmer was thinking. Would Mr. Burger like us to believe that Mr. Boulder could read his mind?"
"Sustained!" Coleson ruled.
"Mr. Boulder, please just tell the court what happened," Burger told his witness.
"Seth doubled up his fist and hit Ted directly in the nose. That is when Bert Fielder and Monte Skinner helped me separate them."
Hamilton Burger walked back to the defense table and picked up a paper. He walked back and handed the paper to Boulder. "Have you seen this before?"
"Yes."
"Where did you see it?"
"It was on the floor of the locker room. I picked it up after I sent Seth and Ted out of the locker room."
"Would you read it to the court please?"
"It says Remember, by noon tomorrow or I tell the world how you killed that man in the Claymore apartment fire."
"I would like this entered as exhibit C," Burger requested.
Mason stood up, went over to Burger who handed him the paper. After reading it, Mason said, "No objection."
"Your witness, Mr. Mason."
Judge Coleson addressed Mason. "Mr. Mason, do you anticipate your cross-examination will be lengthy?"
"I do, Your Honor," Mason replied.
"Then this is a good place to stop. Court is adjourned until tomorrow at nine o'clock when the defense will cross-examine Mr. Boulder." Coleson banged the gavel on the bench and left the courtroom.
"How did we do, Mr. Mason?" Seth Palmer asked his lawyer.
Mason patted his hand. "We did just fine. Don't worry, we will get our chance when Mr. Burger is done." The bailiff appeared and took Seth Palmer away.
"I can't believe Lt. Tragg left out the fact that he was unable to see the murder scene on the night of the murder," Della told Perry.
"I can. That scene would have been complete chaos, Della. Lt. Tragg did eventually get to investigate the murder scene. I am not surprised he forgot and left it out of the report. It gave me the opportunity to plant doubt that the scene had not have been disturbed. It was a break for us."
"You don't suppose Arthur left it out on purpose, do you?"
"I doubt it. Lt. Tragg is an excellent detective. He had been overworked with very little sleep. No, Della, I think it was an honest mistake made by an overtired detective. Just because he was tired didn't mean that I would not take advantage of it," Perry said. "At any rate, it just might be the point that causes reasonable doubt."
"So what next?" Della asked.
"Let's find out what Paul has learned today. Then I will take you to a nice, quiet romantic dinner," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Uh huh, and then what?"
"We are going back to the office to go over Boulder's testimony and see where I can punch some holes in it."
"So the romance ends with the dinner," she said with smiling eyes.
"It doesn't have to if you are willing to break one of your office rules," he said quietly to be sure no one could hear him.
"Well, there is no chance Gertie will be there late at night. Maybe just this once," Della teased him.
Perry laughed. "Let's go get dinner and work out of the way then." Della collected his paperwork, stuffed it in his briefcase and the lawyer left the courtroom with his secretary.
12.2
"Are things set at the Brent building?"
The man on the other end of the phone replied, "Yes, why?"
"Because tonight is the night. I just heard Mason tell his secretary they will have to work late tonight."
"Good. After tonight, Mason will no longer be a problem."
"See that he isn't."