The Case of the Teenage Delinquent
Chapter 14
1
Hamilton Burger stood up. "The People call Doctor Joel Munson to the stand."
A very distinguished man in his early fifties stood up and walked towards the front of the room. He was dressed in a pin-striped suit with a blue tie. His appearance and demeanor gave the impression of a man who was no-nonsense and knew what he was talking about. Perry knew instantly the man would make a very good witness for the prosecution. He had questioned him on the stand before, and Munson was very capable of holding his own under the pressure of a good lawyer.
As Munson took his place on the stand after being sworn in, Burger approached him. "You work for the medical examiner's office, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you do the autopsy on Clifton Parker?"
"I did.""And what were the results of that autopsy?" Burger asked.
"Clifton Parker died of a gunshot wound to the chest that penetrated his heart, thereby stopping it instantly."
"Then it was most definitely the cause of his death?" Burger looked back at Mason for his reaction. As usual, he was disappointed as the defense attorney displayed no emotion, not even a change in the look on his face.
"There is no doubt about it."
"None at all?"
"No, sir, none at all."
"And when do you place the time of his death?" Hamilton asked.
"I would place the time of death between eight-thirty and nine-fifteen," Munson said.
"You are sure of the time?"
"Yes. Rigamortis had not yet set in. The body had been discovered very soon after the man was shot."
Burger looked back at Mason and smiled. "Your witness, Counselor." His demeanor was smug and confident.
Mason stood up. "No questions." There wasn't any way he could poke a hole in Munson's testimony and he knew it. The medical examiner had been correct. The body had been discovered within the hour Colton had been there. He had a better chance tackling Tragg on the stand.
"Call your next witness, Mister Burger," Judge Borden said.
"The People call Lieutenant Arthur Tragg to the stand."
The ever-thorough Tragg stood up and came forward. He had testified dozens of times on the stand. He was well familiar with Perry Mason's technique for tripping up witnesses. Most of the time he held his own against the talented attorney, but there was the unknown that Mason would spring upon him.
After being sworn in, Arthur Tragg sat down in the witness stand. He already knew all the questions Burger would ask him. They always prepared his testimony the best they could in order to be sure Mason could not poke any holes in it.
"State your name and occupation for the record," Burger told him.
"Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. I am a homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department."
"Did you investigate the murder of Clifton Parker?""I did. I was called to the scene by Paul Drake, a private investigator."
"What did you find when you got there?"
"Clifton Parker was in the bedroom. He had been shot in the chest."
"Was he dead or alive at that time?" Burger asked.
"He was dead."
"Did Mister Drake tell you why he was in the apartment at that particular time?"
"He only said he was looking for someone and discovered the body."
"Lieutenant, did the boy..." Burger stopped and corrected himself. "Did the young man have a confrontation with Cliff Parker at the school?"
"Objection!" Mason called out from the defense table. "Lieutenant Tragg was not at the school when the alleged confrontation took place, nor was he called to the school after the alleged confrontation. No foundation has been laid for this line of questioning."
Hamilton Burger turned and looked at Mason with a surprised look at Mason's objection. He knew darn well the confrontation took place. "Alleged?"
"The objection is sustained," Judge Peter Borden said.
Burger gave Mason a disgusted look. "Alright, we will let that go for now, but I will be calling a teacher at the school that saw the confrontation take place."
"Objection!" Mason called out again. "Same objection."
"Sustained. Mister Burger, I suggest you refrain from speaking of the alleged confrontation until you have called that witness."
Burger nodded at the judge. "Very well, Your Honor."
"Let's go back to the crime scene. Did you find the murder weapon?"
"Not at that time," Tragg answered.
"Was the defendant found at the scene?"
"No, but the apartment manager saw him running from the scene at the time the murder was committed."
"You stated you did not find the murder weapon on the scene. Did you find it later?" Burger asked.
"Yes, we went to the home of Deborah and Cliff Parker in search for the defendant, after he had been identified by the apartment manager."
"And what did you find? Burger continued.
"Mrs. Parker had been pretty badly beaten."
"Beaten," Burger said with emphasis, by whom?"
"She would not say, but I knew it was the boy's father."
"Objection!" Mason called out.
"Sustained. Lieutenant, just stick to the facts," Judge Borden said.
"Was a search done of the house?" Burger asked.
"Yes and we found a gun that had recently been fired."
Burger walked over to the evidence table and picked up the gun, bringing it back to the witness stand. "Is this the gun that you found in the Parker home?"
Tragg looked the gun over and then answered, "Yes, it has my mark on it."
"Was this gun tested to see if the fatal bullet was fired from it?" was Burger's next question.
"Yes, it was. The test proved the fatal bullet was fired from this gun."
After Burger had the gun entered in evidence with no objection coming from Mason, he said, "And was it tested for fingerprints, Lieutenant?" Burger inquired.
"It was."
"And were there any identifiable prints on the gun?"
"Yes, the defendant's prints were on the handle as well as the barrel."
"I would like to enter this gun as People's Exhibit A," Burger announced. Mason examined the gun and offered no objection as the gun officially became part of the hearing.
"Lieutenant, did you also have the opportunity to check the law office of Cliff and Deborah Parker?"
"I did. The office had been ransacked. Over $400,000 had been stolen from a vault in his office."
"Objection!" Mason said, standing. "There has been no foundation laid. How could the lieutenant possibly know there was $400,000 in a safe in that office."
Hamilton Burger addressed the bench. "Your Honor, if defense counsel will be patient, I intend to prove it came from the safe in Cliff Parker's office."
"Objection overruled," Borden said. "You may continue, Mister Burger.
"Lieutenant Tragg, what leads you to believe there was $400,000 in the vault in Cliff Parker's office?"
"Cliff Parker kept a list of womens' names whom he had received money from." Tragg pulled the list out of his pocket and handed it to Hamilton Burger.
"And what does this list represent?" Burger asked.
"Well, there are figures next to each of their names. The amounts added together add up to a total of $400,000. He kept a key hidden in his office with the combination to the safe on it. We found a ledger in a hidden compartment of the safe which clearly stated the amount in the box in the vault."
Burger walked over to the evidence table and handed the ledger to Tragg. "Is this the ledger?"
Tragg opened the ledger and looked at the entries. "Yes, this is it."
Burger had it entered as People's Exhibit B with no objection from Mason.
Della leaned over and whispered to Mason. "Perry, Paul didn't say anything about a ledger."
Mason whispered back, "He had limited time in there, Della. He probably did not spend much time looking through the safe."
"He could not have spent any time looking through the safe," Colton said. "I closed and locked it."
"What is it Perry?" Della asked when she saw the look on the lawyer's face.
"Paul distinctly said that safe was open. If Colton locked it, then someone else entered that office after Colton and before Paul. Who would have the combination to that safe?" he asked the boy.
Colton shrugged. "I know my mother didn't, neither did I. I happened to stumble on it when searching my father's desk."
"We have to find out who was in the office. It could have been the killer," Perry said.
"And where did you get this list?" Hamilton said, handing it back to Tragg.
Mason turned his attention back to the lieutenant.
"It was in the safety deposit box in the name of Colton Parker," Tragg answered.
"I see," Burger said. "Lieutenant, how did you come to find out about the safety deposit box?"
Tragg looked over at Perry. He knew this was going to hurt his case. "We received a call from a clerk at the bank. When she read about the the defendant being arrested for murder, she felt we should know about the money the defendant placed in the safety deposit box. She had glanced in the vault and saw the defendant putting money into it."
"And you took the money out of the box?" Burger said.
"No, I did not." Tragg looked at Mason with a smirk. "Perry Mason showed up at the bank with a written authorization to take possession of what was in the safety deposit box. Mister Mason removed the contents. When he did, I took possession from him."
Burger feigned surprise. With a smirk equal to Tragg's, he said, "Of course, Mister Mason had every intention of turning the contents over to the police, I'm sure." His tone could not have been more sarcastic.
"That will be enough, Mister Burger. I warned you about personalities in my courtroom," Judge Borden said sternly.
Burger nodded at the judge. "My apologies, Your Honor."
"Apologies will not suffice, Mister Burger. Don't do it again."
"Yes, Your Honor." He turned back to his witness. "Was there any money in the box, Lieutenant?"
"$400,000," Tragg said.
"Is that money in the courtroom?"
"No," Tragg said, a glint of playfulness in his eyes. "We didn't want to give anyone any ideas." The courtroom broke out in laughter.
Borden lightly banged his gavel on the bench and the people in the gallery broke off the laughter.
"Do you have a sworn statement that the money came from a safety deposit box in Colton Parker's name?"
"I do indeed." He reached into his suit coat pocket and handed Burger a paper."
"Your Honor, I would like to enter this into evidence as People's Exhibit C and the list People's Exhibit D."
Mason got up and looked at the statement and the paper. "No objection." He returned to his seat next to Colton Parker.
"Lieutenant, where and when did you pick up Colton Parker"
I assigned Sergeant Brice to follow Perry Mason. We figured, he would lead us to the boy...young man that is."
"And where did you find him?" Burger demanded.
"At the home of Ethan Alexander. Sergeant Brice followed Mister Mason there. Sure enough the defendant was there. Brice moved in as soon as Mason left. At that point, he took him in for questioning."
"Did you question the defendant?" Burger asked.
"I did."
"Tell the court what the defendant told you?" Burger instructed the lieutenant.
There it was. Mason was not about to allow this entered into the record or allow the judge to be prejudiced by the illegal conversation. He stood up and in a voice that bordered on anger, called out, "Objection!! The interrogation the lieutenant is referring to was done without the presence of his attorney or his mother."
"Your Honor, Colton Parker willingly spoke with the police," Hamilton Burger argued.
"The boy is a minor, Your Honor. The police could not legally speak with him without an attorney or his mother in the room," Mason counter-pointed.
"Is that true?" Judge Borden asked.
"The young man," Hamilton stated, "is seventeen. Therefore, he could speak with us according to law without the presence of an attorney."
"His mother was right there at the station, an attorney herself, and Lieutenant Tragg did not allow her in the room, Mason complained"
Borden looked down at Tragg in the witness stand. The look he was giving the homicide detective was one of displeasure.
"She was there, but Mister Parker agreed to speak with us without an attorney or his mother in the room. He was advised he could have them there while being questioned."
Colton whispered something to Mason, who smiled in return. "It doesn't matter whether he agreed to it or not; he is a minor and cannot be questioned without his attorney or a parent in the room in a murder case."
Frustrated, Burger snarled back at his courtroom adversary, "He is seventeen-years-old, and the law allows him to be questioned as an adult if he chooses to talk to the police. His driver's license was checked for his birthdate."
"Just a minute, gentlemen." He looked over at Colton and asked, "How old are you?"
"I am sixteen, sir."
"Oh, Your Honor, Mason has put the boy up to lie about his age as a delaying tactic. We have a copy of his driver's license." Burger reached into his brief case and pulled out the copy of the boy's license. He walked up to the judge and handed it up to him.
Judge Peter Borden studied the license. Looking over the top of his glasses, he once again addressed Colton Parker. "According to the date on your license, you are seventeen-years-old."
Colton's face turned red. "Yes, well...um, it is not correct, sir. You see, there is an arcade that has all sorts of pictures of women dressed in...well, nothing... in the machines. The ball lands...well you know. You have to be seventeen to get in there. One of my buddies knows how to change the year on the driver's license without the owner being able to tell. I was actually born a year after what is on my license."
The courtroom broke out in laughter before Borden sternly quieted it down. Borden looked at the bailiff. Call the county clerks office and get the correct date of this boy's birthday." As the bailiff left the room, Borden said, "Court will recess for ten minutes while we ascertain the correct date of the defendant's birthday."
Perry turned to Della and grinned. He knew the judge would never let Tragg get away with questioning a sixteen-year-old boy without a parent or his attorney, but he now knew why Tragg had done it. He obviously did not realize Colton was only sixteen. As he had noted himself when the boy first came into his office, Colton was rather big for his age. He was not as tall as Perry, but he would continue to grow. He probably would end up taller than Perry.
Mason had chosen not to leave the defendant's table for the short recess. He watched as Burger was in a panic. He had been figuring on using Colton's own words against him and now it was coming back to bite him.
In exactly ten minutes, Judge Peter Borden returned to the bench and called court to order. Turning to the bailiff, he asked, "Were you able to obtain the correct age of the defendant?"
"Yes, Your Honor. The boy is telling the truth, he was born one year after the date on his driver's license, therefore being sixteen, not seventeen."
Hamilton Burger was clearly upset with this news. Mason had done it again. He had muddied the waters, well, it would not stop him from getting the conviction eventually.
"It seems, Mister Burger, the police were in violation of the boy's rights. He should not have been interrogated without his lawyer or a parent present. I will not allow any part of that interrogation to be entered into the record."
Perry could have sworn he saw steam coming out of Hamilton's ears. He had planned on grandstanding with that interrogation, and the boy's prank had just squashed that part of his case. Although, the defense attorney maintained his poker face, he was laughing on the inside at the looks Burger was throwing his way.
"You may continue your examination of Lieutenant Tragg, Mister Burger. Lieutenant, please return to the stand."
Tragg opened the gate and looked at Mason on the way through. He gave him an admiring smile. There was no end to the tricks Perry had up his sleeves. The detective sat back down in the witness stand and waited for Burger to continue.
Burger gave Mason another deadly look before approaching Tragg once again. "Lieutenant, was the defendant officially identified by the apartment manager who saw him go in and out of the building at the time?"
"Yes, we put the defendant in a lineup."
Mason was up on his feet so fast, he tipped his chair over. Colton caught it and set it up right. "Objection!" Mason called out.
"Oh for cripes sake," Burger complained. "What now? There is no law against putting him in a lineup."
"No, but the lineup is supposed to be a fair one," Mason said.
"It was fair," Burger growled. "You are just trying to delay..."
Borden rubbed his temples to ease the headache these two were causing him. "That is enough, Mister Burger. I will not warn you again about personalities in my courtroom. Now, Mister Mason, on what grounds, did you make the objection?"
"The Lieutenant learned of my presence in the building. He rushed a lineup using police officers. Naturally, the witness would pick out the only boy in the lineup," Mason said.
"Have you looked at him, Mason?" Burger snarled. "He no more looks like a kid than you do."
"Actually, I am the one who had to shave this morning," Mason said with a slight smile, cradling his chin with his thumb and index finger. He looked over at the smooth face of Colton Parker, which showed no evidence the boy could yet grow hair on his face. The courtroom broke out in laughter.
Borden shook his head. Where did he ever get the idea these two could be controlled? "Gentlemen!" He looked down at the detective in the witness stand. "Did you hurry the lineup because Mister Mason was in the building?"
"I set it up after we were done with our interrogation," Tragg answered.
"That is not what I asked you. Did you know Mister Mason was in the building when you set up the lineup?"
"Well, yes, I did," Tragg was forced to answer.
"And did you use all police officers with no kids the defendant's age?" Borden asked.
"I needed a lineup, Tragg said. "There are no kids on the police force." There were a few chuckles around the room.
"So, let me see if I understand you. You put all adults in a lineup with one sixteen-year-old boy, knowing his attorney was in the building. Is that right?"
"Well, I had the witness there..."
"Is that right?" the judge almost shouted.
"Yes, that is right."
"Mister Burger, I will not allow any mention of this lineup to enter into the record. Nor will I allow you to question the witness about it when you bring her to the stand. Is that clear?"
"But, Your Honor..." Burger began to protest before Borden cut him off.
"Is that clear?"
Clearly disturbed and angered by these developments, Burger relented. "It is clear."
Borden checked his watch. It was not even close to adjournment time. Yet, he had all he could take from these two for one day. How did he ever get assigned to a case with Mason and Burger as the attorneys? "Mister Mason, do you anticipate a lengthy cross-examination of this witness?"
Perry stood up. "I do, Your Honor."
"In that case, court will adjourn until 10:00 tomorrow morning. At which time, I expect both counsels to..." He hesitated. What was the use in lecturing them. It would do no good anyway. "Tomorrow gentlemen." He waved his hand, turned and left the bench.
Burger angrily walked over to Mason. "You got away with another one from your bag of tricks, Perry. Let's see you try that again when the apartment manager identifies your client on the stand." Burger turned and stormed away.
Mason was looking at and feeling his shirt. Della watched him in amusement as she knew he was about to make a remark about Hamilton. He looked up and grinned at her. "I was just checking my shirt. There was enough steam coming out of Hamilton's ears to power an iron. Just wanted to see if my shirt needed ironing."
Della chuckled. "He was a bit upset with you."
The bailiff came and took Colton away. Perry bent down and whispered, "How about a nice romantic dinner and then..."
"And then what?" she asked smiling at him.
"And then we find Paul and get down to work." A big grin appeared on his face. He stuffed his papers in his briefcase, closed it and led Della out of the courtroom.