The Case of the Defenseless Prosecutor

Chapter 05

"Put the knife down, Hamilton," Tragg said. He pointed. "Over there on the desk."

"Lieutenant, I assure you, I have no idea where the blood came from. I just pick it up from that desk when I thought I heard someone in the room."

"Put the knife down, Hamilton," Lt. Tragg repeated.

Burger put the knife down on the desk as instructed. Once he had done so Tragg began moving through the room. On the far side of the room, a man laid face down. He back was covered in blood. That explains the blood on the knife, Tragg thought. He squatted down and checked the man's pulse.

"Shall I call for an ambulance?" One of the officers asked the lieutenant.

Lt. Tragg looked up at the officer, raised an eyebrow and said, "No, I don't think that will be necessary. You had better call the morgue. And get a forensic team in here."

Burger turned sheet white. You mean he's dead, Tragg?"

"Yes, Mr. Burger. He's dead. Tragg turned the man's head. He knew his identity immediately. "It's Connor Wolff."

"Oh my God," Burger said. "How long has he been dead?"

"We will leave that up to the experts but I would say it just happened. From the feel of the skin, the body had not yet begun to cool," Tragg observed. He looked at Burger. "Do you want to tell me what happened, Hamilton?"

"I told you. I was driving by when I notice the side door ajar. I backed up the car and pulled into the driveway. I went inside and found this door open. It was dark so I was feeling around for a light. I heard a noise. It startled me so I picked up that knife. I had come across it on that desk when I was feeling for a desk lamp."

"Did you argue with Mr. Wolff?" Tragg asked.

"What?" Burger said. He saw that look on Tragg's face. "Arthur you can't possibly believe I did this?"

Tragg avoided Burger's eyes. "I have to deal in facts Hamilton, you know that. Now did you argue with Wolff?"

It was as if a red flag had just been waved in front of Hamilton Burger. "I don't think I am going to say anything else until I speak with a lawyer."

"Good luck trying to find one in this city," said attorney, Richard Littleton from behind the officer. He walked around him and entered the room.

"That is far enough, counselor," Tragg said. I don't need you messing with the crime scene.

"I have no intentions of messing with the crime scene. Is that who I think it is over there?" Littleton asked.

"It's your client, counselor." Tragg answered.

Littleton looked over at the district attorney. "You just could not leave it alone, could you Burger?"

"Don't you dare look at me that way! I didn't kill him," Burger said with contempt in his voice.

"Of course you didn't. At any rate, you had better start searching the state for an attorney because no one in this city will touch you. You have alienated just about all of them and the rest want your job," he grinned.

"Including you, Mr. Littleton?" Burger suggested.

"Alright that's enough gentlemen. Officer, take this man out in the hall and hold him there," Tragg said. "Hamilton, do you want to call Perry?"

Burger nodded. He walked over to the desk.

"Don't touch anything." Tragg reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Perry is on the speed dial," he told him.

Hamilton Burger pressed the speed dial for a man he never dreamed he would be calling for this reason.

xxxxx

Sitting in his bath robe in front of his fireplace, Perry Mason held Della Street in his arms. Both were sipping the wine Perry had poured for them. As they watched the fire dance in the fireplace neither said a word. Sometimes it was just enough to be in one another's company. They got so little time alone together these days. When they did, they just liked to bask in the nearness of the other.

"Do you think you got through to Hamilton, Perry?" Della asked him.

"I don't know, Della. I hope so. I know his goddaughter was murdered but his reaction is just plain strange. He has seen plenty of death. For him to react this way…."

"It is different when it is someone you know, Perry," Della pointed out.

"Of course it is but he's a professional. It just does not make sense for him to be this distraught over the verdict. I would have thought he would have just worked as hard as possible with Lt. Tragg to find a charge that would stick and put Wolff behind bars. There has to be something. The man is crooked and not that bright."

The phone behind them rang. "Oh Perry, we have had such little time alone. Do you have to answer that?" Della asked disappointed.

"It might be important. If it isn't I will be back beside you before you know it." Perry brushed a quick kiss on Della's lips and got up to answer the phone. "Hello."

"Perry, it Hamilton," Burger began.

"Hamilton! I did not expect to hear from you this evening. I thought you were going home to get some rest."

"Perry, listen I need you to come over to Johnson Technology." Burger told his friend.

Mason got a sinking feeling in his stomach. "And what are you doing at Johnson Technology, Hamilton?"

"There has been a murder…..Connor Wolff."

The look on Mason's face drew Della's immediate attention. She got up and walked over to Mason who put his arm around her and pulled her tightly to him. "Exactly how did you get mixed up in this mess?"

"Perry, please. This looks bad and I need a lawyer. You are the only one that will help me in this city," Hamilton pleaded.

"Alright Hamilton, take it ease. Della and I are on our way. I don't have to tell you, say nothing until I get there," Perry said and hung up the phone. He held Della close to him. At this moment, he needed to feel some normalcy and comfort in his life. Holding Della always did that for him. "I have a feeling Hamilton Burger is about to be charged with murder."

"Oh Perry, no! What happened?" Della asked with genuine concern.

"I don't know yet but from what he said he was found at the scene of Connor Wolff's murder. We have to go Della. We better get dressed or we will light up the gossip columns tomorrow."

Della smiled, kissed her favorite lawyer and said in a low sultry voice, "soooooo….we do that anyway."

xxxxx

"Hamilton, this would look a lot better if you would just talk to me," Tragg said.

"Haven't you ever heard a man who defends himself has a fool for a lawyer? I am no fool. I'll let Perry do my talking for me," Burger said.

Police teams were working around the room. Burger sat in a chair. He knew just how bad this looked. It really hit home how all of Perry's clients must have felt knowing they were innocent and yet also knowing because of their own stupidity they were about to be charged with a crime they did not commit. Hamilton remembered in early years how he and Perry clashed in and out of the courtroom. He remembered his desire to catch the defense attorney doing something illegal. There was a time when he would have reveled in getting the lawyer disbarred. Over the years, Hamilton realized the dedication Perry had to his clients. He would do just about anything to clear them because he believed in their innocence.

Perry Mason was one of a kind. He may push that line but he never crossed it. It took a long time for Hamilton to realize that he never would. He grew to respect Perry and marveled at his brilliance in the courtroom. Even though he always worried what theatrics his counterpart would come up with, he thrived on going up against him. Perry brought out the best in him in the courtroom. Hamilton had never been so proud when Perry asked him to help with the defense of Scott Whitmore in San Francisco. It was then that Hamilton realized that Perry had just as much respect for him as he did for Perry. The two of them had worked so well together. If they had not chosen different paths to follow as lawyers, they would have been a hell of a team together, as either defense attorneys or prosecuting attorneys. The problem with the latter would be who would be the top dog? Hamilton smiled inwardly thinking about how neither would have given into the other on that one.

Lost in thought, Hamilton did not hear Perry and Della enter. Tragg walked over to them. "What have we got, Lieutenant?" Perry asked.

"Perry, this looks bad. We got an anonymous call. The caller said someone followed a man in the building with a knife. They were concerned it might be trouble. I came over with a couple of men. When we got here, we found Hamilton standing in the middle of the room with a bloody knife in his hand in the dark. Over there," he pointed to Wolff, "is Connor Wolff. He has been stabbed to death. I am betting the murder weapon is the one Hamilton was holding. Perry, you know what has been going on lately. My god, I hate what I am going to have to do."

"And just what are you going to do Lieutenant," Perry asked.

"I am going to have to hold Hamilton on suspicion of murder pending further investigation," Tragg said regretfully.

Perry blew out a breath he did not even realize he had been holding. He left Tragg and walked over to his new client, one he never thought he would be defending. Della was sitting next to Hamilton, trying to comfort him. "Hamilton, we need to talk. Tragg is going to charge you on suspicion of murder. I will follow you down to the station. You are to say nothing, do you understand. I do mean nothing."

"I don't blame him Perry. What else can he do? I know how bad this looks but you have to believe me, I did not kill Connor Wolff. I wanted him behind bars and yes, I will even admit I would like to have seen him get the death penalty but Perry; I wanted it done through the justice system. Not like this. I did not kill him. You have to believe me," Burger pleaded with is friend and lawyer.

Della put her arm around the distraught district attorney. She leaned her head up against his. "Of course we believe you, Hamilton. We know you could not kill him."

Perry watched Della. He was glad he brought her with him. Hamilton Burger had noticeably calmed. She had the effect on him as well. "Della is right. We believe you and I am going to do everything I can to help you out of this mess. We are going to need an investigator. With Paul out of the country that is going to be a problem. I could use his office but none of his investigators are anywhere as good as Paul. They need his direction. We have to find someone that can direct them and handle the investigation."

"Who do you have in mind, Perry?" Hamilton asked.

"I would call Paul in Europe if I had any idea where he is but I don't. He made it clear he did not want to be bothered. It would take us too long to track him down. He's a detective. He will make sure no one can find him. He wants an undisturbed vacation. There is only one other man I trust to handle this case but I don't know if I can get him here. He has an employer who may not want to give up his services for an extended period of time."

"You mean Robert?" Della asked.

"Can you think of anyone better to handle the investigation?" Perry asked.

Burger's mood improved considerably. "Absolutely, Bob Ironside is the best there is. Call him, Perry. He would do it if you asked him to."

"It is not that simple Hamilton. Bob works for the city of San Francisco. This could take weeks. He is their top detective. He solves more cases than anyone in San Francisco….anyone anywhere for that matter. Do you think they are going to just let him up and take off for weeks at a time?"

"We have helped him. He will take that into consideration. He will come if you ask him," Burger insisted.

"He has a boss. Commissioner Randall may not be too willing to lose his star detective for an extended period of time," Perry said.

"Perry, Robert has left San Francisco at the request of other police departments to helped them solve cases. Why would he not do it for us?" Della asked.

"Because we are not the Los Angeles Police Department. The request would not be coming from the LAPD. It would be coming from the defense attorney. No, Randall would have a hard time explaining that to the city council. There has to be another way to get Bob here.

"What if Arthur requested his services?" Della asked.

Perry grinned. "Della, you are a genius!" In his excitement, Perry kissed her. "That is exactly what we will do."

Hamilton Burger's mood darken a bit. "Lt. Tragg is a capable detective. Why would he ask for Ironside?"

"Because I do not believe you killed this man but I have to proceed with the evidence," came the voice behind them. Lt. Arthur Tragg walked up to them. "What was it you once told Ironside, Perry? Was it that police sometime stop at the obvious but you had to look beyond the obvious to clear your clients?" Tragg looked at Hamilton. You understand what I have to do, Hamilton?"

Burger nodded his head. "You have no choice. The evidence points at me. I understand, Arthur."

"It might point to you but it needs someone who will look beyond the obvious. I am going to do that behind the scenes, but I will have to be careful or your office will have my head. Bob Ironside can thumb his nose at the police department and the district attorney's office. He will not stop at the obvious. He will not stop until he has the truth." He smiled as he looked over at Mason. "That is where you get it from Perry….from your brother. It is in your blood. I will call Commissioner Randall in the morning and officially request Ironside's help under the guise the LAPD cannot show partiality. We will bring in an outside investigator and who better than the best detective in the country?" Tragg grinned.

Hamilton looked at the people surrounding him. A man could not ask for better friends. With Perry Mason defending him, Robert Ironside and Arthur Tragg investigating, Hamilton could not have a better team. He at least had a fighting chance to clear himself of something he did not do.

xxxxx

Lt. Tragg finished finger printing Hamilton Burger. "That's it Hamilton. You can go talk to Perry now."

"Arthur, I understand what you had to do and I don't hold it against you," Burger told him.

"I know Hamilton. We are both professionals," Tragg replied.

"I also want to thank you for offering to call in Bob Ironside. I appreciate what you are doing," Hamilton told his friend of many years. "It is going to seem funny…..you know."

"What is going to seem funny?"

"You and I working on opposite sides," Burger said.

"Hamilton, we will not be working on opposite sides. We will be working for the truth. We both want the truth. We will find it. You, me, Perry, and Bob Ironside, we will find out who killed Connor Wolff."

Burger smiled. "Well, I guess I should not keep my attorney waiting."

Tragg led Burger to a holding room where an awaiting Perry Mason stood up when they entered the room. Della Street was sitting at the table with a pen and tablet, ready to take notes for her boss.

Perry reached out his outstretched hand and shook Hamilton Burger's hand. "Well my friend we will once again share the same table in court."

"Yes, but I liked it better the last time," Burger replied.

Perry smiled. "Sit down, Hamilton." Burger obliged his attorney. "Now, you need to tell me what happened today. I want you to start by telling me where you were today and who you saw or talked to."

"I did not go into work as you know. I called it to tell them I would not be in. I drove over to Connor Wolff's apartment and waited until he came out."

"What time did he come out of this apartment?" Perry asked.

"I think it was around noon," Burger guessed.

"And where did he go?" Mason asked.

"Well, first of all he ran some errands. He got groceries, went to the cleaners and then stopped at the bank. After that he met with William Morrison of the Harris Corporation."

"Where did the meeting take place?" Mason asked his client.

"It was at a restaurant on West Sunset Boulevard called the Griddle Café," Burger informed Perry.

"Did you hear any of the conversation?"

"No. I was too far away to hear anything they were saying. All I know is they were very agitated with one another. Wolff was getting directly in Harrison's face and really going after him with a look on his face that showed he was very upset," Hamilton reported.

"How long were they there?"

"Not more than about fifteen minutes. They both had a cup of coffee, although I did not see either of them drink it."

"Was anything exchanged between them? Such as money, papers?"

"No, Perry. Nothing. They both looked like they could kill each other," Hamilton said.

"Perhaps one of them did," Perry replied. "Alright, where did you go next?"

I followed Wolff to the home of a man by the name of Marco Rustoff. He also works at the Johnson Technology Corporation. They argued but again, I was not close enough to hear what they were arguing about. When Wolff left however, Rustoff handed him something."

"What was it?" Perry asked.

"I don't know. It was small. Rustoff placed it in Wolff's hand. He put it in his pocket."

"Do you know what Rustoff does at Johnson Techonology?

Burger shook his head. "I don't know other than he is some kind of computer expert."

"Did anything else happened that caught your attention?"

"No Perry. I guess I would not make much of a detective," Hamilton said.

"Quite the opposite, Hamilton. You have obviously uncovered some kind of connection between all these people. We just have to find out what it is. Where did he go from there?"

"He went back to the Johnson Technology building. I followed him inside. He approached Charles Patrick."

"He's the CEO, isn't he?" Perry asked.

"That's right," Hamilton confirmed. "Only this time Patrick unlocked an office and they went in. I went to the door and listened. I could not make out much but I did hear them arguing about money. It sounded like blackmail but I could not be sure. I did not hear the entire conversation. When it became apparent the conversation was coming to a close, I left and went back to my car."

"And then you followed him to that restaurant bar?"

"Well no, he stayed a while at the company. I waited outside until he came out."

"How long was he in there?" Perry continued.

"I am not sure. Maybe close to a couple hours. He ran a few more errands and then I followed him to that bar."

"Alright, I know what happened at the restaurant. Why didn't you go straight home after you left there?"

Burger looked away from the talented lawyer. "I don't know. I took the long way home and drove by the Johnson Tech building."

"Long way home? Hamilton, when you called me that was more five hours from the time I left that restaurant." Perry looked directly into Burger's eyes.

"I know. I didn't go home. I actually went back to my office." He looked away from Perry.

"Why do I get the feeling there is something you are not telling me?" Perry said. "Don't hold anything from me, Hamilton. If I am to help you I have to know everything no matter how damaging."

In the morning, I went over to police headquarters. I slipped into the evidence room unseen. I copied some records from the computer of Connor Wolff that was held in evidence for the trial. I put them on flash drives. I wanted to see if there was anything on them that could help with new charges against him."

"And was there?" Perry asked.

"I don't know. Maybe….but it would require investigating. I did not get through all the flash drives," Hamilton said.

"What did you discover on the ones you did look at?"

"Well, I discovered my office or rather the attorneys helping with the case did not look at that computer close enough. It might be the beginnings of showing a connection between Connor Wolff, Charles Patrick and William Morrison," Burger said.

"I want you to turn those flash drives over to me. "Where are they?" Perry asked.

"What are you going to do with them, Perry?" Burger asked.

"I am going to get a look as to what is on them and then I am turning them over to Lt. Tragg."

"That's what I was afraid of. It is not going to look good….me copying those records without going through proper channels, is it?"

Perry looked at his worried friend. "No it is not. Now tell me about what happened at the Johnson building this evening."

"Well, I finally decide to do what you told me to and go home."

"What time was it?" Perry asked.

"About ten o'clock, maybe a little after. I do not know the exact time."

"And then what?"

Hamilton thought for a minute. "I drove past the Johnson Technology Building on the way home and …."

"On the way home? Your house is on the other side of town," Perry questioned.

"Yes, I know. I just found myself in the area so I drove by. As I passed the building I noticed the a side door was ajar. I backed up my car and went into investigate." Burger continued.

"Why didn't you just call the police and have them investigate?" Perry asked.

"Believe me Perry. I have been asking myself that same question over and over since Tragg walked into that room," Burger moaned.

"Then what did you do?"

"I walked down the hall toward Connor Wolff's office and saw that door open as well so I went in."

Perry was shaking his head. "Of all people, you know better than this."

"I know, I know but I did it anyway. It was dark in the room so I started feeling the wall for a light switch. When I could not find one I thought may there was a desk lamp. I located a desk and started feeling for a light. I felt what I think was a file and then I felt the knife."

"Is that when you picked it up?" Perry asked.

"No, not at that time. I continued searching for a light when I heard what I thought was another person. It startled me and I guess sort of scared me so I remembered there was a knife there so I picked it up. That is when the flashlights shined in the room, the lights came on and there was Lt. Tragg looking at me holding what I then noticed was a bloody knife. You know the rest."

Perry sat in silent thought for a moment.

"It doesn't look good, I know," Burger said.

"Hamilton, it looks downright bad," Mason said and then he softened his voice and smiled. "But we will get to the bottom of it. Get some sleep. I will talk to you in the morning." Perry got up. Della finished her notes and joined the lawyer. Both started to leave.

"Perry….thanks," Hamilton said in a shaky voice.

Perry walked back to his friend, gave him a hug and said, "Try not to worry. We are just getting started. Bob will be here soon and between him and his staff, Lt. Tragg and you and me, we will get this figured out."

Della hugged Burger and kissed his cheek. Burger watched as Perry and Della left the room. He chucked to himself. It was a good thing he had never been able to get that man disbarred.

xxxxx