The Case of the Defenseless Prosecutor

Chapter 13

13.1

Eve Whitfield entered the office of Perry Mason. After greeting Gertie, she continued past Della Street's outer office and into the lawyer's office. The large chair that normally sat behind Mason's desk had been pushed aside. Robert Ironside sat in his wheelchair behind the desk.

When Ironside did not look up from his paperwork, Eve walked over to Mason's terrace and opened the doors.

"Eve, close the door," Ironside grumbled.

"This office needs fresh air, Chief. It's stuffy in here,"

"I like stuffy," Ironside said gruffly.

"I'm not surprised," Eve said.

Mark grinned. Leave it to Eve. She could get away with saying things to the boss, he and Ed did not dare.

"I assume Perry and Della are in court?" Eve said.

"Naturally," Ironside returned sarcastically. "The trial started today. The defense attorney normally shows up to defend the defendant and Perry is the defense attorney."

"What side of the bed did you get off?" Eve asked. "And where Ed?"

"Working which is what you should be doing," Ironside snapped.

"I have been doing exactly that," Eve said defending herself. "Would you like to know what has been going on at the Tennison Corporation?"

"I believe that is why I sent you there in the first place."

Eve ignored his remark and walked over to the coffee pot. After pouring two cups of coffee, she set one down in front of her boss. She hoped it would serve to calm his sour mood. "Chief, something really strange is going on." Eve took a sip of coffee "We are being stone walled every step of the way. First the CEO, a man by the name of Leo Baxter, would not see me. He claimed I had no jurisdiction and no business nosing, as he put it, into his company's business. I had to get Lt. Tragg to help me. He made some calls and Baxter then called me and said he would see me."

"When I arrived at the Tennison Corporation, he kept me waiting for over an hour. His secretary led me into his office. He did not show up for another half hour. His manner was extremely hostile. I questioned him about Daniel Moorey. He refused to say whether or not Moorey ever worked for him. Nor would he allow me to look into the employee files. He demanded to see a court order. He said without one, we would get nothing from him. My time with him was a complete waste of time."

"That's it?" Ironside said in a sour tone.

"I didn't say that. I decided to talk with some of the employees. Most would not speak with me, fearing it would endanger their positions at the company. However, there was one employee, Rita Tingley. She claims a man worked for the company around eight years ago." Eve consulted her notes. "His name was Austin Dorcey. At that time he was trying to develop a new computer chip that would make all of those on the market at the time obsolete. The company claimed success, not publicly but the talk around the company was that Dorcey was successful. When it was supposed to be announced and go to market, Dorcey disappeared and…."

"So did the plans for the computer chip," Ironside finished for her.

"Right. Ms. Tingley was able to produce a picture of Austin Dorcey." Eve handed the picture to Ironside. "Apparently, she and Dorcey had an affair. "She was definitely bitter about him leaving without a word to her.

"He's wearing a beard and his hair is longer but this certainly looks like Connor Wolff."

"That is exactly what I thought."

"Ironside grabbed the phone and began dialing. "Lt. Tragg, please….Lieutenant, this is Robert Ironside. I need a court order to open the records of the Tennison Corporation….Because Eve has uncovered some evidence that Conner Wolff worked there and was developing a computer chip…..just as soon as you can. I would like you to serve that court order and get a look at those records…..and Lieutenant, meet with Eve and she will brief you on what she has found so far. Since we already planned on you taking over this part of the investigation, see what you can dig up….yes, Lieutenant, that is exactly what we believe….keep me informed." Ironside hung up the phone.

"I assume you now want me to check out Marco Rustoff," Eve said.

"Yes. Eve, he has a weakness for blondes."

"Chief, I hope you are not asking me to do what I think you are asking," Eve protested.

"You are going under cover, Officer Whitfield. I am simply telling you, he has a weakness for blondes. You might consider using that against him," Ironside growled.

"Yes, Chief. I'll start right away."

In a soften voice Ironside called out over his shoulder as she left. "Eve, be careful. He could be the killer. Don't take unnecessary chances and that's an order."

Eve smiled at Ironside show of concern for her safety. "I promise. I'll be in touch."

13.2

Acting District Attorney, Wayland Grant stood up and called out, "The people call Lt. Arthur Tragg to the stand."

Tragg took the stand after being sworn in. He stared directly at Grant, a man he regarded with distain. He had known Hamilton Burger for years. With the evidence they had found, he did not blame him for bringing charges against him. He could have shown some regret rather than enthusiasm for prosecuting Burger in hopes of taking his job. When they cleared Burger and they would, Tragg hoped Burger fired him.

"Please state your name and position," Grant said.

"Lieutenant Arthur Tragg, Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department."

Grant dramatically walked over to the witness stand. "Please tell the court what happened on the night of the murder."

"I received a tip there was a murder at Johnson Technology."

"And you went to Johnson Technology?" Grant asked.

"Of course."

"And what happened next?"

"I arrived with two police officers and checked the doors.

"Did you find a door open?"

"I found the side door of the building open."

"Would there be any reason for that door to be open at that time of night?"

"Objection! The district attorney has not established the time in which the door was found open," Mason said from his seated position at the defense table.

"Sustained," Judge Coleson ruled.

"Lieutenant, what time did you arrive at Johnson Technology?"

"Just before ten o'clock at night," Tragg answered.

"And you found the door opened, is that correct?"

"Objection! Asked and answered."

"Sustained," Coleson ruled again.

Grant turned and gave Mason a look of disgust. So this is how he was going to play it. Objecting to every little thing in order to delay. Mason was going to find it was not going to help. Grant turned back to Tragg. "Did you enter the building?"

"I did," Tragg answered.

"And then what happened?"

"I went down the hall checking for any sign of a homicide."

"And did you find any?

"Not right away. We began checking for open doors. We did locate one unlocked open door."

"And what did you do?"

"I shined a flashlight into the room, spotted man so I felt for a light switch and turned a light on in the room."

"And that is when you saw Hamilton Burger standing in the middle of the room with a knife in his hand?"

Mason stood up. "Objection! Leading the witness."

"Sustained." Judge Coleson said for the third time.

"Your honor, Mr. Mason is just trying to delay this trial by objecting to every little detail."

Mason stood up again. "Your honor, I am doing no such thing. My objections have all been with merit."

"Mr. Mason has a valid point, Mr. Prosecutor. If you do not want the delay of objections, I suggest you ask your questions is such a way that he cannot object," Coleson suggested.

Again Grant glanced back Perry Mason. "Very well your honor." He turned back to Tragg. "What did you see when you turned on the light?" He turned and sneered at Mason who only smiled and nodded.

"I saw the defendant standing in the middle of the room with knife in his hand," Tragg said.

"And the knife was covered with blood?"

"Objection!" Perry began before being interrupted.

"I withdraw the question," Grant said. "What was the condition of the knife?"

"It had blood on the blade," Tragg answered.

"Was there anyone else in the room?"

"Yes, there was a man lying face down on the floor."

"And what was his condition?"

"He was dead. He appeared to have been stabbed. There was a considerable amount of blood on his back."

"Lieutenant, did you have the room dusted for finger prints as well?"

"Yes, of course," Tragg answered.

"And whose prints did you find?"

"Those of the defendants were found on the desk, on some computer flash drives and on a file that was sitting on the desk."

Grant turned toward the jury and in grand style announced "And on the knife as well?"

"Naturally, since he had been holding it." Tragg said sarcastically. There was an undertone of laughter around the room. Coleson banged his gavel ending it abruptly.

"Were there any other prints on that knife?"

"No, there were not."

Mason watched the jury and knew that answer had an impact on them. He also knew there was not much he could do about it at the present time.

"Was there anyone else in the room?"

"Not that I saw."

Grant walked back to his table with a triumph smile on his face and sat down. "Your witness, counselor."

Mason stood up and approached the Lt. Tragg. "Lieutenant, you said you received a tip that there had been a murder at the Johnson building. Who called it in?"

"I don't know. They refused to leave a name."

"Could it have been possible for someone to see into the building and see Conner Wolff being murdered?"

"I object! This was not covered in direct examination," Grant called out.

"Your honor, my client is on trial for murder. The district attorney contends that my client and my client alone murdered Conner Wolff. Someone called in a tip to that murder. Surely, the defense has the right to know if someone could see into the building to know that a murder was or had been committed."

Coleson thought for a moment and said. "Mr. Mason has a point. Objection, overruled. The witness may answer the question."

"Not under the conditions I came into. The room was completely dark. I could not see into that room. I used a flashlight."

"What about an employee? Could they have overheard and called the police?"

"Objection! Calls for a conclusion of the witness?" Grant called out.

"Objection sustained." Coleson immediately ruled. "Mr. Mason, I believe I know what you are getting at. Perhaps you should rephrase your question."

"Thank you, your honor. Lieutenant, was anyone else in the building at the time?"

"No there was not. We checked at the time and no one was found to be in the building. We also checked all the people who had access to the building after hours and all of them were accounted for. None of them were anywhere near the building at the time of the murder."

"So then Lieutenant, can you see anyway someone could have known that a murder was being or had been committed?"

Tragg hesitated and then said, "No, I can't say that I can."

"Other than having been in that room when the murder was committed?" Mason asked.

"Objection! Calls for a conclusion of the witness!" Grant snarled.

"Objection sustained." Coleson said.

Perry had asked that question knowing the district attorney would object with good reason but he also knew he had scored points with the jury. "No further questions."

"Mr. Grant?" Coleson asked.

"No further questions, your honor."

"The witness may step down." Coleson instructed. "Call your next witness, Mr. District Attorney."

"The people call Tristan Haynes to the stand."

Hamilton whispered to Perry, "Who is this guy?"

"He was in the bar when you threatened Conner Wolff," Perry answered.

Grant again walked up to Haynes. "Mr. Haynes, on the day of the murder can you tell the court where you were?"

"I was at Eddy's Bar and Grill," he answered.

"Did you witness an argument between the defendant and Conner Wolff?"

"Yes sir, I did."

"What happened?" Grant asked.

"I don't know what they were talking about but Mr. Burger got very upset."

"What did Mr. Burger say?"

"He shouted you bastard. I will stop you. You will not get away with murder. I will stop you once and for all."

"Thank you that will be all. Mr. Mason, your witness." Grant once again took his place at the prosecution table.

Perry Mason remained seated. "Mr. Haynes, you say you did not hear any of the rest of the conversation between Mr. Wolff and Mr. Burger."

"No sir. First of all I was not paying any attention to them until Mr. Burger started shouting."

"Have you ever shouted at someone in anger, Mr. Haynes?" Mason asked.

"Objection! Incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, your honor." Grant called out.

"Mr. Mason, I have to agree with the District Attorney," Judge Coleson said.

"Your honor, I am trying to show than all of us say things in anger."

"I am going to overrule the objection but Mr. Mason you better get to the point."

"Mr. Haynes?" Perry asked again.

"Of course Mr. Mason. We all do. But most of us don't follow through and kill someone after threatening to do so."

"But Mr. Burger did not threaten to kill him."

"I have to disagree Mr. Mason. Mr. Burger did indeed threaten to kill Mr. Wolff."

"That is not what you said, Mr. Haynes." Perry turned to the court reporter and said, "Please read back what Mr. Haynes did say."

The court recorded checked and said aloud, you bastard. I will stop you. You will not get away with murder. I will stop you once and for all."

"Now Mr. Haynes, couldn't that have an entire different meaning? Since Mr. Burger is a prosecuting attorney could he not have meant he will find the evidence to send him to prison?"

"Objection!" Call for a conclusion of the witness," Grant said.

"Sustained," Judge Coleson agreed.

"Yeah, I guess it could mean that," Haynes answered anyway.

"Your honor!" Grant complained.

"The witness is not to answer questions that have been objected to and sustained. The answer will be stricken from the record."

Perry refrained from smiling. That was exactly what he had been hoping the witness would do. "I have no further questions of this witness."

"Mr. Grant?" Coleson asked.

"Nothing further your honor."

"You are excused. Call your next witness, Mr. Grant."

Hamilton leaned over and whispered to Perry. "I always hate it when you pull that on me."

Perry smiled. "I know. Why do you think I do it?" Hamilton smiled back at him.

"Your honor, I would like to recall Lt. Tragg." Grant announced.

Perry was immediately on his feet. "Your honor, I must object. Mr. Grant has already called Lt. Tragg."

"Mr. Grant. Mr. Mason's objection is well taken. What is the purpose of recalling Lt. Tragg."

"Mr. Tragg can testify to Mr. Burger's state of mind just before threatening and killing Conner Wolff."

"Why did not you question him about it when you had him on the stand?" Coleson asked.

"The prosecution wanted to present its case in an orderly fashion, your honor."

"Since Mr. Burger's state of mind is important to this case, I am going to overrule the objection but I caution the district attorney while the court appreciates your desire to present your case in an orderly fashion, you are to request the right to recall the witness. You may proceed. Lt. Tragg, take the stand."

"Now Lt. Tragg, would you please tell the court what Mr. Burger's reaction was after the not guilty verdict was announced."

"He was stunned." Tragg said.

"It was really more than that, wasn't it Lieutenant? Wasn't he so upset he made a scene in the courtroom?"

"I am not sure what you mean, Counselor."

"Did he not complain, quite loudly, about the verdict? Did he not complain about the jury returning a cold blooded killer back to the streets?"

Damn him, thought Tragg. "He did say that, yes."

"Didn't he also get into an altercation with the defense attorney, Richard Littleton.

"He did," Tragg said.

"And did you not constrain him and pull him away from Mr. Littleton after he called him a son of a b****?"

"Yes," Tragg answered.

"Would you not say he was extremely distraught?"

"I suppose so," Tragg answered.

"And did you not tell him to let it go?"

"Yes." Tragg held his anger in side.

"Thank you Lt. Tragg. Your witness, Mr. Mason."

Perry got up and walked over to Tragg. "Lieutenant, has Mr. Burger ever been upset over a verdict before this one?"

"Of course he has. He takes it personally when someone he is positive is a killer is returned to the streets."

"Did he ever go out and kill any of those people?"

"Of course not," Tragg said.

"Has he ever been upset enough that you heard him say I'll kill that guy, about anyone else?"

"Absolutely. If fact he threatens to kill you on a regular basis," Tragg said with a slight smile. The courtroom burst out in laughter. Even Judge Coleson and Hamilton Burger had smiles on their faces."

"And you are living proof he didn't mean it," Tragg said to more laughter.

"No more questions," Mason said as he headed back to the defense table.

"Re-direct, Mr. Grant?" Coleson asked.

"No your honor," Grant said regretting he had ever called Tragg back to the stand. Mason had turned his testimony into a three ring circus.

Grant called three more people who heard the altercation between Burger and Wolff. When they had completed their testimony, Judge Coleson adjourned for the day.

Hamilton grabbed Perry's arm. "All in all that was not a bad day."

"It wasn't good Hamilton. So far, they have you at the scene with the murder weapon, they have established motive and you can bet they are going to bring out your bar exam and the flash drives," Perry pointed out.

"I know Perry. But you are doing your usual efficient job of confusing the issues. That can lead to a reasonable doubt."

"That's not good enough. I want you cleared beyond a reasonable doubt. I want the real killer. I am not going to rest until we have him."

"So do I, so you can do what you did today to me and then I can threaten to kill you a few more times," Hamilton said with a smile.

Perry chuckled. "You really threaten to kill me on a regular basis?"

"Today was a prime example of why?" Hamilton grinned.

After both men shared a laugh Perry suggested, "Let's go find out what Bob has been up to. I'll bet he's as hungry as I am. How's dinner sound?"

"You won't get any argument from me," Burger said. "How about you Della?"

"This early? He never feeds me this early. Dinner before nine o'clock is almost unheard of."

"We have a guest, Della. Bob can get ugly when he's not fed," Perry said.

"What do you mean CAN get ugly?" Hamilton asked.

All three laughed and headed out of the courtroom.

13.3

Perry, Della and Hamilton entered Mason's office. Perry glanced over at his brother who was seated behind his desk. Ed, Eve and Mark were in various chairs around the room. "Make yourself at home, Bob," he said with a slight smile.

"I have," Ironside responded. Otto bounded out from behind the desk. He ran over to Mason with his tail wagging.

"This is a professional office," Perry said. "It is no place for a dog."

"Ironside glanced at Otto. He gives your office character,"

Hamilton smiled. Ironside really enjoyed getting under Perry's skin.

"What do you have against dogs," Ironside snarled.

"Nothing, especially that dog. He saved my life."

"Good, that it is settled. He stays."

"What are we going to do with him when we go out to dinner?" Perry asked.

"He can stay in the van." Ironside suggested.

"Dinner, now that is the best thing you two have said." Hamilton walked over to the door when someone knocked.

Lt. Tragg entered the office. "Did I hear someone mention dinner? Where are we eating?"

"The Chili House," Mark said. We have reservations in an hour."

Tragg groaned.

Hamilton sat down. "I think I just lost my appetite. How do you people survive eating that stuff?"

"After a while your stomach becomes immune to it," Ed said.

"Especially if you have eaten as many bowls of chili as we have," Eve added.

"Quite frankly," Tragg said, "I would not feed that stuff to the dog."

"That's because Otto would not eat it. He doesn't like chili," Mark said.

"Who does, beside the chief," Hamilton said.

Ironside changed the subject, "How did it go in court today?"

"Grant established corpus delicti and they called witnesses of the altercation between Hamilton and Conner Wolf. Lt. Tragg testified that Hamilton standing in the room with the dead body with a knife in his hand. Tomorrow, he will work on the motive." Perry finished his summary.

"Perry did a good job confusing the issues," Hamilton added.

"I thought you hated when he does that," Tragg said.

"I hate when he does it to me not for me," Hamilton said drawing a laugh from those in the room.

"What did you find out today?" Perry asked Ironside.

"Eve discover that a man, probably Conner Wolf worked for the Tennison Corporation and developed a super computer chip and then disappeared. Eve produced a picture." Ironside handed it to Mason. "His hair is longer, he has a beard but I think you can tell who it is."

"Conner Wolff," Perry said.

"I believe Wolff went from company to company with this computer chip. I suspect he was selling it to each company."

"Getting it illegally," Perry observed.

"That way they could not go to the police," Ed said.

"Which could explain why Fox's Brit Bradford dropped the charges against Daniel Moorey, Eve guessed."

"Bob, we have to find the connection between the Wolff and Conner," Perry said.

"We'll find it. Tonight you and I have an appointment with Charles Patrick, the CEO of Johnson Technology," Ironside told his brother. "Eve will be checking out Marco Rustoff and Ed is checking on Daniel Moorey's where abouts."

Perry turned to Lt. Tragg. "Did you get the court order to get in to Rustoff's computer?"

"No the judge refused us. He said we did not show just cause," Tragg said. "He will let us into the security computers but not Rustoff's."

"What the hell is the difference?" Ironside roared. "It is the company's computer and he is in charge of the security system."

"I am aware of that Chief, but he would not give us the court order," Tragg said.

"Eve, that makes your job even more important. Find out what he is up to."

"Yes, Chief."

"Let's get out of here and get some dinner," Perry said.

Everyone filed out of the room, took the elevators down to the parking garage. "Wait here chief, I will go get the van." Mark left the group to head for the van. Eve and Ed left for their rented car. Hamilton and Lt. Tragg stayed with the chief and Perry.

Ed and Eve passed by them in their rented car. They left the parking garage and headed to the restaurant. Mark pulled the van up in front of the curb. Perry began pushing his brother's wheelchair toward the van. Otto moved in front of them and began barking. The hair was standing up on his back.

"Otto come," Ironside called out but the dog ignored the command and continued barking and blocking their path toward the van. "Perry, the rest of you get in the van. I'll take care of Otto."

Perry left his place behind the wheelchair and led the others toward the van. Otto ran over to Mason and grabbed him by the arm. He growled and tugged at his arm without sinking his teeth. Perry turned back to look at Ironside. Both men look at the other and then at the same time started yelling.

"MARK, GET OUT OF THE VAN!" Ironside shouted.

Perry headed toward the van, "MARK, GET OUT," Otto leaped in the air and knock Mason to the ground just as the van exploded.