The Case of the Defenseless Prosecutor
Chapter 20
20.1
Otto sat beside Ironside's wheelchair. He nudged Ironside's hand and whined. "Quiet boy, " Ironside told the German Shepherd. The dog immediately became silent.
Chief Ironside turned to Lt. Tragg and asked, "Any sign of Moorey yet?
"Sorry chief. Nothing yet. He has not come near here."
Ironside hated the waiting. Where was Mooney? Rustoff's voice had been pretty shaky. Did Moorey become suspicious? Rustoff made that call two hours ago. What in the blazes was keeping him? Whatever the reason, they would just have to sit here and wait. Waiting…..it just was not Ironside's strong suit.
20.2
Carl Reese finished going through the Fox Corporation's files. Something just did not add up. Moorey had been fired by Brit Bradford but he could not find a shred of evidence that he had been blackmailed by Moorey. He certainly had good reason to can the man. Carl could not see any reason for Bradford to drop the charges against Moorey. The chief was off base on this one and his instincts just were not wrong that often. In fact they were rarely wrong.
Carl had been surprised the chief had not called since he had left. Well he was sure it would not be long before Chief Ironside would want to know what progress he had made and so far, it was not much. Carl decided he had to get a look at Bradford's computer system.
As he left his office he called out, "Smiddy, I am going to be out of the office for a while. I have to check on something for the chief."
Without looking up, Smiddy said, "Alright lieutenant. I'll tell Captain Smith when he comes in."
Carl got in his car and headed to the Johnson Tech Corporation. When he arrived at security, the same man was on duty. When he saw Reese approaching, he rolled his eyes. After the day he had put in the last thing he needed was that damn nosy cop. A double shift had him dog-tired. He did not have the energy to argue with Reese.
Carl pulled the court order out of his pocket. "I have a search warrant. I would suggest you do not call upstairs. If I find out that you have I will arrest you for interfering with a police investigation." Carl jumped over the security counter and went straight to the elevator.
"Hey!" shouted an employee in line to go through security so that he could go home for the night. "I have been in line for half an hour and that guy just jumped the counter?"
The guard shrugged his shoulders and watched Reese enter the elevator.
Reese got off on the floor where the main computer system was housed. He knocked on the security door. He heard the dead bolt being pulled back. The door opened. A geeky looking man in his early twenties stood on the other side of the door. "Yea, what do you want?"
Reese frowned and said, "Yea, what do you want? That's real professional. Why don't you try...may I help you? You need to work on your people skills." Reese pulled out his badge and showed it to the young man.
"Sorry, cop or no cop, you cannot come in here without a court order."
Reese shoved the court order under his nose. "You mean like this?" He pushed his way past him.
Reese walked over to the security computers. "I need a temporary key to access the system."
The young man hesitated. Unsure what to do, he reached for the phone. Reese grabbed the phone out of his hand and slammed it back down in the receiver. He held up the court order. "You do not need the boss' permission for me to access this system. This says I do not need his permission so I am going to tell you this just once. I do not want your boss notified so that he can hide files. That would be considered interfering with a police investigation."
The man walked over to the main computer, sat down and began creating a sign in password for Reese. When he was finished, he stood up and turned to Reese. "You are all set, lieutenant. Your password is policepig."
Carl gave the man a disgusted look and shoved him away from the computer. He sat down at the computer and began typing.
20.3
Hamilton Burger rubbed his tired eyes. Maybe Mark Sanger was right. He had been going through the flash drives for two hours and he had not found anything that was of the least bit help. Nothing on the flash drives contained any evidence of what was going to be of any help to Perry or the chief.
Burger got up and stretched his back. He walked out of Perry's law library poured himself a cup of coffee. Was it all over at the Johnson Tech building? Did Ironside have Moorey in custody? How he hated being left out of the action. He just could not understand why Ironside insisted he not join them. If the situation were reversed, Hamilton knew there was no way Ironside would stay of a murder investigation if he were the one on trial.
Hamilton took his coffee and went back into the law library. He set the coffee on the table. After inserting another flash drive into the USB port, he opened more files. He might as well look at the rest of them. What else did he have to do?
He thought back to when Perry Mason opened his law practice in Los Angeles. He remembered how he had thought of him as nothing more than a hotshot attorney shirting the law to clear clients, Burger wondered why he had not seen beyond the surface of what made Perry Mason….well Perry Mason. They had clashed so much in those days. Mason tendency to come close to crossing the line had almost created an obsession to catch him in the act and prosecute him. But Burger found that although Perry came close to that line, even stood on it at times, he never crossed it. Burger still felt to this day that Perry took too many chances when defending a client. He also knew he would never change. Perry would always pull all the stops to protect his clients. He took his duty to them more seriously than most attorneys did.
Hamilton had come to admire the talent the man possessed. Whenever he faced Mason in court, he knew Perry would dig for the truth and never relent until he found it. Now Burger did not take Mason's clients to court unless he was positive the client was guilty. He would ask Perry why he thought the client was innocent and find that a lot of the time Perry simply believed the client or trusted his instincts. If the evidence warranted, then Hamilton prosecuted the case. His friend had yet to be wrong. Hamilton had not beaten him in court a single time.
Burger and Mason came to respect one another. Now, Perry would come to Hamilton if he felt he could trap whom he believed to be the real murderer and Hamilton and Lt. Tragg would go along, giving him every opportunity to do so. In early years, Mason would simply go into court and blow Burger's case out of the water, something Burger found very embarrassing. Both men came to an understanding that although they were on opposite sides of the case, they were really after the same thing…the truth. Once that had happened, they became more than advisories. They became friends.
He knew he was lucky to have Perry as an attorney. There was no one better and as always Perry was giving this case his all. Hamilton smiled when he thought about Perry's big brother. Ironside was just as brilliant in his field as Perry was in his. And Ironside possessed that same quality. He was never satisfied until he found the truth. The two men were so much alike in some ways and so different in others. The bond between the brothers had grown extremely strong since that first meeting and Ironside's revelation of their relationship. Hamilton could not fathom what it would be like had the two of them been brought up in the same household. At any rate, he could only imagine the intense competition they would have had as youngsters.
Burger smiled and shook his head. When had he become so sentimental? How many times had his mind taken him back over the years of their sometime complicated relationship? Was it the position he was in that had him thinking about years past? He certainly had not thought much about it before Perry agreed to defend him. Now it seemed it was on his mind a lot. It really didn't matter, Burger thought. Perry was on his side this time and he was certainly glad that was the case.
He continued scrolling down the information the latest flash drive presented on the computer screen. He was so tired now, his vision was sometimes blurring. Upward, the words continued to the top of the screen….wait what is this, he thought. Hamilton stopped the scrolling and backed up the information on the screen. Will you look at this….Ironside had been right all along…..or was it Perry that had been right. It didn't matter which one said it…..here was something that would definitely help with the case.
Hamilton Burger sat back and grinned. He put his hands behind his head and intertwined his fingers. Maybe this time the chief would appreciate his help.
20.4
Daniel Moorey pulled into the parking lot of Johnson Tech. He shut off the engine, got out of the car. After punching the security code into the panel on the door, the latch released and the door opened. He entered the building quietly and turned to the right toward the stairs that led to the basement.
The building was quiet. All of the employees would have gone home by now. The only people that would have access to the building at this hour would be the computer geniuses that created new systems and new hardware for those systems. Moorey quickly took the stairs down to the basement and headed down the hall. The lights were off downstairs since rarely did anyone ever enter the basement at night. The only thing that illuminated the halls was lights that ran along the floor. When he reached the room where Ed Brown was being held, he opened the door and walked in.
Marco Rustoff jumped nervously when the door opened suddenly. "Well it is about time you got here," he told Moorey. "What in the hell took you so long?"
"I had to make a call. He doesn't want us to kill Brown just yet."
"So what does HE want us to do with him."
"We are going to continue to keep him here," Moorey said.
"Oh no we are not. We are taking a chance keeping him in this building. We can't watch him around the clock. Suppose he gets the gag off or manages to crawl out of here? No….I won't allow it. Brown has to go."
Moorey looked at Rustoff with disgust. "A while back when I came to your apartment, you were so sure of yourself. Telling me to misdirect Ironside. You treated me like the hired help. Now look at you. Your hands are shaking and you've lost that cockiness. What in the hell is the matter with you anyway? I took your advice and I have left Ironside alone since the explosion and have taken grief from HIM over it. HE wants Ironside dead. He's madder than a hornet that it has not been done yet. I have ignored him and do you know why? Because you were right. Ironside is just spinning his wheels." A big grin appeared on his face. He laughed.
"What in the hell is so funny?" Marco shouted.
"Don't you get it? Ironside spinning his wheels…..I am getting this vision of Ironside doing wheelies in that chair of his and spinning his wheels." He laughed again, this time more loudly and longer.
Rustoff just stood there. What an idiot this guy is, he thought. He is about be arrested or worse blown away by Ironside and he is making jokes. "I don't care what HE wants. I want Brown out of here."
"Brown stays. You keep him quiet. Remember, you have a lot more to lose than I do. Ironside knows about me but he doesn't know about you. So if you don't find a way to keep Brown quiet and locked up then the problem is yours. You are the one that will have to face Ironside."
"Moorey, this is insane. We cannot keep Brown here!" Marco shouted.
"Will you calm down? It is just for one more night. Tomorrow we kill him and dump his body just as soon as we get confirmation Ironside put the money in the Swiss account."
The door opened and Ironside wheeled in. "I changed my mind, Moorey. I thought I would deliver the money in person than I could be sure Ed would be released unharmed." Lt. Tragg and Lt. Anderson appeared in the doorway as both men positioned themselves, one on each side of Chief Ironside. Each man was wielding a thirty-eight.
Moorey pointed the gun behind him at the floor where Ed Brown had been lying. "Stay right there Ironside or I'll kill your boy."
"You are not going to kill anyone," Ironside said. "If you don't drop that gun, you are the only one that is going to get killed. He reached in his suit coat and pulled out his service revolver. "Now I have four guns on you."
Moorey laughed. "They may have taught you police procedure, Ironside but they must have forgotten to teach you how to count. You have three guns on me and they will not be able to fire fast enough to keep me from killing Brown. So drop your guns, NOW!"
"I have four guns on you, Moorey. I can count just fine."
With his gun hand still pointed back at Ed, Moorey used the other to point at Lt. Tragg, "Let's see….one" Then he pointed at Lt. Anderson…. "two" and then at Ironside… "three."
"Four," Sgt. Ed Brown said from behind him.
Moorey turned his head to see Ed Brown standing up with a service revolver in one hand and supported by the other hand. He had the gun pointed directly at Moorey.
"Now drop the gun, Moorey or I will order my men to disarm you," Ironside roared.
Moorey looked over at Marco Rustoff. "You stupid fool." He pointed his gun at Rustoff.
"Don't try it Moorey. You will be dead before you get the shot off," Ironside shouted.
Moorey looked around, looking for a way out of his situation. With three cops blocking the door and Ed Brown behind him, there was nowhere to go. He dropped the gun.
"You're smarter than I gave you credit for Mr. Moorey," Ironside said as he put his gun back in his suit coat pocket. "Let's find out, just how smart you are. Sit down, Mr. Moorey. We are going to have a talk."
20.4
Perry Mason and Della Street entered the office. After passing through Gerty's and Della's outer offices, Mason opened the door to his own office. On the other side stood a grinning Hamilton Burger.
"Well don't you look the cat that ate the canary?" Della said. She poured a cup of coffee for her boss and set it on Perry's desk.
The big lawyer walked around and sat down behind his desk. "Why the grin?"
"Come into the law library and see for yourself," Hamilton said.
Perry and Della looked at one another and then Perry got up. They followed Burger in to the law library. Burger pointed at the computer screen.
Mason grinned. "This definitely helps. The grin disappeared and he said, "Bob called. He has Moorey in custody. Moorey sang like a canary."
"Can you blame him? Would you want to sit there with the Ironside glare, the constant questions being thrown at you and the few threats thrown in for good measure?" Burger asked.
Perry and Della laughed. Perry said, "Can you think of what a good lawyer or prosecutor he would have made here in Los Angeles with those interrogation methods of his?"
"What a scary thought," Burger said. "Two of you in the same city with those methods. I'd quit and run for prosecutor in San Francisco."
Perry, Della and Hamilton laughed. Then Perry turned serious. "Hamilton, under normal circumstances I would never put the defendant on the stand but these are not normal circumstances. If we are going to save your job, you have to explain your actions. Furthermore no one should be able to handle it better than you."
Hamilton sat down at the table. "I have been thinking about that Perry. I want to testify. I need to tell my side of it."
"I have been able to get you to lose your temper in court before. You can't allow Wayland Grant to get to you. You have to control your temper. We have broken down a lot of his case but standing in the room with the dead body with a bloody knife in your hand is pretty powerful."
"I know. I can do it Perry," Hamilton said.
"You better if you want to be the first to beat me in court," Perry replied.
20.5
For the third day in a row the courtroom was packed. There was not an empty seat in the house. Wayland Grant had already entered the courtroom and taken his place behind the prosecutor's table. Reporters in the front row were snapping pictures of the acting district attorney and shouting questions at him. Grant was putting on an air of importance and basking in the attention the media was giving him. He answered each question as if what he had just said was the most important thing they would ever hear. It continued to go on until…..
Perry Mason, Della Street and Hamilton Burger entered the back of the courtroom. All reporters in the room turned their cameras to the attractive couple and shouted questions at Mason as Burger took his place beside his attorney. Perry Mason smiled and said no comment. Della opened Perry's brief case and began organizing his papers on the table in front of them.
Judge Joseph Carlson entered the courtroom. "Mr. Mason, is the defense ready?"
Perry stood up. "Yes, your honor."
"Then you may make your opening statement."
"The defense would like to waive opening statement and call our first witness."
"Go ahead Mr. Mason." Judge Colson said.
"The defense calls….Hamilton Burger to the stand. The courtroom burst into loud chatter as Hamilton Burger stood up and walked the witness stand. He glanced over at the jury, the people who would decide his fate.
Perry stood up. As if his tall, large stature was not enough, he added his booming voice to the mix. "Mr. Burger, you prosecuted Conner Wolff for the murder of five Johnson Tech employees, did you not?
"Yes, I did.
"And will you tell the court the verdict of that trial?"
"He was found not guilty."
"Did you agree with that verdict?" Mason asked.
"Absolutely not," Burger stated. "He was guilty of those murders. He should have been convicted."
"But that is not your decision to make, is it?"
"No, it is not," Burger answered.
"Were your upset with the verdict?
"Yes, I was."
"Anymore then you are when a verdict doesn't go your way?" Mason asked.
"Yes, I would have to say I was much more upset."
"Why, Mr. Burger."
"My god daughter was one of the people that was murdered."
Grant could not believe his ears. What in the hell was Mason doing? He was establishing a motive for murder. He decided to sit back and let Mason hang his own client.
"Can you tell the court what took place up to and including when you threatened Connor Wolff at Eddie's Bar and Grill?"
"That morning I had been following Conner Wolff."
"Why were you following him?"
"I wanted to get some evidence on him that would substantiate another prosecution."
"Alright and then what happened."
"I followed him to a restaurant where he met with a man whom he argued with."
"What were they arguing about?"
"I could not hear what they were saying," Burger said.
"Objection!" Grant shouted. "If Mr. Burger could not hear the conversation then there is no possible way he could tell if they were arguing. Move to strike."
"Sustained. Strike the question and the answer regarding the argument."
"And then where did you go?"
"I followed Wolff to the Johnson Tech building at around eleven."
"Did you follow him in?"
"Yes, I did."
"Did you fight with him, argue, or even speak to him?"
"No. I did not.
"Where else did he go?"
"He ran some errands and then went to Eddie's Bar and Grill."
"And then what happened?"
"He approached me."
"What did he say?"
"Objection! Hearsay," Grant called out.
"Your honor, ordinarily I would agree but this goes to the very essence of Mr. Burger's threatening of Mr. Wofff," Mason said.
"I am going to allow the question."
"He told me that he had indeed killed the five employees."
Grant stood up but said nothing.
"Mr. Grant, is there an objection forthcoming?" Coleson asked him.
"No your honor. I guess I am in a state of shock that the defense attorney is helping with my case."
"Mr. Mason….." the judge began.
"If the court please, the entire testimony will become apparent," Mason said.
"And what did you say to him," Mason asked.
"I believe I said 'You bastard. I will stop you. You will not get away with murder. I will stop you once and for all," There were murmurs throughout the courtroom.
"What did you mean by that? Did you mean that you would stop him by killing him?" Perry asked.
"No, of course not," Hamilton replied.
"Than what did you mean?"
"I meant I would work day and night until I found something that would put the man behind bars for the rest of his life."
"But you did not mean you would kill him?" Perry asked again.
"No. I did not mean that I would kill him."
"Alright, Mr. Burger. Let's talk about the night of the murder. What happened that night?"
"I was driving around, trying to clear my head. When I drove by Johnson Tech, I noticed an opened door."
"Why didn't you report it to the police?"
"I really don't know. I just went inside."
"Then what?"
"I went down the hall to Conner Wolff's office."
"Was the door locked?"
"No it was opened."
"Then what?"
"I went inside. I fumbled along the wall trying to find the light switch but could not locate it."
"There were no lights on at all?"
"No, none."
"What did you do?"
"I started feeling the desk for a lamp that I could turn on."
"Did you find one?"
"No."
"What did you do next?"
"I heard a noise. There was someone in the room."
"Objection, your honor! That is speculation on the part of the witness," Grant complained.
"Sustained!" Coleson ruled.
"Alright, so you heard a noise. Then you believed someone was in the room. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct." Burger said.
"What did you do?"
"I went back to the desk. I had felt a knife on the desk when I was looking for a light. I felt the desk until I located the knife."
"Did you pick the knife up?" Mason asked.
"Yes, I did."
"Why?"
"Because if there was someone in the room I want to protect myself," Burger said.
"Then what happened?"
"The lights came on and Lt. Tragg walked into the room."
"And then what?"
"I noticed the knife was covered in blood. Lt. Tragg checked the body and announced he was dead."
"Mr. Burger, did you kill Conner Woff?" Mason asked.
"No I did not! I am an officer of the court. I have dedicated my entire life to putting murderers behind bars. I have lost cases before. It never entered my mind to kill Conner Wolff. I only wanted to use the law to put him behind bars where he belonged."
"Why should the court believe you, Mr. Burger?" Perry asked.
"Because I have a record of dedicated service to this city. It has been my job for years to protect the people of Los Angeles county against murderers, not commit them."
Perry glanced over at the jury. It was clear that Hamilton's sincerity had moved them.
"Your witness," Perry said to Grant.
Grant approached Burger in the witness stand. Hamilton had to remind himself that Grant was only doing his job. He waited for Grant's onslaught.
"Mr. Burger, when you learned from Conner Wolff that he did indeed murder your god daughter…do you really expect this court to believe you were not angry."
"No, I do not. I said I was angry enough that I wanted to stop him from killing again."
"Angry enough to hit him?"
"No. I never touched him."
"But isn't true that Perry Mason had to step in between the two of you?"
"No," Burger said.
Grant's eyes widen. "You mean Perry Mason did not step in between the two of you?"
"Yes, he did."
"But you just said he didn't, did you not?"
"No, I said it wasn't true that Perry mason HAD to step in between the two of us." Laughter sounded around the courtroom. Perry smiled. There was an advantage to having a lawyer as a witness.
Grant's face turned red. "Mr. Burger, did Perry Mason step between you and Conner Wolff or did he not?"
"Yes, he did but he did not have to," Burger repeated. Again laughter sounded in the courtroom."
"In other words, he stepped in between you to stop you from striking Conner Wolff? Is that right?"
"Your honor, the witness has already stated he did not want to strike Conner Wolff," Perry said as he stood up."
"Objection sustained.
"Mr. Burger, you are known for your temper, are you not?"
"Objection! No foundation laid. Nothing in evidence has suggested Mr. Burger has a temper any different from anyone else in this courtroom," Perry called out.
"Sustained."
"Mr. Burger, do you have a temper?" Grant asked.
"Of course I do, just as you do."
"You have been known to lose it in court, have you not?"
"Occasionally….usually at Mr. Mason and he's still alive," Burger said to more laughter.
Grant realized he was getting nowhere with this line of questioning so he changed course. "When you stopped at the Johnson Tech Corporation, why did you not phone the police?"
"I already told Mr. Mason I don't know why I didn't."
"You entered the building and went to Conner Wolff's office, is that correct."
"Yes. I already said I did. Weren't you paying attention?" Burger said with a twinkle in his eye. Again laughter sounded in the courtroom.
"Your honor!" Grant pleaded.
"The witness will answer the questions and nothing more. You know better, Mr. Burger."
"Yes your honor," Burger said politely. "I apologize, your honor."
"Why did you head for Conner Wolff's office? To kill him?"
"No. I was looking for something in which I could us to send him to jail."
"Mr. Burger, you said you fumbled for the light switch. Why did Lt. Tragg not have any difficulty finding it?"
"Because he had a flashlight," Burger answered. "I didn't."
"Your finger prints were all over the murder weapon, were they not."
"You will have to ask the police. I am not an expert in finger prints," Burger said.
"Well, I can assure you they were, Mr. Burger. "Can you explain that?"
"Naturally, I had it in my hand. I picked it up off the desk."
"To kill Conner Wolff?"
"No, to protect myself."
"From whom?"
"Whoever was in that office," Burger said.
"Why would anyone want to harm you?"
"I was in that office with no authorization. I did not know what to expect."
"You followed Conner Wolff to the Johnson Tech Corporation to kill Conner Wolff did you not?"
"No. I already told you why I went there." Burger said calmly.
"You followed him all day until you found him alone. You went in, unauthorized, into his office. You found Mr. Wolff and in a rage, killed him in cold blood, did you not?"
"No I did not." Burger said calmly.
"Then you expect this court to believe that you followed Conner Wolff all day, got into a confrontation with him at Eddie's Bar and Grill in which you threaten him and had to be separated from him by Perry Mason, then followed him to the Johnson Tech Corporation, was found in the same room with his dead body with a bloody knife in your hand and you expect this court to expect you just picked up that knife because you heard something? You expect this court to believe you did not kill him?"
"I do, Mr. Grant. Because it is the truth. I did not kill Conner Wolff," Burger said looking him directly in the eye. His voice was strong, sincere an unwavering.
Grant stared at Burger for a moment and said, "No further questions."
"Any redirect, Mr. Mason?" Judge Coleson asked.
Perry stood up and smiled, "No your honor. Nothing further." Burger stepped down from the witness stand and rejoined Perry and Della at the defendant's table. He touched Mason's wrist and said, "How'd I do?"
"Take a look at the jury. You did just fine," Perry replied.
"Mr. Mason, call your next witness.
Perry stood up. "The defense calls Chief Robert T. Ironside to the stand."
The courtroom door opened and the San Francisco detective wheeled his way to the witness stand.
Grant watched the jury who seemed to be in awe of the wheelchair bound detective. He did not care for the effective Mason's courtroom antics were having on the jury. He had to break Ironside. He watched as Mason approached the witness.