Mason escorted Virginia Baxter to a seat inside the rail of the courtroom.
«Now, don't be nervous,» he said reassuringly.
She said, «That's like telling a cold person not to shiver. I can't help being nervous. I'm shaking like a leaf on the inside, if not on the outside. I feel full of butterflies.»
Mason said, «This is a preliminary hearing. It is usually a matter of routine for the judge to bind a defendant over to the higher court. When he does that, he quite frequently increases the amount of bail. Sometimes he makes the bail almost prohibitive. You're going to have to face that possibility.»
«I just can't raise any more bail, Mr. Mason, that's all, unless I sell my real property at a loss.»
«I know,» Mason said. «I'm just telling you what may happen. However, real property in your name will influence a judge in fixing the amount of bail.»
«You don't hold out much hope of… getting me out on this preliminary hearing?»
«Ordinarily,» Mason said, «the judge binds the defendant over if the prosecutor wants to go ahead with the case in the higher court. Sometimes, of course, we get a break.
«It's almost unheard of to put a defendant on the stand at the time of a preliminary examination, but if I think there's even a faint chance of getting the judge to dismiss the case, I'm going to put you on the stand so he can take a look at you and see the kind of a person you really are.»
«That horrid newspaper story,» she said, «-and that picture!»
«From the city editor's standpoint, it was a wonderful picture,» Mason said. «It showed surprise and consternation on your face and, as far as your case is concerned, the picture may do you some good.»
«But it blasted my reputation,» she said. «My friends are avoiding me in a big way.»
Mason started to say something but checked himself as the door of the judge's chambers opened.
«Stand up,» Mason said.
Every person in the courtroom arose as Judge Cortland Albert took his seat at the bench, then glanced appraisingly at the defendant.
«This is the time heretofore fixed for the preliminary hearing in the case of the People versus Virginia Baxter. Are you ready to proceed?»
«Ready for the defendant,» Mason said.
Jerry Caswell, one of the younger trial deputies who was frequently sent in to handle preliminary hearings and who was eagerly trying to make a record which would attract the attention of his superiors, was on his feet.
«The prosecution,» he announced dramatically, «is always ready!»
He waited a moment, then seated himself.
«Call your first witness,» Judge Albert said.
Caswell called the porter from the airport.
«Are you acquainted with the defendant?»
«Yes, sir. I saw her.»
«On the seventeenth of this month?»
«Yes, sir.»
«You are one of the porters at the airport?»
«Yes, sir.»
«And you make a living from transporting baggage?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Now, did the defendant, on the seventeenth of this month, indicate to you a suitcase?»
«She did. Yes, sir.»
«Would you know that suitcase if you saw it again?»
«I would. Yes, sir.»
Caswell nodded to a police officer who came forward with the suitcase.
«Is that the one?»
«Yes, sir, that's the one.»
«I want that marked 'People's Exhibit A' for identification,» Caswell said.
«So ordered,» the judge ruled.
«And the defendant said that was her suitcase?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Were you present when the suitcase was opened?»
«Yes, sir.»
«What was in the suitcase when it was opened, other than clothes, if anything?»
«There were some packages done up in plastic.»
«How many? Do you know?»
«I didn't count them. There was a goodly number.»
«That's all,» Caswell said. «Cross-examine.»
«The defendant identified this suitcase as being hers?» Mason asked.
«Yes, sir.»
«Did she give you a baggage check?»
«She did. Yes, sir.»
«And you compared the number on the check given you by the defendant with the number on the suitcase?»
«Yes, sir.»
«How many checks did the defendant give you?»
«Actually, she gave me two.»
«What became of the second check?»
«That was for an overnight bag. I got that for her, too.»
«And was that opened?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Now, directing your attention to the suitcase, just prior to the time the suitcase was opened, was there some conversation with a person who identified himself as a police officer?»
«Yes, sir. Officer Jack Andrews showed this young woman his credentials and asked her if that was her suitcase.»
«What did she say?»
«She said it was.»
«And what did Andrews say?»
«He asked her if he could open it.»
«No other conversation?»
«Well, that was the substance of it.»
«I'm not asking you about the substance,» Mason said. «I'm asking you about the conversation itself. Didn't he ask her if she was positive that was her suitcase, and if she could identify the suitcase by describing the articles that were in it?»
«Yes, sir, that's right.»
«And then he asked her to open the suitcase so he could inspect those articles?»
«Yes, sir.»
«And what about the overnight bag? Did he ask her to identify that?»
«He just asked her if it was hers.»
«And she said it was?»
«Yes.»
«And then what happened?»
«He opened it.»
«That's all?»
«Well, of course, afterwards they took her away with them.»
«Now, I call your attention to a photograph in an evening edition of the newspaper published on the seventeenth, and call your attention to this picture of the defendant and the suitcase.»
«Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not proper cross-examination,» Caswell said.
«It is preliminary only and for the purpose of bringing out part of the res gestae,» Mason said.
«Overruled. I'll hear it,» Judge Albert announced.
«Were you present when this picture was taken?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Did you see the photographer?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Where did he come from?»
«He was hiding behind one of the pillars.»
«And when the suitcase was opened, he came out with his camera?»
«Yes, sir. He darted out from behind that pillar with his cameras all ready, and boom-boom-boom he took three pictures.»
«And then what?»
«Then he ran away.»
«If the Court please,» Caswell said, «we move to strike out all this testimony about the photographer. Not only is it improper cross-examination but it is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. It serves no useful purpose.»
«It serves a very useful purpose, if the Court please,» Mason rejoined. «It shows that this was no mere casual search. It shows that the officer had planned the search and anticipated what he was going to find. He had tipped off a friendly newspaper reporter and, if the Court will read the article in this newspaper, it will be seen that the reporter endeavored to reciprocate by seeing that the officer had proper publicity in return for the favor extended.»
Judge Albert smiled very slightly.
«Your Honor, I object. I object to any such statement,» Caswell said.
«It is merely by way of argument,» Mason said.
«An argument for what purpose?» Caswell asked.
«To show the relevancy of the testimony,» Mason said. «To show that the officer was acting under some specific tip, some bit of information which had been given to him; and the defense proposes to find out what that information was and who gave it to him.»
A look of fleeting dismay appeared on Caswell's features.
Judge Albert smiled and said, «I thought I appreciated the underlying purpose of the cross-examination when counsel started asking the questions. The motion to strike is denied.
«Do you have any further cross-examination, Mr. Mason?»
«No, Your Honor.»
«Redirect?»
«No, Your Honor,» Jerry Caswell said.
«Call your next witness.»
Caswell said, «I call Detective Jack Andrews.
«What is your name?» Caswell asked after Andrews had been sworn.
«Jackman, J-A-C-K-M-A-N, Andrews. I am known generally as Jack Andrews, but Jackman is my name.»
«Directing your attention to the suitcase which has been marked for identification as People's Exhibit A, when did you first see that suitcase?»
«When the defendant pointed it out to the porter who has just testified.»
«And what did you do?»
«I approached her and asked her if that was her suitcase.»
«And then what?»
«I asked her if she had any objection to my looking in the suitcase and she said she did not.»
«And then what happened?»
«I opened the suitcase.»
«And what did you find?»
«I found fifty packages of-«
«Now, just a moment,» Mason interrupted. «I submit, if the Court please, this particular question has now been asked and fully answered. The witness said he found fifty packages. As to the contents of these packages, that is another matter and calls for another question.»
«Very well,» Caswell said. «If counsel wants to do it the hard way, we'll do it the hard way. Now, did you take those packages into your possession?»
«I did.»
«And did you take steps to ascertain what those packages were, what the substance consisted of?»
«I did.»
«And what was the substance?»
«Now, just a moment,» Mason said. «At this point, we interpose an objection on the ground that it is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial; that no proper foundation has been laid; that the property was taken as the result of an illegal search and seizure, and is incompetent as evidence in this case.
«In this connection, if the Court please, I desire to ask a few questions.»
«Very well, in connection with this objection which has been made, you may take the witness on voir dire.»
«Did you have a search warrant?» Mason asked the witness.
«No, sir, there wasn't time to get a search warrant.»
«You just went out there?»
«I just went out there, but I call your attention to the fact that I asked the defendant if she had any objection to my looking in the suitcase and she said it was all right, to go right ahead.»
«Now, just a minute,» Mason said. «You're relating the substance of the conversation. You're giving your conclusion as to what the conversation consisted of. Can you remember your exact words?»
«Well, those were virtually my exact words.»
«Did you tell her you wanted to search her suitcase?»
«Yes.»
«Now, just a minute,» Mason said. «You're under oath. Did you tell her you wanted to search her suitcase, or did you ask her if she could identify the contents of the suitcase?»
«I believe I asked her if it was her suitcase and she said it was, and I asked her if she could describe the contents and she described them.»
«And then you asked her if she had any objection to opening the suitcase in order to show you the contents she had described. Isn't that right?»
«Yes, sir.»
«But you didn't tell her you wanted to search the suitcase?»
«No.»
«She gave you no permission to search the suitcase?»
«She said it would be all right to open it.»
«She gave you no permission to search the suitcase?»
«I told her I wanted to open it and she said it would be all right.»
«She gave you no permission to search the suitcase?»
«Well, I guess the word 'search' wasn't mentioned.»
«Exactly,» Mason said. «Now, you went down to wait for this defendant at the airline terminal in response to a tip, did you not?»
«Well… yes.»
«Who gave you that tip?»
«I'm not in a position to disclose the sources of our information.»
«I think under the present rulings of the courts,» Mason said, «this witness must show that he had reasonable grounds for wanting to search that suitcase, and an anonymous tip, or one from a person he didn't know, wouldn't constitute reasonable grounds of search; therefore, the defendant is entitled to know the reasons for which he wanted to search the suitcase.»
Judge Albert frowned, turned to the witness. «Do you refuse to disclose the name of the person giving you the tip?»
«The tip didn't come to me,» Andrews said. «It came to one of my superiors. I was told that there had been a hot tip and to go down to the airport, to wait for this party and see if I could get permission to look in the suitcase. If I couldn't, I was to keep her under surveillance until a warrant could be obtained.»
Judge Albert said, «This is an interesting situation. Apparently, the defendant did not give anyone permission to 'search' the suitcase but did give her consent to opening the suitcase for the sole purpose of demonstrating the presence of certain articles. It's a peculiar situation.»
«I'll get at it in still another way, if the Court please,» Mason said. «I want to make the defendant's position plain. We would like to get this matter cleaned up in this preliminary hearing and not on some technicality.»
Mason turned to the witness. «You took fifty packages out of that suitcase?»
«Yes, sir.»
«You have them here in court?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Did you weigh them?»
«Weigh them? No, sir. We counted the packages and made our inventory that way rather than by weight.»
«Now, there was a second bag, an overnight bag?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Did you ask the defendant to identify that?»
«She said it was hers. She had a claim check for it.»
«And did you ask her about the contents?»
«No.»
«Did you ask her if it would be all right to open it?»
«No.»
«But you did open it and search it?»
«Yes. However, we found nothing significant in that overnight bag.»
«You didn't ask her permission to open that bag?»
«I don't believe I did.»
«You just went ahead and opened it anyway?»
«That was after I'd found this big shipment of-«
Mason held up his hand. «Never mind what it was, at this time,» he said. «We'll refer to it simply as 'fifty packages.' What did you do with the overnight bag?»
«We have it here.»
«Now then,» Mason said, «since you don't know how much the fifty packages weighed, do you know how much the suitcase weighed without the fifty packages?»
«I do not.»
«Did you know the defendant had paid excess baggage on the suitcases?»
«Yes.»
«Yet you never weighed them?»
«No.»
«I suggest, if the Court please, we weigh them now,» Mason said.
«What is the purpose of this offer?» Judge Albert inquired.
«If,» Mason said, «the scales show that these two bags, at the present time, and without the packages, weigh forty-six pounds, then it is conclusive evidence that someone planted whatever was in that suitcase after it had left the possession of the defendant.»
«I think the point is well taken,» Judge Albert said. «I'm going to take a recess for ten minutes. The bailiff will have some scales brought into court and we will weigh those two suitcases.»
«That doesn't necessarily mean anything,» Caswell protested. «We only have the defendant's word that they weighed forty-six pounds. She has been out on bail. We don't know what has been taken from those suitcases.»
«Haven't they been in the custody of the police?» Judge Albert asked.
«Yes, but there would have been no objection to her going to the suitcase to take clothes.»
«_Did_ she go to the suitcase and take anything?»
«I don't know, Your Honor.»
«If you don't know whether she took something out, you don't know whether someone else put something in,» Judge Albert snapped. «The Court will take a recess of ten minutes and we'll have scales brought in.»
Mason sauntered out to a telephone booth, called the pressroom at headquarters and said, «An interesting demonstration is taking place in court in ten minutes. Judge Cortland Albert is going to weigh the evidence.»
«Doesn't he always weigh the evidence?» one of the reporters asked facetiously.
«Not this way,» Mason said. «He's going to weigh it with a pair of scales.»
«What?»
«That's right. With a pair of scales in ten minutes. You'd better be up here. You might get something good.»
«What department?» the reporter asked.
Mason told him.
«We'll be up,» the man said. «Hold it off a little if you can.»
«I can't,» Mason told him. «As soon as the judge gets the scales in, he's going to reconvene court. He thinks he can do it within ten minutes and I think he can, too. The bailiff is getting the scales.»
Mason hung up.