“When was the last time you saw Mr. Pitkin?” Burger asked.
“Shortly after five o’clock.”
“Where was he at that time?”
“In front of the office of Mr. Perry Mason. That is, in front of the building where Mr. Mason has his office. I was waiting to see Perry Mason. I suddenly remembered that it was Hartwell’s night off. Despite the fact that I was thoroughly annoyed with him, I went down and told him he could take the car and go home.”
“And do you know what happened after that?”
“I only know that I found the car at my residence when I returned there.”
“What time?”
“Sometime... oh, it was after I got back from calling on a patient in the hospital where I made an adjustment and...”
“Never mind anything about that case,” Hamilton Burger said.
“Well, I was defrauded by Mr. Perry Mason into making a settlement that cost me several thousand dollars,” Argyle snapped.
“That’s neither here nor there,” Burger said, soothingly. “Just try to control yourself and tell us what happened.”
“Well, it must have been around nine-thirty or ten o’clock when I returned home. The car was there.”
“You may cross-examine,” Burger said.
“How do you know it was there?” Mason asked.
“Why it... it had to be there. The garage door was closed...”
“But you didn’t look for the car as soon as you returned home.”
“No.”
“How did you get home, by the way?”
“My companion drove me home, an adjuster for the insurance company which carries my insurance.”
“You arrived home when?”
“Somewhere around nine-thirty or ten o’clock.”
“And went to bed at what time?”
“Oh, I would say around eleven.”
“And when did you have occasion to look in the garage for the car?”
“About two o’clock the next morning. I received a call on the telephone and the police told me about what had happened to my chauffeur. They asked me questions and said they were coming out. I got up and dressed, and was headed for the garage about the time the police arrived.”
“Your car was in the garage?”
“That’s right.”
Mason said, “You evidenced some animosity toward me, Mr. Argyle.”
“Personally,” Argyle said, “I think you’re beneath contempt.”
“Why?”
“You knew that I had reason to believe my chauffeur had been in an automobile accident. You talked me into making a settlement of a claim which was entirely spurious. I warn you, Mr. Mason, I am going to sue for fraud and...”
“Oh, it was your chauffeur whom you thought was driving the car?”
“Naturally. I knew I wasn’t driving it. However, I was legally liable for the acts of my employee.”
“Is all this material?” Judge Osborn asked.
“I think it shows motivation and bias on the part of the witness,” Mason said.
“Let’s go into it by all means,” Burger announced, rubbing his hands. “I’d like now to show the entire facts.”
Mason said, “You shall have the entire facts, Mr. Burger. Suppose you tell your side of the story, Mr. Argyle.”
Argyle said, “Around three o’clock on the afternoon of the fifth, Mr. Mason came to my house. Mr. Pitkin was present at the interview. Mr. Mason stated that he had indisputable evidence that my car had been engaged in a hit-and-run accident in which a client of his had been seriously injured. He pointed out that there were bumps on the fenders of my car and... well, I thought he was right.”
“Why did you think I was right?” Mason asked.
“Because my chauffeur had been in trouble with the car on that date. He’d tried to get rid of it and had reported it as being stolen. He had advised me the car had been stolen and insisted I join him so he could explain the circumstances to the police. I went with him to the place where he said he had left the car. The man had been drinking and seemed terribly nervous about something. I was skeptical but badly worried myself, fearing my man might have been in some scrape which would involve me. I returned to my club and telephoned police my car had been stolen. Actually I don’t think the car was ever stolen at all. It was recovered by the police in the downtown business district where it had been parked in front of a fireplug.”
Mason said, “And on the strength of what I had told you, you decided that it would be cheaper for you to hunt up Finchley and make a settlement behind his attorney’s back, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t think any such thing.”
“But that’s exactly what you did, isn’t it?”
“As soon as I realized a man had been seriously hurt I naturally wanted to do something about it. I felt very much concerned about the whole thing. I went to your office. I kept trying to see you. You were out — apparently calling on your client, Lucille Barton.”
“Do you know that?” Mason asked.
“No, I don’t know it.”
“Have you any reason to think that’s where I was?”
“Well, I understood from the police... I’ll withdraw that. The answer is no, I don’t know.”
“All right,” Mason said. “You were at my office and were told I was out.”
“Yes.”
“And where was your chauffeur then?”
“Sitting in my Buick automobile in front of your office building, waiting.”
“You had found a parking place there?”
“My chauffeur had. He had let me out at the entrance to the building. There were no parking places available near the building. I told him to keep driving around the block until he found a parking place right near the entrance of the building. He located one almost immediately.”
“So you were waiting for me?”
“Yes, sir, until I telephoned my insurance carrier about six o’clock and told him I was trying to make a settlement with you on a claim for damages. I had suddenly wakened to a realization that I might be negligent in not reporting to my insurance company.”
“And the insurance carrier suggested to you that you could make a lot cheaper settlement by going out and making a settlement behind my back.”
“My insurance carrier told me to wait there in the lobby and not to talk with you, under any circumstances, until I had seen him. After he arrived, I placed the matter in his hands.”
“But you did go to the hospital and try to make a settlement with my client behind my back, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean by behind your back. You weren’t in your office. I certainly tried to communicate with you. I’m not going to wait all day for a lawyer, who’s out gallivanting around with a divorcee, to get back to his office. My time’s valuable!”
“Now, when you made that settlement,” Mason said, “you paid out some money of your own in addition to the settlement made by the insurance company, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Because I thought the young man was entitled to more money than the insurance company was giving him. I’m not exactly a philanthropist, but on the other hand, I don’t have to make my money by capitalizing on the suffering of a young boy.”
“Very noble sentiments,” Mason said, “but do you want this Court to understand that you not only told your insurance carrier you were liable, but paid out this money of yours purely on the strength of my statement to you that your car had been involved in an accident?”
“Well, I thought you were a reputable attorney. I know different now. At the time, when yo i said you had proof — well, I thought you had it.”