“And,” Mason pointed out, “your own doctor couldn’t find any evidence of chocolate candy in the stomach of the decedent.”
“I would like to withdraw Dr. Renault from the stand and ask Dr. Hoxie to return, and ask him one question,” Vandling said.
“Is there any objection?” Judge Siler asked.
Mason smiled. “No objection. Your Honor.”
“Step down, Dr. Renault, if you will, please. Dr. Hoxie, will you come forward? You have already been sworn, Doctor. I just want to ask you a question.”
Dr. Hoxie marched up to the witness stand. He was bristling with professional indignation.
“You have heard Dr. Renault’s testimony?” Vandling said.
“I have,” Dr. Hoxie snapped.
“Do you have any doubt as to the cause of death in this case?”
“None whatever. The man whom I autopsied died of poisoning by cyanide of potassium.”
“That is, there was enough cyanide of potassium in his stomach to have caused death?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now I’m going to ask you another question. It’s rather farfetched and it may be rather gruesome. Would it be possible for a person to pump out the stomach of a cadaver?”
“Why, certainly.”
“All right. Would it be possible for a person to pump something else into the stomach of the cadaver?”
Dr. Hoxie hesitated. “Are you asking me now,” he said at length, “whether I think that that could have been done in this case?”
“I’m asking you as to a general possibility.”
“I presume it’s possible generally. I will state, however, that in my opinion Edward Davenport died of the effects of cyanide of potassium. Not only was the poison present, but there were symptoms present, the evidence of froth, the characteristic odor, the general symptoms. In my opinion the man died almost immediately after ingesting a very large dose of cyanide of potassium. He had been drinking for an hour or so before his death. He had also eaten bacon and eggs an hour or so before his death.”
Vandling explained to Judge Siler, “I am trying. Your Honor to get at the facts in this case. I want to get a solution of a seemingly contradictory situation.”
“There’s nothing contradictory as far as I am concerned,” Dr. Hoxie said. “In my opinion the man died of poisoning by cyanide of potassium. The conditions were all there. The poison was there. The man simply couldn’t have lived after having ingested the amount of poison that I found in his stomach. All of the conditions of cyanic poisoning were present. In my opinion it was the cause of death, regardless of what anyone else may say to the contrary.”
“Do you have any further questions or cross- examination?” Vandling asked Mason.
“Do you think the poison was ingested in a piece of candy?” Mason asked.
“I do not.”
“Would you say it was not?”
“I would say that I don’t think the poison was taken in candy. I think death was very rapid and I found no evidence of candy although I tried very carefully to find candy in the stomach content.”
“How do you think the poison was taken?”
“I don’t think it was taken in food. It may have been administered in whisky. There was whisky in the stomach and alcohol in the blood. I have one other theory which is a possibility which I don’t care to state.”
Mason thought that over, then said, “Is that theory that the dead man could have been given a straight dose of poison—let us say as a medicine?”
“Yes.”
“That’s all, Doctor,” Mason said, smiling.
“Just one question on redirect, Doctor,” Vandling said triumphantly. “Then, in your opinion, it is possible the defendant could have given Edward Davenport this poison under the guise of medicine?”
“No.”
“What? I thought you just said the cyanide could have been given as medicine.”
“I did, but not by Mrs. Davenport, because she wasn’t in the room within the necessary time limit. My opinion is that Edward Davenport lived less than two minutes after ingesting that poison.”
“Any more questions on cross-examination?” Vandling asked Mason.
“None whatsoever,” Mason said. “You’re doing fine. Go right ahead. It’s your omelette. Try to unscramble it.”
“I’d like to ask for a continuance,” Vandling said. “It is past the noon hour now, Your Honor. Court usually adjourns until two o’clock. I am going to ask the Court to adjourn until four o’clock this afternoon.”
“Does the defense have any objections?” Judge Siler asked.
“I think not, under the circumstances,” Mason said. “In fact we’ll grant a continuance until tomorrow morning at ten o’clock if the prosecution wishes.”
“I should like to have such a continuance provided it is stipulated that … I would prefer to have the motion come from the defendant,” Vandling said.
“I’ll make such a motion,” Mason said promptly.
“Very well,” Judge Siler ruled. “On the motion of the defendant case is continued until tomorrow morning at ten o’clock. The defendant will remain in custody. Court’s adjourned.”
Vandling looked across at Mason. “Well,” he said, “I had been warned to expect the unexpected in dealing with you, but this is the damnedest thing I’ve ever encountered in all my career.”
Mason smiled. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Vandling said. “I can get her bound over, but in view of the testimony of Dr. Renault I’d have a hell of a time getting her convicted in front of a jury.”
“Well, at least you’re frank,” Mason told him.
“There’s no use trying to cover things up with you,” Vandling said. “You know as well as I do what would happen if a situation like this developed in front of a jury.”
“Are you going to dismiss the case?”
“I don’t think so. I walked into this thing with my eyes shut. I think probably I can put on a case before a jury without calling Dr. Renault, and force you to call him as your witness.”
“And then what?” Mason asked.
“Then,” Vandling said, lowering his voice, “I’d attack his professional competency. I don’t think he’s too highly regarded in medical circles here. He’s drifted around. He’s a mature man, yet he’s only practiced in Crampton for three years. I believe he was in trouble over narcotics at one time. That’s why Dr. Hoxie became so indignant at the idea of his findings being questioned by a man who had no more professional standing than Dr. Renault.”
“Dr. Renault seemed positive enough,” Mason said.
“He sure was positive enough.”
“And then, of course,” Mason went on, “you have the spectacle of the corpse climbing out of the window.”
Vandling frowned. “It’s a strange case. Someone might have pushed the corpse through the window, then impersonated the dead man. I asked for a continuance because I have a plan in mind. You might be surprised if you knew what I was thinking right now.”
“I may not know what you’re thinking,” Mason said, “but I’ll bet five dollars I know what you’re going to do.”
“What?”
“You’re going to call the district attorney of Los Angeles County and suggest that there are a few technical matters that are bothering you in this case up here, and that under the circumstances you think it would be better to have the Los Angeles grand jury indict Myrna Davenport for the murder of Hortense Paxton and try her down there on that charge first.”
Vandling threw back his head and laughed. “Well,” he said, “I’d been warned that you’d anticipate my every move. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go telephone.”
As Vandling walked away, Mason turned to the officer. “Just a moment, I want to confer with my client before you take her back to jail.”