"Helman Ellis then returned to The Big Barn, saw the defendant, and also saw his friend, Sadie Bradford. He persuaded Sadie Bradford to plant the gun with which the murder had been committed in the baggage of Ellen Robb, hoping that it would remain there until it was discovered by the police. Sadie Bradford had no knowledge of the murder. Ellis persuaded her to plant the gun because he said he wanted to have Ellen Robb discharged so he could terminate an affair with her.
"Later on, through his friend Sadie Bradford, Ellis learned of the altercation which had resulted in the discharge of Ellen Robb and learned that Ellen Robb had telephoned the Surf and Sea Motel for a reservation, stating that she intended to go there for the night. Helman Ellis immediately drove to the motel, waited for Ellen to arrive, and then under the guise of his great affection for her and his desire to help her, first convinced himself that the gun had indeed been planted in Ellen's baggage and then persuaded Ellen that she must under no circumstances admit that she had seen him that evening at the motel or that there was anything between them.
"Thereafter, according to his confession which we now have reason to accept at its face value, Helman Ellis left the motel, drove directly to the yacht club, loosened the yacht from its mooring, drifted with the tide until he was able to start the motors without anyone at the yacht club knowing the boat had been cast loose. He then took the boat to Catalina Island and caught the morning plane back to the mainland.
"Knowing that Ellen Robb planned to call on Perry Mason, he made it a point to see her after she had left Mason's office. He walked with her to the place where she was to take the bus to Costa Mesa and got her to describe in detail her visit to Perry Mason's office.
"When Ellen Robb had told him that Mason had told her to keep the gun in her possession and had done nothing about it, Ellis became suspicious and got Ellen to show him the gun which she was then carrying in her purse.
"We now come to the interesting part of Helman Ellis' confession which was designed to completely baffle the investigators. The gun which George Anclitas had given to Helman Ellis was not the gun that had the scratch on the front sight. But the gun with which the murder had been committed, and which had been planted in the bag of Ellen Robb, did have that scratch on the front sight. Ellis had a shrewd suspicion that perhaps Mason in an attempt to protect his client had substituted guns, giving her an entirely different gun, and when he inspected the gun which Ellen Robb showed him, he was convinced that this was the case because that gun did not have a scratch on the front sight.
"Ellis persuaded Ellen Robb that it would be dangerous for her to carry the gun which was then in her purse, on the bus. He said that she might be apprehended for carrying a concealed weapon. He said that Mr. Mason had undoubtedly given her the right advice and that she should return the gun to the bag where she had found it, but that it would be better if she did not carry that gun in her purse since she had no permit. He therefore volunteered to take possession of the gun and return it to her possession later on in the day so that she could then put it back in the bag where she had found it. But he persuaded her that under no circumstances must she tell anyone of his intercession in the matter or of his interest.
"He then explained to Ellen Robb that he had some business matters to attend to, left her at the bus station, drove at once to an air field where he rented a plane, since he has a flier's license, and flew to Catalina Island. There he again sought out the yacht, unlocked the cabin door, fired a shot from this second gun into the dead body of his wife, locked the cabin door of the yacht, sailed it around to the other side of the island, tied it up to a convenient rock, pointed the yacht out to sea, locked the steering gear in position, started the motor, then untied the doubled rope and let the yacht head out to sea. He then returned to the place where he had left his rented airplane, flew back to Los Angeles, went to the office of Perry Mason and persuaded Perry Mason that Ellen Robb was in danger of attack from Nadine Ellis-knowing that Mason would in all probability hire bodyguards to protect his client.
"Thereafter Ellis, according to his confession, drove to the Surf and Sea Motel, entering the place through a driveway back of the alley where he would not be noticed. He explained to Ellen Robb that he had done her a great favor in bringing the gun back to her but that she must never mention his connection with the matter. He swore his undying love and affection for her and promised her that they would be married when he could arrange with his wife to get a divorce.
"Again according to the confession of Ellis, which apparently is true, he did not know about the proscribed area for small boats off Catalina Island. He thought that his yacht would sail out into the ocean until the fuel tanks were exhausted, that then it would probably be capsized during some storm, and sink. He knew that the boat was hardly seaworthy. If, however, anything happened and the boat was discovered, he knew that the body of his wife would contain a bullet fired from a gun which was in the possession of Ellen Robb. And he felt certain that by having arranged the crime as he did, he could give himself a perfect alibi.
"Now then, if the Court please, that is the gist of the confession of Helman Ellis. I feel it my duty as an officer of the court to disclose that confession at this time in connection with a motion to dismiss the case against Ellen Robb. I feel that she has been victimized and I wish to make this statement so that the facts can be made public."
Judge Keyser regarded Hamilton Burger thoughtfully. Then his eyes shifted to Perry Mason. "The Court still doesn't understand how it happened that the gun which was originally placed in the defendant's baggage was returned to the possession of George Anclitas."
Hamilton Burger said wearily, "It seems that Sadie Bradford, while working as attendant in the women's powder room, found this gun on the floor of the powder room at a time when she had momentarily stepped to the door to talk with Helman Ellis. She feels certain that Helman Ellis had placed the gun on the floor, and that when she opened the powder-room door, she had kicked the gun into position under one of the washbowls. She knows that the gun was not there when she stepped to the door. There was no one in the powder room at the time. When she returned from her conversation with Mr. Ellis, the gun was lying there under the washbowl. She therefore picked it up and returned it to its place under the bar, feeling that in so doing she was following the wishes of Helman Ellis.
"The perplexing point is that Helman Ellis, while confessing the murder, still insists that he had nothing to do with returning that gun to the washroom. However, under the circumstances and in view of the fact that the powder room is ventilated entirely by fans and has no windows, that there is no door to the powder room except the one door where the witness, Sadie Bradford, was standing, it would seem that for some reason which I confess I can't understand at the time, Helman Ellis is continuing to lie about returning that gunand for the life of me," Hamilton Burger blurted, "I can't see why he would lie about it unless it was in an attempt to involve Perry Mason as counsel for the defense.
"It now appears that Perry Mason acted unconventionally but not illegally. Having been advised that a gun had been planted in a suitcase in the defendant's possession, he had test bullets fired from that gun and gave them to a ballistics expert for checking. In doing this he was quite probably within his rights."
"I still don't see how the Crowder gun could have been placed in the purse of Ellen Robb unless it was done by her counsel."
"May I address the Court, Your Honor?" Mason asked.
"Certainly, Mr. Mason."
"When my client came to my office and stated that someone had planted a gun in her suitcase, I desired an opportunity to examine that gun," Mason said. "I felt that I was well within my rights in so doing, particularly in view of the fact that there was no indication that any crime had been committed at that time. I substituted a gun from my office in such a way that the defendant would not know there had been any substitution of guns.