“Go ahead,” Mason said.
“It was then I realized that this man was not Fordyce, but was Gilly. I asked him where Fordyce was, I asked him what he had done with Fordyce, and he made no answer.”
“What was the weather?” Mason asked.
“There was a heavy fog.”
“And the boat was running in this fog?”
“Yes.”
“Apparently on any course, or just aimlessly?”
“Apparently on some course which this man had set.”
“What happened?”
“I became frightened. I started backing up and he moved slowly toward me. I asked him again where Fordyce was and he started for me with his hands outstretched as though he intended to choke me.”
“Now, that’s a conclusion,” Hastings said. “You don’t know that he intended to choke you.”
“Shut up!” the out-of-town reporter said. “We’ll question her after she gives her story.”
Mrs Bancroft said, “Well, he certainly looked as though he intended to choke me. He had his hands outstretched and his attitude was menacing in the extreme.”
“What did you do?” Mason asked.
She said, “I was frightened stiff. Then I remembered that I had a gun in my purse.”
“What gun?”
“My husband’s gun.”
“Where did you get that?”
“From a dresser by the side of the bed. The gun was always kept in a drawer in that dresser.”
“And what did you do with it?”
“I pulled it out and pointed it at him and said he was to stop.”
“Was the gun cocked?”
“It was a six-shooter and I cocked it; I knew enough to do that.”
“How did you know enough to do that?”
“Because my husband wanted me to know how to shoot in case of necessity. When we were up at the mountain cabin he always had me shoot several shots at a target there.”
“With this gun?”
“With this same gun.”
“All right,” Mason said, “what happened?”
“The man hesitated a moment, then he started for me again and I was paralysed with fright.
“At that particular moment the dragging anchor struck on the bottom and brought the boat to an abrupt halt; that is, it gave the boat a momentary jar and... I have no conscious recollection of pulling the trigger, but the jar caused me to lose my balance and I did pull the trigger.”
“And what happened?”
“I shot him.”
“Where?”
“Right in the chest.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s where the gun was pointed when it went off and he fell forward.”
“What did you do?”
“Even while he was falling I was running. I dashed to the side of the boat and jumped overboard.”
“Why did you jump overboard?”
“Because I was frightened.”
“What were you frightened of?”
“Of Willmer Gilly.”
“But if you had just shot him and he was dead, why were you frightened of him?”
“I... I don’t know. I guess I... I guess at the time I wasn’t certain I had killed him. I just wanted to get off the boat.”
“What happened to the gun?”
“I’m not certain. I was fumbling, trying to get it back in the purse when I jumped. I think I heard it hit the deck and then splash into the water.”
“And where was the purse?”
“On my arm. That is, I had the strap around my wrist.”
“You don’t know that you took the gun overboard with you?”
“I think I did. I tell you, I think I remember hearing it hit on the deck and then splash.”
“And your purse?”
“I know I lost my purse when I went overboard because it was on my wrist when I jumped and it slid off.”
“What did you do then?”
“I went in over my head and started swimming and then of course tried to get my bearings. Then I saw a light on the shore and started for shore.”
“How far did you swim?”
“Only a few strokes, and then I thought the water might be shallow and put my feet down and sure enough the water wasn’t much over my waist. I was able to wade along on the bottom.”
“And then what did you do?”
“I waded ashore.”
“Did you know where you were when you got ashore?”
“I knew where I was before I got ashore.”
“How?”
“There was a wharf near the boat and I recognized it.”
“What kind of a wharf?”
“It was a wharf where they sell oil and gasoline. It is the wharf that’s only about two or three hundred yards from the parking station at the yacht club.”
“Is it the first gasoline wharf to the north of the yacht club?”
“Yes.”
“How close was the boat to that?”
“Well, Mr Mason, I guess, as I think back on it, the tide was coming in, and after the anchor struck something solid and held, the boat started to swing with the incoming tide, and it had swung toward the wharf — I don’t think I was over thirty or forty feet from the wharf when I went in the water. I was within twenty or thirty feet of the wharf when I recognized it. By that time I was just wading ashore.”
“And what did you do?”
“I walked to the parking lot. I keep the keys to my automobile under the floor mat because sometimes I’ve forgotten my purse or lost the car keys, so I got the car keys out from under the mat and started the car.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I drove home. I got out of my wet clothes and... well, I told my husband what had happened.”
“And what did he do?”
“He said that I was completely hysterical, that it would be a bad thing for me to get in touch with the police at that time, particularly until we knew what had happened, that he was going to go down and look at the boat and see if I had actually killed Gilly and if so he would notify the police.
“He prevailed on me to take some pills. They were very strong pills that had been given him as a sedative because of very painful symptoms which sometimes came on him unexpectedly in the middle of the night. He had those pills in reserve. And he gave me a double dose to quiet me.”
“And what happened?”
“I was nervous for a while, then the pills began to take effect. I felt deliciously warm and relaxed, and the next thing I knew it was just about daylight and my husband was standing over me and said, ‘Phyllis, take this water and swallow this pill.’”
“What did you do?”
“I woke up enough to take another pill.”
Mason turned to the newspapermen. “There you are, gentlemen,” Mason said. “There’s the story. Now, if you have a brief period of questioning, my client will try to answer your questions.”
One of the newspapermen said, “What time was this; that is, when you fired the shot?”
Mrs Bancroft faced him frankly. “I think the coroner was probably right as to the time of death,” she said. “It was right around nine o’clock.”
“Do you mean to tell me you hadn’t seen Gilly prior to that time on that day?” Hastings asked.
“I had not seen him. I was trying to avoid him. It came as a distinct surprise to me to find him aboard the yacht.”
“A likely story,” Hastings said.
“Suppose you let us do the talking,” the out-of-town newspaperman said. “I want to get the facts of this story. Can you tell us something about the reason you wanted this man, Fordyce, to live aboard your boat, Mrs Bancroft?”
She said, “Fordyce was... Well, he was in a position where... No, I’m afraid I can’t tell you that without disclosing something I don’t want to disclose.”
“Did the blackmail have something to do with Fordyce?”