“All right, I’ll stick on the job,” Drake said.
“And when any divers come along I’ll want to know,” Mason told him. “You have a phone there?”
“Right here on the wharf,” Drake said. “I’m sitting here inside the little cabin at the end of the wharf and looking out over the bay right now.”
“All right,” Mason said, “keep looking.”
“How long do I stay here?”
“Have someone bring your meals,” Mason told him. “Get a relief, if you have to, but I’d prefer to have you on the job personally.”
“It’s colder than hell with this fog,” Drake said. “I came down here with just a business suit. I’ve got these white coveralls over it but they’re not sufficient.”
“Try running and jumping up and down,” Mason told him. “Try thumping your hands against your thighs. That will keep the circulation going. Make your arms go up and down. Pretend you’re a seagull, trying to fly.”
“Go jump in the lake,” Drake told him. “It’s easy for you to sit up there in a heated office with the temperature regulated by a thermostat and tell me what to do to keep warm.”
Mason chuckled. “Just stay on the job, Paul. I’ve been a big help already, you’re mad enough now to keep warm for an hour.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was a little after five o’clock when Drake called Mason.
“Okay, Perry,” he said, “we’ve got action down here.”
“You’re at the wharf?”
“Yes.”
“How’s the weather?”
“It’s clear.”
“Cold?”
“Not as bad as it was when the fog was in.”
“What’s the action?”
“The sheriff, the district attorney, a couple of deputies and a diver.”
“What are they doing?”
“Just standing around, waiting for the diver... Oh, oh, here comes the diver now. He has something in his hand.”
“Can you see what it is?” Mason asked.
“No, the diver has motioned to the sheriff and the district attorney and he’s going ashore with it. He isn’t coming out here to the wharf.”
“Keep an eye on things,” Mason said. “Just hang onto the phone and let me know what’s happening.”
“All right. They’re in a huddle now,” Drake said, “and it’s quite a huddle... Here’s the diver going back. He’s swimming under water. You can get an idea of where he is by the air bubbles.”
“You don’t have any idea what it was he found?”
“No.”
“Couldn’t get any glimpse of it?”
“No.”
“Think it’s the purse?”
“Probably. It was right out there where the purse was — right where... Hey, wait a minute, Perry. He’s back again. There are two things. They’re positively jubilant. The district attorney is patting the diver on the back.”
Mason said, “Take off your coveralls and go to dinner, Paul. Your shift is over.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Judge Hobart said, “Case of the People versus Phyllis Bancroft. This is the time heretofore fixed to resume the hearing and hear the defendant’s case. Are you ready, gentlemen?”
“Just a moment,” Hastings said. “If the Court please, we announced yesterday that we were going to rest our case but with the indulgence of the Court I would like to ask a few more questions to clear up certain matters which have been in doubt and remove certain criticisms which have been directed toward the law enforcement agencies of this county in a press conference—”
“The Court is not concerned with criticisms or with press conferences,” Judge Hobart interrupted. “If you wish to put on other evidence after having rested your case, the Court will consider this a motion to reopen the case. Is there any objection from the defence?”
“None whatever,” Mason said.
Hastings said triumphantly, “Call Sheriff Jewett to the stand.
“You have already been sworn, Sheriff. There is no need for you to take the oath again. Just be seated.
“Now, Sheriff, directing your attention to a so-called press conference which occurred yesterday afternoon, did you hear the defendant make any statement at that press conference?”
“I did.”
“Did that statement have any reference to the defendant’s actions on the night of the tenth?”
“It did.”
“What did she say, as nearly as you can recall, about the shooting?”
“She said that she had a gun in her purse, that she took the gun from her purse and killed Willmer Gilly, that she then jumped overboard from the yacht on which the killing took place, that at that time she was carrying a purse which she dropped — she thought she dropped it after she struck the water and she was holding the gun which she dropped as she went overboard. She said she thought she heard it hit the deck and then splash in the water.”
“Now then,” Hastings said, “after hearing that story, did you go to the place where she had indicated the shooting took place at the harbour?”
“I did.”
“Did you have anyone with you?”
“I did. I had a trained diver.”
“And what did this diver do under your direction?”
“He explored the bottom of the bay.”
“What did he find, if anything?”
“He found a woman’s purse.”
“I show you a woman’s purse,” Hastings said, “which contains some identification cards and a driving licence, rather water-soaked but still legible, in the name of Phyllis Bancroft, and ask you if you have seen this before?”
“I have. That is the purse which the diver handed me.”
“We ask that that be introduced as an appropriate exhibit,” Hastings said.
Judge Hobart frowned thoughtfully as he looked at Mason. “Are there any objections?”
“None whatever, Your Honour.”
“Now then, did the diver uncover anything else?”
“He did.”
“What?”
“A gun.”
“Can you describe that gun?”
“Yes, sir. That was a .38 calibre Smith and Wesson six-shooting revolver, No. 133347. It had five loaded shells in it and one exploded cartridge, and an examination of the records showed the gun had been purchased by Harlow Bissinger Bancroft, the husband of the defendant.”
“Did you make any ballistic tests with that gun?”
“I did, yes, sir.”
“And make any comparison of the test bullets fired from that gun, with the fatal bullet?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What was the result?”
“The tests showed this revolver was the weapon which fired the fatal bullet.”
“Now then,” Hastings went on, “in the course of the press conference there were some criticisms which were levelled at your office for not having marked the exact location where the boat was discovered on the afternoon of the eleventh, and not having explored the bottom near the place where the boat was found. Did you make any attempt subsequently to locate the exact place where that boat was found?”
“I did. Yes, sir.”
“And what was the result with reference to being able to locate the exact spot where the boat had been anchored?”
“I found the exact spot.”
“How?”
“By consulting a helicopter pilot who had first discovered the boat and who had taken a photograph showing the boat with reference to landmarks on the shore line which enabled us to pinpoint the location.”