"Mase."
"You have stated that the character Alex Cooper is based upon himself."
"Yes."
"What does Jonah Willow call you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Familiarly."
"He calls me Jimmy."
"What does Chester Danton call you?"
"Jimmy."
"What does your agent, Hollis Marks, call you?"
"Jimmy."
"Do any of your friends call you anything but Jimmy?"
"No."
"In Catchpole, Lieutenant Mason is called 'Mase,' and in The Paper Dragon, Lieutenant Cooper is called 'Coop.' Was your name ever shortened to 'Dris' while you were in the service?"
"No, it was not."
"Mr. Driscoll, in your novel there is a long discussion between the enlisted men about big-name bands, and especially about Glenn Miller. Do you recall the scene to which I'm referring?"
"Yes, but it was not especially about Glenn Miller."
"Glenn Miller is mentioned prominently in that scene, is he not?"
"Only in conjunction with the names of other band leaders. The men are playing a sort of guessing game, trying to remember the theme songs of the big-name bands."
"Yes, and isn't it true that an argument develops between two of the men as to whether Glenn Miller's theme song was 'Moonlight Serenade' or 'Sunrise Serenade,' and it is Sergeant Morley who correctly identifies the theme."
"That's true."
"A scene which was later carried over into the film. Your novel is set in Korea during the months of October and November in the year 1950, isn't that right?"
"Yes."
"The soldiers in this scene are all young men, aren't they?"
"Yes."
"Some in their late teens, some in their early twenties, is that right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Do you know when Glenn Miller is presumed to have died?"
"Yes, I do."
"When was it?" Brackman asked.
"It was December of 1944."
"December 15th, to be exact," Brackman said. "Now, do you think it likely that people — especially very young people — would in 1950 still be discussing a band leader who reached the height of his popularity in the late thirties and early forties?"
"I grew up with the music of Glenn Miller and all the other big-name bands mentioned in that scene. When he was reported missing, I must have been fifteen years old, and I can remember being deeply affected."
"And you find nothing odd about men discussing him in the middle of Korea six years after his death?"
"I do not."
"Are you aware that in Catchpole, there is a scene where a group of men are discussing the death of Glenn Miller?"
"I am aware of that."
"How do you explain the similarity?"
"There is no similarity. The men in Catchpole are discussing Glenn Miller's death. The men in The Paper Dragon are discussing the theme songs of the big-name bands, and Glenn Miller's name is only incidentally mentioned."
"Is there not an argument about his theme song?"
"A difference of opinion, not an argument."
"And doesn't this difference of opinion, as you call it, focus attention on his name?"
"Momentarily."
"In much the same way that attention is focused on it in Catchpole."
"We seem to be speaking two different languages," Driscoll said.
"I think we are speaking the same language, Mr. Driscoll, and I would like an answer to my question."
"I have already answered your question. I have already told you that the scenes are about two different things. One is about the death of Glenn Miller and the other is about the theme songs of the big-name bands. So when you ask me if attention is focused on the name in the same way, I can't add anything to what I've already said, which is that attention is focused in entirely different ways."
"And you find nothing unusual or odd about the similarity?"
"I've already testified that there is no similarity. But I did find something odd, yes."
"Are you now saying…"
"In Catchpole."
"Yes, are you now reversing…"
"I found it odd that in February of 1944 those men were discussing the death of Glenn Miller, which did not take place until December of 1944. Don't you find that odd?"
"I'm not b-b-being examined, Mr. Driscoll."
"I just thought you might find it odd."
"I w-w-would imagine that was nothing more than d-d-dramatic license."
Hearing the stammer, seeing the sudden pink color rising in Brackman's cheeks, Driscoll realized with a feeling bordering on wild exultation that he had flustered him, and knew in the same instant that he was cleverer and brighter and infinitely more agile than the lawyer was. He glanced toward the defense table to see if Willow had noticed and appreciated his entangling maneuver, and saw only that Willow was frowning. Willow's displeasure, however, did nothing to quell the rising sense of triumph, the reckless knowledge that he could parry anything Brackman put to him, and then thrust with deadly accuracy to leave the inept little lawyer helpless and forlorn, bereft of any weapon. Come on, he thought. Let's go, Mr. Brackman. Come on.
"This m-m…" Brackman started, and then cleared his throat and consulted his notes, and Driscoll had all he could do to keep from laughing out loud. "This matter of the eyeglasses," Brackman finally managed to say. "When you say that Private Coleman does wear glasses in your book, are you referring to this passage on page…" He turned to his partner. "What page is that, C–C-Carl?" he asked.
"37," his partner replied.
"Page 37," Brackman said. "Is this the p-p-p-passage you mean?"
"Which passage is that?" Driscoll asked, knowing full well which passage Brackman meant."
"I am about to read it to you," Brackman said.
"I'm waiting," Driscoll answered, and again glanced at Willow to find that he was still frowning. Imperceptibly, Willow shook his head. Brackman had already begun reading, but Driscoll missed the first few words of the paragraph, so startled was he by Willow's unmistakable warning.
" '… mud spattering from the wheels, as the jeep swerved into the compound and ground to a stop. Colman saw two officers on the front seat of the jeep, one of whom he recognized as Captain Benjamin. The other man was tall and lean, wearing his hair cropped close to his head in a boyish crewcut. Colman reached into his blouse and took out his glasses, which he perched on his nose. Peering through them owlishly, he studied the new officer with a deliberate scrutiny.' And following that," Brackman said, "there's a detailed description of Lieutenant Cooper. Is that the passage?"
"That's the passage," Driscoll said.
"What sort of glasses does Coleman take out of his pocket?"
"I don't think I understand you," Driscoll said.
"Are they the sort of glasses, for example, that Mr. Willow has been wearing in this courtroom every day this week?"
"No."
"Are they reading glasses?"
"I never specifically labeled them. If anything, they would be reading glasses, yes. Coleman only wears them occasionally."
"Does he in fact wear them anywhere else in the book?"
"I don't think so."
"This is the only place in the book where you specifically describe Colman as wearing eyeglasses?"
"Yes."
"In just this one paragraph which is… let me see… eight lines long. That's the only mention in the entire book."
"Yes."
"Mr. Driscoll, do you recall a character in your book called Major Catharine Astor?"
"I do."
"And who is also called Major Catastrophe by Lieutenant Cooper and Jan Reardon?"