"You haven't offended me," Willow said.
"This action has been going on for a long time now," Brackman said, "and I don't think we've once raised our voices to each other, either outside the courtroom or since this trial began. I only meant to say that I wish you'd have let me see these papers before now. Perhaps you'll allow me to study them at greater length later."
"Of course."
"Mark it 'Defendants' Exhibit K in evidence,' " the clerk said.
"Now, if you will look at this outline, Mr. Driscoll, you will see certain notations on it, such as '60,000 words, 10/12' and immediately following that, '58,500, 10/12.' On the second page here, in ink, '63,000 words, 10/19' and following it in pencil, '62,300 10/20' and it goes on in this manner throughout. Did you write these notations?"
"I did."
"What do they mean?"
"The numbers in ink, '60,000 words,' for example, '10/12' represent a goal and a target date. I hoped to have completed 60,000 words of the book by October 12th, that was probably a Friday. The penciled indication on the right shows the actual number of words I had written by that date — 58,500 words."
"You fell short of the target that week."
"Yes. But that's what these notes indicate throughout."
"The number of words you hoped to have written by a certain date?"
"Yes, sir. There was a deadline, you see. The contract called for delivery of the book by January, I think it was, and I tried to adhere to a schedule that would enable me to meet that deadline."
"And you felt it necessary to indicate what you had accomplished in addition to what you'd hoped to accomplish."
"Yes, as a guide to completion. I had to know that I would finish it one day, you see."
"What do you mean?"
"A book takes a long time to write."
"Yes?"
"Well, I can only speak for myself."
"Yes, go on."
"I'm not a professional, this was my only book. I can only tell you what I experienced when I was writing it."
"Which was what, Mr. Driscoll?"
"I thought it would never end."
"And is that why you kept your record?"
"Yes. I had started the book in October of 1961, and I… I wasn't even sure I'd ever start it, you see, but finally I did and it went very slowly. It took me eight months to finish those ninety-eight pages and the outline, and it was very difficult all the way, writing does not come easily to me. It began going a bit more smoothly after Mitchell-Campbell contracted for the book. I suppose Chester's enthusiasm for it, and his… his faith that I could complete it, this was an enormous shot in the arm. I found I was working much more quickly, that I could count on from three to five thousand words a week, that was a lot for me. But at the same time, I had to know that I wasn't writing into a void, that one day the thing would be finished. I could take the last page out of the typewriter and it would be done. That's why I kept a timetable. So that I'd know I was getting there."
"And, of course, eventually you did get there. You completed your book."
"Yes. Eventually."
"Before that time, before the book was actually finished, did you acquire an agent?"
"Yes, sir, Mr. Hollis Marks. He's still my agent."
"Here are some letters to Mr. Hollis, dated November 5th and November 9th…"
"Mr. Marks."
"Mr. Marks, excuse me, and addressed 'Dear Hollis.' "
"Yes."
"November 15th, November 20th, November 23rd, December 3rd, December 7th, December 11th, December 12th, December 14th, December 20th, and December 28th. Did you send these letters to Mr. Marks?"
"I did."
"Reporting on your progress on The Paper Dragon?"
"That's right."
"If your Honor please, we can call Mr. Marks as a witness, but I know what he will tell the Court concerning these letters."
"What would that be, Mr. Willow?"
"That they were taken from his files and written by Mr. Driscoll on the dates indicated. I offer all of them in evidence as one exhibit."
"For what purpose are these being offered?" Brackman asked.
"Again, to show the creative process. Your Honor, if a book is being pirated, the thief would hardly send progress reports to his—"
"No objection," Brackman said.
"Defendants' Exhibit L received in evidence," the clerk said.
"Mr. Driscoll, when you were writing your book, did you contact anyone for information you needed?"
"Yes, sir."
"Whom did you contact?"
"Colonel Lewis Hamilton."
"He was your commanding officer…"
"The company commander, yes…" „
"… in Korea?"
"Yes, sir. He was a captain at the time."
"What was your initial contact with him?"
"I wrote a letter to him, explaining that I was working on a book, and asking for his help. I suggested that we meet one afternoon for lunch or after working hours — he was working in this area at the time, at the Army Recruiting Office on Whitehall. He called me when he received my letter, and we met later that week, on a Friday I believe it was. At the beginning of November."
"Where is Colonel Hamilton today?"
"He was called back to active duty in Vietnam. I'm sorry to say he's dead."
"I show you this, and ask you to describe it to the Court."
"It's a carbon copy of the letter I wrote to Colonel Hamilton."
"I offer it in evidence."
"Your Honor," Brackman said, rising, "as I understand it, Colonel Hamilton is dead. Now Mr. Driscoll states that this is a copy of a letter he sent to the colonel, but I know of no way of ascertaining that. I cannot question a dead man."
"Your Honor…"
"I object to it as irrelevant, and I submit that it would be impossible for me to ascertain whether it is authentic."
"Is this letter necessary to your case?" McIntyre asked.
"To my mind, your Honor, anything that clearly shows the step-by-step development of Mr. Driscoll's novel is not only necessary but essential to the case. This letter shows beyond doubt that in addition to personal experience, Mr. Driscoll sought the advice of an expert on matters that were beyond his ken. If he were copying…"
"Yes, but won't Mr. Driscoll be testifying anyway about his meeting with the colonel?"
"Yes, your Honor, but his testimony will be more persuasive when supported by this letter."
"Is this letter being offered for the truth of what it contains, or simply to establish a working procedure for Mr. Driscoll?"
"I think it even goes beyond these matters, your Honor, to clearly indicate the kind of man Mr. Driscoll is. In his letter to the colonel, for example, he modestly, almost shyly, reintroduces himself…"
"Mr. Willow, it's my opinion that this letter is not the same as those from Mr. Driscoll to his agent, sent as part of a daily working routine. I will sustain your objection, Mr. Brackman. The letter will not be admitted."
"May I offer it for identification?" Willow asked.
"Of course."
"Mark it 'Defendants' Exhibit M for identification,' " the clerk said.
"You said earlier, Mr. Driscoll, that you met with Colonel Hamilton…"
"Yes."
"… sometime after you wrote to him. Where did you meet?"
"In a restaurant down here someplace. I don't remember the name of it."
"Can you tell us what happened at this meeting?"
"I asked Colonel Hamilton a great many questions, and he answered them for me."
"I show you these four sheets of paper, and ask you if they are the notes you took at the meeting you just described."
"They are the notes I jotted down during the meeting."
"I offer the notes in evidence."