The Case of the Queenly Contestant

“I understand, I understand,” Lovett said. Then he added with a grin, “It is just that I had expected a more skillful type of cross-examination, Not that I’m making any criticism, Counselor. It is simply the fact that your reputation for brilliance in cross-examination is such that I expected — well, I don’t know — a lot of razzle-dazzle, I guess.”

“Razzle-dazzle is not good cross-examination,” Mason said. “The purpose of cross-examination is to find out whether a witness is telling the truth.”

Lovett laughed sarcastically. “That’s the line they try to teach you in the law-books and in the colleges. Actually, when you come right down to it, you know and I know, Mason, that the object of cross-examination is first to find out to your own satisfaction if a witness is telling the truth. If you find out the witness is telling the truth, then you go on to the next step — which is to try and confuse the witness so that any testimony the witness has given is open to doubt.”

“And you thought I would do something like that?” Mason asked.

“As far as I’m concerned,” Lovett said, “your reputation has been such that I thought you would perform a Hindu rope trick.”

Mason said, “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“Well, go right ahead with your cross-examination or whatever it is you call it,” Lovett said.

“I am at the moment concentrating on the recollection of the witness,” Mason said. “It seems to me that there might be some case for a confusion of identity after a lapse of some twenty years.”

“Oh, bosh and nonsense,” Lovett said. “She recognized Ellen Calvert the minute she saw her, the minute the woman came to the door. She said, ‘Hello, Ellen.’ Isn’t that true, Ellen?”

“Don’t answer any questions at the moment,” Mason cautioned Drake’s operative.

“Well,” Lovett said, “as far as I’m concerned, you’re wasting a lot of time on a question of identity.”

“Well, let me ask you this question, Miss Edfield,” Mason said. “I’ll put it in the conventional way. Are you as certain of the identity of Ellen Calvert as you are of any of the other statements you have made?”

“Absolutely.”

“If you are mistaken in the identity of Ellen Calvert, then you could be mistaken in your recollection as to any or all of the other statements?”

“Now wait a minute, wait a minute,” Lovett said suddenly, getting to his feet. “What is this? What’s cooking?”

“Do you object to Miss Edfield’s answering that question?” Mason asked.

“Well, I don’t like the way you’re putting the question. I don’t like... Maxine, this is Ellen Calvert all right?”

“Of course it is.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. This man isn’t going to bamboozle me by pretending this isn’t Ellen Calvert. I guess I know her and I guess I know what he’s trying to do. Just all that business of asking me if I could be mistaken about the other things I’ve testified to, if I’m mistaken about this being Ellen Calvert. It’s all part of that hocus-pocus you warned me about before we left Cloverville.”

Lovett glanced at Mason’s operative, then back at Maxine Edfield, then slowly took his seat.

“Let’s have it clearly understood,” Mason said, “that if you’re mistaken in the identity of this person as being Ellen Calvert, you could be mistaken in the other parts of your statement.”

“Baloney!” she said. “That’s Ellen Calvert, and I’ve told you the story just the way it happened.”

Mason turned to Drake’s operative. “Will the real Ellen Calvert please stand up?” he said.

There was sudden tense silence.

Mason said to Drake’s operative, “Now, will you please tell us your real name and occupation?”

“You mean it?” the operative asked.

“I mean it,” Mason said.

“My real name is Jessie Alva,” she said. “I am a licensed private detective and I am employed by the Drake Detective Agency. I was employed a short time ago to come to Mr. Mason’s office, stay for a few minutes, then leave and come to this apartment.

“This apartment is leased by the Drake Detective Agency. Is there anything else, Mr. Mason?”

“I think that covers it,” Mason said.

Lovett jumped to his feet. “You have deliberately tricked us.”

“Wasn’t that what you expected?” Mason asked. “You seemed disappointed at the conventional nature of my cross-examination. I am sorry I didn’t live up to expectations.”

Maxine Edfield said, “He’s lying. They’re all lying. Don’t let them kid you. That’s Ellen Calvert!”

“You have your ID card with you, Miss Alva?” Mason asked.

The operative nodded, produced a billfold with credit cards, driver’s license, and an ID card as a private detective.

Duncan Lovett went through those cards carefully, studying each one, looking at the photographs on the cards, comparing them with the face of the operative.

Slowly, reluctantly, he closed the folder and returned it to the woman.

Jarmen Dayton said, “I told you so. You turn that guy loose and he’s going to have things all tied up in knots.”

Lovett said, “This still doesn’t affect the validity of our claim. This isn’t producing any heir.”