The Case of the Queenly Contestant

“If it did,” Mason said, “the only thing I can do is to try to cop a plea. There isn’t one chance in ten thousand that a jury would acquit Ellen Adair.”

“And if it isn’t the fatal gun?”

“If it isn’t the fatal gun,” Mason said, “we’ve got to be able to prove that it isn’t the fatal gun.

“The fact that she had a gun and the fact that the gun is presumably the same type of gun which was used in the murder — by that I mean it wasn’t an automatic and didn’t eject a cartridge — and all of the other things combined are going to make quite a case of circumstantial evidence.”

“But it’ll still be circumstantial evidence,” Drake said.

“Circumstantial evidence,” Mason told him, “is, as a matter of fact, about the strongest evidence we have. The big trouble with circumstantial evidence lies in its interpretation.”

Drake said, “I understand from a confidential source that the police are going to be able to show that Ellen Adair’s automobile was parked in Agnes Burlington’s driveway and that Ellen Adair was inside the house long before the police were notified.

“The assumption of the prosecution is going to be that there was some evidence she wanted suppressed or changed in some way and that Ellen Adair came and got you and you went with her to the scene of the crime, fixed things the way you wanted them to be found by the police, and then notified the police.”

“They’ll adopt that attitude,” Mason said. “It’s an unjust attitude and an uncharitable attitude as far as an attorney-at-law is concerned, but, nevertheless, there’s enough evidence to support it, so they’ll adopt it.”

“Can they prove that her car was there and that she was in the place?” Drake asked. “If they can, it looks pretty tough, unless you can do some mighty fast talking by way of explanation.”

Mason said, “It’s just another piece of circumstantial evidence, and there are lots of bits of evidence. For instance, Paul, I think the circumstantial evidence will show that Agnes Burlington met her death within about two hours after she had eaten a meal. I want to know what that meal consisted of and what time it was eaten.”

“How are you going to prove that?”

“There’s a supermarket nearby. I think probably she ran in there from time to time for provisions. See what you can find out there.”

“Think they’ll remember her at the supermarket?” Drake asked.

“It’s a chance worth taking,” Mason said. “I have an idea that we’re dealing with a woman living alone who would go into the supermarket, pick up a few odds and ends, perhaps one of these complete frozen dinners, take it home, put it in the oven until it was ready to serve, then eat — that is, when she was eating by herself.

“Now, then, the police have been a little bit reluctant to give out information about the contents of the stomach. I think perhaps there’s a clue in their reluctance.

“If she had eaten a steak dinner with French fried potatoes, a salad and perhaps a dish of vegetables, it would indicate that she had been out with some man, in which event the man would have escorted her back to her duplex house.”

“But you don’t know whether it was a dinner she ate as her last meal or a lunch or a breakfast.”

“I know that the lights had been left on,” Mason said, “and that leads me to believe that the crime took place sometime in the evening; and if that was within two hours of the time the meal was ingested, it probably was the sort of meal she’d get when she didn’t want to be bothered with a lot of cooking and a lot of dishes.

“If, on the other hand, the meal was one that would have cost from three to six dollars in a restaurant, I have an idea she was out with a man.”

“That’s good reasoning,” Drake said.

“Therefore,” Mason told him, “a lot depends on the nature of the meal. Circumstantial evidence can be tricky sometimes, but it never gives you a complete double cross the way some people will, and two million dollars is quite a temptation to anyone.”

Drake nodded. “Anything else?”

Mason looked at his watch. “Nothing, except to get some sleep, Paul. Try and find out what you can.”

Drake said, “I know one thing: they’re having trouble finding the fatal bullet.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “But they have to find it, Paul.”

“That’s what Lieutenant Tragg has told his officers, but they’ve sifted everything in the house, and I understand, off the record, they are a little chagrined because they can’t find the fatal bullet.”

Mason said, “It’s in there someplace. They’ll dig it up. I certainly would like to know if it matches with any gun they’ve uncovered in the case.”

“I think I’ve got a pipeline in to the police. I may not be able to get you a lot of detailed information, but I think I can let you know if they have the fatal bullet and whether it matches the gun.”

“See what you can do,” Mason said.

Drake unwound his tall figure from his chair, said, “I’ll be in touch, Perry,” and went out.

Della Street regarded the lawyer with troubled eyes. “Can you afford to put Ellen Adair on the witness stand?” she asked.