The Case of the Queenly Contestant

“Because Counsel is well known for being ingenious and his methods are unconventional.”

“What could he possibly do at this late date?” Judge Elwell asked.

“Suppose he took a revolver with him and found some obscure corner of the room, or perhaps a louver in a ventilator, and fired a bullet and then claimed that this was evidence which had been overlooked by the police?”

“That is tantamount to an accusation of unprofessional conduct,” Judge Elwell said.

“I am making no accusations, but I may say that the police are not finished with the premises as yet.”

“Why not?” Mason asked. “Do you think there is further evidence which hasn’t been uncovered?”

“I don’t know,” Dillon said, “but, as you yourself have remarked, the fact that there is no evidence of the fatal bullet might be significant. Therefore, the police have sealed up the premises just as they found things. We would like to keep them intact, at least until after this hearing.”

Judge Elwell said, “I’m going to make this suggestion. The Court wants to look at the premises to see if there is any possibility that a hole made by the fatal bullet could have been overlooked. From the angle of the shot, it is possible to find that bullet almost anywhere — even in the ceiling.”

“The police have looked in the ceiling. They have looked everywhere,” Dillon said.

“Then there is no reason why the premises should be kept sealed up,” Judge Elwell remarked.

“This Court is going to take a two-hour recess. During that time we will go to the premises and inspect them. The defendant’s attorney will be given every opportunity to inspect the premises, and I would like to have the prosecutor and Lieutenant Tragg present during the inspection so that the Court can question them.

“The Court will also ask the Court reporter to be in attendance and take down anything that is said.”

“Such an inspection can’t do any good,” Dillon protested.

“Well, can it do any harm?” Judge Elwell asked.

Dillon started to say something, then changed his mind.

“It is so ordered,” Judge Elwell said. “Court will take a recess and reconvene at the scene of the murder. We will ask the sheriff’s office to furnish transportation.”

Chapter Seventeen

Lieutenant Tragg stood in the middle of the room, acting somewhat as master of ceremonies.

“Your Honor will notice that the place where the body was found has been outlined in chalk,” he said. “There is also an outline in red chalk of the pool of blood.

“I may state that the strong probabilities are that the fatal bullet was carried out in this pool of blood, which unfortunately happens altogether too frequently.

“The bullet has just enough force to leave the body and fall to the floor, the blood flows over the bullet and, in the course of a few hours, coagulates into a gelatinous mass.

“The police outline the position of the body. They outline the pool of blood. They take photographs, and then the body is removed and the blood is removed in the form of one large clot. It sometimes happens that the fatal bullet is imbedded somewhere in this blood clot.

“At other times, the fatal bullet is in the clothing of the decedent and falls out when the body is moved and either is lost or is found in the ambulance. But when a bullet is found in an ambulance there is not very much that can be done with it since it can’t be identified as having come from any particular body.

“I can assure Your Honor that these things happen. They only happen at intervals, and they shouldn’t happen at all, but they do happen.”

Judge Elwell looked around the room. “Everything here has been left just as it was found?”

“Everything.”

“You have examined the ceiling and...”

“We have examined every nook and corner of this room with a powerful spotlight,” Lieutenant Tragg said. “Believe me, we would like very much to recover that fatal bullet. We think it would clinch the case.”

Judge Elwell pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“What about the windows?” Mason asked.

“The windows were found just as you see them. They were locked from the inside and the drapes were tightly drawn. The evidence in the bathroom indicates the decedent was preparing to take a bath and had taken off her dress, thus accounting for the closed drapes. The windows were probably kept locked. We sealed everything in the room so there could be no mistake and no misunderstanding.”

“But suppose a window had been up at the time of the murder?” Mason said. “The bullet could have gone out the open window.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” Tragg said, “and then the murderer would very obligingly have closed and locked the window.”

“The weather records,” Mason said, “show that there was a sudden thunderstorm sweeping this section of the city from eight twenty-five to eight fifty-five on the evening of the fourth. I don’t know that it is particularly pertinent, but I have had my detective agency search for any event out of the ordinary which took place on that evening.

“These sudden severe thunderstorms are very infrequent in this locality.”