The D.A. Breaks an Egg

Frank Grannis was about twenty-four, with dark, slick hair, gray eyes spaced wide apart, and high cheekbones. There was a fullness to his lips which gave him the appearance of pouting. A slightly surly tilt to his mouth spoiled an otherwise intelligent and handsome face.

Sheriff Brandon said, “Frank, this is Doug Selby, the district attorney up in our county. He wants to ask you some questions.”

“I don’t think I want to talk with anyone.”

“Well, that’s all right,” Selby said. “That’s your privilege, you don’t have to. I understood someone put up bail for you.”

“That’s right.”

“And then surrendered you back into custody again.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why?”

The prisoner’s eyes avoided those of Selby. “No.”

“This man Randies who put up the bail. He’s an old friend of yours?”

“He’s a friend.”

“Known him long?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with it.”

“He put up money for your bail.”

“He got a surety company to do it.”

“And then something happened?”

“I believe so.”

“Anyway, the surety company quit cold?”

“I believe so. They wanted to be relieved on their bond.”

“What time were you let out of here?”

“The sheriff knows.”

“Late last night?”

“Last night, yes.”

“And where did you spend the night?”

“In a motel.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know the place. I’m a stranger here.”

“Near here?”

“Not too near.”

“Far?”

“Not so very far.”

“You don’t know where it was?”

“No.”

“How long did it take you to get there?”

“I don’t know for sure. We stopped and had something to eat and, well, I just didn’t keep track of the time.”

“Did you get to the motel before midnight?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t look at my watch.”

“Did you meet anyone there?”

“I saw someone there, yes.”

“Who?”

“My lawyer.”

“Anyone else?”

“What difference does it make?”

“And you stayed there in this motel?”

“I didn’t get out and walk the streets.”

“And then you were driven back here this morning?”

“Something was wrong with the bail bond. I don’t know what.”

“Who told you that?”

“I heard about it.”

“Who told you?”

“I don’t see as that makes any difference.”

“Well, now how did you find out there was something wrong with the bail?”

“My lawyer told me.”

“And how did he find out?”

“I don’t know. I can’t ask him all those things. He’s a busy man.”

“He certainly seems to be. Now that lawyer was Mr. A. B. Carr?”

“That’s right. That’s his name.”

“Did it strike you as strange that a bail bond would be issued and then canceled right away?”

“Well, I was disappointed. I wanted to get out of this place and stay out, but that’s the way it was.”

“Well, what did you think?”

“I don’t think. I’m not supposed to. I’ve got a lawyer who’s paid to do the thinking.”

“You’re paying him?”

“If he wasn’t being paid, he wouldn’t bother with me, would he?”

“Now, Frank, I’m going to ask you something about that accident. You don’t need to answer if you don’t want to, but I want to get that thing straight in my own mind.”

“I never had anything to do with that accident. I simply didn’t hit that man.”

“But a piece of the headlight from your automobile was found at the scene of the accident.”

“That’s what they tell me. But I’m certain my headlight was working properly when I drove in to that motel at Madison City.”

“And the glass was in the headlight?”

“Well, I’m not entirely certain about the glass. I know my headlights showed the road all right. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I’d had a long drive and I was all in. I just tumbled out of the car and into bed.”

“Was someone riding with you?”

“You know someone was.”

“Who?”

“A girl from Montana. Daphne Arcola her name is. I picked her up at the checking station at Yuma.”

“You know her name now. Yet you didn’t know it a few days ago.”

“I read it in the paper last night. My friend had a copy of The Blade with him — that’s how he knew where I was and that I was being held on a hit-and-run charge.

“And that’s how I knew who this girl was. At the time I gave her the ride I only knew her first name, and I’d even forgotten that.

“She didn’t want to talk much, and I was dog tired. I’d been driving all day and then I picked her up. She was a nice kid and she was very anxious to get to Los Angeles.

“Ordinarily I’d have turned in at Brawley, but she was so anxious to get into Los Angeles I thought I’d try to make it on through if I possibly could. I hated to think of a nice kid like that being loose on the highway, having to hitchhike. I was so sleepy I was blacking out, but I tried to keep going.”

“Don’t you suppose you could have blacked out and hit this man?”

“No. I wasn’t blacking out that bad. And anyway she was there wide awake.”

“Why didn’t you let her drive?”

“Just because... well, when you pick up someone you’re foolish to let them drive. It’s too easy for them to conk you and take the car. She looked like a sweet kid, but there was something strange about the way she... I guess, Mr. Selby, I don’t want to do any more talking about that case. I don’t think I should.”

“Let’s go back to last night, then. You stayed in a motel?”

“That’s right.”

“And what sort of a place was it? A pretty good place?”

“High-class.”