"I do not."

  "Well, I'm telling you that we have."

  Linda Mae eyed him with shrewd twinkling eyes. "Well, if it's going to count as evidence, you'd better take the oath and trade places with me."

  Even the judge smiled as her sally rocked the courtroom with laughter.

  "Well, you know police have been to your house searching for your niece," the district attorney shouted.

  "Of course I do," Linda Mae said. "They trampled the flowers, wore out the doorbell and left cigar butts all over the lawn."

  "Well," the district attorney countered, "they were officers, perhaps no better, but certainly no worse than the average, and, under my orders, they were searching for your niece, Linda Carroll, and they failed to find her."

  Linda Mae nodded pertly. "It takes a better than average cop to find someone at a place where they ain't."

  Again laughter swept the courtroom before the judge could pound it to order.

  "Cross-examine," the district attorney said with a wry smile.

  "Miss Carroll," Staunton Irvine said, "what happened after the weapon, People's exhibit number three, was locked in the desk?"

  "We talked for a while and then we went to bed."

  "And was there some discussion about an automobile ... that is, an automobile other than the one that had been loaned to Mr Trenton by your niece?"

  "There was. Mr Trenton had an automobile that he'd picked up and in which he made his escape. We parked it at a place where the police would find it eventually."

  "Why didn't you notify the police?"

  "Well, at the time I didn't see that any good could come of it."

  "Now then," Irvine said, "who had the key to the desk?"

  "1 believe Mr Ostrander took the key and put it somewhere, or maybe he kept it. He said that we should take great pains to see that the gun was kept so it could be turned over to the police ... that is, that nothing happened to it. Of course, at that time no one, not a single one of us, had any idea a man had been killed. We thought it was just another smuggling gang."

  "That's all."

  The district attorney called Sam Joyner to the stand, then abruptly changed his mind and said, "No, 1 don't think that will be necessary."

  He turned to the judge and said, "Your Honour, I think we have made out a prima facie case; one which is more than amply sufficient to bind the defendant ovu. The victim was killed by two bullets fired from an automatic weapon which was concededly in the hands of the dticndant and which the defendant admitted firing when it was pointed towards the deceased. Any question of premeditation or any difference between manslaughter, second-degree murder or first-degree murder will be threshed out at the trial. At the present time it would seem that there is only one course open to Your Honour, and that's to bind the defendant over on a charge of first-degree murder and let the higher court decide the legal aspects of the situation."

  The judge nodded.

  "Therefore," the district attorney said, "the prosecution rests."

  "Well, I guess there's reasonable cause here to connect the defendant with the crime," the judge said, "I ..."

  "Call our witness, quick," Rob whispered to his lawyer.

  Irvine shook his head.

  "Just a moment, Your Honour," Rob Trenton said in a sudden burst of desperation, surprising even himself by his daring. "I wish to confer for a moment with counsel concerning my case."

  The judge frowned, waited briefly.

  Irvine said in angry whisper, "He's made up his mind to bind you over. There's nothing else he can do. Now sit still and let me handle this."

  "You mean you won't call Dr Dixon?"

  "Exactly. We can't afford to waste our valuable ammunition at this time aiming at an impossible target. The judge has his mind all made up."

  The judge rapped with his gavel. "There certainly seems no alternative to the Court at this time but to find the defendant..

  "Just a moment," Rob Trenton interrupted, "I want to call one witness to the stand."

  Staunton Irvine whispered frantically in his ear, "Don't do it, you fool. He's going to bind you over anyway, and you'll simply be tipping your hand. Your witness will go on the stand and the district attorney will cross-examine him up one side and down the other, then when the case is on trial in the higher court, the district attorney will have a record to confuse him with, asking him if he didn't say this, or fail to say that, and ..."

  "Nevertheless," Trenton said, "1 want to call him."

  "Who's your witness?" the judge asked irritably.

  "Dr Herbert Dixon," Trenton said.

  The district attorney smiled. "No objection. Your Honour, no objection. Let the defence call him, by all means."

  "All right," the judge said, "if you want to call a witness that's a right that you have. If Dr Dixon is still in the courtroom he'll come forward and be sworn."

  Dr Dixon came forward and was sworn.

  Acting with manifest reluctance, Staunton Irvine qualified him as an expert, then took the written list of questions which Rob Trenton handed him.

  "Doctor, did you have occasion to examine the body of Harvey Richmond?"

  "1 did."

  "When?"

  "On the afternoon of the twenty-first."

  "Did you make a post-mortem examination?"

  "I made the best post-mortem examination I could. I was unable to make a complete examination."

  "Why?"

  "Because an earlier post-mortem had been made. The body had been cut open in order to extract two bullets. However, the skull had not been opened and there were other parts of the burned body which remained undisturbed."

  "Did you determine the cause of death?" Irvine asked listlessly.

  "I did."

  "What was it?"

  "Death was caused primarily by burns," Dr Dixon said.

  "By burns?" Irvine echoed in surprise "That's right."

  "What about the bullets?" the lawyer blurted in surprise.

  "Well," Dr Dixon said, "1 didn't have an opportunity to see the bullets in place, but nevertheless, I believe that the cause of death was not from gunshot wounds but from burns."

  Staunton Irvine turned the sheet of paper. The second page was blank, there were no more questions.

  Irvine hitched forward in his chair.

  "That's all," Rob Trenton whispered.

  "But now we're just getting started," Irvine said.

  "Then stop," Rob told him.

  "But why? We may stand a chance now."

  "I don't know why. That's the way Dr Dixon planned it."

  "The district attorney will rip him to pieces on cross-examination," Irvine whispered.

  "Come, come, gentlemen," the judge said, "let's get on with the trial."

  "That's all, Your Honour."

  The judge looked at the district attorney.

  Norton Berkeley, with something of a sneer, arose and said, "Well, Doctor, you have presumed to testify that Harvey Richmond died because of the fire. Is that right?"

  "That's right."

  "Yet you didn't see the location of the fatal bullets?"

  "1 presume," Dr Dixon said, "by the fatal bullets you are referring to People's exhibits one and two?"

  "That's right."

  "No sir, I didn't see the location of the bullets."

  "You didn't see the X-ray pictures?"

  "No, sir. ! haven't seen them."

  ' fake a look at them now, then," Berkeley invited. "I will show you Feople's exhibits four and five. Do you see what these are? That is, can you get yourself oriented, Doctor? Can you determine the anatomical structure from these photographs?"

  "I can do so very well, thank you."

  "And do you see the bullets as shown in these photographs?"

  "I do."

  "Do you believe those bullets could have been discharged into the body of a living, breathing human being without causing death?"

  "No, sir."

  "Almost instantaneous death?"

  "That's right."

  "And yet you say that your examination of this body led you to believe that the man died as the result of the fire?"

  "1 am certain of it," Dr Dixon said slowly. "And now if you will let me explain that answer, I will add that I am certain that Harvey Richmond was engaged in a fight, a physical struggle, shortly before death took place, that he received several blows about the body, that thereafter he was clubbed over the head and that his skull was possibly fractured, that he became unconscious, and while he was unconscious the. houseboat was set afire, and that Harvey Richmond lived, although he was unconscious, for some time after that fire started, long enough for the fire to cause his death."

  "And do you mean to tell us that you can deduce all of that from an examination of the charred remains of a body?" Berkeley asked with heavy sarcasm, "or did you use a crystal ball, Doctor?"

  "I deduced it solely from the pathological data 1 found when I examined the body."

  "Well, then, by all means just tell us how you know all that."

  "To begin with," Dr Dixon said, "I was acquainted with Harvey Richmond in his lifetime. I know that he was of stocky build and that he was fleshy. What is not generally realised is that almost everyone has a layer of subcutaneous fat, that this varies with the individual. In the case of Harvey Richmond, there was a very well defined layer of subcutaneous fat."

  "And what does that have to do with it?" Berkeley asked.

  "Simply this. In the event of a person receiving violent blows on his body, some of the subcutaneous fat cells are broken loose from the general fat structure and enter the bloodstream in the form of globules. Once these fatty globules have entered the bloodstream, they are carried to the lungs by the natural circulation. But in the lungs some of the blood vessels are so small that the fat globules clog the small vessels. By examining the lung tissue under a microscope these fat globules can readily be identified."

  Berkeley said, "Doctor, that sounds incredible to me."

  "It is, nevertheless, a fact."

  "And you found such fat globules in the capillaries of the lungs?"

  "I did."

  "Doctor, could you produce any competent authority that would sustain that position?"

  "Certainly," Dr Dixon said. "It's generally understood among the best pathologists. However, if you wish authority. I can give you authority."

  He opened a briefcase, reached in, took out a book and said, "Here is a book entitled Homicide Investigation by Dr LeMoyne Snyder. Dr Snyder says on page 170, 'Everyone has a certain amount of fat deposited underneath the skin in the abdominal cavity and in the bone marrow. If he is struck a violent blow some of this fat will be dislodged and it will be taken up by the bloodstream and carried back to the heart. From there it goes to the lungs, but here the blood passes through blood vessels so small that these fat globules are strained out. When the pathologist examines the lung tissue under the microscope, these fat globules can readily be identified by means of a special stain. The skin and underlyingfat where the deceased suffered the blow may have been entirely destroyed by the subsequent fire, but if the fat globules are found in the lungs, it means two things: - One. That the deceased suffered direct violence to some portion of his body. Two. He was alive when the wound was inflicted.'"

  The district attorney endeavoured to dispose of the testimony casually. "I see," he said, smiling, "and simply because you found a few fat cells in this man's lungs, you came to the conclusion that he had suffered violence before death."

  "That's right."

  "And therefore the fatal bullets had no particular significance?"

  "There were other reasons which entered into my opinion," Dr Dixon said. "For instance, when a body is exposed to fire, there are certain means of determining whether a person was alive or dead at the time the fire started. If the person was alive, he was breathing. If he was breathing, certain particles of soot are necessarily inhaled, and they can be found by a careful examination in the air passages. I made such an examination and found many of these particles in the air passages of the deceased. Therefore, I know that he was alive and breathing during the time the fire was raging aboard the houseboat."

  "But you don't know whether he was conscious or not?"

  "I am virtually certain he was unconscious."

  "Unconscious because he. was dying from bullet wounds, which, perhaps due to some freak, were not immediately fatal," the district attorney said as though finally disposing of the doctor's testimony.

  "You'll pardon me," Dr Dixon said, "but I know that the man had received a blow on the head prior to the outset of the fire and was undoubtedly unconscious at the time the fire was started."

  "Some more of your clairvoyant medicine, ! suppose," Berkeley said, trying by sarcasm to destroy the damaging effect of the doctor's testimony

  "There is nothing clairvoyant about it at all. It is a matter of scientific determination. When ..."

  "Well, I don't think we're interested in all this so-called scientific prattle," the district attorney interrupted. "It's been established by competent and unchallenged medical testimony that this man was shot, that he was shot with bullets fired from a certain gun, and that those bullets would cause almost instant death. I don't think we need to waste the Court's time with any further dissertations on abstract science."

  "You'll pardon me," Dr Dixon said, "but you asked me how 1 knew that the man had received a blow on the head and was unconscious prior to the time the fire started. I want to answer that question."

  "Well, 1 don't care about hearing it," the district attorney said. "That's all."

  The judge interposed. "It seems the Doctor is trying to tell us something here, and we should know what it is."

  "I withdraw my question," the district attorney said. "I recognise a desire on the part of Dr Dixon to show his medical erudition, and while I am perfectly willing to stipulate that he is a man of great scientific qualifications, 1 see no reason why we should obscure the issues in the case merely in order to enable him to make a public display of his knowledge, a knowledge which I am quite willing to concede."

  "I think," Dr Dixon said coldly, "you have entirely misunderstood the purpose of my testimony."

  "Well, in any event, my examination is concluded," the district attorney said. "That's all the cross-examination I have."

  The judge looked over at the defence. "Any redirect?" he asked.

  Staunton Irvine shook his head, but before he could say "No redirect," Rob Trenton interposed a question. "How do you know the man received a blow on the head prior to the fire?" he asked.

  "Just a moment, just a moment," Berkeley interrupted. "1 object, Your Honour, to such an examination. The defendant is represented by counsel and be can certainly trust to the ability of his own attorney. He doesn't need to step in here with comments, interpolations and questions. The attorney has signified there are no further questions."

  "1 think the attorney should ask the questions," the judge ruled.

  "Ask that question then," Rob Trenton said to his lawyer.

  "1 object to that," Berkeley said. "The attorney has already signified there was no redirect examination. He shook his head."

  Rob Trenton said, "Your Honour. 1 feel that 1 have some rights in this case. I ..."

  "Just a minute," the judge interrupted. "The attorney may have shaken his head, but that doesn't mean anything so far as the record is concerned. Counsel has to say something so the court reporter can hear it in order to keep the records straight. Now then, Mr Irvine, is there any redirect examination?"

  Irvine hesitated.

  "Ask that question," Trenton said.

  Irvine whispered, "I think we're just getting into a ..."

  "Ask that question," Trenton reiterated.

  "Very well," Irvine said with poor grace. "How do you know the man received a blow on the head and was unconscious prior to the fire, Doctor?"

  "Because," Dr Dixon said, "when 1 opened the skull, I found a blood clot inside of the skull which had been quite evidently caused by violence. Probably a blow which had been inflicted on the skull."

  "That's all," Irvine said. "No further redirect."

  Dr Beaumont whispered excitedly to the district attorney, and the district attorney, with a triumphant smile, said, "Just a moment, Doctor. I have some re-cross-examination. Now you've testified that you found some blood in the skull when you opened the skull of the deceased."

  "I did."

  "And do you think that is the result of a blow sustained on the head?"

  "1 do."

  "Don't you know, as a matter of fact, Doctor, that in cases of burning, the heat may cause the skull to crack open and frequently does cause fractures of the skull, so that the relatively inexperienced pathologist - and 1 say this with no personal implications, but merely for the purpose of establishing a scientific fact - will accept the evidence of such heat fracture as an indication that direct violence had been suffered before death?"

  "I'm quite aware of all of that," Dr Dixon said, "but I analysed the blood in the brain for the presence of carbon monoxide and found none. 1 was able to gather a sample of blood from the liver and analysed that and found a high percentage of carbon monoxide. It is, therefore, a fact which is not subject to serious question, that the blood which formed the clot in the head had been formed before the fire, because this blood had ceased to circulate when the fire started. Whereas the blood which was circulating through the heart and the respiratory system did become contaminated with carbon monoxide. I know, therefore, that the injury sufficient to cause this rather substantial blood clot was inflicted before the fire. Therefore, 1 am forced to the conclusion that the man was unconscious at the time the fire started and that he lived long enough after the fire started to inhale particles of soot in the smoke and to have the blood which was circulating impregnated with a high percentage of carbon monoxide., enough to cause unconsciousness and probably to bring about death before the flames actually reached the body. I also know that he had received violent blows on the body prior to the time of death. It is, therefore, my conclusion that the two bullets which were found in the body in a place which would ordinarily have caused instant death, were deliberately fired into the body after death had taken place."