“That’s objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not proper cross-examination. The direct examination of this witness related to the fixing of time and to the time when he went to bed. The witness fixed that by testifying what he did during the evening. When the defense shows that the witness went out, it makes no difference where he went or what he did. It is only a question of determining how long he was gone.”

  “I think I’ll sustain the objection,” Judge Markham announced.

  “Did you put in a telephone call?” Mason asked.

  “Same objection.”

  “Same ruling,” Judge Markham snapped.

  “Isn’t it true that at exactly eleven o’clock in the evening you were putting in a telephone call to Mrs. Doris Sully Kent” in Santa Barbara, and therefore couldn’t have been in the residence of Peter Kent?”

  “Same objection,” Burger snapped.

  “If Counsel will amend that question so that the witness is asked whether he wasn’t putting in a long distance telephone call at some other place at the time when the witness has previously stated he had returned to the house, I will permit the question,” Judge Markham ruled. “But I do not think it is necessarily relevant, pertinent or proper cross-examination to include in that question the name of the person to whom the telephone call was being made.”

  “Very well,” Mason said, “didn’t you put in a telephone call at exactly eleven o’clock from the drug store, Mr. Duncan?”

  “It was before eleven. Five minutes to eleven. We were back in the house by eleven o’clock.”

  Mason smiled and said, “That’s all.”

  Burger and Blaine held a whispered conversation, then Burger announced, “No further questions, Your Honor. Our next witness is Edna Hammer. I think the Court will realize that this young woman, who is a niece of the defendant, is a hostile witness. It may be necessary for me to interrogate her by leading questions...”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Judge Markham interrupted. “Miss Hammer, take the stand.”

  Edna Hammer came forward, was sworn, and seated herself in the witness stand. Her face was pale and drawn.

  “Your name is Edna Hammer, you’re a niece of the defendant, and you resided with him at his house at 3824 Lakeview Terrace, Hollywood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And were so residing there on the night of the thirteenth and the morning of the fourteenth of this month?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Are you familiar with the appearance of a certain carving knife which was customarily kept in the top drawer of the sideboard in the defendant’s residence?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did you see that knife on the morning of the thirteenth?”

  She lowered her eyes, bit her lip and said nothing.

  “Answer the question,” Judge Markham ordered.

  “I saw a knife which resembled it.”

  “Where was that knife?”

  “Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” Mason said.

  “We propose to show, Your Honor, that it was in the possession of the defendant,” Burger stated.

  “Upon that assumption, the objection is overruled.”

  “Answer the question,” Burger said.

  “A carving knife, similar in appearance to the one customarily kept in the sideboard drawer, was in my uncle’s bedroom, under the pillow of his bed.”

  “That was on the morning of the thirteenth?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you do with the carving knife?”

  “I replaced it in the sideboard drawer.”

  “Did you mention finding it to your uncle?”

  “No.”

  “Did you take precautions of any sort to see that this carving knife did not come into the possession of your uncle after you had so replaced it in the sideboard drawer?”

  “I locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth.”

  “And when did you next see the carving knife?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “I saw a carving knife, but I am not certain that it was the same one.”

  “I call your attention to the knife introduced as People’s Exhibit Number Two. Did you see that knife on the morning of the fourteenth?”

  “Yes.... I guess so.”

  “Where?”

  “Under the pillow of the bed in Uncle’s room.

  “And it was in approximately the same condition that it now is? That is, with reference to the stains on the blade?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now, then, when you locked that sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth, was the knife inside the drawer?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t you know?”

  “Because I didn’t open the drawer to look.”

  “Who was with you at that time?”

  “Objected to as incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, Mason said.

  “Overruled.”

  “Mr. Mason.”

  “You mean Perry Mason, the attorney, seated here in the courtroom?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Is this knife, People’s Exhibit Number Two, different in any way from the knife which you placed in the sideboard drawer on the morning of the thirteenth?”

  “I don’t think so. It is similar to the knife which I put in the drawer there at that time.”

  “When you made a statement to the officers on the morning of the fourteenth you stated it was the same knife, didn’t you?”

  Judge Markham glanced over at Perry Mason as though expecting to hear an objection, but Mason remained motionless and attentive.

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  “Now you will only admit that it’s similar to the knife you found under your uncle’s pillow on the morning of the fourteenth and placed in the drawer. Can you explain the apparent discrepancy in these two answers?”

  “Only that when I came to think the matter over, I realized that many knives might look alike.”

  “And so far as you know, this knife, People’s Exhibit Number Two, is the same knife which you found under the defendant’s pillow on the morning of the thirteenth and placed in the sideboard drawer, is that right, Miss Hammer?”

  “It is similar in appearance to that knife,” she said.

  “Cross-examine,” Hamilton Burger announced triumphantly.

  Mason began his questions soothingly. “How did you happen to discover the carving knife under your uncle’s pillow on the morning of the thirteenth, Miss Hammer?”

  “I... I. . . was worried about him.”

  “In other words you had reason to believe that he might have been walking in his sleep the night before, is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And your anxiety about his sleepwalking was due to the fact that it was approaching a period of full moon?”

  “Yes,” she said in a low voice.

  “How did you know, Miss Hammer, that sleepwalkers are more apt to become active during the full of the moon?”

  “I read it.”

  “In a book?”

  “Yes.”

  “A medical book?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where did you get that book?”

  “I sent away for it.”

  “You’d studied that book prior to the time you locked the sideboard drawer?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Over how long a period of time?”

  “Perhaps six weeks or two months.”

  “Now, directing your attention to this knife, Defendant’s Exhibit A, I will ask you if you have ever seen that knife before?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did you put that knife in the sideboard drawer at a date subsequent to the murder, in accordance with instructions from me?”

  Hamilton Burger jumped to his feet, started to object, then slowly sat back in his chair.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I told you, I believe,” Mason said, smiling over at the district attorney, “that I desired to plant the knife in the sideboard drawer and have it discovered the next day by Sergeant Holcomb; that I wanted to confuse the issues and make it increasingly difficult for the district attorney to get witnesses to identify the murder knife as the one which had been in the sideboard drawer, didn’t I?”

  District Attorney Burger blinked his eyes as though doubting his senses. Judge Markham leaned forward, started to say something, paused and stared at Mason, his eyes wide with astonishment.

  Blaine jumped to his feet. “Your Honor, I think Counsel should be warned that, if this question is answered in the affirmative, the district attorney’s office cannot afford to ignore the cold record, but will take steps to see that such unprofessional conduct is ...” The district attorney grabbed his assistant by the coat, pulled him back to his chair.

  “Answer the question, Edna,” Mason said, paying no attention to Blaine’s comment.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And this knife which I gave you is the one which I have had marked for identification as Defendant’s Exhibit A?”

  “Yes, sir, I think so.”

  Edna Hammer’s voice was low and embarrassed. Her eyes reflected the confusion of her mind.

  “And you did lock this knife, Defendant’s Exhibit A, in the drawer?”

  “Yes.”

  “But it wasn’t there when you opened the drawer the next morning?”

  “No, sir.”

  Mason said kindly, almost conversationally, “So you’ve known you were walking in your sleep for about six weeks or two months, Edna?”

  The counsel at the district attorney’s table were deeply engaged in a whispered consultation. The question slipped by their ears unnoticed. Edna Hammer, her mind in a half daze by the brazen manner in which Mason had publicly proclaimed their conspiracy, was thrown off her guard.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, mechanically.

  It was Judge Markham who grasped the significance of the question and answer. He leaned forward to stare at the witness and said, “What was that answer?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, and then suddenly realizing what she had said, “Oh, I didn’t mean that ... I didn’t.”

  “What did you mean, Edna?” Mason asked.

  “What’s this? What’s this?” Hamilton Burger shouted, getting to his feet. “I object. Not proper cross-examination.” .

  “The question relating to her sleepwalking has already been asked answered,” Mason said. “I am now giving her an opportunity to explain what she meant by her answer.”

  “And I object.”

  “Very well, Your Honor, I’ll withdraw the question. The first answer speaks for itself,” Mason said.

  Burger, looking very much annoyed, slowly sat down.

  Mason asked, in a kindly tone, “Did you habitually use that receptacle under the coffee table as a place in which to conceal articles from time to time, Edna?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So that when you locked the sideboard drawer on the evening of the thirteenth and went to sleep with the thought uppermost in your mind that your uncle might get the carving knife in his possession while walking in his sleep, you walked in your sleep, and, not trusting the locking of the sideboard drawer to safeguard the knife, took the knife from the drawer and placed it in that oblong receptacle under the coffee table at exactly quarter past twelve, didn’t you?”

  “Objected to!” Burger shouted. “This is not proper cross-examination. This is argumentative. This is utterly improper. There is no proper foundation laid.”

  “Indeed there is,” Mason assured the Court. “This witness has testified to locking the sideboard drawer; has testified to seeing the knife on the morning of the thirteenth, and to next seeing this knife on the morning of the fourteenth. I have the right to cross-examine her to show that she must have seen it earlier on the morning of the fourteenth, to wit, when she took it from the sideboard drawer.”

  “But,” Burger protested, “if she did this while walking in her sleep, she wouldn’t know anything about it.”

  “In that event,” Mason answered, “she can answer the question by saying, ‘I don’t know.”’

  Judge Markham nodded. “The objection is overruled,” he said.

  Edna Hammer said in a voice which was almost a wail, “I don’t know.”

  Mason waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “That’s all,” he said.

  Hamilton Burger exchanged glances with young Blaine, then they plunged once more into whispered consultation.

  “Any redirect examination?” Judge Markham asked.

  “If we may have the indulgence of the Court for just a moment,” Markham said, “this whole case has taken rather a peculiar turn.”

  Blaine engaged in vehement whisperings but Burger slowly shook his head.

  Burger said, after a moment, “Very well, I’ll ask Miss Hammer a few questions on redirect examination. Did I understand you to say that you had been walking in your sleep, Miss Hammer?”

  “Yes.”

  “When did you first know that you were a sleepwalker?”

  “About six weeks or two months ago. Perhaps a little longer.”

  “How did you find out you had been walking in your sleep?”

  “I had been worrying about some rather important papers of Uncle Pete’s. He’d left them in the writing desk in the living room. I told him I didn’t think it was a safe place and he said it was all right, that no one would bother them. I went to sleep worrying about them and in the morning, when I got up, the papers were in my bedroom under my pillow.”

  Burger turned to Blaine. His manner was that of saying, “I told you so.” Blaine squirmed uncomfortably, made more whispered suggestions to Burger.”

  Burger whirled back to face her. “Why didn’t you tell us this?” he asked.

  “No one asked me.”

  “And you got this book on sleepwalking at that time?”

  “I sent away for it, yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to study up on it and see if I could cure myself, and I wanted to see if it was hereditary. In other words, I wanted to see if it might be a family taint.

  “And did you do any more sleepwalking?”

  “Yes.”

  Burger turned savagely to Blaine.

  Mason looking across the gap between the counsel tables, grinned at the two lawyers who were carrying on a spirited argument in whispers, the hissing sibilants not sufficiently audible to allow spectators to hear what was being said, but loud enough to convey Burger’s general tone of exasperation.

  “That’s all,” Burger snapped, overruling Blaine’s whispered suggestions.

  “Any recross-examination?” Judge Markham inquired of Perry Mason.

  Mason shook his head. “No, Your Honor, I’m quite satisfied with the testimony of this witness as it is.”

  “That’s all, Miss Hammer,” Judge Markham said. “Call your next witness, Mr. Burger.

  “Call Gerald Harris.”

  Harris glanced solicitously at Edna Hammer as he came to the witness stand. She gave him a wan smile.

  When Harris had been sworn, Burger brushed aside a whispered suggestion from Blaine and began to question the witness.

  “Your name is Gerald Harris?”

  “Yes.”

  “You are acquainted with Peter Kent, the defendant?”

  “I am.”

  “You were in his house on the evening of the thirteenth?”

  “I was.”

  “I show you a knife, Mr. Harris, which has been introduced in evidence as People’s Exhibit Number Two, and ask you whether you have ever seen that knife before.

  “I have, on several occasions.”

  “Where?”

  “When I was a guest at Mr. Kent’s house. That was the carving knife which Kent used to carve turkey and roasts. There was, I believe, a smaller carving set used for steaks.”

  “Do you know where this knife was kept?”

  “I do.”

  “Where.”

  “In the sideboard in the dining room.”

  “Do you know precisely where in the sideboard that knife was kept?”

  “Yes, sir, in the top drawer. There was a plush-lined section built to accommodate that carving knife.”

  “Did you have occasion to go to that drawer in the sideboard on the evening of the thirteenth of this month?”

  “I did.”

  “At what time?”

  “At approximately nine-forty.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “Getting some accessories with which to make some drinks.”

  “Was the carving knife there at that time?”

  “It was not.”

  “You’re positive of that?”

  “I am.”

  “Was there a lock on the drawer of that sideboard?”

  “There was.”

  “Was that sideboard drawer locked or unlocked at the time you have mentioned?”

  “Unlocked.”

  “Where were you at the time the crime was committed?”

  “In Santa Barbara.”

  “Who sent you there?”

  “Peter Kent.”

  “At whose suggestion?”

  “At the suggestion of Perry Mason.”

  “Do you know whether Mr. Coulter, the butler, went to the sideboard drawer that evening?”

  “I know of one occasion on which he went there, yes.”

  “Was that before or after the occasion on which you noticed the carving knife was not in the drawer?”

  Harris fidgeted and said, “I would prefer not to answer that question.”

  “Never mind your preferences. You’re here as a witness and under oath. Answer the question.”

  Harris said in a muffled undertone, “Before.”

  “Speak up,” Burger said, “so the jury can hear you. What did you say?”

  “I said that it was before.

  “How do you know?”

  “I saw Mr. Coulter at the sideboard.”

  “What was he doing?”

  “He had the sideboard drawer open. I don’t know whether he had been taking something out or putting something in. He closed the drawer and walked away.”

  “How long was that before you opened the drawer in the sideboard?”

  “About five minutes, I would say.”

  Burger nodded triumphantly to Perry Mason. “You,” he said, “may cross-examine.”