The Case of the Grinning Gorilla

“She stripped to the skin and took a shower. I inspected every inch of her body.”

“What were you looking for?”

“Scratches, cuts, any bruises or marks of violence.”

“Did you find any?”

“Mr. Ginsberg, there was absolutely no place on her body where the skin had been broken.”

“May I ask the reason for this examination?” James Etna inquired.

“You just listen and you’ll find the reason for it,” Ginsberg said belligerently.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Judge Mundy said, “let’s conform to the proprieties. Does Counsel wish to interpose an objection?”

“I was trying to save the time,” Etna said angrily, “but in view of the circumstances I will object on the ground that this is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.”

“We propose to connect it up, Your Honor,” Ginsberg said, “with our next witness.”

“Very well, proceed.”

“That is all. Cross-examine.”

Mason said to Etna, “You cross-examine her, Jim.”

Etna said, “Why did you take her clothes away?”

“I was instructed to do so.”

“You knew that until she had been formally charged you could only hold her as...?”

“I followed instructions,” the matron said. “That’s what I’m there for. If you want to argue the law, argue it with the district attorney.”

“You mean you received instructions from the district attorney?”

“From his office, yes.”

“And what became of these clothes that you took away from her and which were turned over to Philip Groton?”

“If you’ll wait until our next witness is called, that question will be answered,” Ginsberg said.

“Very well,” Etna said. “That’s all.”

“Call Philip Groton,” Ginsberg said.

Philip Groton, a tall, thin, studious-looking individual, with high cheekbones, and thick-lensed glasses which seemed to reflect the light so that at times one saw only a blank face with two reflecting ovals where the eyes should be, took the stand and qualified himself as an expert toxicologist, chemist and technical investigator.

“You received certain garments from the matron who has just testified?” Hamilton Burger asked.

“I did. Yes, sir.”

“Did you make an examination of those garments?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you find anything unusual on those garments?”

“I did.”

“What did you find?”

“Human blood.”

“You have those garments with you?”

“I do. Yes, sir.”

“I ask that they be introduced in evidence.”

“No objection,” Mason said.

The garments were introduced in evidence.

“Cross-examine,” Hamilton Burger said.

“You state this was human blood on the garments?” Mason asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“How do you know?”

“I performed a precipitin test.”

“Now when you perform that test you don’t ordinarily test the blood for the purpose of finding whether the blood comes from any particular animal, do you? As I understand it, you have a test solution which will give a reaction to human blood, and will give no reaction to animal blood. Therefore you simply test a bloodstain for the purpose of determining whether it is human blood or animal blood. If it is animal blood you ordinarily don’t bother to classify it. If you get a positive reaction you then know it is human blood. Is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is that test infallible?”

“That test is infallible.”

Mason said, “I should like to cross-examine Mr. Groton a little more on his qualifications as an expert witness, but I’ll confess to the Court that I am not at the moment prepared to pursue the line of questioning that I want. I intend to check on a certain bit of information before completing the cross-examination.”

“Is there any objection on the part of Counsel to having this phase of the cross-examination postponed?” Judge Mundy asked the prosecutor.

“None whatever,” Hamilton Burger said, waving his hand with a gesture of complete assurance. “We will be glad to have Mr. Perry Mason or anyone else cross-examine Mr. Groton as to his qualifications for an entire day if he so desires, and at any time he so desires.”

“Very well, Mr. Groton, you may step down, and will be recalled later for that phase of your cross-examination. Who’s your next witness?”

Burger, a sudden note of triumph in his voice, called the other officer who had been in the car that had taken Mason, the defendant, Josephine Kempton, and Della Street to police headquarters. He described how the three had been seated in the back seat, the fact that he had turned and kept his eye on them most of the time.

“After you arrived at police headquarters, what was done with the car?” Burger asked.

“It was put back into service.”

“Who occupied that car?”

“My partner and I.”

“And what time did you go off duty?”

“At four o’clock in the morning.”

“What was done then?”

“I... well, I realized that I hadn’t checked the cushions on the back seat, something that we ordinarily do when we have suspects in the car who are not handcuffed. So my partner and I raised the back seat, and as we did so we found a document underneath the cushions of the back seat.”

“Generally, what was that document?”