erlestanleygardner.thecaseofthehorrifiedheirs-第24部分

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pect　to　show　by　this　witness　that　the　decedent；　Lauretta　Trent；　had　made　a　will　years　before；　had　given　it　to　this　witness　in　a　sealed　envelope　to　be　opened　at　the　time　of　her　death；　that　this　envelope　was　produced　and　opened　and　that　it　contained　the　last　will　of　Lauretta　Trent；　that　there　could　be　no　doubt　or　ambiguity　concerning　it　and　that　any　socalled　carbon　copies　of　other　wills　would　have　been　pletely　ineffective。〃
　〃I'll　overrule　the　objection；〃　Judge　Grayson　said。
　Kelvin　said；　〃I　have　always　been　close　to　my　sister…in…law。　I　am　the　elder　of　the　two　brothers…in…law。
　〃My　sister…in…law；　Lauretta　Trent；　kept　her　will　in　a　sealed　envelope　in　a　drawer　in　her　desk。　She　told　me　where　it　was　some　four　years　ago　and　asked　that　it　be　opened　in　the　event　of　her　death。
　〃After　the　tragic　occurrence　of　last　Wednesday；　and　knowing　that　there　might　be　some　question　about　proper　procedure　in　the　matter；　I　municated　with　the　district　attorney's　office　and；　in　the　presence　of　an　attorney；　a　banker；　and　the　district　attorney；　this　envelope　was　opened。〃
　〃What　did　it　contain？〃
　〃It　contained　a　document　purporting　to　be　the　last　will　of　Lauretta　Trent。〃
　〃Do　you　have　that　document　here？〃
　〃I　do。〃
　〃Produce　it；　please。〃
　The　witness　reached　in　his　pocket　and　produced　a　folded　document。
　〃You　have　marked　this　document　in　some　way　so　that　you　can　identify　it？〃
　〃That　document；〃　Kelvin　said；　〃is　marked　by　my　initials　on　each　page；　by　the　initials　of　Hamilton　Burger；　the　district　attorney；　by　the　initials　of　the　banker　who　was　present　and　the　lawyer　who　was　also　present。〃
　〃That　should　identify　it；〃　Judge　Grayson　said；　with　a　smile。　〃These；　I　take　it；　are　your　initials　written　by　you；　yourself？〃
　〃That's　right。〃
　Judge　Grayson　inspected　the　document　thoughtfully；　then　handed　it　to　Perry　Mason。
　Mason　studied　the　document；　passed　it　back　to　Caswell。
　〃I　want　this　introduced　in　evidence；〃　Caswell　said。　〃I　suggest　that　since　this　is　the　original　will；　it　may　be　received　in　evidence　and　then　the　clerk　may　be　instructed　to　make　a　certified　copy　which　will　be　substituted　in　place　of　the　original　will。〃
　〃No　objection；〃　Mason　said。
　Caswell　said；　〃I　will　now　read　the　will　into　the　record；　and　then　it　will　be　filed　until　a　certified　copy　can　be　obtained。〃
　Caswell　read　in　a　tone　of　ponderous　solemnity：　〃'I；　Lauretta　Trent；　being　of　sound　and　disposing　mind　and　memory；　state　that　I　am　a　widow；　that　I　have　no　children；　that　the　only　relatives　I　have　in　the　world　are　two　sisters；　Dianne　Briggs　and　Maxine　Kelvin；　that　my　sister；　Dianne；　is　married　to　Boring　Briggs　and　Maxine　is　married　to　Gordon　Kelvin。
　〃'I　further　state　that　these　four　people　are　living　in　my　house　with　me　and　have　been　for　some　years；　that　I　am　very　much　attached　to　my　two　brothers…in…law；　as　much　so　as　though　they　were　brothers　of　mine；　and；　of　course；　I　have　love　and　affection　for　my　sisters。
　〃'I　further　realize；　however；　that　women…and；　in　particular；　my　two　sisters…do　not　have　the　shrewd；　innate　business　ability　which　would　enable　them　to　handle　the　numerous　problems　of　my　estate。
　〃'I；　therefore；　appoint　and　nominate　Gordon　Kelvin　the　executor　of　this　my　last　will。
　〃'After　the　specific　bequests　herein　mentioned；　I　leave　all　of　the　rest；　residue　and　remainder　of　my　estate　to　be　divided　equally　among　Dianne　and　Boring　Briggs　and　Maxine　and　Gordon　Kelvin。'〃
　Caswell　paused　impressively　as　he　looked　around　the　quiet　courtroom；　then　turned　a　page　of　the　will　and　went　on；　〃'I　give；　devise　and　bequeath　to　my　sister；　Dianne　Briggs；　the　sum　of　fifty　thousand　dollars；　to　my　sister；　Maxine　Kelvin；　a　like　sum　of　fifty　thousand　dollars。
　〃'There　have；　however；'〃　Caswell　read；　and　paused　to　glance　around　the　courtroom　significantly；　〃'been　a　few　people　whose　loyalty　and　devotion　have　been　outstanding。
　〃'First　and　foremost；　there　has　been　Dr。　Ferris　Alton。
　〃'Because　he　has　specialized　in　internal　medicine　and　does　not　do　surgery；　he　has　locked　himself　in　a　branch　of　the　profession　which　is　somewhat　underpaid　as　pared　with　the　relatively　remunerative　practice　of　medicine　in　the　field　of　surgery。'〃
　Virginia　Baxter　gripped　Mason's　leg　just　above　the　knee　with　hard　fingertips。　〃Oh；　it's　so；〃　she　whispered。　〃I　remember　now。　I　remember　typing　that。　I　remember　the　tribute　she　made　to…〃
　〃Hush；〃　Mason　warned。
　Jerry　Caswell　went　on　reading。　〃　'Dr。　Alton　has　given　me　loyal　care　and　is　working　himself　to　death；　yet　has　no　adequate　reserves　for　retirement。
　〃'I；　therefore；　give；　devise　and　bequeath　to　Dr。　Ferris　Alton　the　sum　of　one　hundred　thousand　dollars。
　〃'There　are　two　other　persons　whose　loyalty　and　devotion　have　made　a　great　impression　on　me。　Those　are　George　Eagan；　my　chauffeur；　and　Anna　Fritch；　who　has　nursed　me　whenever　I　have　been　sick。
　〃'I　don't　care　to　have　my　death　an　event　which　will　transform　these　people　from　rags　to　riches　nor；　on　the　other　hand；　do　I　want　their　loyalty　to　pass　unrewarded。
　〃'I；　therefore；　give；　devise　and　bequeath　to　my　chauffeur；　George　Eagan；　the　sum　of　fifty　thousand　dollars；　in　the　hope　that　he　will　open　up　a　business　of　his　own　with　a　part　of　this　money　as　capital　and　save　the　balance　as　a　reserve。　I　also　give；　devise　and　bequeath　a　similar　sum　of　fifty　thousand　dollars　to　Anna　Fritch。'〃
　Here　Caswell　turned　the　page　rather　hurriedly　as　one　does　when　nearing　the　end　of　an　important　document。
　〃'Should　any　person；　corporation；　or　otherwise；　contest　this　will　or　should　any　person　appear　claiming　that　I　have　a　relationship　with　that　person；　that　he　or　she　is　an　heir；　that　I　have　through　inadvertence　or　otherwise　neglected　to　mention　him；　I　give　to　such　person　the　sum　of　one　hundred　dollars。'
　〃Now　then；〃　Jerry　Caswell　said；　〃that　will　contains　the　usual　closing　paragraph　with　the　date。　It　is　signed　by　the　testatrix；　and　it　is　witnessed　by　none　other　than　the　late　Delano　Bannock；　the　attorney；　and　。　。　。〃　And　here　Caswell　turned　impressively　to　the　defendant　。　。　。　〃the　defendant　in　this　case；　Virginia　Baxter。〃
　Virginia　sat　gazing　at　him　openmouthed。
　Mason　squeezed　her　arm　and　brought　her　back　to　reality。
　〃Does　that　conclude　the　testimony　of　this　witness？〃　Judge　Grayson　asked。
　〃It　does；　Your　Honor。〃
　〃Any　cross…examination？〃
　Mason　got　to　his　feet。　〃This　will　was　the　one　you　found　in　the　sealed　envelope？〃
　〃Yes。　The　sealed　envelope　was　in　the　drawer　where　Lauretta　Trent　said　it　would　be。　The　will　was　in　the　sealed　envelope。〃
　〃What　did　you　do　with　it？〃
　〃I　put　it　in　a　safe　and　called　the　district　attorney。〃
　〃Where　was　the　safe？〃
　〃In　my　bedroom。〃
　〃And　your　bedroom　is　in　the　house　owned　and　occupied　by　Lauretta　Trent　during　her　lifetime？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃The　safe　was　already　in　your　bedroom　when　you　moved　in？〃
　〃No；　I　installed　it。〃
　〃Why　did　you　install　it？〃
　〃Because　I　had　certain　valuables　and　I　knew　that　the　house　was　big；　and　the　reputation　of　Lauretta　Trent　for　extreme　wealth　was　well　known；　so　I　wanted　to　have　a　safe　place　where　I　could　keep　my　wife's　jewelry　and　such　cash　as　I　had　in　my　possession。〃
　〃What　has　been　your　occupation？〃　Mason　asked。
　〃I　have　done　several　things；〃　Kelvin　said　with　dignity。
　〃Such　as　what？〃
　〃I　don't　think　I　need　to　enumerate　them。〃
　〃Objected　to　as　inpetent；　irrelevant；　immaterial；　not　proper　cross…examination；〃　Caswell　said。
　〃Oh；　certainly；〃　Judge　Grayson　said；　〃I　think　this　is　background　material　and　cross…examining　counsel　should　be　entitled　to　it；　although　I　can't　see　that　it　will　affect　the　oute　of　the　case　or　materially　affect　the　evaluation　the　Court　is　placing　on　the　testimony　of　the　witness。〃
　〃There's　no　need　of　going　into　his　entire　life；〃　Caswell　snapped　irritably。
　Judge　Grayson　looked　at　Mason　inquiringly。　〃Do　you　have　some　particular　reason　for　this　question？〃
　〃I'll　put　it　this　way；〃　Mason　said；　〃so　I　can　summarize　the　situation。　All　these　various　business　activities；　which　you　yourself　state　have　been　numerous；　were　unprofitable；　were　they　not？〃
　〃That　is　not　true；　no　sir。〃
　〃But　the　net　result　was　that　you　went　to　live　with　Lauretta　Trent？〃
　〃At　her　invitation；　sir！〃
　〃Exactly；〃　Mason　said；　〃at　a　time　when　you　were　unable　to　support　yourself。〃
　〃No；　sir。　I　could　have　supported　myself　but　I　had　had　certain　temporary　financial　losses；　certain　business　setbacks。〃
　〃In　other　words；　you　were　virtually　broke？〃
　〃I　had　had　financial　troubles。〃
　〃And　your　sister…in…law　invited　you　to　e　and　live　with　her。〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃At　your　instigation？〃
　〃The　other　brother…in…law；　Mr。　Boring　Briggs；　was　living　in　the　house。　It　was　a　large　house　and…Well；　my　wife　and　I　went　there　on　a　visit　and　we　never　moved　out。〃
　〃And　the　same　was　true　of　Boring　Briggs；　to　your　knowledge；　was　it　not？〃　Mason　asked。
　〃What　was　true？〃
　〃That　he　had　met　with　financial　reverses　and　had　e　to　live　with　his　wife's　sister。〃
　〃In　his　case；〃　Kelvin　said；　〃there　were　circumstances　which　made　such　a　course　of　action　。　。　。　well　a…necessity。〃
　〃Financial　circumstances？〃
　〃In　a　way。　Boring　Briggs　had　met　with　several　reverses　and　was　unable　to　give　his　wife　the　monetary　advantages　which　she　subsequently　obtained　through　the　generosity　of　her　sister；　Lauretta　Trent。〃
　〃Thank　you；〃　Mason　said。　〃That's　all。〃
　Kelvin　left　the　stand。
　〃All　right；〃　Mason　whispered；　turning　to　Virginia　Baxter。　〃Tell　m