CHAPTER XII
THE TRIAL OF FRANK MERRILL
The trial of Frank Merrill on the charge that he "did on thetwenty-eighth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand ninehundred--wilfully and wickedly kill and slay by a pistol shot JohnMinute" was the sensation of a season which was unusually prolific inmurder trials. The trial took place at the Lewes Assizes in a crowdedcourtroom, and lasted, as we know, for sixteen days, five days of whichwere given to the examination in chief and the cross-examination of theaccountants who had gone into the books of the bank.
The prosecution endeavored to establish the fact that no other personbut Frank Merrill could have access to the books, and that therefore noother person could have falsified them or manipulated the transfer ofmoneys. It cannot be said that the prosecution had wholly succeeded; forwhen Brandon, the bank manager, was put into the witness box he wascompelled to admit that not only Frank, but he himself and Jasper Cole,were in a position to reach the books.
The opening speech for the crown had been a masterly one. But that therewere many weak points in the evidence and in the assumptions which theprosecution drew was evident to the merest tyro.
Sir George Murphy Jackson, the attorney general, who prosecuted,attempted to dispose summarily of certain conflictions, and it had to beconfessed that his explanations were very plausible.
"The defense will tell us," he said, in that shrill, clarion tone of hiswhich has made to quake the hearts of so many hostile witnesses, "thatwe have not accounted for the fourth man who drove up in his car tenminutes after Merrill had entered the house, and disappeared, but I amgoing to tell you my theory of that incident.
"Merrill had an accomplice who is not in custody, and that accomplice isRex Holland. Merrill had planned and prepared this murder, because fromsome statement which his uncle had made he believed that not only washis whole future dependent upon destroying his benefactor and silencingforever the one man who knew the extent of his villainy, but he had inhis cold, shrewd way accurately foreseen the exact consequence of such ashooting. It was a big criminal's big idea.
"He foresaw this trial," he said impressively; "he foresaw, gentlemen ofthe jury, his acquittal at your hands. He foresaw a reaction which wouldnot only give him the woman he professes to love, but in consequenceplace in his hands the disposal of her considerable fortune.
"Why should he shoot John Minute? you may ask; and I reply to thatquestion with another: What would have happened had he not shot hisuncle? He would have been a ruined man. The doors of his uncle's housewould have been closed to him. The legacy would have been revoked, themarriage for which he had planned so long would have been an unrealizeddream.
"He knew the extent of the fortune which was coming to Miss Nuttall. Mr.Minute made two wills, in both of which he left an identical sum to hisward. The first of these, revoked by the second and containing the sameprovision, was witnessed by the man in the dock! He knew, too, that theRhodesian gold mine, the shares of which were held by John Minute on thegirl's behalf, was likely to prove a very rich proposition, and Isuggest that the information coming to him as Mr. Minute's secretary, hedeliberately suppressed that information for his own purpose.
"What had he to gain? I ask you to believe that if he is acquitted hewill have achieved all that he ever hoped to achieve."
There was a little murmur in the court. Frank Merrill, leaning on theledge of the dock, looked down at the girl in the body of the court, andtheir eyes met. He saw the indignation in her face and nodded with alittle smile, then turned again to the counsel with that eager,half-quizzical look of interest which the girl had so often seen uponhis handsome face.
"Much will be made, in the course of this trial, of the presence ofanother man, and the defense will endeavor to secure capital out of thefact that the man Crawley, who it was suggested was in the house for animproper purpose, has not been discovered. As to the fourth man, thedriver of the motor car, there seems little doubt but that he was anaccomplice of Merrill. This mysterious Rex Holland, who has beenidentified by Mrs. Totney, of Uckfield, spent the whole of the daywandering about Sussex, obviously having one plan in his mind, which wasto arrive at Mr. Minute's house at the same time as his confederate.
"You will have the taxi-driver's evidence that when Merrill steppeddown, after being driven from the station, he looked left and right, asthough he were expecting somebody. The plan to some extent miscarried.The accomplice arrived ten minutes too late. On some pretext or otherMerrill probably left the room. I suggest that he did not go into thedining room, but that he went out into the garden and was met by hisaccomplice, who handed him the weapon with which this crime wascommitted.
"It may be asked by the defense why the accomplice, who was presumablyRex Holland, did not himself commit the crime. I could offer two orthree alternative suggestions, all of which are feasible. The deceasedman was shot at close quarters, and was found in such an attitude as tosuggest that he was wholly unprepared for the attack. We know that hewas in some fear and that he invariably went armed; yet it is fairlycertain that he made no attempt to draw his weapon, which he certainlywould have done had he been suddenly confronted by an armed stranger.
"I do not pretend that I am explaining the strange relationship betweenMerrill and this mysterious forger. Merrill is the only man who has seenhim and has given a vague and somewhat confused description of him. 'Hewas a man with a short, close-clipped beard' is Merrill's description.The woman who served him with tea near Uckfield describes him as a'youngish man with a dark mustache, but otherwise clean shaven.'
"There is no reason, of course, why he should not have removed hisbeard, but as against that suggestion we will call evidence to provethat the man seen driving with the murdered chauffeur was invariably aman with a mustache and no beard, so that the balance of probability ison the side of the supposition that Merrill is not telling the truth. Anunknown client with a large deposit at his bank would not be likelyconstantly to alter his appearance. If he were a criminal, as we knowhim to be, there would be another reason why he should not excitesuspicion in this way."
His address covered the greater part of a day--but he returned to thescene in the garden, to the supposed meeting of the two men, and to themurder.
Saul Arthur Mann, sitting with Frank's solicitor, scratched his nose andgrinned.
"I have never heard a more ingenious piece of reconstruction," he said;"though, of course, the whole thing is palpably absurd."
As a theory it was no doubt excellent; but men are not sentenced todeath on theories, however ingenious they may be. Probably nobody in thecourt so completely admired the ingenuity as the man most affected. Atthe lunch interval on the day on which this theory was put forward hemet his solicitor and Saul Arthur Mann in the bare room in which suchinterviews are permitted.
"It was really fascinating to hear him," said Frank, as he sipped thecup of tea which they had brought him. "I almost began to believe thatI had committed the murder! But isn't it rather alarming? Will the jurytake the same view?" he asked, a little troubled.
The solicitor shook his head.
"Unsupported theories of that sort do not go well with juries, and, ofcourse, the whole story is so flimsy and so improbable that it will gofor no more than a piece of clever reasoning."
"Did anybody see you at the railway station?"
Frank shook his head.
"I suppose hundreds of people saw me, but would hardly remember me."
"Was there any one on the train who knew you?"
"No," said Frank, after a moment's thought. "There were six people in mycarriage until we got to Lewes, but I think I told you that, and youhave not succeeded in tracing any of them."
"It is most difficult to get into touch with those people," said thelawyer. "Think of the scores of people one travels with, without everremembering what they looked like or how they were dressed. If you hadbeen a woman, traveling with women, every one of your five fellowpassengers would have remembered you and would have rec
alled your hat."
Frank laughed.
"There are certain disadvantages in being a man," he said. "How do youthink the case is going?"
"They have offered no evidence yet. I think you will agree, Mr. Mann,"he said respectfully, for Saul Arthur Mann was a power in legal circles.
"None at all," the little fellow agreed.
Frank recalled the first day he had seen him, with his hat perched onthe back of his head and his shabby, genteel exterior.
"Oh, by Jove!" he said. "I suppose they will be trying to fasten thedeath of that man upon me that we saw in Gray Square."
Saul Arthur Mann nodded.
"They have not put that in the indictment," he said, "nor the case ofthe chauffeur. You see, your conviction will rest entirely upon thispresent charge, and both the other matters are subsidiary."
Frank walked thoughtfully up and down the room, his hands behind hisback.
"I wonder who Rex Holland is," he said, half to himself.
"You still have your theory?" asked the lawyer, eying him keenly.
Frank nodded.
"And you still would rather not put it into words?"
"Much rather not," said Frank gravely.
He returned to the court and glanced round for the girl, but she was notthere. The rest of the afternoon's proceedings, taken up as they werewith the preliminaries of the case, bored him.
It was on the twelfth day of the trial that Jasper Cole stepped on tothe witness stand. He was dressed in black and was paler than usual,but he took the oath in a firm voice and answered the questions whichwere put to him without hesitation.
The story of Frank's quarrel with his uncle, of the forged checks, andof his own experience on the night of the crime filled the greater partof the forenoon, and it was in the afternoon when Bryan Bennett, one ofthe most brilliant barristers of his time, stood up to cross-examine.
"Had you any suspicion that your employer was being robbed?"
"I had a suspicion," replied Jasper.
"Did you communicate your suspicion to your employer?"
Jasper hesitated.
"No," he replied at last.
"Why do you hesitate?" asked Bennett sharply.
"Because, although I did not directly communicate my suspicions, Ihinted to Mr. Minute that he should have an independent audit."
"So you thought the books were wrong?"
"I did."
"In these circumstances," asked Bennett slowly, "do you not think it wasvery unwise of you to touch those books yourself?"
"When did I touch them?" asked Jasper quickly.
"I suggest that on a certain night you came to the bank and remained inthe bank by yourself, examining the ledgers on behalf of your employer,and that during that time you handled at least three books in whichthese falsifications were made."
"That is quite correct," said Jasper, after a moment's thought; "but mysuspicions were general and did not apply to any particular group ofbooks."
"But did you not think it was dangerous?"
Again the hesitation.
"It may have been foolish, and if I had known how matters weredeveloping I should certainly not have touched them."
"You do admit that there were several periods of time from seven in theevening until nine and from nine-thirty until eleven-fifteen when youwere absolutely alone in the bank?"
"That is true," said Jasper.
"And during those periods you could, had you wished and had you been aforger, for example, or had you any reason for falsifying the entries,have made those falsifications?"
"I admit there was time," said Jasper.
"Would you describe yourself as a friend of Frank Merrill's?"
"Not a close friend," replied Jasper.
"Did you like him?"
"I cannot say that I was fond of him," was the reply.
"He was a rival of yours?"
"In what respect?"
Counsel shrugged his shoulders.
"He was very fond of Miss Nuttall."
"Yes."
"And she was fond of him?"
"Yes."
"Did you not aspire to pay your addresses to Miss Nuttall?"
Jasper Cole looked down to the girl, and May averted her eyes. Hercheeks were burning and she had a wild desire to flee from the court.
"If you mean did I love Miss Nuttall," said Jasper Cole, in his quiet,even tone, "I reply that I did."
"You even secured the active support of Mr. Minute?"
"I never urged the matter with Mr. Minute," said Jasper.
"So that if he moved on your behalf he did so without your knowledge?"
"Without my pre-knowledge," corrected the witness. "He told me afterwardthat he had spoken to Miss Nuttall, and I was considerably embarrassed."
"I understand you were a man of curious habits, Mr. Cole."
"We are all people of curious habits," smiled the witness.
"But you in particular. You were an Orientalist, I believe?"
"I have studied Oriental languages and customs," said Jasper shortly.
"Have you ever extended your study to the realm of hypnotism?"
"I have," replied the witness.
"Have you ever made experiments?"
"On animals, yes."
"On human beings?"
"No, I have never made experiments on human beings."
"Have you also made a study of narcotics?"
The lawyer leaned forward over the table and looked at the witnessbetween half-closed eyes.
"I have made experiments with narcotic herbs and plants," said Jasper,after a moment's hesitation. "I think you should know that the careerwhich was planned for me was that of a doctor, and I have always beenvery interested in the effects of narcotics."
"You know of a drug called _cannabis indica_?" asked the counsel,consulting his paper.
"Yes; it is 'Indian hemp.'"
"Is there an infusion of _cannabis indica_ to be obtained?"
"I do not think there is," said the other. "I can probably enlighten youbecause I see now the trend of your examination. I once told FrankMerrill, many years ago, when I was very enthusiastic, that an infusionof _cannabis indica_, combined with tincture of opium and hyocine,produced certain effects."
"It is inclined to sap the will power of a man or a woman who isconstantly absorbing this poison in small doses?" suggested the counsel.
"That is so."
The counsel now switched off on a new tack.
"Do you know the East of London?"
"Yes, slightly."
"Do you know Silvers Rents?"
"Yes."
"Do you ever go to Silvers Rents?"
"Yes; I go there very regularly."
The readiness of the reply astonished both Frank and the girl. She hadbeen feeling more and more uncomfortable as the cross-examinationcontinued, and had a feeling that she had in some way betrayed JasperCole's confidence. She had listened to the cross-examination whichrevealed Jasper as a scientist with something approaching amazement. Shehad known of the laboratory, but had associated the place with thoseentertaining experiments that an idle dabbler in chemistry mightundertake.
For a moment she doubted, and searched her mind for some occasion whenhe had practiced his medical knowledge. Dimly she realized that there_had_ been some such occasion, and then she remembered that it hadalways been Jasper Cole who had concocted the strange drafts which hadso relieved the headache to which, when she was a little younger, shehad been something of a martyr. Could he--She struggled hard to dismissthe thought as being unworthy of her; and now, when the object of hisvisits to Silvers Rents was under examination, she found her curiositygrowing.
"Why did you go to Silvers Rents?"
There was no answer.
"I will repeat my question: With what object did you go to SilversRents?"
"I decline to answer that question," said the man in the box coolly. "Imerely tell you that I went there frequently."
"And you refuse to sa
y why?"
"I refuse to say why," repeated the witness.
The judge on the bench made a little note.
"I put it to you," said counsel, speaking impressively, "that it was inSilvers Rents that you took on another identity."
"That is probably true," said the other, and the girl gasped; he was socool, so self-possessed, so sure of himself.
"I suggest to you," the counsel went on, "that in those Rents JasperCole became Rex Holland."
There was a buzz of excitement, a sudden soft clamor of voices throughwhich the usher's harsh demand for silence cut like a knife.
"Your suggestion is an absurd one," said Jasper, without heat, "and Ipresume that you are going to produce evidence to support so infamous astatement."
"What evidence I produce," said counsel, with asperity, "is a matter forme to decide."
"It is also a matter for the witness," interposed the soft voice of thejudge. "As you have suggested that Holland was a party to the murder,and as you are inferring that Rex Holland is Jasper Cole, it is presumedthat you will call evidence to support so serious a charge."
"I am not prepared to call evidence, my lord, and if your lordshipthinks the question should not have been put I am willing to withdrawit."
The judge nodded and turned his head to the jury.
"You will consider that question as not having been put, gentlemen," hesaid. "Doubtless counsel is trying to establish the fact that one personmight just as easily have been Rex Holland as another. There is nosuggestion that Mr. Cole went to Silvers Rents--which I understand is ina very poor neighborhood--with any illegal intent, or that he wascommitting any crime or behaving in any way improperly by paying suchfrequent visits. There may be something in the witness's life associatedwith that poor house which has no bearing on the case and which he doesnot desire should be ventilated in this court. It happens to many ofus," the judge went on, "that we have associations which it wouldembarrass us to reveal."
This little incident closed that portion of the cross-examination, andcounsel went on to the night of the murder.
"When did you come to the house?" he asked.
"I came to the house soon after dark."
"Had you been in London?"
"Yes; I walked from Bexhill."
"It was dark when you arrived?"
"Yes, nearly dark."
"The servants had all gone out?"
"Yes."
"Was Mr. Minute pleased to see you?"
"Yes; he had expected me earlier in the day."
"Did he tell you that his nephew was coming to see him?"
"I knew that."
"You say he suggested that you should make yourself scarce?"
"Yes."
"And as you had a headache, you went upstairs and lay down on your bed?"
"Yes."
"What were you doing in Bexhill?"
"I came down from town and got into the wrong portion of the train."
A junior leaned over and whispered quickly to his leader.
"I see, I see," said the counsel petulantly. "Your ticket was found atBexhill. Have you ever seen Mr. Rex Holland?" he asked.
"Never."
"You have never met any person of that name?"
"Never."
In this tame way the cross-examination closed, as cross-examinationshave a habit of doing.
By the time the final addresses of counsel had ended, and the judge hadfinished a masterly summing-up, there was no doubt whatever in the mindof any person in the court as to what the verdict would be. The jury wasabsent from the box for twenty minutes and returned a verdict of "Notguilty!"
The judge discharged Frank Merrill without comment, and he left thecourt a free but ruined man.