The Mousetrap and Other Plays (72 page)

WOMAN
JUROR
. (
Holding the Bible and oath card
) . . . lady the Queen and the prisoner at the Bar whom I shall have in charge, and a true verdict give according to the evidence. (
She hands the Bible and oath card to the
USHER
, then sits.
)

(
The
USHER
gives the Bible and oath card to the
FOREMAN
.)

FOREMAN
. (
Rising
) I swear by Almighty God that I will well and truly try and true deliverance make between our sovereign lady the Queen and the prisoner at the Bar whom I have in charge, and a true verdict give according to the evidence. (
He hands the Bible and oath card to the
USHER
, then sits.
)

(
The
USHER
puts the Bible and card on the ledge of the jury box, then sits on his stool down
R
.)

CLERK
. (
Rising
) Leonard Vole, you are charged on indictment for that you on the fourteenth day of October in the Country of London murdered Emily Jane French. How say you, Leonard Vole, are you guilty or not guilty?

LEONARD
. Not guilty.

CLERK
. Members of the Jury, the prisoner stands indicted for that he on the fourteenth day of October murdered Emily Jane French. To this indictment he has pleaded not guilty, and it is your charge to say, having heard the evidence, whether he be guilty or not. (
He motions to
LEONARD
to sit, then resumes his own seat.
)

(
LEONARD
and the
WARDER
sit.
MYERS
rises.
)

JUDGE
. One moment, Mr. Myers.

(
MYERS
bows to the
JUDGE
and resumes his seat.
)

(
He turns to the jury.
) Members of the Jury, the proper time for me to sum up the evidence to you, and instruct you as to the law, is after you have heard all the evidence. But because there has been a considerable amount of publicity about this case in the Press, I would just like to say this to you now. By the oath which each of you has just taken you swore to try this case on the evidence. That means on the evidence that you are now going to hear and see. It does not mean that you are to consider also anything you have heard or read before taking your oaths. You must shut out from your minds everything except what will take place in this Court. You must not let anything else influence your minds in favour of or against the prisoner. I am quite sure that you will do your duty conscientiously in the way that I have indicated. Yes, Mr. Myers.

(
MYERS
rises, clears his throat and adjusts his wig in the manner taken off by
SIR
WILFRID
in the previous scene.
)

MYERS
. May it please you, my lord. Members of the Jury, I appear in this case with my learned friend Mr. Barton for the prosecution, and my learned friends Sir Wilfrid Robarts and Mr. Brogan-Moore appear for the defence. This is a case of murder. The facts are simple and up to a certain point are not in dispute. You will hear how the prisoner, a young and, you may think, a not unattractive man, made the acquaintance of Miss Emily French, a woman of fifty-six. How he was treated by her with kindness and even with affection. The nature of that affection you will have to decide for yourselves. Dr. Wyatt will tell you that in his opinion death occurred at some time between nine-thirty and ten on the night of the fourteenth of October last. You will hear the evidence of Janet MacKenzie, who was Miss French's faithful and devoted housekeeper. The fourteenth of October—it was a Friday—was Janet MacKenzie's night out, but on this occasion she happened to return for a few minutes at nine twenty-five. She let herself in with a key and upon going upstairs to her room she passed the door of the sitting-room. She will tell you that in the sitting-room she heard the voices of Miss French and of the prisoner, Leonard Vole.

LEONARD
. (
Rising
) That's not true. It wasn't me.

(
The
WARDER
restrains
LEONARD
and makes him resume his seat.
)

MYERS
. Janet MacKenzie was surprised, since as far as she knew, Miss French had not expected Leonard Vole to call that evening. However, she went out again and when she returned finally at eleven she found Miss Emily French murdered, the room in disorder, a window smashed and the curtains blowing wildly. Horror-stricken, Janet MacKenzie immediately rang up the police. I should tell you that the prisoner was arrested on the twentieth of October. It is the case for the prosecution that Miss Emily Jane French was murdered between nine-thirty and ten p.m. on the evening of the fourteen of October, by a blow from a cosh and that the blow was struck by the prisoner. I will now call Inspector Hearne.

(
The
INSPECTOR
rises. He holds a file of papers which he refers to often during the scene. He hands a typewritten sheet to the
CLERK
and another to the
STENOGRAPHER
.
He then enters the witness box. The
CLERK
hands the sheet to the
JUDGE
.
The
USHER
rises, crosses and stands by the witness box. The
INSPECTOR
picks up the oath card and Bible from the ledge of the box.
)

INSPECTOR
. I swear by Almighty God that the evidence that I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Robert Hearne, Detective Inspector, Criminal Investigation Department, New Scotland Yard. (
He puts the Bible and oath card on the ledge of the box.
)

(
The
USHER
crosses and sits on his stool.
)

MYERS
. Now, Inspector Hearne, on the evening of the fourteenth October last were you on duty when you received an emergency call?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir.

MYERS
. What did you do?

INSPECTOR
. With Sergeant Randell I proceeded to twenty-three Ashburn Grove. I was admitted to the house and established that the occupant, whom I later ascertained was Miss Emily French, was dead. She was lying on her face, and had received severe injuries to the back of her head. An attempt had been made to force one of the windows with some implement that might have been a chisel. The window had been broken near the catch. There was glass strewn about the floor, and I also later found fragments of glass on the ground outside the window.

MYERS
. Is there any particular significance in finding glass both inside and outside the window?

INSPECTOR
. The glass outside was not consistent with the window having been forced from outside.

MYERS
. You mean that if it had been forced from the inside there had been an attempt to make it look as though it had been done from the outside?

SIR
WILFRID
. (
Rising
) I object. My learned friend is putting words into the witness's mouth. He really must observe the rules of evidence. (
He resumes his seat.
)

MYERS
. (
To the
INSPECTOR
.) You have been engaged on several cases of burglary and housebreaking?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir.

MYERS
. And in your experience when a window is forced from the outside, where is the glass?

INSPECTOR
. On the inside.

MYERS
. In any other case where the windows have been forced from the outside, have you found glass on the outside of the window some distance below, on the ground?

INSPECTOR
. No.

MYERS
. No. Will you go on?

INSPECTOR
. A search was made, photographs were taken, the place was fingerprinted.

MYERS
. What fingerprints did you discover?

INSPECTOR
. Those of Miss Emily French herself, those of Janet MacKenzie and some which proved later to be those of the prisoner, Leonard Vole.

MYERS
. No others?

INSPECTOR
. No others.

MYERS
. Did you subsequently have an interview with Mr. Leonard Vole?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir. Janet MacKenzie was not able to give me his address, but as a result of a broadcast and a newspaper appeal, Mr. Leonard Vole came and saw me.

MYERS
. And on October the twentieth, when arrested, what did the prisoner say?

INSPECTOR
. He replied, “O.K. I'm ready.”

MYERS
. Now, Inspector, you say the room had the appearance of a robbery having been committed?

SIR
WILFRID
. (
Rising
) That is just what the Inspector did not say. (
To the
JUDGE
.) If your lordship remembers, that was a suggestion made by my friend—and quite improperly made—to which I objected.

JUDGE
. You are quite right, Sir Wilfrid.

(
MYERS
sits.
)

At the same time, I'm not sure that the Inspector is not entitled to give evidence of any facts which might tend to prove that the disorder of the room was not the work of a person who broke in from outside for the purpose of robbery.

SIR
WILFRID
. My lord, may I respectfully agree with what your lordship has said. Facts, yes. But not the mere expression of opinion without even the facts on which it is based. (
He sits.
)

MYERS
. (
Rising
) Perhaps, my lord, if I phrased my question in this way my friend would be satisfied. Inspector, could you say from what you saw whether there had or had not been a bona fide breaking in from outside the house?

SIR
WILFRID
. (
Rising
) My lord, I really must continue my objection. My learned friend is again seeking to obtain an opinion from this witness. (
He sits.
)

JUDGE
. Yes. Mr. Myers, I think you will have to do a little better than that.

MYERS
. Inspector, did you find anything inconsistent with a breaking in from outside?

INSPECTOR
. Only the glass, sir.

MYERS
. Nothing else?

INSPECTOR
. No, sir, there was nothing else.

JUDGE
. We all seem to have drawn a blank there, Mr. Myers.

MYERS
. Was Miss French wearing jewellery of any value?

INSPECTOR
. She was wearing a diamond brooch, two diamond rings, value of about nine hundred pounds.

MYERS
. And these were left untouched?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir.

MYERS
. Was in fact anything taken?

INSPECTOR
. According to Janet MacKenzie, nothing was missing.

MYERS
. In your experience, when anyone breaks into a house do they leave without taking anything?

INSPECTOR
. Not unless they're interrupted, sir.

MYERS
. But in this case it does not seem as if the burglar
was
interrupted.

INSPECTOR
. No, sir.

MYERS
. Do you produce a jacket, Inspector?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir.

(
The
USHER
rises, crosses to the table, picks up the jacket and hands it to the
INSPECTOR
.)

MYERS
. Is that it?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir. (
He returns the jacket to the
USHER
.)

(
The
USHER
replaces the jacket on the table.
)

MYERS
. From where did you get it?

INSPECTOR
. I found it at the prisoner's flat some time after he was arrested, and later handed it to Mr. Clegg at the lab to test for possible bloodstains.

MYERS
. Lastly, Inspector, do you produce the will of Miss French?

(
The
USHER
picks up the will from the table and hands it to the
INSPECTOR
.)

INSPECTOR
. I do, sir.

MYERS
. Dated October the eighth?

INSPECTOR
. Yes, sir. (
He returns the will to the
USHER
.)

(
The
USHER
replaces the will on the table, crosses and resumes his seat.
)

MYERS
. After certain bequests, the residue is left to the prisoner?

INSPECTOR
. That's right, sir.

MYERS
. And what is the net value of that estate?

INSPECTOR
. It will be, as far as can be ascertained at the moment, about eighty-five thousand pounds.

(
MYERS
resumes his seat.
SIR
WILFRID
rises.
)

SIR
WILFRID
. You say that the only fingerprints you found in the room were those of Miss French herself, the prisoner Leonard Vole and Janet MacKenzie. In your experience, when a burglar breaks in does he usually leave fingerprints or does he wear gloves?