Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

Judge Newark sat on the bench. He looked curiously at the empty lawyer's seat beside Jackson, and asked, "Did Mr. Mason come?" "Mr. Mason told me to continue the defense work." Jackson said in a serious tone. "If the Court agrees," began Maurice Linton. "The prosecution hopes..." "Wait a minute," Judge Newark interrupted. "This court wishes to announce one thing before further statements are made by the two parties - that this court will have a judicial proceeding with respect to the tide schedules, however, at that particular point where the yacht is moored, the timing of the tide changes may vary. There are some discrepancies. I believe there will be local variations in the extent of the estuary or the bay - behind a certain point and in waters that are somewhat sluggish. This court wants one piece of evidence: the time of publication There is a clear time difference between the schedule and where the yacht was berthed at the time of the incident. Mr. Prosecutor, is it possible for you to present such evidence at this time?"

Hamilton, Berg stood up slowly with a serious look on his face. "In court, I'm afraid that's unlikely. After the case developed all night, the prosecution wanted an adjournment. I'd like to make one point to the court -- and it's not a faux pas for me to do so -- that The yacht was destroyed last night by what appears to be explosives or something." Judge Newark cleared his throat. "Did the prosecution do any experiments before the yacht was blown up?" "Unfortunately, in court, we didn't do it. But as far as I know, Mr. Mason did experiment."

"Is Mr. Mason not present?" "Yes, in court." Judge Newark picked up a pencil and said, "This court takes the tides very seriously, and that may be a crucial factor in the whole case. Mr. Jackson, what do you say about the adjournment?" "I have been instructed to object to the postponement of the trial," Jackson said. Judge Newark said: "I believe there is a statute that limits the period of extension to no more than six days in total, and no more than two days at a time. Also, the motion for an adjournment must be stated and filed in the affidavit; Do you have the affidavit, Mr. Berger?"

"No, the court. I do not think that any harm will be done to the accused by agreeing to an adjournment." "Defense lawyers don't seem to think so." "If it can be extended until this afternoon," demanded Hamilton Berger anxiously. "I think I can get in touch with Mr. Mason himself, and then..." "What would you say if the trial was postponed until this afternoon?" Judge Newark asked Jackson. "I am only accepting the instructions of the defense counsel and object to any offer of an extension, in court." "Very well, the prosecution must proceed with the case."

"The court, under the circumstances, the prosecution requests that the complaint be dismissed and the case dismissed," Berger said. Judge Newark's expression darkened, and he said, "Of course the prosecution has the right to object to the court's expectations, but since nothing has been constituted..." The judge hesitated for a moment, as if he was considering how strong the reprimand he was about to say would be. tone of voice. Jackson went on: "I have also been instructed not to object to the dismissal. In court." Judge Newark ruled now. "Very well, the case was dismissed and the defendant was released in court. However, in case the defendant is detained again, this court will take into account what happened in this case. Retire."

Judge Newark got up from his seat and went to his office; then, looking back, he said, "Would you please come to my office, please, for the representatives of both parties?" Jackson hurried to a public phone booth near the corridor, dialed the number in Mason's private office, and asked earnestly, "Gerdie, is the boss there?" "He hasn't come yet." "It's a bit of trouble here. The judge wants representatives from both sides to come to his office. I think something is wrong. The judge seems to be interested in some kind of tidal theory. I think Mr. Mason should come here."

"How did they handle the case?" "Cancelled." "Okay, I'll try to get in touch with the boss, delay for a while; if Mr. Mason comes back, I'll ask him to call." Getty finished speaking and hung up the phone. Jackson walked through the courtroom and opened the door to Judge Newark's office. Hamilton Berger and Maurice Linton seemed a little out of place.Judge Newark, who was writing figures on a blank sheet of paper, looked up at them and said, "Mr. Jackson, please come in. Where is Mason?" "He hasn't returned to the office yet. I have left him a message and asked him to call as soon as he returns."

"Very well," said Judge Newark. "Gentlemen, please take a seat. I understand that under the current law, you can take more direct steps to shorten or avoid litigation. However, I still don't like this strategy." Berg said in an apologetic tone: "Judge, I don't want to make that announcement publicly. However, at present, Delphine Milfie has admitted that she boarded the yacht at about 9:30 on Friday night; A young man with whom she was passionately in love rented a dinghy from Cameron and took her to that yacht." Judge Newark marked the time on a piece of paper and wrote a few more figures.He squeezed his lips together.

"Did she claim that her husband was alive at the time?" "She said he was dead at the time, and she said she found him in what defense lawyers called the 'first mortuary' - with his head next to the copper threshold leading to the stateroom." "Why didn't she report it?" Judge Newark asked. "Because she was afraid that she would be misunderstood as Fred's murderer, so she tried to hide this fact." "Humph!" "I'm a little bit skeptical about that, too," Berg said. Judge Newark began scribbling aimlessly on the sheet of paper, and then said: "The doctor's testimony showed that no spontaneous bleeding lasted more than twenty minutes after the fatal blow. Therefore, the murder must have been It happened when the yacht started to list, but the yacht hadn't fully tilted to one side at the time, and the boat continued to list for about twenty minutes after the murder, so the body rolled into the lower part of the cabin. Now, here comes the problem , How does the yacht’s tilting happen? Does it tilt slowly and gradually; or does it tilt to a certain stage first, then stay still for a while, and then suddenly change its position and fall to one side all at once? This is the case in this case A very important question, can you find the answer?"

"I can't," Berger said. "That's an important point in this case," the judge said, his voice tinged with accusation. "I know," Berger admitted, and then added, somewhat gloomily, "Now..." The door of the judge's office opened, and Mason came in with a clean and happy expression, nodded and said, "Good morning, everyone." Judge Newark looked relieved. "Mr. Mason," he said. "I'm very interested in the subject of tidal changes, and I'm thinking that if you take that into account, it might be possible to solve the mystery of the case. Can you tell me what you found last night? To know It seems that you are the only one who understands the importance of clues."

Mason smiled and said: "After high tide, the yacht seemed to rest on the ground for about two hours and fifteen minutes to twenty minutes; then it gradually tilted until it was about seventeen degrees from vertical. Then, for a while, The yacht stood still; then the hull lurched and suddenly lurched to one side." "When did the yacht suddenly list to one side?" "Last night was about four hours after high tide." Judge Newark's eyes twinkled with what seemed to be interest. Mason said: "Many lawyers don't pay attention to circumstantial evidence, but I am just the opposite. I have no doubts about circumstantial evidence. What I don't appreciate is that many people are used to unthinking, irresponsible, and even incorrect interpretations of objective events. .I hate that sloppy way of thinking. "In the present case, we now know that Delphine boarded the yacht at about nine-thirty in the evening; before that, the yacht had list to one side. We also know that the tide went out The force generated when the yacht tilted, so the right side of the hull sank. And, when the yacht tilted seventeen degrees, someone lit another candle, and then inserted it in the burnt leftover of the previous candle. On that lump of wax." "Do you think, then, that Delphine Milfie was the murderer?" asked Judge Newark. "If so, how did she commit this crime? You must not forget that the medical testimony shows that the head injury must have been caused by a powerful impact." "So," Mason said with a laugh. "We are faced with an apparent contradiction - the murder must have occurred while the yacht was at rest, otherwise the bloody shoe print would not have appeared in the middle of the stair tread. Where it is marked 'Second Mortuary Position' on the chart, the time of death must have occurred within twenty minutes before the yacht was fully listed to starboard." "You can't have these two contradictory truths hold true at the same time," Berger said. "You have to choose one of them as evidence to explain the case, you can't have both." Mason smiled and said, "Actually, the matter itself is very simple, it's just that the cooked duck flies away from your eyes." "I'm afraid I don't understand you yet," said Berg in a serious tone. Mason said: "After Fred was killed, the body was originally lying in the second position, but the murderer rolled it to the first position; after that, the impact of the tide caused it to roll back to the second position again. However, At this time, the head of the deceased had stopped bleeding. Because we found that when the body was lying in the second position, the carpet under the head was stained with blood. So we can draw the conclusion that under the influence of the tide , when the body rolled into that position, the head was still bleeding. The other explanation is so simple and so obvious that it makes you beg yourselves why you didn't think of it right away." Judge Newark brought over Mason's drawing.Hamilton Berger stood up, walked behind the judge's desk, and looked over his shoulder. "Wow, that's incredible," Berg said softly. "However, if the body is in the second position," Judge Newark noted. "Then the deceased didn't die because his head hit the edge of the threshold. If so, what was the cause of death? And the murder weapon?" "The murder weapon was an iron poker next to the stove on the yacht." "If the deceased had been struck from behind with a poker," Judge Newark said. "The idea that the murderer must have been a strong and powerful man is not true. For even a woman could have surprised Fred from behind and hit him hard on the head with a poker. The force could be so great that his skull would burst and bleed." "Indeed," said Mason. "However, the murderer overlooked one thing. Why was the body moved to the first place? Obviously, the murderer wanted to implicate Burbank. If the case that happened in New Orleans before was put on the table, Burbank Bank would be convicted. "Therefore," Mason continued. "The murderer managed to get Roger Burbank into his present predicament, so this man must have known about Burbank's past." Mason picked up the chart, folded it, put it in his pocket, and said, "Of course, I'm not in a position to tell the D.A. what to do. But if I were Mr. Berger, I'd definitely start the questioning." Work. When the murderer moved the body, the opening was revealed. Guys, this is all I know about the mystery of the candle. These clues should be enough to solve the case-if you are quick .”