Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty-Five

Judge Herbert, assisted by prosecutors, went over the money in Casey's wallet.After about ten minutes the judge said, "Mr. Mason, we have checked the number. Mr. Hastings, I accept the motion to dismiss Mrs. Bancroft's case." "I'll move the motion now," said Hastings timidly. "I have something to say," Casey said. "Anything you say could be used against you," Judge Herbert said. "So you don't have to make any confession. If you have to, it's out of free will and initiative. At the same time, the content of the confession can be used as evidence against you."

"I know what's going on," Casey said wearily. "I just wanted to make it clear that Mr. Mason was right in his guesses, except that I shot Jilly in self-defense. I accused him of deceiving me and blackmailing me behind my back, but he denied everything. I I said I wanted to search him, so I walked over, but he grabbed a knife, which must have been taken from the kitchen, and it was approaching me, so I shot him." "Then what do you do?" Judge Herbert asked. "I searched him, and although I didn't find as much money as I expected, I did have a thousand dollars left, which he extorted from Mrs. Bancroft earlier. He wanted to kill me for fear that I would find out the truth."

"What do you do with that gun?" the judge asked. "I hid. When I learned what Mrs. Bancroft had said in the press conference, I put an extra bullet in the gun, discarded the empty shell, and dived down to get the money in the purse. And put the gun next to the purse. I thought I was entitled to the money under the circumstances. Didn't Jillie make money because of my ideas?" The judge turned to Mason. "And the bullet that Mrs. Bancroft fired?" "There's only one possibility," Mason said. "It must have passed over Ji Li's head when he fell down, and flew out of the hatch. Don't forget, after Ji Li pulled the anchor halfway up, he started the motor to accelerate forward, and then walked into the cabin, so the hatch It must have been open. And the bullet fired by Mrs. Bancroft must have gone through the door."

Judge Herbert frowned and thought for a while, then said: "This case is very interesting and very interesting. We would like to congratulate the defendant. Her lawyer was able to use tricks to catch the real murderer." "May I ask if the witness, Joe Kirby, saw Mrs. Bancroft with a man on the evening of the tenth, was he really mistaken?" "He was wrong," Mason said. "That man is actually Alvin Vidor Fordis." "And what about Verdes?" asked the judge. "If he wasn't killed, he hid on purpose," Mason said. Harlow Bancroft stood up suddenly. "Court, can I say a few words?"

"Please," said the judge. "I think Verdys went into hiding knowing he was wanted by the police for a robbery at a gas station. He must have felt that his past would be bad for him. I would like to take this opportunity to say something publicly: we Everyone makes mistakes; I make mistakes myself. As a kid, I stole a car and was sent to reformatory for it, and I've tried to do better since then. I want to say this publicly, As long as Fordes is willing to turn himself in, I will do my best to hire the best lawyer for him and let him get a fair trial. I will pay for Mr. Mason to defend him. If he is really involved in the gas station robbery, he will He should be punished by the law; otherwise I will try to get him acquitted, and then I will ask him to take an important position in my company and give him a chance to reform himself."

The photographers gathered around, and the spotlights kept flashing. Judge Herbert smiled, and said: "Mr. Bancroft, I am very glad that you have said it in a truly manly way. I have no doubt that you will be very glad in the future that you have said it today. As for you If you say you want to hire the best lawyer, just looking at the result of this case, you will know that it is not difficult to find." "The defendant was acquitted; Mr. Casey was placed in the custody of the sheriff, and the court will seize the money recovered from him as evidence. The court is now adjourned." The judge finally said.