Helen's loss of memory was the last straw. The shock of finding her
unable to remember the most familiar things was bad enough from a
purely physical standpoint, but when I realized how completely it swept
away all my plans for Helen's defense, how it fastened the guilt on her
poor shoulders, I felt that our case was hopeless indeed.
I drove to the offices of Simpson and Todd and was lucky enough to find
both of them in. Simpson, a slender man with steel-gray hair and eyes,
at once ordered a closed session to thrash out the whole affair. He
first made me repeat everything I knew about Jim's murder, from the
beginning. Several times he interrupted me, to ask a question, but for
the most part he sat with his back to me, gazing out of the window, the
tips of his fingers to his lips. Half the time I thought he wasn't
listening, until a quick question would show his interest. Todd, on
the contrary, was the picture of attention. He took notes in shorthand
most of the time I was talking. When I had finished, Simpson rose and
came over to me.
"Let's examine this thing from the start. You have three people who
had a motive for killing Felderson--Zalnitch, Woods and Mrs. Felderson.
Let's take Zalnitch first, for I think suspicion falls the slightest on
him. You say that Felderson helped to convict Zalnitch in the Yellow
Pier case and that he made vague threats against those who had put him
in prison, after he was released. Good! There's a motive and a
threat. He was seen on the same road that Mr. Felderson traveled, a
short time before the murder. All those facts point to Zalnitch's
complicity. But--the bullet that killed Felderson was fired from
behind and above, according to the coroner's statement. Knowing the
average juryman, I should say that we would have to stretch things
pretty far to make him believe that a shot fired from one rapidly
moving automobile at another rapidly moving automobile would ricochet
and kill a man. That's asking a little too much. Also, it is hard to
believe that Schreiber, who was driving the car, would risk a smash-up
to his own car and possible death for himself and party, in order to
try to make Felderson go into the ditch. Then, too, if Zalnitch
recognized Felderson's car, why didn't he fire point-blank at Felderson
instead of waiting till he got past? No! The case against Zalnitch
falls down. We can strike him off the list."
I hated to give him up, but I had to admit Simpson's logic was
faultless.
"Now let us take up the case of Woods. Here is a man who threatened
Felderson's life unless he gave his wife a divorce, which you say
Felderson did not intend to do. There, again, is a motive. Woods knew
that Felderson was in possession of certain papers that would ruin him.
There is a stronger motive." He turned to me. "By the way, you have
those papers, haven't you?"