Chapter ten
The responsibilities of his office rested lightly on the shoulders of Emil Scanlon, the coroner. Tall, middle-aged, good-natured, he regarded the gruesome aftermaths of tragedies which flowed through his office with the detached interest of a scientist viewing guinea pigs. He was a sympathetic man, but he reserved his sympathies for the living, where they could do some good, rather than for the mangled remains upon which he was so frequently called to hold inquest.
He called the inquest to order in a good-natured, matter-of-fact voice, his keen eyes flitting over the crowded room.
“The jury has now viewed the remains,” he said, “and we’re ready to take testimony. The proceedings here are going to be informal. In other words, I’m not going to stand on a lot of technicalities. Apparently this man didn’t commit suicide. Three people are being held by the authorities. They’re Rosalind Prescott, the widow, Rita Swaine, the decedent’s sister-in-law, and James Driscoll. Driscoll waived extradition and is here. Miss Swaine and the widow refused to waive extradition and are not here, so we can’t call them as witnesses. Oscar Overmeyer, the deputy district attorney, is representing the interests of The People. Perry Mason is representing Miss Swaine and Mrs. Prescott, and Rodney Cuff is representing Mr. Driscoll. Now, obviously, if these attorneys start getting technical and are allowed to get away with it, we’ll be here all night. The idea of this inquest isn’t to prove anybody guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, it’s simply to ascertain how the decedent met his death. In other words, we want to know just what caused Walter Prescott to die. And if the probabilities are someone killed him, we want to know who that someone was.
“Now, I’m to go ahead with this inquest, and if any of the interested parties want to co-operate with me, I’ll be glad to have them. But I’m not going to have this inquest used as an excuse to mix things up. Do you gentlemen understand me?”
The three attorneys nodded.
“The first witness,” Scanlon said, “will be George Wray.”
Wray held up his hand and was sworn.
“You’ve seen the remains of the decedent?” Scanlon asked.
“Yes.”