“Yes.”
“And did you want the coroner’s jury to understand that you found the cabin with the shutters closed, saw no evidence of any occupancy, heard nothing of a parrot, and did not see Mr. Sabin at that time?”
“That’s right. I found the cabin just as I have described, and I did not see Mr. Sabin. I had no idea he was there. I thought he was in Santa Delbarra, looking for a location for a grocery store.”
Mason said, “I think this witness has given all the information which she has to impart. I think any further questions are in the nature of a cross-examination, and argumentative. There is no new information being elicited. I will advise the coroner and the district attorney that, unless some new phase of the case is gone into, I’m going to advise the witness not to answer any more questions.”
“I’ll open up a new phase of the case,” the district attorney said threateningly. “Who killed that parrot which was kept in your house?”
“I don’t know.”
“This parrot was brought home to you on Friday, the second?”
“That’s right.”
“And on Saturday, the third, you left with your husband?”
“No, my husband left on Saturday afternoon and went to Santa Delbarra. Monday was a holiday. I drove up to Santa Delbarra Sunday, and spent Sunday night and Monday morning with him in the hotel. I returned Monday night to San Molinas. My next-door neighbor, Mrs. Winters, had been keeping the parrot. I arrived too late in the evening to call for it. The next day, Tuesday, the sixth, I didn’t have to be at the library until three o’clock in the afternoon. I wanted to be away from people. I got up early in the morning, and drove to the cabin, and returned in time to go directly to the library at three o’clock.”