“And you went up to the cabin with Sheriff Barnes the next day?”
“That’s right. Sheriff Barnes wanted me to see the cabin, and we were to meet Richard Waid there. He was coming on from New York by plane, and we wanted to meet him in a place where our first conversation wouldn’t be interrupted by newspaper reporters.”
“All right, go on,” the coroner said.
“Well,” Holcomb observed, “we went to the cabin. We met Mr. Mason on the road up to the cabin. Richard Waid came while we were there at the cabin.”
“What did you find at the cabin, in the line of physical conditions?” the coroner asked.
“Just about the same as has been described.”
“At this time,” the coroner said, “I think the jury had better take a look at all of these photographs, because I’m going to ask Sergeant Holcomb some questions about them.”
The coroner waited while the photographs were passed around to the jurors, then turned back to Sergeant Holcomb.
“Sergeant Holcomb,” he said, “I want to give the members of this jury the benefit of your experience. I want you to tell them what the various things in that cabin indicate.”
The coroner glanced down at Perry Mason and said, “I suppose you may object that this is a conclusion of the witness, but it seems to me this man has had a lot of experience, and I don’t know why he shouldn’t...”