“Well, of course,” Borge said, “I had to find, some way of keeping the photographs all straight. But I could take a magnifying glass and identify any of those fingerprints.”
“Could you,” Mason asked, “do that here in court?”
“Of course.”
Mason took a sheet of paper from his pocket, tore a hole in it, and placed it over one of the photographs, so that only the portion showing the fingerprint was visible.
“Now then,” he said triumphantly, “let’s take that photograph, covered so that you can’t see the printing on it, and this photograph,” and Mason tore another hole in another piece of paper, covered another photograph, “and this one,” taking a third, “and see if you can identify those three fingerprints.”
“It would take a little time,” Borge objected.
“Take all the time you want,” Mason announced triumphantly.
Borge took a magnifying glass from his pocket, leaned over to study the fingerprints.
“And I’d have to consult certain data which I have in my notebook,” he said at length. “Two of these fingerprints are the same. I think they’re the fingerprints of Roger P. Cartman, I’m not certain.”
“Go right ahead,” Mason said.