...Or Your Money Back Page 4

made no objection to his testimony, but I made myfirst cross-examination.

  "Mr. Thompson, you have stated your qualifications as an expert on thevarious devices which have been used to illegally influence theoperation of gambling devices in this state."

  Thursby said: "Oh, if the Court please, I should like to remind counselfor the defense that he has already accepted the qualifications of thewitness."

  "I am not attempting to impugn the qualifications of the witness," Isnapped.

  Judge Lapworth frowned at Thursby. "Are you making an objection, Mr.District Attorney?"

  Thursby pursed his lips, said, "No, Your Honor," and sat down.

  "Proceed with the cross-examination," said the judge.

  "Mr. Thompson," I said, "you have testified that you examined the tableat the Golden Casino for such devices and found none. Is that right?"

  "That's right," he said positively.

  "Have you seen the device labeled People's Exhibit A, which was found bythe officers on the person of the defendant?"

  "Well ... yes. I have."

  "Have you examined this device?"

  Thursby was on his feet. "Objection, Your Honor! This material was notbrought out in direct examination!"

  "Sustained," said Judge Lapworth.

  "Very well, Your Honor," I said. Then I turned back to Thompson. "As anexpert in this field, Mr. Thompson, you have examined many differentdevices for cheating gambling equipment, haven't you?"

  "Yes, I have."

  "How many, would you say?"

  "Oh ... several hundred."

  "Several hundred different _types_?"

  "No. Several hundred individual devices. Most of them are justvariations of two or three basic types."

  "And you are familiar with the function of these basic types and theirvariations?"

  "I am."

  "You know exactly how all of them work, then?"

  He saw where I was heading. "Most of them," he hedged.

  Thursby saw where I was heading, too, and was sweating. I'd managed toget around his objection.

  "Have you ever examined any which you could not understand?"

  "I ... I don't quite know what you mean."

  "Have you ever," I said firmly, "come across a device used in cheatingwhich you could not comprehend or explain the operation of?"

  Thursby stood up. "Same objection as before, Your Honor."

  "Your Honor," I said, "I am merely trying to find the limitations of thewitness' knowledge; I am not trying to refute his acknowledged ability."

  "Overruled," said Judge Lapworth. "The witness will answer thequestion."

  I repeated the question.

  "Yes," Thompson said in a low voice.

  "More than once?"

  "Only once."

  "Only once. You did find one device which didn't operate in any fashionyou can explain. Is that right?"

  "That's right."

  "Can you tell me what this device was?"

  Thompson took a deep breath. "It was People's Exhibit A--the devicetaken from the defendant at the time of his arrest."

  There was a buzz in the courtroom.

  "No more questions," I said, turning away. Then, before Thompson couldleave the stand, I turned back to him. "Oh, just one moment, Mr.Thompson. Did you examine this device carefully? Did you take it apart?"

  "I opened it and looked at it."

  "You just looked at it? You didn't subject it to any tests?"

  Thompson took a deep breath. "No."

  "Why not?"

  "There wasn't anything inside it to test."

  * * * * *

  This time, there was more than just a buzz around the courtroom. JudgeLapworth rapped for order.

  When the room was quiet, I said: "The box was empty, then?"

  "Well, no. Not exactly empty. It had some stuff in it."

  I turned to the judge. "If the Court please, I would like to have theso-called device, Exhibit A, opened so that the members of the jury maysee for themselves what it contains."

  Judge Lapworth said: "The Court would like very much to see the internalworkings of this device, too. Bailiff, if you will, please."

  The bailiff handed him the gadget from the exhibit table.

  "How does it open?" asked the judge. He turned to Thompson. "Will thewitness please open the box?"

  Reluctantly, Thompson thumbed the catch and slid off the top.

  The judge took it from him, looked inside, and stared for a long moment.

  I had already seen the insides. It was painted white, and there wereinked lines running all over the inside, and various pictures--a ball, apair of dice, a roulette wheel--and some other symbols that I didn'tpretend to understand.

  Otherwise, the box was empty.

  After a moment, Judge Lapworth looked up from the box and stared atThursby. Then he looked at Thompson. "Just what tests _did_ you performon this ... this thing, Mr. Thompson?"

  "Well, Your Honor," Thompson said, visibly nervous, "I checked it forall kinds of radiation and magnetism. There isn't anything like thatcoming from it. But," he added lamely, "there wasn't much else to test.Not without damaging the box."

  "I see." His honor glared at Thursby, but didn't say anything to him. Hesimply ordered the box to be shown to the jury.

  Thursby was grimly holding his ground, waiting.

  "Have you any more questions, counselor?" the judge asked.

  "No, Your Honor, I have not."

  "Witness may step down," said his honor to Thompson.

  * * * * *

  Thursby stood up. "If the Court please, I would like to stage a smalldemonstration for the members of the jury."

  The Court gave permission, and a roulette wheel was hauled in on a smalltable.

  I watched with interest and without objection while Thursby demonstratedthe use of the gadget and then asked each of the jurors in turn to tryit. It was a long way from being a successful demonstration. Some of thejurors didn't hold the thing right, and some of those that did justdidn't have the mental ability required to use it. But that didn'tbother Thursby.

  "Your Honor, and Gentlemen of the Jury," he said, "you are all awarethat a device constructed for the purpose of cheating at any gamblinggame is not necessarily one hundred per cent infallible. It doesn't haveto be. All it has to do is turn the odds in favor of the user.

  "You are all familiar with loaded dice, I'm sure. And you know thatloading dice for one set of numbers merely increases the probabilitythat those numbers will come up; it does not guarantee that they willcome up every time.

  "It is the same with marked cards. Marking the backs of a deck of cardsdoesn't mean that you will invariably get a better hand than youropponent; it doesn't even mean that you will win every hand.

  "The device taken from the defendant at the Golden Casino does not, asyou have seen, work every time. But, as you have also seen, it certainly_does_ shift the odds by a considerable percentage. And that, I submit,is illegal under the laws of this state."

  He went on, building on that theme for a while, then he turned the trialover to the defense.

  "Call Dr. Pettigrew to the stand," I said.

  I heard Thursby's gasp, but I ignored it.

  A chunky, balding man with a moon face and an irritated expression cameup to be sworn in. He was irritated with me for having subpoenaed him,and he showed it. I hoped he wouldn't turn out to be hostile.

  "You are Dr. Herbert Pettigrew?" I asked.

  "That is correct."

  "State your residence, please."

  "3109 La Jolla Boulevard, Los Angeles, California."

  "You are called 'Doctor' Pettigrew, I believe. Would you tell the Courtwhat right you have to that title?"

  He looked a little miffed, but he said: "It is a scholarly title. ADoctorate of Philosophy in physics from Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology."

  "I see. Would you mind telling the Court what other academic degrees youhave?"r />
  He reeled off a list of them, all impressive.

  "Thank you, doctor," I said. "Now, what is your present occupation?"

  "I am a Professor of Physics, at the University of California in LosAngeles."

  I went on questioning him to establish his ability in his field, and bythe time I was finished, the jury was pretty well impressed with hisstatus in the scientific brotherhood. And not once did Thursby object.

  Then I said, "Dr. Pettigrew, I believe you came to this city on aprofessional matter?"

  "Yes, I did." He didn't hesitate to answer, so I figured I hadn't gothis goat too much.

  "And what was the nature of that matter?"

  "I was asked to come here by Mr. Harold Thursby, the District Attorney,to perform some scientific tests on the ... er ... device ... the deviceknown as People's Exhibit A."

  "Did you perform these tests?"

  "I did."

  "At the request of District Attorney Thursby, is that right?"

  "That is correct."

  "May I ask why Mr. Thursby did not call you as a witness for theprosecution?"

  Thursby, as I had expected, was on his feet. "Objection! The questioncalls for a conclusion of the witness!"

  "Sustained," said Judge Lapworth.

  "Dr. Pettigrew," I said, "what were your findings in reference toExhibit A?"

  He shrugged. "The thing is a plastic box with a dial set in one side, aplastic lens in one end, and a couple of strips of silver along twoother sides. Inside, there are a lot of markings in black ink on whitepaint." He gestured toward the exhibit table. "Just what you've seen;that's all there is to it."

  "What sort of tests did you perform to determine this, Dr. Pettigrew?" Iasked.

  He took a long time answering that one. He had X-rayed the thingthoroughly, tested it with apparatus I'd never heard of, taken scrapingsfrom all over it for microchemical analysis, and even tried it himselfon a roulette wheel. He hadn't been able to make it work.

  "And what is your conclusion from these findings?" I asked.

  Again he shrugged. "The thing is just a box, that's all. It has nospecial properties."

  "Would you say that it could be responsible for the phenomena we havejust seen? By that, I mean the peculiar action of the roulette wheel,demonstrated here by the prosecution."

  "Definitely not," he stated flatly. "The box could not possibly have anyeffect on either the wheel or the ball."

  "I see. Thank you, doctor; that's all. Cross-examine."

  Thursby walked over to the witness stand with a belligerent scowl on hisface. "Dr. Pettigrew, you say that the box couldn't possibly have hadany effect on the wheel. And yet, we have demonstrated that there _is_an effect. Don't you believe the testimony of your own senses?"

  "Certainly I do!" snapped Pettigrew.

  "Then how do you account for the behavior of the roulette wheel as youhave just seen it demonstrated in this court?"

  I suppressed a grin. Thursby was so mad that he was having troubleexpressing himself clearly.

  "In several ways!" Pettigrew said sharply. "In the first place, thatwheel could be rigged."

  Thursby purpled. "Now, just a minute! I--"

  I started to object, but Judge Lapworth beat me to it.

  "Are you objecting to the answer, Mr. District Attorney?"

  "The witness is insinuating that I falsified evidence!"

  "I am not!" said Pettigrew, visibly angry. "You asked me how I couldaccount for its behavior, and I told you one way! There are others!"

  "The wheel will be examined," said Judge Lapworth darkly. "Tell us theother ways, Dr. Pettigrew."

  "Pure chance," said Pettigrew. "Pure chance, Your Honor. I'm sure thateveryone in this courtroom has seen runs of luck on a roulette wheel.According to the laws of probability, such runs must inevitably happen.Frankly, I believe that just such a run has occurred here. I do notthink for a minute that Mr. Thursby or anyone else rigged that wheel."

  "I see; thank you, Dr. Pettigrew," said the judge. "Any furtherquestions, Mr. District Attorney?"

  "No further questions," Thursby said, trying to hide his anger.

  * * * * *

  "Call your next witness," said the judge, looking at me.

  "I call Mr. Jason Howley to the stand."

  Howley sat down and was sworn in. I went through the preliminaries, thenasked: "Mr. Howley, you have seen People's Exhibit A?"

  "I have."

  "To whom does it belong?"

  "It is mine. It was taken from me by--"

  "Just answer the question, please," I admonished him. He knew hisscript, but he was jumping the gun. "The device is yours, then?"

  "That's right."

  "Under what circumstances did this device come into the hands of thepolice?"

  He told what had happened on the night of the big take at the GoldenCasino.

  "Would you explain to us just what this device is?" I asked when he hadfinished.

  "Certainly," he said. "It's a good luck charm."

  I could hear the muffled reaction in the courtroom.

  "A good luck charm. I see. Then it has no effect on the wheel at all?"

  "Oh, I wouldn't say that," Howley said disarmingly. He smiled and lookedat the jury. "It certainly has _some_ effect. It's the only good luckcharm I ever had that worked."

  The jury was grinning right back at him. They were all gamblers atheart, and I never knew a gambler yet who didn't have some sort of goodluck charm or superstition when it came to gambling. We had them all inthe palms of our hands.

  "What I mean is, does it have any _physical_ effect on the wheel?"

  Howley looked puzzled. "Well, I don't know about that. That's not myfield. You better ask Dr. Pettigrew."

  There was a smothered laugh somewhere in the courtroom.

  "Just how do you operate this good luck charm, Mr. Howley?" I asked.

  "Why, you just hold it so that your thumb touches one strip of silverand your fingers touch the other, then you set the dial to whatevernumber you want to come up and wish."

  "_Wish?_ Just _wish_, Mr. Howley?"

  "Just wish. That's all. What else can you do with a good luck charm?"

  This time, the judge had to pound for order to stop the laughing.

  I turned Howley over to Thursby.

  The D.A. hammered at him for half an hour trying to get something out ofHowley, but he didn't get anywhere useful. Howley admitted that he'dcome to Nevada to play the wheels; what was wrong with that? He admittedthat he'd come just to try out his good luck charm--and what was wrongwith that? He even admitted that it worked for him every time--

  And what was wrong, pray, with _that_?

  Thursby knew he was licked. He'd known it for a long time. His summationto the jury showed it. The expressions on the faces of the jury as theylistened showed it.

  They brought in a verdict of Not Guilty.

  * * * * *

  When I got back to my office, I picked up the phone and called theGolden Casino. I asked for George Brockey, the manager. When I got himon the phone and identified myself, he said, "Oh. It's you." His voicedidn't sound friendly.

  "It's me," I said.

  "I suppose you're going to slap a suit for false arrest on the Casinonow, eh, counselor?"

  "Not a bit of it, George," I said. "The thought occurred to me, but Ithink we can come to terms."

  "Yeah?"

  "Nothing to it, George. You give us the three hundred grand and we don'tdo a thing."

  "Yeah?" He didn't get it. He had to fork over the money anyway,according to the court order, so what was the deal?

  "If you want to go a little further, I'll tell you what we'll do. We'llgive you one of our little good luck charms, if you'll promise to callyour boys off Howley."

  "Nobody's on Howley," he said. "You ought to know better than that. Inthis state, if we get whipped in court, we play it square. Did you thinkwe were going to get rough?"

&n
bsp; "No. But you kind of figured on lifting that gadget as soon as he getsit back from the D.A., didn't you? I saw your boys waiting at his hotel.I'm just telling you that you don't have to do that. We'll give you thegadget. There are plenty more where that came from."

  "I see," Brockey said after a long pause. "O.K., counselor. It's adeal."

  "Fine. We'll pick up the money later this evening, if that's O.K."

  "Sure, counselor. Anytime. Anytime at all." He hung up.

  I grinned at Howley, who was sitting across the desk from me. "Well,that winds it up."

  "I don't get it," Howley said. "Why'd you call up Brockey? What was thepurpose of that 'deal'?"

  "No deal," I told him. "I was just warning him that killing you andtaking the gadget wouldn't do any good, that we've covered you. He won'tbother having anything done to you if he knows that the secret of thegadget is out already."

  Howley's eyes widened behind those spectacles of his. "You mean they'dkill me? I thought Nevada gamblers were honest."

  "Oh, they are, they are. But this is a threat to their whole industry.It's more than that, it may destroy them. Some of them might kill tokeep that from happening. But you don't have to worry now."

  "Thanks. Tell me, do you think we've succeeded?"

  "In what you set out to do? Certainly. When we mail out those gadgets topeople all over the state, the place will be in an uproar. With all thepublicity this case is getting, it'll _have_ to work. You now have acourt decision on your side, a decision which says that a psionic devicecan be legally used to influence gambling games.

  "Why, man, they'll _have_ to start investigating! You'll have everypolitico in the State of Nevada insisting that scientists work on thatthing. To say nothing of what the syndicate will do."

  "All I wanted to do," said Howley, "was force people to take notice ofpsionics. I guess I've done that."

  "You certainly have, brother. I wonder what it will come to?"

  "I wonder, myself, sometimes," Howley said.

  That was three and a half years ago. Neither Howley nor I are wonderingnow. According to the front page of today's _Times_, the firstspaceship, with a crew of eighty aboard, reached Mars this morning. And,on page two, there's a small article headlined: ROCKET OBSOLETE, SAYSCIENTISTS.

  It sure is.

  THE END