Parlor Games: A Novel Part 40

DAISY TAKES THE STAND.

MENOMINEE-JANUARY 31, 1917

A snowstorm had swept in overnight, bringing with it a wicked wind that swirled the snow every which way. Come morning, the city's workers endeavored to clear the main streets of snowdrifts, but the blizzard bested them. Thus, all of us who needed-or wished-to attend the trial were forced to trudge through two-foot-high drifts while snow needles blasted our cheeks.

Not surprisingly, only about thirty-five spectators, including the usual reporters and townspeople, braved the horrid storm. The judge announced we would carry on as long as the heat and lights held out. To the satisfaction of all, the radiators pinged bravely. Still, the blizzard's cold seeped through the windows, and we all sat tugging our coats about us, occasionally glancing at the eddies of snow buffeting the courtroom's narrow windows.

But I had Daisy to warm the c.o.c.kles of my heart.

Mr. Powers eased into his friendly examination of Daisy. "Miss Emmett, how long have you known the Baroness?"

"Longer than she's been a baroness," said Daisy, her charming glance skittering over the jurors' onlooking faces. "We met in New York in 1891."

"And how did this meeting come about?"

"I responded to an advertis.e.m.e.nt for an a.s.sistant and companion. May hired me, and I've worked with her ever since, with only a few breaks here and there when she didn't need my services."

"And have you been pleased with your employment?"

"Oh, yes. May has been very generous with me. She even hired my brother for a while. And gave me money for my crippled mother."

"Are you acquainted with Miss Frank Shaver?"

"Very well. I accompanied May and Frank on several trips and handled many of their mutual affairs."

"What do you mean by mutual affairs?"

"They worked together on some projects. Like the remodeling of the Menominee home."

"Were you present on the Lusitania crossing in early 1914?"

At the mention of this journey, I invariably recalled the shock I'd experienced upon hearing that Germany had sunk the Lusitania. Daisy, Frank, and I had enjoyed a memorable crossing in 1914, and, one short year later, these other innocents met with unspeakable horror. How fickle destiny can be.

"Yes," Daisy replied. "We all shared a royal suite."

"And did you manage the expenses for that?"

"Yes, I did. That was one of the things May left to me."

"Can you explain how the expenses were paid?"

"The suite cost $1,010, and I secured an extra bathroom for us for $140. I paid the total costs of $1,150 out of May's funds. Frank later insisted that she make some contribution. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she wouldn't hear anything of it and gave me $500."

"You did not ask her for this money?"

"No, I only accepted it at her insistence."

"Now, you mentioned that Miss Shaver and the Baroness worked together on the remodeling of the Dugas house here in town."

"Yes, they did."

"Can you explain how this collaboration worked?"

"It wasn't very harmonious. May and Frank both wanted to remodel, but they couldn't agree on details. May was worried the remodeling would cost a fortune and asked me to restrain Frank's spending ways. But when I tried, Frank said, 'Leave it to me. This must be a palace.' "

"Was the remodeling of the bathroom one such area of differing opinions?"

"Yes. Frank wanted to splurge on a fancy bathtub that cost a thousand dollars. When I told her that was outside the budget, she told me to mind my own business."

"And did she proceed with the purchase of this costly bathtub?"

"It sits now, fancy as can be, in the upstairs bathroom."

How I loved my dear friend Daisy. She never failed to cheer me under the most dire of circ.u.mstances.

"I believe," said Powers, coasting along with his examination, "that you and Miss Shaver had occasion to work together on the funeral plans for Mrs. Dugas in October of 1913?"

"Yes, we bought the funeral flowers, and May didn't know anything about it. We didn't want to bother her while she was so broken up. The bill came to a hundred twenty-five dollars, which Frank paid."

"And did you reimburse this expense?"

"Yes, I sent Frank a check for the flowers and she sent me a note saying, 'Your check received. Thank you.' "

Mr. Powers retreated to the defendant's table, swept up a piece of paper, and brought it to the witness box. "Is this the note you're referring to?"

Daisy accepted the slip of paper. "Yes."

"And it's in Frank's handwriting?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." Powers retrieved the paper from Daisy and slipped it into the empty s.p.a.ce in his row of papers. He ambled back to the witness box. "Now, are you aware of any occasions on which the Baroness gifted funds to Miss Shaver?"

"Yes, when we returned from London in early 1914, I remember May handing Frank a thousand dollars."

"And how do you know this money was a gift?"

"I recall May saying, 'Here, Frank, spend this however you want.' "

"Did Miss Shaver protest this gift?"

"Oh, no. She took it and stuffed it in her bag. She was even a little huffy about it. Afterward, May told me she felt unappreciated."

"Are you personally aware of any other gifts the Baroness made to Miss Shaver?"

"Oh, there were many. On the 1914 trip-I remember it well, because May kept checking the papers for news about the Mexican revolution-May took her shopping. I went along, too. May bought two new dresses and a pair of shoes for Frank. She wore one of her dresses and the new shoes to the opera the next night. May told her she looked splendid, and Frank thanked her for the gifts."

"Would it be fair to say that the Baroness was generous with Miss Shaver?"

"Very much so."

"And did Miss Shaver appreciate her generosity?"

"Mostly. Sometimes I think she felt compet.i.tive and tried to outdo May with the gifts."

"Compet.i.tive, you say?"

"Yes, I think it was a game to her. She wanted to prove to May that she had money, too."

Sawyer, undoubtedly worried about Daisy's continuing along these lines, pounded a fist on the table. "Objection. Motive is imputed."

"Sustained," said Judge Flanagan. "The jury will ignore this remark."

Powers placed a hand on the witness box and turned to Daisy. "To your knowledge, was Miss Shaver in the habit of bestowing gifts on ladies she favored?"

"Oh, yes, Frank often boasted about girls she'd been involved with."

"Objection," hollered Sawyer. "This is immaterial, as well as sweeping and unsubstantiated."

"Mr. Powers," said the judge, "I'll advise you to avoid such broad questioning."

"Yes, Your Honor," Powers said, then turned back to Daisy. "Did you have occasion to conduct some business on behalf of Miss Shaver with a Miss Nell McDaniel?"

"Yes, I did. Miss Shaver told me they'd been friends for six years, that Nell was a beautiful girl, and that she'd taken her to Alaska. But then the friendship turned sour, and Frank asked me to go to her office and get some things back from her."

"Did you do so?"

"Yes, I picked up a real-estate deed and some stock certificates from Miss McDaniel, and she told me to tell Frank she was the biggest Indian-giver she ever knew."

"Thank you, Miss Emmett." Powers turned from the witness box. "Your witness, Mr. Sawyer."

Sawyer attempted varied methods to upend Daisy: implying her financial circ.u.mstances depended on my own "a.s.sets and largesse"; insinuating that she and I were partners in schemes to extricate money; and even referring to her and my brothers as my "henchmen." (Such an ugly word; Sawyer was certainly crossing the line of civil discourse.) But Daisy handily outmaneuvered him. She smiled through her testimony, kept her hands planted on her lap, and exuded her usual calm aplomb.

Powers responded not by redirecting Daisy's testimony but, rather, by calling Frank to answer Daisy's charges. The flowers for my mother's funeral? Never reimbursed, she said, though she couldn't explain the note Daisy referred to. What about the thousand dollars I had handed over to her? She claimed it was not a gift but return of a loan, though she had no doc.u.ment to prove this. And the costly home remodeling? She wanted to please me and, besides, she was part owner in the house and expected the remodeling to enhance its value. She even went so far as to contend the bathtub had cost only $140. What about the gifts I had made to her? Those, she exclaimed, were mere trifles compared with the thousands of dollars' worth of gifts she had showered on me. And in reference to the Nell McDaniel matter, Frank claimed that Nell had reneged on their understanding and that she'd never intended these items to be gifts.

Poor, poor Frank-she was on the run now.

A DESPERATE LETTER FROM FRANK.

MENOMINEE-JANUARY 31, 1917

Dear May,

You d.a.m.n fool. Don't you see where this is headed? The jury will rule for me, and you'll be in water as hot as Hades. I don't believe for one minute you don't have the money. That claim of poverty stinks to high heaven. Next you'll be telling me Mr. Rockefeller begs on street corners.

You've got two choices: You can settle right now and agree to pay the money. We can keep the arrangement confidential and n.o.body but us and our attorneys will know the terms. That'd keep your reputation intact.

Or you can let this thing play out and have your loss splattered all over the Chicago, New York, and who knows what other newspapers. And if that happens, I've got a surprise waiting for you-a special visitor that you'll recognize in the courtroom tomorrow. That should be enough to make you think twice about ducking your responsibility!

I hope you understand what's going to happen if you refuse to come up with the money. All your a.s.sets will be claimed by the court. Think about it. Do you really want your precious jewelry auctioned off?

You're a fool, May, a d.a.m.n fool. I gave you a way out, but no, you're dead set on your stubborn ways. If you let the jury decide this, it'll be good-bye between us forever.

Your old friend, Frank If Frank thought threats of this nature were sufficient to force my hand, she guessed wrong. Only I did wonder who the "special visitor" might be. Surely she couldn't have tracked Ernest down. After all, the judge had ruled that the London lawsuit was immaterial. I hoped to G.o.d it wasn't that blackguard Reed Dougherty.

THE TRIAL.

TO THE JURY.

MENOMINEE-FEBRUARY 1, 1917