“Dennis, could I ask a favor of you?” Mary asked.
“Sure,” I said. “Anything within reason.”
She said, “Because of the holidays coming up we are really short-handed here at The San Pedro Sun. I need someone to write a story about a court case and I know that you used to do court reporting for the paper. Can you do it?”
“No problem.”
I got the particulars of the case from her and made my way to the court room. Another case was already underway as I sneaked in quietly and took a seat in the rear of the room. A defense attorney questioned a witness for the prosecution.
“Now, Mr. Elroy,” the lawyer said. “You claim to have heard both shots fired and that my client fired them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How near were you to the scene of the affair?”
“I would say about twenty feet.”
“About twenty feet, Mr. Elroy?” the lawyer asked. “I am defending my client on the very serious charge of attempted murder. How do you know how long twenty feet is?”
“I’m a carpenter, sir. I work in measurement of feet all the time.”
“H-m-m-p-ph. How close were you when the first shot was fired?”
“I would say about twenty feet.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right. Now, tell the court how far off you were when the second shot was fired.”
“Well, sir,” Mr. Elroy said. “I didn’t stop to measure the distance or anything but my best guess would be about a quarter of a mile.”
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