Stone Barrington 06-11

murdered?”
    “Yes.”
    “For what reason?”
    “I was looking to steal something, if I could.” He didn’t appear to be embarrassed by this answer.
    “Did you have occasion to approach the rear door of the house and look inside?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “I heard a noise, like a gun.”
    “When you looked inside, what did you see?”
    “I saw Mr. Calder, lying on the floor bleeding, and Mrs. Calder standing there, and a gun was on the floor.”
    “And what did you do?”
    “I ran. I didn’t want to be caught there.”
    “Your witness,” Chu said to Blumberg.
    Marc stood. “Mr. Cordova, you say you saw Mrs. Calder standing next to Mr. Calder’s body?”
    “Yes.”
    “How was she dressed?”
    “In a bathrobe.”
    “What kind of bathrobe?”
    “You know, the terry kind.”
    “Terrycloth?”
    “Yes.”
    “What color?”
    “White.”
    “Did the robe have a hood?”
    “Yes, she was wearing the hood.”
    “Did you see her face?”
    “Not exactly.”
    “Was she facing you?”
    “Not exactly.”
    “Well, if you didn’t see her face, how do you know it was Mrs. Calder?”
    “I seen her before, you know, and I recognized her shape.” He made a female shape with his hands, and the courtroom tittered again.
    “Since you never saw her face, is it possible that the woman you saw was not Mrs. Calder, but another woman?”
    Cordova shrugged. “Maybe.”
    Marc turned to the judge. “Your Honor, could we have Mrs. Walters back for a moment to try something?”
    The judge waved both lawyers forward. “Just what do you want to try, Mr. Blumberg?”
    “I’d like for Mrs. Walters to try on a robe for Mr. Cordova.”
    “I’ve no objection, Your Honor,” Ms. Chu said.
    “Go ahead. Bailiff, bring Mrs. Walters back to the courtroom.”
    Beverly Walters returned, looking wary.
    “Mrs. Walters,” the judge said, “I’d like you to put on a bathrobe for the court.”
    Walters nodded, and Stone handed Marc a white terrycloth robe. He held it for the woman, and she put it on.
    “Please put up the hood, step out of your shoes, and face the rear of the courtroom, Mrs. Walters,” Marc said. She followed his instructions, and he turned to Cordova. “What about it, Mr. Cordova? Could this be the woman you saw?” He made the woman shape with his hands.
    “Yeah, she could be,” Cordova said.
    “No further questions,” Marc said.
    Ms. Chu was on her feet. “Your Honor, now I’d like for Mrs. Calder to try on the robe for Mr. Cordova.”
    “Any objection, Mr. Blumberg?” the judge asked.
    “None whatsoever, Your Honor.”
    The courtroom watched as Arrington slipped into the white robe and turned her back on Cordova.
    “Mr. Cordova,” Chu said, “could this be the woman you saw?”
    Cordova nodded. “Yeah. I guess it could be either one of them; they look pretty much the same.”
    “No further questions, Your Honor. That concludes the District Attorney’s presentation.”
    “Mr. Blumberg,” the judge said, “do you have any witnesses?”
    “Your Honor, we call Isabel Sanchez.”
    Isabel came into the courtroom, was sworn, and took the stand.
    “Your Honor, my colleague, Mr. Stone Barrington of the New York Bar, will question this witness.”
    The judge nodded assent.

    “Mrs. Sanchez,” Stone began, “are you and your husband employed by Mrs. Arrington Calder?”
    “Yes, we are,” Isabel replied.
    “How long have you worked for her?”
    “Since she married Mr. Calder. We worked for fifteen years for him before they married.”
    “Do you, personally, perform the duties of a maid in the household?”
    “Yes.”
    “Do your duties require you to deal with Mrs. Calder’s wardrobe?”
    “Yes, I do her laundry—her underthings and washables—and I gather things to be sent to the dry cleaners and an outside laundry.”
    “Would you say that you are familiar with Mrs. Calder’s wardrobe?”
    “Oh, yes, very familiar. I know her clothes as well as I know my own.”
    “Tell me, does Mrs. Calder own a terrycloth robe?”
    “Yes, she does. She has terrycloth robes for the guesthouse, four of them, for the two bedrooms.”
    “What color are the guesthouse robes?”
    “They are bright yellow.”
    Stone held up the white robe. “Is this Mrs. Calder’s robe?”
    “No.”
    “Of course not, since it was bought yesterday at the gift shop of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Does she own one like it?”
    “No, she doesn’t.”
    Stone went to the shopping bag and pulled out a bright