Naia North's statement, the strips of paneling from that coat
closet, the murder weapon. I turned the whole works over to you."

The D. A. was shaking his head. "We don't keep worthless junk around
here, my boy. The Cordell case is closed; the guilty man is awaiting
execution. Sure, you run along and tell the Judge all about it. Tell the
newspapers, tell Cordell's defense attorneys, tell the world for all I
care. See who'll touch it without something more concrete than your
highly imaginative day dreams. For all you can prove, the girl might
have confessed the whole thing was a hoax and we tossed her out of here
last night....

"I'm a busy man, Lieutenant. Good morning--good luck--and kindly close
the door on your way out."

Chapter IV

Lieutenant Martin Kirk shoved the pile of mimeographed pages aside.
Three hours spent in going through the complete transcript of the
Cordell trial and nothing to show for it but stiff muscles and an aching
head.

Give it up, a small voice in the back of his mind urged. You haven't got
a leg to stand on as far as getting any action out of the authorities.
Troy and his gang put the fear of God in that purple-eyed dame and
shipped her out of the State. You lose, brother--and so does that poor
devil up in Death's Row.

He drummed his fingers over and over on the arm of his chair and
listened to the every-day sounds of a normal day at the Homicide Bureau.
A new day, a new set of problems, and why knock yourself out over
something that doesn't concern you? Thing to do was go down to the
corner tavern and have a couple of fast ones and watch an old movie on
television. Yes sir, that's exactly what he'd do!

He went back to the mimeographed pages.

For the fourth time he read through Cordell's testimony of what had
happened that October afternoon. And it was there that he came across
the first possible break in the stone wall.

Once more Martin Kirk went over the few lines, although by this time he
could have come close to reciting them from memory. It was an excerpt
from Arthur Kahler Troy's cross-examination of the defendant after
Cordell's counsel, in a last desperate effort to swing the tide of a
losing battle, had placed him on the stand.

Q: (by Troy): Now, Mr. Cordell, I direct your attention to the
point in your testimony at which first entered Professor Gilmore's
outer office. At what time was this?

A: At about 5:45 p.m.

Q: Who was in