CHAPTER 26: Turtle's Trial

Summary

Despite James Hoo's protest, a makeshift court is assembled: Judge Ford in her flowing African robes as the judge, Sydelle Pulaski as the court stenographer who keeps notes in Polish, and thirteen-year-old Turtle Wexler as the lawyer. Judge Ford is amazed at how much Turtle resembles her Uncle Sam not only in looks but in manner. Turtle proceeds with her case of how Sam Westing and Sandy McSouthers are dead but that Berthe Erica Crow did not do it.

She calls Chris Theodorakis as her first witness: he saw Doctor Sikes enter the Westing house on Halloween, when a fire was started in the fireplace. Her next witness is Otis Amber; when he sits, Judge Ford instructs him to hand over his gun. Everyone else is shocked, including Turtle. Under questioning, Otis Amber reveals that he isn't the idiotic delivery boy everyone believes him to be, but a licensed private investigator with three clients: Samuel Westing, Barney Northrup, and Judge Ford. Twenty years ago, after Berthe Erica Crow left Samuel Westing, Westing hired Otis Amber to follow her, keep her out of trouble, and make sure she didn't use the Westing name. He was mailed a check every month to do this until last week, when he was informed his services were no longer needed.

The realtor Barney Northrup hired Otis to investigate six people: Judge J.J. Ford, George Theodorakis, James Hoo, Gracie Windkloppel, Flora Baumbach, and Sybil Pulaski. Otis made a mistake with the last name, investigating Sydelle Pulaski instead; he did not realize this until after Judge Ford hired him to look into Crow's early life. Otis tells the Judge he couldn't tell her about Crow being the former Mrs. Westing, as it was privileged information with a client; Judge Ford realizes that was why Otis Amber was one of the heirs in the Westing game, as well as to convince Crow to play along. Turtle asks Otis about the three heirs he didn't investigate: Denton Deere, Crow, and Sandy McSouthers. Otis answers that Denton came up in his report on Gracie Windkloppel, had recommended Crow to Barney Northrup when the realtor expressed a need for a cleaning woman at Sunset Towers, and has no idea how Sandy became the doorman.

Turtle then asks about Otis' investigation for Judge Ford, and Otis explains he didn't investigate the judge or her partner, Sandy. Turtle confirms that Otis had never investigated Sandy McSouthers for any of his clients. Turtle then mentions the Halloween story of a corpse on an Oriental rug at the Westing house, provoking a cry from Grace Wexler, who drunkenly recalls Sandy dead on the Oriental rug earlier that evening. Meanwhile, the repeated question of "who" causes Madame Hoo to slip away in terror. Otis explains that Sandy told him that story on the morning of Halloween, and they decided to scare the kids of Sunset Towers with this tale. Turtle connects this to the smoke from the Westing house, which together with this tale led to the dare which led to her discovery of Sam Westing's "body".

Turtle next calls Denton Deere to ask about his examination of the body in the coffin, getting him to admit it could have been a wax dummy. Regarding Sandy McSouthers' death, she has Denton explain that he didn't examine the doorman but merely made him comfortable until Doctor Sikes took over, who declared him dead. Denton states that he thinks Sandy died of a heart attack, and Turtle has him point out that the lemon juice she saw Crow put in his flask could not have been responsible for that. She then verifies that Sandy had a bruise on his shin from a kick.

Turtle then calls upon Sydelle Pulaski and points out how the last word is missing in Section Three of the will, which instructs "The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the". Sydelle states no one heard the last word because Sandy made a joke. Turtle goes on to read the next section, beginning, "FOURTH. Hail to thee, O land of opportunity!"

Next, Turtle asks Judge Ford to introduce into evidence the letter E.J. Plum had handed to her. The judge opens it, thinking it was a certification of sanity for Doctor Sikes; instead, she finds a receipt for two payments in five thousand dollars that paid off completely the debt she owed Sam Westing for her education. At this point, Madame Hoo returns with the goods she stole from the other residents of Sunset Towers. Everyone forgives Madame Hoo, and Turtle allows her to keep the Mickey Mouse clock.

The trial resumes and Turtle considers that she has a half hour left. She goes over what she knows of Sam Westing's life, revealing that he was also Sandy the doorman. She points out that Sandy did not drink whiskey in his flask: she knows how whiskey tastes because of her toothache and she noted a funny aftertaste when she used his flask on Halloween. Sandy was sick and the flask contained his medicine. This evening, as Crow filled Sandy's task with lemon juice, Turtle saw Sandy go into the library. He wrote the last part of the will after the heirs gave their answers, then locked it in the library desk with a duplicate key. As for the murder, there was none. The life Sam Westing claims was taken from him was when he became Sandy, and Sandy died when his medicine ran out.

Judge Ford listens and wonders why Turtle does not mention Barney Northrup, who they both know was also Sam Westing. Turtle herself is wondering why Sam Westing played two roles, Barney Northrup and Sandy McSouthers. As Judge Ford asks Turtle if Sandy McSouthers committed suicide, Turtle fits the last part of the puzzle, reading the last sentence of the will's third section right into the fourth section: "The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the FOURTH." Turtle must find Sam Westing's fourth identity and she knows who it is. When Judge Ford repeats her question about Sandy committing suicide, Turtle responds that Sandy / Sam was a dying man who merely chose his time to die. As she asks the others to observe a minute of silent prayer for Sam Westing / Sandy McSouthers, Otis leaps to his feet when Ed Plum and Crow enter the apartment.

Notes

The absurdity of this mock trial and how it would appear to outsiders shows Raskin's refined sense of humor, but also serves to emphasize how this community has indeed become closer and something of the extended family that Sam Westing intended. After all, this kind of indulgence and silliness is best associated with family gatherings of all kinds, the shared language and experiences of a group of people who've come to know each other well. This is further reinforced by the embarrassed forgiveness that everyone extends to Madame Hoo when she returns their valuables.

Otis Amber reveals his true profession in order to fill in the rest of the story of the Westing family, but the fact that he wasn't aware Sam Westing and Barney Northrup are the same person shows he was also a pawn. Gracie Windkloppel Wexler's drunken cry over the dead body on the Oriental rug calls attention to the Halloween tale told by Sandy McSouthers, now revealed to be a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy that was part of Sam Westing's performance. Judge Ford's own issue with Sam Westing is resolved as she finds out he considers the two checks she signed over to Sandy McSouthers as her debt paid in full.

Turtle Wexler's lies - both through omission (not mentioning Barney Northrup) and fabrication (stating Sam Westing had a fatal disease and merely chose his time to die) - show how much she is like her uncle Sam, wanting to win the game and willing to deceive others for it. Judge Ford is the only other heir to suspect this, as she's the only one who also figured out Barney Northrup was one of Westing's disguises. The attempt for a second minute of silence for Sam Westing is interrupted by the arrival of Crow and Plum - which is appropriate, as Sam Westing doesn't deserve that minute of silence since he's still very much alive.