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........ .

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.......

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