CHAPTER ONE THE girl walked past the secretary who held the door open, and surveyed

the law office with eyes that showed just a trace of panic. The secretary gently closed the door and the girl selected an old fashioned, high-backed, black leather chair. She sat down in it, crossed her legs, pulled her skirt down over her knees, and sat facing the door. After a o ent, she pulled the skirt up for an inch or two, taking so e pains to get just the effect she wanted. Then she leaned back so that her spun-gold hair showed to advantage against the shiny black leather of the big chair. She looked pathetic and helpless as she sat in the big office, dwarfed by the huge proportions of the leather chair. And yet there was so ething about her which gave the i pression of having deliberately brought about that effect. There was a hint of feline efficiency in the care with which she had placed herself, in the very perfection of her helplessness. !udged by any standard, she was beautiful. Her hair was silken, her eyes large and dark, the cheekbones high, lips full and well for ed. She was s all, yet perfectly proportioned, and well groo ed. "et there was a studied i obility of e#pression$ an effect of co plete detach ent as though she had surrounded herself with a protective wall. The door fro an inner office opened and %erry &ason walked into the roo . He paused when he had advanced two steps fro the door, surveying the girl with patient eyes that see ed to take in every detail of her appearance. She bore the scrutiny without change of position or e#pression. '"ou(re &r. &ason)' she asked. &ason didn(t answer until he had walked around behind the flat-top desk and dropped into the swivel chair. %erry &ason gave the i pression of bigness$ not the bigness of fat, but the bigness of strength. He was broad-shouldered and rugged-faced, and his eyes were steady and patient. *re+uently those eyes changed e#pression, but the face never changed its e#pression of rugged patience. "et there was nothing eek about the an. He was a fighter$ a fighter who could, perhaps, patiently bide his ti e for delivering a knock-out blow, but who would, when the ti e ca e, re orselessly deliver that blow with the force of a ental battering ra . '"es,' he said, ',( %erry &ason. -hat can , do for you)' The dark eyes studied hi warily. ',,' said the girl, 'a *ran .elane.' '*ran)' he asked, raising his voice. 'Short for *rances,' she said. 'All right,' said %erry &ason, 'what can , do for you, &iss .elane)' The dark eyes re ained fastened on his face, but the girl(s forefinger went e#ploring around the ar of the chair, picking at irregularities in the leather. There was so ething in the probing gesture which see ed an unconscious reflection of her ental attitude. ', wanted to find out about a will,' she said. There was no change of e#pression in %erry &ason(s steady, patient eyes. ', don(t go in uch for wills,' he told her. ',( a trial lawyer. , speciali/e in the trial of cases, preferably before juries. Twelve en in a bo# - that(s y specialty. ,( afraid , can(t help you uch on wills.' '0ut,' she told hi , 'this will probably be a trial.' He continued to watch her with the e otionless scrutiny of his cal eyes. 'A will contest)' he asked. '1o,' she said, 'not e#actly a contest. , want to know so ething about a trust provision.' '-ell,' he said with gentle insistence, 'suppose you tell e e#actly what it is you want to know.' 'A party dies,' she said, 'and leaves a will containing a clause by which a beneficiary under the will...' 'That(ll do,' said %erry &ason, 'don(t try that line. This is a atter that you(re interested in)' '"es.' '2ery well then,' he said, 'give e the facts, and +uit beating about the bush.' ',t(s y father(s will,' she said. 'His na e was .arl .elane. ,( an only child.' 'That(s better,' he told her. 'There(s a lot of oney co ing to e under that will, so ething over a illion dollars.' %erry &ason showed interest. 'And you think there(ll be a trial over it)' he asked. ', don(t know,' she said. ', hope not.' '-ell, go ahead,' said the lawyer. 'He didn(t leave the oney to e outright,' she said. 'He left it in a trust.' '-ho(s the trustee)' asked &ason. '&y uncle, Edward 1orton.' 'All right,' he said, 'go on.' 'There(s a provision in the will that if , should arry before ,( twenty-five, y uncle has the right, at his option, to give e five thousand dollars fro the trust fund and to turn the balance over to charitable institutions.' 'How old are you now)' asked &ason. 'Twenty-three.' '-hen did your father die)' 'Two years ago.' 'The will(s been probated then, and the property distributed)' '"es,' she said. 3

'All right,' he told her, speaking rapidly now, 'if the provision in regard to the trust was carried through in the decree of distribution, and there was no appeal fro that decree, there can be no collateral attack, e#cept under e#ceptional circu stances.' Her restless finger picked at the ar of the chair, and the nail ade little noises as it dug into the leather. 'That(s what , wanted to ask you about,' she said. 'All right,' said &ason, 'go ahead and ask e.' '4nder the will,' she said, ' y uncle controls the trust oneys. He can invest the any way he wants, and he can give e whatever oney he thinks , should have. -hen ,( twenty-seven he(s to give e the principal if he thinks that the possession of such a large su of oney won(t spoil y life. 5therwise, he(s to buy e an annuity of five hundred dollars a onth for life, and give the balance to charity.' '6ather an unusual trust provision,' said %erry &ason, tonelessly. '&y father,' she said, 'was rather an unusual an, and , was just a little bit wild.' 'All right,' said &ason. '-hat(s the trouble)' ', want to get arried,' she said, and, for the first ti e her eyes dropped fro his. 'Have you spoken to your uncle about it)' '1o.' '7oes he know that you want to get arried)' ', don(t think so.' '-hy not wait until you(re twenty-five)' '1o,' she said, raising her eyes again, ', want to get arried now.' 'As , understand your interpretation of the will,' ventured %erry &ason cautiously, 'there(s co plete discretion vested in your uncle)' 'That(s right.' '-ell, don(t you think that the first thing to do would be to sound hi out and see how he would feel about your arriage)' '1o,' she said shortly, clipping the word out e#plosively. '0ad blood between you and your uncle)' he asked. '1o,' she said. '"ou see hi fre+uently)' 'Every day.' '7o you talk with hi about the will)' '1ever.' '"ou go to see hi on other business then)' '1o. , live in the house with hi .' ', see,' said %erry &ason, speaking in that cal e#pressionless voice. '"our uncle is intrusted with a whole lot of oney, and given a discretion which is rather unusual. , take it that he(s under bond)' '5h yes,' she said, 'he(s under bond. As far as that(s concerned, the trust fund is perfectly safe. &y uncle is eticulously careful - too careful. That is, he(s too ethodical in everything he does.' '7oes he have oney of his own)' asked the lawyer. '8ots of it,' she said. '-ell,' said &ason, with just a trace of i patience, 'what do you want e to do)' ', want you,' she said, 'to fi# it so , can get arried.' He stared at her for several seconds in silent, editative appraisal. 'Have you got a copy of the will or of the decree of distribution)' he asked at length. She shook her head. '7o , need one)' she asked. The lawyer nodded. ', can(t very well give you an interpretation of a legal docu ent until ,(ve seen the docu ent.' '0ut , told you e#actly what it said.' '"ou gave e your version of what it said. There ay be a great deal of difference.' She spoke swiftly, i patiently. ', understand that conditions in a will which prevent a person fro arrying can be set aside.' 'That(s not correct,' he told her. '9enerally speaking, a condition by which a party is prevented fro arrying is considered against public policy and void. 0ut that(s subject to certain +ualifications, particularly in the case of crusts of the type which are known as (spendthrift( trusts. Apparently the trust which was created under your father(s will was one of this nature. '&oreover, you note that there is no restriction upon arriage after you have reached the age of twenty-five. As a atter of fact, your uncle see s to be given a wide discretion in the atter, and the provisions of the will as you have given the to e, erely indicate the circu stances under which he is to e#ercise his discretion.' She see ed suddenly to have lost her protective poise. Her voice rose, '-ell, ,(ve heard a lot about you,' she said. 'They say that so e lawyers tell people what they can do and what they can(t do, but that you always fi# things so a person can do what he wants to.' &ason s iled, the s ile of wisdo garnered fro bitter e#perience, of knowledge a assed fro the confidences of thousands of clients. :

'%erhaps,' he said, 'that(s partially true. A an can nearly always think his way out of any situation in which he finds hi self. ,t(s erely a paraphrase of the old saying that where there(s a will there(s a way.' '-ell,' she told hi , 'there(s a will in this case. , want the way.' '-ho do you want to arry)' he asked abruptly. The eyes did not waver, but stared steadily at hi in dark appraisal. '6ob 9leason,' she said. '7oes your uncle know hi )' '"es.' '7oes he approve of hi )' '1o.' '"ou love hi )' '"es. 'He knows of this provision in the will)' Her eyes lowered. ', think perhaps he does now. 0ut he didn(t,' she said. '-hat do you ean he didn(t)' asked the lawyer. There could be no +uestion now that the eyes were avoiding his. '!ust an e#pression,' she said, ', didn(t ean anything by it.' %erry &ason studied her intently for a few inutes. 'And , take it you want to arry hi very uch.' She looked at hi then, and said in a voice that was vibrant with feeling; '&r. &ason, don(t ake any istake about it. , a going to arry 6ob 9leason. "ou can take that as being final. "ou have got to find so e way by which , can do it. That(s all< ,( leaving that end of it up to you. ,( putting yself in your hands. , a going to get arried.' He started to say so ething, then paused to study her carefully before he spoke. '-ell,' he said, 'you see to know pretty uch what you want.' ', do,' she flared. 'Suppose then, you co e back at this ti e to- orrow orning. ,n the eanti e , will have looked up the court records.' She shook her head. 'To- orrow orning,' she protested, 'is too long. .an(t you do it this afternoon)' %erry &ason(s patient eyes dwelt steadily on her face. '%erhaps,' he said. '-ill four o(clock suit you)' She nodded. '2ery well,' he told her, getting to his feet. '.o e back then. "ou can leave your na e and address with y secretary in the outer office.' ',(ve already done that,' she told hi , arising fro the chair and s oothing the line of her skirt. ',(ll be back at four.' She didn(t look back as she walked across the office, opened the door and swept out into the outer roo . %erry &ason sat at his desk, narrowing his eyes in thoughtful appraisal, as he watched the door through which the young wo an had gone. After a o ent he e#tended a sturdy forefinger, and jabbed a button on the side of his desk. A young an with unruly hair, and a face that see ed pathetically eager, popped his head through the doorway leading fro a law library, then entered the roo . '*rank,' said %erry &ason, 'go up to the court house and find the papers in the .elane Estate. A *rances .elane was given property a ounting to ore than a illion dollars in trust. The na e of the trustee is Edward 1orton. .heck the decree of distribution, and also the will. &ake copies of the trust provisions, then get back here as soon as you can.' The boy blinked his eyes swiftly, twice. '.elane)' he asked. '"es,' said &ason. '.arl .elane.' 'And 1orton)' '"es, Edward 1orton,' said &ason. 'Thank you,' said the boy. He turned abruptly, crossed the office with nervous, self-conscious haste, as though painfully aware of the ga/e of %erry &ason, and plunged into the outer office. %erry &ason rang for his secretary. 7ella Street, his secretary, was about twenty-seven years old. Her anner radiated assurance and efficiency. She pushed open the door fro the outer office. '"ou rang)' she asked. '"es,' he told her, 'co e in.' She stepped into the office and closed the door gently behind her. '8et(s check our i pressions,' he said, 'about that girl.' 'How do you ean)' she asked. He stared at her oodily. ', think,' he said, 'that , put the words in your outh. "ou said she looked trapped or sulky. 1ow , a wondering which it was.' '7oes it ake a lot of difference)' asked 7ella Street. ', think it does,' he told her. ',n your i pressions you are usually right and you had a chance to see her when she wasn(t posing. She started to pose as soon as she ca e into y office.' =

'"es,' said 7ella Street, 'she(s the type that would be good at posing.' 'She sat down in the chair,' he told her, 'and figured just how to hold her head, just how to cross her knees and arrange her skirt, just what kind of an e#pression to put on her face.' '7id she tell you the truth)' asked 7ella Street. '1one of the tell the truth the first ti e,' he told her, 'at least the wo en don(t. That(s why , want to know just what kind of an i pression she ade on you. 7id she look trapped, or did she look sulky)' 7ella Street spoke thoughtfully, as though weighing her words carefully. 'She looked both trapped and sulky,' she said, 'as though she got caught in so e kind of a trap and had turned sulky.' 'Are you sure,' he asked, 'that it wasn(t panic)' 'How do you ean)' she wanted to know. '8ots of people,' he said, 'try to put on a poker face when they are in a panic and when they try to put on a poker face they look sulky.' 'And you think she was in a panic)' asked 7ella Street. '"es,' he said, slowly. ', think she was in a panic. , think she(s a self-willed little devil who nearly always gets her own way and who has an ungovernable te per. , think she(s caught in so e sort of a trap and is trying to get out. -hen we know her better we(ll find out ore about her te per.' 'A hell-cat)' asked 7ella Street. He twisted his lips in a s ile. '8et(s call her a hell-kitten,' he said. CHAPTER TWO 7E88A ST6EET pushed open the door of %erry &ason(s private office. There was so ething al ost surreptitious in her de eanor as she slipped through the door and carefully closed it behind her. %erry &ason was seated at his desk. His eyes s+uinted carefully. '-hy the secrecy)' he asked. She advanced a step or two into the roo and looked at hi , then turned to glance at the door and ade certain that it was closed. 'There(s a an in the outer office who gives his na e as 6obert 9leason.' '-hat does he want)' asked %erry &ason. 'He wants infor ation about &iss .elane.' 'The one who has just been here)' '"es.' '"ou didn(t tell hi she had just been here)' '.ertainly not.' '-hat did he say)' 'He said that he wanted to see you. , asked hi what the nature of his business was and he said it was about a client of yours. , told hi that he would have to give e the na e of the client and tell e so ething of the nature of the business. He said that it was about &iss .elane and he was very an#ious to see you about her.' 'All right,' &ason said, 'what did you tell hi )' ', told hi that , wasn(t fa iliar with the na es of your clients$ that he would have to be ore specific concerning his business. He(s frightfully e#cited.' '-hat(s he e#cited about)' asked &ason. 'The girl, his business, or what)' ', don(t know. He(s e#cited and nervous.' &ason s+uared his shoulders as though reaching a sudden decision. 'Send hi in,' he said, ', want to talk with hi .' She nodded and turned, holding the door open. '"ou ay co e in,' she said. There was the rustle of otion. A an ca e into the roo who radiated restlessness. He was a thin an with a very pointed nose and large ears. He walked with nervous jerky steps. He was in the late twenties or early thirties. '"ou(re &ason, the lawyer)' he asked, his voice +uick with i patience. %erry &ason surveyed hi with patient eyes peering out fro under heavy eyebrows. 'Sit down,' he said. His visitor hesitated, then sat down on the edge of one of the straight-backed chairs. '1ow, what did you want)' asked %erry &ason. ', want to find out whether *rances .elane called on you to-day.' %erry &ason(s face was patiently appraising. 'This is a law office and not an infor ation bureau, &r. 9leason,' he said. 9leason ju ped nervously to his feet, ade three swift strides to the window, stood against the light for a o ent, then whirled to stare at the lawyer. His eyes were dark and s ouldering. He see ed to be fighting so e overpowering e otion. '1ever ind the wisecracks,' he said. ',(ve got to know whether or not *ran .elane was here talking with you.' %erry &ason(s voice did not change its e#pression in the least. The other an(s i patience dropped fro his cal anner as easily as butter slips fro a hot knife. >

'8et(s not have any isunderstanding about this,' said %erry &ason. '"ou(re talking about a &iss *rances .elane)' '"es.' '7o you know &iss .elane personally)' '5f course , do.' %erry &ason ade a frank, disar ing gesture with his right hand as though the entire atter were dis issed as of no i portance. 'That si plifies it,' he said. '-hat does)' asked 9leason, suspiciously. 'The fact that you know &iss .elane,' said %erry &ason. '4nder the circu stances, all you have to do is to ask her if she has consulted e. ,f she has not, there will be no necessity for you to return. ,f she has and doesn(t want you to know it, she will doubtless find so e way of concealing the fact. ,f she has consulted e and doesn(t care if you know the fact, she will tell you.' He got to his feet and s iled at his visitor as though the interview were ter inated. 6obert 9leason re ained standing by the window. His face showed that he was laboring under a great strain. '"ou can(t talk that way to e,' he said. '0ut,' e#plained &ason, patiently, ', have already talked that way to you.' '0ut you can(t do it.' '-hy not)' ',t would be all right to talk that way to a stranger,' he said, 'but ,( not a stranger. ,( close to *ran .elane. ,(ve got a right to know. She(s being black ailed, and , want to know what you propose to do about it.' %erry &ason raised his eyebrows in polite interrogation. '-ho is being black ailed)' he asked. 'And by who )' 9leason ade an i patient gesture. '-hat(s the use of all that hooey)' he asked. ', know she was here, and you know she was here. "ou know she(s being black ailed, and , want to know what you propose to do about it.' ', think,' said &ason, 'that under the circu stances ,( going to ask you to step out of the office. "ou see, when , asked you to co e in, , thought that you had so e atter of legal business to take up with e. As it happens, , a rather busy today, and , really haven(t ti e to discuss with you the only atter which see s to interest you.' 9leason kept his position. 'At least,' he said, 'you can tell e who is doing the black ailing. That(s all , want to know. ,f you(ll give e that infor ation ,(ll arrange to take care of it yself.' The lawyer walked to the door, standing there very efficient and gravely dignified. '9ood-by, &r. 9leason,' he said. ',( sorry that , can be of no assistance to you.' 'That(s final)' asked 9leason, his lips twisting with e otion, until he see ed to be snarling. 'That(s all,' said %erry &ason, in a tone of finality. '2ery well,' said 9leason, and strode across the roo and through the door without another word. %erry &ason closed the door gently, hooked his thu bs in the ar holes of his vest, dropped his head forward and started pacing the floor. After a few o ents, he went to his desk, and took out the typewritten paper containing the copy of the clause in the will of .arl .elane, setting forth the ter s of the trust to *rances .elane. He was still studying this typewritten docu ent when 7ella Street opened the door once ore. '&iss .elane,' she said. &ason looked at her speculatively for a o ent, then beckoned to her. She interpreted the gesture, and stepped fully into the roo , pulling the door closed behind her. '7id 9leason go out of the office as soon as he left here)' he asked. '"es,' she said, 'in just about nothing flat. He acted as though he was trying to win a walking race.' 'And &iss .elane just ca e in)' '"es.' '"ou don(t think they et in the elevator)' 7ella Street pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'They ight have, .hief,' she said, 'but , don(t think they did.' 'How does &iss .elane see )' he asked. 'E#cited)' '1o,' she said, 'cool as a cucu ber, and she(s trying to look her best when she co es in. She took out her co pact and is aking her face all pretty. She(s got her hair arranged just so.' 'All right,' said &ason, 'send her in.' The secretary opened the door. '.o e in, &iss .elane,' she said. As *rances .elane walked into the roo , the secretary slipped out through the door, and noiselessly closed it behind her. 'Sit down,' said %erry &ason. *rances .elane walked over to the sa e leather chair which she had occupied earlier in the day, sat down, crossed her knees and regarded the attorney fro li pid black eyes in wordless interrogation. 'A 6obert 9leason called on e a few inutes ago,' said &ason, 'and insisted on y telling hi whether or not you had been here.' '0ob(s so i pulsive,' she said. '"ou know hi then)' '"es, of course.' ?

'7id you tell hi you were going here)' he asked. ', entioned your na e to hi ,' she said. '7id you tell hi that , had been here)' '.ertainly not. , told hi to get in touch with you if he wanted to ask any +uestions about your affairs.' She s iled faintly. '0ob 9leason wouldn(t appreciate your talking to hi like that,' she said. 'He didn(t,' &ason told her. ',(ll see hi ,' she said, 'and tell hi .' '9leason,' went on the attorney, 'said that you were being black ailed.' *or just a fraction of a second there was a look of startled terror in the eyes of the young wo an. Then she regarded the attorney with a placid and i passive face. '6ob is so i pulsive,' she said, for the second ti e. &ason waited for her to tell hi ore if she wished to take advantage of the opportunity, but she sat cal ly placid, waiting. &ason turned to the papers on his desk. ', have copies of the trust provisions of the will, and the decree of distribution,' he said. ', also find that there have been annual accounts sub itted by the trustee. ,( afraid that , can(t give you very uch hope, &iss .elane, as far as the decree of distribution itself is concerned. The ad inistration of the trust see s to be largely discretionary. '"ou see, even if , should be able to get the provision in regard to arriage set aside, as being in violation of public policy, we would still be confronted with the fact that the distribution of the trust estate re ains largely in the discretion of the trustee. , a afraid that your uncle would consider our attack upon the will in the light of an interference with the wishes of your father, and with his authority as trustee. Even if we should win our point in court, he would have it in his discretion to nullify our victory.' She took the blow without flinching, and said, after a o ent; 'That(s what , was afraid of.' 'There is another peculiar provision in the trust,' said &ason, 'to the effect that the discretion vested in the trustee is a personal discretion, due to the confidence which your father had in his judg ent. The will and decree of distribution provide that in the event the trust should ter inate because of the death, inability or refusal on the part of the trustee to continue to act, that then and in such event, the entire trust fund is to be vested in you unconditionally.' '"es,' she said, ', know that.' 'There is therefore,' said &ason, 'so e possibility that your uncle ight be placed in a position where he could no longer act to advantage. ,n other words, we ight ake so e legal attack upon his capacity to act as trustee - perhaps show a co ingling of trust funds with his own accounts, or so ething of that sort. ,t(s rather sketchy, and ,( entioning it to you si ply because it see s to be the only possible plan of ca paign open to us.' She s iled at hi and said; '"ou don(t know y uncle.' '!ust what do you ean by that)' asked &ason. ', ean,' she said, 'that y uncle is eticulously careful, and is so obstinate that no power on earth can swerve hi fro anything he wants to do, or decides that he doesn(t want to do. He is entirely self-sufficient.' *or the first ti e during the interview, there was so e feeling in her voice - a certain bitterness which colored her tone, though her eyes re ained cal . 'Have you any suggestions)' asked &ason, watching her closely. '"es,' she said, ', think that so ething ight be done through Arthur .rinston.' 'And who,' asked %erry &ason, 'is Arthur .rinston)' 'Arthur .rinston,' she said, 'is y uncle(s partner. They are engaged in business together, buying, selling and ortgaging real estate, and buying and selling stocks and bonds. Arthur .rinston has ore influence with uncle than any other living person.' 'And how does he feel toward you)' asked &ason. '2ery kindly,' she said, and s iled as she said it. '-ould there be any chance,' asked &ason, slowly, 'that .rinston could persuade your uncle to give up the ad inistration of the trust and let you have the entire trust fund)' 'There(s always a chance of anything,' she said, abruptly, getting to her feet. ',( going to have &r. .rinston co e in and see you.' 'So eti e to- orrow)' asked &ason. 'So eti e this afternoon,' she said. He regarded his watch. ',t(s twenty inutes past four. , close the office at five. 5f course , could wait a few inutes.' 'He(ll be here at +uarter of five,' she said. '7o you want to telephone fro here)' he asked. '1o, it won(t be necessary.' '-hat,' asked %erry &ason, snapping the +uestion at her without warning, as she stood in the doorway of the office, 'did 6ob 9leason ean when he said that you were being black ailed)' She regarded hi with wide, tran+uil eyes. ',( sure,' she said, ', haven(t the faintest idea,' - and closed the door. CHAPTER THREE

A6TH46 .6,1ST51 was forty-five, broad-shouldered, and affable. He strode across &ason(s private office, with his hand outstretched, and said in a boo ing voice of ready cordiality; '&ighty glad to eet you, &r. &ason. *ran told e that , ust co e in right away, so , dropped everything to run up.' %erry &ason shook hands and surveyed .rinston with his steady, appraising stare. 'Sit down,' he said. Arthur .rinston dropped into the sa e black leather chair which *rances .elane had occupied, fished a cigar fro his pocket, scraped a atch across the sole of his shoe, lit the cigar and grinned through the s oke at the lawyer. '-ants to get arried pretty badly, doesn(t she)' he said. '"ou know about that)' asked %erry &ason. 'Sure,' said .rinston heartily, ', know everything about *ran. ,n fact, she(s nearer being y niece than Edward(s niece. That is, we get along together and understand each other.' '7o you think,' asked &ason, 'that anything could be done by a talk with Edward 1orton)' 'Talk by who )' asked .rinston. '0y you,' &ason suggested. .rinston shook his head. '0y &iss .elane then)' ventured &ason. Again .rinston shook his head. '1o,' he said, 'there(s only one person who could talk with 1orton and do any good.' 'And who is that)' asked &ason. '"ou,' said .rinston e phatically. The lawyer(s face did not change e#pression, only his eyes betrayed surprise. '*ro all , can hear of &r. 1orton(s character,' he said, ', would think y interference would be e#actly the thing that he would resent.' '1o it wouldn(t,' said .rinston. 'Edward 1orton is a peculiar chap. He doesn(t want any senti ent to influence his business judg ent. He(s perfectly cold-blooded. He(d be far ore apt to listen to you aking hi a purely business and legal proposition, than to either *ran or yself, who would have to talk with hi on the around of senti ent.' '"ou(ll pardon e,' said %erry &ason, 'but that hardly see s logical.' ',t doesn(t ake any difference how it see s,' said .rinston, grinning, 'and , don(t know as it akes any difference whether it(s logical or not. ,t(s a fact. ,t(s just the character of the an. "ou(d have to see 1orton and talk with hi in order to appreciate it.' 7ella Street opened the door fro the outer office. 'The young lady who was here this afternoon is on the telephone and would like to speak with you,' she said. &ason nodded and picked up the *rench telephone on his desk. 'Hello,' he said. He heard &iss .elane(s voice speaking rapidly. '7id &r. .rinston co e there)' '"es. He(s here now.' '-hat does he say)' 'He suggests that , should interview your uncle. '-ell, will you please do so then)' '"ou think , should)' ',f Arthur .rinston thinks so, yes.' '2ery well. So eti e to- orrow)' '1o. %lease do it to-night.' &ason frowned. '5n a atter of this i portance,' he said, ',(d prefer to take so e ti e to figure out the best ethod of approach.' '5h that(s all right,' said the girl. 'Arthur .rinston will tell you just what to say. ,(ll ake an appoint ent with y uncle for eight-thirty this evening. ,(ll pick you up at your office and drive you out there. ,(ll eet you at eight o(clock. -ill that be all right)' 'Hold the line a o ent please,' &ason said, and turned to Arthur .rinston. '&iss .elane is on the line and thinks , should see her uncle this evening. She says she(ll ake an appoint ent.' 'That(s fine,' boo ed .rinston, 'a splendid idea. , don(t know of anything that could be better.' &ason said into the receiver; '2ery well, &iss .elane, ,(ll eet you at y office at eight o(clock, and you can drive e out.' He hung up the telephone and stared thoughtfully at .rinston. 'There(s so ething strange about this affair,' he co ented. 'There see s to be a frantic haste on the part of everyone concerned.' Arthur .rinston laughed. '"ou don(t know *ran .elane very well,' he said. 'She see s to be a very cal and very poised young lady,' &ason re arked tonelessly. .rinston took the cigar out of his outh to laugh e#plosively. '"ou should be enough of a judge of hu an nature, &ason,' he boo ed, 'to know that you can(t tell a da ned thing about these odern young ladies fro the way they appear. 7on(t ever let her get her te per up. -hen she gets ad she(s a hell-cat.' &ason regarded his visitor uns ilingly. ',ndeed,' he said, in that sa e toneless voice. A

', didn(t ean any offense,' .rinston said, 'but you certainly have issed it on *ran .elane. That girl is just plain dyna ite. '1ow, ,(ll tell you what ,(ll do. ,f you(re going to see 1orton to-night, ,(ll run out a little bit in advance of your appoint ent, and try and soften hi up a trifle. He(s a peculiar chap. "ou(ll understand when you see hi . He(s all coldblooded business efficiency.' '-ill &iss .elane have any difficulty aking an appoint ent for this evening)' asked &ason, watching .rinston shrewdly. '5h no,' said .rinston, 'he(s one of these fellows who likes to work nights. He has a regular office fi#ed up in the house, and he likes to do a lot of night work. He akes ost of his appoint ents for afternoons and evenings.' He pulled hi self to his feet, strode across to the attorney, and e#tended his hand. '&ighty glad , et you,' he said, 'and ,(ll see if , can soften up Edward 1orton a bit before you talk to hi .' 'Have you any suggestions,' asked &ason, 'as to the line of argu ent , should use with hi )' '1one at all,' said .rinston, 'e#cept that , would advise you not to ake any particular plan of approach. "ou(ll find that Edward 1orton is very uch of a law unto hi self.' -hen .rinston had left, &ason paced back and forth for a few o ents, then opened the door of his office, and stepped out into the outer roo . His private office was in the corner of a suite of offices which included two reception roo s, a law library, a stenographic roo , and two private offices. %erry &ason e ployed a typist, 7ella Street, co bination stenographer and secretary, and *rank Everly, a young lawyer who was getting practical e#perience in &ason(s office. %erry &ason strode across the office to the law library, opened the door and nodded to *rank Everly. '*rank,' he said, ', want you to do so ething for e, and do it +uickly.' Everly pushed back a calf-skin book which he had been reading, and got to his feet. '"es sir,' he said. ', think,' said %erry &ason, 'that a certain 6obert 9leason has arried a certain *rances .elane. , don(t know just when the arriage took place, but probably it was several weeks ago. They(ve tried to cover it up. "ou(ve got to chase through the licenses to find what you want. 6ing up so e clerk in the license bureau, arrange to have hi wait over after hours. They(ll be closing in a few inutes, and you(ve got to work +uickly.' '"es, .hief,' said Everly, 'when , get the infor ation where do , reach you)' '-hen you get the infor ation,' said &ason, 'write out whatever you find, seal it in an envelope, ark it personal and confidential, and put it under the blotter on the desk in y private office.' '5kay, .hief,' said Everly, and started for the telephone. &ason walked back to his private office, hooked his thu bs through the ar holes of his vest, and started slowly and rhyth ically pacing the floor. CHAPTER FOUR *6A1 .E8A1E drove the big %ackard roadster with a deft touch on the wheel, and skilled foot on the throttle. -hen she had sat in the huge leather chair at the lawyer(s office, she had see ed s all, frail and helpless. 1ow that suggestion of helplessness had gone fro her. The hint of the feline power in her nature was ore pronounced. Her handling of the car was swiftly savage as she sent it hurtling through openings in traffic, co ing to abrupt stops when the traffic lights were against her, leaping into al ost instant speed as she got clear signals. Her face still held a pouting, sulky e#pression. Seated at her side, %erry &ason studied her with eyes that were intent in watchful speculation. The girl topped a hill, turned to a winding driveway in a scenic subdivision, and nodded her head in a gesture of indication. 'There(s the place,' she said, 'down at the foot of the hill.' &ason looked down the winding road to the big house which showed as a bla/e of light. '6egular ansion,' he said. '"es,' she answered curtly. '&any servants)' he asked. 'Buite a few$ gardener, housekeeper, butler, chauffeur, and secretary.' '-ould you call the secretary a servant)' asked &ason, watching her profile with ild a use ent. ', would,' she snapped. 'Evidently you don(t like hi ,' &ason re arked. She paid no attention to the co ent, but swung the car around a curve at sufficient speed to bring a screa of protest fro the tires. ',ncidentally,' went on %erry &ason, 'if you(re feeling particularly savage about so ething, and want to take it out on the car, ,(d prefer you let e get out. , have to ove around in order to ake y living. , couldn(t gesture very e phatically to a jury with an ar in a sling.' She said; 'That(s all right. "ou ight have both legs gone,' and screa ed the car into the ne#t turn with an increased speed. &ason reached over and shut off the ignition. '-e won(t have any ore of that,' he said. She sla ed a foot on the brake, turned to hi with eyes that were bla/ing with wrath. C

'7on(t you dare to touch this car when ,( driving it<' she stor ed. '7o you hear e, don(t you dare<' %erry &ason(s tone was al ost casual. '7on(t try to show off to e,' he said, 'by risking both of our lives. ,t isn(t at all necessary.' ',( not showing off to you,' she bla/ed. ', don(t give a da n what you think. , don(t want to be late for our appoint ent. ,f we(re as uch as five inutes late, we(re all through. He won(t see us at all.' ', can do you a great deal ore good,' said &ason, 'if , get there in one piece.' She had braked the car fro high speed to a dead stop. 1ow she took her hands fro the wheel as she turned to the lawyer with bla/ing eyes. ',( driving this car,' she said, 'and , don(t want you to interfere with e<' Suddenly she s iled. '*orgive e,' she said i pulsively, ', was wrong and ,( acting like a spoiled child. , guess , was in a hurry, that(s all.' &ason re arked co placently; 'That(s all right, but you have got a te per, haven(t you)' '5f course , have,' she said. ', thought you knew that.' ', didn(t,' he said, 'until .rinston told e.' '7id he tell you)' '"es.' 'He shouldn(t have.' 'And y secretary,' he went on, cal ly, 'told e you were sulky. , thought at first she ight have been right. 0ut she wasn(t. "ou(re not sulky, you(re just in a panic, that(s all. "ou look sulky when you(re frightened.' She whirled to face hi with half parted lips and startled eyes. Then, wordlessly, she turned back to the road and started the car. Her lips were pressed into a thin line of deter ined silence. 1either of the said anything ore until she swept the car up the driveway and braked it to a swift stop. '-ell,' she said, 'let(s go get it over with.' &ason got out. '"ou don(t intend to be present at the interview)' he asked. She whipped the car door open and ju ped to the driveway with a flash of legs, a flounce of skirt. '!ust long enough to introduce you,' she said. '.o e on. 8et(s go.' He followed her to the front door, which she opened with a latchkey. '6ight up the stairs,' she said. They walked up the stairs and turned to the left. A an was just co ing out of a doorway, and he paused to stare at the . He held a stiff-backed stenographic notebook in his hand, and so e papers under his ar . '&r. 9raves,' said *rances .elane, ' y uncle(s secretary. 7on, this is &r. %erry &ason, the lawyer.' &ason bowed and noticed as he did so, that 7on 9raves stared at hi with a curiosity which he ade no atte pt to conceal. The secretary was slender, well dressed, yellow haired and brown eyed. There was about hi a certain alertness, as though he were just about to break into conversation, or just about to start running. 0oth his physical pose and his anner indicated physical and ental tension. The secretary said, with a rapidity of utterance which ade the words see to tread each on the heel of the other; ',( very pleased to eet you. &r. 1orton is e#pecting you. ,f you(ll go in, he(ll receive you.' %erry &ason said nothing. His bow sufficed for an acknowledg ent of the introduction. The girl pushed on past the secretary. The lawyer followed her. *ran .elane led the way across an outer office which contained a stenographer(s desk, a safe, a battery of filing cases, two telephone instru ents, typewriters, an adding achine, a file of card inde#es. She pushed open the door of an inner office without knocking and %erry &ason found hi self facing a tall an of fiftyfive, who stared at the with a bland, e#pressionless countenance. '"ou are late,' he said. '1ot over a inute, 4ncle Edward,' said the girl. 'A inute,' he said, 'is si#ty seconds.' She ade no answer, but turned to the lawyer. 'This is y attorney, %erry &ason, 4ncle Edward,' she said. The an said in those precise, e#pressionless tones; ', a very glad that you have consulted counsel. , think now it will be easier for e to e#plain certain things to you. "ou never would accept y word for the . &r. &ason, , a very glad to eet you and very glad that you have called upon e.' He e#tended his hand. %erry &ason nodded his head, shook hands, and sat down. '-ell,' *ran .elane said, ',(ll be running along and leave y future in your hands.' She s iled at the and left the roo . As she closed the door of the private office, &ason heard her voice rattling in swift conversation with 7on 9raves, the secretary. Edward 1orton did not waste a single second in idle talk. '4ndoubtedly you have looked up the ter s of the decree of distribution and the trust,' he said. ', have,' &ason told hi . '"ou are fa iliar with the )' ', a .' 'Then, you understand, a great deal is left to y discretion.' ', would say a very great deal,' said &ason cautiously. D

'And , take it y niece has asked you to secure so e specific odification of the provisions of the trust)' '1ot necessarily,' said &ason, choosing his words cautiously. 'She would like, , think to have a certain a ount of latitude, and would like to know your possible reactions in the event she should do certain things.' ',n the event she should arry, eh)' said 1orton. '-ell, we ight consider that as one of the possibilities,' &ason ad itted. '"es,' said 1orton dryly, 'we do so consider it. Her father considered it, and , consider it. "ou probably don(t reali/e it yet, &r. &ason, but y niece has one of the ost ungovernable te pers in the world. She is a veritable tigress when she is aroused. She is also i pulsive, headstrong, selfish, and yet thoroughly lovable. 'Her father reali/ed that she had to be protected fro herself. He also reali/ed that leaving her any large su of oney ight turn out to be the worst thing he could do for her. He knew that , shared his views, and that was the reason this trust was created. ', want you to understand that in the event , e#ercise the discretion given to e under that trust, and disburse the oney elsewhere than to y niece, , shall do it only because , consider it would be very uch to her disadvantage to give her the oney. 9reat riches, with a te pera ent such as hers, fre+uently lead to great suffering.' '7on(t you think,' said &ason diplo atically, 'that it would be uch better, however, all around, to accusto her to the handling of larger su s of oney by gradually increasing the a ount which she receives) And don(t you think, perhaps, that arriage ight e#ert a steadying influence)' ', a fa iliar with all those argu ents,' said 1orton. ', have heard the until , a tired of the . "ou will pardon e. , ean nothing personal. , say si ply what , have in ind. ', a the trustee of this estate. , have ad inistered it wisely. ,n fact, despite the econo ic readjust ent of values which has taken place in the last few years, , a glad to report that the trust funds have shown a steady increase, until now the a ount of the trust is far in e#cess of what it was at the ti e it was created. 6ecently , have entirely cut off y niece(s allowance. She is not receiving a penny.' &ason(s face showed surprise. ', see,' said 1orton, 'that she has not confided to you the e#act situation.' ', didn(t know that you had cut off her inco e entirely,' said &ason. '&ay , ask what is the reason for such a step)' '.ertainly,' said 1orton, ', have every reason to believe that y niece is being black ailed. , have asked her about it, and she refuses to tell e who is black ailing her, or what specific indiscretion she has co itted which gives a black ailer an opportunity to collect oney fro her. 'Therefore , have deter ined to place it out of her power to ake any cash donations to any black ailer. 4nder those circu stances, , a satisfied that another few days will force the situation to a head.' 1orton stared at &ason with cold eyes which contained no trace of cordiality, yet no trace of hostility. '"ou understand y position in the atter)' asked &ason. '.ertainly,' said 1orton. ',( glad that y niece has consulted an attorney. , don(t know if she has ade arrange ents for your co pensation. ,n the event she has not, , propose to see that a sufficient a ount is forthco ing fro the trust fund to furnish you a reasonable fee. 0ut , want you to i press upon her ind that she is legally powerless to do anything.' '1o,' said %erry &ason, ',(ll take y fee fro her and ,( not binding yself to give any particular advice. 8et(s talk about the way you(re going to use your discretion, instead of whether you(ve got the right to use it.' '1o,' said 1orton, 'that is one atter which is not open to discussion.' '-ell,' &ason re arked, s iling affably and keeping his te per, 'that is pri arily what , ca e here to discuss.' '1o,' Edward 1orton said coldly, 'that phase of the discussion is entirely out of order. "ou will confine yourself to a discussion of the legal rights of your client under the trust.' &ason(s eyes were cold and appraising. ',(ve always found,' he said, 'that a legal atter has a lot of angles. ,f you(ll just look at this thing fro the hu an viewpoint and consider...' ', will allow you to be heard,' 1orton interrupted, in cold, level tones, 'upon no atter other than the +uestion of the legality of the trust and the interpretation thereof.' &ason pushed back his chair, and got to his feet. His voice was as cold as that of the other. ',( not accusto ed to having people tell e what , will talk about and what , won(t talk about. ,( here representing the rights of *rances .elane, your niece, and y client. ,(ll say anything , da ned please concerning those rights<' Edward 1orton reached out to a button and pressed it with his bony forefinger. The gesture was utterly devoid of e otion. ', a ringing,' he said, 'for the butler$ who wild show you to the door. So far as , a concerned, the discussion is ter inated.' %erry &ason planted his feet wide apart, standing spread-legged, he said; '"ou(d better ring for two butlers, and the secretary too. ,t(ll take all of the to put e out of here before , say what ,(ve got to say< '"ou(re aking a istake, treating this niece of yours as though she were a chattel or a lu p of clay. She(s a highspirited, high-strung girl. , don(t know where you get the idea that she(s being black ailed, but if you have any such idea...' The door of the private office opened, and a broad-shouldered, burly an, with a wooden face, bowed fro the hips. '"ou rang sir)' he asked. '"es,' said Edward 1orton, 'show this gentle an out.' The butler put a fir hand on %erry &ason(s ar . The lawyer shook hi off, savagely, continued to face 1orton.

3E

'1obody,' he said, 'is going to show e out, or is going to throw e out until , have had an opportunity to say what , want to say. ,f that girl is being black ailed, you(d better act like a hu an being instead of a cash register, and give her a break...' There was a rustle of otion, and *rances .elane rushed into the roo . She looked at &ason with black eyes, which gave the effect of being e#pressionless, with a face that see ed pouting. '"ou(ve done all you can do, &r. &ason,' she said. &ason continued to glower at the an behind the desk. '"ou(re ore than a treasurer,' he said, 'or should be. She should be able to look to you for...' The girl tugged at his ar . '%lease, &r. &ason,' she said, 'please. , know you(re trying to do e a favor, but it(s going to have just the opposite effect. %lease don(t.' &ason took a deep breath, turned, and stalked rigidly fro the roo . The butler sla ed the door shut behind hi . &ason turned to *rances .elane and said; '5f all the obstinate, cold-blooded, unsy pathetic icebergs , have ever et, that an is the worst<' She looked up at hi and laughed. ', knew,' she said, 'that if , tried to e#plain to you how utterly obstinate y uncle was, you would never believe e. So , welco ed the opportunity to let you find out firsthand. 1ow you understand the necessity for taking legal steps.' 'All right,' said &ason, gri ly, 'we(ll take the .' CHAPTER FIVE %E66" &AS51 let hi self into the office with his key, walked to his desk and picked up the blotter. There was an envelope under it, arked '.onfidential.' He ripped it open and saw a notation in *rank Everly(s handwriting; 650E6T 98EAS51 A17 *6A1.ES .E8A1E T55F 54T A &A66,A9E 8,.E1SE 51 THE *546TH 5* 8AST &51TH. THE" -E6E &A66,E7 ,1 .852E67A8E 51 THE E,9HTH. The essage was signed with the initials of the law clerk. %erry &ason stared at it for several inutes, then hooked his thu bs in his vest and started pacing the floor of the office. After a while he swung into the law library, took down a volu e of '.yc' dealing with wills, started reading. He interrupted his reading to go to the book case and get a volu e of the %acific 6eporter. He read the reported cases for so e little ti e, then started taking other case books fro the shelves. He worked in cold, silent concentration, oving efficiently and tirelessly, his eyes hard and steady, his face without e#pression. So ewhere a clock struck idnight, but %erry &ason kept on working. The pile of law books on the table grew larger and larger. He prowled around through the library, pulling down various books, turning to cases, studying intently. 5nce in a while he ade a brief note. *re+uently he book- arked cases, and placed the to one side. About fifteen inutes past one o(clock in the orning the telephone rang. &ason frowned and paid no attention to it. The telephone continued to ring insistently, i peratively. &ason uttered an e#cla ation, turned to the telephone and picked up the receiver. 'Hello,' he said, 'you(ve got the wrong nu ber.' A voice said; ', beg your pardon, sir, but is this &r. &ason, the lawyer)' '"es,' said %erry &ason, irritably. '!ust a inute,' said the voice. &ason held the telephone, and heard a swift whisper, then the voice of *rances .elane; '&r. &ason)' '"es.' '"ou ust co e at once,' she said. '.o e where, and why)' he asked. '-hat(s the trouble)' '.o e out to the house,' she told hi . '&y uncle has just been urdered<' 'Has just what)' 'Has just been urdered<' she said. '7o they know who did it)' he asked. 'They think they do,' she said, in a low, al ost surreptitious voice. '.o e at once<' and the line went dead as the receiver slipped into place on the other end of the wire. %erry &ason left the office without pausing to switch out the lights. The night watch an brought up the elevator and &ason pushed his way into it as soon as the door was open. '0een working rather late, haven(t you)' said the watch an. &ason s iled echanically. '1o rest for the wicked,' he said. He left the elevator, crossed the lobby of the office building, ran diagonally across the street to a hotel where there was a ta#icab stand. He called the address of 1orton(s residence to the ta#i driver. 'Feep the throttle down to the floorboards,' he said. '5kay, buddy,' said the drivel, and sla ed the door. 33

&ason was sla ed back in the cushions, as the car lurched forward. His face was unchanging, though his eyes were s+uinted in thought. 1ever once did he glance at the scenery which whi//ed past. 5nly when the ta#i swung off to the driveway which sloped down the hill, did &ason lose his air of abstraction, and begin to take an interest in the surroundings. The big house was illu inated, every window was a bla/e of light. The grounds in front were also illu inated, and ore than a do/en auto obiles were parked in front of the place. &ason discharged the ta#icab, walked to the house, and saw the bulky for of Arthur .rinston silhouetted against the lights on the porch. .rinston ran down the three steps to the ce ent. '&ason,' he said, ',( glad you ca e. , want to see you before anybody else does.' He took the lawyer(s ar and led hi across the ce ent driveway, over a strip of lawn, and into the shadows of a hedge. '8isten,' he said, 'this is a serious business. -e don(t know yet e#actly how serious it is. , want you to pro ise e that you will stand by *ran. 1o atter what happens, see that she doesn(t get i#ed into this thing.' ',s she going to get i#ed in it)' asked &ason. '1ot if you stand by her.' '7o you ean she(s i plicated in any way)' &ason de anded. '1o, no, not at all,' .rinston hastened to assure hi 'but she(s a peculiar individual, and she(s got the devil(s own te per. She(s i#ed up in it so ehow, and , don(t know just how. Shortly before his death, Edward 1orton telephoned the police station and wanted his niece arrested, or that(s what the police clai .' 'Arrested)' e#clai ed &ason. '-ell, not e#actly that,' said .rinston, 'but he wanted her disciplined in so e way. , can(t just get the straight of it. "ou see, she had his 0uick sedan out driving it. According to the police, 1orton telephoned in that the sedan had been stolen and wanted the police to pick up the car and put the driver in jail. He said it didn(t ake any difference who was driving it.' 'Then that ust have been after , left here, and before 1orton(s death,' &ason said. .rinston shrugged his shoulders. 'According to the police,' he said, 'it was at eleven fifteen. %ersonally , think it(s all a lot of hooey. The police ust have ade a istake. 1orton had his faults, and there were plenty of the , but he loved his niece in his own peculiar fashion. , can(t believe he wanted her arrested.' '-ell,' said &ason, 'forget that. How about the urder) 7o they know who did it)' 'Apparently,' said .rinston, 'that(s all taken care of. %ete 7evoe, the chauffeur, got drunk and killed hi in order to get so e oney. He tried to ake it appear that burglars had broken in fro the outside, but he bungled the job.' 'How was 1orton killed)' asked &ason. '7evoe beat his head in with a club. ,t was a essy job. He hit hi a frightful lick.' '7id they find the club)' the lawyer asked. '"es,' said .rinston, 'that(s where 7evoe slipped up. He took the club and hid it in a closet in his roo . He didn(t think the police would search the place, because he tried to ake it appear burglars had broken in fro the outside. "ou see, the police discovered the cri e a lot sooner than anyone thought they would. ,t(s +uite a story, and ,(ll have to tell it to you when we(ve got ore ti e. 7on 9raves actually saw the cri e being co itted.' '9ive e a +uick outline,' said &ason. 'Spill it fast.' .rinston took a deep breath, then hurried into speech '"ou know 1orton is a night owl. He fre+uently keeps his office open until idnight. To-night he had an appoint ent with e, and , had an appoint ent with &unicipal !udge %urley. , was late getting things cleaned up with %urley, so , persuaded %urley to drive e out here in his car, and wait for e. , only had to see 1orton for a few inutes. ', ran in and had y conference with 1orton and then ca e out and started away with !udge %urley. !ust as we started to drive away, 1orton opened the window on the upper floor and called down to ask e if , would ind taking 7on 9raves with e. He was sending 9raves after so e i portant papers, and wanted hi to go with us to save ti e. "ou see, they were papers that , had agreed to get for 9raves - so e docu ents relating to so e of our partnership business. ', asked !udge %urley if he had any objections, and %urley said it would be all right. So , called up to 1orton to send 9raves down, but 9raves, anticipating it would be all right, by that ti e was at the door, and he ran right out and into the auto obile. '-e started up the road toward the boulevard. "ou know how it curves and twists around. There(s one place where you can look back and see into 1orton(s study. 9raves happened to be looking back. He let out a yell. He said he had seen the figure of a an standing in 1orton(s study$ that this an had a club, and had swung it down on 1orton(s head. '!udge %urley ran the car to a place where he could turn around. He thought 9raves ight have been istaken, but 9raves insisted he couldn(t have been istaken. ,t was so ething he(d seen plainly. He insisted he was right. So !udge %urley drove back to the house, going pretty rapidly. '-hen we got there, the three of us rushed into the house and up the stairs to the study. '1orton was lying across his desk with the top of his head s ashed in. His pockets were turned inside out. His wallet lay e pty on the floor. '-e notified the police right away. 'There was a window in the dining roo which had been ji ied open, and there were footprints outside in the loa . The prints were of very large feet, and the police think now that 7evoe probably put a large pair of shoes on over his other shoes, in order to leave those prints and fool the police. "ou(ll get the facts of the case when you go in.' %erry &ason stared thoughtfully into the half-darkness of the shadowed hedge. '-hy,' he asked, 'should 1orton have accused his niece of stealing an auto obile)' 3:

'%robably a isunderstanding,' said .rinston, ', don(t think 1orton had any idea his niece was the one who had the car. He just knew the car was issing, and telephoned the police. They were working on that when they were advised of the urder. So they(re aking in+uiries, figuring the car business ay have had so ething to do with it.' '7o they know that his niece had the car)' asked &ason. '"es. She(s ad itted having taken it out,' said .rinston. ',t see s strange 1orton would have wanted her arrested,' persisted &ason. '-ell, he did,' .rinston said, 'unless the police got the wrong na e, and that isn(t likely, because they got the right car nu bers. 0ut *ran is a peculiar girl. "ou can(t tell what she will do. *or heaven(s sake, talk with her, and don(t let her get i#ed up in this thing.' '"ou certainly don(t think that she has anything to do with the urder)' asked &ason. ', don(t know,' said .rinston, then hastily added; '1o, no, of course not, she couldn(t have. She(s got a te per and they had +uite a fight after you left. 0ut she wouldn(t have had the physical strength to strike such a blow anyway. And if she had had an acco plice... 5h well, there(s no use speculating about that anyway, because it(s all foolishness. 7evoe is the one that(s guilty all right. 0ut you know how a urder is. ,t(s going to bring out a lot of co plications. , want you to get in touch with *ran and keep her out of the co plications.' '2ery well,' said &ason, starting once ore for the house. '0ut either you think she(s i#ed up in it, or else you(re keeping so ething fro e.' .rinston grabbed &ason(s ar . 'As far as co pensation is concerned,' he said, 'there(s going to be a big difference now that 1orton is out of the way. The partnership that 1orton and , had has so e assets, and then there(s +uite a bit of oney in the trust fund which will go to the girl without any +uestion, as , understand it. ',(ve got confidence in you and , want you to step right in the saddle as attorney for everything. Act as attorney for the estate, as well as for the girl, and stand between her and too uch police +uestioning.' &ason stopped still and turned to face .rinston. '"ou ight just as well be frank with e,' he said. '"ou see to think that the girl can(t stand too uch +uestioning.' .rinston(s jaw snapped forward and his eyes et those of the attorney in a ga/e that was every bit as steady as the ga/e of the steely eyes which stared into his. '5f course, she won(t stand too uch +uestioning,' he snapped. 'Have , been talking to you all this ti e without giving you any idea at all of what ,( driving at)' '-hy,' asked &ason insistently, 'won(t she stand too uch +uestioning) 7o you think she(s i#ed up in the urder)' ',( just telling you,' said .rinston obstinately, 'that she won(t stand too uch +uestioning. She hasn(t got the te pera ent for it, in the first place, and she(s a spitfire when she loses her te per. ,t isn(t the urder, it(s the incidental things that ay co e out in connection with the investigation. 1ow you get to her and keep the police fro asking her +uestions.' &ason said; 'All right, , just didn(t want to isunderstand you, that(s all. , wanted to know if you felt there was danger of her getting into trouble.' '5f course there is<' .rinston snapped. '"ou ean about her private affairs)' asked &ason. ', ean about everything,' .rinston said. '.o e on. 8et(s get in the house.' An officer stood at the front porch and +uestioned &ason. 'He(s all right,' said .rinston. 'He(s y attorney, the attorney for the estate, and also the personal attorney for *rances .elane.' 'All right,' said the officer, 'you folks that live here can go in and out, but you understand that you(re not to touch anything, or interfere with the evidence at all.' '5f course,' said .rinston, and pushed on ahead of hi into the house. CHAPTER SIX *6A1.ES .E8A1E wore a short sport outfit, with a blue and gold sweater which set off to advantage the spun-gold effect of her silken hair. She sat in her bedroo on an overstuffed chair, with her knees crossed, her dark eyes staring at the face of her lawyer. There was that about her which indicated she was warily watchful. She see ed to be listening, waiting for so ething to happen. All about the the big house echoed with sounds$ creaked with a suggestion of packed occupancy. *eet were constantly pounding the boards of floors, hallways and stairs in an endless procession. 7oors ade noise as they opened and shut. The drone of voices sounded as a distant ru ble. %erry &ason stared down at *ran .elane. '9o ahead,' he said, 'and tell e e#actly what happened.' She spoke in a voice that was a low onotone, e#pressionless and thoughtful, as though she ight be reciting a part that had been learned by rote. ', don(t know very uch about it. , had a fight with 4ncle Edward after you left. He was i possible. He was trying to ake a chattel of e and break y spirit. , told hi that that wasn(t what father wanted, and that he was being false to his trust.' '-hat did you ean by being false to his trust)' asked &ason. ', eant that father had created that trust only because he wanted to see that the oney didn(t go to y head too uch, and ake e too wild. He didn(t intend that 4ncle Edward should grind e down so , beca e just an auto aton.' 3=

'All right,' said &ason. '7id anyone know of the +uarrel)' ', guess so,' she said dispiritedly. '7on 9raves knew about it. And , think so e of the other servants heard it. , got ad.' '-hat do you do when you get ad)' he asked. 'Everything,' she said. '7id you raise your voice)' he in+uired. 'As high as , could.' '7id you do anything unladylike) That is, did you curse)' She said, still in the sa e toneless voice; '5f course , cursed. , was angry, , tell you.' 'All right,' he said, 'then what happened)' 'Then,' she said, ', ca e downstairs and decided that , would run away and leave Edward 1orton and his oney and everything. , just wanted to get away.' 'That was when you took the car)' asked &ason. '1o,' she said, ',( co ing to that. , got things packed up as though , was going away, and then decided not to do it. , co enced to cool off a little bit. ,(ve got a bad te per, but after , get over it, , can reali/e when ,(ve ade a istake. So , knew that ,(d ake a istake if , ran away. 0ut , did want to get so e air. , didn(t want to go out and walk. , wanted to drive a car. , wanted to drive a car fast.' %erry &ason ade a dry co ent; '"es, , can understand how you could keep your ind off your troubles by driving fast.' '-ell,' she said, 'you have to do so ething to get your ind off your troubles.' 'All right,' he told her, 'go on. -hat happened)' '-ell,' she said, ', went to the garage. &y %ackard was in behind the 0uick and , was going to have to ove the 0uick anyway, so , oved the 0uick, and didn(t see any reason why , should go back for y %ackard.' 'The 0uick was your uncle(s achine)' he asked. '"es,' she said. 'He didn(t allow you to use it)' 'He(d never forbidden e to use it,' she said, 'but ,(ve never used it uch. He babies it along a lot, keeps records of the ileage and the oil and gas, and all of that, and has it greased every so any iles, and the oil changed every so often. , don(t bother with y %ackard that way. , run it until so ething gets to sounding funny, and then , have it repaired.' 'So you took the 0uick without your uncle(s consent)' '"es, if you want to put it that way.' 'And where did you drive it)' ', don(t know. , just drove it around, taking curves as fast as , could take the .' 'That was pretty fast)' he asked. '5f course that was pretty fast,' she told hi . 'How long were you gone)' ', don(t know. , ca e back to the house a little while before the police arrived here. , ust have returned ten or fifteen inutes after the urder.' 'And while you were gone your uncle discovered the loss of the car - that is, he discovered that the car was issing. ,s that right)' ', think that 7evoe ust have told hi ,' she said. 'How did 7evoe know)' ', don(t know. %erhaps he heard e drive away, and went out to the garage to see what car ,(d taken. , never did like 7evoe. He(s one of those big, cu berso e fellows who can(t think a thought of his own, but goes through life aking otions.' '1ever ind that,' he told her, 'what akes you think that 7evoe told your uncle)' ', don(t know,' she said. ',t was the ti e of uncle(s telephone call, , guess, and then , always had hi figured for a snitcher.' '-hat ti e was the telephone call)' '4ncle called the police to report the car theft at about a +uarter past eleven. , think the police records show that it was e#actly eleven fourteen.' '-hen did you leave with the car)' he asked. 'About ten forty-five, , think it was,' she said. 'Then you(d had the car for half an hour before your uncle reported the theft)' '"es, about that long, , guess.' 'And when did you return)' 'So ewhere around +uarter past twelve. , was out about an hour and a half.' '-hat ti e did the police arrive here)' 'About an hour and a half ago.' '1o, , ean how long before you returned the car.' 'Ten or fifteen inutes, , guess.' 'All right,' he said, 'what did your uncle tell the police)' 'All , know,' she said, 'is what they told e. 5ne of the detectives talked with e and asked e if , knew any reason why y uncle should have reported the car as stolen.' 'All right,' he said, 'what did your uncle tell the )' 3>

'-ell,' she said, 'according to what this detective told e, y uncle telephoned the police and said that it was Edward 1orton talking, and that he had a cri inal atter to report. Then there was a delay. , think he was cut off or so ething, and the police officer, , guess they call hi a desk sergeant, held the telephone for a inute until 4ncle Edward got another connection, and said that he wanted to report a cri e - the theft of an auto obile. And he described it, a 0uick sedan, @A?>ED=, with license nu ber ,:&,C=>.' '"ou see to re e ber those figures pretty well,' said &ason. '"es,' she said, 'they(re likely to be i portant.' '-hy)' he asked. ', don(t know,' she said. ', just feel that they ay be i portant.' '7id you tell the detective that you had the car)' he asked. '"es,' she said, ', told hi e#actly what happened. That , took the car out about +uarter to eleven, and brought it back about twelve fifteen, but that , hadn(t asked y uncle(s per ission.' 'The police see ed to take that e#planation all right)' he asked. '5h yes,' she said. 'They have discontinued working on that end of the case. At first they thought that perhaps the burglars ight have stolen the 0uick for a get-away.' 'They(ve about concluded now, , understand, that there weren(t any burglars,' said &ason. 'That(s right,' she said. &ason paced up and down the floor. Suddenly he whirled, and stared at the girl. '"ou(re not telling e the whole truth about this thing,' he said. She showed no resent ent whatever in her anner, but stared at hi with eyes that were coldly speculative. '-hat is there in y story that doesn(t hang together)' she asked, and her tone was i personally thoughtful. ',t isn(t that,' he said, 'it(s so ething in your anner. "ou haven(t told e the truth. "ou didn(t tell e the truth when you first ca e to y office.' '-hat do you ean by that)' she wanted to know. 'About wanting to get arried and all that,' he said. '-hy, what do you ean by that)' '"ou know what , ean. "ou had been arried already.' Every bit of color drained fro her face, and she stared at hi with eyes that were wide and round. '-ho told you that) Have you been talking with so e of the servants)' He countered her +uestion with another. '7o the servants know about it)' he asked. '1o,' she said. '-hy then did you think that , had been talking with the servants)' ', don(t know,' she said. '"ou were arried)' he asked her. 'That(s none of your business,' she said. '5f course it(s y business,' he told her. '"ou ca e to e with a proble . "ou can(t gain anything by lying to e, any ore than you could by lying to a doctor. "ou(ve got to tell your lawyer and your doctor the whole truth. "ou can trust e. , don(t betray co unications ade by y clients.' She pursed her lips and stared at hi . '-hat do you want e to tell you)' she asked. 'The truth.' '-ell, you know it, so what(s the use of y telling you)' '"ou are arried then)' '"es.' '-hy didn(t you tell e that before)' '0ecause we were keeping it secret.' 'All right,' said &ason, 'now so ebody knows that secret. There is so ebody black ailing you.' 'How do you know that)' she asked. '1ever ind that. Answer e.' She e#tended her right forefinger and started pushing it along the ar of the chair, s+uir ing it around every irregularity in the cloth. '4nder the will,' she said slowly, 'now that y uncle is dead, does it ake any difference if , a arried)' His eyes regarded her in cold, fi#ed appraisal. 'As , re e ber the provisions of the will,' he said, 'your uncle is given the option of turning the oney over to charity in the event you arry before you are twenty-five.' 'And on his death,' she said, 'the trust ter inates)' '5n his death the trust ter inates.' 'Then if he can(t e#ercise that option, it doesn(t ake any difference whether ,( arried or not)' '5ffhand,' he said, 'that would be y interpretation of the will.' She heaved a sigh of relief. 'Then,' she said, 'it doesn(t ake any difference whether anyone tries to black ail e or not)' &ason(s eyes stared at the girl as though they would rip the ask fro her face and probe the interior of her soul. ', wouldn(t,' he said, ' ake very any co ents about that, young lady.' 3?

'-hy)' she asked. '0ecause,' he said in a low steady onotone, 'if the police should stu ble onto that theory of the case, it would show a ost e#cellent otive for a urder.' '"ou ean that , urdered hi )' ',t would ean,' he said, stubbornly and steadily, 'that you had an e#cellent otive for urdering hi .' '%ete 7evoe urdered hi ,' she insisted. 'They ight say that %ete 7evoe was an acco plice,' he told her. 'They ight,' she agreed, shrugging her shoulders, and regarding hi with enig atical black eyes. 'All right, all right,' &ason said, his voice now showing a trace of i patience, 'co e down to earth. Suppose you try to be fair with e.' '8isten,' she told hi , speaking rapidly, ',( going to co e into a large su of oney. ,( going to need so e one to protect y rights. ,(ve heard about you, and , know you(ve got a wonderful ind. "ou(re going to be well paid for everything you do for e - everything. "ou understand)' 'All right,' he said, 'what do you want e to do)' ', want you to represent y interests and y interests alone. , a going to pay you a fee of forty thousand dollars, and if you have to do any work about getting the trust fund, that is, work like going to court or anything, , a going to pay you ore.' He regarded her for a few o ents in silent speculation, then said; 'That(s a lot of oney to pay a person to protect your rights if there(s nothing to be done.' 'How do you ean)' she asked. ',f,' he said, 'you si ply borrowed your uncle(s car without his per ission and went out for a ride, returned the car and found hi urdered, there is no necessity for paying an attorney forty thousand dollars to protect your rights.' She twisted her fingers together and asked; 'Are you going to argue with e about that)' '1o,' he said, ', si ply ade that co ent. , wanted you to understand the facts.' '"ou understand what , ean when , say that , will pay you forty thousand dollars if you protect y rights)' she in+uired. '"es,' he said. She got up and crossed the roo with +uick, nervous stride, dropped into a wicker chair in front of a writing desk, pulled a piece of paper to her and scribbled out a docu ent in pen and ink, which she signed with a flourish. 'Here you are,' she said, ' y pro issory note to pay to you the su of forty thousand dollars as soon as , have received that a ount fro the inheritance left e by y father. And , also ention that if there is any litigation about the inheritance, , will pay you ore.' &ason folded the note and dropped it into his pocket. 'Have the police +uestioned you in detail)' he asked. '1o,' she said, 'they aren(t annoying e at all. "ou see, the fact that , had the car out when the urder was co itted gives e an alibi. That is, they know , wouldn(t know what took place in the house at the ti e of the urder.' '-hat ti e was the urder)' he asked. 'They can fi# that very e#actly,' she said. ',t was about eleven thirty-three or eleven thirty-four. "ou see, &r. .rinston had !udge %urley with hi in the car, and !udge %urley wanted to get ho e. He started away fro the house pro ptly at eleven thirty. He re e bers because he looked at his wristwatch and , believe so e co ent was ade about the fact that he had been here less than half an hour. , think &r. .rinston pro ised !udge %urley that if the judge would drive &r. .rinston out here, he would be detained less than half an hour in all. &r. .rinston had an appoint ent with y uncle for eleven o(clock, and he was seven inutes late. ', guess you saw enough of y uncle to know how he would feel about that seven inutes. &r. .rinston kept urging !udge %urley to (step on it,( all the way out here.' ', still don(t see,' said &ason, 'how that fi#es the e#act ti e of the urder.' '-ell, you see,' she e#plained, '7on 9raves saw the urder co itted. 1ow, if the car started fro the house at eleven thirty, it would have taken about three inutes to get to the point in the driveway where 9raves could look back and see the persons clubbing y uncle.' '%ersons)' he asked. '%erson,' she a ended +uickly. ', see,' said the lawyer dryly. CHAPTER SEVEN %E66" &AS51 encountered 7on 9raves just after that individual had been released fro police +uestioning. 9raves opped his forehead and s iled at the attorney. '1ever had such an ordeal in y life,' he said. ', certainly a glad that , wasn(t here.' '-hat do you ean by that)' asked &ason. 'They ight have tried to pin it on e,' he said. 'They tear you to pieces and doubt everything you say.' ', wonder,' said &ason, 'if you(d ind giving e an outline of just what you told the )' 9raves sighed wearily. ',(ve told the facts so often now,' he said, 'that ,( hoarse.' 3@

&ason took the young an(s ar and piloted hi uns ilingly through the dining roo to a solariu , where there were so e chairs grouped around a wicker table. 'S oke)' he asked, e#tending a package of cigarettes. 9raves nodded eagerly. %erry &ason held a atch to the cigarette. '9et started,' he said. '-ell,' said 9raves, 'there isn(t very uch that , can tell. That(s the trouble with it. The police want e to tell too uch. At first, when , saw the urder being co itted, !udge %urley thought that , was cra/y because he clai ed , couldn(t have seen all that , said , saw through the window, and now the police are ju ping on e because , don(t tell the ore, and see to think ,( holding so ething back.' '"ou saw the urder)' asked &ason. ', guess so,' said 9raves wearily. ',(ve been ha ered around so uch now that , don(t know what , saw.' %erry &ason ade no co ent. '-ell,' said 9raves, e#haling twin strea s of s oke fro his nostrils, '&r. .rinston had an appoint ent for eleven o(clock, and was seven inutes late. &r. 1orton was very uch e#asperated over several things that had happened one of which was your visit, and then he had so e trouble with his niece afterwards. 0ut &r. .rinston says that ,( not to ention that trouble with *ran .elane unless so ebody specifically +uestions e about it. '-ell, .rinston was late for his appoint ent, and you know how that would affect 1orton. He was in one of those cold rages. He showed it by being cold-blooded, efficient, and e#ceedingly disagreeable. ', don(t know what .rinston talked about with hi . They were having so e violent difference of opinion. *rankly, , think .rinston was pretty uch e#asperated when he decided to leave. He had pro ised !udge %urley that he would leave not later than eleven thirty, and at just about eleven thirty .rinston ca e out of the inner office. '&r. 1orton wanted hi to stay. .rinston refused. He said he(d pro ised !udge %urley to leave at eleven thirty. Then &r. 1orton ade so e sarcastic re ark that .rinston would keep hi waiting seven inutes, and think nothing of it, but wouldn(t think of detaining a unicipal judge for as uch as ten seconds. He was ad, all right - good and ad. '.rinston had only been gone a inute or two when &r. 1orton ca e out and told e that he wanted e to rush out to .rinston(s house and get so e papers. They were so e agree ents that he and .rinston had been discussing, and .rinston had pro ised to send the to 1orton. 1orton suddenly decided that he didn(t want to wait, but wanted the right away. He told e to wake up 7evoe, that(s the chauffeur, and get hi to drive e out to .rinston(s house and pick up the agree ents. 'At that ti e, .rinston and %urley were just about to drive away. They had, , believe, started their car. 'Then &r. 1orton suddenly got the idea that if , should drive out with &r. .rinston, , could save a little ti e. He intended to have 7evoe, the chauffeur, co e in and pick e up. 0ut it was going to take &r. .rinston a few inutes to get the docu ents, after , got there, and the chauffeur would take a little ti e dressing and getting the car out$ so 1orton thought he could save ti e by having e go in with &r. .rinston. There wasn(t any sense to it. 7evoe could have driven e there just as well, but , ention it to show how e#cited 1orton was. He was si ply furious. 'So &r. 1orton raised up the window in his office and called down to &r. .rinston to wait a inute. ,( not certain, but , think &r. .rinston got out of the achine and walked back so that he stood under the window to hear what &r. 1orton said. , heard 1orton ask if it would be all right for e to ride in with the , and , heard .rinston say that he(d go over and ask !udge %urley if there were any objections. ', knew right away there wouldn(t be any objections, so , started hot-footing down the stairs. The way 1orton felt, , didn(t want to waste a second. '.rinston had asked !udge %urley, and was standing beneath the window, talking with &r. 1orton, when , got down. &r. .rinston said to e; (Hurry up, 9raves, ,(ve pro ised !udge %urley that he would leave here pro ptly at eleven thirty, and he(s in a rush to get ho e.( So , ran right across and ju ped into the achine. , think that , got into the achine before &r. .rinston did, or aybe we got in together, at any rate, &r. .rinston got into the achine at just about the sa e ti e. '!udge %urley had the engine running, and just as soon as the door sla ed, he started the car. , was in the back seat, and &r. .rinston was sitting up in front with !udge %urley. '"ou know the way the road winds around up the side of the hill. -ell, , don(t know what pro pted e to look back through the window at the house. &aybe it was just curiosity, aybe it was so e sense of what was happening. 'Anyway, , was looking back through the rear window of the car, and just as it rounded the curve where , could see into the study, , saw people in the study, and a an swinging a club.' 'How any people)' asked %erry &ason. 7on 9raves did not answer for a o ent. Then he took a deep breath and said slowly; '5nly one that , was sure of. That is, , saw one person raise his ar and strike another person.' 'That you were sure of)' said &ason. '"es sir,' said 9raves, 'that , was sure of.' 'There ight have been another person present)' asked %erry &ason. 7on 9raves said in a very low voice; ', don(t think, if , were you, sir, that ,(d go into that.' '-hy not)' asked %erry &ason e#plosively. ',(d rather not state,' said 9raves, s+uir ing unco fortably. '0ut you ight find, if you pressed that line of in+uiry too far, that it wasn(t of any particular advantage, either to you or your client.' ', think , see,' said %erry &ason softly. 9raves sighed his relief. '"ou were, of course, so e distance away)' asked &ason. '"es,' said 9raves, ', was so e distance away.' &ason looked at the young an searchingly, but 7on 9raves kept his eyes averted. 3A

'How clearly could you see)' &ason pressed. 9raves took a deep breath. ', could see +uite clearly that so ebody was standing over so ebody else, and striking a blow,' he blurted. 'And did you see that other person fall)' ', don(t think so. "ou know, it was +uite a distance away, and , only had a flash as the car was swinging around the curve in the road.' '.ould you say that there were only two people in the roo )' asked &ason. '1o, of course not, because , couldn(t see the entire roo .' '.ould you say that you only saw two people in the roo )' &ason in+uired. ', did say that,' said 9raves, and added after a o ent, 'to the police.' %erry &ason(s voice was low. '8et(s not isunderstand each other, 9raves. ,n the event that you saw anything which indicated that there was another person in the roo , did you see anything that would identify that person)' 9raves spoke very softly and, with obvious reluctance. '.onfidentially, &r. &ason, one can(t trust one(s i pressions in a o entary gli pse like that. ,t isn(t as though you had a photograph of it. And yet there(s so ething that(s etched on y brain that , haven(t entioned - to the police. , ight tell you, in strict confidence, that, if there was another person in that roo , and if , saw such a person, that person was a wo an.' %erry &ason stared steadily at 9raves, then asked; '.ould you identify that wo an)' ', have not entioned to anyone that , saw that wo an,' said 9raves slowly, 'and , would not care to ake any identification.' '0ut,' said &ason, 'have you been absolutely positive and e phatic in saying that you did not see such a person)' 9raves et his eyes. ', have tried to tell the truth, &r. &ason. So far, whenever the +uestion has been asked e, , have answered in such a way that the in+uiry has taken another turn. "ou understand that , a going to answer +uestions truthfully when , get on the witness stand, if , get on the witness stand. 0ut you will also understand that every one of us is e#ceedingly loyal to your client.' '&eaning)' asked &ason. '&eaning &iss .elane.' '7o , understand,' said &ason very softly and al ost o inously, 'that such a loyalty would lead you to protect her against a urder charge)' '1o,' said 9raves frankly, 'it would not. 0ut it certainly would be sufficient to lead us to keep her na e out of an investigation which could only be abortive at any rate.' 'And what do you ean by that)' pressed the attorney. ', ean by that, that inas uch as &iss .elane was not in the house at the ti e, it would naturally have been i possible for her to have been in that roo .' 'Then you did not see a wo an in the roo )' &ason asked. ', didn(t say that either,' said 9raves. ', said that if there had been another person in the roo that , had seen, that person would probably have been a wo an.' '-hy,' asked the lawyer, 'do you say that)' '-ell,' said 9raves, 'there is in y ind a ore or less confused i pression of a wo an(s head and shoulders showing o entarily in one corner of the window. 0ut of course , couldn(t be sure of it, because y glance was riveted on the an with his ar upraised.' '5ne ore +uestion,' said &ason. '7id the police take down, in shorthand, the answers which you gave to the +uestions they asked you, when they in+uired about what you had seen)' '"es,' said 9raves. 'And you didn(t ention anything about a wo an at that ti e)' '1o.' &ason said slowly; '"ou understand, 9raves, that there is so ething very peculiar about this. 0oth you and .rinston have inti ated to e that y client ight be in so e danger. "et, apparently, she was not anywhere near the house at the ti e.' 'That(s right,' said 9raves eagerly, 'she wasn(t here.' 'Then how could she be in any danger)' asked &ason. 'She isn(t,' said 9raves. 'That(s the point ,( trying to ake. And ,( trying to protect her against any insinuations which ight be ade, because, you understand, there(s a otive which ight be attached to her.' '2ery co endable,' said &ason dryly. ', wouldn(t want you to co it any perjury, 9raves, but you will, of course, understand that if you tell your story a few ti es without entioning the wo an, and that story is recorded in shorthand, or reported in the press, and then you should subse+uently be placed upon the stand and asked specifically if you saw a wo an or had the i pression that a wo an was there, an answer which tended to change your previous story wouldn(t do y client such a great a ount of har . 5n the other hand, it wouldn(t do you such a great a ount of good.' 9raves said with dignity; ', a prepared to ake so e sacrifices in order to protect the good na e of &iss .elane.' 'And,' went on %erry &ason, o inously, 'when you did a plify your story to include a wo an, as being present in that roo , ,(d rip you wide open.' 'Sure,' said 9raves, readily. 'And,' &ason told hi gri ly, 'when , say wide open, , ean wide open.' At that o ent, a door opened and a detective looked into the roo , stared at &ason, then shifted his eyes to 9raves, and beckoned. 3C

'9raves,' he said, 'we want you back upstairs. There are one or two +uestions we want to ask you. -hen you gave your state ent, you see ed to have evaded answering one of the +uestions. That is, the chief thinks that you did, now that your state ent is being read over.' 9raves looked at &ason with eyes that were suddenly apprehensive. '"ou won(t ind answering these +uestions)' asked the detective. '1ot at all,' said 9raves, and walked fro the solariu . -hen the door closed behind 9raves and the detective, %erry &ason pulled a paper fro his pocket, unfolded it and e#a ined it with thoughtful appraisal. The paper was *rances .elane(s pro issory note for forty thousand dollars. CHAPTER EIGHT THE wo an slipped in through the door of the solariu and stared at %erry &ason, watched hi pacing back and forth, following hi with her eyes, studying every otion. There was a keen concentration in the intentness of her ga/e$ she ight have been a otion picture director, studying a new star for the strong, as well as the weak, points. She was short and broad, but not particularly fat. She see ed heavily uscled and big-boned$ a wo an of i ense strength, capable and self reliant, and in her eyes was a glitter of greedy vitality. Her features were rugged$ the chin rounded and heavy, the nose distended at the nostrils. The lips were not thin, but uncurving. The outh was a straight line, stretching under the nose and calipered at the ends by wrinkles which ca e fro the nostrils. The forehead was rather high, and the eyes black and snapping - highly polished eyes that glittered as though they had been huge, black glass beads. %erry &ason continued his pacing for several seconds before he sensed her presence. Then, as he turned, the wo an(s for struck his vision, and he ca e to an abrupt pause. &ason looked at her with eyes that were steady in their scrutiny, yet see ed to take in every detail of the wo an(s appearance fro head to foot. She said; '"ou(re the lawyer.' '"es,' he said, ',( %erry &ason.' ', want to talk with you,' she told hi . '-ho are you)' ',( &rs. &ayfield.' ', don(t know that that conveys anything to e, &rs. &ayfield,' he said. '.ould you be ore e#plicit)' ', live here,' she told hi . ',ndeed,' he said tonelessly. '"es, sir,' she said, ' y husband and yself.' &ason stared at the broad shoulders, the thick ar s, the black dress which covered the rugged lines of her body. '"ou(re the housekeeper)' he asked. '"es.' 'And your husband)' 'He acts as gardener and general an about the place.' ', see,' said &ason, uns ilingly, 'and what was it you wanted to talk with e about)' She took three steps toward hi , lowered her voice, and said; '&oney.' So ething in her tone caused the lawyer to glance over her shoulder to the door of the roo . Then he took her ar and led her to the far corner of the roo . 'E#actly what,' he asked, 'was it about oney that you wanted to discuss with e)' The wo an said in a low, intense voice; '"ou(re an attorney. "ou(re not in business for your health. "ou(re representing &iss .elane. She(s going to get a lot of oney, and when she gets it, you(re going to get a big slice of it. , want so e oney. , want so e fro you, and want so e fro her.' '!ust why,' asked &ason, 'should you want oney fro her and fro e)' '0ecause,' said the wo an, slowly, 'if , don(t get it, you don(t get it.' 'E#actly what do you ean by that)' '!ust what , say. ,f you think you can deal e out on this, you(ve got another think co ing.' &ason laughed, a laugh that was utterly echanical. '6eally, &rs. &ayfield,' he said, 'you have got to e#plain. Things have been happening rather rapidly to-night, and , was called in at the re+uest of &iss .elane. , don(t know e#actly what y duties will consist of, but , presu e it is possible that , ay have charge of handling the estate. , don(t know whether or not there was a will.' '1ever ind that,' said the wo an, 'it isn(t 1orton(s estate that ,( talking about. ,( talking about the trust oney.' &ason si ulated surprise, but his eyes were patiently watchful and very hard. '-hy,' he said, 'that atter is all taken care of by a decree of distribution ade onths ago. &iss .elane doesn(t have to e ploy an attorney to collect that oney for her. ,t will be distributed to her by an order of the court under the provisions of the trust.' '"ou(re not fooling e any with all that line of talk,' said the wo an. 'E#actly what,' asked &ason, 'do you have reference to)' ', have reference that if she ain(t careful she don(t get any of that oney at all,' said the wo an. 'And you are inti ating, , take it,' said &ason, cautiously, 'that you can assist her in being careful)' ', don(t know what you(re driving at now,' she said, 'but , think you(ve got y idea.' 3D

She s irked and put her hands on her broad hips, tilted her chin upward, and stared with unwinking intensity into the attorney(s face. 'Suppose,' he said, 'you should be ore e#plicit.' 'The girl(s arried,' she said. ',ndeed,' said &ason. '"es,' she said, 'does that ean anything)' '1ot now it doesn(t,' said &ason. ',n the event what you say is true, , understand that &r. 1orton had the right to ter inate the trust by delivering a s all a ount of the principal to &iss .elane, and giving the balance to charitable institutions. 0ut that was so ething entirely in his discretion. He died without the discretion having been e#ercised. Therefore, the trust has ter inated.' '7on(t be too sure he didn(t do anything about that trust,' said the housekeeper. '7id he)' asked %erry &ason. 'Suppose,' said the wo an, without directly answering his +uestion, '*ran .elane and her uncle had a big fight after you left last night) And suppose that he then and there told her he would give her five thousand dollars of the oney, and give all the rest to charity)' '7id he)' asked the lawyer. ',( asking you what would happen if he had.' '-ell,' said &ason, 'there certainly isn(t any evidence that he did, is there)' 'There ain(t now,' she said. 'E#actly what do you ean)' he asked. 'Suppose there should be so e evidence like that)' '-e(ll cross that bridge when we co e to it,' said &ason. '-ell,' she snapped, 'if you don(t do business with e, you(ll co e to it.' 'That(s hardly possible,' said the lawyer. '.o e, co e, &rs. &ayfield, if you want to ake any insinuations against &iss .elane, you will have to ake the in a anner which will be substantiated by the circu stances of the case. 'The evidence in this case shows that &iss .elane left the house before eleven o(clock and didn(t return until after the police had arrived.' '"es,' said the wo an, 'that(s what the evidence shows, and you(d better see that it ain(t changed.' ', still don(t get what you ean,' said %erry &ason. '"ou will,' said the wo an, 'when you(ve ade *ran .elane co e clean and +uit pulling the wool over your eyes. ,( not going to stand here and have you high hat e with your lawyer talk. ,(ve told you what , want, and ,( too s art to ake any threats.' ',n other words,' said &ason, 'you want oney.' '"es.' '2ery good,' said &ason. ', take it that everyone wants oney.' '"ou know what , ean,' she said, 'and if you want to get so e ore evidence, you ight look up what 0ob 9leason was doing at the ti e this urder was co itted.' '9leason)' said &ason, arching his eyebrows. '-hy 9leason wasn(t even here in the house.' '5h wasn(t he)' said the wo an. '-as he)' asked &ason. 'Ask your *rances,' she said. &ason suddenly turned, planted his feet wide apart, and stared at her. '8ook here, y wo an,' he said, in his best courtroo anner, ', don(t know whether it(s ever occurred to you, but you ay be guilty of a very serious cri e. ,f you are seeking to frighten e or to frighten &iss .elane into paying you oney by aking insinuations, you are guilty of a cri e known as e#tortion, and in a case of this kind it ight be a very serious cri e.' The beady black eyes stared at hi snappingly with hostility reflected fro their burnished surfaces. '"ou(re not frightening e a bit,' she said. 'And,' said %erry &ason, ' ay , advise you that you are not frightening e in the least)' ', ain(t trying to frighten you - yet,' she said. ', just told you certain things.' '-hat things)' he asked. 'That ,( going to get so e oney out of it. 5therwise, nobody gets any oney.' '1obody)' he asked. '1either you nor the girl,' she agreed. 'That would be unfortunate,' said &ason tonelessly. '-ouldn(t it)' she said. 'And then again , ight find so ebody that would pay e, if you didn(t see which side of the bread had the butter. So e of these charities for instance.' '6eally,' said &ason, ', don(t get you. "ou(ve got to give e ore particulars of what you(re driving at.' She said; ',( too s art for you, &ister 8awyer. "ou go ahead and ake your own investigation. 7on(t think that you(re dealing with an ignorant wo an, because you ain(t. "ou talk with *rances .elane, and then you can talk so e ore with e.' ', have talked with &iss .elane,' said &ason. The wo an(s laugh was harsh and bitter. '5h no, you haven(t,' she said, 'you(ve listened to her. *rances .elane is the best little liar in the world. 7on(t listen to her. Talk to her. &ake her ad and then see what she says.' And the wo an turned and walked fro the roo with +uick, vigorous strides, a veritable bundle of energy. %erry &ason stared at her broad back until she had left his field of vision. His eyes were clouded with speculation. :E

He was standing so, when a an with keen gray eyes and bushy white hair ca e walking through the roo beyond, to the door of the solariu . His anner was grave and dignified, his walk unhurried, his face placidly serene. %erry &ason bowed to hi . '!udge %urley,' he said, ', have practiced before you, !udge.' The judge fastened his keen eyes upon the attorney, and nodded. '%erry &ason, , believe. 9ood evening, &r. &ason.' '-e can call it orning, , think,' said &ason. ',t will be daylight pretty soon.' !udge %urley frowned. ', was in a hurry to get ho e too,' he said. ', was very, very tired.' 'The police about finished with their investigation)' asked &ason. ', think so,' said %urley. 'They(ve got the an who did it, beyond any doubt.' 'This chap, 7evoe)' asked &ason. 'That(s the chap. He ade rather a bungling job of it, too, if you ask e.' ', didn(t get the details,' said &ason invitingly. !udge %urley selected one of the reclining chairs, stretched hi self in it, gave a sigh of weariness, and took a cigar fro his waistcoat pocket. He carefully clipped off the end of the cigar, s elled the wrapper and uttered; '%ardon e, &r. &ason, but this is y last, and , need it.' '9o right ahead,' said &ason. ', only s oke cigarettes anyway.' '"es,' said the judge, speaking gravely and judiciously, in easured tones, 'the thing that confused the urderer, of course, was the fact that our achine turned around and ca e directly back to the house. He had counted on an interval of half an hour or so during which he could have asked his cri e. 'However, when he heard us returning to the house, he knew that the only thing for hi to do was to get into bed and pretend he was dead drunk. He anaged to get the odor of whisky pretty well on his breath, and put up rather a credible i itation of into#ication. ',n fact, it is possible he i bibed enough so that he was genuinely into#icated. A an can drink a lot of whisky in a short ti e.' %erry &ason s iled. 'That is, judge,' he said, 'if he has it to drink.' The judge saw no hu or in the re ark. He looked at %erry &ason with judicial appraisal. '-ell,' he said, 'this an had plenty to drink.' 'He(s the chauffeur, , believe)' asked &ason. '"es, the chauffeur.' '-asn(t he going out so e place)' asked &ason. '7idn(t 1orton telephone for hi to take one of the cars and run an errand)' ',f y understanding is correct,' said !udge %urley, 'that is what happened. 1orton wanted his secretary to get so e papers at &r. .rinston(s house, and the chauffeur was to go and pick hi up.' %erry &ason eyed the judge in shrewd appraisal. '-ell,' he said, 'let(s see if we can figure out what happened. 1orton asked you to per it 9raves to ride in your car, is that right)' 'That is correct. That is, 1orton addressed his co ent, , believe, to &r. .rinston, but ,, of course, heard it. He called out the window.' '5kay, then,' said &ason. '8et(s start fro there. 9raves went downstairs to join you two. ,t(s reasonable to suppose that 1orton then sent for the chauffeur. He probably si ply told hi to co e to his office. 1ow, it would have taken the chauffeur a inute or two to get there.' 'That(s right,' said !udge %urley wearily. '0ut if you(ll pardon e, counselor, , don(t see as there(s anything to be gained by going over the ground.' '1o,' said %erry &ason, al ost drea ily, ', was just wondering how uch ti e the two en had to +uarrel.' '-hat do you ean)' asked !udge %urley with sudden interest. ',f,' said %erry &ason, 'the urder was co itted by the ti e your car had arrived at the top of the hill, and if during that ti e 1orton had su oned the chauffeur, and there had been a +uarrel, the +uarrel would, of necessity, have been of long standing.' 'That doesn(t follow at all,' !udge %urley said. 'The +uarrel could have started right then. ,n fact, it isn(t reasonable to suppose that 1orton would have retained 7evoe in his service if there had been a previous +uarrel between the .' %erry &ason(s eyes glinted. 'Then,' he said, 'you ust agree that there wasn(t opportunity for a great deal of pre editation.' !udge %urley regarded hi +ui//ically. '!ust what are you leading up to)' he asked. '1othing,' said %erry &ason nonco ittally. ',n the eyes of the law,' said !udge %urley, as though he were pronouncing so e judg ent, 'there is no particular ti e re+uired for pre editation. An instant(s pre editation is all that is necessary to ake a cri e first degree urder.' 'All right,' said %erry &ason. '1ow, let(s look at the case fro another angle. As , understand it, one of the windows had been ji ied open, and there were the arks of footprints under the window. These things tended to indicate that a burglar had entered the place.' 'All a fra e-up,' said !udge %urley. 'The police have de onstrated that.' :3

'%recisely,' said %erry &ason. '0ut it took so e ti e to plant these clews. 1ow, the point , a getting at is that there is nothing in the evidence to show whether they were done before the urder, or afterwards. The police have been inclined to the theory that they were done afterwards. 0ut it is barely possible they were done before.' !udge %urley looked at hi through the blue ha/e of his cigar s oke, with a forehead that was washboarded in thought. ',n that case,' he said, 'the fact that 1orton sent for the chauffeur would have had nothing to do with it. The chauffeur would have been waiting our departure, in order to enter 1orton(s study.' '1ow,' said %erry &ason, nodding his head, 'you(re co encing to get to the eat of the situation.' !udge %urley studied the tip of his cigar. %erry &ason said, in a low tone of voice; '"ou were in the roo where the cri e was co itted, !udge)' '"es. The police allowed e to look through the place. 0ecause of y position, they gave e every liberty.' 'Then,' said %erry &ason, 'if it(s a fair +uestion, did you notice anything unusual)' !udge %urley acted as though the +uestion had given hi a great deal of satisfaction. He settled back in his chair, and spoke in slow, deliberate tones, gesturing once in a while with the tip of his cigar. 'The an had been struck fro behind,' he said, 'apparently while he was seated at his desk. He had fallen forward across the desk, and had never oved after the blow crushed in his head. The telephone instru ent was at his left hand. There were so e papers on the desk, an envelope, , think, and a blank sheet of paper, and an insurance policy for the stolen auto obile.' 'Ah,' said %erry &ason, in a voice that was purring. 'The stolen car was insured then)' '5f course it was insured,' said !udge %urley. '1aturally, it would be.' 'Are you certain the policy was for the stolen car)' asked &ason. '"es,' said !udge %urley. ', checked it, and the police checked it. The policy covered a 0uick sedan nu bered @A?>ED=. ,t was a policy of full coverage.' '7id you,' asked %erry &ason, 'know Edward 1orton in his lifeti e, !udge)' '1o, , had never et hi . , a +uite well ac+uainted with &r. .rinston, &r. 1orton(s business partner, and &r. .rinston has spoken to e so often about &r. 1orton and his peculiarities that , feel as though , had known hi personally. 0ut , had never et hi . &r. 1orton was a bit difficult to approach, and , had never had any business dealings which would have caused e to ake his ac+uaintance.' %erry &ason suddenly turned to face !udge %urley. '!udge %urley,' he said, 'Edward 1orton wasn(t killed as the result of a +uarrel.' !udge %urley shifted his eyes. '"ou(re referring again to the ti e ele ent)' he said. 'The fact that there wasn(t ti e for a +uarrel)' '%artially,' said %erry &ason. '7evoe wouldn(t have had ti e to get to the roo , have a +uarrel with the an, and work hi self up into the fren/y of rage necessary to result in urder. *urther ore, the clews which were planted, and were for the purpose of directing suspicion toward a couple of burglars, indicate the urderer knew the logical otive for the killing was that of robbery.' !udge %urley fidgeted unco fortably. He see ed struggling with the desire to ake a state ent, and a reluctance to do so. %erry &ason watched hi as a sailing hawk ight study a sloping hillside. '-ell,' said !udge %urley, at length, ', ust say, counselor, that you have done a very nice bit of reasoning. , wasn(t supposed to ention it, but inas uch as you see to know, there can be no har in y confir ing your suspicions, or perhaps , should say, your deductions.' 'The otive, then,' asked %erry &ason, 'was robbery)' 'The otive was robbery,' said !udge %urley. '&oney)' asked &ason. 'A very large su of oney. &r. 1orton had on his person at the ti e of his death, so ething over forty thousand dollars in currency. That oney was in a wallet in his inside pocket. -hen the body was found, the pockets had been rifled and the wallet was gone. That is, it had been lifted fro the inside pocket and lay near the body, e pty.' '-ere any of the other pockets disturbed)' asked %erry &ason. '"es. They had all been turned wrong side out,' !udge %urley said. 'Have the police found any of the oney)' asked the lawyer. 'That is so ething which probably won(t co e out until later, counselor,' said !udge %urley. '0ut , don(t ind telling you in confidence that they have. They found two one thousand dollar bills in 7evoe(s trouser pocket. Those bills can be identified by their nu bers as being part of the currency which 1orton had in his possession, and 7evoe has ade the istake of stating, in his audlin way, that he doesn(t have any idea how the bills got there.' 'Has it been brought out why 1orton had such a large su of cash in his possession)' &ason wanted to know. !udge %urley started to speak, then checked hi self. ', think, counselor,' he said, 'that , have given you all of the infor ation which , should give you. After all, your interest in this atter, while it is parallel with that of the police, is not, of course, identical. &uch of the infor ation which was given to e was given to e in confidence because of y judicial position, and , do not think that , should disse inate it carelessly.' There was a faint twinkle of a use ent in the eyes of the attorney as he surveyed the ponderous for of the agistrate. !udge %urley radiated a sense of e#aggerated self-i portance. '5f course, judge,' said %erry &ason, 'one ust understand and respect your position. , didn(t want you to think , was erely curious. , was trying to get a ental picture of what had happened. , a advised by the interested parties that , will be in charge of the estate, and, under those circu stances, , wanted to have co plete infor ation.' 'That(s true, of course,' said !udge %urley, nodding his head, 'and that(s the reason that , gave you as uch of the inside infor ation as , did. "ou will, however, counselor, regard it as strictly confidential.' ::

'5h yes, of course,' said %erry &ason, and there was just a trace of up +uickly. 0ut the face of the lawyer was bland and innocent. CHAPTER NINE

ockery in his voice, which caused the judge to took

S41 strea ed in through the window of the roo , and shone upon Edward 1orton(s assive desk. A police representative sprawled in one of the chairs, a cigarette drooping fro his lips, a pencil poised over a notebook. 7on 9raves, the efficient secretary of the dead an, checked off the docu ents. The furniture in the roo was in e#actly the sa e position it had occupied the night of the urder. According to police orders, things were to be disturbed as little as possible. %erry &ason, as the attorney representing the interested parties, was engaged in aking a survey of the business affairs of the urdered an. 7on 9raves, standing in front of the safe, turned to %erry &ason. 'This co part ent of the safe, sir, contains all of the docu ents relating to the partnership business of .rinston G 1orton.' '2ery well,' said &ason. '"ou(re fa iliar with the details of those docu ents, , take it)' '5h, yes, sir.' '9enerally, what is the financial state of the partnership)' 'The partnership had a few rather unfortunate invest ents, sir. There were so e co it ents which ran into rather a large deficit, a ounting to so ething around illion dollars. 0ut, aside fro that, the affairs were in good shape. There was, , believe, so ething like eight hundred thousand dollars on deposit in various banks. -ould you like the e#act figures)' '"ou ight give the to e,' said &ason. ', want to get just a general idea of the financial set-up.' 9raves took a book fro the safe, opened it, and read off a colu n of figures. 'The account was in a little better shape than , thought, sir. There(s a balance of eight hundred and seventy-si# thousand, five hundred and forty-two dollars and thirty cents at the Seaboard Second 1ational Trust .o pany, and two hundred and ninety-three thousand, nine hundred and four dollars and fifty cents in the *ar ers and &erchants 1ational. 'There are notes, representing the partnership loss which are held at the -heeler(s Trust and Savings 0ank in an a ount of nine hundred thousand dollars, with so e interest due on the , , believe, and there(s a deposit in that bank of seventy-five thousand dollars.' 'How about the trust funds)' asked &ason. 'The funds representing the trust in favor of *rances .elane)' 'Those are in e#cellent shape,' said 9raves. 'There is over a illion dollars in stocks, bonds, and securities. There(s a list of the in this ledger. &r. 1orton was particularly careful about his trust obligations, and kept the account right up to date.' 'Are there any liabilities in the trust account)' asked &ason. '1o, sir. There(s not a dollar of indebtedness. The assets are all net.' 'Then how about &r. 1orton(s individual account$ that is, outside the partnership of .rinston G 1orton)' 'That(s so ething that , can(t tell you very uch about,' said the secretary. '&r. 1orton kept his private business in such shape that it re+uired but little bookkeeping, and carried ost of it in his head. 2irtually all of the co ercial transactions were in the partnership of .rinston G 1orton. &r. 1orton(s private affairs were confined to the purchase of gilt-edged stocks and bonds, which he kept in a safety deposit bo#.' 'How about a will)' asked the lawyer. '"es, sir, there(s a will. , don(t know where it is. , think it(s so ewhere in the safe here. , understand generally it leaves everything to &iss .elane. &r. 1orton had no close relatives, you understand.' The police representative said casually, the words co ing through an aura of cigarette s oke which seeped out fro his outh as he talked; '%retty good thing for this .elane wo an all around. She gets her trust account free and clear, and also gets a gob of oney fro the old an, hi self.' %erry &ason ade no reply to the co ent, but continued to address 7on 9raves. '!ust where is the will)' he asked. '.an you find it)' '&ost of his personal papers were kept in this pigeon-hole in the safe,' said 9raves, indicating a pigeon-hole. %erry &ason walked over to the safe, reached in the pigeon-hole, and pulled out a bundle of papers. '8ife insurance policy with the %rudential,' he said. 'A ount, five hundred thousand dollars. The beneficiary is the estate.' '"es, sir,' said the secretary. '"ou(ll find several life insurance policies in cash to the estate. Those were taken out in order to have sufficient ready cash in the estate to pay inheritance ta#es without necessitating a sale of securities at a loss.' '9ood idea,' said the lawyer. 'Here are so e ore policies. "ou can list those.' He pulled out a s all pasteboard-backed notebook fro underneath the policies. '-hat(s that)' asked the police representative. %erry &ason turned it over slowly. '8ooks like a car register,' he said, 'of ileage.' 7on 9raves laughed. '"es,' he said, 'that(s one of the things about &r. 1orton. He always wanted appoint ents kept to the inute$ always carried watches that were adjusted to the second$ always kept an account of every ile that was traveled by one of his auto obiles. He wanted to know e#actly how uch ileage he was getting to every gallon of gas and oil. , presu e you can tell to within a fraction of a cent how uch it cost hi to operate every auto obile.' :=

'How any cars did he have)' asked &ason, fingering the notebook carelessly. 'He had three; The 0uick sedan, a *ord coupe, and a %ackard roadster.' 'The %ackard roadster was the one that &iss .elane usually drove)' asked the lawyer. ',t was,' said 9raves, 'and you won(t find any figures on that. That was the despair of his life. &iss .elane si ply wouldn(t turn in ileage figures.' ', see,' said &ason. '0ut the others are accurately accounted for)' '"es.' '&iss .elane wasn(t in the habit of operating the others)' 7on 9raves flashed the lawyer a eaning glance. '1o,' he said, shortly. %erry &ason carelessly opened the notebook to the division which had to do with the 0uick sedan, and noticed the different ileage reports which were in there. Apparently for every ile the 0uick had traveled, there was a note as to the kind of road it had gone over, the place to which it had been driven, the general average speed, and uch other data which represented a ass of detail that would have been considered useless to any save a ind that gloried in figuring costs to a fraction of a cent. %erry &ason aintained a pose of casual interest as he fingered the pages until he ca e to the last entry covering the 0uick sedan, which was as follows; '3?,:D>.= iles. 8eft house and drove to bank. Arrived bank at 3?,:DD.? iles. 8eft bank and returned to house at 3?,=E>.A iles. ,nstructed 7evoe to fill tank.' %erry &ason glanced at the date, and saw that it was the date on which 1orton had et his death. ', see,' he re arked casually, 'that he went to the bank the day of his death.' '7id he)' said 7on 9raves. ', wonder,' said %erry &ason, 'if that was when he got his oney... that is, the cash that he carried.' ',( sure , couldn(t tell you, sir.' '7oes anyone know why he had such a large su of cash in his possession)' asked the lawyer. '1o,' said 9raves, e phatically. 'Al ost looks as though he ight have been black ailed or so ething,' said &ason, his patient eyes peering out fro under his level brows at the face of the secretary. 7on 9raves et his glance without changing e#pression by so uch as the flicker of an eyelash. ', hardly think so, sir,' he said. &ason nodded and slipped the book into his pocket. '!ust a inute,' said the police officer. 'Shouldn(t that book be kept here with the rest of the papers)' &ason s iled. 'That(s right,' he said. ',t looks so uch like a notebook that , so eti es carry, , echanically dropped it into y pocket.' He handed the book to the secretary, got up, and yawned. '-ell,' he said, ', guess ,(ve covered about everything , need to, as a first preli inary survey. 5f course, we(ll have to take a detailed inventory later on.' '-e can take the detailed inventory now if you want,' said 9raves. '5h, , don(t think so,' said &ason, yawning again. 'There(s going to be a lot of detailed stuff to check over here, and ,(ll probably want y own stenographer here to take notes when , go into it in detail. , hate detail work.' 'How about the will) Should we ake any further search for the will)' asked 9raves. '5h, let(s close things up now, and ,(ll have y secretary co e out and we(ll tackle it to- orrow,' said the attorney. '2ery well, sir, just as you say,' said 7on 9raves. The police representative flipped away his cigarette and re arked, 'Any ti e suits e. ,(ll be around here all the ti e.' '*ine,' said &ason, without enthusias . He lit a cigarette, and walked casually fro the office. He went down the broad flight of stairs, opened the front door, and stood in the sunshine, inhaling the fresh orning air. -hen he was certain he was not observed, he stepped off the porch, walked to the driveway, and went up the driveway to the garage. He slid back the door of the garage, slipped inside, and walked over to the 0uick sedan which stood, obviously well cared for and polished by the chauffeur who was now in jail, charged with urder. %erry &ason opened the door of the sedan, slid in behind the steering wheel, switched on the dashlight and looked at the speedo eter. The figures showed 3?,=E>.A iles. The lawyer stared at the for a o ent, then switched off the dashlight, slid out fro behind the wheel, and carefully closed the door. He walked out of the garage, looked to see if anyone had been observing hi , then retraced his steps to the front door. As he stepped inside, he encountered the for of the housekeeper. Her glittering black eyes surveyed hi unco pro isingly. '9ood orning,' she said. '9ood orning,' said %erry &ason. She lowered her voice slightly. ',( going to be wanting an answer, sir,' she said, 'very soon.' '"ou shall have it,' said the attorney, 'and, by the way, where is &iss .elane) ,s she up yet)' '"es, sir, she(s up. She(s having breakfast in her roo .' '9ive her y co pli ents,' said the lawyer, 'and ask her if , can see her at once.' The glittering black eyes of the housekeeper surveyed his face searchingly, and %erry &ason et her stare with a look of weary patience. :>

',(ll see,' said the housekeeper. She turned and walked with swift, aggressive steps toward the girl(s bedroo . %erry &ason lit a cigarette with a steady hand, took only a single appreciative inhalation, then stood studying the s oke as it eddied fro the tip of the cigarette. He heard the steps of the housekeeper as she pounded toward hi . '&iss .elane says you can talk to her while she(s eating breakfast,' said the housekeeper. '6ight this way, please.' The lawyer followed the housekeeper down the corridor and to the door of the girl(s roo . The housekeeper held it open. 'There you are, sir,' she said. 'Step right in,' and added in a lower tone, 'and re e ber, , want an answer.' %erry &ason walked in and heard the door sla viciously behind hi . *rances .elane, in a silken negligee, sat curled in an over-stuffed chair. A s all stand at the side of the chair held a tray containing e pty dishes. A huge coffee pot had been pushed to the side of the tray, and a stea ing cup of coffee was at the fingertips of her right hand. Her left held a cigarette. Her dark eyes, see ing purposely e#pressionless, surveyed the attorney. Her face showed a hint of rouge, but there was no lipstick on her outh. The negligee see ed to have been chosen for appearance rather than war th. '9ood orning,' he said, barely sweeping his eyes over the negligee. '7id you sleep any)' 'After , finally got to bed, , did,' she said, staring at hi steadily. She took the cigarette fro her outh and tapped the ashes into the edge of the saucer under the coffee cup. %erry &ason oved over and dropped ashes fro his own cigarette into the saucer. ', presu e,' she said, 'that you want oney.' '-hat akes you ask that)' he in+uired. ', understand attorneys always want oney.' He ade a gesture of i patience with his hand, and said; 'That isn(t what , eant. -hy did you choose this particular ti e for bringing up the subject)' '0ecause,' she said, ', have so e oney for you.' His eyes were coldly cautious. 'A check)' he asked. '1o,' she said, 'cash. -ould you ind handing e y purse) ,t(s over there on the dresser.' &ason reached for the purse and handed it to her. She held it at such an angle that he could not see the contents. She opened it and fu bled with her fingers for a few o ents, then produced a sheaf of currency. 'Here,' she said, 'is so ething by way of retainer.' He took the oney, crisp new one-thousand-dollar bills. There were ten of the . He looked at her for a few o ents, then folded and pocketed the oney. 'All right,' he said, 'where did you get it)' Her eyes suddenly contained e#pression. 'That(s none of your business,' she snapped. '"ou(re an attorney paid to represent e$ not to in+uire into y personal affairs.' He stood with his feet apart, s iling down at her rage. '"our te per,' he told her, 'is going to get you into trouble so e day.' '5h, you think so, do you)' she flared. ', know it,' he said. '"ou(re getting on thin ice. "ou(ve got to learn to keep your te per and use your head.' '!ust what do you ean by that crack about thin ice)' ', was referring,' he said, in cold tones, 'to the reason that you were spared ore detailed +uestioning last night, or, rather, early this orning.' '-hat was that)' 'The fact that you had taken your uncle(s 0uick sedan without his per ission, and were, as , re e ber your story, speeding around the country trying to settle your nerves.' ', always do that,' she said, her voice suddenly cautious, 'after ,(ve been in a rage. ,t cal s e down.' He continued to s ile frostily at her. '7o you know how far you drove the auto obile)' '1o. , drove it an hour or so. , had y foot pretty well down on the throttle. , drive like that ost of the ti e.' 'How unfortunate,' he said, 'that the speedo eter was disconnected.' She stared at hi , with her eyes suddenly wide and very dark. '-hat are you talking about)' she asked, slowly. 'About the fact that your uncle(s notebook shows every ile that the 0uick was driven.' '7oes it)' she asked, warily. '"es,' said &ason dryly. 'He ade a note of driving the car fro the bank to the house, showing that he started with the speedo eter registering 3?,:DD.? iles, and arrived at the house registering 3?,=E>.A iles.' '-ell,' she asked, 'what if he did)' '-hen , inspected the speedo eter on the 0uick sedan this orning,' he said slowly, 'it showed 3?,=E>.A ules.' She stared at hi with her eyes dark with panic. Her face had suddenly gone white. She tried to set down the coffee cup, but issed the saucer. The cup balanced for a o ent on the edge of the tray, then crashed to the floor, spilling its contents over the rug. '"ou hadn(t thought of that, had you)' asked %erry &ason. She continued to stare at hi utely, her face white to the lips. '1ow,' said %erry &ason suavely, 'you will perhaps pardon a repetition of y +uestion. -here did you get this oney that you gave to e just now)' ', got it,' she said slowly, 'fro y uncle.' :?

'!ust before his death)' asked &ason. '!ust before his death,' she said. '5h,' said the lawyer eaningly, 'before his death.' The significance of the accented word suddenly dawned upon her. '"ou don(t think,' she began... There was a knock at the door of the roo , and the housekeeper walked in. She stared at the . '7id , hear you drop so ething)' she asked. The girl indicated the coffee cup on the floor. '"ou have,' said %erry &ason eaningly, 'rather re arkable ears.' She et his stare with her eyes snapping and defiant. ', was given a good pair of ears,' she said, 'and , use the .' 'Even to the e#tent of listening at doors)' said the lawyer. *rances .elane spoke steadily. 'That will do, &r. &ason,' she said. ', think that , a perfectly capable of disciplining the servants when they need it.' The housekeeper stooped, picked up the coffee cup, set it back on the tray, turned her back to the attorney, and said to *rances .elane; 'Shall , bring you another cup and saucer)' '"es,' she said, 'and a hot pot of coffee.' The housekeeper picked up the tray, and swept fro the roo . %erry &ason(s tone was rasping. ',f ,( going to handle this case,' he said, ', don(t want you interfering. That wo an was spying on us. She tried to black ail e early this orning.' *rances .elane see ed hardly interested. ',ndeed)' she said, absently. %erry &ason stood, staring down at her. '"es, indeed,' he said, 'and ,( still waiting for an e#planation of why your trip ade in the 0uick sedan at such a high speed, didn(t show on the speedo eter.' *rances .elane ju ped fro the chair, and, totally ignoring the presence of the lawyer, started pulling gar ents fro her slender body. '-hat are you doing)' he asked. '9oing to get dressed and put so e ileage on that 0uick, you fool<' she bla/ed at hi . 'And are you going to tell e anything about where you were last night at the ti e of the urder)' She whipped off the last of her lounging gar ents and started dressing. '7on(t be a fool,' she said. ', can help you a lot ore,' said &ason, 'if you let e know the facts.' She shook her head. '9et out,' she said. %erry &ason turned to the door with dignity. '2ery well,' he said, and jerked the door open. The housekeeper was on the other side of the door, regarding hi with alevolent, glittering eyes, and a s ile which held a trace of sardonic triu ph. ,n one hand she held a coffee cup and saucer, and in the other hand a pot of coffee. 'Thank you, sir,' she said, 'for opening the door,' and slipped into the roo . CHAPTER TEN 9E569E 08A.F&A1 tried to present an i pressive appearance. He co bed his hair well back fro his high forehead, cultivated a deep, boo ing voice, and wore nose glasses fro which dangled a wide, black ribbon. He ight have been a congress an or a banker, but was, in fact, a cri inal lawyer. 5nly a slight uneasiness of the eyes belied the picture of stolid, intellectual respectability which he tried to present to the public. He stared across the desk at %erry &ason. ', understand that you(re the attorney for the fa ily,' he said. %erry &ason(s eyes were hard, and patient. ',( representing &iss .elane in the ter ination of her trust atter,' he said, 'and ,( representing Arthur .rinston, who is the surviving partner of the partnership. There(s so e talk about having e represent the e#ecutor under the will, but , can(t very well represent both the surviving partner and the e#ecutor.' 0lack an grinned, and there was a trace of envy in his grin. '%retty soft for you,' he said, 'with all of those fees co ing in.' '-as that what you ca e to talk about)' asked &ason, coldly. 0lack an(s e#pression changed. ', ca e to tell you,' he said, 'that ,( representing %eter 7evoe, the chauffeur, who is charged with the urder.' '9ot a good case)' asked &ason casually. The other an winced. '"ou know all about the case,' he said. 'To tell you the truth,' said &ason, speaking with elaborate carelessness, ', don(t. ,(ve been so busy with other angles of the atter that , haven(t had ti e to look into the urder case at all.' 0lack an said, '0aloney<' e#plosively. &ason looked dignified and resentful. :@

0lack an leaned forward and tapped the desk i pressively. '8ook here, &ason,' he said. '"ou(re playing things pretty fo#y. 0ut , just want you to know that you(re up against so ebody who(s going to play just as fo#y.' '&eaning)' asked %erry &ason. ', ean that you can(t sit back and rake in all the oney, and keep all your people out of it, while you railroad 7evoe to the gallows.' ',( not railroading anybody to the gallows.' 0lack an s+uir ed under the cold glare of the an across the desk. '8ook here,' he said, ',( talking facts now. There(s nobody here to hear us. ,t(s just a conference between us two. "ou know the ga e as well as , do. "ou defend persons accused of cri e whenever there(s a good fee in it, and so do ,. -hen you defend a person, you(re representing hi and nobody else on earth. "ou(d fight the whole world to protect the rights of your clients.' 'Sure,' said &ason, patiently, tonelessly, 'that(s the duty of an attorney.' 'All right,' 0lack an said. ', just want you to know that ,( going to be faithful to y duties.' '9o on,' said &ason. '"ou(ve said too uch or not enough. , can(t tell which yet.' 'All right,' 0lack an told hi . ', ean just this; "ou(re keeping this .elane wo an pretty uch in the background. "ou(ve anaged to do it rather adroitly. After all, the only case against %ete 7evoe is one of circu stantial evidence, and it(s pretty weak circu stantial evidence, at that. He was lying there in bed, drunk, and anybody could have planted that club in his roo and the two thousand dollars in his clothes.' '"ou overlook,' said &ason, 'the testi ony of 7on 9raves, who actually saw the urder being co itted. "ou overlook the fact that, according to .rinston(s testi ony, Edward 1orton was sending for his chauffeur as .rinston left the place.' ', overlook nothing,' said 0lack an i pressively, his eyes boring belligerently into &ason(s face. 'And , don(t overlook the fact that there was a wo an i#ed up in the thing so ewhere.' '"es)' asked &ason in a tone of polite but surprised interest. '"es,' said 0lack an, 'and don(t be so da ned surprised at it. "ou know it, as well as , do.' 'Fnow what)' asked &ason. 'Fnow that 7on 9raves saw a wo an in that roo at the ti e the urder was being co itted.' '7on 9raves doesn(t say so in the state ent that he ade to the police, as , understand it,' &ason re arked. 'The state ent he ade to the police hasn(t got anything to do with it,' said 0lack an. ',t(s the state ent he is going to ake on the witness stand that counts.' &ason looked at the ceiling and said, i personally; ',n the event, however, that the state ent he akes on the witness stand doesn(t coincide with the first state ent he ade to the police, it ight have a tendency to weaken his testi ony, particularly as far as the wo an was concerned.' '"es, it ight,' said 0lack an. There was silence for a o ent, then 0lack an lowered his voice and said e phatically, 'All right. "ou know where , stand now. "ou(re controlling all the oney in this case, and ,( representing the an who has been picked for the fall guy. , want the fa ily to cooperate in this thing, and , want so e oney. 5therwise, ,( going to tear the lid off.' '-hat do you ean by cooperation)' asked &ason. ', ean that , want the fa ily to convey the i pression to the police that they(re not at all vindictive$ that if 7evoe did anything, he was drunk when he did it, and that if the 7istrict Attorney will take a plea of anslaughter they(ll be just as well satisfied. And then ,( going to want so e of the gravy.' '"ou ean,' said &ason, 'that you want *rances .elane to see that you get paid to plead %ete 7evoe guilty of anslaughter so as to hush up any scandal) ,s that what you(re trying to convey to e)' 0lack an got to his feet with ponderous dignity. ', think, counselor,' he said, 'that you understand y errand perfectly. , think that , have stated y position fairly and frankly, and , do not care to co it yself by replying to the rather crude su ary which you have atte pted to ake.' %erry &ason pushed back the chair fro his desk, stood with his feet planted well apart, his eyes staring at 0lack an. '7on(t think you can pull anything like that, 0lack an,' he said. '-e(re here alone. "ou(re going to tell e what you want, and tell it in so any words.' '7on(t be silly,' 0lack an told hi . '"ou know what , want.' '-hat do you want)' ', want oney.' '-hat are you going to give in return for it)' ',(ll cooperate with you in keeping &iss .elane in the background.' 'To the e#tent that you(ll have %ete 7evoe plead guilty to anslaughter)' '"es. ,f , can get a plea.' ',s he guilty of anslaughter)' asked %erry &ason. '-hy the hell bother about that)' said 0lack an irritably. ', told you that he(d plead guilty to anslaughter.' 'How uch oney do you want)' ', want fifty thousand dollars.' 'That(s too uch oney for a fee,' &ason re arked, in a voice that was al ost casual. '1ot for the work ,( going to do it isn(t.' 'The work for 7evoe)' asked &ason. 'The work for *rances .elane, if you want to put it that way,' 0lack an told hi . :A

'All right,' &ason went on, 'as you, yourself, e#pressed it, we(re here alone. There(s no reason why we can(t talk frankly. 7id %ete 7evoe kill Edward 1orton)' '"ou ought to know,' said 0lack an. '-hy should , know)' '0ecause you should.' ', don(t know. ,( asking you if he did.' '-hy worry about that) ,(ll get hi to plead guilty to anslaughter.' '*or fifty thousand dollars)' '*or fifty thousand dollars.' '"ou(re cra/y. The 7istrict Attorney wouldn(t accept any such plea. This is a urder case. Second degree urder would be the best you could get.' ', could get anslaughter,' 0lack an said, 'if the fa ily would cooperate, and if 9raves would change his story a little bit.' '-hy should 9raves change his story)' &ason in+uired. '-hy should anybody do anything)' 0lack an asked in a sarcastic tone of voice. '-hy should , do anything) -hy should you do anything) -e(re not i#ed in it. -e(re doing things for oney too.' Slowly, al ost ponderously, %erry &ason walked around the big desk toward 0lack an. 0lack an watched hi with greedy eyes. '!ust say it(s all right,' said 0lack an, 'and you won(t hear anything ore about it.' %erry &ason ca e to a stop in front of 0lack an. He looked at hi with eyes that were cold and sneering. '"ou dirty scu ,' he said, his voice vibrant with feeling. 0lack an recoiled slightly. '-hat the hell are you talking about)' '"ou,' said &ason. '"ou(ve got no right to talk to e like that.' %erry &ason took a swift step forward. 'A dirty shyster,' he said, 'who would sell out his client for a fifty thousand dollar fee. 9et out of this office, and do it right now<' 0lack an(s face twisted in surprise. '-hy,' he said, ', thought you were going to listen to y proposition.' ', listened to it,' &ason told hi , 'and heard all , wanted to.' 0lack an suddenly bolstered up his courage, and brandished a rigid forefinger in front of &ason(s face. '"ou(re i#ed in this thing pretty deep yourself,' he said. '"ou(re either going to accept this proposition, or you(re going to hear a lot ore about it.' %erry &ason reached up and grasped the e#tended forefinger in his left hand. He twisted the other(s hand down and around, until the lawyer e#clai ed with pain. &ason abruptly released the forefinger, spun the other lawyer halfway around, grasped the back of the lawyer(s coat with his big, capable hand, and propelled the lawyer to the door. He jerked open the door of the private office, gave 0lack an a shove that sent hi sprawling off balance, into the outer office. '9et out, and stay out<' he said. 0lack an al ost ran for half the distance across the outer office, then turned, with his face livid with rage, his glasses dangling at the end of the black ribbon. '"ou(re going to regret that,' he said, ' ore than anything you ever did in your life<' '9et out<' said %erry &ason, in a slow, even tone of voice, 'or ,( going to do so e ore.' 0lack an groped for the knob of the outer door, pulled it open, and stepped into the corridor. %erry &ason stood in the doorway of his private office, shoulders s+uared, feet planted widely apart, staring belligerently at the slowly closing door. '-hat happened)' asked 7ella Street, in sudden concern. ', told the cheap heel where to get off,' &ason re arked, without looking at her, his cold eyes still fastened on the door fro the outer office. He turned and walked back to his private office, leaving 7ella Street staring at hi with wide, apprehensive eyes. The telephone was ringing as he reached his desk. He scooped the receiver to his ear, and heard the voice of *rances .elane. ',(ve got to see you at once,' she said. 'All right,' he told her, ',( in y office. .an you co e in)' '"es, unless you can co e out here.' '-here are you)' '5ut at the house.' 'All right,' he told her, 'you(d better get in that 0uick and co e in here.' ', can(t co e in the 0uick,' she said. '-hy not)' he asked. 'The police have sealed it up. They(ve locked the trans ission and padlocked the wheels.' %erry &ason gave a low whistle over the telephone. ',n that event,' he said, 'you(d better get in the %ackard and co e here just as fast as you can. "ou(d better grab a suitcase and put so e clothes in it, but do it without attracting too uch attention.' ',(ll be in in twenty inutes,' she said, and hung up. %erry &ason put on his hat, and paused for a o ent to talk with 7ella Street as he went out. :C

',( e#pecting &iss .elane in here,' he said, 'in about twenty or twenty-five inutes, and , think ,(ll be back by the ti e she arrives. 0ut if ,( not, , want you to put her in y private office and lock the door. 7on(t let anyone in. 7o you understand)' She looked up at hi , swiftly apprehensive, and nodded her head in a gesture of affir ation. 'Has anything gone wrong)' she asked. He nodded curtly, then s iled and patted her shoulder. He walked out of the door, took the elevator down, and walked a block and a half to the Seaboard Second 1ational Trust .o pany. 0.-. 6ayburn, vice president of the bank, regarded %erry &ason with hard, watchful eyes, and said; '"es, &r. &ason)' ',( representing &iss *rances .elane, the beneficiary under a trust fund which was ad inistered by Edward 1orton,' said &ason. 'Also, ,( representing &r. Arthur .rinston, who is the surviving partner of .rinston G 1orton.' '"es,' said &r. 6ayburn. 'So , understand fro a conversation , had this orning with &r. .rinston.' '5n the day of his death,' said &ason, '&r. 1orton ade a trip fro his ho e to a bank and back again. , a wondering if the trip was to this bank, or to the *ar ers and &erchants 1ational, where , understand he also had an account.' '1o,' said 6ayburn slowly, 'he ca e here. -hy do you ask)' ', understand,' said &ason, 'he ca e here to secure a large su of oney in one thousand dollar bills. , a an#ious to know if there was anything peculiar about his re+uest for that oney, or anything peculiar about the bills.' '%erhaps,' said 6ayburn significantly, 'if you could be a little ore e#plicit, , could give you the infor ation you wanted.' '7id &r. 1orton,' asked the lawyer, 'say specifically for what purpose he wanted those bills)' '1ot specifically,' said 6ayburn, with the secretive anner of one who is deter ined only to answer direct +uestions. &ason took a deep breath. '7id he ask you in advance,' he said, 'to get for hi a certain nu ber of thousand dollar bills bearing consecutive serial nu bers)' 'He did,' said the vice president of the bank. 'And did he further state to you that, through your banking affiliations, he would like very uch to have you ake note of the nu bers of those bills and ascertain when the bills were presented for deposit at any bank in the city)' '1ot e#actly in those words,' said 6ayburn cautiously. '7id he state that he intended to use that oney to ake a pay ent to a black ailer, and would like to find out the identity of the person who deposited the currency)' '1ot in e#actly those words,' said the banker again. ', think,' said %erry &ason, s iling, 'that , have all of the infor ation , can ask you to give e, and sufficient for y purpose. Thank you, &r. 6ayburn.' He turned and walked fro the bank, leaving behind hi a cold-eyed individual who surveyed his back in a ga/e of shrewd speculation. &ason returned to his office and beckoned 7ella Street to his inner office. '9et 7rake(s 7etective 0ureau for e,' he said, 'and say that , want %aul 7rake, hi self, to handle a atter of ut ost i portance. Say that , want 7rake to co e to y office posing as a client, and that , want hi to wait in the reception roo until , give hi a line on what he(s to do. 7uring the ti e he(s waiting, he is to appear erely as a client.' She looked at hi with eyes that showed grave apprehension. ',s that all)' she asked. 'That(s all,' he told her. 'And you don(t want that .elane wo an to know anything about who %aul 7rake is)' '9et this straight,' %erry &ason told her. ', don(t want anyone to know who 7rake is. As far as anyone who co es into the office is concerned, 7rake is a client who is waiting to see e.' '5kay,' she said. She paused for a few o ents, watching hi with eyes that ade no effort to conceal their concern. He grinned reassuringly. '7on(t worry,' he said, 'it(s okay.' '"ou(re not getting in trouble)' she asked. ', don(t think so.' ',s &iss .elane)' 'She(s in already - up to her neck.' '7oes she know it)' ', think so.' '"ou won(t let her drag you into it)' He shook his head slowly. '1o,' he said, ', don(t think so. , can(t tell just yet.' '-hen can you tell)' she asked. '1ot until &iss .elane tells e the truth.' '-hen will that be)' '1ot until she gets worse frightened than she is now.' 7ella Street frowned, then said, +uickly; 'Suppose we frighten her)' %erry &ason shook his head and s iled. '1o,' he said, slowly, ', don(t think we(ll have to.' :D

CHAPTER ELEVEN %E66" &AS51, thu bs hooked in the ar holes of his vest, paced back and forth across the floor of his private office. *rances .elane, perched in the big black leather chair which she had occupied on her first visit to the office, regarded hi with eyes that oved steadily back and forth, following the pacing of the lawyer. '-ell,' she said at length, 'you haven(t asked e anything about why , wanted to see you.' ', don(t have to,' he said, ', know what(s happening better than you do. -hat ,( trying to do is to think far enough ahead so , can find the proper place to head the off.' ',( in an awful ess,' she said. '5f course you are,' he snapped, and resu ed his steady pacing of the floor. There was a period of silence, then he paused in his walk to plant his feet far apart and stare down at her. '-here did you get that oney you gave e)' he asked. '!ust as , told you before, , got the oney fro y uncle,' she said, in a thin, weak voice. '0efore he was urdered or afterwards)' pressed %erry &ason. '0efore.' 'How uch before)' '1ot very uch before. That is, just before &r. .rinston ca e to the house.' '-hat happened)' 'There was forty-eight thousand dollars,' she said. 'He gave it to e, and told e he was sorry he(d been holding out y regular allowance. He said he(d decided to change his ind.' 'Had he accused you of being black ailed before that)' '1o.' 'And he gave you this oney in cash)' '"es.' '"ou ca e to hi and told hi that you needed cash)' ', told hi that , si ply had to have so e oney and have it right away.' 'And he didn(t say anything about you being black ailed)' '1o.' '-ere you being black ailed)' She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. ',s that any of your business)' she asked. '"es,' he said. '"es,' she said, ', was being black ailed.' 'All right,' he said. '-as it by the housekeeper)' She started, and raised her eyes to his with a look of alar . 'How did you know)' ', suspected,' he said. 'How uch did you give her)' ', gave her all of it,' she said. 'All e#cept the ten thousand dollars that , gave you.' '7oes that ean,' he said, 'that you haven(t any of those thousand dollar bills in your possession)' 'That(s right.' '1ow listen. 8et(s not have any isunderstanding about this, and let(s get it straight. "ou(re in a ja , and ,( going to get you out, but it(s i portant , know e#actly what happened with that oney. "ou haven(t any of it in your possession)' '1ot a bit,' she said. %erry &ason took the ten thousand dollars which she had given hi fro his wallet and fingered the bills. '"ou knew,' he asked, 'that all of these bills were nu bered consecutively, and that various banking institutions in this city had been given a list of those nu bers)' '1o,' she said in a wan, frightened voice. '-ell,' he told her, 'that(s a fact. Thousand dollar bills aren(t so nu erous but what they attract attention when they(re deposited, and it(s al ost necessary to take the to a bank to change the . &erchants don(t ordinarily carry change for a thousand dollars in their tills.' %erry &ason went to the desk, picked up a long envelope of heavy anila paper, sealed the ten thousand dollars in currency in the envelope, unscrewed the cap fro a fountain pen, and addressed the envelope to .arl S. 0elknap, =:DC 3?th Street, 7enver, .olorado, and jabbed his forefinger on the button on the side of his desk, which su oned his secretary. -hen 7ella Street opened the door, %erry &ason tossed her the envelope with a careless gesture. 'Sta p and ail this,' he said. '*irst .lass.' She looked at the address. ', didn(t know we had any correspondence with a &r. 0elknap,' she said. '-e have now,' he told her. 'Send it registered ail.' She nodded, flashed one swiftly appraising glance at *rances .elane, then slipped back through the door to the outer office. %erry &ason turned to *rances .elane. 'All right,' he said. 'That envelope will be in the ail for the ne#t few days. Eventually it will co e back to e. ,n the eanti e, nobody is going to find that oney on e. 1ow why didn(t you tell the police about that in the first place)' =E

Her eyes suddenly snapped black fire. 'That(s y business<' she said. ', hired you as an attorney to represent y interests. 7on(t think that you can stand there and tell e what ,( going to do, and what ,( not going to do...' He took a stride toward her and said; '"ou(re either going to control that te per, or you(re going to arch up the gallows and have a black bag put around your neck. 7id you ever think of how you would like to be hung)' She got to her feet and drew back her hand as though she intended to slap hi . '"ou(ve been a spoiled spitfire all your life,' %erry &ason told her. '1ow you(re facing a situation you can(t handle by yourself. !ust as sure as you(re standing there, you(re going to be arrested within the ne#t forty-eight hours, and the case that(s going to be built up against you is going to be so black that , don(t know whether , can get you out of it or not.' Sheer surprise pushed her rage to one side, and showed in her dark eyes. 'Arrested) &e, arrested)' 'Arrested,' he told her, 'for urder.' '7evoe was arrested for urder,' she said. 'He(s the one that did it.' '7evoe didn(t do it,' said %erry &ason, 'any ore than , did. That is, if he did do it, no one is ever going to prove it. He(s got an attorney that knows the ropes, and he(s going to drag you into this.' 'How do you know)' she asked. '0ecause he was here in this office less than an hour ago and told e so.' She sank back in the chair and stared at hi , all of the te per gone fro her eyes, which were now dark and pathetic. '-hat did he want)' she asked. '&oney,' he said. Her face showed a trace of relief. 'All right,' she said. '-e(ll give it to hi .' '-e will not,' he said. '-hy)' '0ecause,' he said, 'he(d black ail you to death. He doesn(t know for sure that you are in a bad ja , but he suspects it. He wanted to ake sure. ,f ,(d talked ter s with hi , he(d have been sure. He(s heard whispers so ewhere. He wanted to verify the . ,f ,(d given in to hi on the oney end of it, he(d have been sure.' '0ut,' she asked, 'what did you do)' His voice was gri . ', threw hi out of the office,' he said. 'How uch does he know)' she asked. '1ot uch, but he suspects a lot.' ',( afraid of hi ,' she said, in a voice that was al ost a wail. '"ou(ve got a right to be,' he said. '1ow , want to get at the botto of this thing. Tell e e#actly what happened when your uncle was urdered.' She took a deep breath and said in a low onotone, ', was in the house. , had had a +uarrel with hi . He had been very bitter, and , lost y te per and said things that hurt.' '"ou would,' said the lawyer dryly. ', did,' she said, without e#pression. There was a o ent of silence. '9o on,' said the lawyer. 'He took so e oney fro his wallet,' she said. ',t wasn(t all of the oney that was in there. There were so e bills left. , don(t know e#actly how any, but he pushed the currency toward e and told e to take it. He said that he had intended to cut down on y allowance to bring e to y senses, but that he(d co e to the conclusion , would never co e to y senses. He said it was really y oney and if , wanted to throw it away, that was y business.' 'So you took the oney,' he told her. '"es, of course.' 'Then what)' 'Then,' she said, ', gave all of it e#cept ten thousand dollars to &rs. &ayfield.' '-hy did you do that)' he asked. '0ecause she knew , had been arried, and was threatening to tell y uncle about it.' '-as that before .rinston ca e to the house, or afterwards)' '"ou ean when , gave her the oney)' '"es.' 'Afterwards.' '-ho saw you give the oney to her... anyone)' '6ob 9leason.' %erry &ason whistled. 'So 9leason was there, eh)' he asked. '"es,' she said slowly, '9leason was there. That(s why , said , wasn(t there.' 'All right,' he said gri ly, 'tell e about that.' '"ou know that we are arried,' she said. '6ob drove up in his car, a .hevrolet. There(s a porch which opens out fro y roo , and he ca e to that porch and , let hi in. He was worried about &rs. &ayfield and about what y uncle was going to do. , told hi that ,(d seen y uncle and , thought things were all right. =3

'-hile we were talking, &rs. &ayfield ca e in and de anded oney. She had been listening, and knew that y uncle had given e so e oney. She didn(t know how uch. ', told her ,(d give her all , had. , opened y purse and let her take it out. 0ut, before , did that, , had ditched ten of the one thousand dollar bills, because , knew you were going to need so e oney, and , was saving it for you. That was all , needed oney for - just you and her. , thought then that things would be all right, with you representing e, and &rs. &ayfield keeping +uiet. , thought we could work the thing out so e way.' 'And .rinston had arrived by that ti e)' asked &ason. '"es,' she said, 'he had co e before that. , heard hi drive up. ,n fact, , was leaving y uncle(s office when .rinston ca e up.' 'And 9raves, the secretary, was in the outer office all the ti e)' asked the lawyer. '"es, he was there all the ti e, and knows pretty uch what happened. He knows a lot ore than he lets on. He knows a lot about y uncle(s affairs, and , have an idea he knows so ething about what &rs. &ayfield is doing.' 'All right,' said &ason, 'then what happened)' '-ell,' she said, '&rs. &ayfield went out, and , went out and sat on the porch with 6ob. Then there was a co otion, and , heard running steps fro the front of the house, and shouts, and heard so ething about y uncle having been urdered. , knew that it would never do for 6ob to be there, so , told 6ob to get in his car and drive away.' 'And you went with hi )' '"es, , went with hi .' '-hy did you do that) '0ecause , didn(t want to be there.' '-hy)' ', thought that , could fi# up an alibi for 6ob.' 'How did you get out of the grounds)' 'There(s a way out through an alley in the back, to the driveway. -e went out there, and nobody heard us, , guess.' 'All right, then what happened)' 'Then , ca e back ho e$ that is, , had 6ob drive e to a place about two blocks fro the house, and got out there. , sneaked into y bedroo and talked with 7on 9raves. , found out fro hi that y uncle had reported the 0uick as having been stolen, and they thought that , was driving it. , figured that was a good alibi for e, and would let 6ob out of it, so , said that , had been driving the 0uick, and nobody +uestioned y word.' 'All right. Then what happened)' '"ou know the rest. Everybody took it for granted that , had been driving the 0uick, and , thought everything was all right until you ca e and told e about the speedo eter records not checking up. , went out to put so e ileage on the 0uick, and found an officer there, who grinned at e and told e that the 0uick was going to be held for evidence.' 'They(d sealed it up)' asked %erry &ason. '"es. They put a padlocked chain around the front a#le and through the spokes of the wheel, and they(d also locked up the trans ission.' 'That,' said &ason dryly, ' akes it nice.' She said nothing. After a o ent &ason resu ed his regular pacing of the floor, and the girl watched hi with dark, an#ious eyes, her head never oving, but the eyes following hi back and forth as he paced rhyth ically. '"ou,' he said, at length, 'are going to have a nervous breakdown. , know a doctor , can count on. He(s going to e#a ine you and order you to a sanitariu .' '-hat good will that do)' she asked. ',t(s going to give e a little ti e,' he said. '0ut won(t that ake the ore suspicious when , run away)' 'They can(t get any ore suspicious,' he told her. 'The inute they sealed up that 0uick, it showed they were working on this other angle of the case. , tried to slip that notebook containing the ileages into y pocket, and ake it appear , was doing it casually$ but the officer wasn(t so du b. He called e on it, and , had to put the notebook hack.' '7id you know about the ileage then)' she asked. ', suspected it.' 'How did it happen you suspected it)' '0ecause , knew you(d been lying to e.' Her eyes bla/ed. '7on(t talk to e like that<' she said. He si ply grinned at her. After a o ent the angry light left her eyes. '"ou(ve got to figure you(re trapped on that car business,' he told her. '"ou(ve got to switch around on that.' '0ut,' she said, 'that(s going to bring 6ob into it. ,f they know 6ob was there, that(s going to ake an awful ess, because there was bad blood between 6ob and y uncle.' '7id 6ob see your uncle the night he was urdered)' asked &ason. She shook her head, hesitated a o ent, then nodded it. '"es,' she said, 'he did.' 'And the reason you changed your story just now and ad itted it,' he said, 'is that you suddenly re e bered there is so eone who knows 6ob saw your uncle. -ho is that so eone - 7on 9raves)' She nodded her head again. %erry &ason stepped to the door of the outer office. =:

'7ella,' he said, 'get e 7octor %rayton on the telephone right away. Tell his nurse that it(s vitally i portant - a atter of life and death. 9et hi on the telephone personally, and do it now.' '"es,' she said. 'There(s a &r. %aul 7rake in the office who wants to see you about a personal atter. He won(t tell e what it is.' 'All right,' snapped %erry &ason. 'Tell hi to wait,' and he stepped back into the office, sla ing the door. '1ow,' he told the girl, 'you(re going to have a nervous breakdown. "ou(ll be sent to a sanitariu under another na e. The police will find you sooner or later. 0ut , want it to be later. 7on(t let anyone know who you are, don(t show any undue interest in the newspaper reports of the case, and, no atter what happens, don(t get sta peded.' She stared at hi searchingly. 'How do , know , can trust you)' she asked. He et her ga/e with a steady stare. 'That(s one of the things you can use your own judg ent about,' he said, 'and it(s going to ake a hell of a lot of difference what you do.' 'All right,' she told hi , ',( going to trust you.' He nodded. '4nder those circu stances,' he said, ',(ll order the a bulance right now before 7oc %rayton gets here.' CHAPTER TWELVE %A48 76AFE, the detective, bore no rese blance whatever to the popular conception of a private detective, which was, perhaps, why he was so successful. He was a tall an, with a long neck that was thrust forward in+uiringly. His eyes were protruding, and glassy, and held a perpetual e#pression of droll hu or. 1othing ever fa/ed hi . ,n his life, urders were everyday occurrences$ love nests as co on as auto obiles, and hysterical clients erely part of an everyday routine. He sat in the big high-backed leather chair in %erry &ason(s office, and turned sideways, so that his long legs were crossed over the right hand ar of the chair. A cigarette was in his outh, hanging pendulously at an angle fro his lower lip. %erry &ason, seated back of the big desk, stared at the detective with patient eyes that were cal ly watchful. His anner was that of a veteran fighter rela#ed in his corner, waiting for the sounding of the gong. He looked like a an who would presently lose his rela#ed watchfulness, spring fro the chair, and engage in swift conflict, with the ferocity of a tiger. '-ell,' said 7rake, 'what(s eating you)' 'Awhile back,' said %erry &ason, 'you were telling e so ething about a rough shadow.' %aul 7rake inhaled placidly on his cigarette. His glassy, protruding eyes watched %erry &ason with an e#pression of +ui//ical hu or. '"ou ust have a good e ory,' he said. 'That was a long ti e ago.' '1ever ind when it was,' &ason told hi . ', want to get the lowdown on it.' 'So ebody trying it on you)' asked the detective. '1o,' said &ason. '0ut , have an idea , can use it< 9ive e the sketch.' %aul 7rake re oved the cigarette fro his outh, pinched it out, and dropped it into an ashtray. ',t(s a stunt in detective work,' he said. '-e don(t ordinarily talk about it - not to outsiders, anyway. ,t(s a psychological third degree. ,t(s predicated on the idea that a an who has so ething on his ind that he(s trying to conceal, is likely to be nervous.' 'How does it work)' &ason asked tonelessly. '-ell, let(s figure that you(re working on a case, and you figure so ebody has got so e knowledge - not just ordinary knowledge, but a sort of guilty knowledge that he(s trying to conceal. "ou(ve got two or three ways of approaching hi in order to get hi to spill the beans. 5ne of the is to use the routine stunt of getting an attractive wo an to get ac+uainted with hi , and start hi boasting. Another one is to plant so e an who beco es friendly with hi , and gets his confidence. '4sually one of those ways works out. 0ut so eti es they don(t work. So eti es a an won(t fall for a wo an, or, if he does, won(t start boasting, and he(ll get suspicious if one of your operatives starts getting friendly with hi . That(s when we use the rough shadow. ,t takes two en to work a rough shadow job. *irst, you have your contact an who akes a contact with the suspect, but can(t see to get under his hide, can(t get hi to talk. '-ell, you pick the ti e and a suitable place, and have your rough shadow trailing along behind. The contract an starts the fireworks by giving a signal. '5f course, you understand, shadowing is a job in itself. The public gets goofy ideas about the work of a shadow, and how he operates. The public gets the idea that a shadow puts on disguises and ducks into doorways or hides behind telephone poles, and all that sort of stuff. They get that way fro looking at the ovies and reading a lot of detective stories written by guys that don(t know anything about the detective business. 'As a atter of fact, your real shadow is a s ooth guy who al ost never uses a disguise. He(s just a casual, innocentlooking bystander. 1o atter what happens, he never gets rattled and never does any of this business of ducking in a doorway. He looks so atter-of-fact that the suspect always takes hi as part of the general scenery, and never thinks of hi as an individual.' ', know all that, in a general way,' %erry &ason told hi . '-hat , want to get straight is just how this rough shadow ga e is worked.' '-ell, that(s si ple,' said the detective. ',t(s like all of the good things - they(re si ple when you co e right down to analy/e the . The rough shadow si ply acts the way the suspect figures a shadow should act. ,n other words, he +uits being a ==

regular shadow, and beco es crude. He does all the things that the suspect naturally e#pects a detective would do. He hides behind telephone poles and ducks in doorways, and all of that stuff.' 'So that the suspect knows he(s being shadowed)' asked %erry &ason. 'That(s the idea,' said 7rake, taking another cigarette fro a case in his pocket, and tapping it gently on his thu b nail. '"ou see, the contact an has established a certain a ount of friendly relations with the suspect. The suspect, however, is a guy who won(t talk about the thing that the contact an wants hi to talk about, so the contact an gets a shadow to tail along behind. The suspect never knows that he(s being tailed, because the shadow is a s ooth worker. 0ut, when the circu stances are right, the contact an gives a signal, and then the shadow gets crude about his ethods. He starts ducking around behind telephone poles, putting on disguises, and doing the hundred and one a ateurish things which defeat the very purpose of a skilled shadow. 1aturally, the suspect takes a tu ble that he(s being tailed. '1ow, it(s a funny thing about a an finding out that he(s being shadowed, particularly a an who ain(t used to it. As soon as he finds that so ebody(s tailing hi around, he starts getting nervous. 4sually the first thing he does is to start walking faster, and looking back over his shoulder. 1aturally, the contact an has the rough shadow ga e sprung when he(s walking with the suspect, and the contact an always slows down and saunters along. 'So the suspect wants to hurry things up a little bit, and he(s nervous and ju py all over. After a while, ninety-nine chances out of a hundred, he(ll turn to the contact an and say that there(s a detective following hi and he wants to ditch the shadow. The contact an helps hi to do it, and that akes the suspect loosen up and take the contact an into his confidence.' 'Suppose the suspect doesn(t say anything to the contact an)' asked the lawyer. 'Then,' said 7rake, 'the contact an says so ething to the suspect. He taps hi on the shoulder, and says; (8isten, old an, , don(t want to get personal, but do you know there(s so ebody shadowing you)( 5r else, he ay say; (Say, look at that fellow behind us. , believe he(s shadowing e.( ,f it(s a cri e he(s working on, the contact an usually pretends that the rough shadow is tailing hi , and opens up and confesses to the suspect that he(s been guilty of a cri e so ewhere, and that he(s afraid the dicks are on his trail. He asks the suspect to help hi ditch the rough shadow. They rush into buildings, go up and down elevators, ingle with crowds, and all that sort of stuff, and when the contact an gives a signal, the rough shadow steps out of the picture, and the suspect thinks he(s been ditched. ',t(s just an angle of the ga e that so eti es brings results. "ou can nearly always get a an talking when you pull a rough shadow on hi .' 'All right,' said %erry &ason, ', want to work a rough shadow ga e.' '&aybe you won(t need a rough shadow,' 7rake pointed out. ',t(s so ething we use only as a last resort. 4sually we can build up a friendship and get people to talk. A slick operative has a knack of aking people spill facts.' '1o,' said &ason, 'this is an unusual case, and , want a contact operative who is of a certain type.' '-hat(s the type)' asked the detective. 'A iddle-aged wo an who can pretend she has had to work hard all her life. 9et so ebody who hasn(t any particular beauty or figure$ who has wrinkled hands and a heavy figure.' '5kay,' said 7rake. ',(ve got just the wo an. She(s clever, and she(s hard-boiled. -ho do you want to have her contact)' '&rs. Edna &ayfield, the housekeeper for Edward 1orton.' 'The an who was urdered)' 'The an who was urdered.' 7rake whistled. 'Think she(s i#ed up in the urder)' he asked. ', don(t know just what she(s i#ed up in,' %erry &ason said slowly, 'but she(s got infor ation. , want that infor ation.' 'They(ve got the fellow that did the urder, haven(t they)' asked the detective, his glassy eyes suddenly losing their e#pression of droll hu or, and containing a glint of +uick appraisal. '-asn(t it the chauffeur or so ebody that pulled the job)' 'So , understand,' said &ason nonco ittally. '"ou(re representing *rances .elane, the young wo an who(s the beneficiary under the trust fund and the will)' '"es.' '5kay, now just what do you want e to get out of her)' 'Anything that she knows,' said %erry &ason slowly. '"ou ean about the urder)' 'About anything.' %aul 7rake let his glassy eyes study the tip of the cigarette and the s oke which eddied upward fro it. '8ook here,' he said, 'let(s be frank with each other. , know you well enough to know that if you(re getting e to start work on this urder case, that there(s an angle to it that the police haven(t got.' ', didn(t say , wanted you to work on the urder case,' %erry &ason said slowly. '1o,' said 7rake significantly, 'you didn(t say that.' There was a o ent or two of silence, then %erry &ason said, slowly and i pressively; ', want you to find out everything that that housekeeper knows. , don(t care what it(s about.' %aul 7rake ade a gesture with his shoulders. '7on(t get e wrong,' he said. ',( not curious, and , don(t want you to isunderstand e. 0ut just suppose that so e of the infor ation this wo an spills wouldn(t look so well for your client)' ', want to get the infor ation,' said %erry &ason. 'Sure, , know,' said 7rake. '0ut suppose that we get it through a couple of operatives that ,(ll put on the case. And suppose the infor ation should be so ething you would want to keep under cover) , try to get dependable people to work for e, but things have a habit of leaking out in ti e.' =>

'"es,' said %erry &ason slowly, 'in ti e.' 5nce ore there was an interval of silence. '-ell)' asked the detective. ', think,' said &ason, 'that this is another case where ,( going to be working against ti e. , don(t think there(s any infor ation that your operatives will get that the police won(t get sooner or later. , want to have it sooner, and want the police to get it later.' 7rake nodded. 'All right,' he said, ', get the sketch. , just wanted to be certain there wasn(t any isunderstanding between us. &isunderstandings in y business ake for dissatisfied clients, and , want to keep y clients satisfied.' 'All right,' &ason told hi . '-e understand each other on that. '1ow, there(s one other thing. A fellow by the na e of 7on 9raves, secretary to Edward 1orton, was a witness to the urder itself. He(s told the police one story, and e another. He ay be dangerous. , want to find out confidentially whether he really did see a wo an in the roo at the ti e the urder blow was struck, or whether he(s going to say he did, which a ounts to the sa e thing. '1ow, do you suppose that you could get so eone to contact hi without creating too uch suspicion, and find out just what he(s really going to testify to) ,f there(s any way of doing it, ,(d like to get a written state ent out of hi .' 'Any oney for e#penses)' asked the detective. '%lenty of it,' said the lawyer. '-ell, suppose , get so ebody to go to hi and tell hi he(s representing a tabloid newspaper, or a true detective story aga/ine, and wants the account of an eye-witness, get hi to sub it the anuscript signed and sworn to, and offer to pay hi by the word)' '5kay,' said &ason, 'provided there aren(t too any words.' The detective grinned. '"ou ean, provided the words are of the right kind.' '-ell,' said the lawyer, ', guess that a ounts to about the sa e thing.' 7rake got up and flipped his cigarette into a brass cuspidor. '5kay,' he said, ',(ll get started.' '"ou(ll let e know progress)' ',(ll let you know progress.' '.oncentrate heavy on that housekeeper. She(s a tartar and you(ll have to watch her.' '&ail reports)' asked the detective. '1o. &ake the orally or not at all.' There was a knock at the door, and 7ella Street glanced significantly at %erry &ason. 'That(s okay,' he said, 'tell e what it is, 7ella.' '&r. .rinston is out here. He says his business is i portant and he can(t wait.' '2ery well,' said &ason, ',(ll see hi .' He flashed a eaning glance to 7rake and said to the detective in a tone of voice sufficiently loud to carry into the outer office, 'That(s +uite all right, &r. 7rake. ,( busy on an i portant atter right now, and , can(t give it y i ediate attention, but you(ve got ten days within which to ake an appearance, and ,(ll draw up a de urrer and file it in court. That(ll carry the thing along and keep you fro being in default until we can go into greater details.' He shook hands with 7rake in the doorway, and beckoned to &r. .rinston. '.o e in,' he said. .rinston pushed his way into the inner office with that aggressive suggestion of boo ing authority which characteri/ed hi . He gave the i pression of sweeping away all obstacles fro his path by the very blast of his forceful personality. 'Hello, &ason,' he said, shaking hands. '9lad to see you. 9uess you(ve been pretty busy, haven(t you)' &ason watched hi with speculative eyes. '"es,' he said. ',(ve been busy.' .rinston sat down in the big chair, and filled it co pletely. He took a cigar fro his pocket, clipped off the end, scraped a atch on the sole of his shoe. '-ell,' he said, 'it(s been a ess all around.' '"es,' the lawyer told hi , 'it(s still a ess.' '5h, , think it(s going to co e out all right,' said .rinston, 'but why didn(t you follow y instructions)' '-hat instructions)' 'About keeping *rances out of it.' ', have kept her out of it the best , could. The poor girl is hysterical. She ca e to the office and had a co plete breakdown. , called a physician, and he prescribed co plete rest. He(s taken her to a sanitariu so ewhere, and won(t tell even e where it is, for fear that , ight call her.' .rinston puffed out the first whiffs of blue s oke fro the cigar, and stared at the lawyer thoughtfully. '1ot bad, that,' he said. 'Her nerves were really on the ragged edge,' said &ason with dignity. '"es, yes, , know,' .rinston said i patiently. '1o need to waste your ti e and y ti e with that stuff. , understand. -hat , dropped in to find out was whether you know a an by the na e of 9eorge 0lack an, a attorney here)' '"es, , know hi ,' said &ason. 'He got in touch with e on the telephone and told e , should see you right away on a atter of great i portance.' &ason kept his voice flat and e#pressionless in an even onotone. =?

'0lack an ca e to see e earlier in the day,' he said, 'and suggested that it ight ake atters better for the fa ily all around if 7evoe should plead guilty to anslaughter.' '-hy, da n it<' stor ed .rinston. 'He(s a urderer< That was a dastardly cold-blooded urder<' 'That attitude on the part of the fa ily was the thing that 0lack an wanted to speak to e about,' said &ason, still speaking in the sa e even cautious onotone. 'He said that if the fa ily were going to adopt a vindictive attitude toward his client, it would be necessary for hi to adopt a vindictive attitude toward the fa ily and try to show that the case was a fra eup against his client.' 'How could he do that)' asked .rinston. '5h, there are various ways,' said &ason, in his steady onotone. ',t(s an a#io of cri inal law that a an should try everyone e#cept the defendant. "ou know, so eti es you can try the prosecuting attorney. 2ery fre+uently you can try the prosecuting witness. "ou can start digging around, cross-e#a ining on e#traneous atters, trying to show so e sort of a otive for urder. Then, if you can get a otive before the jury, you start showing opportunity, and if you can get otive and opportunity, you suddenly switch the accusation and clai there(s just as uch ground to suspect the prosecuting witness as there is the defendant.' '"ou ean to switch the guilt to *ran .elane)' asked .rinston. ', didn(t ention any na es,' said &ason. ', si ply told you how cri inal lawyers play the ga e.' '8ook here,' said .rinston. '7id you find out e#actly what he wanted)' 'He said that he wanted a fee,' said &ason, 'and the assurance that a re+uest would go to the 7istrict Attorney to look at the atter as leniently as possible and accept a plea of anslaughter.' .rinston studied the lawyer thoughtfully. '"ou say that(s what he said he wanted)' he co ented. '"es.' '"ou act as though you didn(t think it was what he really wanted.' ', don(t.' '-hy)' '0ecause , don(t think the 7istrict Attorney would consider a plea of anslaughter. , think he(d prosecute either for first degree urder, or not at all.' 'Then what did 0lack an want)' .rinston de anded. ', think he wanted to find out what our reactions would be to a proposition of that kind. ,f we(d been willing to go ahead, he(d have taken as uch oney as he could get, and then black ailed us for as uch ore as possible, and then doublecrossed us at the ti e of trial.' .rinston studied his cigar thoughtfully. 'He didn(t i press e as being that kind of a an,' he said slowly. '1ot fro the i pression he ade over the telephone, anyway.' ',f you(d seen hi , he(d have ade a better i pression,' &ason told hi . .rinston put the cigar back in his outh and chewed on it thoughtfully. '8ook here,' he said suddenly, placing his parted fingers to his outh, and jerking out the chewed cigar, ', don(t like the way you(re handling this case.' '1o)' asked %erry &ason coldly. '1o<' said .rinston e#plosively. 'And what don(t you like about it)' asked the lawyer. ', think you(re letting a golden opportunity slip through your fingers. , think there(s a good chance to get this thing all cleaned up by playing ball with 0lack an.' &ason(s answer was curt and without e#planation. ', don(t,' he said. '-ell , do, and ,( giving you orders right now to get in touch with 0lack an and give hi what he wants. Anything within reason.' 'He doesn(t want things within reason,' &ason said. 'His type never does. He(d find out what we consider reasonable, and then raise his sights.' 'All right. 8et hi raise the . There(s a hell of a lot of oney involved in this thing, and we can(t afford to bungle it.' 'Are you afraid,' asked %erry &ason, 'that *rances .elane can(t stand too uch pressure)' 'That(s a great +uestion to ask e<' .rinston al ost shouted. '-hen you(ve had to let her have a nervous breakdown in order to keep her out of the hands of the police.' ', didn(t say that , did it to keep her fro the police,' &ason re inded hi . '-ell, , said it,' said .rinston. '"es,' &ason told hi , ', heard you, and further ore, you don(t need to shout.' .rinston got to his feet, flung the half s oked cigar into the cuspidor, and glowered at &ason. 'All right,' he said, 'you(re finished.' '-hat do you ean ,( finished)' '!ust what , say. "ou(re not representing e any ore, and you(re not going to represent *rances .elane any ore.' ', think,' &ason told hi slowly, 'that &iss .elane will be the best judge of that. ,(ll wait until she tells e that ,( not to represent her any ore.' 'She(ll tell you fast enough, as soon as , get in touch with her.' '-here,' asked &ason, s iling thoughtfully, 'are you going to get in touch with her)' =@

'7on(t worry,' .rinston told hi , ',(ll get in touch with her all right, and then you(re going to be finished. "ou(re a bungler. "ou(ve been s art enough on so e things, but you(ve let the case get into a hell of a ess. ,( going to get so e attorney, and...' Abruptly, %erry &ason got to his feet. He strode purposefully around the desk. .rinston watched hi co e with eyes that re ained steady, but see ed to hold just a trace of panic. &ason planted hi self fir ly in front of the other an, his eyes cold, hard, and o inous. 'All right,' he said, 'let(s not have any isunderstanding about this. *ro now on ,( not representing you, is that right)' '"ou bet that(s right<' 'And don(t think,' said &ason, 'that your business is so da ned i portant. &iss .elane would have let e handle the estate if it hadn(t been for the fact that , couldn(t place yself in the position of acting as attorney both for the estate, and for the surviving partner.' '-ell,' .rinston told hi , 'you don(t need to worry about that any ore. 5n the other hand, don(t think you(re going to represent the estate. "ou aren(t going to represent anything or anybody. ,( going to get another attorney to represent e, and he(s going to represent *rances .elane, as well.' %erry &ason said, slowly, o inously; '!ust to show you what a fool you are, and how you(ve walked into a trap, the an that you(re going to get to represent you is one that was suggested to you by 0lack an.' '-hat if he is)' .rinston de anded. &ason(s s ile was frosty. '1othing,' he said. '9o right ahead. -alk into the trap just as deeply as you want to.' .rinston(s eyes softened so ewhat. '8ook here, &ason,' he said, ',(ve got nothing against you personally, but this is a business atter. , think you(re bungling things, and , think you(re too da ned ethical. , don(t want you to isunderstand e. *rances .elane eans a lot to e. ,( just like an uncle to her. She(s a kid that ,(ve taken a lot of interest in, and ,( going to see that she gets a s+uare deal. , think that this case re+uires so eone who can deal with 0lack an. He says he wouldn(t deal with you any ore if you were the last an left on earth.' %erry &ason laughed a bitter, irthless laugh. .rinston went on doggedly. '1o atter what happens, ,( for *rances .elane. , don(t know what the evidence ay disclose before it gets done, but ,( going to stick by the kid no atter what happens. 9et that, and get it straight. ,( a business an$ and she doesn(t know a thing about business. ,( going to see that she gets a s+uare deal, beginning i ediately.' He turned and walked with ponderous dignity toward the door. %erry &ason watched hi with thoughtful concentration. '-hat a sucker you are,' as .rinston jerked the door open. .rinston whirled on hi . ', hate that word<' he said. ', don(t let anybody call e a sucker.' '"ou(ll hate it a lot worse before you(re done,' said &ason, and, turning on his heel, walked back to his desk. .rinston hesitated a o ent, then turned and walked back into the roo . 'All right, wise guy,' he said, 'now ,( going to tell you so ething. '"ou(ve bungled this case fro the ti e you started in on it. , know that , can(t fire you as &iss .elane(s lawyer. That(s so ething that(s entirely up to her. ,( going to advise her to let you go. ,n the event she doesn(t, however, ,( going to give you one tip, and that(s watch %urkett, the butler.' '1ow,' said %erry &ason, 'you interest e. 9o ahead and tell e what you(re driving at.' '5h,' said .rinston sarcastically, 'you do want to take a little advice, eh)' ', want you to tell e why you ade that re ark about %urkett,' said %erry &ason, his eyes cold. .rinston(s eyes surveyed the lawyer in thoughtful appraisal. ',f , told you,' he asked, 'would you have sense enough to use the infor ation)' %erry &ason said nothing, but held his head slightly on one side, after the anner of a person an#ious to hear that which is about to be said. 'The evidence in this case,' said .rinston, 'pointed un istakably to 7evoe. A good lawyer would have seen that the police never had a chance to consider the possibility that such evidence wasn(t conclusive. However, you sat back and did nothing while the police began to doubt that evidence and ake other investigations. 'Then, when that investigation was under way, you did nothing to keep the fro involving your client. 1ow, if 7evoe is guilty, that(s the end of it. ,f he isn(t guilty, so eone else is. There(s a stronger probability that that so eone else is %urkett than anyone else. "et you(re letting hi keep entirely in the background.' .rinston stopped speaking and stood in an attitude of glowering belligerency. ',s that all you have to say)' asked %erry &ason. 'That(s all.' %erry &ason s iled. '0lack an(s address,' he said, 'is in the &utual 0uilding. , thought , would save you looking it up in the telephone book.' .rinston(s face showed a slight flicker of surprise, then set in gri lines. '2ery well,' he said, jerked the office door open, and sla ed it behind hi . %erry &ason sat for a few inutes, then cla ped his hat down fir ly on his head. He walked through the outer office, saying to his secretary as he went past, ', don(t know just when ,(ll be back, 7ella. .lose up the office at five o(clock.'

=A

CHAPTER THIRTEEN %E66" &AS51 walked into the garage where he stored his auto obile and asked for the echanic. 'How uch of a job would it be,' he said, 'to turn a speedo eter back a few iles) That is, suppose you had a speedo eter that registered around 3?,=?E iles, and you wanted to turn it back to 3?,=E>.A iles. How uch of a job would it be)' '1ot uch of a job,' said the echanic grinning, 'only, if you were going to turn it back that far, you should ake a good job of it and turn it back to =EEE iles and sell the car as a de onstrator.' '1o,' said the lawyer, ', didn(t ean to slip one over on the car dealer or on a custo er. , was trying to find out about evidence. How long would it take to set the speedo eter back)' '1ot so very long,' said the echanic. ',t(s a si ple job.' %erry &ason gave hi half a dollar and walked fro the garage, his head bowed in thought. He stepped into a drug store and telephoned the nu ber of Edward 1orton(s residence. The voice that answered the telephone, apparently that of the butler, was filled with that type of for ality which co es when one has answered a telephone innu erable ti es in connection with so e tragedy which has attracted uch public interest. ', want to talk with &r. !ohn &ayfield, the gardener,' said &ason. ', beg your pardon, sir,' said the voice, 'but it(s rather unusual for calls to co e through for &r. &ayfield. , don(t know whether he(s supposed to take calls on this telephone or not, sir.' 'That(s all right,' said &ason, without disclosing his identity. 'This is in connection with so e police business. 9et hi on the phone, and don(t waste ti e.' There was a o ent of hesitant silence at the other end of the line, and then the butler(s voice said; '2ery good, sir. !ust a o ent, sir.' After a delay of several inutes a heavy, stolid voice said; 'Hello,' and %erry &ason spoke rapidly. '7on(t tell anybody who this is,' he said, 'but this is &ason, the lawyer, who represents *rances .elane. "our wife spoke to e about getting so e oney for her, and , can(t locate her. 7o you know where she is)' ', think,' said the an, 'she went to the 7istrict Attorney(s office. They called for her in a car and took her there.' 'All right,' said &ason. ',t(s i portant that , get in touch with you and talk with you about this business atter which your wife took up with e. 1ow, the +uestion is, can you take one of the cars and co e in to eet e)' '&aybe , could, sir, but ,( not certain. ,(d uch rather walk up and eet you at the corner of the boulevard if you could drive out here, sir.' 'All right,' said &ason, ',(ll do that. "ou eet e at the boulevard, and don(t tell anybody that you(re eeting e there.' &ason returned to the garage, got his car, and ade ti e out to the place where the curving roadway which led to the 1orton residence intersected the boulevard. A an who was stooped of shoulder, heavily fra ed and big-boned, stepped out fro the gathering dusk as &ason parked the car. '"ou(re &r. &ason)' he asked. '"es,' said the lawyer. ',( !ohn &ayfield. -hat was it you wanted)' &ason got partially out of the car and stood with one foot on the running board, and surveyed the an with keen scrutiny. He saw a stolid, une otional face, with sullen eyes and heavy, uns iling lips. '7id you know what your wife spoke to e about)' he asked. '&y wife told e she had had a talk with you,' said the an, cautiously. '7id she tell you what she talked about)' 'She told e that aybe we were going to get so e oney.' 'All right,' said &ason. '1ow, in order to know where , stand on this thing, you(ve got to tell e about that speedo eter.' 'About what speedo eter)' said the an. 'About the speedo eter on that 0uick car. "ou set it back, didn(t you)' '1o, sir,' said the gardener. '-ould you say that you set it back if , co pleted the business arrange ents with your wife)' asked &ason. '-hat do you ean)' '1ever ind what , ean,' said the lawyer. '"ou si ply tell your wife that if business arrange ents are going to be co pleted between us, , would want to know first whether there would be testi ony that the speedo eter of that 0uick auto obile had been set back.' '-hat(s that got to do with it)' asked the gardener. '!ust this,' said &ason, aking little jabbing otions with his forefinger to e phasi/e his state ents. '-e know that Edward 1orton telephoned in to the police that his 0uick had been stolen. '1ow that eans that the 0uick ost certainly wasn(t in his garage at the ti e he telephoned. So ebody had that 0uick out. ,t doesn(t ake any difference whether &iss .elane was ho e or not. So ebody had the 0uick out. That 0uick was issing at the ti e 1orton telephoned. 1ow, when the police got there, the 0uick was in the garage, and the speedo eter on the 0uick was set back to the sa e ileage that it showed when it was taken out. So so ebody set that speedo eter back. 1ow, the +uestion is, who did it)' ', didn(t, sir,' said the gardener. 'How about 7evoe, the chauffeur)' =C

', don(t know about hi , sir.' 'How about the butler)' ', don(t know about hi .' 'All right,' said &ason. '"ou don(t know very uch about anything, but your wife has a pretty good idea about what(s going on. , want you to tell her that if we are going to do business she has got to find out who set the speedo eter back on that car.' '"ou ean the person that had it out, sir)' '1o,' said &ason, ', don(t care a da n about the person who had it out. ,(d just as soon the police figured it was &iss .elane who had the car out. -hat , want to do is to prove that the speedo eter was set back, and , want to find out who set it back. 7o you understand)' '"es, , think , do now. "es, sir.' '-hen is your wife co ing back)' ', don(t know. So e en fro the 7istrict Attorney(s office ca e and talked with her. Then they told her they wanted her to go to the office and ake a state ent.' 'All right,' said &ason. '7o you think you can give her y essage)' '"es, sir, , know , can.' 'All right. See that you do,' &ason told hi . '1ow there(s one other thing that , want to find out about, and that(s where you were at the ti e the urder was co itted.' '&e)' said the an. ', was asleep.' '"ou(re certain about that)' '5f course ,( certain. , woke up with all of the co otion going on.' '"our wife wasn(t asleep,' said &ason. '-ho says she wasn(t)' de anded &ayfield, his sullen eyes showing so e trace of e otion. ', do,' said &ason. '"our wife was around the house. She hadn(t gone to bed when the urder was co itted. "ou know that.' '-ell, what of it)' said &ayfield. '!ust this,' &ason re arked, lowering his voice i pressively, 'there was a wo an in the roo with the an who struck that blow. 1ow your wife had inti ated that wo an was &iss .elane, or ay have been &iss .elane. , want you to tell your wife that , now have evidence which leads e to believe that she was the wo an who was in the roo at the ti e.' '"ou ean,' said the an, bristling, 'that you(re accusing y wife of urder)' ', ean,' said &ason, standing his ground and staring at the belligerent gardener, 'that ,( telling you , have evidence that indicates your wife was the wo an who was in the roo at the ti e the blow was struck. That doesn(t ean that she struck the blow. ,t doesn(t ean she knows anything at all about the fact that a blow was going to be struck. 0ut it does ean that she was in the roo at the ti e.' '"ou want e to tell her that)' asked &ayfield. ', want you to tell her that,' said &ason. 'All right,' said &ayfield, ',(ll tell her that, but she won(t like it.' ', don(t care whether she likes it or not,' said &ason. ', told you to tell her that.' 'All right,' said &ayfield. ',s there anything else)' '1o,' &ason told hi , 'e#cept that you want to be sure and tell her about this interview when no one is listening. ,n other words, , don(t want the representatives of the 7istrict Attorney(s office to know about it.' '5h, sure,' said &ayfield, ', know enough for that.' 'All right,' said &ason, and got in his car and drove down the boulevard. He drove in to a cafe, where he dined leisurely and thoughtfully. 0y the ti e he had finished dinner, the newsboys were crying papers on the street, and %erry &ason bought one, took it to his auto obile, lounged back against the cushions, turned on the do elight and read the headlines which spread across the top of the page. 1E- &"STE6" ,1 &,88,51A,6E &467E6... -5&A1 ,1 655& AT T,&E 5* .6,&E ,S .8A,&E7... %58,.E T6A.,19 &A6FE7 &51E" TAFE1 *65& 057" 5* &,88,51A,6E... HE,6ESS SE.6ET8" &A66,E7 A17 H4S0A17 S549HT AS &ATE6,A8 -,T1ESS... 0EA4T,*48 1,E.E &"STE6,54S8" 7,SA%%EA6S *5885-,19 2,S,T T5 %65&,1E1T 8A-"E6. %erry &ason read through each word of the sensational story which followed$ a story in which the reporters told as uch as they dared in between the lines$ a story which stopped short of actual accusation, yet which left the public to infer that the police were far fro satisfied with the case against %ete 7evoe, the chauffeur, and were considering a sudden change of front which would involve persons of wealth and pro inence. %erry &ason carefully folded the paper, thrust it into the door pocket of the car, and drove, not to his bachelor apart ent, but to a downtown hotel where he registered under an assu ed na e and spent the night. CHAPTER FOURTEEN %E66" &AS51 walked into his office, said good orning newspapers were spread on his desk. orning to 7ella Street, then went into his private office where the =D

7ella Street opened the door and followed hi into the private office. 'So ebody broke in and searched...' He whirled on her, placing his finger to his lips. Then, while she ceased talking, started aking a round of the office. He oved pictures, peering behind the , swung out the revolving bookcase and inspected the wall space, then crawled under the desk. He straightened, s iled, and said; '8ooking for a dictograph. There(s just a chance that they(d have one planted.' She nodded. 'So ebody broke into the office last night,' she said, 'and went through everything. The safe was opened.' '7id they s ash it)' '1o, he ust have been so e clever crook who knew how to work the co bination. The safe was opened, all right. , could tell, because the papers were disturbed.' 'That(s all right,' he told her. '-hat else is new)' '1othing,' she said, 'e#cept three police detectives watching the office, and , have an idea they(re waiting for so eone to co e in.' He s iled wisely and said; '8et the wait. ,t will teach the patience.' '7id you read the papers)' she asked. '1ot the orning papers,' he told her. 'The late editions say that they(ve identified the club that killed 1orton,' she told hi . '"es)' '"es. ,t was a heavy walking stick, and they(ve found out that it belonged to 6ob 9leason, the husband of our client.' 'That(ll ean,' said %erry &ason, 'that they(ll charge hi with first degree urder, and let the charge against 7evoe go.' 'They(re also going to charge the wo an,' she said, 'unless they have already.' 'So)' he asked. '"es. This secretary, 7on 9raves, has given so e additional infor ation which has changed the entire co ple#ion of the case, according to the STA6. 9raves was shielding so e one. The police broke hi down and he gave additional evidence.' '-ell,' he said, 'that akes it interesting. ,f anybody co es in, give the a stall.' She nodded her head, staring at hi apprehensively. '"ou(re not going to get i#ed into this thing, are you)' she asked. '-hy should , get i#ed into it)' he in+uired. '"ou know what , ean,' she said. '"ou do too uch for your clients.' '-hat do you ean by that)' '"ou know what , ean. "ou had &iss .elane have a nervous breakdown, and leave here in an a bulance.' He s iled at her. '-ell)' he asked. ',sn(t it a cri e,' she said, 'to conceal so eone who is wanted by the police)' '-as she wanted by the police then)' he in+uired. '1o,' she said, dubiously, 'not then, , guess.' '*urther ore,' said &ason, ', a not a physician. , ight ake an incorrect diagnosis. , thought she was having a nervous breakdown, but , called a physician to verify y i pression.' She frowned at hi and shook her head. ', don(t like it,' she said. '7on(t like what)' '7on(t like the way you i# into these cases. -hy can(t you sit back and just do your stuff in a court roo )' ', don(t know, ,( sure,' he told her, s iling. '&aybe it(s a disease.' '7on(t be silly,' she told hi . '5ther lawyers walk into court and e#a ine the witnesses and then put the case up before a jury. "ou go out and i# yourself into the cases.' '5ther lawyers,' he told her, 'have clients who get hung.' 'So eti es they deserve it,' she pointed out. '%erhaps. , haven(t had one hung so far, and , haven(t had one who deserved it.' She stood staring at hi for a o ent, then s iled, and there was so ething al ost aternal in her s ile. 'Are all your clients innocent)' she asked. 'That(s what the juries say,' he told her. 'And after all, they(re the ones to judge.' She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. '"ou win,' she said, and went back into the outer office. As the catch clicked, %erry &ason sat down at his desk and spread out the newspapers. He read for fifteen inutes without interruption, and then the door opened. 'There(s a &rs. &ayfield out here,' 7ella Street told hi , 'and , have an idea you(d better see her while the seeing is good.' %erry &ason nodded. 'Send her in,' he said, 'and ake it snappy. There(ll probably be a police detective following on her trail. Stall hi off just as long as you can.' The girl nodded, opened the door, and beckoned to the wo an who sat in the outer office. As the broad for of &rs. &ayfield hulked in the doorway, %erry &ason saw his secretary blocking as uch of the passage as possible. Then, as the door was closing behind the housekeeper, he heard 7ella Street(s voice saying; ',( very sorry, but &r. &ason is in an i portant conference right now and can(t be disturbed.' %erry &ason nodded to &rs. &ayfield, got up, crossed the office and turned the lock on the door. '9ood orning, &rs. &ayfield,' he said. >E

She stared at hi in black-eyed belligerency. '9ood orning<' she snapped. %erry &ason indicated the black leather chair, and &rs. &ayfield sat down in it, her back very stiff and her chin thrust forward. '-hat(s this about the speedo eter being set back on the 0uick auto obile)' she asked. There was the sound of scuffling otion fro the outer office, then the noise of bodies pushing against the door, and the knob of the door twisted. The lock held it shut, and %erry &ason kept his eyes fastened on &rs. &ayfield, holding her attention away fro the noise at the door. '&r. 1orton,' said the lawyer, 'reported the 0uick auto obile as having been stolen. At the ti e, we thought that &iss .elane was driving it. 1ow it appears that she was not. Therefore, the 0uick ust have been gone at the ti e 1orton reported its theft to the police. However, we have the ileage record of the car, and it shows that he returned it to his house at 3?,=E>.A iles. 'That eans the person who was using it the night of the urder ust have either set the speedo eter back or disconnected the speedo eter when he took it out.' &rs. &ayfield shook her head. 'The car wasn(t out,' she said. 'Are you certain)' he asked. '%urkett, the butler,' she said, 'sleeps right over the garage. He was lying awake in bed, reading, and he(d have heard anyone take a car out. He says that the garage doors were closed, and that no car went out.' '.ould he have been istaken)' pressed &ason. '1o,' she snapped. 'The doors ake a noise when they(re opened. ,t sounds very loud up in the roo over the garage. %urkett would have heard it, and , want an e#planation of this crack that you ade to y husband about e being in the roo when the urder...' '*orget that for a inute,' &ason interrupted. '-e(re talking about the car, and our ti e(s short. , can(t do any business with you unless , can prove that speedo eter was set back.' She shook her head e phatically. '"ou can(t do any business with e anyway,' she said. '"ou(ve got things in a fine ess.' 'How do you ean)' '"ou(ve handled things in such a way that the police have dragged *rances .elane into it.' The black eyes snapped at hi in beady indignation, and then suddenly fil ed with oisture. '"ou ean you(re the one that got *rances .elane into it,' said &ason, getting to his feet and facing her accusingly. '"ou started it by black ailing her about her arriage, and then you wanted ore black ail to keep her out of this urder business.' The glittering black eyes now showed globules of oisture. ', wanted oney,' said &rs. &ayfield, losing her air of belligerency. ', knew it was an easy way to get it. , knew that *rances .elane was going to have plenty. , didn(t see any reason why , shouldn(t have so e of it. -hen she hired you, , knew you were going to get plenty of oney, and , didn(t see any reason why , shouldn(t have so e. 'All y life ,(ve been a working wo an. ,(ve arried a husband who is a clod, and hasn(t a bition or sense enough to co e in out of the rain. All y life ,(ve had to take responsibilities. -hen , was a girl , had to support y fa ily. After , was arried, , had to furnish all the a bition to keep the fa ily going. *or years ,(ve waited on *rances .elane. ,(ve seen her live the life of a spoiled lady of leisure. ,(ve had to slave y fingers to the bone doing housework and seeing that she had her breakfast in bed, and ,( tired of it. , didn(t see any reason why , shouldn(t have so e oney too. , wanted lots of oney. , wanted people to wait on e. , was willing to do anything to get the oney, e#cept to get *rances into real trouble. '1ow , can(t do anything about it. The police cornered e and ade e talk, and they(re going to arrest *rances .elane for urder. *or urder< 7o you understand)' Her voice rose al ost to a shriek. There was an i perative pounding on the door of the office. '5pen up in there<' gruffed a voice fro the outside. %erry &ason paid no attention to the co otion at the door, but kept his eyes fi#ed upon &rs. &ayfield. ',f it would help clear up this ystery,' he said, 'do you think you could find so eone who would testify that the car was taken out and that the speedo eter was either disconnected or set back)' '1o,' she said, 'that car didn(t go out.' &ason started pacing the floor. The knocking at the outer door was redoubled in intensity. So eone shouted; 'This is a police detective. 5pen up that door<' Suddenly &ason laughed aloud. '-hat a fool ,(ve been<' he said. The housekeeper blinked back the tears and stared at hi with wide eyes. '5f course,' said &ason, 'that car didn(t leave the garage. 1o car left the garage.' And he s acked his fist down upon his pal . He whirled to the housekeeper. ',f you want to do so ething for *rances .elane,' he said, 'talk with %urkett again, and in detail. 9o over the case with hi and strengthen his recollection so that, no atter what happens, he can(t be shaken in his testi ony.' '"ou want hi to say that the car didn(t leave the garage)' asked the housekeeper. >3

', want hi to tell the truth,' said %erry &ason. '0ut , want hi to tell it with sufficient fir ness so that he won(t be rattled on the witness stand by a lot of lawyers. That(s all , want hi to testify to - just the fact that the car did not leave the garage at any ti e on that night$ that the garage doors were closed, and that they re ained closed, and that no person could have taken a car fro the garage without his hearing it.' '-ell,' she said, 'that(s the truth. That(s what he says.' 'All right,' he told her, 'if you want to do *rances .elane a favor, you get to hi and see that no pressure on earth can change that testi ony of his.' ',(ll do it,' she said. He asked hastily; '-hat did you tell the police about getting oney fro *rances .elane)' '1othing,' she said. ', told the that she gave you oney but , didn(t know how uch, or whether it was in large bills or s all bills.' The door creaked under the weight of a body which had been thrown against it. %erry &ason walked to it, snapped back the lock, and opened the door. '-hat the hell do you ean,' he de anded, 'by trying to bust into y private office)' A burly an with s+uare shoulders, thick neck and scowling forehead, pushed his way into the roo . ', told you who , was,' he said. ',( a police detective.' ', don(t care if you(re &ussolini,' said %erry &ason. '"ou can(t break into y office.' 'The hell , can(t,' said the detective. ',( taking this wo an into custody.' &rs. &ayfield gave a little screa . '5n what charge)' asked %erry &ason. 'As a aterial witness in a urder case,' said the detective. &ason re arked; '-ell, you didn(t get the urge to take her into custody as a aterial witness until after she ca e to this office.' '-hat do you ean)' asked the detective. 'E#actly what , say,' said &ason. '"ou sat outside and watched this office until you saw &rs. &ayfield co e in. Then you telephoned your superior for instructions, and he told you to pick her up as a aterial witness before she had a chance to talk with e.' '%retty s ooth, ain(t you)' sneered the detective. &rs. &ayfield stared fro one to the other and said; '0ut , haven(t done anything.' 'That ain(t the +uestion, a(a ,' said the detective. ',t(s a +uestion of keeping you as a aterial witness where you won(t be annoyed or inconvenienced.' 'And,' sneered %erry &ason, 'where you won(t have a chance to talk with anybody e#cept representatives of the 7istrict Attorney(s office.' The detective glowered at %erry &ason. 'And we understand,' he said, 'that you received ten one thousand dollar bills that were stolen fro the body of Edward 1orton.' ',s that so)' said &ason. 'That(s so,' snapped the detective. '!ust where do you think those bills are)' asked the lawyer. '-e don(t know, but we intend to find out,' the detective told hi . '-ell,' said &ason, 'it is a free country, or it used to be once. 9o ahead and find out.' '-hen we do,' said the detective, 'you(re likely to find yourself facing a charge of receiving stolen property.' '-ell, you(ve only got three things to do,' said &ason. '-hat three things)' asked the detective. '%rove that the oney was stolen, prove that , received it, and prove that , knew it was stolen when , received it.' '"ou know it(s stolen now.' 'How do , know it(s stolen)' '0ecause ,(ve told you it was. "ou(re on notice.' ',n the first place,' said &ason, ',( not ad itting that , have any ten thousand dollars. ,n the second place, , wouldn(t take your word for anything.' The detective turned to &rs. &ayfield. '.o e along, a(a ,' he said, 'we(ll handle this lawyer later.' '0ut , don(t want to go,' she said. ',t(s orders, a(a ,' he told her. '"ou won(t be annoyed. -e(re si ply going to keep you where you(ll be safe until after we can get your testi ony.' %erry &ason watched the pair depart fro his private office. His rugged face was e#pressionless, but there was a glint of s ouldering hostility in his patient eyes. -hen the door of the outer office had closed, %erry &ason walked to his secretary(s desk and said; '7ella, , want you to ring up the STA6. Tell the who you are. They(ve got a reporter there na ed Harry 1evers. He knows who , a . Tell the city editor to have 1evers co e and see e. ,(ll see that he gets so e sensational news.' She reached for the telephone. '"ou want e to tell that to the city editor)' she asked. '"es,' he told her. ', want 1evers sent here right away.' '"ou don(t want to talk with the editor)' >:

'1o, he(d plug a rewrite an in on the line, listen to what , had to say, call it an interview, and let it go at that. , want you to tell the who you are, tell the to send 1evers over here for a hot yarn. They(ll try to pu p you about what it is. Tell the you don(t know, and that ,( not available.' She nodded and lifted the receiver fro the hook. %erry &ason walked back to his private office and closed the door. CHAPTER FIFTEEN HA66" 1E2E6S was tall and thin, with eyes that looked at the world with a bored e#pression. His hair was in need of tri ing, and his face had that oily appearance which co es to one who has gone long without sleep. He looked as though he had been up all night, and had, as a atter of fact, been up for two. He walked into %erry &ason(s office and perched hi self on the ar of the big black leather chair. ',( going to give you a break,' said %erry &ason, 'and , want a favor.' 1evers spoke in a dull onotone of low-voiced co ent. 'Sure,' he said. ', had that all figured out a long ti e ago. -here is she)' '-here(s who)' asked &ason. '*rances .elane.' '-ho wants to know)' ', do.' '-hat(s the big idea)' 1evers yawned and slid back over the ar of the chair, so that he was seated cross-wise in the chair. 'Hell,' he said, 'don(t try to surprise e. That(s been tried by e#perts. , doped out the play as soon as , got the call. There was nothing to it. *rances .elane had a nervous breakdown and was rushed to a sanitariu . 8ast night the 7istrict Attorney uncovered evidence which ade hi decide to put a first degree urder rap on her. She was secretly arried to a chap na ed 9leason. They(ve picked up 9leason, and they(re getting ready to go after *rances .elane. '"ou(re *rances .elane(s attorney. "ou(ve got her under cover so ewhere. ,t(s a cover that(s deep enough to keep her fro walking into a trap until you(re ready to have her surrender. 0ut you can(t keep her under cover when the newspapers broadcast that she(s wanted for urder. "ou(ve got a doctor i#ed up in it, and a hospital. They wouldn(t stand for it, even if you wanted the to. So it(s a cinch you(ve got to turn her up, and you just picked on e to get the news, because you wanted so ething. 1ow tell e what you want, and ,(ll tell you whether we(ll ake a trade.' %erry &ason frowned thoughtfully, and ade little dru ing noises with his fingertips on the edge of the desk. ', don(t know what , want, Harry,' he said. Harry 1evers shook his head lugubriously. '-ith the hard-boiled bunch ,( working for, brother, if you don(t know what you want, you(re never going to get it. ,f you(re going to ake a trade you(ve got to ake a trade right now.' '-ell,' said %erry &ason slowly, ', can tell you generally what , want. So ewhere along the line ,( going to try to get two or three people back at the 1orton residence, under conditions that were si ilar to those which e#isted at the ti e of the urder. , don(t know just how ,( going to do it. So ewhere along the line ,( going to ake a point about the fact that the 0uick auto obile, which was reported stolen, wasn(t taken out of the garage. All , want you to do is to see that , get a reasonable a ount of publicity on those two points.' '-ait a inute,' said 1evers, speaking in that sa e dull onotone, 'you said you were going to ake a point that the 0uick car hadn(t been taken out of the garage. "ou ean that you(re going to clai that it was taken out, but the speedo eter was either disconnected or set back, ain(t that right)' '1o,' &ason told hi . ',( going to ake a point that it wasn(t taken out of the garage.' *or the first ti e since he had entered the office, the voice of Harry 1evers showed a trace of interest$ a touch of tone. 'That(s going to be a funny angle for you to play,' he said. 'All right,' said &ason, 'we(ll talk about that when the ti e co es. ,( just telling you now what , want. The +uestion is, do we ake a trade)' ', think so,' said 1evers. 'Have you got a photographer lined up)' 'Sure. He(s down in the car waiting, and ,(ve got a space held on the front page for a picture.' %erry &ason reached for the telephone on his desk, took down the receiver, and said to 7ella Street, in a low voice; '9et 7octor %rayton on the line. *ind out what sanitariu he put *rances .elane in. 9et hi to ake out a discharge fro the sanitariu , and telephone it over. Tell hi that *rances .elane is going to be charged with urder, and , don(t want hi to get i#ed up in it. 9et the telephone nu ber of the sanitariu , and after he(s telephoned in the discharge, get *rances .elane on the line for e.' He hung up the telephone. '1ow listen,' said 1evers earnestly, 'would you do e a favor)' '-hat is it)' asked &ason cautiously. ', thought , was doing you one. "ou(re getting e#clusive photographs and all that.' '7on(t be so cagey,' 1evers told hi . ', was just asking an ordinary favor.' '-hat is it)' 1evers straightened up slightly in the chair, and said in his low onotone; '9et that jane to show a little leg. This is a picture that(s going to ake the front page, and , want to have a lot of snap about it. &aybe we(ll take a close-up of her face for the front page, with a leg picture on the inside page. 0ut , want to take back so e photographs that have got a little leg in the .' >=

'-ell,' said %erry &ason, 'why not tell her so) "ou can be frank with her.' ',( going to be frank with her all right,' said 1evers. 'but you(re her lawyer, and she(ll have confidence in you$ So eti es we have a little trouble getting these janes to pose right when they(re e#cited. , want you to see that , get a break.' '5kay,' &ason told hi , ',(ll do the best , can.' Harry 1evers took a cigarette fro his pocket, lit it, and looked appraisingly at the attorney. ',f we could get her to co e down to the STA6 office and surrender herself to our custody,' he said, 'we(d see that she got a better break.' &ason(s tone was fir . '1o,' he said, 'you(re going to get the e#clusive story and photographs. That(s the best , can give you. She(s going to surrender to the 7istrict Attorney, and , want to be sure there isn(t any isunderstanding about that. ,n other words, , want the newspaper account to tell the public the truth.' 1evers yawned and looked at the telephone. '5kay,' he said. ', wonder if your secretary(s got the calls through yet...' The telephone rang, and &ason took down the receiver. He heard *rances .elane(s voice, eager and e#cited, at the other end of the line. '-hat is it)' she asked. 'They won(t let e have newspapers here.' 'All right,' said &ason. 'The show(s starting.' '-hat do you ean)' she asked. 'They(ve arrested 6ob 9leason for urder.' He heard her gasp, and went on, 'They(ve identified the club that killed Edward 1orton. ,t was a walking stick that belonged to 6ob 9leason.' '6ob 9leason never did it,' she replied swiftly. 'He called on y uncle, and they had +uite an argu ent. He left that walking stick in 4ncle(s study, and...' '1ever ind that,' interrupted %erry &ason. 'There(s a chance this line is tapped. They ay have detectives listening in on us. "ou can tell e when you get here. , want you to get in a ta#icab and co e to the office right away, prepared to surrender yourself for urder.' '"ou ean they(re going to arrest e too)' '"es,' he said. ',( going to surrender you into custody.' '0ut they haven(t charged e with urder yet, have they)' 'They(re going to,' he said. ',( going to force their hand.' '&ust , do it)' she asked. '"ou said you were going to have confidence in e,' he told her. ', say you ust do it.' ',(ll be in there,' she said, 'in just about half an hour.' '5kay,' said &ason, and hung up the telephone. After a o ent he jiggled the receiver and said to his secretary; '9et e the office of the 7istrict Attorney. , want to talk with .laude 7ru if he(s in.' He hung up the telephone and faced the reporter. '8isten,' 1evers told hi , 'you(re going to step on your tonsil there. ,f you tell the 7.A. you(re going to surrender the broad, they(ll cover your office and pick her up when she co es in. They(d rather have her picked up than have her surrender.' &ason nodded. 'That(s why you(re going to listen to y talk with the 7.A.(s office,' he said. ',t(ll avoid isunderstandings.' The telephone rang, and he picked up the receiver. 'Hello,' he said. 'Hello, 7ru ) This is &ason talking. "es, %erry &ason. , understand that 6ob 9leason has been charged with the urder of Edward 1orton.' 7ru (s voice ca e cold and cautious over the telephone. 'He is charged as one of the principals.' 'There(s another one then)' asked &ason. '"es, probably.' 'Have charges been filed)' '1ot yet.' 'A little birdie,' said &ason, 'tells e that you want to charge *rances .elane as being the other principal.' '-ell)' asked 7ru , his voice still cold and cautious. '-hat did you call e up for)' ', called you up to tell you that *rances .elane is on her way to surrender herself into custody at your office.' There was a o ent of silence, then 7ru said; '-here is she now)' 'So ewhere between where she is and your office. That is, she(s on the road.' 7ru asked cautiously; ',s she going to ake any stops in between ti es)' ',( sure , couldn(t tell you,' said &ason. 'All right,' said 7ru . '-hen she co es in, we(ll be glad to see her.' '-ill there be bail)' asked &ason. '-e(ll have to talk that atter over after she akes a state ent to us.' &ason s iled into the telephone. '7on(t isunderstand e, 7ru ,' he said. ', told you that she was going to surrender into custody. There won(t be any state ent.' '-e want to ask her so e +uestions,' said 7ru . 'That(s fine,' said &ason. '"ou can ask her all the +uestions you want. She(ll be only too glad to have you do so.' '-ill she answer the )' asked 7ru . >>

'She will not,' said &ason. ',f there(s any talking to be done, ,(ll do it.' He heard 7ru (s e#cla ation of e#asperation, and hung up the receiver. 1evers looked over at hi with bored eyes. 'They(ll double-cross you,' he said. 'They(ll figure that she(s going to co e to the office, and they(ll send en to arrest her here. They(ll ake it appear she was arrested, rather than giving herself up.' '1o,' &ason said, 'they think she(s going directly fro the sanitariu to the 7.A.(s office. And, anyway, you(ve heard the conversation. That(ll eli inate isunderstandings.' &ason opened a desk drawer, took out a flask of rye, and set out a glass. The reporter slid the glass back to hi along the desk and tilted the bottle to his lips. -hen he lowered the bottle, he grinned at the lawyer. '&y first wife hated to wash dishes,' he said, 'so , got out of the habit of dirtying the . "ou know, &ason, this ay be a hard orning, and , haven(t had any sleep for a couple of nights. ,f , put this bottle in y pocket, it ight keep e awake.' &ason reached out and took the bottle. ',f , keep it in the desk,' he said, ',(ll know that you don(t get an over-dose.' '-ell,' 1evers told hi , 'under those circu stances, there(s nothing to keep e fro going down and getting the photographer,' and he slid down fro the ar of the chair and walked through the door which led to the outer office. He was back in five inutes with a photographer who carried a ca era in a canvas case in one hand, and tripod in the other. The photographer wasted no ti e in greetings, but scrutini/ed the office with an eye that soaked in the lighting arrange ents. '-hat sort of co ple#ion has she got)' he asked. 'Spun silk hair,' said &ason. '7ark eyes, high cheeks, and a good figure. "ou won(t have any trouble with her when it co es to posing. She(s e#pert at placing herself where she looks well.' ', want her in that leather chair,' said the photographer. 'That(s where she(ll go,' &ason told hi . The photographer raised the shades on the windows, set up the tripod, adjusted and focused the big ca era, poured so e flashlight powder into a flashgun. '-hy don(t you use electric bulbs)' asked %erry &ason, eyeing the photographer with interest. ', understand they do better work, and they don(t get a roo all filled with s oke.' 'Try telling that to the eagle-eyed bird that audits the e#pense account,' said the photographer, 'and it(s your office. , don(t care about the s oke.' 1evers grinned at &ason. 'That(s the sweet spirit of cooperation that we have over at the STA6,' he said. &ason looked at the ceiling of the roo and uttered; ', presu e , can ove out of here for half an hour just because you fellows want to save the cost of a flashlight globe.' '9ive hi a shot out of that bottle,' said 1evers, 'and aybe he won(t load the flash +uite so heavy.' &ason slid the bottle over to the photographer. '8isten,' 1evers said, al ost oodily, 'so ething see s to tell e you(ve got a trick up your sleeve, &ason.' ', have,' &ason told hi . 1evers nodded to the photographer. 'All right, 0ill,' he said, 'better get a photograph of the lawyer at his desk. 7rag out so e law books. 9et that bottle out of the way, and get a couple of shots.' '7on(t waste your fil ,' &ason told hi . 'They won(t publish y picture unless it(s in connection with a courtroo scene, or walking down the street with *rances .elane, or so ething like that.' Harry 1evers looked at hi oodily, and said, in that bored onotone; ',( not so certain. ,t depends on what you(ve got up your sleeve. "ou(ve pulled a couple of fast ones lately, and ,(ll have these pictures for the orgue in case we need (e . "ou can(t ever tell what(s going to happen.' %erry &ason looked at hi shrewdly. ',n other words,' he said, 'you(ve heard that there(s so e talk of arresting e as an accessory after the fact.' 1evers chuckled, a dry, rasping chuckle. '"ou(ve got a good ind, &ason,' he said. '0ut you(ve got funny ways of trying lawsuits and representing clients. 1ow that you ention it, it see s to e , did hear so ething about so e stolen oney that you(d received on a fee and hadn(t surrendered.' &ason(s laugh was scornful. ',f , had received any oney, what a sweet spot it would put y client in if , walked into the 7.A.(s office, and laid the oney down on the table and said, virtuously; (Here it is.(' '7id you receive any one thousand dollar bills fro your client)' asked Harry 1evers, in the tone of one who asks a +uestion without e#pecting an answer. %erry &ason ade a gesture with his hand. ',f , did,' he said, ',(d either have the bills on e, or so e place in the office. The office has been searched fro top to botto .' 'This orning)' asked 1evers. 'So e ti e last night,' &ason told hi . 1evers jerked his head toward the photograph. '0etter take three pictures, 0ill,' he said. '9et hi at the desk, get hi standing up, and get a close-up.' >?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN *6A1 .E8A1E sat in the big, black leather chair, stared at the ca era on the tripod, looked at the face of %erry &ason, and s iled, a wan, pathetic s ile. 'Hold that s ile,' said the photographer. '-ait a inute,' said 1evers, 'there(s going to be a se# angle to this, and , want a little ore leg.' *ran .elane continued to s ile wanly. She reached down with her left hand and oved her skirt up an inch or two. '*ace the ca era,' said the photographer. Harry 1evers said; '-ait a inute. ,t still ain(t right. , want a little ore leg.' The s ile left her face, her black eyes bla/ed furiously. She reached down and pulled the skirt far up over the knee with an angry gesture. 'That(s too uch, &iss .elane,' the photographer said. 'All right,' she bla/ed at 1evers, 'da n you, you wanted leg< There it is<' &ason e#plained patiently. '"ou understand, &iss .elane, that these en are friendly to our side of the case. They(re going to see that you get so e favorable publicity, but, in order to do that, they(ve got to have a picture that will attract the interest of the public. 1ow, it(s going to help your case a lot if you can get just the right kind of a s ile on your face, and at the sa e ti e, show just enough of a se# angle to appeal to the asculine eye.' Slowly the glitter faded fro her eyes. She adjusted her skirt down over her knee, and once ore the wan, pathetic s ile ca e on her face. 'That(s oke,' said 1evers. 'Hold it,' said the photographer, and, 'don(t blink your eyes.' A puff of white light ushroo ed up fro the flashgun and a little cloud of s oke twisted and turned as it writhed toward the ceiling. 'All right,' said the photographer, 'let(s try one with a slightly different pose. Handkerchief in the left hand as though you(d been weeping, face ournful. 8et the outh droop a little bit. 1ot +uite so uch leg.' *rances .elane flared; '-hat do you think , a , an actress or a anne+uin)' 'That(s all right,' soothed %erry &ason. '"ou(ll have a lot of this to go through with, &iss .elane. And , want to caution you to keep your te per. ,f you flare up and show te per, and the newspaper reporters start playing you up as a tiger-wo an, it(s going to be a bad thing for your case. -hat ,( trying to do is to get the case brought on for trial, and get a +uick ac+uittal. "ou(ve got to cooperate or you ay have so e unpleasant surprises.' She stared at %erry &ason, sighed, and took the pose they had suggested. '.hin a little lower and to the left,' said the photographer. 'Eyes downcast, but not so far that they give the i pression of being closed. 9et the point of that shoulder a little bit away fro the ca era, so , can get the sweep of your throat. All right, that(s fine. Hold it<' 5nce ore the shutter clicked, and once ore the flashlight gave forth a puff of white s oke. '5kay,' said the photographer. 'That(s fine for those two.' %erry &ason crossed to the telephone. '9et e .laude 7ru at the 7istrict Attorney(s office,' he said. -hen he had 7ru on the line, he said; ',( awfully sorry, 7ru , but &iss .elane is very uch indisposed. She(s had a nervous breakdown and was ordered to a sanitariu by her physician. She left the sanitariu to co e in and surrender herself into custody when she knew that the police were looking for her. She(s at y office now, and she(s suffering fro nervousness. , think you(d better arrange to pick her up here.' ', thought you said she had left your office when you telephoned before,' said 7ru , with a trace of annoyance in his voice. '1o,' said &ason, 'you isunderstood e. , said that she had started for your office. , told you , didn(t know what stops she intended to ake on the way. She was nervous, and stopped in here because she wanted e to go with her.' 7ru said; 'All right, the police will be there,' and sla ed up the telephone. &ason turned and grinned at 1evers. ',f ,(d let the know she was co ing here to surrender herself, they(d have had en parked around to grab her before she got here,' he said. '5h, well,' said 1evers. ',t(s all in the ga e. , could stand another drink of that whisky if you(ve got it handy.' ', could stand a drink yself,' said *ran .elane. &ason shook his head at her. '1o, we(re going to be in the iddle of action pretty +uick, and , don(t want you to have li+uor on your breath, &iss .elane. "ou(ve got to re e ber that every little thing you do, and everything you say, will be snapped up and dished out to the public. '1ow re e ber that under no circu stances are you to talk about the case or to lose your te per. Those are two things you(ve got to re e ber. Talk about anything else, give the reporters plenty of aterial. Tell the about the ro ance of your secret arriage with 6ob 9leason. Tell the how you ad ire hi and what a wonderful an he is. Tell the all about the childhood you had, the fact that your parents died and that your uncle was the sa e as a father and a other to you. Try to get the note of the poor little rich girl who has neither father nor other, but is rolling in coin. >@

'9ive the all the aterial that they want to write sob sister articles and character sketches, and that stuff. 0ut the inute they start talking about the case, or what happened on that night, si ply dry up like a cla . Tell the that you(re awfully sorry, that you(d like to talk about it, and you don(t see any reason why you couldn(t, but that your lawyer has given you specific instructions that he(s to do all the talking. Tell the you think it(s silly, and that you can(t understand why your lawyer feels that way, because you(ve got nothing to conceal, and you(d like to co e right out and tell the whole circu stances as you re e ber the , but you(ve pro ised your lawyer, and you(re not going to break your pro ise to anybody. 'They(ll try all sorts of tricks on you, and probably tell you 6ob 9leason has ade a full confession, or that he has told the officers he has reason to believe that you co itted the urder, or that you ade certain incri inating state ents to hi , or they(ll tell you that he has co e to the conclusion that you are guilty and has ade a confession in order to take the jolt so that you(ll be spared. They(ll try all sorts of stuff. Si ply look at the with a du b e#pression on your face, and say nothing. And for 9od(s sake, don(t lose your te per. They(ll probably do things that will ake you want to kill the , but if you lose your te per and fly into one of your rages, they(ll spread it all over the front pages of the newspaper, that you(ve got an ungovernable te per, and are one of these tiger wo en.' ', understand,' she said. There was the sound of a siren drifting up through the windows of the office. *rances .elane shuddered. '-ell,' said 1evers to the photographer, 'get your ca era all loaded up, boy, because so e of these cops will want to get their picture in the paper, taking the suspect into custody. %robably .arl Seaward will show up fro the Ho icide S+uad. He(s one of those birds that likes to stick his sto ach in front of a ca era and put his hand on the shoulder of the prisoner, with a photograph for the front page labeled; (.arl Seaward, intrepid investigator of the Ho icide S+uad, taking the suspect into custody, arking the ter ination of a case which has baffled the entire police force for the past forty-eight hours.( '&aybe ,(d better get in this picture too. , wonder if y hair is on straight. , can pose as the STA6 reporter who assisted the police in locating the suspect.' And 1evers struck a pose in front of the ca era, grinning. *rances .elane surveyed hi in scornful appraisal. 'Show a little leg,' she said. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN %A48 76AFE perched on the edge of %erry &ason(s desk and shook tobacco fro a cloth sack into a brown paper which he held e#pertly between cigarette-stained fingers. '-ell,' he said, 'we(ve got our contact with &rs. &ayfield. 0ut it isn(t getting us anything. -e had one devil of a ti e. The police had her in custody as a aterial witness for a while.' 'Have you worked the rough shadow business on her yet)' in+uired &ason. '1ot yet. -e(re building up to it. -e(ve got a wo an operative who(s posing as a wo an who(s been abroad as a governess, and is now out of work. -e(ve checked back on &rs. &ayfield and found all about her early associates. -e anaged to run one of the down and got all the dope fro her about the na es of the people she knew, and all that sort of stuff.' 'This wo an is getting across all right)' asked &ason. ',(ll say she(s getting across. She(s got &rs. &ayfield confiding in her, all of her troubles with her husband, and all that sort of stuff.' '0ut she hasn(t said anything about the urder)' asked &ason. '1ot a peep so far. That is, of course, she entions that she was taken to the 7istrict Attorney(s office and held for awhile as a aterial witness until they got a signed state ent out of her, and a lot of that stuff. 0ut she isn(t going into details. All that she(s telling is si ply a rehash of what she(s told the newspapers.' 'How about 7on 9raves)' in+uired the attorney. 'How are you getting along with hi )' %aul 7rake put the finishing touches on the cigarette. '-e(re aking so e real progress there,' he said, '-e(ve got a young lady operative who has contacted hi , and 9raves is falling for her like a ton of brick. He(s telling her everything he knows.' 'About the case)' asked &ason. 'About the case, about everything. He(s turning hi self inside out.' 'This wo an ust be good,' said &ason. ',(ll say she(s good,' e#plained 7rake enthusiastically. 'She(d knock your eye out. She(s got one of those confiding techni+ues that snuggles up and looks at you with big eyes, and see s to listen all over. "ou just naturally ache to tell her things. &y 9od, every ti e , go out with that broad, , sit down and start telling her all of y troubles$ about the girl that jilted e in y childhood, so that , never got arried, and all that stuff. '"ou(ve seen a guy when he(s about nine-tenths drunk, going around and weeping on the necks of total strangers and telling all of his private affairs) -ell, that(s just the way this jane works. She affects the fellows just about like nine-tenths of a drunk. They fall all over her and spill everything.' 'That(s fine,' said &ason. '-hat have you found out)' 'So far, just stuff you don(t want to hear,' said the detective. ',t don(t help your client a da n bit.' 'All right,' said &ason, 'give e the lowdown, and don(t try to put a sugar coating on it. 9ive e the facts.' 'The facts are,' said 7rake, 'that this .elane girl had on a pink negligee the night the urder was co itted. 9raves was sent by Edward 1orton to ride up with !udge %urley and Arthur .rinston to get so e docu ents. He kept looking back toward >A

the house as they went around the curves in the road and when they got to the point in the road where he could look up at the window in Edward 1orton(s study, he saw so ebody standing back of 1orton, who was seated at his desk. '&ore than that, he says that he saw the an swing a club down on Edward 1orton(s head, and 1orton collapsed across the desk. He says that he saw the ar , shoulder and head of a wo an, and that he thinks he is positive of the identity of both the an and the wo an. The wo an had on a pink negligee.' 'He ade that state ent to the 7istrict Attorney(s office)' asked &ason. '"es, he(s ade it, and subscribed and sworn to it.' 'That isn(t the state ent he ade the first ti e,' &ason pointed out. '-hen they were aking their first investigation, 9raves said that he saw the an in the roo , who struck the blow, and didn(t see anyone else e#cept 1orton.' 'That won(t help you any,' said 7rake casually. '"ou can(t prove that.' 'They took the state ent down in shorthand,' said &ason. 7rake laughed. 'Those notes have been lost. ,( just telling you in the event you don(t know it,' he said. ', ade it a point to ask one of the newspaper reporters to in+uire of the shorthand stenographer who took down the state ents there that night. Strange as it ay see , so ething happened, and the notebook had been isplaced. ,t(s disappeared.' He grinned at the lawyer. %erry &ason stared down at the surface of his desk, his brows in straight lines of frowning concentration. 'The dirty crooks,' he said. 'The 7.A. always howls to high heaven about the crooked cri inal lawyers who anipulate the facts. 0ut whenever the 7.A. uncovers any evidence that gives the defendant a break, you can bet so ething happens to it.' The detective shrugged his shoulders. 'The 7.A.(s want convictions,' he said. '.an your operative get into &rs. &ayfield(s roo in 1orton(s residence, %aul)' &ason asked. 'Sure. That(s a cinch.' 'All right, , want her to ake a report on every dress that(s in there. ,n other words, , want to see if there(s a pink dress or a pink negligee in there.' %aul 7rake s+uinted at the lawyer significantly. ',t wouldn(t be such a hard job to put one in there,' he said. '1o,' said &ason, ',( going to play fair.' '-hat(s the use of playing fair)' asked 7rake. 'They didn(t play fair with you.' ', can(t help that,' said &ason. ', think ,(ve got an out in this case, and ,( going to play it fair and s+uare. , think , can beat the rap if , can get a decent break.' '8isten,' said %aul 7rake, drawing his feet up to the desk, and sitting cross-legged on the corner of it, 'you haven(t got an out in this case. They(ve got your client as good as convicted right now. 8ook what they(ve got on her. She(s the one that would have benefited by the old an(s death. ,n fact, with that arriage hanging over her head, she either had to kill hi , or lose an estate that(s worth a big bunch of oney. 'This fellow, 9leason, ay have arried the wo an because he loved her, or he ay have arried her because he wanted her oney. 1obody knows which, but he gets all the credit for arrying her for oney. The theory of the prosecution is that when he found out about the trust provision, he and the girl tried to reason with 1orton. -hen 1orton wouldn(t listen to reason, 9leason ade up his ind he(d bu p hi off. They had a big s+uabble. He(d have killed 1orton right then if it hadn(t been for .rinston co ing to keep an appoint ent. So 9leason waited around until .rinston left, then ji ied a window to ake it look as though burglars had broken in fro the outside. Then he cracked down on 1orton(s head. 'He probably hadn(t figured on any robbery at the ti e. He just wanted to ake it look like robbery, so he turned the pockets inside-out. He found so uch oney in the wallet, he decided to keep it. Then he heard .rinston co ing back, and had to do so ething +uick. He knew the chauffeur was drunk, so he dashed down and planted as uch of the evidence on hi as he could, and then beat it. '*rances .elane was with 9leason when the urder was co itted. She(s got the devil of a te per when she gets aroused. %robably she was in a rage, but 9leason arried her for her dough. ,t was a deliberate cri e on his part. He(d probably worked out the burglar plant while .rinston was talking with 1orton. -hen he heard the car co ing back, he reali/ed he ust have been seen, or that so ething had gone wrong, so then he fra ed the chauffeur, just as a second string to his bow.' %erry &ason stared at the detective with his eyes cold and hard. '%aul,' he said, 'if they go into court on that theory, ,( going to bust it wide open.' '"ou(re not going to bust anything wide open,' 7rake told hi . 'They(ve got all kinds of circu stantial evidence. They(ve caught the girl in half a do/en lies. -hy did she say that she was out in the 0uick sedan when she wasn(t) They can prove that the car never left the garage. &rs. &ayfield has worked up that end of the case for the $ and the butler will swear positively that the car was there all the ti e. They can prove the ownership of the club that killed 1orton, and they can prove that the girl had so e of the oney that ca e fro 1orton...' %erry &ason jerked to rigid attention. 'They can prove the girl had the oney)' he asked. '"es,' said 7rake. 'How)' asked the lawyer. ', don(t know e#actly how, but , do know that it(s part of their case. They(ve got it all worked up. , think it(s through the &ayfield wo an.' '-ell,' said &ason wearily, 'we(re going to have a chance to find out. ,( going to force the to bring that case to an i ediate trial.' >C

'*orce the to an i ediate trial)' e#clai ed 7rake. '-hy , thought you were stalling for delay. The newspapers say that you are.' %erry &ason grinned at hi . 'That,' he said, 'is the way ,( forcing the to a trial. ,( yelling for continuances, and asking for additional ti e, as though y clients would be stuck if , didn(t get the . 1aturally, they(re opposing y continuances. After ,(ve got the 7.A.(s office to ake that opposition sufficiently vigorous, ,( going to ad it that ,( licked, and let the bring the case on for trial.' 7rake shook his head. 'They won(t fall for that one,' he said, 'it(s too old.' ',t won(t be old the way , dress it up,' said &ason. '-hat , want you to do is to play this rough shadow business on &rs. &ayfield, and also on 7on 9raves. , want to see if we can(t frighten so e facts out of the . 1either one of the is telling the truth - not yet. And , want to find out ore about that oney, whether the 7istrict Attorney had proof or just suspicions.' '"ou going to try and saddle the urder off on &rs. &ayfield and her husband)' asked 7rake. ',( going to represent y client to the best of y ability,' &ason insisted. '"eah, , know that line,' the detective told hi , 'but what does it ean)' &ason tapped a cigarette end on the polished surface of the desk. 'The way to get to the botto of a urder,' he said, 'is to pick out any pertinent fact which hasn(t been e#plained, and find the real e#planation of that fact.' 'Sure,' said 7rake, 'that(s another generality. 9et down to earth. -hat are you talking about)' ',( talking about the reason 1orton had for clai ing the 0uick sedan was stolen,' said the lawyer. '-hat(s that got to do with it)' 7rake wanted to know. 'Everything,' insisted %erry &ason. 'That(s an une#plained fact in that case, and until we get the e#planation of that fact, we haven(t got a solution of the urder.' 'That(s a good line of hooey for the jury,' co ented the detective, 'but it doesn(t really ean anything. "ou can(t e#plain everything in any case. "ou know that.' '4ntil you can e#plain it,' doggedly insisted &ason, 'you haven(t got a co plete case. 1ow re e ber that the prosecution is going to rest its case on circu stantial evidence. ,n order to get a conviction on circu stantial evidence, you(ve got to e#clude every reasonable hypothesis other than that of guilt.' The detective snapped his fingers. 'A lot of lawyer talk,' he said. 'That doesn(t ean anything to the newspapers, and the newspapers are going to be the ones who will deter ine whether or not your client gets convicted.' '-ell, before , get done with this case,' &ason re arked, 'the newspapers are going to figure that 0uick car is the ost i portant fact in the entire case.' '0ut the auto obile wasn(t stolen. ,t didn(t leave the garage.' 'That(s what the butler says.' 7rake(s face suddenly beca e hard with concentrated attention. '"ou ean that the butler is lying)' he asked. ',( not aking any state ents right now,' said &ason. 7rake spoke in a onotone, as though thinking out loud. '5f course if the butler had taken the car and disconnected the speedo eter, and aybe gone for a little drive, and 1orton had telephoned the police that the car was stolen, and he wanted the driver picked up, no atter who it ight be, and then the butler had co e back and found out about that telephone call...' His voice trailed off into silence. He sat otionless for a few inutes, then shook his head sadly. '1o, %erry,' he said, 'that won(t work.' 'All right,' said &ason, s iling, ',( not asking you what(ll work and what won(t work. , want facts out of you. 9et the hell off of y desk, and let e go to work. %ut your rough shadows to work just as soon as you can. ,( an#ious to find out what they uncover.' '"ou(re representing both 9leason and the wo an, eh)' asked 7rake. '"es, , a now. *rances .elane is going to stand by her husband. She(s told e to represent hi .' 'All right, ,( going to ask you so ething that(s been asked e by a do/en different people. , hope you won(t take any offense, but it(s for your own good, because everybody in town is talking about it. They(re saying that if the lawyer for the defense has any sense why doesn(t he try to get separate trials and try the an and the wo an separately) ,n that way they(d have to try the an first, and you(d have a chance to find out all their evidence and cross-e#a ine all their witnesses before they got down to a trial of the wo an.' ', couldn(t get separate trials for the ,' said &ason. 'The court wouldn(t allow it.' '-ell, you could at least ake the atte pt,' said the detective. '1o,' said &ason with a s ile, ', rather think ,( satisfied the way things are now. , think we(ll try the together.' '5kay,' said 7rake, 'you(re the doctor. ,(ll get the rough shadows at work just as soon as , can.' CHAPTER EIGHTEEN %E66" &AS51 appeared at the entrance to the visitors( roo in the huge jail building. '6obert 9leason,' he told the officer in charge. '"ou(re 9leason(s attorney)' asked the officer. '"es.' '"ou didn(t appear for hi as his attorney when he first ca e in.' >D

%erry &ason frowned. ',( his attorney now,' he said. '7o you want to bring hi out, or do you want e to go into court and show that the officers have refused to per it e to talk with y client)' The officer stared at &ason, shrugged his shoulders turned on his heel without a word, and vanished. *ive inutes later he opened a door and escorted &ason into the long roo . A table ran the length of this roo . Along the iddle of the table, stretching to a height of so e five feet above it, was a long screen of heavy iron esh. The prisoners sat on one side of this screen. The attorneys sat on the other. 6obert 9leason was seated about half way down the table. He got to his feet, and s iled eagerly as he saw %erry &ason approaching. %erry &ason waited until the officer had oved out of earshot, then dropped into the chair, and looked searchingly across at the an accused of urder. 'Feep your voice low when you answer +uestions, 9leason,' said &ason, 'and tell e the truth. 1o atter what it is, don(t be afraid to tell e the e#act truth.' '"es sir,' said 9leason. &ason frowned at hi . '7id you ake a state ent to the 7istrict Attorney)' he asked. 9leason nodded his head. 'A written state ent)' ',t was taken down in shorthand by a court reporter, and then written up and given to e to sign.' '7id you sign it)' ', haven(t yet.' '-here is it)' ',t(s in y cell. They gave it to e to read. That is, they gave e a copy.' 'That(s funny,' said &ason. '4sually they try to rush you into signing it. They don(t let you have a copy.' ', know,' said 9leason, 'but , didn(t fall for that. They tried to rush e into signing it, and , told the , was going to think it over.' ',t won(t do you uch good,' the lawyer told hi , wearily, 'if you talked in front of a court reporter, he took down everything you said, and he can testify to the conversation fro his notes.' 'That(s what the 7istrict Attorney(s office told e,' said 9leason. '0ut ,( not signing, just the sa e.' '-hy not)' '0ecause,' said 9leason, in a low voice, ', think that ,(ll repudiate what , said.' '"ou can(t do it,' the lawyer told hi . '-hy the devil did you have to shoot off your outh)' ', can do it the way , intend to,' 9leason told hi . '.an do what)' '6epudiate the confession.' 'All right, show e,' said the lawyer. ', intend to take the entire responsibility for the urder,' 9leason told hi . %erry &ason stared at the an through the coarse screen of the partition. '7id you co it the urder)' he asked. 9leason bit his lips, turned his head so that his eyes were averted fro those of the attorney. '.o e on,' said %erry &ason. '.o e through, and co e clean. 8ook up at e and answer that +uestion. 7id you co it the urder)' 6ob 9leason shifted unco fortably in the chair. ',(d rather not answer that +uestion just yet,' he said. '"ou(ve got to answer it,' %erry &ason told hi . 9leason wet his lips with the tip of a nervous tongue, then leaned forward so that his face was al ost against the coarse iron screen. '.an , ask you so e +uestions before , answer that)' he in+uired. '"es,' &ason said, 'you can ask e all the +uestions you want, but you(ve got to co e clean on that before , leave here. ,f ,( going to act as your attorney, ,(ve got to know what happened.' 'The 7istrict Attorney(s office told e that *rances had been caught with so e of the oney that &r. 1orton had in his possession when he was killed.' '7on(t believe everything the 7istrict Attorney(s office tells you,' &ason answered. '"es , know. 0ut the point is, did she have that oney)' ',(ll answer that +uestion by asking you another,' said %erry &ason. '7id &rs. &ayfield ake any state ent to the 7istrict Attorney about having oney in her possession, that she had received fro *rances .elane)' ', don(t know,' said 9leason. %erry &ason chose his words carefully. ',f,' he said, 'the 7istrict Attorney(s office has any proof of *rances .elane having any of that oney, it ca e through &rs. &ayfield. ,n other words, they found &rs. &ayfield with the oney, and she passed the buck to *rances .elane. 1ow, if that happened, there(s just as uch reason to believe that &rs. &ayfield was in the roo at the ti e of the urder, and took the oney fro the body of the dead an, as to believe that *rances .elane gave it to her.' 'Are they sure that there was a wo an in the roo at the ti e of the urder)' 9leason in+uired. '7on 9raves says there was.' 'He didn(t say that the first night.' '-e can(t prove what he said the first night because the police have torn up the notes of the state ent he ade.' 'He says now that there was a wo an there)' '"es, he says there was a wo an. , think he(s going to say it was a wo an who wore a pink negligee.' ?E

'7id he see her plainly enough to identify her)' 'He saw her shoulder and ar , and part of her head - probably the back of her head.' 'Then &rs. &ayfield is trying to pin this cri e on *ran)' asked 6ob 9leason. ',( not saying that,' said &ason. ',( si ply giving you the facts as , know the . ,f the 7istrict Attorney(s office has proof of any oney, that(s where they got it.' 'How uch chance do you stand of getting *ran off)' asked 9leason. '5ne never knows what a jury is going to do. She(s young and attractive. ,f she keeps her te per and doesn(t ake any da aging ad issions, , stand a pretty good chance.' 9leason stared through the screen at the lawyer for a few o ents, and then said; 'All right, ,( not attractive. , haven(t got any of the things in y favor that *rances has. How uch chance do you stand of getting e off)' ',t depends on the kind of a break , can get, and on what you(ve told the 7istrict Attorney,' said &ason. '1ow, ,( going to tell you what , want you to do. "ou go back to your cell and get so e paper. Say that you want to write out what happened, in your own handwriting. Take that paper and scribble a lot of eaningless stuff on a few pages of it, and then tear it up. 8et the believe that you used up all the paper, but take the rest of the paper and write out a copy of the state ent that the 7istrict Attorney has given you to sign. ,n that way, ,(ll know e#actly what you said, and what you didn(t say.' 6ob 9leason swallowed twice painfully. ',f,' he said, 'you don(t get the breaks, they ay convict *ran)' '5f course, she(s charged with first degree urder, and there(s so e circu stances in the case that don(t look so good.' '-ould they hang her)' '%robably not. She(d probably get life. They don(t hang wo en, as a rule.' '7o you know what it would ean to a girl of her fire and te pera ent to be shut up in a penitentiary for the rest of her life)' asked 9leason. %erry &ason shook his head i patiently. '5f course , know,' he said. '8et(s not start worrying about that now. 8et(s get down to facts. Tell e, did you, or did you not, urder Edward 1orton)' 9leason took a deep breath. ',f,' he said, 'the case co ences to look hopeless for *ran, ,( going to confess.' '.onfess to what)' asked &ason. '.onfess to the urder of Edward 1orton$ confess that , arried *rances .elane for her oney$ that , didn(t care very uch about her. , liked her well enough, but , wasn(t cra/y about her. She had a great big bunch of oney, and was a good catch. , wanted the oney bad enough to arry her, and , arried her. Then , found out that because she had arried, her uncle had the right to cut her off with al ost nothing. Her uncle didn(t know about the arriage until the night he was killed. He found it out then. He was going to e#ercise the discretion given to hi under the trust, and turn everything over to the charitable institutions, leaving *ran with just a lousy thousand or two. , went in and argued with hi . He wouldn(t listen to reason. *ran went in and argued with hi , and that didn(t do any good. Then .rinston ca e, and he had an appoint ent with .rinston, so we had to let our atter go. *ran and , went back down to her roo . -e sat and talked things over. &rs. &ayfield ca e in, and was furious. She(d been black ailing *ran, threatening to tell &r. 1orton about the arriage, unless she got a bunch of jack. Edward 1orton had found out about the arriage, and that had killed the goose that laid &rs. &ayfield(s golden eggs. ', heard .rinston drive away. He took 7on 9raves with hi . , went out to have a last word with &r. 1orton. , went up to his study, and on the stairs , ran into &rs. &ayfield. She wore a pink negligee, and she was still weeping about the oney that she(d lost. , told her if she(d keep her head, we could have lots of oney. She wanted to know what , eant, and , told her , was going to give 1orton one ore chance to co e through. ,f he didn(t take it, , was going to s ash his head for hi before he had a chance to give *rances .elane(s oney to charity. She went with e up the stairs and into his study. , gave Edward 1orton his ulti atu . , told hi that if he didn(t give *rances her oney, he was going to be sorry. He told e that he was not going to give her a cent$ that he was going to turn it all over to charity, and then , cracked hi on the head. , went through his pockets, and he had a big bunch of dough in his pockets. , took so e, and &rs. &ayfield took so e. -e were talking about how we were going to ake the urder look as though burglars had done it. &rs. &ayfield said we could pry up a window and leave so e footprints outside in the soft loa . , wanted to plant it on the chauffeur because , knew he was drunk. -hile we were talking it over, we saw the lights of an auto obile co ing down the hill, and , figured it ust be .rinston co ing back. &rs. &ayfield ran down and fi#ed the window so it looked as though burglars had co e in, and , ran down and planted a stick and a couple of the thousand dollar bills in 7evoe(s roo . Then , ju ped in y car and beat it.' %erry &ason looked at the young an thoughtfully. '-hat did you do with the oney that you had)' he asked. ', buried it,' said 6ob 9leason, 'where it will never be found.' %erry &ason dru ed with the tips of his fingers on the table. 'So help you 9od,' he asked, 'is that what happened)' 9leason nodded his head. 'That(s in confidence,' he said. ',( going to beat the rap if , can. ,f , can(t, ,( going to co e clean so that *rances .elane won(t have to take the jolt.' '7id you,' asked %erry &ason, 'take out the 0uick auto obile on the night of the urder) 7id you use it at all)' '1o.' %erry &ason pushed back the chair. 'All right,' he said. '1ow ,( going to tell you so ething. ,f you ever spill that story, you(re going to get *rances .elane sent up for life, if you don(t get her hung. %robably you(ll get her hung.' 6ob 9leason(s eyes grew wide. '-hat ever in the world do you ean)' he asked. ?3

'Si ply,' said %erry &ason, 'that nobody will believe the story the way you tell it. They(ll believe just half of it. They(ll believe that you co itted the urder all right, but they(ll figure that it wasn(t &rs. &ayfield that was with you. They(ll figure that it was *ran .elane, and that you(re trying to protect her by dragging &rs. &ayfield into it.' 9leason was on his feet, his face white, his eyes wide. '9ood 9od<' he said. '.an(t , save *rances by telling the truth)' '1ot that kind of truth,' said %erry &ason. '1ow go back to your cell and get e a copy of that state ent the 7istrict Attorney wants you to sign. ,n the eanti e, keep your head and don(t tell anybody anything.' '1ot even the truth, the way , told it to you)' asked 9leason. 'The truth is the last thing in the world you want to tell,' said %erry &ason, 'the way you(re situated. 0ecause nobody(s going to believe you if you do tell the truth, and you(re a rotten liar.' He turned on his heel and walked away fro the screen eshed table, without a single backward glance. The officer opened the locked door, and let hi out of the visiting roo . CHAPTER NINETEEN ,T -AS the first ti e *rank Everly had ever been in court with %erry &ason$ the first ti e he had ever been behind the scenes in a big urder case. He sat at the side of %erry &ason and stared surreptitiously at the crowded courtroo , at the nine en and three wo en who were in the jury bo#, being e#a ined as to their +ualifications as jurors. He strove to give the i pression of being thoroughly at ho e, but his anner betrayed his nervousness. %erry &ason sat at the counsel table, leaning back in the swivel chair, his left thu b hooked in the ar hole of his vest, his right hand toying with a watch chain. His face was a cold ask of rugged patience. 1othing about the an gave any indication of the terrific strain under which he labored. 0ehind hi sat the two defendants; *rances .elane in a close fitting costu e of black, with a dash of white and a touch of red, her head held very erect, her eyes cal and a trifle defiant. 6obert 9leason was nervous, with the nervousness of an athletic an who finds hi self fighting for his life under circu stances that necessitate physical passivity. His eyes s ouldered with the sullen fires of suppressed e otions. His head jerked fro ti e to ti e as he turned to face the various speakers in the dra a which so inti ately concerned hi . The courtroo was filled with that peculiar at osphere which per eates a crowded roo where spectators are in a state of e otional unrest. .laude 7ru was acting as the trial deputy for the state, but there was a ru or that the 7istrict Attorney hi self would co e into the case as soon as the jury had been selected, and the routine evidence disposed of. 7ru had been on his feet uch of the ti e in his e#a ination of the jurors. He was tall, well-tailored and selfcontained, yet forcefully aggressive, without displaying too uch force. His anner held the easy assurance of a professional who is fully at ho e and who is driving steadily toward a predeter ined goal which he is assured of reaching. !udge &arkha , beneath the cloak of his austere judicial dignity, held hi self with wary watchfulness. %erry &ason had the reputation of being able to 'sta pede,' every case he tried, and !udge &arkha was deter ined that while the trial would be conducted with i partiality, it would be conducted with a proper regard for the dignity of law and order$ that there would be no errors in the record, no opportunities for the dra atic anipulation of e otions which so fre+uently turned trials in which %erry &ason participated into spectacular debacles for the prosecution, crashing across the front pages of newspapers in glaring headlines. 'The pere ptory,' said !udge &arkha sternly, 'is with the people.' .laude 7ru dropped back to his chair and engaged in a whispered consultation with his assistant. He interrupted, to glance up at the court. ',f , ay have a o ent(s indulgence, "our Honor.' '2ery well,' said the judge. Everly looked at %erry &ason in+uiringly, and caught a glint in the lawyer(s eyes. &ason leaned forward and whispered; '7ru wants to get nu ber three off of the jury, but he thinks we have got to get off jurors nine and eleven. -e(ve got twice as any pere ptory challenges as he has, so he(s wondering if he dares to pass his pere ptory and hold it in reserve until he sees what the jury looks like later on.' '7oes he dare to do it)' asked Everly. 'That,' said %erry &ason, 're ains to be seen.' There was a o ent of tense silence, then 7ru got to his feet and bowed to the court. 'The people,' he said, 'pass their pere ptory.' !udge &arkha looked down at %erry &ason, and his lips oved to for the words; 'The pere ptory is with the defendants.' 0ut the words were never uttered, for %erry &ason, turning toward the jury with a casual glance of appraisal, as though the entire atter had just clai ed his attention, said, in a clear voice; '"our Honor, this jury see s entirely satisfactory to the defendants. -e waive our pere ptory challenge.' .laude 7ru was caught by surprise. Eyes of those who were wise in courtroo techni+ue, saw the +uick intake of his breath as he started unconsciously to register a protest which his consciousness knew would be futile. !udge &arkha (s voice rang out through the crowded courtroo ; '8et the jurors stand and be sworn to try the case.' ?:

.laude 7ru ade an opening state ent to the jury which was re arkable for its brevity. '9entle en,' he said, 'we e#pect to show that, at the e#act inute of eleven thirty-two on the twenty-third day of 5ctober of this year, Edward 1orton et his death$ that he was urdered by a blow on the head, struck with a club held in the hand of the defendant, 6obert 9leason$ that at the ti e of the urder, there was present as an active acco plice, the defendant, *rances .elane$ that at the ti e of the urder, Edward 1orton had a large su of oney on his person in the for of one thousand dollar bills. '-e e#pect to show that at the hour of eleven fourteen on that date, Edward 1orton telephoned to the police station, reporting the theft of one of his auto obiles, a 0uick sedan$ that *rances .elane was, in fact, present in the study of Edward 1orton at the hour of eleven thirty-two %.&., on the date of the urder, but that, for the purpose of trying to establish an alibi, and knowing that Edward 1orton had reported this 0uick sedan as having been stolen at the hour of eleven fourteen, the said defendant, *rances .elane, then and there stated falsely and willfully that she had been distant fro the scene of the cri e, in the said 0uick auto obile, fro the hour of appro#i ately ten forty-five until appro#i ately twelve fifteen. '-e e#pect to show that i ediately following the co ission of the cri e, the defendants left the bloody club with which the cri e had been co itted, and two of the one thousand dollar bills which had been stolen fro the body of the deceased, in the bedroo of one %ete 7evoe, who was then and there asleep and in an into#icated condition$ that this was done for the purpose of directing suspicion to the said %ete 7evoe. '-e will also show that the defendants forced open a window and ade footprints in the soil beneath the window, in an atte pt to lead the police to believe burglars had entered the house. '-e also e#pect to show that i ediately thereafter the defendant 6obert 9leason fled fro the scene of the cri e$ that both defendants gave false and contradictory accounts as to their whereabouts$ that the club with which Edward 1orton was struck down was a walking stick belonging to the defendant, 6obert 9leason. '-e e#pect to show that an eye-witness actually saw the urder co itted, and will identify 6obert 9leason as the an who struck the blow, and will identify *rances .elane as the young wo an who, attired in a pink dress or negligee, aided and abetted the co ission of the cri e.' .laude 7ru stood staring at the jurors for a o ent, then sat down. !udge &arkha looked in+uiringly at %erry &ason. ',f the court please,' said %erry &ason, 'we will withhold our opening state ent until the ti e we start to present our case.' '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha . '"ou ay proceed, &r. 7ru .' .laude 7ru started building up the case with that cal , deadly efficiency for which he was noted. 1o detail was too s all to clai his attention$ no link in the chain of evidence was to be overlooked. The first witness was a surveyor who had apped and photographed the pre ises. He introduced diagra s drawn to scale, showing the roo in which the body had been found, the furniture in the roo , the location of the windows. Then he produced a photograph of the roo , other photographs of various corners of the roo . Each of these photographs was identified by locating it on the diagra of the roo . Then followed photographs of the house, and finally, a ap showing the house with reference to the winding road which cli bed up to the boulevard. *ollowing that ca e a contour ap showing the various elevations of the windows in the house, with reference to the road along which the auto obile had traveled. 'So that,' said 7ru , suavely, indicating a place on the diagra where a curve in the road was shown, 'it would be perfectly possible for a person traveling along this section of the road which , a indicating, in an auto obile, to glance back and see into the roo arked nu ber one on the ap, %eople(s E#hibit A)' 0efore the surveyor could answer the +uestion, %erry &ason got to his feet and raised his voice in protest; '!ust a o ent, "our Honor,' he said. 'That +uestion is leading. ,t also calls for a conclusion of the witness. ,t calls for a conclusion which the jury is to draw in this case. ,t is one of the points upon which we intend to convince this jury of the i probability of the %eople(s case. -hether or not...' The gavel of the judge banged down upon his desk. 'The objection,' he said, 'is sustained. The argu ent, &r. &ason, is unnecessary.' &ason dropped back to his chair. -ith the anner of one who has scored a victory even in defeat, 7ru bowed s ilingly to &ason. '.ounselor,' he said, 'you ay in+uire on cross-e#a ination.' -ith the eyes of everyone in the courtroo riveted upon hi , %erry &ason, fully aware of the dra atic advantage of the o ent, and the interest which would attend upon his first +uestion, strode to the ap which had been fastened to the blackboard with thu b tacks, placed the inde# finger of his right hand upon the curve in the line which indicated the roadway fro the house to the boulevard, placed the inde# finger of his left hand upon the location of the study in the house, and said, in a voice which rang with challenge; 'E#actly how far is it fro the point which , a indicating with y right forefinger, and which is the curve in this roadway, to the point which , a indicating with y left finger, and which is the point where the body was found)' ',f,' said the witness in level tones, 'your right forefinger is e#actly at the point where the curve swings farthest south, and your left forefinger is at a point representing the e#act point where the body was found, the distance is e#actly two hundred and seventy-two feet, three and one-half inches.' %erry &ason turned, his face showing surprise. 'Two hundred and seventy-two feet, three and one-half inches)' he e#clai ed incredulously. '"es,' said the witness. &ason dropped his hands to his sides with a gesture of finality. 'That,' he said, 'is all. , have no further +uestions to ask of this witness.' ?=

!udge &arkha looked at the clock, and an anticipatory rustle of otion stirred the courtroo , as dead leaves on a tree are stirred by the first current of an advancing bree/e. ',t has,' said the judge, 'approached the hour of adjourn ent. The court will adjourn until ten o(clock to orrow orning, and during that ti e, the jury will re e ber the ad onition of the court not to converse a ongst the selves about this case, nor per it others to converse with the or in their presence about it.' The gavel banged on the desk. %erry &ason s iled craftily, and re arked to his assistant; '7ru should have carried on the e#a ination until the hour for adjourn ent. 9iving e the opportunity to ask that one +uestion, will ake the newspapers feature it to- orrow orning.' Everly had his eyes puckered in concentration. 'Two hundred and seventy-two feet is a long distance,' he said. ',t won(t,' &ason assured hi gri ly, 'get any shorter as the case goes on.' CHAPTER TWENTY THE newspapers predicted that the first ajor witness for the prosecution would be either Arthur .rinston, the business partner of the urdered an, or 7on 9raves, who had been the only eye-witness of the urder. ,n this, the newspapers showed that they underesti ated the dra atic trial tactics of the chief trial deputy. 7ru would no ore have plunged into the dra a of that urder without preparing the inds of the jurors for the grueso e tidbit, than would a playwright have opened his presentation with a crisis lifted fro the third act. He called to the stand, instead, !udge 0... %urley. 1ecks craned as the &unicipal !udge, co ing in fro the back of the courtroo , strode down the aisle with the stately bearing of one who reali/es to the full the dignity of his appearance, and the i portance of his position. -hite-haired, ponderous, deep-chested and heavy-waisted, he held up his right hand while the oath was ad inistered to hi , and then took the witness chair, his anner indicating a respect for the tribunal and what it stood for, a dignified tolerance of the attorneys and jurors, a cal disregard of the restless spectators. '"our na e is 0... %urley)' asked .laude 7ru . '"es sir.' '"ou are now a duly elected, +ualified and acting !udge of the &unicipal .ourt of this city)' ', a .' 'And, on the night of 5ctober twenty-third of this year you had occasion to be in the vicinity of the residence of Edward 1orton)' ', did.' 'At what ti e did you arrive at the residence of Edward 1orton, !udge %urley)' 'At precisely si# inutes after eleven.' 'And what ti e did you leave that vicinity)' 'At precisely thirty inutes past eleven.' '-ill you e#plain to the jury, !udge %urley, why it is that you are able to testify with such e#actness as to the ti e of arrival and departure)' %erry &ason recogni/ed the trap, yet had no alternative but to walk into it. '5bjected to, "our Honor,' he said. 'The witness has given his testi ony. The ental processes which led up to it are inco petent, irrelevant, i aterial, and, at best, atter only for cross-e#a ination.' 'Sustained,' said !udge &arkha . .laude 7ru (s s ile was ironically sarcastic. ', will withdraw the +uestion, "our Honor,' he said. ',t was an error upon y part. After all, if .ounselor &ason desires to go into the atter, he is at liberty to do so upon cross-e#a ination.' '%roceed,' said !udge &arkha , pounding his desk with the gavel. '-ho was with you on the occasion of your visit)' asked the deputy district attorney. '&r. Arthur .rinston was with e when , went to the vicinity of the house, and both &r. Arthur .rinston, and &r. 7on 9raves were with e at the ti e , departed.' '-hat happened while you were there, !udge %urley)' ', arrived at the grounds in the vicinity of the house, stopped y car to allow &r. .rinston to get out, turned y car, shut off the otor, and waited.' '7uring the ti e that you were waiting what did you do)' 'Sat and s oked for the first ten or fifteen inutes, and looked at y watch rather i patiently several ti es during the last part of the period , was waiting,' said !udge %urley. And he glanced, with just a trace of subdued triu ph, at %erry &ason, his anner indicating that, being fully fa iliar with court procedure, he was going to get the da aging parts of his testi ony in, whether the defense wanted the in or not. The inference to be drawn fro the fact that he had glanced several ti es at his watch was that he was aware of the e#act inute of his departure, and he was sufficiently adroit to get that inference across to the jury without violating the ruling of the court. %erry &ason eyed the witness with placid indifference. 'Then what happened)' asked .laude 7ru . ?>

'Then &r. .rinston ca e out of the house to join e. , started the otor of y car, and at that o ent the window of the house in the southeast corner of the building was opened, and &r. 1orton thrust his head out of the study window.' '!ust a o ent,' said .laude 7ru . '7o you know of your own knowledge that that was &r. 1orton(s study)' '1o sir,' said !udge %urley. ', only know it fro the fact that it was the roo in the southeast corner on the second story of the house, and is the roo arked on the ap and diagra as roo nu ber one, &r. 1orton(s study.' '5h,' said 7ru , 'then the roo is that which is indicated on %laintiff(s E#hibit A by the figure one arked in a circle)' '"es sir.' '2ery well,' said 7ru , 'what did &r. 1orton say)' '&r. 1orton called down to &r. .rinston, and said, as nearly as , can re e ber; (Arthur, would it be all right for you to take 7on 9raves in to your house in your car and let hi get the docu ents) Then , will send the chauffeur to pick hi up.(' 'And,' said 7ru , 'what happened ne#t)' '&r. .rinston said, as nearly as , can re e ber; (, a not in y own car, but with a friend. , will have to ask y friend if it will be all right.(' 'Then what happened)' '&r. 1orton said; (2ery well, do so, and let e know,( and withdrew his head fro the window.' 'Then what happened)' 'Then &r. .rinston ca e to e and said that &r. 9raves was to get so e docu ents...' '5bjected to,' said %erry &ason in a casual tone of voice. 'Anything which took place without the hearing of this defendant is ad issible only as a part of the res gestae. 0y no stretch of the i agination can this be considered as a part of the res gestae.' 'The objection is sustained,' said !udge &arkha . '2ery well. Then what happened)' asked 7ru suavely, s iling over at the jury as uch as to say; '"ou see how technical the defense is in this case, ladies and gentle en)' 'Then,' said !udge %urley, '&r. .rinston went back to a position under the study window, and called up, as nearly as , can re e ber his words; (,t(s all right, Edward. He can go with us.( And at about that o ent, the front door opened and the figure of &r. 9raves ran down the steps, &r. 9raves saying, (, a ready,( or words to that effect.' 'And then what happened)' 'Then the three of us got in y auto obile, &r. .rinston sitting in the front seat with e, &r. 9raves sitting in the rear seat. , started the achine and started to drive up along the road, lettered on the ap (%eople(s E#hibit 0( as (-inding 6oadway.( -e traveled up that road until we were in a position on the curve...' '!ust a o ent,' said .laude 7ru . '.an you take a pencil and indicate the e#act point on the curve which you had approached when the event took place, concerning which you were about to testify)' !udge %urley nodded, got to his feet, and walked with ponderous dignity to the blackboard, turned up the ap and arked a s all oblong on the curve in the roadway. 'This represents the appro#i ate position of the car.' 'And what happened when the car was in that position)' asked .laude 7ru . '&r. 9raves looked back through the back window and e#clai ed...' '5bjected to,' snapped %erry &ason. 'Hearsay, inco petent, irrelevant, and i aterial, not part of the res gestae, not binding upon the defendant.' 'Sustained,' said !udge &arkha . .laude 7ru ade a helpless gesture. '0ut surely, "our Honor, in view of what is to take place...' 'The objection,' said !udge &arkha coldly, 'is sustained. "ou ay call &r. 7on 9raves at the proper o ent, counselor, and let hi testify as to anything he saw. As to anything which was said or done outside of the presence of this defendant, and which is not a part of the res gestae, the objection is well taken.' '2ery well,' said 7ru , turning to the jury, and all but bowing, 'at the proper ti e , will call &r. 7on 9raves, and &r. 7on 9raves will testify as to e#actly what he saw at that place. '9o on, !udge %urley, and tell the jury e#actly what was done at that ti e and place with reference to what you, yourself, did in relation to the operation of the auto obile.' ', did nothing at e#actly that place, but proceeded along the winding road, as indicated there on the ap, for a distance of several rods, until , ca e to a place in the road which was wide enough to turn. There , turned the car by backing and twisting, and went back down the winding roadway, stopping once ore in front of the house of Edward 1orton.' 'And then what did you do)' 'Then &r. 9raves and &r. .rinston entered the house, and at their re+uest , acco panied the . The three of us went up the stairs and into the roo arked by the nu eral (one( in a circle on %eople(s E#hibit A, and saw there a body, which was subse+uently identified to e as that of Edward 1orton, lying sprawled across the desk, with its head badly crushed. The body was lifeless at the ti e of y arrival. There was a telephone near one hand, and several papers, including a policy of auto obile insurance, on the desk.' '7id you notice, !udge %urley, what auto obile was covered in that policy of insurance)' '5bjected to as inco petent, irrelevant and i aterial,' said %erry &ason. '"our Honor,' said 7ru , 'this is vital, and , propose to connect it up. ,t is a part of the theory of the prosecution that the defendant, *rances .elane, ade a state ent to the effect that she was out driving this 0uick auto obile$ that these state ents were ade after she had been advised that police had been notified that the 0uick auto obile had been stolen. ,n ??

other words, she knew that Edward 1orton had telephoned that the 0uick auto obile had been stolen. *rances .elane, knowing that...' '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha , 'there is no necessity for further argu ent, counselor, as to the relevancy of the testi ony. 4pon the assurance of the prosecution that the atter will be connected, , will overrule the objections as to its relevancy, and per it the +uestion to be answered, subject to a otion on the part of the defense to strike out if the evidence is not subse+uently connected. 'This ruling, however, goes only to the relevancy of the testi ony. ,t is, of course, apparent that the evidence called for by the +uestion is not the best evidence. The auto obile insurance policy, itself, is the best evidence of its contents, but there see s to be no objection ade upon that ground.' !udge &arkha looked down at %erry &ason with a pu//led e#pression on his face. %erry &ason see ed to s ile, the faintest trace of a +uiver at the corners of his lips. '1o, "our Honor,' he said, 'there is no objection upon that ground.' '2ery well,' snapped !udge &arkha , 'the objection, as ade, is overruled. Answer the +uestion.' 'The policy,' said !udge %urley, 'as , noticed at the ti e, or a few inutes later, covered a 0uick sedan nu ber @A?>ED=, with a license nu ber ,:&,C=>.' .laude 7ru ade a gesture with his hand. '"ou ay cross-e#a ine the witness, &r. &ason,' he announced. %erry &ason regarded !udge %urley with a placid s ile. '!udge %urley,' he said, 'did , understand you to say that when you went into the study you saw the body of Edward 1orton lying across the desk)' '"ou did not,' snapped !udge %urley. ', stated that , saw the body of a an who was subse+uently identified to e as being that of Edward 1orton.' %erry &ason looked crestfallen. '&y istake,' he said. There was a o ent of silence, during which !udge %urley ga/ed at the courtroo with an air of co placent selfsatisfaction, the air of one who has given testi ony in a very credible anner, and the anner of one who has confidence in his ability to avoid any trap which can be set for hi by cross-e#a ining counsel. '"ou see,' e#plained !udge %urley, ', had never personally et &r. 1orton, despite the fact that , was +uite friendly with &r. .rinston and had, upon at least one prior occasion, driven &r. .rinston to &r. 1orton(s house.' %erry &ason see ed to be s iling. '5n how any occasions had you discussed any business atters with &r. 1orton on the telephone)' he asked. !udge %urley showed his surprise. '-hy, , never talked with the an on the telephone in y life,' he said. 'Then you(d never discussed the trust fund of his niece, *rances .elane, with hi )' !udge %urley(s eyes bulged with surprise. '9ood heavens, no< 5f course not<' 'Had you,' asked %erry &ason, 'ever discussed this trust fund with anyone else)' 7ru was on his feet. '"our Honor, that is objected to, not proper cross-e#a ination, hearsay, inco petent, irrelevant, i aterial. .ounsel has si ply started upon a round-about way of calling for conversations which could not possibly...' 'Sustained<' snapped !udge &arkha . 7ru sat down. There was silence in the courtroo . %erry &ason(s face was e#pressionless. 'Any further +uestions)' asked !udge &arkha . '1o, "our Honor,' announced %erry &ason, to the surprise of the courtroo . 'There is no further cross-e#a ination.'

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE '.A88 Sergeant &ahoney,' said .laude 7ru . Sergeant &ahoney, attired in a unifor , stepped to the front of the clerk(s desk, held up his right hand to be sworn, then took the witness stand. '"our na e is Sergeant E.8. &ahoney, and you were, on the evening of 5ctober twenty-third of the present year, acting as desk sergeant at the .entral %olice Station in this city)' asked .laude 7ru . '"es, sir.' '"ou received a telephone call at about the hour of 33;3>)' asked 7ru . '"es, sir.' '!ust describe that call, Sergeant.' '&r. Edward 1orton called, sir, and...' %erry &ason started to his feet, but .laude 7ru was the one who interrupted the witness. '!ust a o ent, Sergeant,' he said. '8et e caution you that you are under oath, and are to testify only to the things which you know of your own knowledge. "ou didn(t know that that call ca e fro Edward 1orton. "ou only know that so eone called.' 'He said he was Edward 1orton,' blurted the sergeant. ?@

There was a ripple of laughter, which ran through the courtroo , and was pro ptly silenced by a banging of the judge(s gavel. '!ust tell what was said to you over the telephone,' said 7ru , and glanced sidelong at %erry &ason, waiting for the attorney to object. 0ut %erry &ason re ained placidly indifferent. !udge &arkha said; ',s it clai ed that this is part of the res gestae, counselor)' 7ru looked unco fortable. 'There is no objection to it, in any event, "our Honor,' said %erry &ason. '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha . '%roceed, Sergeant.' 'This call ca e in, and , noticed the ti e of it,' said Sergeant &ahoney. ',t was fourteen inutes past eleven. The an said that he was Edward 1orton, and that he wanted to report a stolen auto obile, that a 0uick sedan, belonging to hi , 1o. @A?>ED=, with a license nu ber of ,:&,C=> had been stolen, and that he wanted the car picked up and the driver arrested, no atter who the driver ight be. , believe that he stated that even if the driver should be related to hi , he wanted hi or her arrested.' '"ou ay in+uire, counselor,' said .laude 7ru , with the s iling gesture of one who had landed a telling blow. '7id that call co e in all at once)' asked %erry &ason, casually. 'How do you ean, sir)' ', a just testing your recollection,' said %erry &ason. '5f course it ca e in all at once,' said the sergeant. %erry &ason reached in his brief case and took out a newspaper. '"ou ade a state ent to the newspaper reporters when this atter was ore fresh in your ind, Sergeant)' '-ell, , believe , said so ething to the the ne#t orning, yes.' 'And didn(t you state at that ti e that the call was interrupted)' '!ust a o ent,' said the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney. 'That is not the proper way to lay a foundation for an i peaching +uestion.' ', a just refreshing the recollection of the witness, if the .ourt please,' said %erry &ason. Sergeant &ahoney ade frantic gestures. !udge &arkha s iled and said; ', think fro the de eanor of the witness that his recollection has been refreshed. %roceed, Sergeant.' 'That(s right,' said Sergeant &ahoney, ', re e ber now. The call ca e in, and he was cut off right in the iddle of the conversation - right at the first part of it, , think it was. He gave his na e and address and wanted to know if he was talking with the police depart ent, and said he had a cri e to report. Then the line went dead. , looked up his telephone nu ber in the book, to call hi back, when the call ca e in again, and he went right along talking. He said he(d been cut off.' 'That,' said %erry &ason, with e phasis, 'is all.' .laude 7ru looked pu//led. '-hat(s that got to do with it)' he asked sharply. !udge &arkha banged his gavel on the desk. '5rder<' he snapped. ',s there any redirect e#a ination, counselor)' '1one,' said .laude 7ru , but his eyes were thoughtful as he stared at %erry &ason. 'The ne#t witness,' said !udge &arkha . 'Arthur .rinston,' snapped .laude 7ru . Arthur .rinston arose fro a seat within the bar, walked to the clerk, was sworn, and took the witness stand. '"our na e is Arthur .rinston, and you are the surviving partner of the fir of .rinston G 1orton, the said fir being co posed of yourself and Edward 1orton)' 'That is correct, sir.' 'Edward 1orton is dead)' 'He is, sir.' '7id you see the body of Edward 1orton, &r. .rinston)' '"es sir. 5n the twenty-third day of 5ctober of this year.' 'At about what ti e)' ', saw his body at appro#i ately eleven thirty-five or eleven thirty-si#.' '-here was his body)' '8ying across his desk in the study, with the top of the head crushed in.' '-hat did you do then)' ', notified the police.' '7id you see the defendant, *rances .elane, on that night)' ', did.' 'At about what ti e)' 'At appro#i ately idnight or a little before.' '7id you tell her anything about the death of her uncle)' ', did.' '7id you ention anything about the reported theft of a 0uick auto obile)' ', did.' '7id she ake any state ent to you at that ti e as to the said 0uick auto obile)' 'That can be answered yes or no,' said !udge &arkha , in a cautioning tone of voice. ',t is preli inary, erely.' ?A

'"es, she did,' said Arthur .rinston. 'At what ti e was this)' 'At about idnight.' '-ho was present)' '&iss .elane, &r. 7on 9raves, and yself.' 'There was no one else present)' '1o sir.' '-hat did she say)' 'She said that she had taken the 0uick auto obile at about ten forty-five o(clock and gone for a ride, returning at appro#i ately fifteen inutes past twelve, idnight.' '-hat was &r. 1orton doing the last ti e you saw hi alive, &r. .rinston)' 'Standing in the window of his study calling down to e.' '-hat did he say)' 'He asked e if 7on 9raves could acco pany e to the city$ that is, to y residence.' 'And what did you tell hi )' ', told hi that , would have to ask !udge %urley, in whose car , was riding.' 'Then what happened)' ', stepped across to ask !udge %urley, and received an affir ative answer fro hi to y re+uest. Then , returned to notify &r. 1orton. He was standing in his study - a few feet back fro the window at that ti e. , called up to hi that it was all right, and &r. 9raves, who had anticipated !udge %urley(s consent, was then co ing down the steps fro the front doorway to join e.' 'Then what happened)' 'Then , got in the front seat of the auto obile with !udge %urley, &r. 7on 9raves got in the rear seat, we started up the winding road shown on the ap, until we ca e to a certain point, where we turned around and went back to the house. , take it that , cannot state any conversation that took place in the auto obile)' 'That is the ruling of the court, &r. .rinston.' '2ery well. , returned in the auto obile, re-entered the house, and found &r. 1orton(s body as described, whereupon , notified the police.' '.ross-e#a ine,' snapped .laude 7ru une#pectedly, turning to %erry &ason. %erry &ason surveyed Arthur .rinston with an e#pressionless face for a few seconds, then said abruptly; '"ou had been in conversation with &r. 1orton during the evening)' '"es. , had an appoint ent and was a few inutes late for that appoint ent. , arrived there at si# inutes past eleven, , think.' '-hat,' asked %erry &ason, 'did you talk with &r. 1orton about)' Arthur .rinston ade a swift gri ace and shook his head at %erry &ason. The gesture see ed to be one of warning. .laude 7ru , who had ju ped to his feet to object, caught that gesture of warning, and suddenly s iled. He sat down. Arthur .rinston looked at !udge &arkha . 'Answer the +uestion,' said %erry &ason. Arthur .rinston blurted; '"ou don(t want to have e answer that +uestion.' !udge &arkha banged with his gavel on the desk. ',s there any objection, &r. 7ru )' he asked. The 7eputy 7istrict Attorney shook his head s ilingly. '1one whatever,' he said. '8et the witness answer the +uestion.' 'Answer the +uestion,' said !udge &arkha . .rinston fidgeted. '"our Honor,' he blurted, 'it isn(t to the advantage of the defendant, *rances .elane, that , should testify to what was said, and %erry &ason has reason to know that. , don(t know what his idea is in asking any such +uestion...' The gavel of !udge &arkha banged upon the desk. 'The witness,' he said, in tones of icy frigidity, 'will confine his co ents to the answers of such +uestions as ay be asked of hi . The witness certainly should know that any such state ent co ing in court, particularly in a trial of this nature, is a conte pt of court. The jury are ad onished to disregard that state ent, and are ad onished to disregard any state ents of the witnesses e#cept those which are elicited as a part of the testi ony. &r. .rinston, you will answer that +uestion or be held in conte pt of court.' '-e talked,' said .rinston in a low voice, 'about an atte pt that had been ade to black ail &iss .elane.' A grin of triu ph suffused .laude 7ru (s face. 'An atte pt at black ail, ade by the housekeeper. &rs. &ayfield)' asked %erry &ason. The grin faded fro .laude 7ru (s face. He ju ped to his feet. '"our Honor,' he said, 'that is objected to as inco petent, irrelevant, and i aterial, leading and suggestive. .ounsel well knows that &rs. &ayfield is an i portant witness for the prosecution in this case, and this is an atte pt to discredit her...' '8eading +uestions are per itted upon cross-e#a ination,' said !udge &arkha . '"ou did not object when .ounsel asked the witness as to what the conversation consisted of, and since this is cross-e#a ination, , a going to per it the +uestion.' .laude 7ru slowly sat down. .rinston s+uir ed unco fortably in the chair. '&rs. &ayfield(s na e was not entioned,' he said at length, in a low voice. '"ou(re certain of that)' asked %erry &ason. ?C

'-ell,' said .rinston, 'it ight have been entioned as a possibility.' '5h,' said %erry &ason, 'so it was entioned as a possibility) ,s that right)' ',t ight have been,' said .rinston. %erry &ason abruptly shifted his attack. 'Edward 1orton had secured rather a large su of oney during the day of 5ctober twenty-third in one thousand dollar bills, had he not, &r. .rinston)' 'So , understand,' said .rinston, surlily. '"ou didn(t secure that oney for hi )' '1o, sir.' '7id you go to any of the banks during that day in which the fir of .rinston G 1orton had an account)' Arthur .rinston scowled thoughtfully. '"es,' he said, ', did.' '-hich bank)' 'The -heeler(s Trust and Savings 0ank.' '-ho did you talk with there)' Suddenly .rinston(s face changed color. ', would prefer,' he said, 'not to answer that +uestion.' .laude 7ru ju ped to his feet. 'The +uestion is objected to,' he said, 'as inco petent, irrelevant and i aterial, and not proper cross-e#a ination.' %erry &ason s iled, a slow, drawling s ile. '"our Honor,' he drawled, 'if , ay present a brief argu ent)' '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha . 'This witness has testified on direct e#a ination that he was a surviving partner of .rinston G 1orton. , let that +uestion go in, although it probably calls for a conclusion of the witness. 0ut , have the right to cross-e#a ine hi as to his activities as a co-partner, and the reasons upon which that conclusion was founded.' '1ot at a re ote ti e,' said !udge &arkha . '1o, sir,' said %erry &ason. 'That is why , a confining the +uestion to the date of 5ctober twenty-third - the day of the death.' !udge &arkha stared at %erry &ason with eyes that were suddenly hard and wary. &ason returned the ga/e, his eyes wide with candor. .laude 7ru was on his feet. 'The partnership affairs have nothing whatever to do with it,' he said. '0ut,' said !udge &arkha , 'you, yourself, +ualified hi as a e ber of a partnership.' '0ut only for the purpose of showing the inti acy of his ac+uaintance, "our Honor.' !udge &arkha shook his head. ', a not convinced,' he said, 'that the +uestion is proper cross-e#a ination, but in a case of this nature , a going to err, if at all, on the side of the defendants. The witness will answer the +uestion.' 'Answer the +uestion, &r. .rinston,' said %erry &ason. '-ho did you talk with)' '-ith &r. Sher an, the president.' 'And what did you talk with hi about)' 'About the partnership business.' '"ou talked with hi about eeting the indebtedness of appro#i ately nine hundred thousand dollars which the partnership had with that bank, did you not$ an indebtedness which, as , understand the facts, was evidenced by notes which had been signed by you as an individual alone, isn(t that right)' '1o sir, that is not right. Those notes were partnership notes, signed by .rinston G 1orton.' 'That is, signed by the partnership na e of .rinston G 1orton, per Arthur .rinston. ,sn(t that right)' ', think that is right,' said Arthur .rinston. 'The ain business of the partnership, as far as banking activities were concerned, was transacted by e$ that is, , signed the partnership na e to notes, although in a ajority of instances the checks were signed by both of us. 1o, ,(ll a end that state ent. , guess that the -heeler(s Trust and Savings 0ank notes were signed with the partnership na e per yself, and that checks were drawn out in the sa e way.' '"ou went out to &r. 1orton(s house to see hi about the aturity of those notes, did you not)' 'That is correct.' 'Then,' said %erry &ason, 'how did it happen that you talked about the black ailing of *rances .elane by the housekeeper)' ', didn(t say it was by the housekeeper,' snapped Arthur .rinston. ', said that her na e was entioned as a possibility.' ', see,' said %erry &ason. '&y istake. 9o ahead and answer the +uestion.' '0ecause,' said .rinston, 'the business atter relating to those notes occupied but a few inutes of our discussion. The +uestion of his niece(s being black ailed weighed very heavily on &r. 1orton(s ind, and he insisted upon postponing all further business discussion in order to ask y advice about that.' 'And why did he say she was being black ailed)' asked %erry &ason. 'He thought that she was being black ailed over so ething she had done.' '1aturally,' said %erry &ason. '7id he ention what it was)' '1o, , don(t think he did.' '7id he ention what it ight have been)' 'He entioned that she had an ungovernable te per,' said .rinston suddenly, and then bit his lip and said; '-ait a inute, ,(ll withdraw that. , don(t think he said that. That was y istake.' ?D

'"our istake,' asked &ason, 'or are you trying to protect the defendant, *rances .elane)' .rinston(s face purpled. ',( trying to protect her a lot better than you are<' he roared. !udge &arkha (s gavel banged upon his desk. '&r. .rinston,' he said, 'the court cautioned you once before. The court now pronounces you in conte pt of court, and assesses a fine of one hundred dollars for conte pt of court.' .rinston, his face purple, bowed his head. '%roceed with the case,' said !udge &arkha . '-as anything else discussed by you and &r. 1orton, save the atter of indebtedness to the bank, the partnership affairs, and the possibility that his niece was being black ailed)' '1o, sir,' said Arthur .rinston, evidently with relief that the +uestion was no ore searching as to the possibilities of the black ail. %erry &ason s iled urbanely. ', ay desire to recall &r. .rinston for further cross-e#a ination later on, "our Honor,' he said, 'but , have no ore +uestions at the present ti e.' !udge &arkha nodded. 'Any redirect)' he asked. '1ot at this ti e,' said .laude 7ru , 'but if counsel reserves the right to recall the witness for further crosse#a ination, , would like to reserve the right to recall the witness for further redirect e#a ination.' '9ranted,' snapped !udge &arkha . '%roceed.' .laude 7ru raised his voice dra atically. '.all &r. 7on 9raves,' he said. 7on 9raves arose and pushed his way forward, while the spectators turned to e#change swiftly whispered co ents. The urder trial was proceeding with a dispatch which was unusual, and the attorney for the defense see ed to be overlooking any opportunities in his cross-e#a ination. "et those who knew %erry &ason knew hi as one whose trial techni+ue was a by-word a ong attorneys. And it was e+ually apparent that !udge &arkha was ystified, as well as the spectators. *ro ti e to ti e, his eyes dwelt upon the placid face of %erry &ason with thoughtful speculation. 7on 9raves cleared his throat and looked e#pectantly at .laude 7ru . '"our na e is 7on 9raves, and you were e ployed on the twenty-third of 5ctober of this year, and had been e ployed for so e ti e prior thereto, as the confidential secretary of &r. Edward 1orton)' '"es, sir.' '"ou were with &r. 1orton on the evening of 5ctober twenty-third)' '"es, sir.' '-hen did you last see hi on that evening)' 'At appro#i ately eleven thirty in the evening.' '"ou had seen hi before that)' '5h, yes. &r. .rinston left about eleven twenty-seven or eleven twenty-eight, and &r. 1orton ca e out of his private office when &r. .rinston left. They talked for a inute or two and &r. 1orton asked e to get so e papers which &r. .rinston had at his house.' 'Then what happened)' asked .laude 7ru . 'Then &r. .rinston went downstairs, and &r. 1orton told e to call &r. %eter 7evoe, the chauffeur, and get hi to drive e to .rinston(s residence. Then, just as , was starting for the stairs, he said; (-ait a inute. , have an other idea,( or words to that effect, and went to the window and called down to &r. .rinston to ask if , could acco pany hi . '&r. .rinston said that he was with !udge %urley and would have to get !udge %urley(s per ission, and ,, knowing that !udge %urley would give his per ission and that ti e was valuable, ran down the stairs and was just co ing out of the front door when &r. .rinston called up that !udge %urley said he would be glad to acco odate e. ', ran across and got in !udge %urley(s auto obile, getting in the rear seat, and then !udge %urley started the auto obile and we drove up the winding road until we ca e to a spot, the appro#i ate location of which !udge %urley has arked on the ap.' 'And then what happened)' 'At that point,' said 7on 9raves dra atically, ', turned and looked back, and saw through the rear window of the auto obile into the study window of Edward 1orton.' 'And what did you see)' purred .laude 7ru . ', saw a figure raise a club and strike &r. 1orton on the head.' '.ould you recogni/e who that person was)' ', thought , could,' he said. '-ho did you think it was)' asked 7ru . '!ust a inute,' said %erry &ason, 'that is objected to as calling for a conclusion of the witness, and as leading and suggestive. The witness has stated that he thought he could ake the identification.' !udge &arkha looked at %erry &ason as though e#pecting to hear an e#tended argu ent upon this crucial point. There was no argu ent. He looked at .laude 7ru . .laude 7ru shrugged his shoulders. @E

'He has stated that in his opinion he could ake an identification,' he said. 'The word (thought( is erely a collo+uial e#pression.' '"ou(d better clear the atter up,' said !udge &arkha . '2ery well,' said .laude 7ru . '&r. 9raves,' he said, 'you say that you thought you could identify the witness. !ust what do you ean by that)' ', believe,' said 7on 9raves, 'that , know who that an was. , think that , recogni/ed hi . , did not see his face clearly, but , think that , could recogni/e hi by the anner in which he held his head, fro his shoulders and the general outline of his body.' 'That is sufficient, if the court please,' said .laude 7ru . 'A an doesn(t need to see the facial characteristics of another in order to ake an identification. The objection goes to the weight, rather than the ad issibility of the evidence.' !udge &arkha looked e#pectantly at %erry &ason. %erry &ason said nothing. ', will overrule the objection,' said !udge &arkha . 'Answer the +uestion, young an.' 'That an was 6obert 9leason,' said 7on 9raves in a low voice. '-as there anyone else in the roo )' asked .laude 7ru . '"es, sir.' '-ho was that other person)' 'A wo an, sir, who was attired in a pink gar ent of so e sort.' '.ould you see that wo an)' ', saw part of her shoulder, just a bit of her hair, and her ar .' '.ould you recogni/e that wo an fro what you saw of her)' !udge &arkha interrupted. ', think, counselor,' he said, 'that while , per itted the first identification upon the ground that the objection went to the weight rather than the ad issibility of the evidence, that where a witness can see only a relatively s all portion of a wo an(s figure at the distance which was shown upon this ap, the objection really should go to the weight as well as the ad issibility of the evidence, and , will sustain the objection as to the identity of the wo an.' '"our Honor,' said %erry &ason softly, 'there was no objection ade as to the identity of the wo an.' '1o objection)' said !udge &arkha . '1one, "our Honor,' said %erry &ason. '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha , ', shall sustain an objection if one is ade.' 'There will be none ade,' said %erry &ason. A rustle sounded throughout the courtroo . '2ery well,' snapped !udge &arkha , his face purpling, 'answer the +uestion.' '"es, sir,' said 7on 9raves. ', think that that wo an was *rances .elane. , a not as certain in her case as , was in the case of the an, but , think it was *rances .elane. She was dressed like *rances .elane, and the color of her hair, and the contour of her shoulder ade e think it was *rances .elane.' 'How long have you known *rances .elane)' asked .laude 7ru . '*or ore than three years.' '"ou have lived in the sa e house with her) '"es sir.' '7id she, at that ti e, to your knowledge, have a dress or so e gar ent of the color which you saw upon the wo an who was standing in that roo )' '"es, sir.' '2ery well,' said .laude 7ru . '-hat did you do, if anything)' ', told the other gentle en what , had seen, and asked the to turn the car around.' ', will strike that out on y own otion,' said !udge &arkha . ',t is inco petent, irrelevant, and i aterial. The +uestion is what the witness did ne#t, with reference to what had taken place in this roo . .onversations between parties outside of the presence of the defendant which are not part of the res gestae will not be per itted.' '2ery well,' said .laude 7ru . 'Then what happened) -hat did you do with reference to &r. Edward 1orton)' ', returned to the house, cli bed the stairs to his study, and found his body slu ped across the desk, with the top of his head beaten in,' said 7on 9raves. '.ross-e#a ine,' snapped .laude 7ru . %erry &ason got to his feet and stared slowly and fi#edly at 7on 9raves. An electric tension ran around the courtroo . The spectators sensed that this was to be the crucial part of the trial. '"our eyes are in good condition)' asked %erry &ason. '"es.' '"ou think that you were able to sit in a speeding auto obile at this point on the road, and, in the o entary glance which you had through the rear of the auto obile, recogni/e the occupants of the roo in that study)' '"es, sir. , know , could.' 'How do you know it)' '0ecause , saw the at that ti e, and because in order to test y own ability, , have ade subse+uent tests.' 'The last part of that answer ay go out,' snapped !udge &arkha . 'There was no otion to strike it out,' said %erry &ason. ',f the court please, , would like to follow that point up.' '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha . '"ou say you have ade subse+uent tests)' @3

'"es, sir.' ',n an auto obile)' '"es, sir.' '-ith occupants in the roo )' '"es, sir.' '-ho were the occupants in the roo )' '&r. 7ru , the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney, and two people fro his office.' '"ou were able to recogni/e those people)' '"es, sir. "ou see, sir, the windows are very wide, and the lighting in that study or office is very good.' 'The auto obile in which those tests were ade wasn(t driven very rapidly, was it)' asked %erry &ason. '!ust about the sa e rate as the auto obile in which , was riding on the night of the urder.' 'That was !udge %urley(s auto obile)' '"es, sir.' '0ut you haven(t ade a test in !udge %urley(s auto obile, have you)' '1o, sir, in other auto obiles.' 'Then the tests weren(t ade under the sa e conditions$ that is, the achine wasn(t the sa e, the window in the rear wasn(t the sa e.' 'They were si ilar,' said 7on 9raves. %erry &ason stared accusingly at the witness. '0ut the tests weren(t ade under e#actly the sa e conditions.' '1o, sir.' '-ould you,' thundered %erry &ason, 'dare to ake a test under the sa e conditions)' '5bjected to as argu entative,' snapped .laude 7ru . ', think,' said !udge &arkha , 'that it ay be argu entative, but it has a tendency to show the interest or bias of the witness. The +uestion was, whether or not he would be willing to ake a test under certain conditions.' '0ut such a test wouldn(t prove anything ore than has already been proven,' said 7ru . 'The +uestion,' said !udge &arkha , 'is, whether or not he would be willing to ake such a test. , think , will per it the witness to answer.' 'Answer the +uestion,' said %erry &ason. '"es, , would be willing to ake such a test.' ',f !udge %urley will furnish his auto obile, will you ake a test while you are riding in such auto obile)' .laude 7ru was on his feet. 'The +uestion is now different, "our Honor. ,t is not a +uestion now of whether he is willing to ake such a test, but if he will ake such a test.' '"es,' said !udge &arkha , 'if you desire to object to that +uestion, , think that , shall sustain an objection to it.' %erry &ason turned to face the jury. ',n that event,' he said, 'there is no further cross-e#a ination.' '1o further cross-e#a ination)' asked .laude 7ru . '1o. The fact speaks for itself,' snapped %erry &ason. '"ou are afraid to have a test ade under identical conditions.' The gavel of !udge &arkha banged sharply on the desk. '.ounselor,' he said, 'you will please refrain fro personalities and address your re arks to the court, rather than to opposing counsel.' '"our pardon, "our Honor,' said %erry &ason, but his voice held no trace of hu ility, and his eyes twinkled with a use ent. .laude 7ru stared at %erry &ason, and his forehead creased in thought. '"our Honor,' he said, ' ight , ask at this ti e for an adjourn ent until to- orrow orning at ten o(clock) , have been rather surprised at the une#pected progress which this case has ade.' '"ou are no ore surprised than the court,' said !udge &arkha . 'Agreeably surprised, , ay say. ,t is custo ary for urder cases to be drawn out to such prolonged length that it co es as rather a startling innovation to have a case ove with such rapidity as this. "our re+uest is granted, .ounselor, and court will adjourn until ten o(clock to orrow orning, during which ti e the jury will re e ber the usual ad onition of the court against discussing the case or allowing it to be discussed in their presence.' The gavel banged. %erry &ason swung about in his chair and turned to face the dark eyes of *rances .elane. He s iled at her reassuringly. 6ob 9leason, sitting at her side, was haggard and drawn, showing the effects of the ordeal$ his posture tense and strained, his eyes filled with a lurking fear. The girl was cal and collected, her eyes gave no hint of her feelings. Her chin was up, and her head back. %erry &ason leaned toward her. 'Have confidence in e, please,' he said. 5nly when she s iled at hi was there evident the changes which had taken place in her during the ordeal preli inary to the trial. There was a touch of sadness in the s ile$ a hint of patience that had not been in her face before. She said nothing, but her s ile spoke volu es. 6ob 9leason whispered; 'A word with you, sir) And in private, please.' @:

A deputy sheriff oved forward, touched *rances .elane on the shoulder. %erry &ason said to hi ; '!ust a o ent, please,' and led 6ob 9leason to one side. 9leason spoke in hoarse whispers. '8ooks pretty black, doesn(t it)' %erry &ason shrugged his shoulders. ',f,' whispered 9leason, 'it(s going against us, , want to take it all.' '&eaning)' asked the lawyer. '&eaning,' husked 9leason, 'that , want to confess and take the sole bla e. , want to free *ran of any responsibility.' Steadily, purposefully, re orselessly, &ason(s eyes studied 9leason(s features. ',t hasn(t co e to that yet, 9leason,' he said. 'And it won(t. Feep your outh shut.' He turned and signaled the waiting deputy that the conference was over. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO %E66" &AS51 sat at his desk in the office, looking across at Harry 1evers. 1evers, with his hair tri ed, his face clean-shaven, wearing a newly pressed suit, twisted his legs up over the ar of the leather chair, and let his eyes study %erry &ason in bored appraisal. 'Sure ,(ll do you a favor,' he said, 'if it(s anything , can do. The office is friendly toward you. "ou gave us a nice break on *rances .elane(s surrender.' 'All right,' said %erry &ason, his eyes hard and watchful. ', want you to bear down heavy on the fact that the 7istrict Attorney has conducted secret tests to deter ine whether 7on 9raves could be telling the truth.' 1evers nodded and yawned. ', suppose you ean that you want to have an inti ation between the lines, that the 7.A. wouldn(t have had those tests ade unless he(d had a little doubt in his own ind about the testi ony.' %erry &ason nodded. '-ell,' said Harry 1evers, in that e#pressionless onotone which was so characteristic of hi , 'that(s already been done. , gave you that uch of a break in advance.' 'All right,' said &ason. '1ow here(s so ething else. , want you to e phasi/e the events that happened just before court adjourned$ the fact that the 7istrict Attorney refused to ake a test under identical circu stances.' 1evers inclined his head in a gesture of assent. 'All right,' he said, 'what(s back of it)' '0ack of what)' asked the attorney. '0ack of this test business.' '"ou can see for yourself,' said &ason. 'The 7istrict Attorney conducted tests. That shows he had so e doubt of the ability of the witness to see the occupants of that roo , as he clai s he did. *urther ore, he has now refused to conduct a test, or per it a test to be conducted under e#actly identical circu stances.' '0aloney,' said the reporter. 'That(s a good line to hand to the jury, but ,( asking you for the lowdown.' 'There isn(t any lowdown,' &ason told hi . 'The hell there ain(t,' said 1evers. '7on(t think ,( going to pull chestnuts out of the fire for you. "ou(ve given e a break in this case, and ,( willing to give you a break. 0ut don(t think ,( going to run around playing cat(s paw for you, and get y fingers burnt unless , know whether the chestnut is worthwhile reaching for.' &ason shook his head. '"ou(ve got e wrong, Harry,' he said. ', si ply want to have a test arranged under e#actly identical circu stances.' '-ell,' said 1evers, 'we(ll talk that over for a while. -hat do you ean by e#actly identical circu stances)' '-ell,' said %erry &ason, 'here(s the way , want the test arranged. , want it so that ,( riding in the front seat of the auto obile with !udge %urley. ,(ll be in the position that Arthur .rinston occupied. ,( perfectly willing to allow 7ru , the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney, to sit in the back seat with 7on 9raves.' Harry 1evers stared at hi with eyes that showed a glint of surprise. 'Have you gone cra/y)' he asked. '1o,' said %erry &ason shortly. '-hy you poor da ned innocent babe in the woods<' said 1evers. '7on(t let .laude 7ru fool you with any of that bushwa about being fair. He(s one of the crookedest ca paigners in the ga e. He(s the one that ditched the notes that contained the first state ent 7on 9raves ade to the police - the one in which he said he recogni/ed 7evoe as the urderer, and didn(t say anything about there being so e other person in the roo .' 'That(s all right,' said &ason. '-hat if he did)' '-hy, si ply this; He(ll have things arranged so that 7on 9raves could be blindfolded and still ake a one hundred percent identification. ,f you let hi sit within nudging distance of 7on 9raves or where he can whisper or signal to hi , you(re just a plain fool.' %erry &ason shook his head and s iled. 'All right, then,' said 1evers, 'tell e what(s up or you don(t get a bit of cooperation out of us.' 'There are ti es,' said %erry &ason, 'when a person has to use a little strategy - for instance when one is stalking a flock of geese it(s always advisable to get behind a horse to walk up on the geese.' '-hat does that ean)' 1evers in+uired. @=

',t eans that geese are wild things, and they take flight whenever they see so ething they can(t understand, or so ething that looks like a hunter,' said %erry &ason. '0ut they(re accusto ed to the sight of a horse and when they see a horse walking around the , they don(t pay any attention to it.' 'So you(re walking behind a horse)'asked Harry 1evers. %erry &ason nodded his head. 1evers slid his feet off the ar of the chair, stood up, and looked steadily at %erry &ason. '8ook here,' he said, 'you(ve got a reputation a ong lawyers of being a fast worker, and a two-fisted ca paigner. "ou(ve got the reputation of jockeying a case around so that you get in a position to give one knockout punch and then concentrate on that one punch. "ou don(t go around wasting your energy in a lot of little taps that don(t ean anything. 1ow , want to know what the knock-out punch is in this case.' ',( not certain yet,' %erry &ason told hi . 'There ay not be any.' 'The hell there ain(t,' said 1evers. '8ook at the way you(ve tried this case. "ou have sat back and let the prosecution put in every da ned bit of evidence they wanted. "ou haven(t cross-e#a ined the witnesses so as to bring out anything that(s to the advantage of either of the defendants.' '-hat do you ean by that)' in+uired %erry &ason in low, o inous tones. 'Feep your shirt on,' 1evers drawled tonelessly. '"ou aren(t fooling e any with that stuff. "ou know as well as , do that 7on 9raves ade a state ent to the police the night of the urder, in which he either said, or at least inti ated, that the person who struck the blow was 7evoe, the chauffeur. He said there wasn(t a wo an in the roo at the ti e the blow was struck, or at least he failed to say he saw a wo an in the roo . "ou(ve gone ahead and let hi testify in this case, and haven(t brought that out, or even inti ated that he ever ade a contradictory state ent.' ',t wouldn(t do any good if , did,' %erry &ason said. 'The notes of that state ent have been destroyed, and 9raves would swear, either that he never ade such a state ent, or that *rances .elane asked hi to give her a break, and he tried to leave her out of it.' '0aloney,' said 1evers. %erry &ason slid open a drawer in his desk and took out a flask of whisky. ',(ll tell you this uch, Harry,' he said. ',f you(ll play ball with e, you won(t be sorry.' '&eaning by that)' asked 1evers. '&eaning by that you can stick around on this test that(s ade and save a big slice of the front page for a blowoff.' Harry 1evers pushed back the glass which &ason had handed hi with the bottle, and tilted the bottle to his lips. He took half a do/en swallows, then handed the bottle back to the attorney. '-hen(s this blow-off going to co e)' he asked. '6ight after the test)' ', don(t think so,' said %erry &ason. ', think ,(ll have to do a little anipulation.' The reporter spoke as though he ight have been thinking out loud. '-e can force the 7.A. into aking that test,' he said. ',t(s a test that is bound to co e out all right. 0ut you(ve got so ething up your sleeve. "ou(re trying this urder case with no ore apparent fight about you than as though you were covering a coroner(s in+uest. "ou(re going through it with a hop, skip and ju p, and letting the prosecution get in all the da aging evidence they want. Everybody in town is talking about what a poor defense you(re putting up.' '"es)' asked &ason, raising his eyebrows. '5h forget it<' said 1evers, with a trace of feeling in his voice. '"ou know da ned well they are. A kid out of law school would have tried this case better than you(re trying it. Everybody is co enting on it. The town is divided into two ca ps those that think you(re shrewd as the devil, and have so ething up your sleeve, and those that think you(ve just been lucky on your other cases, and haven(t got anything on the ball. 1aturally, it(s an i portant case. A wo an who(s got as any illions as *rances .elane at stake$ a secret arriage$ a se# angle, and all that sort of stuff akes front page news. ,t(s the opportunity of your life to drag this case along, fighting every inch of the way, keeping your na e on the front page of the newspaper for two or three weeks. ,n place of that you(re acting like a dub. *or a urder case, this thing is streaking through the court like a greased pig going between a far er(s legs.' %erry &ason corked the whisky bottle, and slid it back in the drawer of his desk. 1evers looked at hi searchingly. '9oing to say anything)' he asked. '1o,' said %erry &ason. 1evers grinned and wiped the back of his hand across his lips. '5kay,' said 1evers. ',(ve done y duty. ,(ll tell the city editor , tried y da nedest to get so ething out of you. &aybe ,(ll fake so e piece of inside infor ation that the readers can pick out between the lines.' %erry &ason took the reporter(s ar and escorted hi to the door of the outer office. '8isten, Harry,' he said, 'if you fake anything, be sure you fake it right.' %erry &ason paused in the doorway, suddenly turned and faced the reporter. 'All right,' he said, ',(ll give you a bit of inside infor ation. 6ob 9leason is intending to ake a co plete confession and take the bla e for the cri e, e#onerating *rances .elane.' 1evers stared at hi . '"ou can(t give e that for publication,' he said. '-hy not)' asked %erry &ason. ',t would be violating every professional confidence.' 'That(s all right,' said &ason easily, 'you(re not using y na e, that(s all. Si ply put it down as co ing fro a source that is close to the inside.' '&y 9od<' said 1evers. 'That would be the worst kind of libel if we couldn(t back it up<' @>

'"ou can back it up,' said &ason. ',f anybody calls you on it, you can disclose the source of your infor ation.' '&eaning that it ca e fro you)' '&eaning that it ca e fro e,' &ason told hi . 1evers took a deep breath. '8isten, %erry,' he said, ',(ve seen (e co e, and ,(ve seen (e go. ,(ve been in on all kinds of cases, interviewed all kinds of people. ,(ve seen those that were fo#y, and those that just thought they were fo#y. ,(ve seen those that were du b, and didn(t know it, and those that were du b, and thought they were s art, but you(ve got the whole world cheated. This is the da nedest interview with a lawyer , ever had<' &ason placed his right hand between the reporter(s shoulder blades and gently pushed hi into the outer office. 'All right,' he said, ',(ve given you a break. 9ive e one.' *rank Everly was standing in the outer office, his anner filled with i patience. '7id you want to see e)' asked %erry &ason. Everly nodded. '.o e in,' &ason told hi . Everly walked into the inner office. %erry &ason stood in the door until Harry 1evers had gone out through the outer door, then &ason closed the door of the inner office, and turned to face Everly. Everly coughed and averted his eyes. '7idn(t the case ove rather e#peditiously, &r. &ason)' he asked. &ason s iled at hi with patient, tired eyes. ',n other words,' he said, 'you(ve been hearing so e co ents that ,(ve stubbed y toe on the defense, and the prosecution is walking all over e, is that it)' Everly turned red and said in a choked voice; ', didn(t say anything like that, &r. &ason.' '7id you ever hear the story,' asked %erry &ason, in a kindly tone of voice, 'of the an who brought suit against his neighbor, clai ing to have been bitten by the neighbor(s dog) The neighbor filed an answer in which he denied that his dog was vicious, denied that the dog had bitten the an, and denied that he ever had a dog.' '"es,' said *rank Everly, ',(ve heard that yarn. ,t(s a classic around law school.' 'All right,' said %erry &ason. 'The defense in that case beca e hu orous because it took in too uch territory. 1ow, when you(ve got a doubtful case, it(s all right to try and have two strings to your bow. 0ut re e ber that when you have two strings on a bow, while increasing the factor of safety, you lose the efficiency of the weapon. A bow that has two strings won(t break a string, but it won(t shoot an arrow one +uarter of the distance that it would if it only had one string to it.' '"ou ean you(re sacrificing everything in this case to concentrate on so e one point)' asked the law clerk. '"es,' said %erry &ason, 'the innocence of *rances .elane and 6ob 9leason is virtually shown by the evidence as it e#ists at the present ti e. The guilt of the defendants si ply cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. 0ut , want to do ore than raise a reasonable doubt in the inds of the jurors. , want to ake a co plete solution of the case.' *rank Everly stared at %erry &ason with wide, incredulous eyes. '&y heavens<' he said. ', thought that everything that went in to-day clinched the guilt of *rances .elane and 6ob 9leason. , thought that unless we could break down the stories of so e of those witnesses, we could just as well figure on a verdict of first degree urder.' &ason shook his head wearily. '1o,' he said, 'the big point , wanted in the case has already gone in. -hat ,( trying to do now is to crash that point ho e to the jury in such a dra atic anner they(ll never forget it. And re e ber this - ,(ve got .laude 7ru so badly rattled the way that case is going that he(s on the verge of panic right now. He figures , ust have an ace up y sleeve so ewhere, or , wouldn(t be giving hi all the breaks.' 'The jury,' suggested *rank Everly, 'looked rather unsy pathetic.' '5f course they looked unsy pathetic,' said %erry &ason. 'And they(ll probably look ore unsy pathetic. "ou notice what .laude 7ru is doing. He(s putting in the corpus delicti with just a s attering of testi ony. !ust before he gets ready to rest his case, he(ll start introducing photographs of the dead body slu ped over the desk, of the bloody blotter, of the insurance policy, spattered with the life blood of the dead an, and all of that stuff. Then, he(ll throw the case into our laps, and leave us to face a jury that(s hardened its heart to bring in a death penalty verdict.' '-hat , don(t see,' said Everly, 'is how you(re going to stop hi .' ',( not going to try to stop hi ,' s iled %erry &ason, ',( going to head hi off.' 7ella Street walked into the roo . '&r. 7rake is out there,' she said, 'and says it(s i portant.' %erry &ason s iled at her. 'He(ll have to wait just a inute,' he said, ',( e#plaining so ething to *rank Everly.' 7ella Street looked at %erry &ason with eyes that were war with tenderness. ', can re e ber,' she said softly, 'when , ade you e#plain so ething to e. After that, ,(ve had enough faith in you so , don(t need any e#planations.' %erry &ason watched her with speculative eyes. '"ou(ve read the papers)' he asked. 'The afternoon papers, yes.' 'And you know how the trial is going)' '"es.' '"ou gathered that , was putting up a pretty weak defense)' She stiffened slightly, and looked accusingly at *rank Everly. @?

'-ho said that)' she asked. ',t(s inti ated in the newspapers,' said %erry &ason. '-ell,' said 7ella Street, ', just ade a bet of half of y onth(s salary, with %aul 7rake, that you were going to get both defendants ac+uitted. That shows how uch faith ,(ve got in you.' 'Then,' said %erry &ason, '7rake ust have so e bad news. "ou two get out of here and let e talk with hi . "ou know he(s doing so e work for e on this case. He(s probably got so e inside infor ation. ,t wasn(t very sporting of hi to bet on his inside infor ation.' 'That(s all right,' 7ella Street said. 'He was s+uare about it. He told e he had so e inside infor ation.' '7id he tell you what it was)' '1o, he just said he had it, and , told hi , had so e too.' '-hat did you have)' asked %erry &ason, staring speculatively at her. '*aith in you,' she said. &ason waved his hand. 'All right,' he said, 'you folks get out and let e talk with 7rake. -e(ll see what he(s got to say.' 7rake ca e into the inner office, sat down, grinned, and rolled a cigarette. '-ell,' he said, ',(ve got the lowdown for you.' 'All right,' %erry &ason said, 'what is it)' 'The rough shadow did it,' said 7rake. '1ever ind the ethods,' said &ason. ', want the facts.' '-ell,' said 7rake, 'the story goes like this. This &rs. &ayfield is a hard-boiled baby.' ', knew she was,' said &ason. 'She tried to hold e up a couple of ti es.' '"es, , got all the lowdown on that, too,' said 7rake. 'The only trouble is, %erry, that it looks like hell for your clients.' 'How do you ean)' '-ell, in the first place, &rs. &ayfield doesn(t know +uite as uch as she tried to pretend she did. She ade the istake of going to bed at the wrong ti e. She went to bed just about fifteen or twenty inutes before the urder was co itted. 0ut she(d spent the evening snooping around. ',t all starts in with the fact that she found out 9leason and *rances .elane were arried. She started in trying to capitali/e on that knowledge. She took +uite a bit of oney fro *rances .elane$ , don(t know how uch, around ten thousand dollars, , think. And then, in so e way, Edward 1orton got wise that *rances .elane was paying black ail. He got her in and tried to ake her tell hi who she was paying oney to and why. 1aturally, she didn(t dare to let hi know. 0ut 1orton was a pretty obstinate individual, and, in order to find out, he shut off the girl(s allowance. That put her in the position of having no oney with which to pay any black ail. '5n the other hand, &rs. &ayfield said that she could capitali/e on the infor ation elsewhere, and if *rances .elane wouldn(t give her oney, she was going to sell the infor ation to so e of the charitable institutions who would benefit by the knowledge. '5f course, this was all bluff, but *rances .elane didn(t know it. The whole situation ca e to a head on the night of the urder. *rances .elane had a stor y interview with 1orton, and they +uarreled bitterly. 1orton said that before he went to bed that night he was going to e#ecute a written docu ent ter inating the trust and giving to *rances .elane the annuity provided by the ter s of the trust and letting the balance go to charity. '-hether that was a bluff on his part or not , don(t know. Anyhow, that(s what he said. Then &rs. &ayfield went to bed. 1e#t orning *rances .elane had oney, lots of it. She gave &rs. &ayfield twenty-eight thousand dollars to keep +uiet. &rs. &ayfield pro ised she would. '6ob 9leason was there in the house that night, and participated in at least a part of the interview with 1orton. 1orton was furious, and accused the girl of all sorts of things. She got ad and used language that ust have raised a blister on his ears. 'Afterwards, 9leason went down to the girl(s roo . That was after .rinston ca e, and before the urder. Along about that ti e &rs. &ayfield went to bed. She doesn(t know e#actly what happened, e#cept that she(s certain *rances .elane didn(t go out in the 0uick auto obile. Therefore, she knows that the alibi *rances .elane was trying to ake was false. 'She went to you and tried to shake you down for oney to keep *rances .elane out of it. "ou turned her down hard, so she started concentrating on the girl, and actually collected fro her. Then she found out that the oney she(d taken fro *rances .elane was in thousand dollar bills that were nu bered consecutively, and knew that these bills would be traced in the event that she tried to change the for s aller bills. So she has these bills hidden and has tried to create the i pression that *rances .elane gave you twenty-eight thousand dollars to apply on a fee. She has told the 7istrict Attorney(s office that that is what happened, and the 7istrict Attorney(s office has been trying to locate the twenty-eight thousand dollars. They(ve ade e#a inations at your banks, and have even gone so far as to search the office. They have now co e to the conclusion that you ust be carrying the twenty-eight thousand dollars on your person. 'The 7istrict Attorney is intending to use her as a surprise witness. She(s going to testify as to the falsity of the girl(s clai that she was out in the 0uick auto obile, and also to the +uarrel that took place. ',t(s the theory of the prosecution that a bitter +uarrel was interrupted by Arthur .rinston$ that the two people hatched out this urder plot and waited until .rinston had left to carry it into e#ecution$ that, as soon as .rinston drove away, they dashed up to the office and killed &r. 1orton, then planted the evidence in %ete 7evoe(s roo in order to ake it appear 7evoe was the guilty party, in the event the officers didn(t fall for the ji ied window and the footprints in the soft soil.' 'How about 9raves)' asked %erry &ason. 'Have you done anything with hi )'

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',(ve done lots with hi . That girl has turned hi inside out. He(s going to be a bad an for you to handle, but he tells the girl that he(s trying to protect *rances .elane, or that he was trying to protect her until the 7istrict Attorney brought pressure to bear on hi .' '8ook here,' &ason said, ' y theory of this case is that 1orton gave *ran .elane that oney before .rinston called. 1ow, 9raves ust have so e infor ation that(ll support that theory.' 'That,' said 7rake, 'is the worst part of his testi ony. He says he could hear every word of the conversation$ that 1orton took out his wallet and showed the girl forty thousand dollars, telling her he had originally gotten the oney to give her, but that he wasn(t going to give her anything e#cept a s all a ount for current e#penses. Then he took out two one thousand dollar bills and handed the to her. '7on 9raves has the idea the girl took the one thousand dollar bills, and that she and 9leason planted those one thousand dollar bills in the pocket of 7evoe, the chauffeur, while .rinston was talking with 1orton$ that the girl and 9leason ca e back afterwards and killed 1orton, taking the balance of the oney fro his wallet to use for the purpose of bribing the housekeeper to silence and paying you a sufficient cash retainer so you would interest yourself in the case. That(s the theory 9raves has. 'The 7istrict Attorney had things planned so that ost of this would co e out on cross-e#a ination. He was going to slap you in the face with it. The fact that you(ve restricted your cross-e#a ination so uch has got 7ru worried. He(s going to try and bring out all of this stuff on redirect e#a ination now, asking per ission to recall the witnesses.' %erry &ason stretched his long ar s, stared at the detective, and laughed. '%aul,' he said, 'there are ti es when caution is a vice.' '-hat do you ean by that)' %aul 7rake asked. ', ean,' said %erry &ason, 'that at ti es it is wise to stake everything on one dra atic blow, one crashing knock-out punch. ,(ve only got one string to y bow in this case. ,f it breaks, ,( finished. 0ut if it doesn(t break, ,( going to shoot an arrow right through the bull(s-eye of the whole case.' 7rake said; '-ell, %erry, if you can figure this thing out, you can do a lot ore than , can. The ore , see of it, the ore i#ed up and confused it looks.' %erry &ason started pacing the floor back and forth. 'The thing that ,( afraid of,' he said, 'is that ,( not keeping y real objective sufficiently concealed.' 'How do you ean)' the detective in+uired. ',( stalking a bunch of geese behind a horse,' said %erry &ason, 'and ,( afraid the horse ay not be big enough to give e the conceal ent , want.' %aul 7rake started for the door. '8isten,' he said, as he paused, with a hand on the knob of the door, 'don(t worry about that. ,(ve seen a lot of urder cases in y ti e, and ,(ve talked with a lot of lawyers who thought they had a point when they didn(t have. ,f you think you(re going to be able to save either one of your clients in this case, you(ve got ore opti is than , have. , just bet half of 7ella Street(s salary for this onth, that your clients were going to be convicted, and, after talking with you, ,( going out and try and get a bet for the other half. That shows how uch confidence ,(ve got.' As he closed the door, %erry &ason was standing in the center of the office, with his feet spread wide apart, his jaw thrust forward, heavy shoulders s+uared, staring in steady concentration at the closing door. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE HEA78,1ES strea ed across the front page of the Star. -,T1ESS T5 &,88,51A,6E(S &467E6 6E*4SES T5 &AFE TEST. %erry &ason, with the paper propped up in front of hi on the table, cracked his three- inute eggs and s iled with satisfaction. 7own below the large headlines were s aller headlines; 7,S%4TE 52E6 2,S,51 5* STATE(S STA6 -,T1ESS. 7E*E1SE .HA88E19ES T5 &AFE TEST A17 %65SE.4T,51 6E*4SES. %erry &ason salted and peppered his eggs, dropped in a s+uare of butter, reached for a slice of crisp toast, and chuckled. He read the verbati account of the trial, noticed that the challenge which he had hurled at the prosecution was printed in black-faced type, finished his breakfast, folded the newspaper, and went to his office. 'Any news)' he asked 7ella Street. She regarded hi with a wistful, half- aternal s ile on her lips. '"ou(ve got it in your pocket,' she said. He grinned at her. ',f the 7istrict Attorney refuses to accept the challenge now, ,(ve got the case won in front of the jury,' he said. '-hat will you do if he accepts the challenge)' she wanted to know. %erry &ason walked to the window and stared thoughtfully out at the orning sunshine. '1ow that,' he re arked, 'calls for another +uestion. 7id you double your bet with %aul 7rake)' '"es.' '9ood girl<' he said. '"ou think the 7.A.(ll consent to the test)' she asked. @A

'"es.' 'How are you going to deter ine that it(s a fair test)' ', can(t,' he told her, 'but there(s no har in trying.' '-ell,' she told hi , 'you(ve got so e good advertise ent in this case, anyway. Every orning newspaper is speculating what it is you(ve got up your sleeve. "ou(re referred to a do/en ti es as (The 5ld *o# of the .ourtroo ,( and ost of the reporters state that the chief trial deputy was plainly worried at the anner in which the case was e#pedited.' '"ou ean,' he told her, 'the newspapers figure , couldn(t possibly be as du b as , see .' She laughed. ',( betting on you,' she said. 'The 7.A.(s got a couple of surprise witnesses,' %erry &ason said. 'Surprise to who )' she in+uired. 'That(s the +uestion,' grinned %erry &ason, and walked to his inside office. He had no sooner closed the door than the telephone rang. 'This is 7ru on the line now,' said the voice of 7ella Street. 'Hello,' said %erry &ason. '9ood orning, counselor. This is 7ru speaking. , have been thinking over your de and for a test of the vision of 7on 9raves, and have decided to consent to aking a test under e#actly identical circu stances. , shall ask the court for an adjourn ent over the week end to enable the test to be co pleted and thought , would let you know.' '1ice of you,' said &ason. '1ot at all,' snapped 7ru . &ason chuckled. ', eant letting e know,' he said. '5h,' said 7ru . 'Have you any plans worked out for aking the test)' ', will announce that in court,' said 7ru . '9ood-by.' %erry &ason was still chuckling as he slipped the receiver back on its hook. %erry &ason pressed the button which called *rank Everly to his office. 'Everly,' he said, 'there(s going to be a continuance granted in that trial this orning, so that arrange ents can be co pleted for a test which is to be ade. ,( not going up to court, but a going to send you up, to be there and arrange for the continuance. There will be nothing e#cept the for ality of getting the case continued over the week end. 7ru will undoubtedly have so e sche e worked out under which he(ll want the test ade and he(ll try to rush you into a consent to that sche e, while you are there in court in front of the jury. 'Si ply tell hi that you were sent up to represent e for the purpose of consenting to the continuance, and that you have no authority to conclude the ter s under which the test is to be ade. That will necessitate his getting in touch with e when we are not in front of a jury.' *rank Everly nodded his approval, and there was a look of ad iration in his eyes. '"ou forced hi into it, eh)' ', don(t know. He(s consenting to the test. That(s all , want. , don(t care why he(s doing it.' 'And by this eans,' said Everly, 'you keep fro having to +uibble over the details in front of the jury)' 'E#actly,' s iled %erry &ason. 'Tell hi that ,(ll be in y office this afternoon to arrange the details of the test with hi , or that ,(ll eet hi at any utually satisfactory place. 0e sure when you ake the state ent that you do it with an air of the ut ost candor and frankness. The jury will be watching you closely and there(s been a little too uch talk in the newspapers about y being an old fo#.' '5kay, .hief,' said Everly, and swung out of the office, his face flushed with enthusias . %erry &ason got Harry 1evers on the telephone. '!ust wanted to let you know,' said &ason, 'that the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney just called up and told e he was going to consent to a continuance over the week end this orning, so that a test could be ade.' The voice of Harry 1evers sounded in a husky, bored onotone over the telephone. ', can go you one better on that,' he said. ', was just going to call you and give you a tip. The 7.A.(s office has a sche e fra ed up for that test. They(re going to put it up to you in front of the jury. "ou won(t like it, but you won(t dare to argue with it in front of the jury.' 'All right,' %erry &ason said, ', can raise you one on that. ,( not even going to be in court. ,(ve sent y assistant up to consent to a continuance. He hasn(t any authority to stipulate in regard to the conditions of the test.' Harry 1evers laughed. 'That sounds a little ore like it,' he said. '-ill the court order the test)' '1o,' &ason said. ', don(t think the court will want to have anything to do with it. ,t(s so ething that will have to be handled by stipulation. -e(ll ake the test and then let the witnesses testify &onday orning.' '-hen are you going to figure out the details of the test)' asked the reporter. '%robably right after the court adjourns,' &ason told hi . '7ru will get in touch with e. , thought ,(d give you a ring and let you know that , can(t control the publicity that co es out of the 7.A.(s office, but as far as ,( concerned you(re going to have an e#clusive on the details just as soon as , reach an agree ent with the 7istrict Attorney(s office.' Harry 1evers gave a dry chuckle; ', guess,' he said, 'it(s a good thing that , had the photographer get a couple of pictures of you when he was over in the office. So ething see s to tell e we will be running the about Tuesday orning, or in the evening editions &onday night.' 'There(s one other thing , want you to do for e,' &ason said. '9ee, you(re full of those suggestions,' the reporter told hi . 'That(s all right. This is a si ple thing.' @C

'All right, shoot.' '-hen that test is arranged, ,( going to have things fi#ed so that 7ru and , will be downstairs in the auto obile, and 9raves will be upstairs. -e(ll su on hi by so e kind of a signal. -hen we give that signal, , want you to detain 9raves up there in that roo .' '*or how long)' asked 1evers. 'As long as you can.' '-hat(s the idea of that)' ', want to get hi rattled.' '"ou can(t rattle that bird. He(s a fo#y guy, if , ever saw one.' 'He ay think he(s fo#y, but he can be rattled just the sa e. , want you to put up so e proposition to hi that will hold hi behind until he has to appeal to the 7istrict Attorney.' '1ow,' said the reporter, 'you(re asking so ething that(s aking e suspicious.' ',t doesn(t need to,' &ason told hi . ',f you(ll do that, ,(ll give you a break afterwards so that you can clai you participated in the final result.' '&aybe , don(t want to participate in the final result,' said 1evers. 'Those final results so eti es ain(t so hot.' '"ou won(t have to unless you want to,' &ason pointed out. ',(ll take all the responsibility. "ou can share in the credit.' ', think,' 1evers told hi , ',(d better co e over and talk this thing over with you a little bit.' &ason chuckled. ', knew you wouldn(t forget it,' he said. '*orget what)' asked the reporter suspiciously. 'That bottle of whisky in y desk,' said the attorney, and slipped the receiver back on the hook. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR THE 1orton ansion bla/ed with light, every window in the place was illu inated. &ore than a do/en auto obiles were parked along the curb, or crowded into the driveway. &en ca e and went through the open door, and four or five police officers strutted i portantly about the pre ises. 4p in the study where Edward 1orton had been urdered, .laude 7ru stared speculatively at %erry &ason. ', don(t know what you could ask for that is ore fair than this,' he said. '-ell,' %erry &ason told hi , 'it doesn(t see particularly co plete to e as a test. 7on 9raves has only a fifty percent chance of guessing wrong even if he were blindfolded.' ', don(t see what you(re getting at,' said .laude 7ru with purposeful stupidity. '"ou(ve got two wo en here,' said %erry &ason, 'one in a black dress and one in a pink dress. "ou(ve got three en, all of who are known to 9raves. 1ow the idea is, as , understand it, that !udge %urley will drive his car up the roadway at e#actly the sa e rate of speed, as nearly as he can re e ber, that he drove it on the night of the urder. -hen the car reaches a certain position in the roadway, !udge %urley is to shout; (8ook<( And at that ti e 9raves is to turn and look. 'After we have started up the roadway, the figures will arrange a panto i e. 5ne of the three will stand with a club in his hand, and one of the wo en will stand so that her head, shoulder and ar are visible to a person going up the roadway.' 'That is, correct,' said 7ru . '2ery well,' said %erry &ason. '1ow the point that , a aking is this; As far as the en are concerned, if 9raves si ply guessed, he would stand one chance in three of being right. As far as the wo en are concerned, if he si ply guessed, he would stand an even chance of being right.' '-ell,' said 7ru , 'you can(t ask to have conditions any ore favorable to your side of the case than they were at the ti e of the urder. 1ow there were only two wo en in the house at that ti e. There was &rs. &ayfield, the housekeeper, and *rances .elane, your client. 1ow, it(s conceded that there was a wo an in the roo at the ti e of the urder...' '1o it isn(t,' snapped %erry &ason. '-ell, according to y theory of the case, and according to the testi ony of 7on 9raves, a disinterested witness, there was,' said 7ru , 'and, if the test is going through, that has got to stand. 1ow that wo an who was in the roo either had to be &rs. &ayfield or &iss .elane. Si ilarly, there were three en who ight have co itted the urder. There was %ete 7evoe, the chauffeur, who was drunk when we found hi , but who, nevertheless, was under suspicion$ there was 6ob 9leason, the defendant in the action, and %urkett, the butler. 5ne of those three en ust have been the one to swing the club.' 'That,' said &ason, 'is taking for granted that the evidence of the footprints under the window, and the window that had been ji ied open, is evidence that was planted.' '5f course it is,' said 7ru . '"ou wouldn(t want us to have the whole city standing here in the roo because there ight have been so eone in the city who had broken into the house. "ou can(t have this thing all your way.' ', should have it enough y way so that we can tell whether 9raves uses his eyes, or whether it(s just a lucky guess.' .laude 7ru showed a glint of triu ph in his eyes. ', have arranged this test,' he said, 'under circu stances which are identical to those which surrounded the co ission of the cri e. This test is ade as the result of a challenge by you. 1ow, if you are afraid to have 9raves go ahead with it, all you have got to do is to say so, and we(ll call the test off, because you didn(t dare to let the witness go through with it.' &ason shrugged his shoulders. '2ery well,' he said, 'if you(re going to put it on that ground, go ahead.' The glint of triu ph which had been in 7ru (s eyes beca e a light of victory, and he grinned with blatant assurance. @D

'All right,' he said to the co pact group that had gathered about the two en, ', think you two gentle en understand the situation perfectly. -e are to go up the hill in the car. , will be seated in the back seat with &r. 9raves. &r. &ason, the attorney for the defendants, will be seated in the front seat beside !udge %urley. 'After the car has started up the hill, you gentle en of the press will select one of these wo en, who will stand so that her head, neck, shoulder and ar will be visible through the window, to anyone standing on the curve in the road at the point where 9raves looks back. "ou will also select one of the three en, each of who is attired in a distinctly different suit of clothes, to stand with a club in his hand, leaning over the chair in which Edward 1orton was sitting when he was killed. ', think that covers the situation. The reputation and integrity of !udge %urley will be sufficient to guarantee that whatever ay happen in the auto obile will not subse+uently be distorted by either party.' %erry &ason said; '!ust a inute. 0efore 7on 9raves leaves this roo , want to have a confidential word with !udge %urley.' 7ru looked at hi suspiciously. '1ot unless , a along,' he said. 'This is a test, and if you are going to have any confidential words with anyone, ,( going to hear what they are.' ', have no objection to your listening,' said %erry &ason, 'but naturally, inas uch as this is a test, , don(t want 7on 9raves to hear it.' '2ery well,' said 7ru . '"ou can wait here, 9raves, until we call you.' '-e(ll blow the horn on the auto obile,' said %erry &ason, 'when we are ready.' ,n frigidly dignified silence, the two opposing attorneys walked down the broad stairs, through the front door, and to the auto obile where !udge %urley sat in ponderous dignity, surrounded by flashlight photographers, his face wearing an e#pression of satisfaction which he endeavored to conceal beneath the cloak of a judicial and ponderous dignity. 'Are you ready, gentle en)' he asked. ',t is understood,' said %erry &ason, 'that , a to sit in the front seat with !udge %urley$ that you, &r. 7ru , are to sit in the rear seat with 7on 9raves)' 'That is so understood,' said 7ru . '4nder those circu stances,' said %erry &ason, ', a going to ask that you re ove your glasses.' 'That , what)' snapped the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney. 'That you re ove your glasses,' %erry &ason said. '"ou will readily understand that if you are wearing your glasses so that your vision is fully corrected, and you should turn at the sa e ti e that 7on 9raves turns, it ight be that by so e involuntary e#cla ation or otion, you would signal 7on 9raves which one of the three en you thought was holding the club. ,n which case , should be having a test ade with two pairs of eyes instead of one.' 'That sir,' said .laude 7ru , 'is an insult to y veracity.' '1o,' said %erry &ason, 'it is no such thing. ,t is erely a atter of precaution against an involuntary betrayal.' ', refuse to consent to it,' said 7ru . '2ery well,' said %erry &ason, ', shall not insist. , have erely entioned the atter. 5ne other thing is that , a going to ask !udge %urley to keep his eyes straight ahead on the road.' '1o,' said 7ru , ', a not going to consent to that condition, because when !udge %urley was driving the car on the night the urder was co itted, and 7on 9raves gave his e#cla ation, it was only natural that !udge %urley should have looked back to see what it was that had caused the e#cla ation, and in doing this, he naturally slowed down the car, which gave 9raves opportunity for a uch longer and steadier look.' %erry &ason sighed wearily, after the anner of one who has been out-generaled. '2ery well,' he said, 'su on 9raves.' !udge %urley pressed the button of the horn on the auto obile. They waited a few inutes, and %erry &ason reached over and again pressed the button of the horn. There was still no 9raves, and !udge %urley pushed his left pal i peratively against the button on the steering post of the car, looking e#pectantly up at the window. There was a co otion for a o ent, and then 7on 9raves stood in the window and shouted; '5ne of these newspaper reporters wants to change the conditions of the test.' .laude 7ru gave an e#cla ation, sla ed open the door of the car, strode across the street, and stood under the window. 'The conditions of that test were fully arranged when we left the roo ,' he said. '7on(t discuss the atter with any of the newspaper reporters. ,f they can(t cooperate in this thing they(ll be e#cluded. .o e down here at once<' '2ery well, sir,' 7on 9raves said, and left the window. Al ost at once Harry 1evers thrust out his head and called; 'This test isn(t fair. -e should have the right to have one of the en stand where 9raves clai s the wo an was standing, if we want to. That would deter ine whether 9raves could actually see that the other occupant of the roo was a wo an. ,t ight have been a an.' ',n a pink negligee, eh)' sneered 7ru . '1ow listen, the only function that you gentle en have is to pick which one of the three en, and which one of the two wo en will stand in that position. That was definitely understood, and that is the condition of the test. ,f an atte pt is to be ade to change it, , will call off the test.' '5h, very well,' said 1evers, 'have it your own way. 0ut it doesn(t see fair to e.' 7on 9raves ca e down the stairs, left the front door, and said in a low voice to .laude 7ru ; 'The an is drunk. He ade a nuisance of hi self up there, but , didn(t want to offend hi because , didn(t want his newspaper to roast e.' 'All right,' snapped 7ru , 'leave hi to e. Are we ready)' 'All ready,' said %erry &ason. They took their positions in the auto obile for the last ti e. *lashlights boo ed up in puffs of da//ling fla e as newspaper photographers took action pictures of the car pulling away fro the curb. AE

!udge %urley snapped it through the gears and drove up the winding roadway at a fair rate of speed. ',t is understood,' said %erry &ason, 'that 7on 9raves will not look back until !udge %urley indicates the place on the road where 9raves first gave his e#cla ation.' 'So understood,' snapped 7ru . The car purred up the roadway, swinging around the curves. '1ow<' said !udge %urley. 7on 9raves pushed his face up against the rear window of the auto obile and cupped his hands around his eyes. %erry &ason flashed a glance at the study window of the house. The figures could be seen for a single brief gli pse, standing in position. The car swept around the curve in the roadway, and the house vanished fro view. ', got it, sir,' said 7on 9raves. '-ho was it)' asked !udge %urley, braking the car to a stop. 'The an in the blue serge suit with the dark hair, and the wo an in the pink dress,' said 7on 9raves. .laude 7ru heaved a sigh. 'There, counselor,' he said to %erry &ason, 'goes your defense in this case - blown to s ithereens<' %erry &ason said nothing. !udge %urley sighed ponderously. ', will now turn around and go back,' he said. ', presu e the newspaper people will want to ake so e ore photographs.' '2ery well,' 7ru told hi . %erry &ason said nothing. His rugged face was e#pressionless. The patient, thoughtful eyes stared editatively at the face of !udge %urley. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE THE courtroo was ja ed with spectators as !udge &arkha arched in fro the cha bers in the rear of the bench. 'Stand up,' shouted the bailiff. The spectators arose and re ained standing while !udge &arkha strode to the judicial chair and the bailiff intoned the for ula which convened the session of court. !udge &arkha sat down, and banged the gavel, and spectators, attorneys, jurors and defendants dropped into their seats. The at osphere of the courtroo was electric, but sy pathies were all with the prosecution. ,n an there is i planted a sporting instinct to side with the underdog, but this is in an, the individual. &ob psychology is different fro individual psychology, and the psychology of the pack is to tear down the weaker and devour the wounded. &an ay sy pathi/e with the underdog, but he wants to side with the winner. And the results of the test had been spread to the public through the pages of every newspaper in the city. ,t had been dra atic and spectacular. There had been about it so ething of the ele ent of a ga bling proposition. The defense had staked uch on the happening of a certain event, on the turn of a single card, and it is hu an nature to crowd breathlessly forward as spectators when en are risking high stakes on a single card. Therefore the reading public eagerly devoured the newspaper accounts of that which had happened. The outco e of the case was now a foregone conclusion. 7on 9raves had vindicated his ability to identify the occupants of the roo fro the e#act point where he had seen the urder o itted, and under e#actly si ilar circu stances. The ga/e of the spectators in the courtroo had shifted now fro the witnesses, and was fastened upon the defendants, particularly upon the shapely and slender figure of *rances .elane. 5ld ca paigners who have participated in hard fought legal battles will agree that this is the ost o inous sign which a courtroo can give. -hen a case first starts, the attention of the spectators is fastened upon the defendants. They strain their necks with curiosity, watch the faces of the defendants for so e flicker of e#pression which will convey a hint of their feelings. The average spectator likes to look at a defendant, try to visuali/e the defendant in the idst of the circu stances surrounding the cri e, and reach an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, to the e#tent that he or she see s visually to fit into that picture. Then, after the trial is under way, the auditors beco e interested in the unfolding of the story of the cri e itself, in the battle over testi ony. Their attention is centered upon the witnesses, upon the judge, upon the dra atic personalities of the attorneys as they atch wits in legal argu ents. So long as the issue is in doubt, so long as the interest re ains centered upon the outco e of the case, so long will the spectators continue to fasten their eyes upon the witnesses$ upon the actors in the dra a that is being unfurled. 0ut let so e event crash the testi ony to a cli a#, re ove the ele ent of uncertainty, convince the spectators of the guilt of the defendant, and the eyes of the spectators will auto atically shift to the defendant$ not trying now to visuali/e how the defendant looked in the co ission of the cri e, but staring at the prisoner with that orbid curiosity which co es to en who look at one who is about to die. They like to terrify the selves by thinking of the orning when the inevitable hands will drag the protesting prisoner fro the cell and arch the lagging footsteps along that last gri walk. ,t is the sign which lawyers dread, the verdict of these asses, the thu bs-down signal which shows the turning point has been passed, and that the prisoner is conde ned. 1ever a veteran trial lawyer who has fought his way through the intricate web of any cases, but has learned to appreciate the dread portent of that shifting attention. 7efendants do not know its fatal significance, often they s irk with satisfaction as they see the selves the sudden cynosure of the eyes of the spectators$ but not so the attorney who sits at the A3

counselors( table, his law books piled in front of hi , his face cal and serene, but his soul shrinking fro the portent of that silent verdict. ,n this case the silent verdict had been rendered. ,t was guilty of urder in the first degree for both defendants, and there was no reco endation of ercy. !udge &arkha (s level tones cut the tense silence of the courtroo . '&r. 7on 9raves was on the witness stand,' he said, 'and was being cross-e#a ined. The case was continued fro last week, pursuant to a stipulation by counsel that a test was to be ade with this witness - a test that had been suggested by the defense, and stipulated to by the prosecution. '9entle en, do , understand that the results of that test were to be received in evidence)' .laude 7ru rose to his feet and said sneeringly; ',t was a test which was conducted with every possible degree of fairness to the defense, at the challenge of the defense, and pursuant to stipulation. ,t was participated in by this witness under conditions identical to those which surrounded the co ission of the cri e, and , asked that it be received in evidence.' !udge &arkha looked at %erry &ason. %erry &ason rose to his feet. ',f the court please,' he said, 'there is no objection to that. ,t is, however, not a part of y cross-e#a ination. That is, it ust co e in as a part of the redirect e#a ination of this witness, and the +uestion is therefore not properly before the court at the present ti e. 0ut, when the +uestion does co e before the court, if the 7istrict Attorney desires to e#a ine this witness as to the test, , shall ake no objection, subject, however, to the fact that , shall have the right to cross-e#a ine the various witnesses to that test, as to the actual circu stances surrounding it.' ,t had been said of !udge &arkha that the lawyer did not live who had ever brought an e#pression of surprise to the face of the agistrate when he was sitting in a court of law. 1ow !udge &arkha stared at %erry &ason as though he would try to read what ight be in the ind of the counsel for the defense, and his eyes were wide and thoughtful. %erry &ason et his ga/e cal ly and placidly. 'Shall , proceed with the cross-e#a ination of the witness)' he asked. '%roceed,' snapped !udge &arkha . '"ou are fa iliar with the business affairs of Edward 1orton)' asked %erry &ason in an even onotone of passionless in+uiry. ', a fully fa iliar with all of those affairs,' said 7on 9raves. '"ou are then fa iliar with the e#piration date of the insurance policy which lay upon the desk of Edward 1orton)' asked %erry &ason. ', a .' '-hat was the e#piration date of that insurance policy)' 'The twenty-si#th of 5ctober of the present year.' 'Ah< Then the insurance policy e#pired but three days after the urder of Edward 1orton)' 'That is correct.' ',s it a fact, &r. 9raves, that you have so e ani us, so e prejudice against the defendant, *rances .elane, in this case, due to the fact that she is arried to 6obert 9leason)' The +uestion ca e as a surprise, and there was that suppressed rustle of otion fro the courtroo which indicates a sudden snapping to attention on the part of the spectators, a craning of necks, a pushing forward to the e#tre e edges of the seats. 'That is not true<' protested 7on 9raves, with a show of feeling. ', did everything , could to keep the na e of *rances .elane out of this. , a testifying in this atter only because , was forced to court under a subpoena.' 'And you have no bias against *rances .elane for any other reason)' '1one.' '5r against 6obert 9leason)' '1o. , hold no feeling of friendship for 6obert 9leason because , know hi but slightly$ but for &iss .elane, y feelings are entirely different. , would not say a word in this courtroo which would connect her in any way with the urder of Edward 1orton unless , knew absolutely and beyond all reasonable doubt that what , said was true and correct.' '1o further +uestions,' said %erry &ason, with the air of a an who has been defeated. .laude 7ru got to his feet, and said with just a trace of a sneer in his air of triu ph; ', have a few +uestions to ask upon redirect e#a ination. "ou were asked upon cross-e#a ination, &r. 9raves, whether you had ever ade a test, under circu stances identical with the circu stances surrounding the urder of Edward 1orton, to deter ine if you could recogni/e persons in the roo where Edward 1orton was urdered.' '"es,' said 7on 9raves, ', was asked that +uestion.' 'Since that +uestion was asked you,' persisted .laude 7ru , 'have you ade such a test under e#actly identical circu stances)' ', have,' said 7on 9raves. '7escribe the circu stances under which that test was conducted, and the result of it,' said .laude 7ru . 'The test was ade at night,' said 7on 9raves slowly, and in a low tone of voice, while spectators held their breath. 'There were three en in Edward 1orton(s study and two wo en. 5ne of the wo en was dressed in black, and one in pink. 5ne of the en had on a blue serge suit, one had on a tweed suit, and one had on a plaid suit. , knew each one of the en, but had never seen the wo en before. There were present representatives of the press, and there were present &r. 7ru , the 7eputy 7istrict Attorney, also %erry &ason, the attorney for the defense.' 'Then what happened)' asked .laude 7ru . A:

'Then,' said 9raves, still speaking in that low, strained voice, 'we got in the auto obile and went up the winding road which goes over the hills toward the ain boulevard. -hen !udge %urley had the car at the place where it had been the night of the urder, when , gave the e#cla ation, he told e to look back. , looked back, and continued to look until the car had swung around the curve, and out of sight.' '-hat did you see)' asked .laude 7ru . ', saw a wo an, the one who had the pink dress on, standing in about the sa e position that *rances .elane was standing when &r. 1orton was killed, and , saw the an who wore the blue serge suit holding a club over the chair where &r. 1orton had sat on the night of the urder.' '.ross-e#a ine the witness,' said .laude 7ru triu phantly. %erry &ason(s voice was al ost drawling. '"ou haven(t told all that happened there during the test, have you, &r. 9raves)' '"es sir, all of the i portant points.' '-asn(t there a newspaper reporter there who annoyed you and delayed you so ewhat)' asked %erry &ason. '"es sir. There was a chap na ed 1evers, , believe, who kept insisting upon certain changes in the way the test was being ade. , had no authority to ake any change in the conditions of the test. Those were agreed upon between &r. 7ru and yourself, and , told this reporter so. 0ut he kept hanging on to e, even hooking his finger in the buttonhole of y coat, and holding e.' '-here were we at that ti e)' asked %erry &ason. '"ou were down in the auto obile.' 'How did you finally get free fro hi )' &ason in+uired. ', called down to &r. 7ru , and he told e definitely that there were to be no changes in the conditions under which the test was to be conducted. -hen this reporter heard &r. 7ru ake that state ent, he see ed to reali/e that he was out of order, and let e go.' Spectators who had been straining their necks to listen, now glanced curiously at one another. 'That is all,' said %erry &ason. '.all your ne#t witness, &r. 7ru ,' said !udge &arkha . '!ust a o ent, "our Honor,' interrupted %erry &ason. '0efore the prosecution goes on, , would like to recall Arthur .rinston for further cross-e#a ination.' '2ery well,' said !udge &arkha . 'The proceeding has been slightly irregular, but, under the circu stances, the atter being entirely in the discretion and control of the court, , will per it you to cross-e#a ine any of the other witnesses that you ay care to call. The court is not un indful of the fact that various new conditions have entered into the case since your very brief cross-e#a ination of the other witnesses.' !udge &arkha could not resist a slight e phasis upon the words describing the brevity of the cross-e#a ination$ an e phasis which was in the nature of a very faint judicial rebuke to counsel who would so lightly dispose of the crosse#a ination of i portant witnesses in a urder case. Arthur .rinston ca e forward, his face grave, his eyes sole n. '"ou have already been sworn,' said %erry &ason. '!ust take your position in the witness chair, if you please, &r. .rinston.' &r. .rinston sat down, crossed his legs and turned to look at the jury. '&r. .rinston,' said %erry &ason, 'you were in conference with &r. 1orton on the night of the urder)' '"es sir, , have already testified to that effect.' '"es. "ou arrived there, , believe, at seven inutes past eleven, and left at about eleven thirty)' '"es,' said &r. .rinston, and went on to volunteer a state ent; ', can fi# the ti e of y arrival with certainty because &r. 1orton was a stickler for keeping appoint ents on ti e. , was seven inutes late for y appoint ent, and he pointed that atter out to e rather sarcastically.' '"es,' said %erry &ason. 'And fro seven inutes past eleven until eleven thirty you were in conference with &r. 1orton)' 'That is correct, yes sir.' 'As a atter of fact, &r. .rinston, wasn(t that conference in the nature of a +uarrel)' '1o sir, , don(t think , can add anything to the state ent that , ade before, as to what was said at that ti e.' '&r. .rinston, the partnership has an indebtedness at the -heeler(s Trust G Savings 0ank of so e nine hundred thousand dollars)' '"es sir.' '-ith deposits in that bank of only seventy-five thousand dollars.' '"es sir, appro#i ately that a ount.' '"et it has deposits of eight hundred and seventy-si# odd thousand dollars at the Seaboard Second 1ational Trust .o pany, and deposits of appro#i ately two hundred and ninety-three thousand dollars at the *ar ers G &erchants 1ational 0ank)' '"es sir.' '1ow, &r. .rinston, isn(t it a fact that the indebtedness of nine hundred thousand dollars which was incurred at the -heeler(s Trust G Savings 0ank on a pro issory note which bears only your signature, was oney that was borrowed without the knowledge of &r. 1orton, and was oney that was not used for partnership purposes, but was used solely for your own individual speculations in the stock arket)' '1o sir<' snapped Arthur .rinston. 'That is not the case.' A=

'-hy was it necessary for the partnership to borrow nine hundred thousand dollars fro one bank, when it had over a illion in li+uid assets in other banks)' 'That was because of certain business policies. -e had so e large purchases we were intending to ake, and we desired to keep cash assets to that a ount on deposit in those banks. -e didn(t wish to borrow fro that particular bank or those particular banks, because we wanted to keep our cash there readily available. ,f we had ade a large note at those banks and checked out all of our cash, there would have been so e e#planation re+uired. Therefore, inas uch as the -heeler(s Trust G Savings 0ank had been very an#ious to get our account, and had inti ated that we could have an unli ited a ount of short ter credit, we e#ecuted the notes there.' ',t is a fact, &r. .rinston, is it not, that those notes at the -heeler(s Trust G Savings 0ank ca e due so e two days prior to &r. 1orton(s death)' ', believe so, yes sir.' 'And the bank sent out notices through the ail, did it not)' ', believe so, yes sir.' 'And isn(t it a fact that &r. 1orton received one of those notices on the day that he was killed)' ',( sure , can(t tell you, sir.' ',sn(t it a fact that on that day &r. 1orton knew for the first ti e of the indebtedness at this bank)' '1o sir.'H ',sn(t it a fact that &r. 1orton called you into conference that evening in order to tell you that he had given you a certain li ited ti e to ake restitution to the partnership, and, you having failed to ake such restitution, &r. 1orton was going to notify the police)' The spectators could see that &r. .rinston was visibly worried. His face had turned a few shades whiter, and his knuckles showed white as his hand clenched tightly, but his voice re ained even and steady. 'Absolutely not,' he snapped. 'And,' persisted %erry &ason in the sa e even, i perturbable tone, 'isn(t it a fact that when you advised &r. 1orton that you had been unable to ake restitution, and could not do so, he took down the telephone receiver called police head+uarters and said; (This is Edward 1orton speaking. , have a cri inal atter to report to you,( or words to that effect)' '1o sir,' snapped Arthur .rinston, and his voice now, for the first ti e, showed the strain under which he was laboring. 'And,' said %erry &ason, slowly rising to his feet, 'isn(t it a fact that when he had ade that state ent, you crashed a club down on his head and caved in his skull<' ', object<' shouted .laude 7ru , getting to his feet. 'This e#a ination has gone too far afield. There is absolutely no ground for...' 'The objection is overruled,' snapped !udge &arkha . 'Answer the +uestion, &r. .rinston.' '1o, , did nothing of the kind<' shouted Arthur .rinston. %erry &ason stood on his feet, staring at Arthur .rinston until the courtroo had grasped the full significance of the +uestion, and all that it i plied, until the spectators, leaning breathlessly forward, had ade of the courtroo a vault of silence. 'And,' said %erry &ason, 'isn(t it a fact that you then placed the receiver back on the hook, stared tre blingly about you, and suddenly reali/ed that Edward 1orton had given his na e to police head+uarters when he ade his call and stated that he had a cri inal atter to report - didn(t you know then that when the body of Edward 1orton was discovered, the police would check back and find a record of that call, knowing then the e#act ti e that &r. 1orton had been killed, and being able to sur ise so ething of the otive for his urder)' '1o sir,' gulped Arthur .rinston, but his forehead was glistening in the light which ca e fro the high windows of the courtroo , as the beads of perspiration oo/ed through his skin. 'And isn(t it a fact that with the consciousness of guilt upon you, you knew that it was necessary to e#plain that call to the police in so e way$ that you saw the insurance policy lying on his desk$ that you knew this insurance policy lay there because &r. 1orton, who was very ethodical, had intended to ake certain that the insurance had been renewed before the e#piration date. ,sn(t it a fact that this insurance policy gave you an inspiration, and that you i ediately called back the %olice Head+uarters and stated to the desk sergeant that you were &r. 1orton, who had just called$ that you had been cut off, and that you desired to report the theft of an auto obile, and that you then and there read the description of the 0uick auto obile fro the insurance policy which lay upon &r. 1orton(s desk)' '1o sir,' said Arthur .rinston in a tone of echanical defiance. 'And isn(t it a fact that then the door opened, and 7on 9raves ca e into the roo $ that 7on 9raves had been your acco plice and assistant in connection with the e be//le ent of the nine hundred thousand odd dollars which you had lost in speculations upon the stock arket, using partnership funds to cover your individual losses) And isn(t it a fact that you and 7on 9raves then and there fi#ed up a plan by which the urder of &r. 1orton would be bla ed upon others)' '1o sir,' ca e the sa e echanical denial. ',sn(t it a fact that you knew that !udge %urley did not know Edward 1orton personally, and therefore would not recogni/e his voice fro the voice of any other an) ,sn(t it a fact that you and your acco plice, 7on 9raves, sneaked down to the roo of %ete 7evoe, the chauffeur, and planted evidence in that roo which would have a tendency to connect 7evoe with the urder) ,sn(t it a fact that you ji ied a window and left footprints in the loa on the soil outside of the window so that it would appear that &r. 7evoe had ade a clu sy atte pt to divert suspicion fro hi self) ',sn(t it a fact that you then went back to the study where the dead an was slu ped across his desk, and that you arranged with &r. 9raves so that you were to go down the stairs and start for !udge %urley(s auto obile$ that &r. 9raves was to raise the window in &r. 1orton(s study, keeping the desk light well to his back, so that !udge %urley would see nothing but the blurred outline of a hu an for , and that &r. 9raves, pretending to be Edward 1orton, would call down and ask you to take 7on 9raves in the auto obile to your ho e, and that you then and there arranged that you would go to ask !udge %urley A>

for his per ission, and that 7on 9raves would then ove away fro the window, rush downstairs, and be standing by your side, while you pretended to call up to &r. 1orton, who you pretended that you could see in the window, saying that it was all right, and !udge %urley had given his per ission)' '1o sir,' said Arthur .rinston. 'That,' said %erry &ason, in tones that rang through the courtroo until they see ed to ake the rafters in the ceiling vibrate, 'is all the cross-e#a ination , have of this witness.' !udge &arkha glanced at .laude 7ru . ',s there any redirect e#a ination, counselor)' he asked. .laude 7ru ade a sweeping gesture. '1one, "our Honor. A very pretty theory has been advanced, but there has been no evidence to support it. The witness has denied...' !udge &arkha banged his gavel on the desk. '.ounselor,' he said, 'you will ake your argu ent to the jury at the proper ti e. The +uestion of the court was whether there was any additional redirect e#a ination. "our answer was in the negative, and the witness will stand aside.' '6ecall !udge %urley for further cross-e#a ination,' said %erry &ason. !udge %urley ca e to the witness stand. 9one was the judicial assurance which had clothed his anner earlier in the trial. His face was drawn and strained, and there was a haunting doubt in his eyes. '"ou also have been sworn in this case, so there is no necessity for you to be sworn again,' said %erry &ason. 'Take your place on the witness stand.' !udge %urley heaved his big bulk into the witness chair. '-hen this test was being ade over the week end,' said %erry &ason, in the tone of voice of one who is pronouncing a final and sole n judg ent, 'you sat in your auto obile under the window of Edward 1orton(s study, in e#actly the sa e place and position as that you occupied on the night of the urder, did you not)' ', did, sir$ yes, sir.' 'And fro that position, by craning your neck, you could see the study windows in Edward 1orton(s house)' '"es, sir.' '0ut because the top of the auto obile was so low as to interfere with your vision, you could only see those windows by craning your neck, is that right)' '"es, sir.' 'And isn(t it a fact, !udge %urley, that while you were seated there in that auto obile, in e#actly the sa e position that it occupied on the night of the urder, 7on 9raves ca e to the window of the study and called down to you, or to .laude 7ru , who was with you in the car)' '"es, sir,' said !udge %urley, taking a deep breath. 'And isn(t it a fact,' thundered %erry &ason, e#tending his rigid forefinger, so that it pointed directly at !udge %urley, 'that now the atter has been called to your attention, and your recollection has had an opportunity to check over the circu stances of what happened upon that fateful night of the urder, that you now reali/e that the voice which called down to you fro that second story window on the night of the test, was the sa e voice which had called down fro that window on the night of the urder)' Tense, dra atic silence gripped the courtroo . !udge %urley(s hands tugged at the ar of the witness chair, and his face writhed in agony. '&y 9od<' he said. ', don(t know< , have been asking yself that +uestion for the last ten inutes, and , cannot answer it satisfactorily to y conscience. All , know is that it ay have been<' %erry &ason turned half around and faced the jury. His steady, unwavering eyes surveyed the faces of the nine en and the three wo en. 'That,' he said, in a tone of finality, 'is all.' *or a long o ent the courtroo re ained silent, then there were rustlings, whispering, half-gasps. So ewhere in the background a wo an tittered hysterically. !udge &arkha banged his gavel down on the desk. '5rder<' he said. .laude 7ru bit his lip in an agony of indecision. 7are he go into the atter on redirect e#a ination, or dare he wait until he could talk privately with the &unicipal !udge) And, in that o ent of indecision, in that o ent when the attention of every hu an being in the courtroo was fastened upon hi , .laude 7ru hesitated for one second too long. The attention of the crowd shifted. %erry &ason, leaning back in his chair, his eyes placidly surveying the sea of faces, saw it shift. !udge &arkha , sitting on the bench, wise in the ways of the courtroo , veteran of a hundred urder trials, saw it shift. As with one otion, as though actuated by so e subtle, psychic co and, the eyes of the jurors, the eyes of the spectators, turned away fro .laude 7ru , and fastened the selves upon the agoni/ed face of Arthur .rinston. ,t was the silent verdict of the courtroo , and that verdict e#onerated the two defendants, and fi#ed the guilt of Edward 1orton(s urder s+uarely upon Arthur .rinston and his acco plice. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX see %E66" &AS51 sat in his office. The light fro the window strea ing in upon his rugged, virile features so ehow older, brought out the strong lines of his face. ade hi A?

*rances .elane sat in the big black leather chair, her forefinger poking and twisting as she slid it along the s ooth ar of the chair. Her eyes were dark and filled with e otion. 6obert 9leason stood leaning against the book case, his heavy, dark face twisted into that agony of silence which co es to those inarticulate en who have uch to say, yet cannot find a eans of e#pression. Through the open windows, fro the street below, ca e the cries of the newsboys, shouting their e#tra edition of the STA6. %erry &ason tapped the newspaper on his desk$ a paper which was still da p fro the presses. 'That,' he said, 'is clever journalis . 1evers had that paper on the street before you had gone fro the courthouse to y office. He had the thing all figured out and blocked out. All he needed to do was to add a brief su ary of the testi ony of !udge %urley, and the headlines.' He slid his forefinger along the headlines which strea ed blackly across the top of the newspaper; '&467E6 .ASE 7,S&,SSE7.' *rances .elane said softly; ',t wasn(t the journalis in this case that was so re arkable, &r. &ason$ it was your wonderful analysis of what ust have happened, and the steps you took to reconstruct the scene so that !udge %urley would be convinced. , watched hi when he was on the witness stand the first ti e, and , could see the proble that you had with hi .' %erry &ason s iled. '!udge %urley,' he said, 'is rather opinionated, and he would very uch have disliked having to confess hi self in error. ,n fact, if , had asked hi that +uestion the first ti e he was on the witness stand, he would have indignantly denied that such could have been the case, and the denial would have so i pressed itself upon his own ind, that no a ount of subse+uent testi ony could ever have caused hi even to entertain the faintest notion that he ight have been istaken. '0ut the fact that , anaged to duplicate the conditions in such a anner that his ind was totally unprepared for what was taking place, gave e the opportunity to approach hi on a blind side, so to speak. '5f course,' went on %erry &ason, ', had all of the facts in hand at the o ent that Arthur .rinston, in telling e about the urder, discussed the telephone call to the police as though he had no knowledge of it, e#cept what he had learned through the police. 'That was the slip that .rinston ade, and the fatal slip$ that, and failing to report that telephone conversation in his testi ony to the jury. '"ou see, he was so obsessed with the idea that he ust keep the authorities fro knowing what had transpired in that roo when 1orton was urdered, that he ade up a story out of whole cloth, and stuck to it. 'That is not skillful lying. ,t is not the proper way to co it perjury. The skillful perjurer is he who sticks to so uch of the truth as is possible, and only departs fro it when it beco es absolutely necessary. These en who ake up stories out of whole cloth usually leave a few loose threads so ewhere. '"et it is a strange thing about the hu an ind; ,t has any facts constantly thrust upon it, and it doesn(t properly correlate those facts. , had the facts at y co and for so e ti e before , knew what ust have happened. '"ou see, .rinston had borrowed heavily on the partnership credit. The partnership was, of course, solvent, but .rinston(s credit as an individual was all shot to pieces. He had ade 9raves an acco plice, and, together, they were deceiving your uncle$ but when the bank sent the notice to your uncle, then Edward 1orton learned for the first ti e what had happened. '-e can i agine what happened ne#t. He gave &r. .rinston a definite deadline, at which ti e .rinston was to have returned the oney, or else be reported to the police. -hen .rinston failed to ake the pay ent, your uncle, acting with that cold-blooded efficiency which is so absolutely erciless, picked up the telephone and called %olice Head+uarters. '.rinston sat there behind hi , watching du bly, knowing that the words which 1orton was to say ne#t would lead to his confine ent in a penal institution. He heard 1orton say; (%olice Head+uarters, , have a cri inal atter to report,( and then .rinston acted upon a blind, urderous i pulse. He struck 1orton down without warning and probably without any great a ount of pre editation. '-hen he had done that and hung up the receiver, he suddenly reali/ed that the police ust have a record of that call which 1orton had sent in, and that this would lead to his detection. So he did a very clever thing. He called %olice Head+uarters right back, and pretended that he was 1orton. He had to have so ething to report in the nature of a cri inal atter, because your uncle had already said that he had such a report to ake. 'The policy of auto obile insurance was lying on the desk, and Arthur .rinston plunged blindly into that lead. Then, when you heard of your uncle(s urder, and knowing that 6ob 9leason had been in the house with you, and that there ight be so e possibility you would either be i plicated, or have to e#plain what 9leason was doing there, you sei/ed at what see ed to be the best opportunity to establish an alibi for yourself, by stating that you had been driving the 0uick auto obile at the ti e that your uncle reported it lost. '5n the face of it, it was al ost athe atical. ,n other words, a an with a trained ind, sitting down and concentrating upon the evidence, should have been able to point his finger to the urderer at once. "et , confess that the circu stances were so ro antic and so unusual that , was confused for so e little ti e, and failed to reali/e what ust have happened. '-hen , did reali/e it, , knew that , was up against a ost serious proble . , felt certain that , could e#plain y theory well enough to raise a reasonable doubt in the inds of the jury, and get either an ac+uittal or a hung jury, but , reali/ed also that unless , could trap the urderers into betraying the selves, , could never entirely re ove the stig a of doubt fro your na es. ', recogni/ed at once that !udge %urley was the key witness, and knew that the an(s conceit and love of posture, would render any ordinary cross-e#a ination futile. Therefore, , had to devise so e eans by which a doubt would be raised in his own ind before he knew that the doubt was there, and then crash it ho e to hi with dra atic force.' *ran .elane got to her feet with tears showing in her eyes. ', can(t begin to tell you,' she said, 'what it has eant to e. ,t(s been an e#perience that will always leave its i print.' A@

%erry &ason(s eyes narrowed. '"ou(re lucky,' he said, in a tone of tolerant patience, 'to have escaped with nothing but an unpleasant e#perience.' *rances .elane s iled and blinked tears back as she s iled. ', didn(t ean it that way, &r. &ason. , eant that it has been an e#perience , wouldn(t have issed for anything<' He stared at her. ', ean it,' she said. '1ot the urder trial, but the being in jail, getting a gli pse of the sufferings of other people. ,t gave e a chance to see things in a different light. , think it(s helped cure y fiendish te per. 'And then it brought out the loyalty in 6ob. He knew that , couldn(t be guilty, but he knew that the evidence was against e, and that , stood a chance of being convicted. ,n those dark hours when you didn(t take us into your confidence and things see ed to be stacking up so uch against us, he ca e forward and was willing to give his life to save ine.' '"es,' said %erry &ason, looking thoughtfully at 6ob 9leason, 'it was a noble and agnani ous thing to do, but if , hadn(t been sure of y theory of the case, he would have thrown e entirely off y stride. His confession was ost convincing, save for the fact that he clai ed he had taken the thousand dollar bills fro the body. , knew that he couldn(t have done that, because you had given e ten of those bills the ne#t orning. And then you, &iss .elane, weren(t frank with e. "ou kept certain things back, trying to protect yourself.' ', know it,' she told hi . ',t was all on account of that first lie about the 0uick auto obile. , couldn(t tell the truth after that. , grabbed at the story about being out in the auto obile as the best way to prove an alibi, and then , found , was trapped. , couldn(t even tell you about getting the oney fro y uncle, because , was supposed to have been out in the auto obile at that ti e.' There was a knock at the door, and 7ella Street entered the roo . She looked at %erry &ason with eyes that were starry with pride. -hen she spoke, her voice had so ething of caressing tenderness in it. 'There is a telegra for you,' she said. *rances .elane walked +uickly across to %erry &ason and e#tended her hand. '6ob and , will be going,' she said, 'and there(s no use trying to tell you how uch we appreciate what you(ve done. -e can co pensate you financially, but in addition to that we want you to know...' Her voice shook, and there were tears in her eyes. %erry &ason gripped her hand, then nodded. ', know,' he said. -hen the door leading fro his private office to the corridor had closed on the , he turned to 7ella Street. 'Here,' she said, 'is the telegra . ,f you can ake sense fro it, you can do ore than , can.' He took the telegra and read; SE17,19 "54 S%E.,A8 7E8,2E6" A,6 &A,8 %H5T596A%H 5* 4T&5ST ,&%56TA1.E ,1 .ASE , A& A054T T5 %6ESE1T. FEE% %H5T596A%H A17 A-A,T &E ,1 "546 5**,.E -,TH54T *A,8. ISignedJ E2A 8A&51T. %erry &ason stared at the telegra curiously. '7id the photograph co e)' he asked. '"es,' she said, 'a few inutes ago.' She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a photograph. ,t was the photograph of a young wo an, generously displaying a beautiful pair of legs. 0elow the photograph was a typewritten caption which had been pasted to it. The caption said, si ply; 'THE 9,68 -,TH THE 84.F" 8E9S.' The photograph did not show the wo an(s face, erely her shoulders, hips, ar s, hands, which held the skirts very, very high, and the legs. They were sli , straight legs, perfectly for ed, stockinged and gartered. '1ow,' said %erry &ason, his curiosity aroused, 'what the devil does that ean)' ', don(t know,' said 7ella Street, 'but ,( going to ake a file - The .ase of the 9irl -ith the 8ucky 8egs.' %erry &ason looked at his watch. The weariness had dropped fro his face, and his eyes were sparkling. ', wonder,' he said, 'just what ti e Eva 8a ont is due here.'

AA