Erle Gardner: The Case of the Runaway

The girl screamed, “He’s dead? He’s dead?”

Mason nodded.

“Then he was murdered!” she said.

“Tut-tut!” Mason admonished. “You’re doubtless unstrung but you shouldn’t make such wild assertions.”

“You’re representing Mrs. Davenport?” the officer asked.

“That’s right.”

“Got any authority?”

“She gave me the key to the place,” Mason said, “and a letter of authorization.”

Mason casually produced the letter, handed it to the officer.

The officer looked at the girl. “Do you know these people, Miss Norge?”

She shook her head.

Mason said, “I take it you’re Mr. Davenport’s secretary, the one whose initials on the letters are M.N.”

“I’m Mabel Norge,” she said. “I’m Mr. Davenport’s secretary, and in case he’s dead I …I have something to deliver to the officer.”

“Indeed,” Mason said.

“Mr. Davenport had anticipated this situation,” she said.

“What situation?”

“His murder.”

“Murder!” Mason said.

“Exactly,” she snapped. “I have something to deliver to this officer which will prove it.”

“Go ahead and deliver it then,” Mason said.

She walked over to the secretarial desk.

“Here, wait a minute,” Mason interposed. “What are you doing there?”

“Getting the thing that I want to deliver to the officer.”

Mason smiled and shook his head. “No, no,” he said chidingly.

“What do you mean?”

“You mustn’t touch anything belonging to the estate.”

“You’ve been in here touching things.”

“Why not?” Mason asked. “ I represent the wife. She’s the owner of one-half the property absolutely. The other half will come to her by right of succession.”

“Why, you… you…”

“Take it easy,” Mason said.

The officer holstered his gun. “Now let’s get this straight. What’s the idea anyway?”

Mabel Norge said, “She killed him. He knew that she was going to try to and he left an envelope giving evidence that could be used against her.”

“What do you mean, he left it?” Mason asked.

“He gave it to me.”

“And told you to keep it?”

“Told me that in the event of his death he wanted me to open the letter and see that the information was delivered to the officers.”

“Did you open it before his death?”

“Certainly not.”

“You don’t know what’s in it then?”

“Well … well, only what he told me.”

“Did he tell you what was in it?”

“He told me that—well, he said enough so that I knew he was anticipating he might die at any time.”

“Certainly,” Mason said. “The man was suffering from high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and I believe there was a renal involvement. His doctors had told him he might go at any time. I think it’s only natural for a man to prepare—”

“But it wasn’t that kind of a letter. I mean that wasn’t what he had in mind.”

“How do you know?”

“From what he said.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me that in the event of his death I was to open that envelope and see that the officers got the papers, but that if anyone tried to get that letter during his lifetime I was to destroy it.”

“In other words he retained control over the letter?”

“During his lifetime, yes.”

“And if he had wanted you to deliver the letter to him at any time you’d have done so?”

“Why certainly. It was his letter.”

“Where is it?” Mason asked.

She started to tell him, then thought better of it and said, “I’ll get it when I need it.”

Mason yawned. “I dare say you will,” he said. “Well, Officer, let’s close up here and, under the circumstances, in view of the fact that Miss Norge says there’s a letter here which may contain something in the nature of an accusation I take it it would be well to see that no one removes anything from the premises.”

“We’ll remove that letter,” Mabel Norge said determinedly. “I’m going to open it right now and give the contents to the officer.”

“Oh no you’re not,” Mason said, smiling.

“What do you mean?”

“Your employment has terminated as of the date of Mr. Davenport’s death. You were his agent, his employee, his personal representative. His death terminates your employment, subject, of course, to your right to compensation. But you have no right to touch anything here.”

The officer said, “Now wait a minute. I don’t know law but I don’t want to have any evidence disappear.”

“Certainly not,” Mason said. “I would suggest that you lock all the doors, and since Miss Nonge quite evidently has a key—”

“How did you get in?” she asked.

“I told you I have a key,” Mason said. “I have Mrs. Davenport’s key.”

“She wouldn’t have given you a key. I know she wouldn’t.”

Mason smiled. “In that case, Officer, Mrs. Davenport wouldn’t have given me a key, because this girl says she wouldn’t. Therefore I couldn’t have used that key to get in. Hence I’m not here. Disregard me.”

The officer said, “If there’s a letter that he left to be opened in the event of his death, a letter that gives any clues as to how he died, we’d better get that letter and put it in the hands of the D.A.”

“The point,” Mason said, “is that no one knows that this letter contains any accusation against any person or would give any clue. That envelope may contain a will for all anybody knows.”

“Well, let’s have a look at it,” the officer said. “You’re representing the wife. The secretary is here. I’m representing the law. We’ll have a look at it.”

“No one is going to open that letter until the wife says so,” Mason said.

“Now wait a minute. You’re being hard to get along with,” the officer told him.

“Not as long as you do things according to law. What’s your name?”

“I’m Sidney Boom, an officer out of the sheriff’s office. This territory is unincorporated. It’s county territory.”

“That’s fine,” Mason said. “Now do you want to do things according to law or don’t you?”

“Certainly I want to do them according to law.”

“All right,” Mason said. “As far as the personal property in here is concerned it’s community property and the surviving widow has a one-half interest in it and always did have. It’s hers. The other half will come to her through probate administration. Technically she has the title to it right now, but the title can’t be validated until after the estate has been through probate and the debts paid.”

“Well, I don’t know the law,” Boom said, “but I want to get this thing straight. If there’s any evidence here I don’t want anything to happen to it.”

“That’s exactly the point,” Mason said. “On the other hand if it isn’t evidence but if it is some valuable property I want to make certain that it doesn’t leave the estate.”

“What do you mean?”

Mason said, “How do I know that this envelope which is to be opened in the event of his death isn’t a will? Or perhaps it may be some negotiable securities that he wanted to give to this secretary. For all we know it may be cash.”

“Well, the best way to find out what it is is to open the letter and find out.”

“On the other hand,” Mason said, “it may be something that is of vital importance to the estate, something that should be kept confidential.”

“But he gave the letter to his secretary.”

“That’s exactly it,” Mason said. “He didn’t. He let her keep the letter. He didn’t give it to her. She has admitted herself that at any time he called for it she’d have given it to him.”