Erle Gardner - The Case of the Phantom Fortune

Gideon made a slight bow in thedirection of Della Street. "The newspaper account," Gideon went on, "which you mayhave missed, Mr Mason, mentioned that the noted attorney was so busy with hislaw practice that he seldom had time for any social life and the guestslionized him."

"Indeed," Mason said."I hadn't read the account."

"It was a very interestingaccount," Gideon said. "Now, in view of the fact that Margaret LornaNeely is the present Mrs Horace Warren, and in view of the fact that you seldomattend social gatherings, and in further view of the fact that both you andyour secretary were there, I gathered that there was some official reason for yourattendance.

"Furthermore, being somethingof an egotist, I assumed that it was barely possible my release from prison hadsomething to do with the reason you were there.

"Now, if Mrs Warren had wantedto consult you, she would have gone to your office. If Mr Warren had wanted toconsult you, he might not have cared to call on you at the office. The factthat you were there at his house as a guest would indicate that you had beenretained to size up the situation more or less surreptitiously, so tospeak."

"In my profession," Masonsaid, "I have always found that reasoning from a premise may be fallaciousand is almost certain to lead to erroneous conclusions."

"Isn't that the truth!"Gideon exclaimed. "You know, I've been betrayed by mistakes of that sortso that I've learned not to make them. However, let's get back to the matter inhand, Mr Mason."

"In what way?" Masonasked.

"The authorities have been veryanxious to locate Margaret Lorna Neely. They seemed to think that I knew whereshe was.

"Of course, all mycorrespondence for the last few years has been rigorously censored and I havehad to keep in the background. I didn't dare write anyone, nor did I care tohave anyone write me. However, I have managed to keep certain bits ofinformation locked up in my head where they couldn't be pried out byinquisitive government officials.

"Would you believe it, MrMason, the government has actually intimated that shortly before my arrest Imanaged to get some forty-seven thousand dollars in cash and conceal itsomewhere so it would be available on my release. They felt perhaps that myco-defendant, Margaret Lorna Neely, might have been selected as the person tokeep this money for me, or perhaps half this sum of money. I don't suppose youwould realize it, living in a position of social and financial security, MrMason, but at times government investigators can become very arbitrary, veryinsulting, and very arrogant."

"I hadn't noticed it,"Mason said.

"I didn't think you would have,because, after all, Mr Mason, the tactics which a government investigator woulduse with you are somewhat different from the tactics which a governmentinvestigator would use with a person convicted of conspiracy to use the mailsto defraud."

"The charge wasconspiracy?" Mason asked.

"That was one of the charges.They had five counts. The jury acquitted me on three, just in order to make itappear they were impartial and fair, and convicted me on two.

"The principal charge wasconspiracy because in that way they were able to drag my secretary into courtand smear her reputation with all that publicity Thank heavens she was able todisappear in such a manner that they lost track of her entirely"

"She must have been very cleverto have engineered such a disappearance," Mason said.

"She is very clever."

"And perhaps she had cleverfriends," Mason ventured.

"That is always apossibility," Gideon admitted. "Do you mind if I smoke?"

"Not at all."

Gideon waved back the cigaretteswhich Mason extended toward him, took a long slender cigar from his pocket, litit, got it burning to suit him, then settled back in the chair and smiledaffably at Mason. The aroma suggested the cigar was expensive.

"With your legal mind,"Gideon said, "you doubtless know why I am here."

"I would prefer to have youtell me," Mason said.

"That's going to be rathercrude."

"Miss Street and I have encountered crude approachesbefore," Mason said.

"I know, but a crude approachis so dreadfully inartistic."

"The approach so far seems tohave been rather artistic," Mason said. "So it all may averageup."

Gideon sighed. "Well, if I haveto get down to brass tacks, I will. You see, the government finally released meafter they had held me in prison for every minute of every day that they couldlegally hold me."

Mason, watching the man, saidnothing.

"Immediately after my conviction,"Gideon said, "I was told that if I produced the forty-seven thousanddollars the sentence would be much lighter. Then after I was sentenced I wastold that if i produced the forty-seven thousand dollars I would stand a verygood chance of getting parole."

"You accepted none of theseoffers?" Mason asked.

"None of them."

"Why?"

"Because," Gideon said,"I had no idea where the forty-seven thousand dollars was. I couldn't haveproduced it if I had wanted to."

"Now that you have beenreleased," Mason said, "I take it that the interest of the governmenthas ceased."

"Are you kidding?" Gideonasked. "Now that I have been released, the government bloodhounds arebaying on my trail hoping that I'll lead them to the money, whereupon they'llpounce upon it and have the last laugh. They'll say, in effect, 'You can't beatthe law, Gideon. You served a lot of extra time in prison so you could enjoythat forty-seven thousand dollars when you got out. Now then, we've got themoney and you've served the time. Ha-ha-ha!"

"And of course they'll see thatevery prison inmate knows all about it and gloat over the fact that you can'tbeat the law and that they made a sucker out of me."

"So they are followingyou," Mason asked.

"Oh, yes."

"They followed you here?"Mason asked.

"Of course."

"I see," Mason said,frowning.

"I can see that you do,"Gideon said, smiling. "I'm trying to make an artistic approach on this, MrMason, even if the main gambit will have to be rather crude.

"You see, the government feelsthat in dealing with a crook it is dealing with a person of very inferiorintelligence. When the government does a shadow job on a crook, it is at timesvery naive.

"In my case, for instance, theyhave a rough shadow on my trail."

"A rough shadow?" Masonasked.

"Surely, with your experiencein criminal law, you understand the function of a rough shadow," Gideonsaid. "A rough shadow is just what the name implies. It's a shadow who isso obvious a person simply can't miss him.

"If you'd have your secretarystep to the corridor door and open it, I dare say you'd find the rough shadowstanding at the comer of the corridor. When the door opened he would veryostentatiously show his embarrassment. Then he would turn and walk along thecorridor, peering at the names and numbers on the doors as though looking forsome office he was having difficulty finding."

"That's the rough shadow?"Mason asked.

"That's the rough shadow."

"I would assume that thegovernment expected to accomplish very little by such crude tactics."

"The government expects toaccomplish a lot," Gideon said. "The rough shadow is always veryostentatious but rather inept. It is no job at all for a clever man to eludehis surveillance. Even a simple thing like driving through a traffic signaljust as it is changing would shake the rough shadow."

Gideon stopped talking, watchedMason's face through a blue haze of cigar smoke. His half-closed eyes studiedthe lawyer thoughtfully.

After a moment he went on."That, of course, is when the smooth shadow takes over. The smooth shadowsare in the background. I don't see them. At least, I'm not supposed to. Havingditched the rough shadow, I will be flushed with confidence and go to a littlemotel somewhere, register under an assumed name then get up in the dead ofnight, move to some other motel then perhaps into a rooming house, and then,convinced that the government is no longer in touch with me, I'll go and dig upthe forty-seven thousand dollars. At least, that's what the governmentthinks."