Erle Gardner - The Case of the Phantom Fortune

"Look at this," Warren said. "The cocktail glasses are cooledalmost to the freezing point. What is your pleasure?"

"Both Miss Street and I would like Scotch-on-the-rocks,"Mason said.

The attendant took metal tongs,extracted glasses, put the glasses on a tray, put in ice cubes, poured inScotch and gravely extended the tray.

Della Street took a glass gingerly, apparently consciousof the fact that in touching the glass she left fingerprints.

Mason took the other glass.

"Now, if you'll excuseme," Warren said, "I have a telephone call I haveto make. Just make yourselves right at home. People are friendly here and it'sall an informal group."

Mason said, "Could you give mea guest list?"

"I have had one alreadyprepared for you," Warren said. "I thought you'd want one. One for you and one for yourcharming secretary."

Warren, somewhat surreptitiously, pressed a foldedslip of paper into Mason's hand, turned and slipped one to Della Street.

"How's the cateringservice?" Mason asked.

"Wonderful," Warren enthused. "Really, it's out of thisworld I hadn't realized it would be possible to have anything of this sort …And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of telephone calls to make."

Warren started away, turned, caught Mason's eye,gave him a quick wink and jerked his head in a signal that Mason was to follow.

Mason said in a low voice to Della Street, "I'll leave you to your own resourcesfor a little while."

Still carrying his glass, Masonmoved over to join Warren.

Warren said, "There's a shower out by theswimming pool. To the right of the shower there's a door leading to a bathroom.That door will be unlocked. Meet me there alone in about five minutes, orwhenever you can make it. Pretend that you're just exploring around. Go out andlook the house over. Move around the pool. Leave your secretary free tocirculate around."

"People will be talking tome," Mason said, glancing at his watch. "It's going to be a littledifficult to -"

"That's all right. I'll be waiting.I want to show you something."

Judson Olney came up to take Della Street's arm. "My gosh," he said,"it's good to see you again! You shouldn't have stepped out of my life theway you did."

"It was you who stepped out ofmy life," Della reminded him.

Mrs Warren, moving up, said,"Shame on you, Judson, letting a good-looking girl like that getaway."

Olney put his arm around Della Street's shoulders, drew her momentarily close tohim, said, "She hasn't got away – yet. Come on, we've got to meet people."

Perry Mason moved out to theswimming pool, pausing every few seconds to shake hands with people who came upto introduce themselves, trying to avoid getting involved in conversation.

After several minutes the lawyermoved around the swimming pool, looking admiringly at the house.

Nearly ten minutes elapsed before hehad a chance to open the door to the right of the shower without making theaction seem conspicuous.

The door opened into a sumptuousbathroom with a sunken tile tub, huge mirrors. Horace Warren was waiting.

"I want you to see somethingwith your own eyes," he said. Warren opened the left-hand door of the bathroom'stwo doors and beckoned Mason to follow him.

"Now this," Warren said, "is my wife's bedroom. We haveseparate bedrooms. I'm a restless sleeper and sometimes I'll place a dozenphone calls in the course of an evening. My room is soundproof and this room ispretty well insulated."

"Now, just a moment,"Mason said, "I feel rather – well, I'm a little embarrassed about this.Your wife doesn't know you're here, that you're showing me anything?"

"Heavens, no! I just want youto see this with your own eyes. Just take a look."

Warren led the way to a huge closet, slid back theend door, reached in, took out a locked suitcase.

"Of course," he said,"almost any key will open one of these."

Warren inserted a key, snapped back the lock andthe two hasps on the side which held it shut.

"Now just take a look inhere," he said, "and …"

Warren recoiled in surprise. "Goodheavens!" he exclaimed.

The interior of the suitcase wasfilled with old newspapers.

"Now, what the hell!" Warren said.

"That's what you wanted me tosee?" Mason said.

"Definitely not! Up to a shorttime ago this suitcase had forty-seven thousand dollars in twenties, fifties,and one hundred dollar bills."

"You counted it?" Masonasked.

"I counted it."

"Do you think there's anypossibility someone could have stolen it?"

"I don't know what did happento it."

"All right," Mason saidtersely, "here's a way to have a showdown. Take that receptacle out to thevan. Get the experts out there to dust it for fingerprints. Find whosefingerprints are on it."

"Mine are on it now," Warren said.

"Yours and probably someoneelse's," Mason said.

"But my wife's fingerprintswill also be on it."

"Hers and someone else's."

Warren shook his head. "I don't want to doit."

"Why?"

"She'd be apt to come here andmiss the suitcase and even after I brought it back she might find that it hadbeen fingerprinted. You said yourself that lifting fingerprints left atrace."

"They can oil that leatherafter they get done so it won't leave a trace," Mason said. "Theprints will be on the metal fittings."

"No," Warren said, "I don't want to take a chanceof her catching me at it. I'd have trouble getting it out of the house."

"There's a back way out, isn'tthere?"

"Yes."

"You could use that."

"But suppose she should comeinto the bedroom, looking for the suitcase and find it's gone? Then what?"

"Then," Mason said,"you could have a showdown with your wife. You could tell her what you'redoing and tell her you're trying to protect her."

"Never," Warren said emphatically, abruptly closing andlocking the suitcase. He put it back in the closet and slid the door intoplace.

"Unless my wife chooses toconfide in me," he said, "I don't want to force the issue. I did wantyou to see the money for yourself. I guess now the blackmailer has got in hisdirty work."

"Your wife has enough money ofher own so she could make a payment of that sort?" Mason asked.

"She's been convertingsecurities during the last ninety days that I know of and perhaps even beforethat. Yes, she's got enough to make that payment and if she converted all ofher securities she could make several such payments. I believe in financialindependence for both parties to a marriage, Mr Mason. For your information,I've been generous with my wife and I've been rather successful in a businessway" He waved his hand in an inclusive gesture. "As you can see fromthe sort of place we live in … I wouldn't have Lorna dream that I'd beensnooping around in here or that I had confided in you … or that you – Comeon, let's get out of here."

Mason said, "Very well,"and started following Warren toward the door of the bathroom.

Abruptly a door opened and LornaWarren stood on the threshold, a look of startled, incredulous surprise on herface.

Her husband came to an abrupt haltfor a moment, then said casually, almost too suavely, "I'm showing PerryMason through the house, dear. I took the liberty of just looking in on yourbedroom."

Warren turned to Mason and went on easily, "Now,my bedroom is on the other side here. We can reach it either through thebathroom or through the corridor. I have another bath opening off my room …Right this way, please." Lorna stood to one side.

"When you're finished,dear," she said, "the caterer wants to know about serving the meal.There's a charcoal broiler in the catering van and he wants to have abouttwenty minutes notice."

"That's fine," Warren said easily. "Tell him to go ahead andget things ready to serve. We should be about ready to start the buffet intwenty minutes."