Erle Gardner - The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito

“Understand me, Mr. Mason, you’re the one who brought this up. But since you’ve brought it up, I don’t mind telling you frankly that I wouldn’t trust him, to use a colloquial expression, as far as I could throw a bull by the tail. He’s a crooked old reprobate with no conscience, and only a limited intelligence.

“He’s clever in just one thing, and that’s his ability to apparently get drunk, pretend there’s some information he’s trying to keep from spilling, and then let you pry it out of him in an unguarded moment that he’s struck it rich. In other words, he’s a very, very good actor, and that’s all. He can act a lie infinitely better than he can tell one.”

“Thank you,” Mason said. “That’s all.”

“That’s all?” Moffgat asked in some surprise.

“Yes.”

Moffgat’s face was crafty. “You understand, Mr. Mason, that I have a right to cross-examine this witness?”

“Naturally.”

“Despite the fact that he is my client.”

“I understand.”

“Upon any matter concerning which you have examined him in direct examination.”

“That’s my understanding of the law.”

“And you yourself, Counselor, have opened the door.”

Mason merely made a little bow.

“Now then,” Moffgat said, turning to Bradisson with a smirk, “I will ask you, Mr. Bradisson, if you are familiar with the reputation for truth and veracity of this Mr. Peter Sims.”

“I am.”

“What is it?”

“It’s terrible.”

“He isn’t considered trustworthy among those who know him?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Would you believe his testimony under oath?”

“Definitely not.”

“That’s all,” Moffgat announced triumphantly.

Mason said, “I guess that completes our depositions.” He rose, stretched and yawned.

“And you’re seriously going to proceed with the contest of this action?” Moffgat asked him.

Mason turned on him. “Go back to your office and read up on the law of fraud, Counselor. You’ll find that it takes a lot more than a fraudulent representation to give a person a cause of action for fraud. The representation must be believed. It must be acted upon. It must be relied upon. Your own client has now stated that he considers Pete Sims an awful liar; that he wouldn’t trust him as far as he could throw a bull by the tail; that he wouldn’t place any reliance in anything he said; that he himself is a mining expert; that he himself made an examination of that mine before he purchased it. Therefore, it is obvious that the thing he relied upon was his own judgment, his faith in his own infallibility. — There are times Counselor, when it pays dividends to have a poor reputation. — After you’ve read the law of fraud once more, see whether you want to go ahead with your side of the case.”

Bradisson turned to regard Moffgat. It needed only one look at the sudden consternation he saw on his lawyer’s face to make him realize the deadly accuracy of Mason’s statement.

“But my client hasn’t said that he relied on his own judgment,” Moffgat said. “That is, he didn’t specifically so state.”

“Wait until a jury hears that deposition read,” Mason grinned. “The man with the natural aptitude for absorbing mining knowledge; who was thoroughly capable of directing the destinies of a big mining corporation before he permitted himself to become president; who didn’t need to call in any mining engineer to help him; who made his own inspection and then went ahead and closed the deal before the reports of assay had been returned. — Don’t argue with me. Save your argument for a jury. And incidentally, Counselor, you aren’t convincing your own client and you aren’t convincing yourself.”

Moffgat said, “I think you misunderstood the witness’s statement in regard to the investigation he himself had made of the property, Mr. Mason. The witness will have an opportunity, of course, to read through his deposition and sign it before it’s filed. I happen to know the facts of the case myself, and I know that Mr. Bradisson’s investigation was not of the kind that would prevent him rescinding the contract on the ground of fraud.”

And Moffgat flashed his client a warning glance to make certain that Bradisson remained silent.

Mason smiled. “Read the case of Beckley versus Archer, 74 Cal. App. 489, which holds that even where one didn’t make an independent investigation, where he fully disbelieved the representations made by the seller as to the character of the property, he still can’t rely upon fraud, no matter how flagrant the fraud may have been. Bear in mind that your client stated that he wouldn’t trust Pete Sims as far as he could throw a bull by the tail.”

Moffgat combed his mind for an answer and could find none. Abruptly he turned on Mason and said, “I’ll discuss that angle of the case with you in court, Mr. Mason. In the meantime, there’s another matter that I wish to take up with you.”

“What is it?”

“You hold the stock which Banning Clarke held in the Come-Back Mining Syndicate,”

“That’s right. I do.”

“I take it that you know a will has been discovered.”

“Has it indeed?”

“A will dated some time ago leaving all of his property to his wife, or in the event of his wife’s death, to her heirs at law, excluding, however, Mr. James Bradisson.”

“Indeed,” Mason commented noncommittally.

“I am sorry,” Moffgat went on punctiliously, “that Mr. Clarke felt it necessary to put that proviso in his will. It is a direct, unnecessary and entirely unwarranted slap in the face — a gratuitous disparagement of a man who has always tried to be his friend.”

Bradisson looked properly virtuous.

“However,” Moffgat went on, “be that as it may, Mrs. Bradisson is the sole heir at law, and, as such, will inherit the property. She is filing the will for probate. Now, naturally, Mr. Mason, you won’t try to keep that stock, but will turn it over without any delay to the executrix.”

“Why should I?” Mason asked.

“Because we know that sale was not an actual sale at all.”

“Who says it wasn’t?”

“Will you claim that any consideration was actually paid for the transfer?”

“Certainly.”

“Would you mind telling me what that consideration was?”

“I see no reason for doing so.”

“I think you are aware, Mr. Mason, that as an attorney you were acting in a fiduciary capacity, that any contract you made with your client would be presumed fraudulent, that any undue advantage you took of your client would be a very serious matter — might possibly become grounds for an accusation of unprofessional conduct.”

“That sounds like a threat, Moffgat.”

“Perhaps it is — and I don’t make idle threats.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“And do I understand that, despite my demand, you refuse to surrender this stock?”

“That’s it in a nutshell.”

“That, Mr. Mason, is going to make things very, very unpleasant. It will create a certain amount of personal friction between us.”

“Oh well,” Mason said, “differences of opinion make horse races and lawsuits.”

“But this is more than a mere piece of litigation. It will be necessary for me to contest the ethics of your actions. The controversy will become personal and bitter.”

“That’s fine! I like combat. I like the acrimonious personalities of a grudge fight. — And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll return to my office.”

And Mason walked out of the office without so much as a backward glance from the doorway.

Della Street spread the afternoon newspaper on Mason’s desk. “Look at our friend, Paul Drake,” she said.