Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret

“That, of course,” Mason said, “will be only the first bite. One never finishes with a blackmailer.”

“I know, I know,” Bancroft said. “But, after all, after three months — that is, after the wedding is over, there won’t be so much pressure.”

“Not on her,” Mason said. “The pressure will then shift to you. You don’t think your stepdaughter knows?”

“Evidently she does,” Bancroft said. “The people who sent this letter must have telephoned her, giving her enough information so she understands what it is she is trying to avoid. I would certainly assume that to be the case.”

“You say you are staying at the lake?”

“At Lake Merticito,” Bancroft said. “We have a summer home there.”

“I understand,” Mason said, “that the lake is highly exclusive, properties run several hundred dollars a front foot.”

“That is true,” Bancroft said, “except for a three-hundred-foot frontage at the southern end of the lake. That is a public beach and occasionally the characters who come there make trouble. There is a launching ramp, a marina where boats can be rented, and... Well, for the most part, the people who come there are orderly. There is, nevertheless, a certain element of undesirables. They occasionally get out in the lake and make trouble for the regular residents.

“Private property, of course, goes to the edge of the lake at low water and we’re able to keep trespassers off the lands that are privately owned. But the lake is ideal for water-skiing, and occasionally some unpleasantness results from this outside element.”

“I take it that it is state owned as a park?” Mason asked.

“No, it is privately owned.”

“Why don’t the owners get together and buy that strip out?” Mason asked.

“Because of a peculiar provision in the title,” Bancroft said. “The property was left to heirs, in trust, with the understanding that for a period of ten years it would be open to the public on charges to be fixed by a board of trustees.

“The owner of the property was a public-spirited citizen who felt that too much waterfront property was being grabbed up by persons of wealth and the public was being excluded.”

“How is the property operated?” Mason asked.

“On a very high-class level, so far. The owners have done all they could to exclude the rowdy element. It is, however, open to the public with all that this means.”

Mason nodded toward the telephone. “You know where your stepdaughter banks,” he said. “She has come to town. It is now after eleven o’clock. Ring up her bank and ask for the person in charge of her account. Say that you want to see that nothing is said about it, but identify yourself and ask them if your daughter has made a withdrawal this morning of fifteen hundred dollars in tens, and twenties.”

Bancroft hesitated a moment, then took the phone that Della Street extended to him, called the manager of the bank, identified himself, said, “I want some highly confidential information. I want nothing to be said about the fact that I have called and I want nothing to be done about it. But I would like to know if my stepdaughter has cashed a cheque this morning on her account... Yes, I’ll hold the phone.”

Bancroft held the phone for some two minutes, then said, “Hello... Yes... I see... Thank you very much... No, say nothing about it... No, don’t let anyone know that I have called, and forget the whole thing.”

Bancroft hung up, turned to Mason and nodded. “She cashed a fifteen-hundred-dollar cheque,” he said, “specifying that the money was to be in ten and twenty-dollar bills. She also asked for ten silver dollars.”

Mason thought for a moment, then said, “I’m going to give you some advice, Bancroft. You probably won’t want to follow it.”

“What is it?”

“This chaplain who helped straighten you out,” Mason asked, “is he still alive?”

“Yes. He now has a rather large church.”

“Make a substantial donation to that church,” Mason said. “At the time you make the donation, state publicly that you are indebted to him, explain that you are a self-made man, that your past contains some mistakes made in your early youth. In other words, beat them to the punch, stand up on your own two feet and be proud of your record.”

Bancroft paled and shook his head. “I simply couldn’t do that, Mr Mason. It would kill my wife. Coming at this time, it would simply kill her. It would put Rosena in an absolutely impossible position.”

“Then,” Mason said, “prepare to pay and pay and pay.”

Bancroft nodded. “I had anticipated that.”

“Unless,” Mason said, “you are willing to let me have a free hand in the matter.”

“I’m perfectly willing to give you a free hand,” Bancroft said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Sometimes,” Mason said, “blackmailers are vulnerable. They can be jailed upon another charge — and, of course, if you appeal to the police, you will find they’re most co-operative and—”

“No, no, no,” Bancroft said. “We cannot appeal to the police. We cannot let them know... This is too much of a juicy scandal item coming right at this time.”

“All right,” Mason said, “what I’m going to do is going to cost you some money. It’s going to be daring, ingenious, and I hope it will be clever enough to fool the blackmailers.”

“What do you mean? What do you have in mind?” Bancroft asked.

Mason said, “Look at this letter carefully. The money is to be put in a large coffee can and the lid put on tight. Ten silver dollars are to be put in the can. Now, what does all this mean?”

“That’s what I don’t get,” Bancroft said.

“It means one thing to me,” Mason said. “The blackmailers don’t want to show their hand. They don’t want to disclose their identity. It means that the can is going to be put in the water and left floating, and then the blackmailers can pick it up. The ten silver dollars will be ballast to keep the can right side up.”

“Yes, that’s a logical assumption,” Bancroft said after thinking for a moment.

“You are living at the lake. I take it your stepdaughter does a lot of water-skiing and swimming.”

Bancroft nodded.

“All right,” Mason said, “we’re going to take a chance. I’m going to have an expert detective shadow your stepdaughter with binoculars. Whenever this can is dropped in the water, I am going to have someone, who will apparently be boating in the lake or fishing, pick up the can, open it, and turn the whole business over to the police.”

“What!” Bancroft said, jumping to his feet. “Why, that’s exactly the thing that I can’t afford. That’s—”

“Just a minute,” Mason said. “Look the situation over carefully. There is nothing in the letter indicating to whom it was sent. If the person who finds the can with the money in it can pretend to be an innocent fisherman who has found the money and the note and turned it over to the police, the police will publicize the whole thing, the blackmailers will go into a panic and try to figure out some way of beginning all over again. They will be on the defensive and yet they can’t claim that they have been betrayed by their victim. They will simply feel the cards went against them. The money will be safe in the hands of the police. The blackmailers will be running for cover.”

“They’ll strike back,” Bancroft said. “They’ll publicize the information about me—”

“And kill the goose that’s going to lay all their golden eggs?” Mason interposed. “Not a chance.”

Bancroft thought the matter over. “It’s taking a chance,” he said.

“You can’t live without taking chances,” Mason told him. “If you want a lawyer who doesn’t take chances, get someone else. This is a calculated risk. It’s a good gamble.”