Erle Gardner: The Case of the Borrowed Brunette

Mason nodded. “Very, very shrewd,” he said, admiringly.

“What was?”

“The way Hines prevented you girls from spotting him when he was sizing you up. He was very careful to select a street that was just right for his purpose — not so far out as to frighten you, not so close to the shopping district that you would be inconspicuous in the crowd. As it was, this street was so public that you were willing to come here, yet sufficiently uncrowded so that every wolf would spot you. Hines could have walked past here two or three times, even stopped to make a pass at you, but you wouldn’t be able to tell him from the rest of the wolves.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“It was very cleverly handled. But that ten-dollar payoff is interesting, and it’s about due. I wonder if you’d have any objection if we waited to see... ”

He broke off as a man, walking rapidly down the sidewalk, veered in toward the little group at the corner, raised his hat, and said, “Miss Felton?”

“Yes.”

“I represent Mr. Hines, and I’m sorry to advise you that the vacancy has been filled. You are to receive ten dollars for your trouble in coming here, and Mr. Hines asked me to see that you get this ten-dollar bill. Thank you. Good-by.”

The man thrust the bill into Cora Felton’s hand, raised his hat and started on down the street, his right hand dropping to his coat pocket, his left hand holding a card on which a list of names had been written.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Cora Felton called. “I’d like to find out... ”

He turned. “I’m sorry — that’s all I know, Miss Felton. I was given that message to deliver. I don’t even know what it means myself. Good afternoon.” And he proceeded rapidly across the street.

“Can you beat that?” Cora Felton said. And then added philosophically, “Well, I’m ten bucks to the good anyway. He could have gypped me out of that easy as not.”

Mason said, “I’m going on down the street. How would you like to jump in the car, drive four blocks down to where your friend is waiting, and get a chance to interview Mr. Hines’s representative once more?”

Her eyes smiled into his. “Say, that’s something! I’d love it.”

“Hop in,” Mason invited.

They drove on down Adams Street in time to see the man paying olf the girl at the next corner.

“It’ll be two more streets,” Cora Felton said.

Mason drove his car down past two more corners where brunettes were waiting and pulled in close to the curb as he approached the third corner.

Cora Felton said, “She’ll be thrilled to death to meet you, Mr. Mason. She’ll be right here... Why, that’s funny — I don’t see her.”

Mason brought the car to a full stop. Cora Felton opened the door, looked carefully around on all four of the corners, and said with a laugh, “Well, she’s gone home. She wasn’t too enthusiastic about it anyway. Eva isn’t the kind to stand around waiting on street corners. — Well, thanks a lot, Mr. Mason, and I certainly enjoyed meeting you. I’ll really have something to tell Eva when I get home.”

Mason said, “I’m going toward town. Are you by any chance headed that way?”

“We have an apartment out on West Sixth Street. If you’re going in that direction... I don’t want to put you out any.”

“That’ll be fine. It’s just as easy to go that way as any other.”

Cora Felton settled back in the seat. “This is a real thrill. I’m going to make Eva’s eyes pop out. I’ll probably beat her home.”

Mason made time through traffic and brought his car to a stop in front of the apartment house.

“I don’t suppose I could interest you folks in a drink?” Cora Felton asked, and then added, laughing, “You’d have an opportunity to meet the woman who was to have been our chaperone in case we landed the job. And you’d really get a kick out of her.”

“Salty?” Mason asked.

“Salty and peppery! You know, in answering an ad like that you can’t be sure what’s in the wind. I was hoping I’d land it if only to be able to spring Adelle Winters on that Mr. Hines!”

Mason glanced at Della Street, then tentatively shut off the ignition on his car. “Tell me about Adelle Winters.”

“Well, she’s been a practical nurse. She’s redheaded and chunky, and she wants to live her own life. She can’t be bothered too much by rules and regulations, and for that very reason is probably one of the greatest liars in the world. Whenever people start questioning her about things she thinks are none of their business, or try to make her conform to some convention or law that she doesn’t approve of, she proceeds to lie her way out with a great deal of ability and a perfectly clear conscience. She’s a darned good liar.”

“How old?” Mason asked.

“Oh, somewhere between fifty and sixty-five. You’d never know, and she won’t tell. — Do come on up!”

“We will at that,” Mason said. “Long enough for a cocktail and to meet Mrs. Winters. — You don’t think Mr. Hines would have slipped anything over on her, eh?”

“Mr. Hines definitely would not have slipped anything over on Aunt Adelle. — The apartment’s on the third floor, and the elevator is automatic.”

“You girls both looking for work?” Mason asked on the way up.

“That kind of work, yes. We’re actresses — at least we think we are, or we thought we were before we came here. We’ve had a few jobs as extras in Hollywood and we’ve done some work as models. We’re getting by okay, but we’re interested in new contacts. That’s how we happened to decide to answer that ad. It probably means a job as understudy somewhere. The way those measurements were listed in such detail, it must have been something like that.”

Cora Felton fitted a latchkey to the apartment door, then turned with a little laugh and said, “Better let me look in first to make certain everybody’s decent.”

She held the door open and called out, “Company coming. Everybody dressed?”

There was no answer.

“Well, that’s strange,” she said. “Come on in. I guess there’s no one home. Oh-oh, what’s this?”

A note pinned to the table had caught her attention. She opened and read it, then passed it to Mason without a word.

Cora Dear,

I landed. I hadn’t been there over ten minutes when Mr. Hines drove up, talked with me, said that I’d do, and asked me if I wanted a chaperone. Did I? I had him drive me up to the apartment here and pick up Aunt Adelle, also a few personal things.

It sounds terribly whacky and mysterious. I’m not certain that I like it, but I’m banking on Aunt Adelle to see us through. I wanted him to drive me up to your corner and pick you up and tell you what had happened. But he said nothing doing. It seems one of the rules of the job is that I’m not to communicate with any of my friends until after the job is finished, which apparently will be at the end of thirty days. I’m banking on Aunt Adelle, and she’s banking on a .32-caliber revolver that has been her constant companion for years. In honor of the occasion she bought a fresh box of shells so as to be certain there won’t be any misfire.

Don’t worry about us. We’ll be bringing home the bacon. You know Aunt Adelle!

Lovingly,

Mason handed back the note.

“What do you make of it?” Cora asked.

“The note?”

“No, the job.”

“Are you sure Adelle Winters is thoroughly capable of taking care of herself?”

“Taking care of herself and of Eva too,” Cora said. “Anyhow, don’t worry about Eva. She isn’t going to be caught very far off first base. — What will you have? Manhattan or martini?”

“A manhattan,” Mason said.