Erle Gardner - Case of the Beautiful Beggar

The lawyer drove around several blocks trying to spot the car so he could get the license number but was unable to find it.

He drove back to his office.

“There’s a call from Dr. Alma,” Della Street told him.

“He says he’ll talk with you any time that you come in. I told him I expected you shortly.”

Mason nodded.

“Gertie’s closed up the office and gone home,” Della Street said. “I’ll put the call through,”

Her fingers were a blur of motion over the dial on the telephone and she said, “Dr. Alma, please. Mr. Mason calling.”

She nodded to Perry Mason.

Mason picked up the telephone. “Hello,” he said, “Perry Mason talking.”

“Dr. Grantland Alma, Mason. You wanted to talk with me?”

“Yes. I understand you’ve been appointed by Judge Ballinger to talk with Horace Shelby and make an appraisal of his physical and mental condition.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you expect to see Horace Shelby soon?”

“I can’t see him before tomorrow morning,” Dr. Alma said, “but I have told the sanitarium I’ll be there at ten o’clock in the morning.”

“Is it wise to let them know exactly when you’ll be there?” Mason asked.

“I think so,” Dr. Alma said, “because I’ve told them that I want him to have no sedation after eight o’clock tonight that I want a complete chart showing every bit of medication that has been given and that I don’t want anyone from the sanitarium present when I examine him, that I’ll have my own nurse with me.”

Mason grinned and said, “Thank you, Doctor. I can see why the Court decided to appoint you as the examining physician... I just wanted to ask you if ample precautions would be taken to see that the patient had a fair chance.”

Dr. Alma said, “I know what you’re thinking. I may also tell you that there are certain sedatives which, when given intravenously, put a patient into a deep sleep, but in some cases the individual becomes disoriented and a little erratic for several days. There are also other drugs which, when given to a person who has arteriosclerosis, can cause quite a bit of mental impairment.”

“Can you test for those drugs?”

“Yes and no. I can make a blood test which will be of some help if I think they have been administered, but I can pretty well tell whether a person is his normal self or whether he is recuperating from the influence of drugs.

“I know all about you and your reputation Mr. Mason. I understand you’re representing the niece or the young woman who thought she was the niece — in any event, the young woman who’s been taking care of the patient and who has been devoted to him. I can also tell you in confidence that the sanitarium gave me an argument when I said I didn’t want any medication after eight tonight. They told me the patient was restless, highly irritable, unable to sleep, and that he would have to be given heavy sedation.

“I asked what they meant by heavy sedation and we had an argument over that. I finally gave them a limit of a sleeping medicine that could be given the patient tonight.

“I don’t mind telling you. Mr. Mason, that I’m going to check this thing carefully. That’s what I was told to do and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Thanks a lot,” Mason said. “I just wanted to find out what you had in mind.”

“And I think I know what you have in mind.” Dr. Alma said, chuckling. “Don’t worry, Mason, I’m going to be fair but I’m going to be very, very thorough.”

“Thanks a lot,” Mason said. “And I certainly appreciate your cooperation.”

The lawyer hung up and said to Della Street, “I guess there’s no reason we can’t close the office and go home. I think everything is taken care of. Dr. Alma knows what he’s doing. He evidently knows all of the angles. Daphne is out of circulation. The sanitarium is on the defensive and I wouldn’t be too surprised if tomorrow wasn’t a day with plenty of action, as far as the sanitarium is concerned.”

“How did it impress you?” she asked.

Mason made a gesture with his hand. “It’s one of those things,” he said. “I think the man they call ‘Doctor’ who is in charge of it, is not a licensed physician although he probably has a license to run a nursing home.

“Some of those places are all right some of them aren’t. In fact, in some of them — heaven help the poor guy who gets put in there! All too frequently, relatives don’t want to be bothered with an old man who is getting a little forgetful and a little unsanitary in his habits, so they bundle him off to a nursing home, wash their hands of him, and practically forget about him.

“The nursing home doesn’t care just as long as they get a regular monthly check.

“Then there are some of those nursing homes which are pretty foxy. They know when the old man is supposed to be incompetent and when they know the patient hates them but the person who has been appointed guardian or conservator of the estate is making the check every month, it doesn’t take long for them to decide which side of the bread has the butter.”

“And you think this sanitarium is one of those places?”

Mason said, “I wouldn’t be the least surprised, Della. However, I think things are working all right now. Let’s call it a day and go home.”

Perry Mason entered the office at nine o’clock the following morning to find Della Street opening mail and segregating it into three piles Urgent, Important, and Unimportant.

Mason casually glanced through some of the letters on the Urgent pile, said, “Well, I guess we may as well do a little catching up, Della... Have you heard anything from Daphne?”

“Not yet.”

Mason glanced at his watch. “In an hour, Dr. Alma will be out at the sanitarium to examine Horace Shelby. I imagine there’ll be some action about that time.”

“What sort of action?” Della asked.

“I don’t know,” Mason said. “Several things are possible. Either they’ve drugged the old man, ignoring Dr. Alma’s orders or they’ll try to invent some reason why Dr. Alma can’t see him.”

“And what will Dr. Alma do?” Della Street asked.

“From the way he talked,” Mason said, “I imagine he’ll tell the sanitarium people he’s going to see Horace Shelby or they’re going to be hauled into court for contempt.”

“And if he’s drugged?” she asked.

“Dr. Alma will find it out and so report to the Court.”

“And if he isn’t?”

“If he isn’t,” Mason said, “I’m betting ten to one that Horace Shelby is as bright as a dollar. Probably rather the worse for wear as a result of his experience but he’ll be logical and coherent and I think we’ll get the Court’s order appointing a conservator set aside. And the minute that happens, Shelby will order the Finchley’s out of his house, make a will in favor of Daphne Shelby, and everything will end happily.”

“What about the business you did of cashing the check? Won’t they make trouble over that?”

“They’ll try to,” Mason said, “but my best guess is that they’re going to have their hands full with other things. In a matter of this sort, the best defense is a counteroffensive... All right, let’s get some of these letters out of the way.”

The lawyer dictated until ten o’clock, then stretched and yawned.

“That’s enough for the time being, Della. I can’t get my mind off the Goodwill Sanitarium and what’s apt to be happening out there... Give Daphne a ring. Let’s tell her to stand by. There’s just a chance the whole opposition may collapse.”

“You’re optimistic this morning,” Della Street said, reaching for the telephone.