The Case of the Singing Skirt pm-63

by Erle Stanley Gardner

  Ellis said, "Mr. Mason, I am beginning to be satisfied that game was crooked. I think that… I think that Ellen could tell you something about that. I want to get even with George Anclitas. If he struck Ellen, I'm going to give him the beating of his life. I'll-"

  "And how will that look when your wife files suit for divorce and names Ellen Robb as correspondent?" Mason asked.

  Ellis' face showed dismay.

  "There are some things you have to take into consideration," Mason said dryly.

  "Look," Ellis said, "I'll do anything I can in this matter, Mason. I'll-I'd like to pay your fees for prosecuting that case against George."

  "And how would that look in the divorce action?" Mason' asked.

  Ellis hesitated, then said, "All right. I have lost around ten thousand dollars there in The Big Barn. I'm now satisfied the game was crooked. If you want to act as my attorney to recover that money, I'll pay you fifty per cent of the recovery and give you all the expense money you need to prosecute. You can hire detectives or do anything else you need to do."

  "I may be disqualified on that action," Mason said. "I already advised your wife-gratuitously, of course-that she could probably recover the community funds that had been lost gambling, regardless of whether the game was straight or crooked."

  "Mr. Mason, don't you understand what that would do to my reputation? I'd be the laughingstock of-"

  "I don't think so," Mason interrupted. "I think if a few women would take action of this sort, it would give the big gamblers something to think about, particularly the ones where the games are crooked."

  "On the contrary," Ellis said with some feeling. "It would have exactly the opposite effect, Mr. Mason. The ones who were running square games couldn't afford to stay in business. If they were faced with the prospect of having to give up their winnings when some woman filed suit claiming it was community property that the husband had lost, the ones who were running a straight game would find that the percentage was too much against them and they'd go out of business. On the other hand, the crooked gamblers would stay in business. Or I'll put it this way. The gamblers who stayed in business would be crooked."

  "You have a point there," Mason said. "I don't know, of course, what's going to happen when the doctrine laid down in this decision is tested in the Supreme Court of this state or the Supreme Court of the United States. This, however, is at present a new angle on the law of community property. It's an interesting legal development, and I'm going to watch and see what happens."

  "Well, I'll say one thing," Ellis said. "You certainly threw a monkey wrench into the City of Rowena. George would do almost anything to keep that information from being made public. I guess you know that my wife intended to have a meeting and retained an attorney by the name of Gowrie to address the meeting, and George promptly bought him off."

  Mason raised his eyebrows. "Bought him off?"

  "Sure he did. Oh, nothing crude. He didn't go to Gowrie and offer him money not to appear at the meeting, but Gowrie now has some new clients who brought him some rather important business and I think conveyed the idea to him that they would be very unhappy if he addressed a meeting of the Women's Club of Rowena on the subject of gambling."

  "He told me," Mason said, "that he couldn't get hold of your wife."

  "Sure, he was trying to reach her but he was trying to reach her to tell her that he'd have to postpone the meeting and that he didn't think he'd be available. I think he also was going to tell her that after thinking the matter over and looking up the law on the subject, he had decided that the point probably wasn't well taken."

  "How do you know all this?"

  "He talked with me on the telephone. He was feeling his way," Ellis said.

  "All right," Mason told him. "I'll think over the information you've given me. If you get in touch with your wife, let me know at once."

  "Tell me, Mason, is Ellen in a safe place? That's what I want to know. Can you guarantee protection?"

  "I can't guarantee protection to anyone," Mason said.

  "How about the police?"

  "They can't either," Mason said. "If the police tried to put guards around every woman who is threatened with death at the hands of a jealous spouse, they wouldn't have enough officers left to direct traffic."

  "But she's in actual danger."

  "That may be," Mason said. "She is, however, fairly well concealed. I'm going to keep her under cover for the time being and I appreciate the information you've given me.

  "However, these things happen. You pick up the paper almost any day and you'll find where some jealous ex-husband went to the apartment of his divorced wife, made a scene, killed her and killed himself. Or where a woman threatened to leave her husband, and he told her that if he couldn't have her, no one else was going to and pulled out a gun and killed her, then gave himself up to the authorities. These crimes of emotion account for the majority of our murders, but for every person who is actually killed under circumstances of that sort, there are a thousand who are threatened. The police simply can't cope with any situation of that sort."

  "You sound cold-blooded about it," Ellis said heatedly. "Ellen Robb is a beautiful woman, a sweet, good young woman. Oh, I know she's been around, but essentially she's a mighty fine, sweet young woman and… well, you simply can't sit back and let my wife go all out on the warpath this way."

  "Where do you think your wife is now?"

  "I think she's in Arizona. The story was that Ellen was to get a job at one of the night clubs in Phoenix. She had some connections there, and I suppose that's where Nadine went. If Ellen is here, I certainly hope Nadine is in Arizona-I'm hoping she'll cool down by the time she gets back."

  "Well, we'll see what we can do," Mason said. "I'll try and protect my client to the best of my ability, but you understand we can't furnish absolute protection in a situation of that sort; even the police can't."

  Ellis said, "Look here, Mr. Mason, if the police can't protect her, we can hire a private bodyguard for her. I want to pay for it, no matter what it costs. Armed guards who can watch her day and night."

  "And how will that look in the divorce suit?" Mason asked.

  Ellis thought over the lawyer's remark. "I guess I'm licked," he said, getting to his feet. "However, Mr. Mason, I'm telling you there's a real danger to your client and to me."

  Mason merely nodded.

  Ellis seemed reluctant to leave the office, but Mason arose, signifying the interview was terminated.

  As soon as Ellis left the office, Mason nodded to Della Street. "Get Paul Drake, if he hasn't already gone home, Della. Have him come down here right away."

  Less than a minute later, Drake was in Mason's office.

  Mason said, "Ellen Robb is staying at the Surf and Sea Motel in Costa Mesa. She's registered under her real name. She may or may not be in some danger. Apparently an irate wife is on the warpath and is looking for her with a gun."

  "Bodyguard?" Drake asked.

  "Bodyguards," Mason said, "the 's' sound signifies the plural, two or more, and without her knowing anything about it. I want you to keep an eye on the place. Have men on duty down there where they can watch the door of Ellen Robb's motel apartment. If any woman asks for Ellen or if any woman shows up, have your men get on the job. If the woman is 'about twenty-seven, redhaired, streamlined, perhaps a little on the thinnish side, I want your man to stop her, no matter on what pretext, and if her name should be Nadine Ellis-Mrs. Helman Ellis-I want your men to take some action."

  "How much action?"

  "It depends on the circumstances," Mason said. "Divert her attention and… well, in any event, stick right with her. If this woman sees Ellen Robb, I want at least one of your men there. I want him to make certain there isn't any opportunity for Mrs. Ellis to pull a gun and go bang, bang."

  "I get it," Drake said. "We do a lot of that stuff. I've got some pretty good men. However, it runs into money. How long do you want them kept on the job?"

  "As long as
there's any possibility of trouble," Mason said.

  "How long will that be?"

  "Until we locate Mrs. Ellis and find out more about the situation."

  "Okay," Drake said. "Will do."

  After Drake had left, Mason turned to Della Street. "Now," he said, "we have the question of the gun."

  "How do you mean?"

  "We start out with four guns that George Anclitas had," Mason said. "He gave one away. That leaves three. Now, one of them shows up in the personal effects of Ellen Robb. Presumably, George is going to claim that gun was stolen from him. That leaves George with two guns."

  "What are you getting at?" Della Street asked.

  "Simply trying to keep the guns straight," Mason said, grinning. "Usually when I get in a case the district attorney accuses me of introducing additional guns and juggling them around and-"

  "And that's exactly what you've done in this case," Della Street said.

  "I have, for a fact. Won't it be nice when George Anclitas 'discovers' that one of his guns has been stolen and accuses Ellen Robb of having committed the theft? He'll get a search warrant for her baggage. Then the officers will discover the gun, and then George will swear to a complaint. The matter will be brought into court and when they start introducing the gun in evidence, I'll ask that the number of the gun be read into evidence. Then we'll check the records to get the numbers of George's gun and then it will turn out that the gun that was found in Ellen's baggage wasn't the gun that was 'stolen' from George Anclitas."

  "And then?" Della asked, smiling.

  Mason grinned gleefully. "Then," he said, "We'll have another suit for damages against George Anclitas. Perhaps after a while, Della, we'll teach him not to pick on women and black their eyes."

  "But," Della Street asked, "suppose someone finds you're holding George's gun up here?"

  "Why, the very idea!" Mason exclaimed. "I wouldn't think of holding George's gun up here. I told you we were going to return it to the owner as soon as we knew who the owner was."

  "You'll just hand it to him?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

  "I said we'd return it," Mason answered, grinning.

  "Do you have a plan?" she asked.

  Mason said, "Downstairs at the soda fountain they use ice in the drinks that is round, about an inch diameter with a hole in the center and-"

  "Go ahead," Della Street said, as Mason broke off and started to chuckle.

  "I think," Mason said, "they make that ice around the outside of a pipe. They have some process by which they fill a larger pipe with water, freeze it, then get the ice out in lengths and cut it into pieces to put in the drinks.

  "Suppose you run down, Della, talk with whoever is in charge and find out if you can get a piece of ice about… oh, say twelve inches long."

  Della Street regarded him quizzically for a moment, then smiled and said, "On my way, Counselor. I take it we're about to freeze the evidence."

  "On the contrary," Mason said. "We're going to melt a hard heart. Also, Della, pick up a shoe box and fill it half full of dry ice."

  Della Street nodded, left the office.

  Mason was once more pacing the floor when Della Street returned with a shoe box under her arm.

  "Get it?" Mason asked.

  She nodded.

  She reached in the shoe box which contained dry ice and pulled out a twelve-inch cylinder of ice.

  "All right," Mason said. "We'll try it for strength."

  The lawyer took the gun which Ellen Robb had brought with her, ran the tube of ice through the trigger guard, then moved up two chairs and suspended the revolver between the two chairs, the cylinder of ice resting on the back of each one.

  "Perfect!" he said, quickly removed the tube of ice and put it back in the box containing the dry ice.

  "Now what?" Della Street asked.

  "Now," Mason said, "we go down to Rowena. I stop on the block back of The Big Barn, where there's an entrance to the motel. You get out, walk through the motel, around the swimming pooi and into The Big Barn by the back entrance. You go to the women's powder room-"

  "Carrying this shoe box?" Della Street asked.

  Mason shook his head. "You'll be carrying a purse by that time. The purse will be filled with dry ice, this tube of ice and the gun. We'll also stuff the hollow of ice with dry ice. You go into the women's powder room and look for a place to plant the gun, either high up by suspending the gun from two corners of a partition, or preferably, if you can find a washbowl that has open plumbing underneath it, and I think you can, you can suspend the two ends of the ice tube from the two shut-off valves which you'll find underneath; one on the hot water, one on the cold water pipes."

  "And then?" she asked.

  "Then after a period of time, depending on temperature, the ice tube melts enough so the gun drops down to the floor. The ice will melt into a pooi of water, and someone will find the gun on the floor."

  "And they'll connect it with us?" Della Street asked.

  "If you do it right," Mason said, "and go in from the back entrance this early in the evening, no one is going to see you. I don't like to ask it of you, Della, but I am an attorney of record now with interests adverse to George Anclitas, and it's not ethical for me to talk with him except in the presence of his attorney. If I should go there, he'll want to talk with me. And I want the gun found in the women's powder room."

  "Why there?" she asked.

  "Because there's an attendant there," Mason said, "and because it's right near the back door which leads to the motel. You can pop in there, wait until some other woman comes in, plant the ice tube, give the attendant a quarter and leave the place. You can rejoin me in the car. We'll have stuffed the hole in this ice with dry ice, which will keep it from melting for some little time. When the gun falls to the floor, either the attendant will see it, or some woman who is in the place will see it within a few minutes after it has fallen. If we're lucky, the attendant will swear the gun couldn't possibly have been there over four or five minutes."

  "And we'll be long gone?" Della Street asked.

  "We'll be long gone," Mason said.

  "How much of a crime am I committing?"

  "I've told you," Mason said, "we're returning lost property. That's highly commendable."

  "How about suppressing evidence?"

  "Evidence of what?"

  "Of theft."

  "I didn't steal anything," Mason said.

  "How about Ellen Robb?"

  "She's a client."

  "She's a client," Della Street said thoughtfully, "but don't go overboard on that girl. She knows which side of the bread has the butter and she doesn't intend to have anyone give her bread that isn't buttered."

  Mason grinned. "Meaning, perhaps, that she might butter up people?"

  "Particularly her lawyer," Della Street said. "I wish you'd play this one close to your chest, Chief."

  Mason nodded. "That's why I want to get that gun back where it belongs."

  "What will George Anclitas think when the gun is reported as having been found in the women's powder room?"

  "That, of course, depends," Mason said, "on what he's planning to do."

  "You think George Anclitas intends to file charges of theft against Ellen?"

  Mason's forehead puckered into a frown. "I wish I knew the answer to that, Della," he said. "I certainly thought that was what he had in mind when he planted the gun in Ellen's suitcase, but why is he holding his fire? He's waiting for something. What is it?"

  "Perhaps waiting to find out where she is," Della Street said.

  "I doubt it-and there's one thing that bothers me."

  "What?"

  "Suppose he's playing a much deeper game than that?"

  "What could it be?"

  "I don't know," Mason said, "but I want to get that gun back into his possession. I want it planted in the women's powder room. The attendant there will find it. In all probability she's frightened to death of a gun. She'll cause something of a commotio
n and… well, George will know he's got his gun back."

  "Of course he'll suspect you," Mason said. "And he'll also conclude that he waited too long before lowering the boom on Ellen Robb, that she found the gun in her suitcase and managed to return it. George will naturally be furious."

  "When do we go?" Della Street asked,

  Mason said, "You go down to the shop that sells handbags, on the corner, and get a leather handbag in which you can stuff the dry ice, the gun and the tube of ice. Then we're on our way."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Perry Mason eased the car to a stop.

  "Everything okay, Della?"

  Della Street put her hand on the catch of the door. "Everything okay."

  "Now, look," Mason said, "there's just a chance something may go wrong at either end of the line. If anything goes wrong with you, if anybody catches you, you send for me. I'll come in and we'll face it. I'll state that you were acting under my instructions, that I was returning a gun that had been planted in my client's baggage. We'll take it from there.

  "Now, get that straight, Della. I don't want you to try this on your own. If anything goes wrong, you just step back out of the picture and I step in and take the responsibility. Understand?"

  She hesitated a moment, then nodded.

  "Now, those are instructions," Mason said. "Don't try to take the responsibility if you get into a jam. Now, here's the other situation. Something may go wrong out here. 'Someone may spot me.

  "I'm going to drive around the block, into the alley and turn my lights on. If you see my lights on, everything is clear. You come on out and get in the car.. You can see those lights from the end of the swimming pooi there.

  "If, however, anything goes wrong, I won't have my lights on. If you come to the end of the swimming pool and see that my lights are off, don't come anywhere near the car. Understand?"

  "For how long?" she asked.

  "Until you see the car in the alley with the lights on. Then come across and join me."

  "And if it's a long time, say over half an hour?"

  "Under those circumstances," Mason said, "get back the best way you can. Take a bus or hitchhike."

  "Okay," she said, "I'm on my way."