The Case of the Blonde Bonanza

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Winlock had not been gone more than three minutes when Mason heard the chimes and opened the door. A strikingly beautiful woman stood there smiling seductively.

"May I come in, Mr. Mason?" she asked. "I'm Mrs. Winlock and I knew my husband was calling on you. I waited behind some potted palms in the lobby until he had left. I want to see you privately."

"Come in," Mason invited, "and sit down."

"Thanks. I'll come in but I won't sit down. I'll tell you what I want and what I have to offer in a very few words."

"What do you have to offer?" Mason asked.

"Freedom for Dianne Alder."

"And what do you want?"

"What I want is to retain my social position, my respectability and my property interests. Is that clear enough?"

"It's clear enough," Mason said. "Now give me the details. What makes you think Dianne Alder's freedom is at stake?"

"Don't be naive, Mr. Mason. Dianne came to Riverside to see Boring. She saw him. She was probably the last person to see him alive."

"How do you know this?"

"The police have received an anonymous telephone tip to that effect."

"How do you know that?"

"Through a friend of mine who is in a position to know."

"You seem to know a great deal."

"Knowledge is power."

"And you want power?"

"Power and more power. I won't try to deceive you, Mr. Mason. There is a concealed microphone in our library. My son is at a romantic age. There have been times when girls have sought to blackmail him. I deemed it wise to have the house wired so conversations could be monitored."

"And so you heard my conversation with your husband this evening?"

"Every word."

"All right. Just what is your proposition?"

"If you could prove Harrison Boring was injured-fatally injured-before Dianne called on him, it would establish your client's innocence, would it not?"

"Presumably it would," Mason said.

"I can give you that proof."

Mason said, "Perhaps you'd better sit down, Mrs. Winlock, and we'll talk this over."

"Very well." She moved over to a chair, seated herself and crossed her knees, adjusting her skirt so that the hemline was where it would be most effective in showing to advantage a pair of very neat nylon-clad legs. She settled back in the chair and smiled at Mason with calm confidence.

"Just how would we go about proving this?" Mason asked.

"That," she said, "is a matter of detail which we will discuss later on. The main question is whether you agree with me in principle that if you can establish this matter by definite proof, I am entitled to keep my name, my position, my respectability and the bulk of my property."

"What else are you prepared to offer in return?" Mason asked.

"What do you mean by the words, "What else?"

"What about Dianne's property rights?"

"Does she have any?"

"Yes."

"What did my husband want?"

"I think perhaps you had better discuss the matter with him."

"Well, I will put it this way. Whatever proposition my husband made in regard to a division of property would be acceptable to me."

Mason said, "I'd have to know a little more about how you intend to make this proof and I'd have to discuss it with my client."

"Very well," she said. "Let us suppose that Harrison T. Boring was a blackmailer, a crook and a promoter. Let us suppose that there were wheels within wheels, that sometime during the evening he became engaged in an altercation with someone who was trying to share in the spoils and, as a result, Boring was fatally injured.

"Now then, let us suppose that my son called on Boring, found him lying injured, but made no specific examination. In fact he assumed that the man was dead drunk, and left. Let us suppose that I called on Boring, found him injured and came to the conclusion my son had been engaged in an altercation and left the place; that sometime later I phoned the manager of the motel, told her to look in on the man in Unit io and hung up.

"Let us assume that my husband followed me in a visit to Boring, found him injured, assumed that I had inflicted the injuries and left."

"That would require your testimony, the testimony of your husband and the testimony of your son, and you would be censured for not calling for aid as soon as you saw the injured man."

"All of that might be arranged. Tell me, what would be the penalty?"

"If your son thought the man was drunk and had reason so to believe, there would be no violation of the law. If you knew that a crime had been committed and failed to report it, the situation might be rather serious."

"Suppose that I also thought he was drunk?"

"That," Mason said, "would present a story which might well tax the credulity of the listener. Two coincidences of that sort would be rather too much."

"Suppose my husband should admit that he knew the man was injured but thought I had been the one who had struck him with some weapon and that the injury was not serious, that Boring was knocked out. Would the offense be serious enough so that my husband could not be let off with probation and perhaps some admonition and rebuke from the court?"

"Remember," Mason said, "that the man died. A great deal would depend on the nature of his injuries, whether a more prompt hospitalization would have resulted in saving his life. Remember also I am Dianne's attorney and am not in a position to advise either you or your husband."

"Under those circumstances," she" said, "my proposition had better remain in abeyance.

"I might also mention, Mr. Mason, something that you don't seem to have realized-that the room where Mr. Boring was found fairly reeked with the smell of whiskey."

Mason raised his eyebrows.

"I gather that you didn't know that."

"It is always dangerous to jump to conclusions," Mason said, "but I am interested in the fact that you noticed it."

She smiled and said, "You play them rather close to your chest, don't you, Mr. Mason?"

"At times I think it is advisable," Mason said.

Abruptly she arose. "I have told you generally what I have in mind," she said, "and you might think it over. I trust that under the circumstances Dianne will not make any rash statements which would tend to make any meeting of the minds impossible?"

"Are you suggesting," Mason asked, "that I suborn perjury?"

"Certainly not, Mr. Mason." She smiled. "Any more than I am suggesting that I commit perjury. I am simply speculating with you on what would happen under certain circumstances and whether or not it would be possible to bring a situation into existence which would cause those circumstances to be established by evidence."

"It's an interesting conjecture," Mason said. "Now will you tell me exactly what happened when you entered the motel unit rented by Harrison T. Boring?"

"I never even said I was there."

"I know you were there," Mason said.

She smiled archly and said, "Then what you don't know is what I found when I entered the room."

"Exactly."

"And under normal circumstances, when would be the first time you would discover this, Mr. Mason?"

"When you were placed on the witness stand and examined by the prosecution and I had an opportunity to cross-examine you."

"And you think you could discover the true facts by cross-examination?"

"I would try."

"It's an interesting thought," she said. "And now, Mr. Mason, having given you a brief statement as to the purpose of my visit, I am not going to let you try to trap me by any further conversation."

She arose, crossed the room with the gracious manner of royalty bestowing a favor, gave Mason her hand, smiled up into his eyes and said, "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Mason."

"I trust we will meet again," Mason said.

"Oh, I'm sure of it," she told him. "My telephone is listed in the book and you can reach me at any time. I will always be available to your call."

Mason watched her down the corridor, then slowly and thoughtfully closed the door.