The Case of the Deadly Toy

Chapter Two

Coming up the runway at the Los Angeles Airport, at ten o’clock that night, Norda Allison looked anxiously at the little group of people who were surveying incoming passengers. She wore one glove on her left hand, carrying the right-hand glove conspicuously in her left hand.

Suddenly there was a flurry of motion and Lorraine was hugging her.

“Oh, Norda,” she said, “I’m so glad — so glad you could make it! This is Barton Jennings, my husband — why, you’re beautiful! No wonder Mervin is crazy about you!”

Norda shook hands with Barton Jennings, a stocky, quiet, substantial individual, and listened to Lorraine carry on a conversational marathon while they walked to the baggage claiming counter.

“You’re going to stay with us,” Lorraine said. “We have a nice spare room and we can put you up without any trouble. Barton is going over and get the car, then he’ll drive around to pick us up and by that time your baggage will be ready. Let me have your baggage check, dear. I have a porter here who knows me.”

“What’s it all about?” Norda asked.

“Norda, it’s one of the greatest things you’ve ever seen. We’re going to come out on top. I have the nicest attorney. His name is A. Dawling Crawford. Did you ever hear of him?”

Norda shook her head, said, “I’ve heard of Perry Mason down here in this part of the state. I was told to get in touch with him if—”

“Oh, Perry Mason is for murder cases,” Lorraine interrupted, “but Art Crawford — that’s his name, Arthur, but he always signs it A. Dawling Crawford for some reason — is an all-around lawyer. He handles criminal cases and everything else. Norda, I’m so excited! We’re going to get sole custody of Robert. I’m going to want you to testify, and—”

“Want me to testify!” Norda exclaimed.

Lorraine, handing Norda’s baggage check to a porter, said, “Why, yes, of course, Norda. You understand the situation and I know that you are fond of Robert.”

“But wait a minute,” Norda protested, “I thought from what you said over the telephone this was something that was going to benefit me. All I want to do is to get Mervin Selkirk out of my hair. I want to get away from him. I want him to forget me. I want to quit receiving those newspaper clippings. I certainly don’t want to get involved with him again.”

“But that’s just the point,” Lorraine explained. “Mr. Crawford tells me that if you appear in court and testify on our behalf, then it’s almost certain that Mervin will make some threats against you and then we can go to the judge and state that those threats were made because you are a witness in the case. Then the judge will make an order restraining him. Then it will be contempt of court if he does anything further.”

“Listen,” Norda said patiently, “he’s done everything short of attempting murder and I’m not at all satisfied but what he’ll do that next. It isn’t going to be much satisfaction for me to be a corpse and to know that Mervin Selkirk is held for contempt of court. I don’t care how good an attorney you have, you have to have proof before you can do anything. And that’s just what we can’t get at the present time — proof.”

“But we have proof,” Lorraine said. “We have a witness to whom Mervin said he didn’t really have any love for Robert, that he only wanted part-time custody of him to teach me a lesson.”

“That’s fine,” Norda said coldly, “for you. It doesn’t help me with my problem.”

“But you aren’t going to let me down,” Lorraine wailed.

“I don’t know,” Norda said, “but I do know I’m not going to get mixed up in any of Mervin Selkirk’s affairs until I know exactly where I stand. I’m going to see an attorney of my own.”

“This is Friday night,” Lorraine said. “You can’t see anyone over the week end. Mr. Crawford has made arrangements to be at his office tomorrow shortly before noon so he can take your affidavit.”

Norda stood by the incoming baggage platform, thoughtfully silent.

“You aren’t going to let us down. You can’t,” Lorraine went on. “It isn’t only for me, it’s for Robert. You’ve seen him. You know what this means to Robert. You’re anxious to get away from the Selkirk family, but think of poor Robert.

“I’ve been trying for the last two years to get Robert’s exclusive custody. Every time the matter comes up, Mervin goes into court and blandly testifies to absolute falsehoods. I am cast in the role of a woman who is trying to strike at my former husband, and Mervin is poised, suave and quite sure of himself. The last time this thing came up I told of how frightened Robert was of his father and Mervin gravely told the judge that I was solely responsible for Robert’s attitude, that I had carefully and deliberately poisoned Robert’s mind. Then Mervin produced witnesses who swore Mervin was the personification of fatherly love when Robert was with him.

“The judge was impressed. He made an order that Robert was to spend two months out of every year with Mervin and that I was to be particularly careful not to discuss Mervin with the boy. Then the judge continued the case for seven months.

“The seven months are up a week from Monday. Now, with this new testimony, and with your testimony, we can show Mervin up for just the sort of a man he really is. Then I can get the sole custody of Robert, and—”

“I’m not so sure you can,” Norda interrupted. “Remember I only saw him slap Robert’s face once.”

“But you saw it!” Lorraine insisted. “You saw the way he did it; the hardness of the slap. You saw him reach out in that deadly, self-contained way of his and slap a little child half across the room.”

“It wasn’t half across the room.”

‘Well, it was a hard slap.”

“Yes,” Norda conceded, “it was a hard slap.”

“Administered in front of company and only because he had interrupted you with some childish request.”

Norda remained dubious, feeling somehow that she had been tricked. “After all, Lorraine, I was almost one of the family. Robert called me ‘Aunt Norda’ and he couldn’t have been expected to be as formally polite with me as with a stranger.”

“Of course,” Lorraine agreed. “That’s what makes the cruelty of it all the more flagrant.”

Norda turned to Barton Jennings, but he forestalled the question. “Don’t look at me,” he laughed. “I’m just the guy who drives the car. Lorraine’s troubles with her former spouse are out of bounds for me. If he comes around me, I’ll bounce a hammer off his head. I don’t want any part of him, but I’m trying desperately to keep out of Lorraine’s private affairs. I’ll furnish whatever financial help is needed... Of course, I’m crazy about Robert.”

“Who isn’t?” Norda laughed. “By the way, where is he? I had hoped you’d bring him.”

“He’s leaving early in the morning for a four-day camping trip,” Lorraine explained. “It’s a great event for him because he can sleep out and take his dog with him. Frankly, we didn’t tell him you were coming. You have no idea how much he cares for you. If he’d known you were coming, I know he’d have preferred to stay and visit with you... and then there would have been speculation as to why you were here and all that.

“We don’t want Robert to know anything about all this. We think it’s better that way. There’ll be time for a visit with you on some more propitious occasion. You must come and spend a week with us after all of this is ironed out.”

Norda was silent, thinking of Robert, knowing how fond he was of her, wondering what would have happened if she hadn’t broken the engagement but had gone ahead and married Robert’s father... Then it suddenly dawned on her that had she done so, Mervin would undoubtedly have used her affection for Robert and the child’s regard for her as a lever to get at least half-time custody of Robert.

With a sudden shock she wondered if Lorraine had ever considered this possibility.

As soon as she had that thought, she felt certain Lorraine had at least explored the possibilities. It wouldn’t be like her not to have thought of that. Any woman would have. And Mervin had admitted a reluctant admiration for Lorraine’s foresight and mental agility. “There’s one thing about my former wife,” he had told Norda, “she never overlooks a bet She is constantly chattering and has a babyface, but she’s as cold-bloodedly accurate as an adding machine and she lies awake nights thinking of the things that will happen if such and such takes place.”

Norda’s thoughts were interrupted by Lorraine, who had been studying her face. “At least, Norda, you’ll come out to spend the night with us and then talk with our lawyer tomorrow morning. I know you’ll see things in a different way after that.”

At that point Norda would have much preferred to have gone to a hotel, but Lorraine was so insistent that she permitted herself to be driven to the Jennings’ home in Beverly Hills.

She asked where Robert was sleeping and was told he was in a tent in the patio. Of late he had become quite an out-of-door character, watching television shows featuring the famous plainsmen of the west. He had finally insisted on moving from his bedroom and sleeping outside.

Lorraine said they usually had a baby sitter for him when they were out. Tonight, however, both of their favorite baby sitters were tied up and couldn’t come. So they had waited until Robert was asleep in his tent in the patio, and then had driven to the airport.

They had known he would be quite safe because Rover would be on guard. Rover was the Great Dane Lorraine had insisted on keeping when she had made her property settlement with Mervin. Norda had heard Robert talk about the dog, and then she herself had been “introduced” to the animal once when Robert was visiting Mervin.

The dog was a huge creature with great dignity and expressive eyes. He had taken to Norda and to her delight had remembered her when he had next seen her, waving his tail and showing his pleasure when she stroked his forehead.

Barton Jennings went to the back door to look out in the patio. He reported everything was all right that Rover was asleep where he could keep one eye on the house, one on Robert’s tent.

Norda asked about going out to speak to the dog, but Barton said he’d probably get excited, make a noise and waken Robert.

Once Robert knew Norda was there, Lorraine said, he’d be certain to refuse to go on the camping trip and that wouldn’t be fair to the other boys, or to Robert himself.

There was something in her voice that gave Norda a vague sense of disquiet Robert and Norda had been great pals. She felt she had won Robert’s complete confidence. Was it possible there was an element of jealousy on the part of Lorraine?

She dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred to her, pleaded fatigue from a long day, and was shown to her bedroom, a second-floor front room on the northwest side of the house.