The Case of the Fenced-In Woman

Chapter 2

Judge Goodwin adjourned court shortly before four o’clock and found Perry Mason waiting in the anteroom of his chambers.

“Well, well, well, Counselor,” he said, “what brings you here? I’ve been wondering what you wanted ever since your secretary phoned for an appointment. My work is in the field of domestic relations, while you specialize in murder cases. There shouldn’t be any common meeting ground.”

“I don’t know,” Mason said, shaking hands and smiling, “sometimes the alchemy of infatuation leads from blind devotion to homicidal madness.”

“Come in,” Judge Goodwin said, “and don’t discuss such profound truths with a smile.”

Judge Goodwin led the way into his chambers and indicated a chair for Mason. Divesting himself of his judicial robe, he settled down with a sigh, offered the lawyer a cigarette, took one himself and said, “I suppose there’s a polarization of sex magnetism that causes physical proximity to change the... Oh well, you didn’t come here to discuss that, despite the fact you opened up the subject. What’s on your mind?”

“The case of Vivian Carson versus Loring Carson,” Mason said. “Do you remember it?”

A smile twisted Judge Goodwin’s lips. “I remember it very well indeed.”

“You made a peculiar order in that case.”

“Did I? What’s peculiar about it?”

“You decided that a certain portion of real property belonged to Vivian Carson as her sole and separate property, that the adjoining property was community property which you awarded to Loring Carson.”

Judge Goodwin said, “I did that deliberately and with a definite objective in mind.”

“A short time ago,” Mason said, studying the judge’s face, “you signed an order restraining Loring Carson or his agents or assigns from interfering in any way with the property awarded Vivian Carson as her separate property.”

Judge Goodwin smiled. “I remember signing the restraining order very well indeed.”

Mason said, “The situation is complicated, Judge, because my client, Morley Eden, has a house he purchased from Loring Carson. It’s on both lots.

“After your restraining order was issued, Vivian Carson had a surveyor run the line of the property, bore holes in the house and run a barbed-wire fence completely through the house, dividing it into two portions and dividing the front and back of the property, including the swimming pool, as well.”

Judge Goodwin smoked in silence for a few seconds, then his smile broadened into a grin. “Did she actually do that?” he asked.

“She did just that,” Mason said. “And, what’s more, she’s living in her side of the house and Morley Eden is living in his side of the house.”

“An opportunity to be real neighborly,” Judge Goodwin said.

“Except for the barbed-wire fence,” Mason pointed out.

Judge Goodwin ground out the cigarette in an ashtray and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“Knowing your ideas of doing substantial justice, and your impatience with the technicalities of the law which at times tend to thwart real justice,” Mason went on, “I was interested to find out just what caused the decision and to see if it wouldn’t be possible to modify it.”

“To modify it in what way?” Judge Goodwin asked.

“So that Loring Carson could be awarded the entire property and the rights of Vivian Carson could be protected by disposition of some other property.”

Judge Goodwin said, “Mason, you know my feeling about the law. You know my feeling about the responsibility of being a judge called upon to determine the right and wrong in human disputes.

“Now, I’m going to tell you something in confidence. I knew all about the situation when I signed that restraining order. Morley Eden is, as you know, a wealthy man and an impulsive man. He’s a square shooter but impulsive.

“Now then, when Eden first dealt with Carson on that property, I’m satisfied that Loring Carson made some false representations about the evidence of his wife’s infidelity.

“If Eden had been a poor man, I might have felt differently about it. But as for Loring Carson, Carson felt — to use a popular expression — that he had this court over a barrel, that the court didn’t dare do anything except affirm the transaction.

“Loring Carson has proven himself to be a thoroughgoing heel. He hired a detective who may or may not have been acting in good faith, but in any event he shadowed the wrong individual. However, before that became clear, his wife’s good name was blasted to shreds. The charges against her made headlines, were bandied about by gossipmongers and unquestionably did a lot to embarrass Vivian Carson.

“The husband has absolutely no regrets about this at all. He simply says it was the detective’s mistake and washes his hands of the whole matter.

“I’m satisfied Eden has a cause of action against Loring Carson for willful fraud. I’m hoping that the situation reaches the point where Eden is forced into filing an action of fraud against Carson. Frankly, I’d like to see Carson pay through the nose.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Mason said. “My client had that house designed to his own specifications. The building site was one that he wanted above all others. He might sue Carson for fraud, but he’d want to continue to live there.”

“Then let him live there.”

“But that brings up an embarrassing situation with Vivian Carson.”

“Then let him buy her out.”

“Apparently,” Mason said, “Vivian Carson is downright good and mad. She doesn’t want to sell to anyone. She doesn’t want to do anything that is going to get her husband off the spot or help her husband’s purchaser in any way.”

“And I don’t blame her in the least,” Judge Goodwin said. “Of course, Mason, you know and I know that when a marriage breaks up it quite frequently is six of one and half a dozen of the other. The man may be the one who commits the first sin, but as the relationship deteriorates the woman has a tendency to retaliate.

“Or, on the other hand, if the woman starts nagging, the man quite speedily loses interest and begins stepping out with someone who meets him on an amorous plane.

“I’m not dumb enough or naive enough to believe that in all these marriage failures the fault is entirely on one side, because I’ve seen enough of human nature to know that it isn’t. But I do know that in this case Loring Carson was a heel. I know that he is a fast-talking, sharpshooting individual who’s after a quick buck, and that whenever he gets in a corner he starts pulling a razzle-dazzle.

“He not only gravely wronged his wife and shows no regret for having done so, but he tried to pull some financial sleight of hand on this court. He’s managed things so it’s impossible to trace his cash assets. Too much cash has disappeared. He says he had heavy losses on the gambling tables at Las Vegas.

“The evidence shows that he went to Las Vegas frequently. He was interested in one of the hostesses there, a young woman named Genevieve Honcutt Hyde. Apparently he became intimate with this woman. I don’t hold that against him too much because by that time his marriage had deteriorated to a cat-and-dog existence. But I don’t think Carson lost anywhere near as much as he claims. I think Carson has been using Las Vegas as a means of confusing his assets, and I think that for the past year he’s been taking large sums of money and concealing it.

“Now I wouldn’t confess this to anyone whom I didn’t know and admire, but I’m going to tell you, Perry Mason, that I just decided to let Morley Eden take on Loring Carson for a while.”

Mason regarded the jurist thoughtfully. “It is almost as if Mrs. Carson had been reading your mind.”

“Yes?” Judge Goodwin asked.

“She seems to be utilizing the situation for all it is worth. For instance, I understand she put on a very abbreviated bikini and took occasion to take a sunbath on her half of the swimming pool while my client was inspecting the barbed-wire division.”

“And your client objected to that?” Judge Goodwin asked, smiling.

“Well, it made an embarrassing situation.”

“Embarrassing for whom?”

“Generally embarrassing,” Mason said.

“Vivian Carson is a very attractive woman,” Judge Goodwin said. “She was, I understand, a highly successful model before she was married. She’s doubtless been seen in a bikini before. I doubt if she was embarrassed.”

Mason said, “It makes the grass on the other side of the fence look rather green to a bachelor, and that may be what she has in mind.”

“That may well be,” Judge Goodwin said, “but let’s not have any misunderstanding, Mr. Mason. If your client so much as sticks a finger through that fence or does anything to invade the premises on the other side of the property line, the court will consider that conduct a violation of the restraining order.

“After all, your client is an assignee of Loring Carson. He’s claiming title under Loring Carson. Very frankly, and off the record, I hope to see Loring Carson suffer just as much inconvenience as possible, because I want to see him pay through the nose. I think he has been milking cash out of his income for some time and concealing it. I think he has been cheating the Internal Revenue Service and I think he has been concealing his true financial status from his wife. I doubt if his wife can hire detectives and smoke out the facts, but if your client gets mad enough, I think he’ll get a judgment against Carson and then I think he’ll be man enough to find these hidden assets. When he does that, I’ll reopen proceedings on the property division and reapportion the community property.

“Now that may or may not be good law, but it’s good psychology. It may teach Loring Carson that he can’t pull a financial razzle-dazzle on this court and then stand back and laugh about it.”

“It’s an intriguing situation,” Mason said, eyeing Judge Goodwin shrewdly. “When the newspaper reporters get hold of it, it’s certainly good for a feature story.”

Judge Goodwin nodded, then grinned.

“Damn it,” Mason charged, “you engineered this whole thing. You knew exactly what was going to happen and you’re sitting back there and enjoying it.”

Judge Goodwin said, “When I sit as a judge in a case I try to do substantial justice between the parties. I can only make decrees, and decrees are simply pieces of paper. I have, however, made a judgment in this case which I think will eventually get results.”

Mason got to his feet. “All right, Your Honor,” he said, bowing. “And keeping my remarks off the record, I can assure you that your judgment has raised hell.”

Judge Goodwin said, “If you are waiting to hear any expressions of regret from me, Mason, you’ll have to wait a lot longer than I’m going to be here.”