The Case of the Horrified Heirs

CHAPTER EIGHT

Virginia found she couldn't entirely get the matter of those papers off her mind.

After all, Julian Bannock had been a rancher. He and his brother had not been particularly close, and Julian was interested only in liquidating everything in the estate and getting rid of it just as rapidly as possible.

Virginia knew there had been many important probate proceedings and agreements, but after she had turned the key over to Julian Bannock, she had paid no more attention to the estate.

But the thought of those files left her vaguely uneasy, and there had been a false note about George Menard. He had seemed all right until she had asked him about himself, then he had suddenly become evasive. She felt sure he had been lying about his background.

After all, she felt something of a responsibility for those files.

She called Information to try to place a call to Julian Bannock at Bakersfield and was informed he still had no telephone.

She tried to forget the matter and couldn't. Suppose Menard was up to something tricky.

She wanted to find out about his car registration but didn't know how to go about it without consulting Perry Mason, and she felt she had bothered him too much already.

She determined to drive out to Bakersfield and talk things over with Julian Bannock.

She left at daylight, made inquiries at Bakersfield, and found that Julian Bannock lived some ten miles out of the city.

She located his mailbox, drove in for some three hundred yards, came to a yard with a barn, several sheds, a house, shade trees and a variety of farming implements-tractors, cultivators, hayrakes, disks-stored more or less haphazardly in the yard.

A dog ran barking to the car, and Julian Bannock came out.

Despite the fact she had only seen him in his «dressed up» clothes, she recognized him instantly in his coveralls and work shirt.

«Hello!» he said.

«Hello, Mr. Bannock. Remember me? I'm Virginia Baxter. I was your brother's secretary.»

«Oh, yes,» he said, his voice cordial. «Sure. I knew I'd seen you before somewhere. Well, come on in. We'll fix you up a breakfast, eggs from our own yard, and maybe you'd like some homemade bread and preserves-fruit right off our own trees here.»

«That would be wonderful,» she said, «but I wanted to talk with you about a few things.»

«What?»

«Those papers that you took,» she said. «Those filing cases. Where do you have them?»

He grinned at her. «Oh, I sold all those quite a while ago.»

«Not the files?»

«Well, I told the fellow to take everything. The stuff was cluttering up a lot of room here and-You know what? Mice were getting in those papers. They'd get up in there and start chewing on the papers to make nests.»

«But what actually became of the papers? Did the man who bought the files-«

«Oh, the papers! No, they're here. The man who bought the filing cases wouldn't take the papers. He dumped the papers all out. He said the papers made the files too heavy to carry.»

«And you burned them up?»

«No, I tied them up in bundles with binder twine. I guess the mice are getting in there pretty bad-you know the way it is around a ranch, you have a barn and mice live in the barn.

«We've got a couple of cats now that have been keeping things down pretty well, but-«

«Would it be all right to take a look?» she said. «I'd just like to see about some of the old papers.»

«Funny thing,» he said, «that you'd be worrying about those. There was a fellow here yesterday.»

«There was?»

«That's right.»

«A man about forty-five?» she asked. «With very intense black eyes and a small stubby mustache? He wanted-«

Julian Bannock interrupted her by shaking his head. «No,» he said, «this was a fellow around fifty-five but he had bluish sort of eyes and was sort of light-complected.

«This fellow's name was Smith. He wanted to find some agreement or other.»

«And what did you do?»

«I told him where the papers were, told him to look around and help himself if he wanted. I was busy and he seemed a mighty nice fellow!'

«Did he find what he wanted?»

Julian Bannock shook his head. «He said that things were too much of a mess for him to unscramble. He said he didn't know anything about the files. If he could get hold of the key to the filing system, he thought he could maybe find the paper he wanted.

«He asked me if I knew anything about how the files were classified and I told him I didn't.»

«It was all handled according to numbers,» Virginia said. «General classifications. For instance, number one to a thousand was personal correspondence. Number one thousand to three thousand represented contracts. Three thousand to five thousand, probate. Five thousand to six thousand, wills. Six thousand to eight thousand, agreements. Eight thousand to ten thousand, real estate transactions.»

«Well, I didn't disturb anything. I put all that stuff in packages and tied them up with binder twine.»

«Could we take a look?» Virginia asked.

«Why, sure.»

Julian Bannock led the way into the relative coolness of the barn, redolent with the clean smell of hay.

«Used to keep this barn pretty full of hay,» he said, «and had quite a storage problem. Lately, I've been selling the hay because I haven't been doing much feeding. Used to have a little dairy business, but they've got so many headaches now that the small dairyman has too much of a problem; too much work; too many regulations.

«The real big dairies are handling things now with mechanical milkers, feeders and all that sort of thing-I didn't get too much for those filing cases, either. Could have kept the stuff in the cases, I guess, but I don't know what anybody'd want with all that stuff-thought some of pitching it all out and burning it up, but you talked so much about the files, I thought I'd keep them.»

«Well, of course, that was some time ago,» Virginia said. «As time passes, those files cease to have quite as much importance.»

«Well, here we are, over here. This used to be a tractor shed, but I got room to put these-Well, what do you know!»

Bannock stopped in surprise before the litter of papers strewn all over the floor.

«Looks like that fellow left a hell of a mess,» he said angrily.

Virginia looked in dismay at the piles of paper.

The man who had been in there had evidently cut the binder twine that had held the papers in different classifications and had pawed through everything looking for the paper he wanted, throwing the other papers helterskelter into a pile which had spread out into an area some six feet in diameter at the bottom and some four feet high.

Virginia, looking at the carbon copies now ragged at the edges from the gnawing of mice, thinking of the care she had taken with those papers when she had typed them, felt like crying.

Julian Bannock, slow to anger, but with a steadily mounting temper, said. «Well, by gosh, I'd like to tell that fellow Smith a thing or two!»

He bent down and picked up a piece of binder twine. «Cut through slick and clean with a sharp knife,» he said. «Somebody'd ought to take that man and teach him a few manners.»

Virginia, studying the pile of papers, said, «He must have been in a terrific hurry. He was looking for something and he didn't have time to untie the twine, look at each package, and then tie them up again. He simply took his knife, cut the twine, looked hurriedly for what he wanted; then when he didn't find it, he threw the rest of the papers over on the pile.»

Julian said thoughtfully, «You can see that all right. I'm kicking myself for not keeping an eye on him.»

«How long was he here?» Virginia asked.

«Now, that I can't tell you. I let him in the barn, showed him where the things were and then left.»

Virginia reached a sudden decision. «Where is the nearest telephone?» she asked.

«Well, one of the neighbors has one and he's real accommodating,» Julian said. «He lives about two miles down the road.»

«I want to make a long distance call,» she said, «and… I guess it's better not to let anyone hear what I'm saying. I'll go on in to Bakersfield and put in the call from a booth there. I'll be back after a while with some big cartons. I'm going to put those papers in the cartons and then we'll keep them someplace where they're safe.»

«Okay,» he said, «I'll give you a hand when it comes to putting them in. Do you think I should stack them up now and-«

«No,» she said, «there's still some semblance of order. A good many of the classifications are still segregated. Somewhere there's a master book which gives the numbers and an index. That is, it was here.

«If you don't mind, I'd like to stop at one of the supermarkets and get some big cartons; then come back and try and put this stuff together again so it makes some sort of sense.»

«Well, now,» he said, «if you want to do it, that's fine with me, but it's a lot of work to go through and it's pretty dusty in here. You're all dressed up neat as a pin and-«

«Don't worry,» she said, «I'm going to get some blue jeans and a blouse in town. If you don't mind, I'll change my clothes when I get back and get to work.»

«Sure thing,» he said, «we'll give you a place to change in the house, and a chance to take a bath when you're finished. This is going to be pretty dusty.»

«I know it is,» she said, laughing, «but us ranchers have to get used to a little dust now and then.»

He grinned at her, thrust out his hand and shook hands.

«You're all right,» he announced.

Virginia returned to her car, drove to Bakersfield and called Perry Mason, just as the lawyer was reaching his office.

«You wanted me to tell you if anything unusual happened,» she said, «and this is unusual enough, but I just can't understand the significance.»

«Go ahead,» Mason said, «tell me what it is.»

«You'll probably laugh and think my imagination is working overtime. There's probably no way on earth it can be connected with anything but-Well, here's what happened.»

She told him about Bannock, the papers, about the man who had called on her, his description and a general but somewhat vague description of the automobile in which he had driven away. «A model about two to four years old, I would guess. I think it was an Oldsmobile,» she said. «The first figure of the license number was a zero. I tried to get it but he drove away very fast.»

«Where was he parked?» Mason asked. «Could you see the parking place from which he drove his car? That might tell us how long he'd been waiting. I presume parking places right in front of your apartment house are hard to find.»

«I'll say they are!» she exclaimed. «But this man didn't have any trouble. He parked right in front of the fireplug.»

«Then he hadn't been there very long,» Mason said. «That means he must have followed you home rather than been there waiting. I would think the police would check that fireplug space rather often.»

«They do! I had a friend who parked just long enough to leave a parcel, yet she got a parking ticket. It wasn't over a minute.»

«You think the first number on the license plate was a zero?» Mason asked.

«Yes, I'm quite certain of that, and I think the last number was a two, but I'm not at all certain of that.»

«You're in Bakersfield now?» Mason asked.

«Yes. I went out to Mr. Bannock's brother's place to check with him and found that someone had been out there; gone through all the files.»

«What do you mean by 'going through them'?» Mason asked.

She described the files.

Mason's voice became crisp with authority.

«Now, this is important, Virginia. You say the files were all cut open?»

«Yes.»

«Every single bundle?»

«Yes.»

«And their contents spread out?»

«Yes.»

«No single bundle was intact?»

«No.»

«You're sure of that?»

«Why, yes. Why is it important, Mr. Mason?»

«Because,» Mason said, «it indicates a strong probability that the person who is searching didn't find what he was looking for.

«In other words, if you're looking for a particular paper and you're in a hurry, you cut open bundle after bundle of papers until you find the one you want; then you shove it in your pocket and get away from there fast. That would leave some bundles that hadn't been cut open.

«But if, on the other hand, all of the bundles are cut open, it's a pretty good indication that the person didn't find what he was looking for.»

«I never thought of that,» she said.

«You're going back to Julian Bannock's?»

«Yes, I'm taking some cardboard cartons and am going back and I'll try to make some semblance of order out of those files.»

«All right,» Mason said, «by the time you get back there, we'll find out something about your man who is interested in the files… Now, tell me, Virginia, what about wills?»

«What do you mean?»

«When Bannock would prepare a will it would usually be executed there in the office?»

«Yes.»

«Who would be the subscribing witnesses?»

«Oh, I see what you mean. He would usually sign as one of the subscribing witnesses and I would sign as the other witness.»

«And you had a classification of various wills? In other words, you had a file number designating wills that you had executed in the office?»

«Oh, yes, I see what you mean now. Files numbered five thousand to six thousand were wills.»

«All right,» Mason said, «when you go back take a look at the five to six thousand 'will' file. See how intact it is. Tie that file up and bring it here just as fast as you can make it.»

«Why that file in particular?» she asked.

Mason said, «Bannock has been dead for a few years. Most of the agreements and things that he had drawn would no longer be important, but if some relative wanted to find out what was in a certain will-«

«I get you,» she interrupted excitedly. «Why didn't I think of that. Of course, that's what it is.»

«Don't jump to conclusions,» Mason warned. «This is just a thought, but I think we'd better take precautions.»

«I'm going right back,» she promised, «and I'll keep that file of wills with me. I'll leave the other papers for a later trip.»

Mason said, «If anything else happens that is in any way out of the ordinary, give me a ring. In the meantime, I'm going to find out something about this visitor of yours.»

Virginia promised to report anything new that happened; hung up the telephone; went to a supermarket, secured two cartons and then returned to Julian Bannock's place.

She found Bannock apprehensive.

«What's the matter?» she asked. «Did something else happen about those files?»

«You hadn't been gone five minutes,» he said, «when a fellow showed up here who fitted the description you had given me of the man you thought was here. He was in his late forties or early fifties, had a mustache and eyes that were so dark you couldn't see any expression in them. It was like looking at a pair of black, polished stones.»

«That was the man all right,» she said. «What did he want?»

«Said his name was Smith, and he asked about my brother's files.»

«What did you do?»

«I told him that we weren't letting people look at those files. He said it was important and I told him that he could sit right here and wait; that my brother's secretary was going to be here in an hour or so and that he could wait for her.»

«What happened?»

«That gave him a jolt-knowing that you were coming here. He said he couldn't wait.»

«Were you able to get his license number?» she asked eagerly.

«No, I wasn't,» Julian said, «because he'd plastered mud all over it. There's a place up here where irrigating water sometimes runs over the road and there was quite a puddle up there that he'd gone through, but it wasn't mud that would cover a license number. I think he'd got out and deliberately plastered mud on the license.»

«Well,» Virginia said, «I'm going to get at those files, tie them up again and I think I'd better take some of them with me, if you have no objection.»

«Take them all if you want,» he said. «I can't be here all the time and if there's anything important in those papers, people could sneak in while I'm out in the fields someplace and get hold of them.»

She asked, «Have you ever heard of Perry Mason, the attorney?»

«I'll say I have. I've read a lot about him.»

«Well,» Virginia said, «he's my lawyer. He's advising me, and I'm going to get in touch with him and do exactly as he says.

«I was going to clean up all these files and put them in boxes, but I don't have time now. I'm just grabbing this file with these numbers-let's look around and see if there are any more of these files here that have numbers between five thousand and six thousand.»

Virginia scooped up a number of filing jackets that were all together and had numbers between five and six thousand. Then she and Julian made a hasty search for any other papers numbered within those brackets.

«They seem to have been all together in that bunch,» Julian said.

«All right,» Virginia told him. «Now, I'm going to rush these in to Mr. Mason's office. I want to get in there before lunch, if possible. Will you do the best you can to see that these others aren't disturbed while I'm gone?»

«You want me to put them in boxes?» Julian asked. «I'm sort of busy this time of year, what with irrigation and-«

«No,» she said, «just leave them the way they are, if you can. But put a lock on the door-you know, a padlock. Try to keep anyone from coming in the barn.

«If anyone should try to get in, be sure to get his license number and make him give you proof of his identity. Ask to see his driving license.»

«Will do,» Julian said, grinning. «You don't want to go in the house and change into jeans and blouse?»

«No, there isn't time. I'm on my way. I hope I didn't get too dusty. Goodbye.»

«Goodbye, ma'am,» he said, and then added, «I know how much my brother thought of you and I guess he sure was a good judge of character.»

She flashed him a smile, jumped in her car, placed the carton with the five-to-six thousand classification in the back seat, and took off.