Grieb jerked back the lever which freed the bars from their sockets, twisted the knob of the spring lock, and opened the door as the roar of the speed boat died to a throbbing undertone of pulsating power. A bald-headed man of forty-five, with perpetual smile-wrinkles about his eyes, and calipers stretching between nose and mouth, stood on the threshold. He was wearing a gray-checkered suit, and his lips, twisting back in an affable smile, showed three gleaming gold teeth.
Grieb said, "Gentlemen, shake hands with my partner, Charlie Duncan. Duncan, this is Perry Mason, the lawyer. And the other man..."
"If it's all the same to you," Mason said, extending his hand, "the other gentleman will be nameless."
Duncan, pushing forward his right hand, suddenly froze into immobility. The gold teeth vanished as his lips came together. His eyes shifted for a quick moment to his partner and he said, "What is this, Sam?"
"It's okay, Charlie," Grieb said hastily.
Duncan's hands gripped Mason's. "Glad to know you, Mr. Mason," he said. His eyes shifted to study Paul Drake in cold appraisal.
"Come on over and sit down, Charlie," Grieb invited. "We're going to talk some business. I wanted you to be here."
"We're not doing any talking," Mason said.
"No," Grieb told him, speaking with nervous haste. "No one's asking you to. You can listen."
"All right," Mason agreed. "We'll listen."
They seated themselves, and Grieb turned to Duncan. "Charlie," he said, "this guy" - indicating Drake with a nod of his head - "started bucking the game. He was playing easy at first. Then he got hot and started raking 'em in. When things didn't go so well, he started plunging. When he went broke, he wanted to cash a check. Jimmy brought the check in and I took a look at the signature. That check was signed 'Frank Oxman.'"
"That doesn't mean anything," Mason interrupted. "I wish you boys would forget about that check."
"I'm just telling my partner what happened," Grieb said. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
"All right," Mason told him, "I don't want to."
Duncan's face was completely without expression. "Go on, Sammy. Tell me the rest of it."
"I told Jimmy to bring him in. When he came in, Mason came with him. Mason did a little talking, then reached over, grabbed the check, and gave it to his friend to tear up."
Duncan's eyes partially closed. "Like that, eh?" he asked. "I don't think we're going to like that, Sammy."
Grieb said hastily, "Now, don't get this wrong, Charlie. I'm just telling you, see? Naturally, at first I was a little peeved. But then, I got the sketch. Mason didn't want me to know Oxman was aboard the ship. He didn't want anyone to know Oxman had been gambling out here. He didn't want us to have one of Oxman's checks. Get the sketch?"
"I think what I said was," Mason observed, "that my client had changed his mind about requiring any money. I think I also told you that if you should say Frank Oxman had been out here gambling you might put yourself in rather an embarrassing position. I pointed out very clearly to you, Grieb, that my client didn't come out here for the purpose of gambling."
"Sure, sure, I know," Grieb said affably. "We understand your position perfectly, Mason."
Duncan settled back in his chair. The gold teeth gradually came into evidence as his lips relaxed into his habitual smile.
"Talk any business, Sammy?" he asked.
"Not yet," Grieb said. "I was waiting for you to come aboard."
Duncan fished a cigar from his pocket, clipped off the end with a penknife, scraped a match across his shoe and said, "Okay, Sammy, I'm here."
"You want to do the talking?" Grieb asked.
"No, Sammy, you do it."
Grieb faced Mason. "Sylvia Oxman's been giving us quite a play lately. We looked her up and found her husband's name was Frank Oxman. A little bird told us Frank Oxman was maybe going to file a divorce action and would like to get some evidence that his wife had been squandering her time and money gambling, and therefore wasn't a fit person to have the custody of their child and couldn't be trusted with money in a guardianship proceeding. Would you know anything about that?"
Mason said cautiously, "No, I wouldn't know anything about that."
"Well, your client would."
"Let's leave my client out of it, please."
"Well," Grieb said, "we always like to co-operate. Now, you came out here looking for evidence. Perhaps we could help you out a little bit."
"In what way?" Mason asked.
"By giving you some evidence."
"On what terms?"
"Well," Grieb said, flashing a swift glance at his partner, "we'd have to discuss the terms."
"Your idea of evidence might not be my idea of evidence," Mason said.
"The evidence is all right," Grieb rejoined. "It's just a question of what you boys would be willing to do."
"We'd want to see the evidence," Mason said.
Grieb looked at Duncan significantly and jerked his head toward the vault. Duncan, his face still wearing a set smile, crossed to the vault and stepped inside. The three men in the room sat in tense silence. After a few seconds there was the peculiar whooshing sound made by air escaping as the door of the cannonball safe was slammed shut. Duncan emerged from the vault carrying three oblongs of paper which he slid across the glass top of the big desk.
Grieb's diamonds again made glittering streaks as he scooped up the oblongs of paper and said, "Three demand notes, signed by Sylvia Oxman, and totaling seven thousand five hundred dollars."
Mason frowned. "We hadn't figured on anything like this," he said.
Grieb's voice was harsh with greed. "Figure on it now, then."
Mason pursed his lips. "I suppose," he ventured, "you boys want something."
Grieb moved impatiently. "Don't be so God damn cagey. You've drawn cards in this game but we hold all the aces. Quit stalling. You're going to have to come across - and like it."
Duncan said chidingly, "Now, Sammy!"
Mason said, "I'd want to inspect these."
Grieb spread them out on the desk, holding them flat against the glass, his extended fingers pressing firmly against the upper edges. "Look 'em over," he invited grimly.
Mason objected. "That's not what I'd call inspecting them."
"That's what I call inspecting them," Grieb said.
Duncan said soothingly, "Now, Sammy. Now, Sammy. Take it easy."
"I'm taking it easy," Grieb said. "There was a check on this desk and he picked it up to 'inspect' it. Now it's torn in pieces and is in this guy's pocket."
"The check was different," Mason said.
"Well, I didn't like the way you did it," Grieb told him.