“The devil it wasl”
“That’s right, one of the new Smith and Wesson with a two inch barrel, a .38 special.”
“You’re certain?”
“Quite. Not only have I checked the invoice where he purchased the gun, but the weapon was evidently one he was carrying on his person at die time of his death. The sheriff, I believe, is trying at the moment to keep this information from the press.”
“It could very well have been suicide then?”
“I’m not prepared to state. There are, I believe, such matters as powder tattooing to be taken into consideration. A technical expert has given it as his opinion that the gun must have been too far away for the wound to have been self-inflicted.”
“But the gun had been fired?” Mason asked.
“Not only had one shell been discharged, but I understand a test made with paraffin for nitrate stains indicated that my nephew had held the gun when it was fired. He’s left-handed and there was a very definite reaction to the paraffin test, so-called, on his left hand … and the sheriff took Dorothy Fenner into custody five hours ago.”
Mason thought that over. “I was afraid he might do something like that. Did you find the bottle and the letter?”
“I did not, but the authorities made a rather thorough search of the desk and of the study before admitting me. They may have found it and decided to say nothing for the moment.”
“Look here, if George Alder had fired that gun and the bullet didn’t go into his body, where could it have gone?”
“Apparently nowhere. The only possible place for a bullet to have left that room without leaving a telltale hole was to go through the French doors.
“The medical evidence is that George dropped in his tracks. He fell forward on his face. He was facing the desk when he was shot and his back was to the French doors.”
“How was he dressed?”
“In slacks and a soft weave sport coat which he evidently wore quite a bit around the house. He had been painting on his yacht a few days before and there were some paint stains on the coat, and there was also a very small triangular rip on the left coat sleeve near the cuff. If he had been expecting a visitor, and apparently he had, he had not deemed it necessary to dress up. His visitor was one whom he would have greeted informally.”
“Just as one of the family?” Mason asked.
Dorley Alder smiled dryly. “I was about to use that same expression, Mr. Mason, until I realized that except for Corrine, who disappeared under such circumstances I I'll have no hopes for her, I am the only member of the family.”
“You have an alibi?” Mason asked, making his voice light with banter.
Dorley said gravely, “You are a shrewd lawyer, Mr. Mason. Your manner is facetious, but your question is barbed.”
“Well?” Mason asked.
“I ain a bachelor, and a retiring one, Mr. Mason. My chief relaxation is reading. I am sixty-three and I had only hoped to continue to draw my annuities from the corporate trust and pursue the even tenor of my ways.
“Both of the other beneficiaries were younger people. I certainly should have been permitted the assumption that the mortality tables would give me a chance to ease out of the picture with the two younger people surviving to inherit the trust funds.
“Now I find myself in a position of sole responsibility and sole beneficiary under the trust fund, and I don’t like it. I have no one to whom to leave the money and the responsibilities will probably decrease my life expectancy.
“My alibi is largely circumstantial, such as proof from the man who greased my car yesterday afternoon that the speedometer shows a trip to my nephew’s house was out of the question, and evidence that the speedometer had not been disconnected.
“And I am not fool enough, Mr. Mason, to think that the authorities are not skeptical and are failing to check my every moment and movement with great care.
“As you can judge, I am very, very busy this morning, Mr. Mason. I have a thousand and one things to handle. There is a vast, far-flung empire presided over by our corporation. I confess that I am not fully familiar with the details and I suddenly find myself with a terrific responsibility. Added to that is the laiowledge that there is certainly whispering behind my back. It is not an enviable position.”
Mason nodded.
“But I wanted to drop in to assure you that I meant what I said to you yesterday. You have made a friend and you have an ally, not only individually, but as the surviving member of Alder Associates, Incorporated.”
“Thank you.”
“Among my nephew’s things I found one bit of information which I think might be of value to you.”
“What is that?” Mason asked.
“I found that after learning the contents of this letter, my nephew tried frantically to get in touch with Carmen Monterrey.”
“Naturally he would,” Mason said.
“He put ads in the various papers and I have reason to believe that Carmen Monterrey got in touch with him over the telephone. I find on his memo pad a note containing the initials ‘C.M.,’ and an address. The address seems to be that of a Mexican restaurant catering to the tourist trade. I know no more about it than that, but I have brought you the address. I thought that perhaps you might be interested.”
Mason nodded.
“I feel,” Dorley went on, “that your client’s interests will necessitate an investigation of that letter. I think that perhaps you can make that to better advantage than I can, and I am hoping that any information you do secure, you will feel free to communicate to me. I think we will both be in a better and more satisfactory position when the mystery of my nephew’s death is cleared up. If it was a suicide, let us determine that point. If it was an accidental death due to the unexpected discharge of his gun, let us prove it. And if it was murder, let us apprehend and convict die murderer.
“And I will be willing to contribute time, effort and money to help you in whatever you do along those lines.”
“Thanks. I may call on you.”
“Please do so. If there is some fee . .
“Don’t misunderstand me on that point,” Mason interrupted. “Until this is cleared up I have only one client and that’s Dorothy Fenner.”
“Yes, yes. I can appreciate your position, Mason. A lawyer can only ride one horse—but after this is all over, I can assure you that I’ll then approach you—financially. In the meantime you owe your client everything, and me nothing.
“I deem it fair to tell you that for some strange reason the authorities are rather triumphant over evidence they have found implicating someone, and I think that someone is Dorothy Fenner.
“However, you now know my position. Please call on me for any cooperation.”
“Well,” Mason said, .”as you know, I’m representing Dorothy Fenner and I’m also representing this syndicate which has property adjoining yours, and which…”
“As far as the syndicate is concerned,” Dorley Alder interrupted, “you can definitely assure your clients that as soon as the necessary preliminary arrangements have been made so that I can take over the reins, they can count upon the full cooperation of the Alder Associates.”
“You mean you’ll join in a fair lease?” Mason asked.
“Exactly. There has been rather a ruthless policy of exploitation on the part of the corporation,” Dorley Alder explained. “A policy which I personally have deplored. I want you to feel that so far as lies within my power, and apparently a great deal now does he within my power, that policy is going to be reversed.”
Mason said, “That’ll be very welcome news. Could you perhaps find time to drop me a note about the oil lease which I could show to my clients in the syndicate? It would make them feel that I had accomplished something tangible.”
Dorley Alder smiled. “You are both tactful and shrewd, Mr. Mason. I’ll send you such a letter within the next few hours by special messenger. In the meantime, here’s a memo with the address which I assume is either an address at which Carmen Monterrey can be reached, or where some definite information about her can be discovered.