"Who called?" Mason asked.
"I don't know."
"Man or woman?"
"I can't even tell you that forsure, but I think it was a woman trying to make her voice deep … well,disguised."
"Recognize who was talking fromthe spacing of the words, or any little trick of expression?" Mason asked.
"No …Why?"
"I was just wondering,"Mason said. "What was the purpose of the call?"
"The purpose of the call was totell me that your presence at the gathering last night was in a purelyprofessional capacity, that Horace Warren had arranged for you to be there tokeep an eye on me, that Judson Olney hadn't been on any boat trip with DellaStreet and hadn't known her until a short time prior to that party."
"Well," Mason said,"that's very considerate of the young woman, isn't it? And just why wouldI be retained to keep an eye on you?"
"That was what I hoped youwould tell me," Barrington said.
"I can't tell you something Idon't know, and I can't waste my time answering anonymous telephoneaccusations."
"I hoped that you would saythat my informant was entirely in error, that you were there purely in a socialcapacity, and that Miss Street did know Judson Olney and had known him for some time."
"And that would have relievedyour mind?" Mason said.
"Frankly, it would."
"May I ask why?"
"Well," Barrington said, "I haven't related all of theconversation."
"Perhaps you'd better relate itall then."
"The person at the other end ofthe telephone rather intimated that Warren felt I had been on terms of intimacy withhis wife and that he was contemplating filing a divorce action."
"Under thosecircumstances," Mason said, "it would seem there was only one thingfor you to do."
"What?"
"Contact Horace Warren and askhim frankly."
"The devil of it is," Barrington said, "I – Well, my skirts aren'tentirely clean in the matter. I got mixed up in something that bothers me and Iwanted to put the cards on the table with you, Mr Mason.
"If there's anything to thispreposterous story and if Horace Warren has any idea I've been involved withhis wife in any way, I would – Well, it would be disastrous."
"But there is something youwant to tell me?" Mason asked.
"Well, yes, although I camehere to question you. You've managed to turn the tables on me."
"You wanted to tell mesomething," Mason reminded him.
"No, I didn't want to, I didn'tintend to."
"But," Mason said,smiling, "you're going to, now. You've gone too far to stop now."
Barrington cleared his throat, shifted his position,said, "I've known Horace Warren for some time. I've been at his house twoor three times, but we've never contemplated doing any business – that is,until recently."
Mason nodded.
"I got to know his wife, Lorna,and of course I got to know Judson Olney.
"About two months ago Olneycame to me and asked me if I would ascertain what certain unlisted securitieswere worth. He thought I was in a better position to find out than he was, andI'm quite certain I was. It was a company that was operating in territory withwhich I was familiar and near which I had some holdings. So I made a quietinvestigation and found that while the securities had no presently listedmarket value, there was a very high speculative value, and that a good fairaverage price would be around seventeen thousand dollars."
"And you so reported toOlney?"
"Yes."
"Then what happened?"
"Olney thanked me and I heardnothing more of it for a while. Then about two weeks ago Olney came to me andasked me if I could arrange to turn those securities into cash for him.
"I was instantly a littlesuspicious and asked him if they were his securities and if so, how he hadsecured them. He laughed and told me they were actually the securities of MrsWarren, that they represented some wildcat investment she had made, that her husbanddidn't like to have her making wildcat investments, but that she was always apushover for oil developments where there was a chance to make a big killing,even if the chance was only one in a hundred thousand.
"He said that Mrs Warren nowfound herself in a position where she wanted some money and didn't want herhusband to know it. Therefore she wanted to sell some of her securities, onesthat he didn't know she had."
"So what did you do?"
"I told Olney that I'd see whatI could do. I told him I'd be willing to write my cheque for seventeen thousanddollars but if I had the securities transferred to my name I might do evenbetter than that."
"So what did you do?"
"I had the securitiestransferred to my name and of course that started speculation on the part ofother stockholders in the company who knew about the transfer. The fact that Iwas buying in the company made them think that they had an even better chanceat success than they had realized."
"You sold the securities?"Mason asked.
"I sold them and got thewonderful price of twenty-eight thousand dollars."
"And what did you do with themoney?"
"Now, there is the thing thatbothers me," Barrington said. "At Olney's request I got this money in the form of cash -twenty, fifty, and one-hundred dollar bills – and turned over the cash tohim."
"Did you take any steps to findout that the cash went to Mrs Warren eventually?"
"Oh, yes. I was not thatstupid, Mason. At a luncheon when I met her I asked her about it."
"Now, did you ask herspecifically, 'Did you get the specific sum that I turned over?' or -"
"No, no, I didn't go intodetails. I simply told her that I felt I had secured a good price for hersecurities, and she told me that it was wonderful, that it was more than shehad expected and that she had made a very handsome profit on the transaction,and thanked me very sweetly."
"Did she ask you not to sayanything about it?"
"Actually she did. Not exactlyin those words, but she told me that she couldn't ask her husband to handle thetransaction because this was a speculation she had made on the side and shedidn't think her husband would approve of it. She told me he didn't like hergoing into those highly speculative investments, or something of thatsort."
"And now something has happenedto make you suspicious?" Mason asked.
"Well, that phone call andOlney pulling that business about being such an old friend of your secretaryand, through Miss Street, having you present at – Well, I just want to knowstraight out, Mason, is your connection with Warren a business connection, andif so, is there any possibility of… well, a divorce, and could I becomeinvolved in any way?"
Mason said, "You're abusinessman, Barrington. A moment's reflection would convince you that you are coming to thewrong place to ask those questions."
"What do you mean?"
"An attorney couldn't tell youanything about his clients or about his clients' business. If you feel thatHorace Warren is contemplating any legal action involving his wife, and thatyou might be dragged into it, the thing to do is to go to Horace Warren and askhim in so many words if he is contemplating any such action."
"And the minute I do that I letthe cat out of the bag."
"Exactly," Mason said.
"I – Well, frankly, I'mworried, Mason. I can't go to Warren, you know that."
"And you know that I can't tellyou what you want to know."
"Well, I was hoping youcould."
"If I had been employed by Warren in a business relationship and Warren wanted to conceal the fact that it was abusiness relationship, I would hardly be in a position to blab the informationto the first friend of Warren's who came to me and asked me."
"I'm not asking you to do that.I'm asking you to tell me whether… well, whether I'm in any sort of troubleover what I've done."
"I wouldn't think so,"Mason said. "What you have done seems to me to have been open and aboveboard, and if the circumstances are exactly as you related them to me, I can'tsee where anyone could take offense."
Barrington's face lit up. "Thank you very much,Mason," he said. "Thank you very much indeed. I realize that you'rein a position where you can't tip your hand."