Read The Case of the Dangerous Dowager for Free Online Page B

won't work. Sylvia would never go back on her word."
    Mason said, "I have an idea. I don't know how good it is, but I think it may work. From what I saw last night, I think there's friction between Grieb and Duncan. I have an idea that friction may be sufficiently intensified to throw them into a court of equity. A court wouldn't consider the gambling business an equitable asset. But there's quite a lot of money invested in furniture and fixtures, and the partnership must have that gambling ship under lease. Now, if I could start the pair fighting, and one of the partners should drag the other into court and have a receiver appointed to wind up the partnership business, they couldn't transfer those notes. And if I pointed out to a federal court that the notes had been given to secure a gambling debt, it would probably refuse to consider them as assets."
    Matilda Benson leaned forward. "Listen," she said, "I don't want to be held up by a couple of crooked gamblers. But if you can pull something like this, the sky's the limit so far as expenses are concerned."
    "Which brings us," Mason said casually, "to the question of why you're so anxious to get those IOU's. If you make Sylvia a present of them, the effect is just the same as though you'd given her the money to go and pay them off. And that wouldn't take any premium. Therefore…"
    Della Street gently opened the door from the outer office and said in a low voice, "Charles Duncan is in the outer office, Chief. He says he wants to see you personally and that it's important."
    Matilda Benson's gray eyes stared significantly at the lawyer. "That means," she said, "they've already approached Oxman, and Duncan is going to play one bidder against the other."
    Mason shook his head, his forehead furrowed into a puzzled frown. "I don't think so," he told her. "I have detectives on Oxman, Duncan and Grieb. This certainly isn't a matter they'd discuss over the telephone, and if there'd been a personal meeting I'd have known of it."
    "Then what does he want to see you about?"
    Mason said, "The best way to find out is by talking with him." She nodded. He turned to his secretary and said, "Della, take Mrs. Benson into the law library. Tell Mr. Duncan to come in… Does Duncan know you, Mrs. Benson?"
    "No, he never saw me in his life."
    "All right, you wait in the law library. I think Duncan is going to make some proposition. It may prove interesting."
    Della Street said, "This way, please," escorted Matilda Benson into the law library, and then brought Charlie Duncan into Mason's private office.
    Duncan's face was twisted into his customary cordial grin, prominently displaying the burnished gold teeth in his upper jaw, "No hard feelings because of last night?" he asked.
    "No hard feelings," Mason said.
    "You played a pretty smart game," Duncan went on. "If it hadn't been that the breaks went against you, you'd have had us licked."
    Mason said nothing.
    Duncan said, "Oh, well, we can't always win, you know."
    Mason indicated a chair and said, "Sit down."
    Duncan took a cigar case from his pocket and extended it to Mason.
    "No," Mason told him, "I only smoke cigarettes."
    Duncan sniffed and then indicated Matilda Benson's leather cigar case which she had left on the desk.
    "Looks like some client must have left a cigar case here, then."
    Mason frowned and said, "My law clerk." He pressed a button which summoned Della Street, handed her the leather cigar case and said, "Take this out to Jackson and tell him he left his cigars in here."
    Della Street nodded, a twinkle showing in her eyes. "Yes," she said demurely, "Jackson will be missing his cigars."
    She took the cigar case and left the room. Duncan grinned and said, "So the grandmother's your client, eh?"
    Mason raised his eyebrows. Duncan laughed and said, "Don't think we're quite such damn fools as you made us seem last night, Mason. Naturally we tried to figure out how you fitted into the picture. We didn't think you were representing