Read The Case of the Daring Divorcee for Free Online Page B

Banner," she said, spitting the name out with disgust, "is just a lawyer who tries to keep pushing his way in on things. I wish Garvin could see him in his true light, but he has Garvin completely hypnotized. Believe you me, Banner doesn't have Simley Beason hypnotized. Simley knows exactly the sort of man Banner is-an opportunist, a selfish, scheming, conniving lawyer who keeps trying to get my husband to rely on him more and more in matters of business as well as in matters of law. – . – I'm going to call Simley."
    She picked up the telephone and placed a person-to-person long distance call to Simley Beason.
    "You have his house number?" Mason asked.
    "Yes, of course… Oh, don't be so damned suspicious, Mr. Mason. That's the trouble with you lawyers… I did some of my husband's secretarial work after I was married. I was his secretary before we were married. I've called Simley Beason a hundred times at- "Hello, hello, Simley? This is Adelle Hastings… I'm fine… Yes, in Las Vegas… That's right, I drove to Los Angeles yesterday. I came back just a short while ago… Well, that's fine… Simley, tell me, I'm trying to get hold of Garvin and he doesn't answer. The answering service is on and-What?… He didn't say anything?… Well, that's strange… No, no, I guess it's all right. Probably something happened that caused him to leave town… but that's not like him. – .. Well, thanks a lot. I'm sorry I bothered you. I wanted to get in touch with him. I'll call him again tomorrow. Look, Simley, let me know if you hear anything, will you? Tell him I want to see him.
    "Well, it's not exactly confidential; that is, in a way it is and in a way it isn't. I reached an agreement with him on property matters and… well, thanks a lot. I knew you'd be pleased… I don't know. He was to call Huntley Banner first thing this morning. Apparently he didn't do so. Banner still thinks he's in the saddle and is still trying to negotiate a property settlement, as he calls it. Actually what he's trying to do is to make himself indispensable so that Garvin will put more and more reliance on him… I know you do, Simley… You know that I'm not greedy. I know it isn't community property, but I did give up a good job, a career and my business connections and I was a good wife to Garvin for at least eighteen months… Frankly, I think things would have been all right if it hadn't been for that Banner person… Well, I know you've got other things to do than sit and talk about Huntley Banner over the telephone. Tell Garvin when you see him that I've been trying to get in touch with him, will you?… He'll be sure to be in tomorrow morning if he has that appointment… All right, thanks. Bye now."
    She hung up the phone and said to Mason, "My husband wasn't in his office all day, which is strange, although he didn't have any appointments; but he did have some important correspondence he wanted to dictate. However, he has a very important appointment tomorrow morning at ten o'clock and he'll be sure to be there for that."
    "Provided he's keeping appointments," Mason said.
    She said, "Mr. Mason, you have one of those damnable legal minds. You always think of the worst that can happen. You almost had me convinced that my husband was lying dead, shot with my gun."
    "And," Mason said, "I've almost convinced myself of it now."
    She said, "You're getting more and more like Huntley Banner-No, now I didn't mean that. That's uncalled for. I meant to say that you lawyers are all alike-No, that isn't what I wanted to say either, but my husband has a lot of irons in the fire. He has a lot of important business affairs and I don't think there's any question that something happened that called him out of town unexpectedly and since he didn't have any important appointments at the office he just didn't show up."
    "And didn't telephone?" Mason asked.
    Her eyes narrowed for a moment. She said, "You have a point there. If he doesn't show up by ten o'clock