The Case of the Blonde Bonanza

'Lying on the floor!' she exclaimed. 'What do you mean?'

'Go on,' Mason said. 'Tell me the truth. And don't ever lie to me-don't ever try to lie to me again, Dianne. If you do, I'm going to walk out on you.'

She said, 'All right, Mr. Mason, I'll tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you the truth all along. I did see him. I knew he was up here at the Restawhile.'

'Who told you?'

'This man that told me so much about him. He told me where I could find him. He told me that the only thing to do was to make him give me back the other copy of that contract; that he had deliberately tricked me and that he didn't care a thing in the world about whether I put on one pound or fifty; that all of that stuff about being a model and building up my figure and all that was just so much eyewash, that he would use that contract to get me to go to South America and then suddenly cut me off without any funds and I'd have to.. - to sell myself. He said that as long as Boring had that contract with my name on it, he could ruin my reputation any time he wanted to.'

'Did you tell him Boring had terminated that contract?' Mason asked.

'No, because I felt that so-called repudiation was just a part of the plan to get me in his power.'

'What time did you see Boring?' Mason asked.

'Just before I came here.'

'And did he tear up the contract?'

'He… gave it back to me.'

'And then what?'

'Then I walked out.'

'How long were you there?'

'The whole thing couldn't have been over five minutes.'

'And when you left, what about it?'

'Then I came here.'

'How long were you in there?'

'It couldn't have been-not over five minutes.'

'You couldn't have been in there fifteen or twenty minutes?'

'Heavens, no, Mr. Mason. I don't think I was in there five minutes. Those things happen awfully fast. I don't think I was in there over two minutes. I just told him that I'd found out about him and found out about that contract and it was all a phony and I wanted to call things off and I wanted him to give me that other copy of the contract back.'

'And then what?'

'And then he said that he didn't know who had been talking to me but he had my name on the dotted line and, as he said, he had me sewed up.'

'And then what?'

'Mr. Mason, I've been over it. It's just the way I told you. He told me that he had me all sewed up and I told him that I knew he was a big phony, that the whole contract was a phony, that he didn't have any career as a model for me, that he just wanted to get me in his power, and he laughed and said I was in his power, and I told him I wasn't, that if he thought he could make me do anything that wasn't right just because of the money involved, he had two more guesses coming and that I had retained you as my lawyer and then he gave me the contract. That scared him.'

Mason said, 'Look, Dianne, this can be very, very serious. If you picked up a chair and clubbed him over the head while you were defending yourself, or if you used a weapon or if he tumbled and fell, all you have to do is to say so. You've got a good reputation, you can create a good impression and a jury will believe you. But if you try to tell a lie and get caught, it's going to mean you're going to be convicted of homicide; perhaps manslaughter, perhaps even second-degree murder.'

She tried to meet his eyes but failed.

'Dianne,' Mason said, 'you're lying.'

Abruptly she said, 'I have to lie, Mr. Mason. The truth is simply too utterly devastating.'

Mason said harshly, 'You've wasted enough time trying to lie. You can't get away with it, Dianne. You're an amateur. You're not a good enough liar. You haven't had enough practice. Now, tell me the truth before it's too late.'

'What do you mean, too late?'

'The police,' Mason said. 'They may be here any minute. Now, tell me the truth.'

'I'm afraid you won't believe me.'

'Tell me the truth,' Mason said, 'and get started- fast!'

'All right,' she said, 'I went to the motel unit and- well, I was all worked up and excited and indignant and-'

'Never mind all that,' Mason said. 'What did you do?'

'I went to the door and it was open just an inch or two and I could see a light on inside. I knocked and no one answered so I pushed the door open and-well, there he was, lying on the floor. The place reeked with the smell of whiskey and I thought he was dead drunk.'

'You didn't hit him with anything?'

She shook her head vehemently. 'Heavens, no! He was lying there. I thought he was drunk and so I looked around to try and find his signed copy of my contract.'

'And you found it?'

'Yes.'

'Where?'

'In a brief case.'

'You took it?'

'Yes.'

'Then what?'

'I bent over him and it was then I noticed that he was hurt. The whiskey wasn't on his breath, it was on his clothes.'

'Then what?'

'I ran out, drove to a phone booth about three blocks clown the street, called the office of the motel, told the woman who answered that the man in Unit Number io had been hurt, and then hung up the phone before she could ask any questions.

'Then I came up here.'

'Dianne,' Mason said, 'you're still lying. You had to make quite a search to find that contract. You found Boring unconscious on the floor. You started looking through his baggage and through his clothes, trying to find that contract. You didn't find it until nearly fifteen minutes had passed, and you found ten thousand dollars in money and you took that along with the contract.'

She shook her head. 'It was just as I told you. I took the contract. I didn't see any money.'

'How long were you in there?'

'I don't think it was two minutes.'

'Then why did you try to lie to me at first?'

'I was afraid that- Well, I thought I could escape responsibility by making it seem that he was alive and in good health when I left and… well, you know, we parted friends.'

'Did he make passes at you?' Mason asked.

'I tell you, he was unconscious. He was lying on the floor.'

Mason said, 'You're the damnedest little liar I've ever tried to help. For your information, the police are going to be able to prove that you were in that cabin for nearly fifteen minutes.'

'I tell you, I wasn't! I didn't- Oh, Mr. Mason, won't you please believe me? I'm telling you the truth now. I swear to heaven that I am!'

Mason regarded her coldly.

'You're angry with me,' she said. 'You're not going to represent me. You-'