The Case of the Blonde Bonanza

'I could arrange to see that you received rather a large fee for representing Dianne, perhaps as much as a hundred thousand dollars.'

'I'm representing Dianne,' Mason said. 'I'll do what's best for her.'

'It won't be best for her to make a disclosure of my past and her relationship to me.'

'How do you know it won't?'

'It would simply complicate matters and get her involved.'

Mason said, 'You're pretty influential here. The police have received an anonymous tip to question Dianne. You should have enough influence to get the police to disregard that anonymous tip. You don't want her questioned- now.'

Winlock thought for a moment, then said, 'Get her out of town.'

'And then?' Mason asked.

'That's all there'll be to it.'

'You can control the police investigation?'

'Within reasonable limits and indirectly, yes.'

'That leaves the question of her property rights,' Mason said.

'Her legal rights to any property are exceedingly nebulous.'

'I don't think so,' Mason said. 'In this state, property acquired after marriage is community property.'

'But I have been separated from my first wife for more than fourteen years.'

'Forget the expression, your first wife,' Mason said. 'You had only one wife.'

'Would that have anything to do with the subject under discussion?'

'A great deal.'

'I'm afraid I fail to follow you, Mr. Mason. Eunice Alder is now dead. Property acquired during marriage is community property, but on the death of the wife that property automatically vests in the husband, subject, of course, to certain formalities. If you had approached me prior to the death of Eunice, the situation might have been very different. As matters now stand, I am quite definitely in the saddle.'

'You may think you're in the saddle,' Mason said, 'but you're riding a bucking bronco and you can be thrown for quite a loss. Under the law the wife's interest in the community vests in the husband on her death unless she makes a will disposing of her interest in the community property. Your wife made such a will. Dianne is the beneficiary.'

Winlock frowned thoughtfully. 'How much would you want for Dianne?' he asked.

'How much have you got?'

'It depends on how it is evaluated.'

'How do you evaluate it?'

'Perhaps three million, if you consider all of my equities.'

'All right, what's your proposition?'

'I'll liquidate enough holdings to give Dianne five hundred thousand dollars. I will give her fifty thousand dollars in cash. I will pay her a hundred thousand dollars within ninety days. I'll pay the balance within a year.'

'And in return for that?'

'In return for that I want absolute, complete silence about our relationship, about my past.'

'All right,' Mason said. 'You're of age. You're supposed to know what you're doing. Now I'll tell you about Dianne. I'm not going to give you any answer. I'm not going to make you any proposition. I'm going to think things over and I'm going to play the cards in the way that will be in the best interests of Dianne Alder.

'If the police find out about her connection with Harrison T. Boring and question her about her business with Boring, it may well be to Dianne's advantage to disclose the relationship with you, and the whole background.'

'Just so I can have the picture straight,' Winlock said, 'will you summarize briefly Dianne's business with Boring, just what it was?'

Mason said, 'Boring found out about the relationship. He came to Dianne with a lot of legal hocus-pocus pretending he was interested in her as a model who was to appear on television and in movies in connection with the introduction of a new style in women's garments.

'Back of all that legal hocus-pocus, however, and the bait of television appearances, was the hook that he was to get one half of all of her gross income from any source, inheritance or otherwise. In return for that he was to pay her a hundred dollars a week.

'Last Saturday he sent her notice that the payments would be discontinued. That means he decided it would be better and more profitable as far as he was concerned to sink his hooks into you for blackmail rather than to let Dianne collect and then engage in litigation as to whether his contract was any good, whether it had been entered into under false pretenses, etc., etc.

'Dianne consulted me about the termination of the contract and the loss of the hundred-dollar-a-week income. She knew nothing about the reason back of the contract.

'I had my suspicions aroused because I was having Harrison Boring shadowed, and so I came to you earlier this evening. Dianne knew nothing about what I was doing. When Montrose Foster found her and convinced her that in order to protect her good name she must get the other signed copy of the contract back from Boring, she very foolishly failed to consult me but tried to take matters into her own hands.'

'What did she do? Did she call on Boring?'

'I don't think I care to amplify my statement,' Mason said. 'However, the police are following up what apparently was an anonymous telephone tip and want to question her about Boring. They came here and tried to take her to headquarters. I refused to let her go. If they question her, it is quite possible the cat will be out of the bag. I'll do whatever will protect Dianne's best interests.'

'And if they don't question her?' Winlock asked.

'Then,' Mason said, 'I'll take your proposition under advisement and discuss it with Dianne.'

Winlock said, 'Let me use the telephone, if I may.'

He walked over to the telephone, called police headquarters, then after a few moments said, 'Hello, this is George D. Winlock. I want to talk with Chief Preston. It's quite important that I- Oh, he is? Well, put him on, will you, please?'

There was a moment of silence, then Winlock said, 'Hello, Chief? This is George Winlock. Look here, Chief, you sent someone to question a Dianne Alder at the Mission Inn. What did you want to see her about?'

Winlock was silent for nearly a minute while the telephone made harsh metallic sounds through the receiver.

Then Winiock said, 'That's all it was? Just an anonymous telephone tip?.. - All right, Chief, look here. I happen to know something about Dianne Alder. Some people have been attempting to annoy her in connection with a television modeling contract which she has signed. There are matters of professional jealousy involved, and this anonymous telephone tip, I am satisfied, was inspired by reasons of personal spite and it wouldn't do the slightest good to question her but would embarrass her personally and- Well, thanks a lot, Chief. I thought I'd let you know. -.. All right, you speak to your men, will you? -.. Thanks a lot, good night.'

Winlock hung up the telephone. 'Does that answer your question, Mason?'

'That answers my question,' Mason said.

'Get her out of town,' Winlock said.

'Right at the present time,' Mason said, 'she's under sedation.'

'Well, get her out first thing in the morning.'

'Don't you want to see her?'

'She knows all about me?'

'She does now.'

Winlock said, 'Yes, I want to see her, but not here. The situation is too hot. I want her to return to Bolero Beach. I will get in touch with you about a meeting and talk with both you and her about a property settlement.

'In the meantime I trust that I can count on your discretion.'

Mason said, 'You can count on my doing what is best for Dianne's interests.'

Winlock said, 'Please tell her that I called, that she was under sedation, that it was therefore hardly a proper time or a proper place for me to see her. Please tell her that I am using my influence to protect her from any disagreeable publicity, and that I would like to have her reserve judgment about what I have done until she has a