The Case of the Queenly Contestant

“So young Haslett suggested that it might be possible for the troubleshooter to arrange for Ellen to see a doctor who would fix her up; and the troubleshooter told Harmon that that would be the last thing he’d want to see happen, that the minute Harmon mixed into anything like that he was laying himself wide open for trouble, that if things didn’t go just right he’d be in hot water and if things did turn out all right he’d be in a spot where he could be blackmailed.

“So this troubleshooter told Harmon Haslett to let him handle the whole thing.

“The troubleshooter went to Ezekiel and told the old man that he thought it would be a good plan if Harmon went to Europe for an indefinite stay to look over some of the European markets and broaden out his perspective a little bit.

“I don’t know just how much he told Ezekiel, but Ezekiel got the idea, and the next thing anybody knew Harmon Haslett was off for Europe.

“At that time Ellen here got an envelope in the mail which contained ten one-hundred-dollar bills. There was nothing else in it — just ten one-hundred-dollar bills.”

“Did she tell you about it? Did you see the money?”

“She told me about it and I saw the money,” Maxine said. “And she told me that she’d made a play and lost out on the jackpot but that she had still won the consolation prize, that she had a thousand bucks and she was going to ditch the whole business, go to a new place where she wasn’t known and start all over again.”

“She told you that?”

“She told me that.”

“This woman?” Lovett asked.

“This woman,” Maxine said.

Lovett looked around and said, “For your information, Maxine Edfield has made an affidavit containing these statements. I have that affidavit in my possession. I don’t think anyone wants to get mixed up in a fraudulent claim, except perhaps Ellen Calvert here may have tried — or may have had some vague idea... But I’m satisfied you’ll drop it now, won’t you, my dear?”

Drake’s operative looked to Mason for instructions.

Mason said, “Say nothing.”

“Can’t I even deny...”

“Not yet,” Mason said. “You are keeping silent at the request of counsel.”

Duncan Lovett smiled. “I can readily understand that counsel would be embarrassed by any statement from you at this time. In view of the statement by Maxine Edfield, I feel that the case is closed.”

“I’d like to ask Miss Edfield some questions,” Mason said.

“Go right ahead,” Lovett said.

Jarmen Dayton warned, “You let this lawyer start cross-examining this witness and pretty quick you won’t have any witness.”

“Nonsense,” Lovett said; “the witness has told her story. She’s going to tell it on the witness stand if she has to. When she tells it on the witness stand, she’ll be cross-examined. If she can’t stand a little cross-examination now, she can’t stand it then. I have repeatedly told her to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and then there is nothing to be afraid of. Isn’t that right, Maxine?”

“That’s right, Mr. Lovett.”

Lovett smiled at Mason. “Go ahead and ask your questions,” he said.

Stephen Garland took a package of cigarettes from his pocket. “Anyone mind if I smoke?”

No one made any objection.

Garland lit the cigarette, said, “How many questions do you want to ask, Mr. Mason?”

“Just a few,” Mason said.

“I’m neutral,” Garland said. “Sitting in a corner, so to speak.”

Jarmen Dayton said, “Don’t kid yourself. Garland. We’re the innocent bystanders who are going to get hit by the stray bullets.”

Garland grinned, said, “That’s a chance we have to take. There’s no place to duck now.”

“What questions did you want to ask, Mr. Mason?” Maxine Edfield said. “I’m perfectly willing to answer any and all questions at any time. I’ve been a working girl all of my life. I’m a human being. I’ve had a few purple passages myself, but I’ve always made an honest living and I never made any money except from working.”

“Very commendable,” Mason said. “I wasn’t going to inquire into your background, Miss Edfield. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about things that seemed to require explanation.”

“Such as what?”

“Well, you said that Ellen Calvert had taken the thousand dollars and gone to a new place where she wasn’t known.”

“That’s right.”

“How do you know that?”

“From what she told me.”

“What I am getting at,” Mason said, “is why she would do a thing like that.”

“Why not? She was young. She had life before her. She had a thousand bucks in her stocking. The world was her oyster. Believe me, if someone had given me a thousand dollars when I was that old I’d have shaken the dust of Cloverville from my feet and taken the first train out of town.”

“I’m afraid you don’t get what I’m driving at,” Mason said. “Here was Ellen Calvert, winner of a beauty contest, holder of some papers entitling her to a screen test, and—”

“Oh, I get you now,” Maxine interrupted. “Sure, she had the world by the tail on a downhill pull. Your idea is there was no reason for her to duck out.”

“That’s right.”