Read Online The Case of the Dangerous Dowager by Erle Stanley Gardner - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Erle Stanley Gardner
Tags: Crime
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or suicide. I, for one, would like to know before we send out a report. He could have dropped a gun…"
Duncan stepped forward, bent over the body, peered down under the desk and said, "No, there's no gun here."
The man in tweeds asked, "Can you see? I'll get a light and…"
"Sure I can see," Duncan exclaimed irritably. "There's no gun here. You keep your eyes on this guy, Perkins. He's trying to get us both looking for something so he can pull a fast one. He's talked too damn much about a gun being down there."
Mason said ominously, "Watch your lip, Duncan!"
The tall man nodded. "I'd be careful what I said, Mr. Duncan. You haven't any proof, you know. This man might make trouble."
"To hell with him," Duncan snapped. "There's seven thousand five hundred dollars in IOU's somewhere around here, and Mason wants them. I'm going to take a look in the vault. You keep your eye on Mason."
Duncan crossed over to the vault, his back turned to the men as he faced the vault door, rattled the handle, then started spinning the combination. "I don't like the looks of things," he called out over his shoulder. "This guy Mason is smart, too damn smart."
The tall man said, "I wouldn't touch anything, Mr. Duncan. If I were you, I wouldn't open that vault."
Duncan straightened up and turned to face Perkins. "I've got to find out about those IOU's," he said indignantly. "After all, I own a half interest in this place."
"Just the same," Perkins persisted, "I wouldn't open that vault."
Mason, from the doorway between the rooms, said, "And you're leaving a lot of fingerprints on things, Duncan. The police aren't going to like that."
Duncan's face darkened with rage. "A hell of a slick guy, ain't you," he shouted, "standing there and telling us to look for a gun, and to do this and do that until you've got us leaving fingerprints all over things, and then telling us about it!
"To hell with you! You ain't in the clear on this thing – particularly if those IOU's are missing. You could have done the whole job here – easy! Sammy would have let you in, and you could have given him the works, and then gone back out, pulled the door shut, and been waiting here… Perkins, you're an officer. Search him. Let's see if he's got those IOU's. And he may have the murder gun in his pocket. Let's not let him talk us out of anything."
Mason said, "Listen, Duncan, I'm not going to be the goat in this thing."
Duncan faced him with blazing eyes. "The hell you're not! We come in here and find you sitting next to a murdered man, and you have the nerve to try and tell us what you're going to do and what you're not going to do!
"You're going to take it and like it, and you're going to be searched before you have a chance to ditch anything that you might have taken from this room. You know and I know there's something here you want, and want damn bad."
"So I came in and murdered Grieb to get it; is that right?" Mason asked.
The man in tweeds said, "Better be careful, Mr. Duncan, I think he's laying a trap for you. Don't accuse him of anything."
"I'm not afraid of him," Duncan said, "but I sure want to know a lot more about this thing before I let him go wandering off the ship."
"Well," Mason said, "suppose you search me now. I'll dump everything out of my pockets here, and you can both check the stuff."
"That's a good idea," the man in tweeds said. "I'd like to have someone check up on…"
"Take him into my bedroom," Duncan said. "That's through the door marked 'Private,' at the end of the bar. You go down a corridor, and my room's the second door on the left. Take him in there and wait until I come."
"When'll that be?" Mason asked.
"That'll be just as soon as I can get Arthur Manning in here. Manning's the one to handle this business. He's a special deputy. He's around the casino somewhere. You try and find him, Perkins. You'll know him when you see him. He's wearing a blue uniform with a badge on it that says SPECIAL OFFICER."
"You want me to
Duncan stepped forward, bent over the body, peered down under the desk and said, "No, there's no gun here."
The man in tweeds asked, "Can you see? I'll get a light and…"
"Sure I can see," Duncan exclaimed irritably. "There's no gun here. You keep your eyes on this guy, Perkins. He's trying to get us both looking for something so he can pull a fast one. He's talked too damn much about a gun being down there."
Mason said ominously, "Watch your lip, Duncan!"
The tall man nodded. "I'd be careful what I said, Mr. Duncan. You haven't any proof, you know. This man might make trouble."
"To hell with him," Duncan snapped. "There's seven thousand five hundred dollars in IOU's somewhere around here, and Mason wants them. I'm going to take a look in the vault. You keep your eye on Mason."
Duncan crossed over to the vault, his back turned to the men as he faced the vault door, rattled the handle, then started spinning the combination. "I don't like the looks of things," he called out over his shoulder. "This guy Mason is smart, too damn smart."
The tall man said, "I wouldn't touch anything, Mr. Duncan. If I were you, I wouldn't open that vault."
Duncan straightened up and turned to face Perkins. "I've got to find out about those IOU's," he said indignantly. "After all, I own a half interest in this place."
"Just the same," Perkins persisted, "I wouldn't open that vault."
Mason, from the doorway between the rooms, said, "And you're leaving a lot of fingerprints on things, Duncan. The police aren't going to like that."
Duncan's face darkened with rage. "A hell of a slick guy, ain't you," he shouted, "standing there and telling us to look for a gun, and to do this and do that until you've got us leaving fingerprints all over things, and then telling us about it!
"To hell with you! You ain't in the clear on this thing – particularly if those IOU's are missing. You could have done the whole job here – easy! Sammy would have let you in, and you could have given him the works, and then gone back out, pulled the door shut, and been waiting here… Perkins, you're an officer. Search him. Let's see if he's got those IOU's. And he may have the murder gun in his pocket. Let's not let him talk us out of anything."
Mason said, "Listen, Duncan, I'm not going to be the goat in this thing."
Duncan faced him with blazing eyes. "The hell you're not! We come in here and find you sitting next to a murdered man, and you have the nerve to try and tell us what you're going to do and what you're not going to do!
"You're going to take it and like it, and you're going to be searched before you have a chance to ditch anything that you might have taken from this room. You know and I know there's something here you want, and want damn bad."
"So I came in and murdered Grieb to get it; is that right?" Mason asked.
The man in tweeds said, "Better be careful, Mr. Duncan, I think he's laying a trap for you. Don't accuse him of anything."
"I'm not afraid of him," Duncan said, "but I sure want to know a lot more about this thing before I let him go wandering off the ship."
"Well," Mason said, "suppose you search me now. I'll dump everything out of my pockets here, and you can both check the stuff."
"That's a good idea," the man in tweeds said. "I'd like to have someone check up on…"
"Take him into my bedroom," Duncan said. "That's through the door marked 'Private,' at the end of the bar. You go down a corridor, and my room's the second door on the left. Take him in there and wait until I come."
"When'll that be?" Mason asked.
"That'll be just as soon as I can get Arthur Manning in here. Manning's the one to handle this business. He's a special deputy. He's around the casino somewhere. You try and find him, Perkins. You'll know him when you see him. He's wearing a blue uniform with a badge on it that says SPECIAL OFFICER."
"You want me to
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