Read Online The Case of the Lazy Lover by Erle Stanley Gardner - Free Book Online Page B

mother and my stepfather took Bob Fleetwood…"
    "Wait a minute," Mason interrupted. "You mean your stepfather went with them?"
    "Of course."
    "Where did they go?"
    "They intended to go to some outlying suburb where no one would ever think to look for Bob. They intended to register somewhere and keep him very, very quiet. They knew that's what a doctor would prescribe, to keep him quiet so as to avoid the aftereffects of concussion."
    "You don't know where they went?"
    "No."
    "You do know that Bertrand Allred went with them?" Mason asked.
    "Yes."
    Mason got up from the chair and began pacing the floor, hands pushed down deep in his pockets, his head thrust slightly forward.
    "What is it, Mr. Mason?" she asked.
    Mason said, "Then your mother didn't have any romantic attachment for Fleetwood whatever?"
    "Of course not. Certainly not."
    "She simply took him to some motel or auto camp where he could be quiet for a while?"
    "Yes."
    "And Bertrand Allred knew about it?"
    "He's the one who suggested it. He went with them."
    Mason shook his head and said, "It doesn't make sense. Wait a minute. Yes, it does, too."
    "What do you mean?"
    Mason looked at his watch and said, "Where's your mother now?"
    "I don't know."
    "Any way of finding out?"
    "She was going to communicate with me."
    "What," Mason asked, "is the idea of all this buildup?" and he included the apartment with a gesture of his hand.
    She said, "I feel like a heel about this, Mr. Mason, but it was Mother's idea. She thought that if-- well, if anything happened and there should be any complications--"
    "Go ahead."
    "She thought that-- well, in case anything happened, that it would be a lot better if I could adopt the position that I'd loaned the car on Saturday evening to some friend. So we created the identity of Maurine Milford and decided to build her up a bit. We decided to let her live here in Las Olitas, take Patricia Faxon's automobile in to have it repaired, tell a story about having hit something, try to keep the whole thing secret and…"
    "And then as soon as any investigator started checking on the thing, he'd find that your description agreed with that of Patricia Faxon and would have discovered the whole scheme without any difficulty."
    "It wasn't going to be that simple, Mr. Mason. I didn't think people would identify me. But they were never going to have a chance to do it, except from a general description. Whenever I've been out as Maurine Milford, I've had a special make-up on that changed the shape of my mouth and everything. A superficial description would have been the same, but-- well, I don't think they could have proven anything. Within reasonable limits, we gals all look alike nowadays, except for details."
    "Reasonable limits is right," Mason said.
    "I know I shouldn't have done it."
    "It was a damn fool thing to have done," Mason said.
    "But at the time we didn't know-- well, we didn't know whether it would turn out Bob was seriously injured. Of course, if he had been, Mother was going to call a doctor, but the way things were, Mr. Allred thought it would be better for them to simply-- well, to go to some motel where they could be quiet and pretend they were traveling places."
    "And where was Allred all this time?"
    "Right there with them in the motel."
    "You're sure?"
    "Of course, I'm sure."
    "Allred spent that night with your mother and Bob Fleetwood?"
    "That's my understanding."
    "And last night?"
    She nodded.
    "Where is he today?"
    "Back at his office carrying on his business. He doesn't want anyone to suspect that Fleetwood isn't…"
    Mason said, "Pat, I think it's up to you and me to find your mother without any delay."
    "Why?"
    "Because it was Bertrand Allred who told me your mother was eloping with Bob Fleetwood."
    She thought that over for a space of almost a minute, then went to the coat closet, got her hat and coat and said, "Do you want me to go with you?"
    "After a little while," Mason said. `There's no use rushing our heads off right