The Case of the Perjured Parrot by Erle Stanley Gardner

Author:Erle Stanley Gardner [Gardner, Erle Stanley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Mystery, Childrens, Mytery, Crime, Detective, Suspense
ISBN: 9781842320877
Google: X87obHoHWUIC
Amazon: B005QBML1Y
Barnesnoble: B005QBML1Y
Goodreads: 1408153
Publisher: House of Stratus
Published: 1939-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

IT WAS shortly after eleven when Charles W. Sabin and Richard Waid reached Mason’s office. Mason wasted but little time in preliminaries. “I have some news,” he said, “which may be of interest to you. As I told you last night, I had located Casanova. He was in the possession of a Helen Monteith, whom Fremont C. Sabin apparently married under the name of George Wallman. The parrot in her house was killed sometime either last night or early this morning. The theory of the police is that Helen Monteith killed him. The parrot had been saying repeatedly, ‘Put down that gun, Helen … don’t shoot…. My God, you’ve shot me.’

“Now then,” Mason went on, glancing from one to the other, “does that mean anything to you?”

“It must mean the parrot was present at the time my father was murdered,” Sabin said. “Then Helen must have … but which Helen?”

“But another parrot was found in the cabin,” Mason pointed out.

“Perhaps the murderer switched parrots,” Waid ventured.

Charles Sabin said, “Before we discuss that, I have something of prime importance to take up with you.”

“Go ahead,” Mason told him, “we’ll let the parrot wait.”

“I’ve found a will,” Sabin announced.

“Where?”

“You remember it was disclosed that C. William Desmond acted as attorney for my father in connection with certain matters pertaining to the divorce settlement. That was news to me; I hadn’t heard of it. It wasn’t until Waid told me that I knew anything about it.

“However, it seems that my father didn’t care to have Cutter, Grayson & Bright represent him in connection with the divorce matter.”

“And he had Desmond draw up a will at the same time he made the property settlement agreement?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“What was the will?” Mason wanted to know.

Charles Sabin took a leather-backed notebook from his pocket, and said, “I have made a copy of so much of the provisions as relate to the distribution of his property. It reads as follows:

“ ‘Because I have this day entered into an agreement with my wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, by which it is agreed and understood that she is to receive the sum of one hundred thousand dollars in cash from me, by way of a complete property settlement, and which said sum is to be paid on the completion of divorce proceedings, and the delivery of a certified copy of a final decree of divorce, I direct that, in the event I should die before said sum of one hundred thousand dollars is paid to my said wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, that then, and in such event, my said wife is to receive, from such estate as I may leave, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars in cash. In the event, however, said sum of cash has so been paid to the said Helen Watkins Sabin prior to the time of my death, I then intentionally make no other provision for her in this, my will, because the said sum of one hundred thousand dollars is ample to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.