The D.A. Breaks a Seal by Erle Stanley Gardner

Author:Erle Stanley Gardner [Gardner, Erle Stanley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Published: 2016-02-09T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

THE LITTLE group sat around the desk in Rex Brandon’s office. Hattie M. Irwin was frankly puzzled but nevertheless made no attempt to disguise the fact that she was more pleased than otherwise to find herself the center of so much attention.

“Now, as I understand it,” Brandon said, when she had finished, “you simply filled out the blank in this contest and sent it in.”

“That’s right.”

“And then this man telephoned you and told you he was a representative of the company and that you had won a prize.”

“The first prize,” she announced proudly. “He was the president of the company.”

“And that the first prize consisted of a trip to California with all expenses paid.”

“That’s right.”

Brandon looked across at Selby. “You want to question her about it, Doug?”

Selby said, “You do it, Rex.”

Brandon hesitated for a moment. “I think you could do better than I could, Doug.”

“Your questions are official. Mine aren’t.”

“We can make them official.”

Selby merely smiled.

Brandon took a deep breath, “Now, you came from Empalma?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you know a man by the name of Roff, Fred Albion Roff?”

“I didn’t know him, but I’ve heard of the name. I’ve seen it in the newspaper. He’s a big lawyer there.”

“You don’t remember ever having seen him?”

“No.”

“Ever been a witness in a lawsuit?”

“No.”

Brandon pulled a sheet of paper toward him on which several names had been written. “Do you know a woman lawyer named Inez Stapleton, here?”

“No.”

“Do you know anyone in California?”

“I have a niece in Sacramento. She’s the only one I know here.”

“Did you know a Martha Otley?”

“No.”

“An Eleanor Preston?”

“No.”

“A Barbara Honcutt?”

“No.”

“Hervey Preston?”

“No.”

“Now, this man Hastle who was on the train with you. What do you know about him?”

“Nothing. I hadn’t met him until we got off the train at Madison City. And then this man that had the white gardenia spoke to me and...”

“What did he say?”

“He smiled very courteously and said, ‘Are you the person I’m looking for?’ ”

“And what did you say?”

“Well, naturally I told him I was, because he was the representative of the travel bureau.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said that he had a car waiting there, and if I’d just come with him he’d take me uptown and then he saw this other man with the white gardenia, and he said, ‘That’s strange’ and walked over to the man and said, ‘Are you looking for me?” And the man said he was and the gentleman seemed sort of puzzled for a minute and then said, ‘Well, come on and we’ll get in the car.’ ”

“Did he ask you your name?”

“Going uptown he asked me if I was... Now I can’t be sure of the name.”

“Anita Eldon?” Selby supplemented.

“It sounds something like that.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him I was Mrs. Irwin. And then he thought for a minute and then asked the man what his name was, and that was when the man said his name was Carl Hastle. That was the first time I’d heard it. And then one thing led

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