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

reception room to usher Jerome into Mason's private office.
    George Jerome was plainly impatient, a man who was not accustomed to waiting anywhere for anyone. He was tall, barrel-chested, rawboned with high cheek bones and from under shaggy brown eyes looked out upon the world in cold appraisal.
    He was perhaps fifty-five or sixty, and the man radiated awkward strength as he lumbered across the office to shake hands with Mason.
    "Sit down," the lawyer invited. "I've been wanting to see you."
    "What about?"
    Mason smiled. "About the thing you want to see me about."
    Jerome returned the lawyer's smile. "If you're a mind reader, then there's no point of my saying anything."
    Jerome settled himself in the big client's chair and the size of the man made the chair shrink in proportion until it seemed to lose its atmosphere of deep comfort.
    "What's Allred up to?" he asked.
    "I'm afraid I can't help you on that," Mason said.
    "Are you Allred's lawyer?"
    "No."
    "Whose?"
    Mason said, "At this time I feel there is no need to make further concealment of the name of my client. I am Mrs. Allred's attorney."
    "Have you actually seen Lola Allred?"
    "Why?"
    "I just wanted to know."
    "You've talked with Allred?" Mason asked.
    "I've listened to him."
    "You're his partner?"
    "In a way, yes. That is, I'm his partner in some things. We're in process of settling up our affairs. We were supposed to have settled them Saturday. He was to have made a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. I didn't want to act until after I'd talked with Fleetwood."
    "May I ask why?"
    "He's a bright boy. He's been Allred's right-hand man-- but if I bought Allred out, I think Bob Fleetwood would come over to work with me. I think he would. I'd want to make certain."
    "Is he that valuable?"
    "He knows lots of details no one else does."
    "Then your intention is to buy Allred out?"
    "I didn't say that."
    "You implied it."
    "I might imply lots of things. Have you talked with Lola Allred personally?"
    "Why do you keep coming back to that question?"
    "Because you keep avoiding it."
    Mason laughed.
    Jerome said, "You're a deep one, Mason."
    The lawyer shook his head. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, Jerome."
    "What will?"
    "Candor."
    Jerome said "All right, I'll try that. I want you to get hold of Fleetwood. I want to have a secret conference with him. I want to see whether he will come over to me, pull with me, play the game my way. When I go into a business deal, I try to drive the best bargain I can. But when I make a deal, I stand by it. I'm not like Allred. He's always squirming around. You make an agreement with him and he remembers it some other way, and he never will put anything in writing. He always says that's up to his lawyer and his lawyer stalls along just as much as he does.
    "Bob Fleetwood is a good kid. Allred says Bob ran away with his wife. If you ask me, I think it was something that was wished off on Bob. I think that Mrs. Allred may have gone for him pretty strong and, the first thing the kid knew, he was being taken for a ride. I'm not saying so, you understand, but that's one explanation."
    "Is there another?"
    "Yes."
    "What?" 'The other explanation is that Mrs. Allred isn't alive at all, and Bert is trying to account for her disappearance. You're a lawyer. I don't need to dot the i's or cross the t's for you, Mason. I'm giving you an idea."
    "And in that event, where would Fleetwood be?"
    "Now then," Jerome said, "you're beginning to talk the way I want to hear you talk."
    "Yes?" Mason asked.
    Jerome said, "I'm making you a proposition, Mason. If you can get me a chase to talk with Bob Fleetwood before Allred sees him, I'll pay you a thousand dollars. And if Fleetwood sees things my way, and I'm satisfied he will, you get two thousand dollars. You hire detectives if you have to. I'll stand their charges, anything up to a thousand dollars."
    "That's all right," Mason said, "but I can't accept any employment from you which might be adverse to the best