The Case of the Fenced-In Woman Read Free Page A

gravely wronged his wife and shows no regret for having done so, but he tried to pull some financial sleight of hand on this court. He's managed things so it's impossible to trace his cash assets. Too much cash has disappeared. He says he had heavy losses on the gambling tables at Las Vegas.
    "The evidence shows that he went to Las Vegas frequently. He was interested in one of the hostesses there, a young woman named Genevieve Honcutt Hyde. Apparently he became intimate with this woman. I don't hold that against him too much because by that time his marriage had deteriorated to a cat – and – dog existence. But I don't think Carson lost anywhere near as much as he claims. I think Carson has been using Las Vegas as a means of confusing his assets, and I think that for the past year he's been taking large sums of money and concealing it.
    "Now I wouldn't confess this to anyone whom I didn't know and admire, but I'm going to tell you, Perry Mason, that I just decided to let Morley Eden take on Loring Carson for a while."
    Mason regarded the jurist thoughtfully. "It is almost as if Mrs. Carson had been reading your mind."
    "Yes?" Judge Goodwin asked.
    "She seems to be utilizing the situation for all it is worth. For instance, I understand she put on a very abbreviated bikini and took occasion to take a sunbath on her half of the swimming pool while my client was inspecting the barbed – wire division."
    "And your client objected to that?" Judge Goodwin asked, smiling.
    "Well, it made an embarrassing situation."
    "Embarrassing for whom?"
    "Generally embarrassing," Mason said.
    "Vivian Carson is a very attractive woman," Judge Goodwin said. "She was, I understand, a highly successful model before she was married. She's doubtless been seen in a bikini before. I doubt if she was embarrassed."
    Mason said, "It makes the grass on the other side of the fence look rather green to a bachelor, and that may be what she has in mind."
    "That may well be," Judge Goodwin said, "but let's not have any misunderstanding, Mr. Mason. If your client so much as sticks a finger through that fence or does anything to invade the premises on the other side of the property line, the court will consider that conduct a violation of the restraining order.
    "After all, your client is an assignee of Loring Carson. He's claiming title under Loring Carson. Very frankly, and off the record, I hope to see Loring Carson suffer just as much inconvenience as possible, because I want to see him pay through the nose. I think he has been milking cash out of his income for some time and concealing it. I think he has been cheating the Internal Revenue Service and I think he has been concealing his true financial status from his wife. I doubt if his wife can hire detectives and smoke out the facts, but if your client gets mad enough, I think he'll get a judgment against Carson and then I think he'll be man enough to find these hidden assets. When he does that, I'll reopen proceedings on the property division and reapportion the community property.
    "Now that may or may not be good law, but it's good psychology. It may teach Loring Carson that he can't pull a financial razzle – dazzle on this court and then stand back and laugh about it."
    "It's an intriguing situation," Mason said, eyeing Judge Goodwin shrewdly. "When the newspaper reporters get hold of it, it's certainly good for a feature story."
    Judge Goodwin nodded, then grinned.
    "Damn it," Mason charged, "you engineered this whole thing. You knew exactly what was going to happen and you're sitting back there and enjoying it."
    Judge Goodwin said, "When I sit as a judge in a case I try to do substantial justice between the parties. I can only make decrees, and decrees are simply pieces of paper. I have, however, made a judgment in this case which I think will eventually get results."
    Mason got to his feet. "All right, Your Honor," he said, bowing. "And keeping my remarks off the record, I can assure you that