in."
Edna Hammer slammed the corridor door behind her. The door of the reception room burst open to disclose a tall, thin man. A protesting young woman held on to his coat tails and half screamed, "You can't go in. You can't go in. You can't go in!"
Mason silenced her with a gesture. "It's all right, Miss Smith," he said. "Let Mr. Kent come in."
The young woman released her grasp. The tall man strode across the office, nodded to Mason, ignored Della Street, and dropped into a chair.
CHAPTER II
PETER KENT, speaking in quick, nervous accents, said, "Sorry I busted in here. I can't help it; I'm nervous, I can't wait. When I want anything I want it. I'm willing to pay for any damage I did. I got a hunch to come to you. Got it while I was having lunch with my niece. She's an astrologer. She knows my horoscope by heart. She can tell me all about my planets – and I don't believe a damn word of it."
"You don't?"
"No, of course not. But I can't get the damn stuff out of my mind. You know how it is yourself. Perhaps you're walking along a sidewalk and see a ladder. If you don't walk under it, you hate yourself for being a coward. If you do, you start wondering if it'll really bring you bad luck. It gets on your nerves. You keep thinking about it."
Mason grinned, and said, "Walking under ladders doesn't bother me. I'm in hot water all the time."
"Well," Kent rushed on, "when my niece said my horoscope showed I should consult some attorney whose last name had five letters in it, I told her it was all bosh and nonsense. Then, damned if I didn't start thinking over the names of lawyers that had five letters in them. She looked up some more planets and said the name should stand for something that had to do with rocks and did I know an attorney by the name of S-T-O-N-E; I didn't. Then your name popped into my mind. I told Edna and she got all excited, said you were the one. All bosh and nonsense! And here I am."
Mason glanced at his secretary. "What are your troubles?" he asked.
"My wife's getting a divorce in Santa Barbara. Now she's going to back up, dismiss the divorce case and claim I'm crazy."
"How far has she gone with the divorce case?"
"She's had an interlocutory decree entered."
"Under the law of this state," Mason said, "after an interlocutory decree's once entered the case can't be dismissed."
"That shows you don't know Doris," Kent said, twisting long fingers nervously as he talked. "Legislators cater to the women voters. Doris gets by because of those laws. Marriage is a racket with her, and she knows all the tricks. There's some new law that a court can't grant a final decree where the parties have become reconciled. Doris is going to file an affidavit we've become reconciled."
"Have you?"
"No, but she claims we have. She wrote me a mushy letter. I tried to be polite in answering it. She's using that as evidence. What's more, she's going to claim a lot of stuff about fraud. I don't know just what. You see, she sued for divorce mainly over some stuff which happened in Chicago, but with a few more things which happened after we got to California thrown in for good measure."
"She sued in California?"
"Yes, in Santa Barbara."
"How long had she been living there?"
"When I came from Chicago," Kent said, "I had two pieces of California property – one of them the Hollywood place, where I'm living now, and the other the Santa Barbara place. She lived with me for a few days in the Hollywood place, then went to Santa Barbara and sued for divorce."
"How about residence?" Mason asked. "Where was your legal residence?"
"In the Santa Barbara place. I had extensive business interests in Chicago and spent part of my time there, but I voted and kept my legal residence in California. Doris sued for divorce, claimed she didn't have any money, in spite of the fact she had the plunder of a couple of previous marriages salted away. She got the court to allow her temporary alimony and attorney's fees. Then she got a divorce
Edna Hammer slammed the corridor door behind her. The door of the reception room burst open to disclose a tall, thin man. A protesting young woman held on to his coat tails and half screamed, "You can't go in. You can't go in. You can't go in!"
Mason silenced her with a gesture. "It's all right, Miss Smith," he said. "Let Mr. Kent come in."
The young woman released her grasp. The tall man strode across the office, nodded to Mason, ignored Della Street, and dropped into a chair.
CHAPTER II
PETER KENT, speaking in quick, nervous accents, said, "Sorry I busted in here. I can't help it; I'm nervous, I can't wait. When I want anything I want it. I'm willing to pay for any damage I did. I got a hunch to come to you. Got it while I was having lunch with my niece. She's an astrologer. She knows my horoscope by heart. She can tell me all about my planets – and I don't believe a damn word of it."
"You don't?"
"No, of course not. But I can't get the damn stuff out of my mind. You know how it is yourself. Perhaps you're walking along a sidewalk and see a ladder. If you don't walk under it, you hate yourself for being a coward. If you do, you start wondering if it'll really bring you bad luck. It gets on your nerves. You keep thinking about it."
Mason grinned, and said, "Walking under ladders doesn't bother me. I'm in hot water all the time."
"Well," Kent rushed on, "when my niece said my horoscope showed I should consult some attorney whose last name had five letters in it, I told her it was all bosh and nonsense. Then, damned if I didn't start thinking over the names of lawyers that had five letters in them. She looked up some more planets and said the name should stand for something that had to do with rocks and did I know an attorney by the name of S-T-O-N-E; I didn't. Then your name popped into my mind. I told Edna and she got all excited, said you were the one. All bosh and nonsense! And here I am."
Mason glanced at his secretary. "What are your troubles?" he asked.
"My wife's getting a divorce in Santa Barbara. Now she's going to back up, dismiss the divorce case and claim I'm crazy."
"How far has she gone with the divorce case?"
"She's had an interlocutory decree entered."
"Under the law of this state," Mason said, "after an interlocutory decree's once entered the case can't be dismissed."
"That shows you don't know Doris," Kent said, twisting long fingers nervously as he talked. "Legislators cater to the women voters. Doris gets by because of those laws. Marriage is a racket with her, and she knows all the tricks. There's some new law that a court can't grant a final decree where the parties have become reconciled. Doris is going to file an affidavit we've become reconciled."
"Have you?"
"No, but she claims we have. She wrote me a mushy letter. I tried to be polite in answering it. She's using that as evidence. What's more, she's going to claim a lot of stuff about fraud. I don't know just what. You see, she sued for divorce mainly over some stuff which happened in Chicago, but with a few more things which happened after we got to California thrown in for good measure."
"She sued in California?"
"Yes, in Santa Barbara."
"How long had she been living there?"
"When I came from Chicago," Kent said, "I had two pieces of California property – one of them the Hollywood place, where I'm living now, and the other the Santa Barbara place. She lived with me for a few days in the Hollywood place, then went to Santa Barbara and sued for divorce."
"How about residence?" Mason asked. "Where was your legal residence?"
"In the Santa Barbara place. I had extensive business interests in Chicago and spent part of my time there, but I voted and kept my legal residence in California. Doris sued for divorce, claimed she didn't have any money, in spite of the fact she had the plunder of a couple of previous marriages salted away. She got the court to allow her temporary alimony and attorney's fees. Then she got a divorce
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