The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece by Erle Stanley Gardner Page B
Authors: Erle Stanley Gardner
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think he had trouble."
"Perhaps he did," Drake admitted, "but try and make a jury believe it."
The door opened to admit Jackson. Mason nodded. "Give us the low-down, Jackson."
Jackson was excited. "I've just been talking with the Clerk's office in Santa Barbara. I put my name, address and telephone number on the back of that final decree of divorce when I filed it as attorney for Peter Kent."
"Well?" Mason asked, as Della Street unobtrusively slipped through the door and to her secretarial desk.
"The Clerk called me to say that Doris Sully Kent, acting through Hettley and Hettley, of this city, had filed an action alleging fraud on the court in connection with the entire divorce action, claiming there's been collusion; that Kent had persuaded her to file a divorce action; and that he'd lied to her about the community property, in that he had an undisclosed interest in a patent on a valve-grinding machine, and that he was a part owner in the Maddox Manufacturing Company of Chicago; that the patents controlled by that company are worth more than a million dollars and that they're community property. She also alleges that the final decree was a fraud on the court, and has filed an affidavit and application under Section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure, alleging that she discharged her Santa Barbara attorneys and retained Hettley and Hettley; that she was under the impression the interlocutory decree had been granted on the fifteenth and told them such was the case; that they didn't have an opportunity to look up the matter until last night; that they sat up all night, getting the action ready to file."
"When were the papers filed in Santa Barbara, Jackson?"
"The action to set aside the interlocutory decree was filed around nine-thirty. They figured no final decree would be issued before ten o'clock anyway."
"And the affidavit and motion under 473?"
"Just a short time ago. They found out about the final when they got up there, and evidently prepared and signed those papers in Santa Barbara. The Clerk's office didn't telephone me until an attack had been made on that final decree."
Mason said to Della Street, "Send someone down to the Clerk's office here, find if they haven't filed a petition to have Peter Kent declared an incompetent person and his wife appointed a guardian."
He turned back to Jackson. "What about the business you were mentioning over the phone?"
"At three o'clock this morning," Jackson said, "Maddox telephoned Mrs. Kent and wanted her to pool her interests with them."
"At three o'clock in the morning!" Mason exclaimed. Jackson nodded. Mason gave a low whistle and said, "Give me the details. Tell me everything that happened."
"When I got your instructions I started watching Mrs. Kent's house."
"Have any trouble finding it?"
"No, I went right to the address you gave me. I stayed there until midnight and didn't see a sign of life about the place, except there were lights on on the lower floor."
"You mean you didn't see anyone moving around?"
"That's right."
"Then what happened?"
"Around midnight Harris came up. It may have been a little before midnight; I don't remember the exact time. He told me he'd take over the job of watching, so I took Helen Warrington from his car, and we went to a hotel. Harris stayed there in his car. The night was unusually warm for this time of year, and Mrs. Kent had her windows open. Harris proved himself a darn good detective. When the telephone rang he made a note of the time. It was two minutes past three o'clock. He checked his watch with Western Union time the next morning and found he was one minute and five seconds fast, so that would make the time fifty-five seconds past three o'clock, and he made notes in his notebook of what she said."
"He could hear her?"
"Yes, it was still night and he could hear her voice through the bedroom window." Jackson pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and read, "Telephone bell rings three times, then a drowsy
"Perhaps he did," Drake admitted, "but try and make a jury believe it."
The door opened to admit Jackson. Mason nodded. "Give us the low-down, Jackson."
Jackson was excited. "I've just been talking with the Clerk's office in Santa Barbara. I put my name, address and telephone number on the back of that final decree of divorce when I filed it as attorney for Peter Kent."
"Well?" Mason asked, as Della Street unobtrusively slipped through the door and to her secretarial desk.
"The Clerk called me to say that Doris Sully Kent, acting through Hettley and Hettley, of this city, had filed an action alleging fraud on the court in connection with the entire divorce action, claiming there's been collusion; that Kent had persuaded her to file a divorce action; and that he'd lied to her about the community property, in that he had an undisclosed interest in a patent on a valve-grinding machine, and that he was a part owner in the Maddox Manufacturing Company of Chicago; that the patents controlled by that company are worth more than a million dollars and that they're community property. She also alleges that the final decree was a fraud on the court, and has filed an affidavit and application under Section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure, alleging that she discharged her Santa Barbara attorneys and retained Hettley and Hettley; that she was under the impression the interlocutory decree had been granted on the fifteenth and told them such was the case; that they didn't have an opportunity to look up the matter until last night; that they sat up all night, getting the action ready to file."
"When were the papers filed in Santa Barbara, Jackson?"
"The action to set aside the interlocutory decree was filed around nine-thirty. They figured no final decree would be issued before ten o'clock anyway."
"And the affidavit and motion under 473?"
"Just a short time ago. They found out about the final when they got up there, and evidently prepared and signed those papers in Santa Barbara. The Clerk's office didn't telephone me until an attack had been made on that final decree."
Mason said to Della Street, "Send someone down to the Clerk's office here, find if they haven't filed a petition to have Peter Kent declared an incompetent person and his wife appointed a guardian."
He turned back to Jackson. "What about the business you were mentioning over the phone?"
"At three o'clock this morning," Jackson said, "Maddox telephoned Mrs. Kent and wanted her to pool her interests with them."
"At three o'clock in the morning!" Mason exclaimed. Jackson nodded. Mason gave a low whistle and said, "Give me the details. Tell me everything that happened."
"When I got your instructions I started watching Mrs. Kent's house."
"Have any trouble finding it?"
"No, I went right to the address you gave me. I stayed there until midnight and didn't see a sign of life about the place, except there were lights on on the lower floor."
"You mean you didn't see anyone moving around?"
"That's right."
"Then what happened?"
"Around midnight Harris came up. It may have been a little before midnight; I don't remember the exact time. He told me he'd take over the job of watching, so I took Helen Warrington from his car, and we went to a hotel. Harris stayed there in his car. The night was unusually warm for this time of year, and Mrs. Kent had her windows open. Harris proved himself a darn good detective. When the telephone rang he made a note of the time. It was two minutes past three o'clock. He checked his watch with Western Union time the next morning and found he was one minute and five seconds fast, so that would make the time fifty-five seconds past three o'clock, and he made notes in his notebook of what she said."
"He could hear her?"
"Yes, it was still night and he could hear her voice through the bedroom window." Jackson pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and read, "Telephone bell rings three times, then a drowsy
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