The Case of the Baited Hook (4 page)

"And she was drowned?" Mason asked.

"Yes. They were both in the first boat which went over. I saw it capsize with my own eyes. Then a big wave came up and smashed the second lifeboat against the side of the ship. However, Mr. Mason, all this is just preliminary. I'll only sketch what happened. I was saved. I went to Russia, located the child, and brought her out. It doesn't matter how. She was a wonderful girl with the blood of royalty in her veins. I wanted my own daughter to adopt her. My daughter was just getting married at the time. Her husband wouldn't listen to it. So I… I'm afraid I did something which was unpardonable, Mr. Mason."

"What?" he asked.

"I wasn't where I could keep her myself-that is, I thought I wasn't. I put her in a home."

"What home?" Mason asked.

"The Hidden Home Welfare Society."

"Where was that?" Mason inquired.

"In a little town in Louisiana. They made a specialty of caring for children whose parents couldn't keep them."

She paused for a moment as though trying to get the facts straight in her mind.

"Go ahead," Mason said.

She said, "I have to tell you a little something about that home, Mr. Mason, things I didn't know at the time but found out afterwards. It was a baby brokerage home."

"What do you mean by that?"

She said, "There's always been a great demand for children to adopt. Childless couples are always on the lookout. Well, this home didn't care how it got its children. I found out afterwards that most of the women who were employed on the premises were expectant mothers. They'd have children and leave. Some of them would arrange to pay for the child's care and maintenance, and some of them couldn't."

"You, of course, made arrangements for the care of this child?"

"Oh, yes. I sent them regular monthly remittances. I have my old cancelled checks to prove it. Thank God I kept them."

"And the child?" Mason asked.

"A year later," she said, "when my own affairs were in order, I went to the home to get her out. And what do you think I found?"

"That she wasn't there?" Mason asked.

"Exactly. They'd sold that baby for a thousand dollars. Think of it, Mr. Mason! Sold her just as you'd sell a horse or a dog or a used automobile."

"What was their explanation?"

"Oh, they were frightfully sorry. They claimed it had been a mistake. At first they said I hadn't paid them a cent. And then I confronted them with the cancelled checks-and they tried every means on earth to get those checks from me. I made a lot of trouble. The district attorney took it up, and The Hidden Home Welfare Society simply dissolved and vanished into nothing. I learned later what those places do. Whenever there's trouble, they simply move to some other state, give themselves another name, and begin all over again."

"But surely," Mason said, "their records would show what became of this child."

"They did, but the Home wouldn't admit it, They lied about those records. I should have hired a lawyer and gone right into court, but in place of that I started making complaints to the authorities, and I suppose they were dilatory. You know how public officials can be at times. The district attorney was taking his vacation, and he stalled me along. I went back to New York and waited to hear from him. He wrote me a letter and seemed very pleased with himself. He said that thanks to my efforts. The Hidden Home Welfare Society had been put out of existence, that there had been previous complaints, and that I was to be congratulated on having saved my checks and all that sort of stuff.

"I went right back down to Louisiana and told him that wasn't what I wanted, that I wanted the child. He said I'd have to engage private counsel, that his office was concerned with the broader aspects of the case. Think of it! The 'broader aspects of the case.' I could have choked him."

Rage glittered in her cold gray eyes.

"You employed private counsel?" Mason asked.

"I did. That's where I made my next mistake. It was too late for lawyers then. I should have employed good detectives. The lawyers took my money and puttered around. They said that the home had destroyed all of its records, fearing criminal prosecution, that it had scattered-as they said-to the four winds… Four winds nothing! They'd simply moved to Colorado and started all over again under another name. That was something else I didn't know."

"How did you finally get the information?" Mason asked.

"By persistence and a little luck," she said. "One of the men, who had been in their bookkeeping department had, of course, remembered the entire transaction because of the commotion I'd raised, finally got in touch with lawyers who in turn got in touch with me… They wanted to sell the information of course."

"What did you do?" Mason asked.

"I suppose I should have gone to the authorities, but I'd had a bitter dose of that medicine so I paid through the nose and got the information."

"Which shows?" Mason asked.

"The child was given the name of Byrl. She was adopted by a Mr and Mrs. Gailord. They lived here in this city."

"How long ago was that?" Mason asked.

"Within two months of the time I'd left the girl at the orphanage, the Gailords came there looking for a child. They became completely infatuated with this girl. They insisted on having her. The Home told them that she wasn't as yet free for adoption, but they felt certain she would be within a few months, as their experience had convinced them that very few people kept up the payments, and the understanding was that whenever the payments ceased, the child was free for adoption.

'The Gailords couldn't wait. They offered to pay a fancy price-a thousand dollars. And I suppose there was a little bribe money passed at the same time. They said that if there was any trouble, they'd return the girl… Perhaps they meant to at the time, but they'd become attached to her-and-well, you know how those things are."

Mason said, "But surely, Mrs. Tump, the girl has now arrived at the age of majority. She can do anything she pleases. She's free, white, and twenty – one. She…"

"That part of it's all right," Mrs. Tump said. "I've straightened all that out, but here's what happened. The Gailords were wealthy. Frank Gailord died. He left property, half to his widow, half to Byrl. Byrl's half was in a trust fund. She was to get it when she was twenty – seven. In the meantime, the trustee was to pay her such sums as he thought necessary for care, maintenance, and education.

"Mrs. Gailord married again-a man by the name of Tidings. They lived together five years, and then the woman died, leaving all of her property to Byrl under the same sort of trust and making Mr. Tidings the trustee without bonds. Tidings is no good. He married again, and there's been another separation… You don't need to concern yourself with all these preliminaries, Mr. Mason. I'm giving them to you just so you'll have the background clear in your mind. The point is, that Albert Tidings is now trustee for Byrl's property, and it's a tidy little fortune. He has absolutely no right to be trustee. He's an improper person. He's a crook, if you want my opinion."

"You've seen him?" Mason asked.

"Naturally. I went to him and explained matters to him."

"What did he do?"

"He said, 'See my lawyer.'"

"And so you decided to come to me?"

"Yes."

"And you've explained matters to Byrl-about her parents?"

"I most certainly have. It came as something of a shock to her. She'd always considered the Gailords were her real parents."

"Where is she now?"

"Here in the city."

"What," Mason asked, "do you want me to do?"

"I want you to go after Tidings," she said. "I want you to prove that the original adoption was illegal, that it was a fraud, and was the result of bribery and corruption. I want Tidings out of there as trustee."

Mason's eyes narrowed slightly. "Meaning," he asked, "that you want to be appointed trustee in his stead?"

"Well, I certainly think Byrl is entitled to more of her money. She should travel, see something of the world, come into her own inheritance, and marry."

"She's free to marry whenever she wants to, isn't she?" Mason asked.

"Yes, but she can't meet the sort of people she should meet… You can take one look at Byrl and realize that she has a most unusual heritage."

Mason said, "So far as the past history is concerned, Mrs. Tump, it has but little bearing on the legal situation. The trust doesn't depend on the adoption. Byrl is now of age. You have no legal standing in the case. You aren't related to her. The parents asked you to get the girl and protect her. You got her out of Russia. After that-I'll be frank with you, Mrs. Tump-a shrewd lawyer would make it appear that, having received the jewelry and smuggled her out of Russia, you suddenly lost interest in her. Beyond making your monthly payments, you were, to be frank, rather lax."

"I wasn't lax," she said. "I wrote the Home regularly asking how she was getting along, and they answered by telling me that she was a bright girl, and was doing well."

"You've kept those letters?"

"Yes."

"Of course," Mason pointed out, "Tidings wasn't a party to the original fraud, and as far as Byrl is concerned, she's in no position to complain. She has inherited property because of those adoption proceedings."

"But she never was formally adopted," Mrs. Tump said.

"No?"

"No."

"How did that happen?"

"Well, you see when they first took her, they knew that she wasn't eligible for adoption, and then, later on, when I made so much trouble, the attorneys for the Home wanted it kept entirely under cover. They were afraid that if adoption proceedings ever went through the courts, I'd find out about it and take Byrl away from them. As nearly as I can get it, their lawyer told them they could take care of Byrl's interests financially through a will, and simply let the child go on believing they were her parents. They'd gradually instilled that into her mind, making up a story to account for some of her childish memories."

"How," Mason asked with interest, "did you get her out of Russia?"

"That's a story I can't tell you right now. Some very influential people who were friends of mine were traveling on a passport with a child. The child died and- well, Byrl got into the United States all right. I suppose I could be prosecuted for my share in that, and the other people could, too. I've promised to protect them in every way. Byrl knows all about it now, and all about her real parents."

"Well," Mason said, "I can force an accounting in that trust matter. I can probably make Tidings give Byrl all of the income, and perhaps a part of the principal. Then, within a year or two, the young woman can take over the entire trust fund under the terms of the trust. If Tidings has been guilty of any misconduct, we can get him removed."

Mrs. Tump said, "That's all I want. I wanted you to get the picture. If you want to know anything about Albert Tidings, you can find out from a man who's very close to him. He's associated with him in some other trust matters-one of a board of three men who handle endowment funds for a university."

"That," Mason said, "will be valuable. Who is this man?"

"He's very influential and very wealthy," she said. "Incidentally, he's a great admirer of yours, Mr. Mason. He's the one who sent me to you."

"The name?" Mason asked.

"Robert Peltham," she said. "He's an architect. His address is 3212 Oceanic Avenue, but he has a downtown office, and you can reach him there."

Mason carefully refrained from even glancing in Della Street's direction. "That," he said, "is fine, Mrs. Tump. I'd like to get in touch with Mr. Peltham before I decide about taking your case."

"Why, I don't see what he has to do with it, except as he can give you some information. Why don't you take the case and then get in touch with Mr. Peltham? I'll pay you a retainer right now."

Mason thoughtfully flicked ashes from his cigarette. After a moment, he said, "Of course, Mrs. Tump, you have no legal standing in the matter. As I have pointed out, you aren't related to Miss Gailord. Any action would have to be instituted by Miss Gailord herself."

"I suppose that's right."

"And," Mason said, "before I started anything, I'd have to see Miss Gailord and have her give me a direct authorization to act."