erlestanleygardner.thecaseofthehorrifiedheirs-第8部分

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til　ten　or　eleven　o'clock。　But　the　modern　idea　of　keeping　track　of　time　by　the　hour　just　never　occurred　to　him。　He　would　put　in　hours　and　hours　on　some　little　agreement　that　had　a　point　that　interested　him　and　then　he'd　make　only　a　moderate　charge。　The　result　was　that　he　didn't　leave　much　of　an　estate。〃
　〃What　about　the　fees　that　were　due　him　at　the　time　of　his　death？〃
　〃I　wouldn't　know　about　that；　but　it's　very　well　known　that　the　estates　of　professional　men　have　a　lot　of　trouble　with　outstanding　accounts。〃
　〃And　where　could　I　find　Julian　Bannock？〃
　〃I　don't　know；〃　she　said。
　〃Do　you　know　where　he　lived？〃
　〃Someplace　in　the　San　Joaquin　Valley；　I　think。〃
　〃Could　you　find　out　where？〃
　〃I　might　be　able　to。〃
　Virginia　Baxter　had　been　sizing　up　the　man　and　finally　unlatched　the　door　chain。　〃Won't　you　e　in？〃　she　invited。　〃I　think　perhaps　I　can　consult　an　old　diary。　I　have　been　keeping　diaries　for　years…〃　She　laughed　nervously…〃not　the　romantic　type；　you　understand；　but　business　diaries　that　contain　little　ments　about　when　I　went　to　work　at　a　certain　place　and　how　long　I　worked　there；　events　of　the　day；　when　I　received　raises　in　salary　and　things　of　that　sort。
　〃I　know　that　I　made　some　entries　at　the　time　of　Mr。　Bannock's　death…oh；　wait　a　minute；　I　remember　now；　J　ulian　Bannock　lived　near　Bakersfield。〃
　〃Do　you　know　if　he　still　lives　there？〃
　〃No；　I　don't。　I　remember　now　that　he　came　down　driving　a　pickup。　The　files　were　loaded　into　the　pickup。　I　remember　that　after　the　files　were　loaded；　I　felt　that　my　responsibility　was　ended。　I　turned　the　keys　over　to　the　brother。〃
　〃Bakersfield？〃　Menard　said。
　〃That's　right。　Now；　if　you　can　tell　me　something　about　your　agreement；　perhaps　I　can　remember　about　it。　Mr。　Bannock　had　a　one…man　office　and　I　did　all　of　the　typing。〃
　〃It　was　an　agreement　with　a　man　named　Smith；〃　Menard　said。
　〃What　was　the　nature　of　the　agreement？〃
　〃Oh；　it　involved　a　lot　of　plicated　things　about　the　sale　of　a　machine　shop。　You　see；　I'm　interested；　or　was　interested；　in　machinery　and　thought　for　a　while　I'd　go　into　the　machinery　business；　but…Well；　it's　a　long　story。〃
　〃What　are　you　doing　now？〃　she　asked。
　Menard's　eyes　suddenly　shifted。　〃I'm　sort　of　freelancing；〃　he　said；　〃buying　and　selling。〃
　〃Real　estate？〃　she　asked。
　〃Oh；　anything；〃　he　said。
　〃You　live　here　in　the　city？〃
　He　laughed；　obviously　ill　at　ease。　〃I　keep　going　from　place　to　place…you　know　how　it　is　when　a　person　is　looking　for　bargains。〃
　Virginia　said；　〃I　see。　Well；　I'm　sorry　I　can't　help　you　any　more　than　I　have。〃
　She　stood　up　and　moved　toward　the　door。
　Menard　accepted　the　dismissal。
　〃Thank　you　so　much；〃　he　said；　and　walked　out。
　Virginia　watched　him　to　the　elevator　then；　when　the　door　of　the　cage　had　slid　shut；　took　to　the　stairs　and　raced　down　them。
　She　was　in　time　to　see　him　jump　into　a　dark…colored　car　which　had　been　parked　in　the　only　vacant　parking　space　at　the　curb；　a　space　directly　beside　a　fireplug。
　She　tried　to　get　the　license　number　but　was　unable　to　get　it　all；　because　of　the　speed　with　which　the　driver　whipped　out　into　the　street　and　drove　away。
　Her　eyes　focused　on　a　distinctive　zero　as　the　first　of　the　numbers　and　she　had　a　somewhat　vague　impression　that　the　last　figure　of　the　license　was　a　two。
　The　car　she　thought　was　an　Oldsmobile；　perhaps　two　to　four　years　old；　but　here　again　she　couldn't　be　certain。　The　man　gunned　the　car　into　speed　and　drove　away　fast。
　Virginia　returned　to　her　apartment；　went　into　her　bedroom；　pulled　out　a　suitcase；　started　rummaging　through　her　diaries。　She　found　the　address　of　Julian　Bannock　in　Bakersfield；　an　R。F。D。　box　and　a　notation　in　parentheses；　〃no　telephone。〃
　Then　her　phone　rang。　A　woman　said；　〃I　found　your　name　in　the　telephone　directory。　I　just　wanted　to　call　you　to　tell　you　how　glad　I　am　that　you　beat　that　horrible　frameup。〃
　〃Thank　you　very　much；〃　Virginia　said。
　〃I'm　a　stranger　to　you；〃　the　woman　went　on；　〃but　I　wanted　you　to　know　how　I　felt。〃
　Within　the　next　hour　there　were　five　more　calls；　including　one　from　a　man　who　was　obviously　drunk　and　certainly　offensive；　and　another　from　a　woman　who　wanted　a　willing　ear　to　hear　about　her　case。
　Finally；　Virginia　ignored　the　telephone；　which　continued　to　ring；　until　she　went　out　to　dinner。
　The　next　morning　she　asked　the　telephone　pany　to　change　her　number　and　give　her　an　unlisted　one。
　
　CHAPTER　EIGHT
　Virginia　found　she　couldn't　entirely　get　the　matter　of　those　papers　off　her　mind。
　After　all；　Julian　Bannock　had　been　a　rancher。　He　and　his　brother　had　not　been　particularly　close；　and　Julian　was　interested　only　in　liquidating　everything　in　the　estate　and　getting　rid　of　it　just　as　rapidly　as　possible。
　Virginia　knew　there　had　been　many　important　probate　proceedings　and　agreements；　but　after　she　had　turned　the　key　over　to　Julian　Bannock；　she　had　paid　no　more　attention　to　the　estate。
　But　the　thought　of　those　files　left　her　vaguely　uneasy；　and　there　had　been　a　false　note　about　George　Menard。　He　had　seemed　all　right　until　she　had　asked　him　about　himself；　then　he　had　suddenly　bee　evasive。　She　felt　sure　he　had　been　lying　about　his　background。
　After　all；　she　felt　something　of　a　responsibility　for　those　files。
　She　called　Information　to　try　to　place　a　call　to　Julian　Bannock　at　Bakersfield　and　was　informed　he　still　had　no　telephone。
　She　tried　to　forget　the　matter　and　couldn't。　Suppose　Menard　was　up　to　something　tricky。
　She　wanted　to　find　out　about　his　car　registration　but　didn't　know　how　to　go　about　it　without　consulting　Perry　Mason；　and　she　felt　she　had　bothered　him　too　much　already。
　She　determined　to　drive　out　to　Bakersfield　and　talk　things　over　with　Julian　Bannock。
　She　left　at　daylight；　made　inquiries　at　Bakersfield；　and　found　that　Julian　Bannock　lived　some　ten　miles　out　of　the　city。
　She　located　his　mailbox；　drove　in　for　some　three　hundred　yards；　came　to　a　yard　with　a　barn；　several　sheds；　a　house；　shade　trees　and　a　variety　of　farming　implements…tractors；　cultivators；　hayrakes；　disks…stored　more　or　less　haphazardly　in　the　yard。
　A　dog　ran　barking　to　the　car；　and　Julian　Bannock　came　out。
　Despite　the　fact　she　had　only　seen　him　in　his　〃dressed　up〃　clothes；　she　recognized　him　instantly　in　his　coveralls　and　work　shirt。
　〃Hello！〃　he　said。
　〃Hello；　Mr。　Bannock。　Remember　me？　I'm　Virginia　Baxter。　I　was　your　brother's　secretary。〃
　〃Oh；　yes；〃　he　said；　his　voice　cordial。　〃Sure。　I　knew　I'd　seen　you　before　somewhere。　Well；　e　on　in。　We'll　fix　you　up　a　breakfast；　eggs　from　our　own　yard；　and　maybe　you'd　like　some　homemade　bread　and　preserves…fruit　right　off　our　own　trees　here。〃
　〃That　would　be　wonderful；〃　she　said；　〃but　I　wanted　to　talk　with　you　about　a　few　things。〃
　〃What？〃
　〃Those　papers　that　you　took；〃　she　said。　〃Those　filing　cases。　Where　do　you　have　them？〃
　He　grinned　at　her。　〃Oh；　I　sold　all　those　quite　a　while　ago。〃
　〃Not　the　files？〃
　〃Well；　I　told　the　fellow　to　take　everything。　The　stuff　was　cluttering　up　a　lot　of　room　here　and…You　know　what？　Mice　were　getting　in　those　papers。　They'd　get　up　in　there　and　start　chewing　on　the　papers　to　make　nests。〃
　〃But　what　actually　became　of　the　papers？　Did　the　man　who　bought　the　files…〃
　〃Oh；　the　papers！　No；　they're　here。　The　man　who　bought　the　filing　cases　wouldn't　take　the　papers。　He　dumped　the　papers　all　out。　He　said　the　papers　made　the　files　too　heavy　to　carry。〃
　〃And　you　burned　them　up？〃
　〃No；　I　tied　them　up　in　bundles　with　binder　twine。　I　guess　the　mice　are　getting　in　there　pretty　bad…you　know　the　way　it　is　around　a　ranch；　you　have　a　barn　and　mice　live　in　the　barn。
　〃We've　got　a　couple　of　cats　now　that　have　been　keeping　things　down　pretty　well；　but…〃
　〃Would　it　be　all　right　to　take　a　look？〃　she　said。　〃I'd　just　like　to　see　about　some　of　the　old　papers。〃
　〃Funny　thing；〃　he　said；　〃that　you'd　be　worrying　about　those。　There　was　a　fellow　here　yesterday。〃
　〃There　was？〃
　〃That's　right。〃
　〃A　man　about　forty…five？〃　she　asked。　〃With　very　intense　black　eyes　and　a　small　stubby　mustache？　He　wanted…〃
　Julian　Bannock　interrupted　her　by　shaking　his　head。　〃No；〃　he　said；　〃this　was　a　fellow　around　fifty…five　but　he　had　bluish　sort　of　eyes　and　was　sort　of　light…plected。
　〃This　fellow's　name　was　Smith。　He　wanted　to　find　some　agreement　or　other。〃
　〃And　what　did　you　do？〃
　〃I　told　him　where　the　papers　were；　told　him　to　look　around　and　help　himself　if　he　wanted。　I　was　busy　and　he　seemed　a　mighty　nice　fellow！'
　〃Did　he　find　what　he　wanted？〃
　Julian　Bannock　shook　his　head。　〃He　said　that　things　were　too　much　of　a　mess　for　him　to　unscramble。　He　said　he　didn't　know　anything　about　the　files。　If　he　could　get　hold　of　the　key　to　the　filing　system；　he　thought　he　could　maybe　find　the　paper　he　wanted。
　〃He　asked　me　if　I　knew　anything　about　how　the　files　were　classified　and　I　told　him　I　didn't。〃
　〃It　was　all　handled　according　to　numbers；〃　Virginia　said。　〃General　classifications。　For　instance；　number　one　to　a　thousand　was　personal　correspondence。　Number　one　thousand　to　three　thousand　represented　contracts。　Three　thousand　to　five　thousand；　probate。　Five　thousand　to　six　thousand；　wills。　Six　thousand　to　eight　thousand；　agreements。　Eight　thousand　to　ten　thousand；　real　estate　transactions。〃
　〃Well；　I　didn't　disturb　a