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

you want?"
    "Morley Eden! But.. what's he doing here?"
    "For your information, he bought this property from Loring Carson. Now, who are you and what do you want?"
    "My gosh, I'm sorry," the man said. "I… I guess my temper has run away with me again."
    "I guess it has," Mason said. "Now what's this all about?"
    "I'm Norbert Jennings. He knows who I am."
    "I know who you are simply as a name," Eden said, moving around to flank Mason.
    The lawyer, seeing there was no indication that hostilities would be resumed immediately, said, "All right, let's get this straight. Just how do you enter into this picture, Mr. Jennings?"
    "Your client will know," Jennings said sullenly.
    Eden said, "Norbert Jennings was the man Loring Carson named in his cross – complaint as having an affair with Vivian Carson."
    "I see," Mason said.
    "You don't see anything," Jennings said. "That man ruined me. He and his damned tin – star, gumshoe private eye."
    "He was following you?" Mason asked.
    "He was following Nadine Palmer," Jennings said.
    "It was all a mistake," Eden interposed. "Carson was supposed to put the finger on his wife for LeGrande Dayton, the detective. But the detective became confused and thought that Mrs. Palmer was the one he was to follow."
    "That's the story now," Jennings said. "They've certainly messed up my life."
    "What happened?" Mason asked.
    "What happened!" Jennings said. "They smeared my name all over the court records."
    "Did it get in the papers?"
    "Of course it did. I'm the prize fall guy of the year. They laugh at me at the club, at the golf course, everywhere. It's getting so I don't like to go out."
    "And Nadine Palmer's husband?"
    "She hasn't any. They're divorced," Jennings said. "All right, we were interested in each other. I was meeting her at various places. Don't tell me I shouldn't, because I am not in the mood to have anyone start preaching."
    "You're not married?" Mason asked.
    "No."
    "Then what are you kicking about?"
    "Because that guy, Carson, made me a laughingstock. Getting caught was bad enough. The word was spread around that I'd been stepping out with Vivian Carson. Then it turned out that it was all a mistake and it wasn't Vivian Carson at all, but Nadine Palmer.
    "That made a funny story out of it. No one ever lives down a funny story. Everybody's laughing at the story and sympathizing with her, and a woman of her caliber can't stand sympathy.
    "I came here to tell Loring Carson just what a heel he was. This man opened the door, asked me what I wanted and I told him who I was and then he acted dumb. I guess I got mad. I mean, I was mad. I let my temper get the best of me."
    Eden said, "You sneaked that punch in on me. You…"
    "I didn't sneak anything," Jennings said. "After you've named a man as co-respondent in a cross – complaint you ought to be expecting a sock in the puss."
    "But I didn't name anybody as co-respondent."
    Jennings slowly grinned. "All right, I'll apologize," he said. "Now then, you've got a lawyer here. You tell me how much damages you want for that sock on the puss and I'll write you a check, and my apologies go with the check."
    Eden thought things over. "Well?" Mason prompted.
    Eden grinned ruefully, rubbed his jaw. "When you put it that way," he said, "I guess I don't want anything. I can see things from your viewpoint. You aren't half as mad at Loring Carson as I am. When you see him, just pass on that sock on the jaw to him and then give him another one for me."
    "I'll see him all right," Jennings promised grimly. "The dirty bounder!"
    "And how about Nadine Palmer?" Mason asked. "How is she taking all this?"
    "I wouldn't know. Every time I try to call her she hangs up on me."
    "You tried to see her after that?" Mason asked.
    "I did see her after that, but we didn't go out together. If we had, every gossip columnist in the city would have had a field day writing those tongue – in – cheek articles about the woman in green."
    "May I ask what you discussed with her,