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The Case of the Lucky Legs :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
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Bradburypaused for a moment, then said dramatically. "That was the last anyone ever heard of Marjorie."
"You think she was abducted or something?" Mason asked.
"No; she was swindled and her pride wouldn't let her return. She had left Cloverdale to take her place among the big motion picture stars. She didn't have courage enough to return and admit she had been the victim of a legal fraud."
"Why do you say a legal fraud?" Perry Mason asked.
"Because it's airtight. There were no false representations made that the district attorney of Cloverdale is willing to act on. He wrote the motion picture company; they stated that they were in search of such an actress; that they had empowered Patton, in whose judgment they had the greatest confidence, to discover such an actress; that Marjorie Clune had appeared at their studios; they had employed her for two days while they started to film the picture, and then had decided to scrap it, due, in part, to the fact that Miss Clune did not screen well.
"The contract was limited to one picture?" asked Perry Mason.
"To three pictures, but they were all of them predicated on the satisfactory completion of the first."
"And the title of the first was specifically set forth so that there was nothing to prevent the motion picture company from abandoning production on that play, changing the name and employing another star for the same picture?" Perry Mason asked.
"Now," Bradbury said, "you've got the sketch."
"What do you want me to do?" Mason inquired.
"I want to put Frank Patton behind the bars," said Bradbury. "I think he's had some very shrewd legal advice; I want to get some that's just as shrewd. I want to find him. I want to find Marjorie Clune. I want to force him to make restitution to Marjorie Clune, and, incidentally, I want to make him confess to a fraudulent intent."
"Why?" Perry Mason asked.
"Because then," Bradbury said, "the district attorney here will proceed against the picture company, and the district attorney in Cloverdale will proceed against Patton; but they claim they have to prove his intent beyond a reasonable doubt. It's a mixedup case. If he claims good faith, they can't convict him. They want some sort of an admission from him."
"Why don't they get it then?" Mason asked.
"The district attorney in Cloverdale," Bradbury said, "for some reason simply won't have anything to do with the matter.
Bradburypaused for a moment, then said dramatically. "That was the last anyone ever heard of Marjorie."
"You think she was abducted or something?" Mason asked.
"No; she was swindled and her pride wouldn't let her return. She had left Cloverdale to take her place among the big motion picture stars. She didn't have courage enough to return and admit she had been the victim of a legal fraud."
"Why do you say a legal fraud?" Perry Mason asked.
"Because it's airtight. There were no false representations made that the district attorney of Cloverdale is willing to act on. He wrote the motion picture company; they stated that they were in search of such an actress; that they had empowered Patton, in whose judgment they had the greatest confidence, to discover such an actress; that Marjorie Clune had appeared at their studios; they had employed her for two days while they started to film the picture, and then had decided to scrap it, due, in part, to the fact that Miss Clune did not screen well.
"The contract was limited to one picture?" asked Perry Mason.
"To three pictures, but they were all of them predicated on the satisfactory completion of the first."
"And the title of the first was specifically set forth so that there was nothing to prevent the motion picture company from abandoning production on that play, changing the name and employing another star for the same picture?" Perry Mason asked.
"Now," Bradbury said, "you've got the sketch."
"What do you want me to do?" Mason inquired.
"I want to put Frank Patton behind the bars," said Bradbury. "I think he's had some very shrewd legal advice; I want to get some that's just as shrewd. I want to find him. I want to find Marjorie Clune. I want to force him to make restitution to Marjorie Clune, and, incidentally, I want to make him confess to a fraudulent intent."
"Why?" Perry Mason asked.
"Because then," Bradbury said, "the district attorney here will proceed against the picture company, and the district attorney in Cloverdale will proceed against Patton; but they claim they have to prove his intent beyond a reasonable doubt. It's a mixedup case. If he claims good faith, they can't convict him. They want some sort of an admission from him."
"Why don't they get it then?" Mason asked.
"The district attorney in Cloverdale," Bradbury said, "for some reason simply won't have anything to do with the matter.