Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

Sitting in the counseling room, Mason said to Warren: "Keep your voice down, put your mouth close to my ear and speak softly. I often feel like I'm being bugged in this type of room. Answer me a few questions first. Have you Take cash from your wife's bedroom suitcase?" "Have." "why?" "I knew it was an extortion and I didn't want her to pay the extortion money. I thought if I smuggled the money and just kept some old newspapers in it, then when she was going to pay the money, she found out that the money had been stolen." When you leave, you have to come to me and confess to me."

"Did she confess?" "No." "Then how did she handle it?" "Obviously she got the money from elsewhere." "Do you know who is blackmailing her?" "I know." "How long have you known?" "Mr. Mason, I knew about it before we got married, but she didn't know about it. If she wants to keep this past secret, I'll let her do so." "How did you know?" "Through Judson Wanney." "What does he know?" "He knew about her past." "How did you know that?"

“When I met Lorna in Mexico City, I was very interested in her. I could see that she was troubled by something from her past. She never talked about her past, but I could see that she was suffering. At the time, Wanney was my secretary and did all the errands for me. I asked him to check Lorna Neely's background for me, so he got on a plane and went out there to gather information. It wasn't hard to find out. At that time, she was new to the world, and the villain took advantage of Lorna's confidence and loyalty to him, and used her as an innocent tool for profit." "Do you think she guarded the forty-seven thousand dollars for him?"

"I never thought about it that way until...um, until I learned that he was about to be released from prison and...well, there was 47,000 yuan in Lorna's suitcase." "So, you now think she's escrowing that money for him?" "I have no idea." "Has this incident affected your perception of her?" "No." "Okay, now tell me what just happened," Mason said. "Remember, keep the volume down and put your mouth close to my ear before you speak." "Ghidon pointed the finger at everybody," Warren said. "He called Wannie, and me, and I guess he called Lorna too. He's going to eat everybody, and he says he's going out of town and needs money."

"Why Wanna?" Mason asked. "Wannie is very loyal to my safety. Although he doesn't know all the things that have happened recently, he is very worried that Gidon may blackmail Lorna, which will cause the incident to explode and cause a storm in the city. Gidon is still polite to him. , only ask for 2,500 yuan." "How much does he want from you?" "He asked me to prepare 10,000 yuan in cash and hand it over to him face to face." "Did he reveal his identity?" "yes." "Did he mention his connection with your wife?"

"He said the whole thing on the phone, this guy is very vicious, Mason." "So you deduce that he has called your wife." "I think so." "Did she bring money to the appointment?" "I am not sure." "Did Wannie go with the money, too?" "Vanney was still raising money." "Did Vannie reveal anything to you?" "Not at first, he was just trying to raise money. The cashier told me that Wannie wanted an advance. So I called him in to find out what was going on and started to believe it was a blackmail. Gidon told me What was done, happened to Wannie. In the end, he admitted the fact that he did it to protect Lorna and me. He was just so loyal."

"Do you trust him?" Mason asked. "Do you think he was purely loyal?" "I guess it's just loyalty." "Then what did you say to him?" "I told him to leave it alone, I'll take care of it, and then I went to my appointment." "Did you bring any money?" Mason asked. "No, I didn't prepare the money. I knew that if I paid him to taste the sweetness, there would be no peace in the future." "Deal with blackmailers," Mason said. "If you don't satisfy the other party according to your needs, you will call the police or terminate him. Since you don't plan to satisfy his appetite with payment, are you determined to kill him to avoid future troubles?"

"No, Mr. Mason, I never did. I'm going to take the second course. I'm going to tell him that if he gets any further, I'm going to call the police. I'm going to tell the whole story, charge him with blackmail, and get him back. to prison." "What did Gidon say when you did that?" Mason asked. "He never got a chance to speak. When I got there, he was dead." Mason raised his eyebrows. "I know it sounds weird," Warren said. "But he did die, someone killed him." "Do you know what killed him?" "I think it was a revolver. There was a gun on the table then."

"Did the police find the gun?" Mason asked. Warren lowered his eyes. "How is it?" Mason asked. "I'm lost, Mason." "What the hell!" said Mason. "Just to be clear, what happened?" "The guy was lying on his back, apparently he had lived there for some time, and it was his hiding place. There were boxes of canned food, a small alcohol stove, a table, an empty carafe There's a box of cans, and, as I said, a gun on the table." "Don't tell me you touched that gun," Mason said. "I've done worse things," Warren said. "When I got to the warehouse, the door was open and I walked in. I didn't see anyone at first, but I saw this gun on the table first, so I picked it up because I didn't have it with me when I left for the appointment. Any weapon, so I figured it would be a good idea to disarm the opponent, so I put the gun in my pocket."

"What happened next?" "Then I went around behind a box of canned food and saw Gidon lying on the ground. At this moment, the siren outside suddenly blared. Naturally, I thought it was the police, but it was the fire department. I didn’t know what to do, so I turned around and ran away, trying to hide in the warehouse, but they found me.” Mason said, "Damn it, Warren, stop lying to me! You're not that innocent." "What I say is the truth." "No, you didn't," Mason said. "You're making up a story. You think Lorna killed Gidon, don't you?"

Warren hesitated for a moment, then said, "I saw Lorna's car as I turned into Covina Street." "Did she see you?" "No." "How far is she from the crime scene?" "Five or six blocks or so." "Anything else?" Mason asked. "One of Lorna's gloves fell on the floor by the table." "Which one? Left or right?" "I am not sure." "How did you know it was Lorna's glove?" "Because the tanned gloves are of a peculiar hue." "And then, what did you do?" Mason asked. "I picked up the glove and the gun, put the gun in my pocket, threw the glove down the toilet and flushed it away. At this moment, I heard the sirens. I was surrounded and couldn't escape. My car was parked in the alley. Because Gidon asked me to enter the back warehouse through the side door of the alley." "Are you going to tell the police your story and Gidon's relationship with your wife?" Mason asked. "I won't, I'll keep my mouth shut." "What did you do with that pistol?" "I'm the biggest fool, Mr. Mason, and the gun's still in my pocket." "Are you going to protect your wife and take the blame for her? Is that your pistol?" "Yes, I bought the gun and it's registered in my name." "Well, don't say a word to anybody," Mason said. "Tell them you're innocent and you're going to tell the whole story on the witness stand when you're in court, not now, not today. Talk too much to other people." "What about Lorna? What would she say?" "Leave Lorna to me," Mason said. "It's a bloody murder case. They've got you stuck, and if they find out about Lorna, they're going to use that as a motive. What about Judson Wanney, you're sure he'll keep quiet ?" "I don't know, I hope so." "I hope so, too," Mason said. "But if the police extract a confession, he will break down and then things will get serious."