“You’re putting me in a very difficult position, Mason,” Bolding said irritably.
Mason’s voice showed surprise. “I am? Why, I thought you’d put yourself in it.”
Bolding pushed back his swivel chair, crossed over to a steel filing case, unlocked the catch and angrily jerked the steel drawer open. “Oh, all right,” he said, “if you’re going to act that way about it.”
Bolding opened the files and spread papers out on the desk. “Richard Waid,” he said, “was Fremont C. Sabin’s secretary. He held Sabin’s power of attorney and had authority to sign checks up to five thousand dollars. Checks over five thousand dollars had to be signed by Sabin. I have in this file sixteen thousand five hundred dollars in forged checks. The checks are three in number, each is over five thousand in amount, and each purports to have been signed by Sabin. The forgeries were so clever the bank cashed them.”
“How were they discovered?” Mason asked.
“Sabin discovered them when he audited his bank account.”
“Why didn’t Waid discover them?”
“Because Sabin had the habit of issuing checks from time to time without advising his secretary.”
“Did Waid finally learn of these checks?”
“No, Mr. Sabin wanted it kept a closely guarded secret, because he thought it was a family matter.”