“The question,” Mason said, “is whether this divorce was actually obtained.”
Mrs. Sabin settled back in her chair. “Very well,” she said to Richard Waid. “This is your party. Go ahead and furnish the entertainment.”
Waid said, “I will. The facts in this case are bound to come out sooner or later, anyway. Fremont C. Sabin had been unhappy for some time. He and his wife had been virtually separated. He wanted his freedom; his wife wanted a cash settlement.
“For some reason, Mr. Sabin wanted to have the matter remain a closely guarded secret. He didn’t trust any of his regular attorneys with the matter, but went to a man by the name of C. William Desmond. I don’t know whether any of you gentlemen know him.”
“I know of him,” Mason said, “a very reputable attorney. Go ahead, Waid. Tell me what happened.”
Waid said, “An agreement was reached by which Mrs. Sabin agreed to get a divorce in Reno. When she presented a certified copy of the divorce decree to Mr. Sabin, he was to pay her the sum of one hundred thousand dollars in cash. It was stipulated as part of the agreement that there was to be absolutely no publicity, and that the responsibility was up to Mrs. Sabin to arrange the matter in such a way that the newspapers would not get hold of it.”
“Then she didn’t go around the world, after all?” Mason asked.
“No, of course not. As I told you, she went only as far as Honolulu, took the Clipper ship back, established a six weeks’ residence in Reno, secured a decree of divorce, and went to New York. That was what Mr. Sabin telephoned to me about on the evening of the fifth. He said that everything was arranged and Mrs. Sabin was to meet me in New York with the decree of divorce. As I’ve already explained to the officers, Steve was waiting at the airport with his plane all tuned up and ready. I stepped in and we took off for New York. We arrived in New York on the afternoon of the sixth. I went directly to the bankers to whom Mr. Sabin had directed me, and also to the firm of solicitors who represented Mr. Sabin in New York. I wanted them to check over the certified decree of divorce before I paid over the money.”
“They did so?” Mason asked.
“Yes.”