“How affluent?” Mason asked.
“I don’t know. He carries his money with him in a money belt. I’ve never seen the inside of that money belt, but occasionally he goes to a bank and gets a thousand-dollar bill changed.”
She continued to clutch at the lawyer’s wrist, and now her hand was trembling with nervousness. “Naturally,” she went on rapidly, “I’m not a fool. I haven’t lived thirty-nine years for nothing.”
“Did you ever ask him any specific questions about the reasons for his actions, about where the money was coming from?” Mason asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me he’d won a sweepstakes — some lottery... But I don’t think he had. The newspapers publish the names of the winners, don’t they?”
Mason nodded. “Only sometimes persons buy tickets under fictitious names.”
“Well, he told me he’d won one of the sweepstakes. He said that environment had made our friendships, rather than natural selection. He said he wanted to begin life all over, take a new name, travel and have Belle meet people of the right sort.”
“You didn’t believe what he told you about winning the lottery?” Mason asked.