The Case of the Horrified Heirs by Erle Stanley Gardner

safe."
    "Okay," he said, "I'll give you a hand when it comes to putting them in. Do you think I should stack them up now and-"
    "No," she said, "there's still some semblance of order. A good many of the classifications are still segregated. Somewhere there's a master book which gives the numbers and an index. That is, it was here.
    "If you don't mind, I'd like to stop at one of the supermarkets and get some big cartons; then come back and try and put this stuff together again so it makes some sort of sense."
    "Well, now," he said, "if you want to do it, that's fine with me, but it's a lot of work to go through and it's pretty dusty in here. You're all dressed up neat as a pin and-"
    "Don't worry," she said, "I'm going to get some blue jeans and a blouse in town. If you don't mind, I'll change my clothes when I get back and get to work."
    "Sure thing," he said, "we'll give you a place to change in the house, and a chance to take a bath when you're finished. This is going to be pretty dusty."
    "I know it is," she said, laughing, "but us ranchers have to get used to a little dust now and then."
    He grinned at her, thrust out his hand and shook hands.
    "You're all right," he announced.
    Virginia returned to her car, drove to Bakersfield and called Perry Mason, just as the lawyer was reaching his office.
    "You wanted me to tell you if anything unusual happened," she said, "and this is unusual enough, but I just can't understand the significance."
    "Go ahead," Mason said, "tell me what it is."
    "You'll probably laugh and think my imagination is working overtime. There's probably no way on earth it can be connected with anything but-Well, here's what happened."
    She told him about Bannock, the papers, about the man who had called on her, his description and a general but somewhat vague description of the automobile in which he had driven away. "A model about two to four years old, I would guess. I think it was an Oldsmobile," she said. "The first figure of the license number was a zero. I tried to get it but he drove away very fast."
    "Where was he parked?" Mason asked. "Could you see the parking place from which he drove his car? That might tell us how long he'd been waiting. I presume parking places right in front of your apartment house are hard to find."
    "I'll say they are!" she exclaimed. "But this man didn't have any trouble. He parked right in front of the fireplug."
    "Then he hadn't been there very long," Mason said. "That means he must have followed you home rather than been there waiting. I would think the police would check that fireplug space rather often."
    "They do! I had a friend who parked just long enough to leave a parcel, yet she got a parking ticket. It wasn't over a minute."
    "You think the first number on the license plate was a zero?" Mason asked.
    "Yes, I'm quite certain of that, and I think the last number was a two, but I'm not at all certain of that."
    "You're in Bakersfield now?" Mason asked.
    "Yes. I went out to Mr. Bannock's brother's place to check with him and found that someone had been out there; gone through all the files."
    "What do you mean by 'going through them'?" Mason asked.
    She described the files.
    Mason's voice became crisp with authority.
    "Now, this is important, Virginia. You say the files were all cut open?"
    "Yes."
    "Every single bundle?"
    "Yes."
    "And their contents spread out?"
    "Yes."
    "No single bundle was intact?"
    "No."
    "You're sure of that?"
    "Why, yes. Why is it important, Mr. Mason?"
    "Because," Mason said, "it indicates a strong probability that the person who is searching didn't find what he was looking for.
    "In other words, if you're looking for a particular paper and you're in a hurry, you cut open bundle after bundle of papers until you find the one you want; then you shove it in your pocket and get away from there fast. That would leave some bundles that hadn't been cut open.
    "But if, on the other hand, all of the bundles are cut open, it's a pretty good indication