Crows Can't Count

Mr. Harry Sharples came to the Cool & Lam Agency; he was a co-trustee for a trust fund that will terminate when the youngest beneficiary turns 25. One of the heirs, Robert Hockley, is wild and gambles. The other, Shirley Bruce, isn't but refuses to take more than the other. A large part of the estate is in Colombian emerald mines. A jeweler has an emerald pendant for sale. Sharples believes this was part of the estate given to Shirley Bruce. Sharples wants Lam to find out how the jeweler got the pendant, and if any pressure was used (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 describes the preliminary investigation. Lam sees Robert Cameron, the other co-trustee show up. Sharples is surprised and astonished to hear this news (Chapter 3). When Lam and Sharples go to visit Cameron, they find a dead body. They call the police from outside the house (Chapter 4). Sharples tells Sgt. Sam Buda that Cameron had no enemies (Chapter 5). The emerald pendant was there. The police investigate the jeweler and the stockbroker who was visited by Robert Cameron earlier that day (Chapter 8). Lam visits Dona Grafton, who minded Cameron's crow when Cameron left the country (Chapter 11). An anonymous donor sent Dona a box of chocolates. Lam inspects the crow's nest. Lam learns that Robert Hockley was getting a passport and decides to follow him (Chapter 12). The police bring Lam to Sharples' residence. His office is disordered as from a struggle, and Sharples is missing (Chapter 15). Lam meets George Prenter on the airplane, and hears of the wonderful life and climate in Medellin Colombia (Chapter 16). A visitor surprises Lam and we learn the true facts behind the earlier events (Chapter 17). Lam learns that someone else has been killed (Chapter 19). Lam and Cool get a telephone call about a prison escape. They will be guarded (Chapter 21). Lam and "the delightful Senora Cool" will be allowed to return to California as soon as possible (Chapter 22). Then Lam visits Dona Grafton and asks questions (Chapter 23). There is amazing testimony from a witness in Chapter 24. Lam places a call to the police so they will get an interpreter and notary public. This written statement will convict a businessman of fraud, and affect the wealth in a trust. Lam explains the facts behind the scandal (Chapter 25). [Do you remember the story of King Solomon and the disputed child?] The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fall into place, just as the apple falls close to its tree (Chapter 26). One benefit of this story is the description of the trip to Colombia.

The investigative team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam is one of the more interesting ones in literature. Bertha is a large woman whose appetite for money exceeds all of her other cravings and Donald is a genius at solving crimes. Unlike other detectives, he relies on thought and anticipation rather than the power of firearms. While he is similar to Perry Mason in that he skirts the edges of the law, generating hostility from police officers, unlike the Mason stories, the hostility between the law and Lam is not as dominant. In this story, a client (Harry Sharples) asks for assistance in determining why the beneficiary of a trust (Shirley Bruce) that he co-administers is behaving the way she is. There are two beneficiaries, the other; (Robert Hockley) is a spendthrift who is always asking for more money. By the terms of the trust, it is possible for the relative amounts of the disbursement to be changed; however Shirley is willing to allow Robert to receive more money than she does. The story revolves around a necklace made from emeralds. The trust has major holdings in Columbia, specifically gold and emerald mines. The Colombian government has a monopoly on emeralds, so the output of the mine is strictly regulated. Things change quickly when the other trust administrator (Robert Cameron) is found stabbed to death. Lam and Sharples discover the body and Lam immediately suspects a set-up. What further confuses the issue is that loose emeralds seem to be present in abundance. Cameron has a pet crow that moves between two nests and Lam finds emeralds in both locations. There is a beautiful artist and her hotheaded mother, who tries to knife Lam. With so many characters having their own contributions to the mystery, there are more than enough suspects to obfuscate the culprit. What I liked most about the story is the description of Lam's trip to Columbia. He interacts with Colombian authorities on an equal basis. There are no aspects of anti-American feeling in the Colombians and Lam treats them as intelligent equals rather than hicks. Bertha Cool fills the role of the ugly American, insulting everyone in sight. Lam learns all he needs to know while in Columbia and returns to the United States. Once he gets back, he unmasks some false relationships and exposes the murderer. It was not the person that I suspected, although there were clues distributed throughout the story. This is one of the better Gardner mysteries, written under the pen name of A. A. Fair. Lam is the thinking person's detective, he solves the case without firing a shot, punching a nose or engaging in deceptive actions.