Holmes' Own Story: In Which the Alleged Multi-murderer and Arch Conspirator Tells of the Twenty-two Tragic Deaths and Disappearances in Which He Is Said to Be Implicated, With Moyamensing Prison Diary AppendixMudgett, Herman W.
General
Holmes' Own Story: In Which the Alleged Multi-murderer and Arch Conspirator Tells of the Twenty-two Tragic Deaths and Disappearances in Which He Is Said to Be Implicated, With Moyamensing Prison Diary Appendix
Mudgett, Herman W.
Mudgett, Herman W., 1861-1896; Serial murderers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Biography
He then said, “I will allow no man to come into my office and dictate
to me in regard to a fee after the work has been done for him, and as
for $500 it is an insult to offer it.” I then reminded him that I was
not making it as an offer to him, one of the most prominent lawyers of
St. Louis, but to his partner, a recent law graduate, to whom a $500
fee would be a large one, inasmuch as his expenses upon the trip had
been elaborately provided for.
He said, “Well, we will take $3,000 for this work and nothing less.” I
replied, “It cannot be paid.”
He said, “Then there is no further use for us to discuss the matter.”
Turning to his partner, he then said, “Go to the bank and get a New
York draft for what you have left; I am going to return the money.” I
said, “Very well, sir, nothing could be more to my advantage than this,
and upon Mrs. Pitezel receiving the money direct from the company I
shall tender to you your fee of $500.”
He replied, “You will never have a chance to do this; when the money
is sent back I shall at the same time write a letter to my old friend,
Captain Linden of the Philadelphia Police Department, stating that
since my return we have found out that the claim is crooked and cannot
handle such money, and that we think it our duty to aid him by placing
him in immediate possession of all the facts pertaining to the matter;
moreover, you are wanted in Fort Worth, Texas, and I shall at once
cause your arrest before you can leave the city.”
I replied, “You could only cause me trouble in regard to the insurance
matter at the cost of your partner’s disgrace.” He said, “It is not so;
it would be the word of our firm, which is well known throughout the
country, against your single statement, and you a man that has already
been under arrest once and will be again inside of an hour.” This so
angered me that I said, “You can send back the money, you can arrest
me, but you cannot intimidate or browbeat me. I will spend ten years in
the penitentiary before giving in to you now.”
Upon this I left the office. Mrs. Pitezel was seated in the outer
room, having come in in the meantime. I asked her to come at once
to Judge Harvey’s office, and upon her hesitating to do so, when he
asked her to remain a moment, I told her to make no settlement that
involved a greater reduction than $500 from the amount the company had
paid. Upon my doing this I left the office, and waited a long time for
Mrs. Pitezel; and when she met me she was in tears and said that they
would not let her leave the office until she allowed them to deduct
$2,500 from the insurance money, and that she had also signed a long
typewritten agreement of some kind. She then had the remainder of the
money, about $6,000, with her, the lawyers having previously paid some
bills upon her giving them a written order to do so.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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