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The Case of the Howling Dog :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 41 из 146Here's another funny thing: just before I left, immigration officers came and picked up the Chink cook for deportation, on the ground that he didn't have a certificate, and I guess he didn't. He's a Chinese of around forty or fortyfive, and unless he's native born, he's probably headed for China."
"Will Foley put up a fight for him?"
"The girl said he would," Mason answered.
"What girl?"
"The housekeeper."
"Girl, eh?"
"Well, she's a young woman."
"You seem to think she's got plenty of IT."
"She's got something," said Mason slowly, "and I don't know what it is. She's gone to a lot of trouble to make herself up so she looks plain and homely. Women don't ordinarily do that."
Paul Drake grinned slowly.
"Women ordinarily do anything they damned please," he said.
Perry Mason said nothing for a few minutes, but drummed silently with his fingertips on the surface of the desk. Then he looked over at Paul Drake.
"The housekeeper says that Mrs. Foley left there in a taxicab this morning. Now, Cartright left his place last night and didn't come back. He was in very much of a hurry, because he sent an important letter to me by special delivery, but had his housekeeper mail it. Now, if you can find the taxicab that called for Mrs. Foley, and find where she was taken, you're quite likely to find some trace of Cartright at that place. That is, if the housekeeper is telling the truth."
"You think she isn't?"
"I don't know. I want to get all of the facts, then I'll sift them and sort them. I want the most complete reports possible. Put enough men on it to familiarize yourself with every angle of the case. Find out who these people are, where they've been, what they're doing and why."
"Put a tail on Foley?"
"Yes, put a tail on Foley. But don't let him know it. I want him watched wherever he goes."
Paul Drake got to his feet and ambled in a leisurely way toward the door.
"I get you," he said, "I'll get started."
He opened the door, stepped through the outer office and vanished.
Apparently the man moved with a shambling, leisurely stride; yet an ordinary man would have been hard put to keep up with him. Paul Drake's efficiency, both in his work and in his motions, lay in the fact that he never became excited and never wasted time in lost motion.
When the detective had gone, Perry Mason summoned Della Street into his office.
"Della," he said, "cancel every appointment that I've got. Hold everything wide open. Clear the decks for action.
"Will Foley put up a fight for him?"
"The girl said he would," Mason answered.
"What girl?"
"The housekeeper."
"Girl, eh?"
"Well, she's a young woman."
"You seem to think she's got plenty of IT."
"She's got something," said Mason slowly, "and I don't know what it is. She's gone to a lot of trouble to make herself up so she looks plain and homely. Women don't ordinarily do that."
Paul Drake grinned slowly.
"Women ordinarily do anything they damned please," he said.
Perry Mason said nothing for a few minutes, but drummed silently with his fingertips on the surface of the desk. Then he looked over at Paul Drake.
"The housekeeper says that Mrs. Foley left there in a taxicab this morning. Now, Cartright left his place last night and didn't come back. He was in very much of a hurry, because he sent an important letter to me by special delivery, but had his housekeeper mail it. Now, if you can find the taxicab that called for Mrs. Foley, and find where she was taken, you're quite likely to find some trace of Cartright at that place. That is, if the housekeeper is telling the truth."
"You think she isn't?"
"I don't know. I want to get all of the facts, then I'll sift them and sort them. I want the most complete reports possible. Put enough men on it to familiarize yourself with every angle of the case. Find out who these people are, where they've been, what they're doing and why."
"Put a tail on Foley?"
"Yes, put a tail on Foley. But don't let him know it. I want him watched wherever he goes."
Paul Drake got to his feet and ambled in a leisurely way toward the door.
"I get you," he said, "I'll get started."
He opened the door, stepped through the outer office and vanished.
Apparently the man moved with a shambling, leisurely stride; yet an ordinary man would have been hard put to keep up with him. Paul Drake's efficiency, both in his work and in his motions, lay in the fact that he never became excited and never wasted time in lost motion.
When the detective had gone, Perry Mason summoned Della Street into his office.
"Della," he said, "cancel every appointment that I've got. Hold everything wide open. Clear the decks for action.