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The Case of the Howling Dog :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 6 из 146He started to hand the bills to the lawyer, butthey slipped from his fingers when his hand was half way across the desk, and fluttered to the blotter.
"There's three hundred dollars," he said. "That's for retainer. There'll be more when you get finished — lots more. I haven't been to the bank and got my cash yet, but I'm going to get it. I've got it in a safety deposit box — lots of it."
Perry Mason didn't touch the money for a moment. The tips of his firm capable fingers were drumming noiselessly on the desk.
"Cartright," he said slowly, "if I act as your lawyer in this thing, I am going to do what I think is for your own good and for your best interests, do you understand that?"
"Of course I understand it, that's what I want you to do."
"No matter what it is," warned Mason, "if I think it's for your best interests I'm going to do it."
"That's all right," Cartright told him, "if you'll just agree to handle the thing for me."
Perry Mason picked up the three one hundred dollar bills, folded them, put them in his pocket.
"Very well," he said, "I'll handle it for you. Now you want Foley arrested, is that right?"
"Yes."
"All right," Mason said, "that isn't going to be particularly complicated. You simply swear to a complaint, and the magistrate issues a warrant of arrest. Now, why did you want to retain me in that connection? Did you want me to act as special prosecutor?"
"You don't know Clinton Foley," doggedly repeated Arthur Cartright. "He'll come back at me. He'll file a suit against me for malicious prosecution. Perhaps he's just trained the dog to howl so that he can get me to walk into a trap."
"What kind of a dog is it?" Mason asked.
"A big police dog."
Perry Mason lowered his eyes and watched the tips of this drumming fingers for a moment, then looked up at Cartright with a reassuring smile.
"Legally," he said, "it's always a good defense to a suit for malicious prosecution if a person consults an attorney in good faith and puts all of the facts before him and then acts on the advice of that attorney. Now I'm going to put you in a position where no one can ever recover in a suit for malicious prosecution. I'm going to take you to a deputy in the district attorney's office, one who has charge of such matters. I'm going to let you talk with that deputy and tell him the whole story, — about the dog I mean. You don't need to tell him anything about the will. If he decides that a warrant should be issued, that's all there is to it. But I must warn you to tell the whole story to the district attorney.
"There's three hundred dollars," he said. "That's for retainer. There'll be more when you get finished — lots more. I haven't been to the bank and got my cash yet, but I'm going to get it. I've got it in a safety deposit box — lots of it."
Perry Mason didn't touch the money for a moment. The tips of his firm capable fingers were drumming noiselessly on the desk.
"Cartright," he said slowly, "if I act as your lawyer in this thing, I am going to do what I think is for your own good and for your best interests, do you understand that?"
"Of course I understand it, that's what I want you to do."
"No matter what it is," warned Mason, "if I think it's for your best interests I'm going to do it."
"That's all right," Cartright told him, "if you'll just agree to handle the thing for me."
Perry Mason picked up the three one hundred dollar bills, folded them, put them in his pocket.
"Very well," he said, "I'll handle it for you. Now you want Foley arrested, is that right?"
"Yes."
"All right," Mason said, "that isn't going to be particularly complicated. You simply swear to a complaint, and the magistrate issues a warrant of arrest. Now, why did you want to retain me in that connection? Did you want me to act as special prosecutor?"
"You don't know Clinton Foley," doggedly repeated Arthur Cartright. "He'll come back at me. He'll file a suit against me for malicious prosecution. Perhaps he's just trained the dog to howl so that he can get me to walk into a trap."
"What kind of a dog is it?" Mason asked.
"A big police dog."
Perry Mason lowered his eyes and watched the tips of this drumming fingers for a moment, then looked up at Cartright with a reassuring smile.
"Legally," he said, "it's always a good defense to a suit for malicious prosecution if a person consults an attorney in good faith and puts all of the facts before him and then acts on the advice of that attorney. Now I'm going to put you in a position where no one can ever recover in a suit for malicious prosecution. I'm going to take you to a deputy in the district attorney's office, one who has charge of such matters. I'm going to let you talk with that deputy and tell him the whole story, — about the dog I mean. You don't need to tell him anything about the will. If he decides that a warrant should be issued, that's all there is to it. But I must warn you to tell the whole story to the district attorney.