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The Case of the Velvet Claws :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 108 из 149It was the assumption of the police that Mitchell was shielding some one to whom he had given the gun.
No names were mentioned, but Mason was able to realize that the police were getting close to Harrison Burke. He had also read, with increasing interest, about a chance remark which Eva Belter had made which had caused the police to start seeking an attorney who had represented her, and who had mysteriously disappeared from his office. The police were confidently predicting that the mystery would be solved within another twentyfour hours, and the man who fired the fatal shot be behind the bars.
Somebody knocked at the door.
Perry Mason put down the newspaper he was reading, cocked his head on one side, and listened.
The knock was repeated.
Mason shrugged his shoulders, walked to the door, twisted the key, and opened it.
Della Street was in the hall.
She pushed her way into the room, slammed the door behind her, and locked it.
“I told you not to risk it,” Mason told her.
She turned around and looked at him. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, with dark circles under them, and her face was haggard.
“I don’t care,” she said. “It was all right. I managed to ditch them. I’ve been playing tag with them for an hour.”
“You can’t ever tell about those fellows, Della. They’re clever. Sometimes they let you think you’ve got away in order to find out where you wanted to go.”
“They didn’t slip anything over on me,” she said in a voice that told of raw nerves. “I tell you they don’t know where I am.”
He caught the note of hysteria in her voice. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I was just wondering who I could get to take down some stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“Some stuff that’s going to come up.”
She made a gesture toward the newspapers on the bed.
“Chief,” she said, “I told you that she was going to get you into trouble. She came into the office and signed those papers. There were a bunch of reporters hanging around, of course, and they started going after her. Then the detectives took her down to Headquarters for further questioning. You can see what she did.”
Mason nodded. “That’s all right. Don’t get excited, Della.”
“Get excited? Do you know what she did? She made the statement down there that she recognized your voice. That you were the man that was in the room with Belter when the shot was fired. And then she pulled a fainting fit, and a lot of hysterics, and stuff of that sort.
No names were mentioned, but Mason was able to realize that the police were getting close to Harrison Burke. He had also read, with increasing interest, about a chance remark which Eva Belter had made which had caused the police to start seeking an attorney who had represented her, and who had mysteriously disappeared from his office. The police were confidently predicting that the mystery would be solved within another twentyfour hours, and the man who fired the fatal shot be behind the bars.
Somebody knocked at the door.
Perry Mason put down the newspaper he was reading, cocked his head on one side, and listened.
The knock was repeated.
Mason shrugged his shoulders, walked to the door, twisted the key, and opened it.
Della Street was in the hall.
She pushed her way into the room, slammed the door behind her, and locked it.
“I told you not to risk it,” Mason told her.
She turned around and looked at him. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, with dark circles under them, and her face was haggard.
“I don’t care,” she said. “It was all right. I managed to ditch them. I’ve been playing tag with them for an hour.”
“You can’t ever tell about those fellows, Della. They’re clever. Sometimes they let you think you’ve got away in order to find out where you wanted to go.”
“They didn’t slip anything over on me,” she said in a voice that told of raw nerves. “I tell you they don’t know where I am.”
He caught the note of hysteria in her voice. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I was just wondering who I could get to take down some stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“Some stuff that’s going to come up.”
She made a gesture toward the newspapers on the bed.
“Chief,” she said, “I told you that she was going to get you into trouble. She came into the office and signed those papers. There were a bunch of reporters hanging around, of course, and they started going after her. Then the detectives took her down to Headquarters for further questioning. You can see what she did.”
Mason nodded. “That’s all right. Don’t get excited, Della.”
“Get excited? Do you know what she did? She made the statement down there that she recognized your voice. That you were the man that was in the room with Belter when the shot was fired. And then she pulled a fainting fit, and a lot of hysterics, and stuff of that sort.