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The Case of the Velvet Claws :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 134 из 149“Now the lawyer wanted you to get out of here, didn’t he?”
“Yes. He gave me money and told me that I mustn’t be here. He didn’t want me to be where I could be interviewed if anybody should try to find me.”
“That’s fine,” Mason told him. “Do you know where you are going?”
“Some hotel,” said Loring. “It didn’t make any difference which hotel.”
“Okay,” Drake said. “You come along with us, and we’ll get you a room. You’d better get it under some other name so that you won’t be bothered in case anybody should try to look you up. But you’ve got to keep in touch with us. Otherwise there might be some trouble. We may have to ask you to verify this written statement in the presence of some witness.”
Loring nodded.
“The lawyer should have told me about you fellows,” he said. “He might have got me into an awful mess.”
“He certainly should have,” Mason agreed. “You might have been on your way to Police Headquarters by this time, and it wouldn’t have gone easy with you, once you’d got there.”
“Did Norma come up here with the lawyer?” Drake asked.
“No,” said Loring, “her mother came first. And then the lawyer came.”
“You didn’t see Norma?”
“No, just her mother.”
“All right,” Mason told him. “You come with us, and we’ll take you to the hotel we want you to stay at, and get you a room. You’d better go under the name of Harry LeGrande.”
“How about the baggage?” asked Loring.
“We’ll take care of the baggage. We’ll send the transfer man after it. The hotel porter will take care of everything for you. All you’ve got to do is to go over there. We’ve got a car waiting, and you’d better go over with us right now.”
Loring wet his lips. “Believe me, gentlemen, this is a relief. I was nervous, sitting there waiting for the man to come with the papers. I got to wondering afterwards if that lawyer knew everything he was doing.”
“He was all right,” Mason commented, “but he just forgot to tell you a couple of things. He probably was in a hurry, and excited.”
“Yes,” Loring admitted, “he seemed excited all right.”
They took him down to the car, and Mason said, “We’ll go to the Hotel Ripley, Drake. It’s conveniently located.”
Drake said, “Yeah, I understand.”
They drove in silence to the Hotel Ripley, where Mason was registered under the name of Johnson. He approached the clerk and said, “This is Mr.
“Yes. He gave me money and told me that I mustn’t be here. He didn’t want me to be where I could be interviewed if anybody should try to find me.”
“That’s fine,” Mason told him. “Do you know where you are going?”
“Some hotel,” said Loring. “It didn’t make any difference which hotel.”
“Okay,” Drake said. “You come along with us, and we’ll get you a room. You’d better get it under some other name so that you won’t be bothered in case anybody should try to look you up. But you’ve got to keep in touch with us. Otherwise there might be some trouble. We may have to ask you to verify this written statement in the presence of some witness.”
Loring nodded.
“The lawyer should have told me about you fellows,” he said. “He might have got me into an awful mess.”
“He certainly should have,” Mason agreed. “You might have been on your way to Police Headquarters by this time, and it wouldn’t have gone easy with you, once you’d got there.”
“Did Norma come up here with the lawyer?” Drake asked.
“No,” said Loring, “her mother came first. And then the lawyer came.”
“You didn’t see Norma?”
“No, just her mother.”
“All right,” Mason told him. “You come with us, and we’ll take you to the hotel we want you to stay at, and get you a room. You’d better go under the name of Harry LeGrande.”
“How about the baggage?” asked Loring.
“We’ll take care of the baggage. We’ll send the transfer man after it. The hotel porter will take care of everything for you. All you’ve got to do is to go over there. We’ve got a car waiting, and you’d better go over with us right now.”
Loring wet his lips. “Believe me, gentlemen, this is a relief. I was nervous, sitting there waiting for the man to come with the papers. I got to wondering afterwards if that lawyer knew everything he was doing.”
“He was all right,” Mason commented, “but he just forgot to tell you a couple of things. He probably was in a hurry, and excited.”
“Yes,” Loring admitted, “he seemed excited all right.”
They took him down to the car, and Mason said, “We’ll go to the Hotel Ripley, Drake. It’s conveniently located.”
Drake said, “Yeah, I understand.”
They drove in silence to the Hotel Ripley, where Mason was registered under the name of Johnson. He approached the clerk and said, “This is Mr.