The Case of the Velvet Claws   ::   Гарднер Эрл Стенли

“All right. Go on. Let’s hear the rest of it,” Locke invited.

“You know the rest of it,” said Mason.

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t admit it,” Locke replied. “I don’t do anything except sell advertising space. You’ve got to come out in the open. You’re the one that comes all the way. I don’t budge an inch.”

“Okay,” Mason said. “As an advertiser in your paper, I wouldn’t like to see it mix into that murder too closely. That is, I wouldn’t like to have it mention the name of any witness who might have been there, but whose name wasn’t included on the list which was given to the District Attorney. I would particularly dislike to see your paper come out with the name of some prominent witness whose name had been omitted from that list, and ask why he was not summoned as a witness and questioned. And, still speaking as an advertiser, I would dislike very much to see any comment made in any way about this witness having a companion with him, or any surmises as to the identity of that companion. Now then, how much is advertising space going to cost me?”

“Well,” said Locke, “if you’re going to dictate the policies of the paper, you’ll have to take quite a bit of advertising. It would have to be handled under a contract. I would draw up an advertising contract with you, and agree to sell you the space over a period of time. The agreement would contain a clause for liquidated damages in the event you broke the contract. Then, if you didn’t want to take all the advertising, you could pay over the sum of liquidated damages.”

Perry Mason said: “I could pay over that sum just as soon as I broke the contract?”

“Sure,” said Locke.

“And I could break the contract just as soon as it was drawn up, eh?”

“No,” said Locke. “We wouldn’t like that. You’d have to wait a day or two.”

“There’d be no action taken while I was waiting, of course,” said Mason.

“Of course.”

Mason took out a cigarette case, fished out a cigarette with his long, capable fingers, lit it, and surveyed Locke with eyes that were cold and uncordial.

“All right,” he said. “I’ve said everything I came to say. Now I’m listening.”

Locke got up from his chair and took several paces up and down the floor. His head was thrust forward, and his chocolate colored eyes blinked rapidly.

“I’ve got to think this thing over,” he said.

Mason took out his watch and looked at it. “All right, you’ve got ten minutes to do your thinking in.