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The Case of the Velvet Claws :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 31 из 149If he could get something on me, and at the same time drag Harrison Burke’s name through the courts, it would be a wonderful break for him.”
Perry Mason frowned thoughtfully. “There’s something funny about that high price they fixed,” he remarked. “It seems to me that it’s too high for political blackmail. Do you suppose that your husband or Frank Locke suspects who it is they’re after?”
“No,” she said firmly.
There was a moment of silence.
“Well,” said Mason, “what do we do? Do we pay their price?”
“There won’t be any price any more. George will call off all negotiations. He’ll go ahead and fight. He figures that he can’t afford to give in to you. If he does, he thinks that you’ll hound him to death. That’s the way he is, and that’s the way he thinks everybody else is. He simply can’t give in to anybody. It isn’t in his nature, that’s all.”
Mason nodded, grimly. “All right, if he wants to fight, I’m perfectly willing to go to the mat with him. One of the first things I’ll do will be to file suit against Spicy Bits the first time they mention my name, and I’ll take the deposition of Frank Locke and force him to disclose who actually owns that paper. Or else I’ll have him prosecuted for perjury. There are a lot of people who would like to see that sheet put where it belongs.”
“Oh, you don’t understand,” she told him, speaking rapidly. “You don’t understand the way they fight. You don’t understand George. It would take a long while for you to get a libel suit to trial. He’ll work fast. And then, you’ve got to remember that I’m your client. I’m the one you’re supposed to protect. Long before any of that happens, I’ll be ruined. They’ll go after that Harrison Burke business hammer and tongs now.”
Mason drummed on his desk again, and then said, “Look here. You’ve hinted at some information your husband has that holds Frank Locke in line. Now I have an idea that you know what that information is. Suppose you give it to me, and I’ll see if I can’t crack a whip over Frank Locke.”
Her face was white as she looked at him.
“Do you know what you’re saying?” she said. “Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what you’re getting into? They’ll kill you! It wouldn’t be the first time. They’ve got affiliations in the underworld with gangsters and gunmen.”
Mason held her eyes with his.
“What,” he insisted, “do you know about Frank Locke?”
She shuddered and dropped her eyes. After an interval, she said, in a tired tone: “Nothing.
Perry Mason frowned thoughtfully. “There’s something funny about that high price they fixed,” he remarked. “It seems to me that it’s too high for political blackmail. Do you suppose that your husband or Frank Locke suspects who it is they’re after?”
“No,” she said firmly.
There was a moment of silence.
“Well,” said Mason, “what do we do? Do we pay their price?”
“There won’t be any price any more. George will call off all negotiations. He’ll go ahead and fight. He figures that he can’t afford to give in to you. If he does, he thinks that you’ll hound him to death. That’s the way he is, and that’s the way he thinks everybody else is. He simply can’t give in to anybody. It isn’t in his nature, that’s all.”
Mason nodded, grimly. “All right, if he wants to fight, I’m perfectly willing to go to the mat with him. One of the first things I’ll do will be to file suit against Spicy Bits the first time they mention my name, and I’ll take the deposition of Frank Locke and force him to disclose who actually owns that paper. Or else I’ll have him prosecuted for perjury. There are a lot of people who would like to see that sheet put where it belongs.”
“Oh, you don’t understand,” she told him, speaking rapidly. “You don’t understand the way they fight. You don’t understand George. It would take a long while for you to get a libel suit to trial. He’ll work fast. And then, you’ve got to remember that I’m your client. I’m the one you’re supposed to protect. Long before any of that happens, I’ll be ruined. They’ll go after that Harrison Burke business hammer and tongs now.”
Mason drummed on his desk again, and then said, “Look here. You’ve hinted at some information your husband has that holds Frank Locke in line. Now I have an idea that you know what that information is. Suppose you give it to me, and I’ll see if I can’t crack a whip over Frank Locke.”
Her face was white as she looked at him.
“Do you know what you’re saying?” she said. “Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what you’re getting into? They’ll kill you! It wouldn’t be the first time. They’ve got affiliations in the underworld with gangsters and gunmen.”
Mason held her eyes with his.
“What,” he insisted, “do you know about Frank Locke?”
She shuddered and dropped her eyes. After an interval, she said, in a tired tone: “Nothing.