The Case of the Velvet Claws   ::   Гарднер Эрл Стенли

“Oh, but he couldn’t!” protestedBurke.

“Well, he does,” Mason repeated. “I’m giving you the information. Take it or leave it. It’s not my funeral. It’s yours. If you get out of this, it’ll be because you play your cards right and have some good advice. I’m ready to give you the advice.”

Harrison Burke twisted his fingers together. “Exactly what is it that you want?” he asked.

Mason said, “There’s only one way I know of to break that gang, and that’s to fight it with fire. They’re blackmailers, and I’m going to do some blackmailing myself. I’ve got some information that I’m trying to chase down. It’s costing money. The woman is out of money, and I don’t intend to finance it myself.

“Every time the hour hand on that clock makes a circle, it means that I’ve put in more of my time, and that other people have put in more of their time. Expenses keep running up. As I see it, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be called on to do your share.”

Harrison Burke blinked. “How much do you think it will cost?” he inquired, cautiously.

“I want fifteen hundred dollars now, and if I get you out of it, it’s going to cost you more.”

Burke wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. “I’ll have to think it over,” he said. “If I’m going to raise any money, I’ll have to make some arrangements to get it. You come back tomorrow morning, and I’ll let you know.”

“This thing is moving fast,” Mason told him. “There’ll be a lot of water go under the bridge between now and tomorrow morning.”

“Come back in two hours, then,” said Burke.

Mason looked at the man and said, “All right. Listen, here’s what you’re planning to do. You’re going to look me up. I’ll tell you in advance what you’ll find. You’ll find that I’m a lawyer that has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work. Every fellow in this practice cultivates some sort of a specialty. I’m a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they’re in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out. Most of my cases never come to court.

“If you look me up through some family lawyer or some corporation lawyer, he’ll probably tell you that I’m a shyster. If you look me up through some chap in the District Attorney’s office, he’ll tell you that I’m a dangerous antagonist but he doesn’t know very much about me. If you look me up through a bank you won’t find out a damned thing.”

Burke opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and was silent.