JК
The Case of the Velvet Claws :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 6 из 149You know the kind of a publication it is. It’s just a blackmailing sheet, and that’s all it’s for. They are in the market for all they can get. But Frank Locke is only a figurehead. There’s somebody behind him. Somebody who is higher. Somebody who really owns the paper. They’ve got a good attorney who tries to keep them clear of blackmailing charges and libel suits. But in case anything ever went wrong, Frank Locke is there to take all the blame.”
She quit talking.
There was a moment or two of silence.
“I’m listening,” said Perry Mason.
She bit her lip for a moment, then raised her eyes once more, and continued speaking in the same rapid tone. “They’ve found out about Harrison being there. They don’t know who the woman was that was with him. But they’re going to publish the fact that he was there, and demand that the police bring him in as a witness. There’s some mystery about the shooting. It looks as though some one had trapped this man into a holdup so that he could be shot, without too many questions being asked. The police and the District Attorney are going to grill every one who was there.”
“And they’re not going to grill you?” asked Perry Mason.
She shook her head. “No, they’re going to leave us out of it. Nobody knows I was there. The officer knows Harrison was there. That’s all. I gave him an assumed name.”
“Well?” asked Mason.
“Don’t you see?” she said. “If they put pressure to bear on the officers, they’ll have to question Harrison. And then he’ll have to tell them who the woman was that was with him. Or else it will appear worse than it really was. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t anything wrong with it. We had a right to be there.”
He drummed with his fingers on his desk for a few moments, and then looked at her steadily.
“All right,” he said, “let’s not have any misunderstanding about this. You’re trying to save Harrison Burke’s political career?”
She looked at him meaningly.
“No,” she said. “I don’t want any misunderstanding about it. I’m trying to save myself.”
He continued to drum with his fingertips for a few minutes, and then said: “It’s going to take money.”
She opened her handbag. “I came prepared for that.”
Perry Mason watched her while she counted out the currency, and arranged it in piles along the edge of the desk.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That’s on account of your fee,” she said.
She quit talking.
There was a moment or two of silence.
“I’m listening,” said Perry Mason.
She bit her lip for a moment, then raised her eyes once more, and continued speaking in the same rapid tone. “They’ve found out about Harrison being there. They don’t know who the woman was that was with him. But they’re going to publish the fact that he was there, and demand that the police bring him in as a witness. There’s some mystery about the shooting. It looks as though some one had trapped this man into a holdup so that he could be shot, without too many questions being asked. The police and the District Attorney are going to grill every one who was there.”
“And they’re not going to grill you?” asked Perry Mason.
She shook her head. “No, they’re going to leave us out of it. Nobody knows I was there. The officer knows Harrison was there. That’s all. I gave him an assumed name.”
“Well?” asked Mason.
“Don’t you see?” she said. “If they put pressure to bear on the officers, they’ll have to question Harrison. And then he’ll have to tell them who the woman was that was with him. Or else it will appear worse than it really was. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t anything wrong with it. We had a right to be there.”
He drummed with his fingers on his desk for a few moments, and then looked at her steadily.
“All right,” he said, “let’s not have any misunderstanding about this. You’re trying to save Harrison Burke’s political career?”
She looked at him meaningly.
“No,” she said. “I don’t want any misunderstanding about it. I’m trying to save myself.”
He continued to drum with his fingertips for a few minutes, and then said: “It’s going to take money.”
She opened her handbag. “I came prepared for that.”
Perry Mason watched her while she counted out the currency, and arranged it in piles along the edge of the desk.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That’s on account of your fee,” she said.