The Case of the Velvet Claws   ::   Гарднер Эрл Стенли

He waved her back with a motion of his hand, and said, “Take a look in that outer office and makesure he’s gone.”

She moved toward the door, but, before her hand touched the knob, it turned, and flung open. Sidney Drumm thrust his head into the room again.

He surveyed them and grinned.

“Well,” he said, “you didn’t fall for that one. All right Perry, this time I’ll go out.”

“Okay,” said Perry Mason. “Goodby!”

Drumm closed the door, and a moment later slammed the door of the outer office.

It was then aboutfour o’clock in the morning.



Chapter 11

Perry Mason pulled his hat down on his head and slipped into his overcoat which was still damp enough to give forth a smell of wet wool.

“I’m going out and chase down a few clews,” he toldDella Street. “Sooner or later they’re going to start narrowing the circle, and then I won’t be able to move. I’ve got to do everything while I can still move around. You stick right here and hold the fort. I can’t leave word where you can reach me, because I’m afraid to have you call me. But I’ll call you every once in a while and ask if Mr. Mason is in. I’ll tell you my name is Johnson, that I’m an old friend of his, and ask if he left any message. You can manage to let me know what’s going on without letting on who I am.”

“You think that they’ll have the telephone line tapped?”

“They may. I don’t know just where this thing is going to lead.”

“And they’ll have a warrant out for you?”

“Not a warrant, but they’ll want to ask me some more questions.”

She looked at him sympathetically, tenderly, said nothing.

“Be careful,” he said, and walked out of the office.

It was still dark when he entered the lobby of the Hotel Ripley, and asked for a room with bath. He registered under the name of Fred B. Johnson, ofDetroit, and was given room 518, for which he was required to pay in advance, inasmuch as he had no baggage.

He went to the room, pulled the curtains, ordered four bottles of ginger ale, with plenty of ice, and got a quart of whiskey from the bellboy. Then he sat in the overstuffed chair, with his feet on the bed, and smoked.

The door was unlocked.

He was smoking for more than half an hour, lighting one cigarette from the tip of the other, when the door opened. Eva Belter came in without knocking.

She closed the door behind her, locked it, and smiled at him. “Oh, I’m so glad that you were here all right.”

Perry Mason kept his seat. “You’re sure you weren’t followed?” he asked.