"So what happened?" Mason demanded.
"So she faced Moxley, told him that if he didn't clear out she'd have him arrested for the embezzlement of her money."
"You suggested that she do that?"
"Yes."
"And you gave her a gun with which to kill Moxley if the opportunity presented itself?"
Doctor Millsap's shake of the head was vehement. "I gave her a gun," he said, "because I wanted her to have something to protect herself with if it became necessary. I knew that this man Lorton, or Moxley, was utterly without scruple. I knew that he would lie, steal, or kill in order to accomplish his purpose. I knew that he was in a jam and needed money. I was afraid to have Rhoda go and see him alone, yet Moxley stipulated that she couldn't have any one with her."
"So you gave her the gun?"
"Yes."
"You knew that she was going to see Moxley?"
"Of course."
"Did you know she was going to see him last night?" Doctor Millsap's eyes shifted uneasily. He fidgeted in his chair. "Yes or no?" asked Mason.
"No," said Millsap.
Mason snorted. "If," he said, without rancor, "you can't lie better than that on the witness stand, you're not going to make Rhoda a very good witness."
"The witness stand!" exclaimed Millsap in dismay. Mason nodded. "Good God, I can't go on the witness stand! You mean to testify for Rhoda?"
"No, the district attorney will call you to testify against Rhoda. He's going to try to build up just as much adverse sentiment against Rhoda Montaine as he can. He'll try to show a motive for the murder—that motive will be an attempt on the part of Rhoda to conceal the fraud she perpetrated on the insurance company. Therefore, he'll show the fictitious death certificate and the conspiracy to defraud the insurance company. You know where that's going to leave you."
Doctor Millsap's mouth sagged slowly open. Perry Mason stared steadily at him. "You knew that Rhoda was going to meet Gregory Moxley at two o'clock in the morning, Doctor?"
Doctor Millsap seemed to wilt. "Yes," he said.
Perry Mason nodded slowly. "That," he said, "is better. Now tell me, Doctor, where were you at two o'clock in the morning?"
"Asleep, of course."
Perry Mason said tonelessly, "Can you prove it?"
"I can prove it the same way any ordinary individual can. I went to bed and slept through until morning. A man doesn't ordinarily take an alibi to bed with him. Under the circumstances, I would think my statement would be sufficient."
"It would, Doctor," Mason said slowly and impressively, "if it weren't for the fact that the district attorney will question you and your Japanese servant about a telephone call that came in at two o'clock in the morning, and the statement that your Japanese man servant made that…" The expression on Doctor Millsap's face stopped Perry Mason in midsentence. "Well," he asked, "what about it?"
"Good God!" Millsap said. "How could the district attorney have found out about that telephone call? I didn't figure there was one chance in a million that telephone call would ever enter into the thing at all. My Japanese servant told me it was a man who seemed to be drunk, calling from a public pay station."
"How did he know the man was drunk?"
"I don't know. I guess he sounded drunk. All I know is what he told me when I came back… I mean…"
"Suppose," the lawyer suggested, "you tell me the facts."
Words spilled from the doctor's mouth. "I was there. Not at two o'clock, but later. I woke up and couldn't sleep. I knew Rhoda must have gone to keep her appointment. I looked at my wristwatch. I wondered what Rhoda was doing. I wondered if she was all right. I got up and dressed, drove to Norwalk Avenue. Rhoda's car was parked on a side street. I looked up at Moxley's apartment. The windows were all dark. I rang the bell of Moxley's apartment. No one answered. I kept ringing, minute after minute. I became alarmed when no one answered. If Rhoda's car hadn't been there I'd have thought Moxley was asleep. I decided to prowl around the back of the house and see if there was any way I could get in. But I didn't want to leave my car in front of the house, so I drove around the block, left my car, came through the alley, walking rather slowly, and then saw that lights were on in Moxley's apartment. I figured my ringing the doorbell had awakened him, so I walked around past the side street to go to the front of the house and ring the bell again, and then saw that Rhoda's car was gone."
"When you were ringing the doorbell," Mason said, "you were standing on the little porch near the street, is that right?"
"Yes."
"Could you hear the ringing of the bell in the upper apartment?"
"No, I couldn't hear the bell."
"Could you hear the sound of any struggle?"
"No, I couldn't hear anything."
Perry Mason frowned thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want to be quoted in what I am about to say," he said.
"What is it?" Doctor Millsap asked.
"You don't look well," Perry Mason said.
"Good God!" Millsap rejoined. "How did you think I'd look? This thing has been on my mind for days, ever since Rhoda told me Lorton was alive and in the city. I haven't been able to sleep. I haven't been able to eat. I can't concentrate. I can't handle my practice. I can't…"
"I said," Perry Mason interrupted, "that you didn't look well."
"Of course I don't look well, I don't feel well. I'm almost crazy!"
"What," asked Perry Mason, "would you advise a patient to do if he came to you in the mental state that you are now in—and if he didn't look well?"
"What are you driving at?"
"Would you advise, perhaps, a long ocean voyage?"
"I'd certainly advise a change of scenery. I wouldn't want…" Millsap stopped speaking abruptly in the middle of the sentence, his jaw sagging.
"As I remarked," said Perry Mason, getting to his feet, "I wouldn't want to be quoted in the matter, and I'm not a physician. In order to make it appear perfectly regular, you might consult some friendly physician. You don't need to tell him what's worrying you, but you can tell him that you're worrying yourself sick. You might even go so far as to ask him about an ocean voyage."
"You mean," Doctor Millsap asked slowly, "that I'm to get out where they can't reach me? Wouldn't that be running away and leaving Rhoda to stand the brunt of the thing alone?"
"As far as Rhoda is concerned," Mason said, "your presence here would do her more harm than good. My suggestion, however, has nothing to do with Rhoda. I'm merely interested in your health. You don't look well. There are circles under your eyes. Your manner is decidedly jumpy. By all means call on some reputable physician. Let him diagnose your case. In the meantime, here's one of my cards. If there should be any developments call on me at once."
Mason dropped his business card on Doctor Millsap's desk. Millsap jumped to his feet, grabbed Mason's hand and pumped it up and down. "Thanks, Counselor. It's an idea I hadn't thought of. It's swell. It's the best yet."
Mason started to say something, but stopped as the sounds of muffled commotion came from the outer office. The men heard the protesting voice of Doctor Millsap's office nurse. Perry Mason jerked open the door. The two detectives of the homicide squad who had arrested Rhoda Montaine at the airport stared at the lawyer with incredulous surprise, then their eyes shifted to Doctor Millsap. "Well, well," said one of the detectives, "you certainly do get around."