Selkirk thought the matter over for a moment, then said, “Just sit here and cool yourselves with these drinks. If you want a refill, just press that button. I’m going to telephone my legal department. Excuse me for a moment, please.”
Selkirk took another swallow of his mint julep, put down the partially empty glass and walked around the corner of the L-shaped alcove. Presently they heard the sound of a heavy glass partition sliding on roller bearings.
Della Street started to say something. Mason motioned her to silence, said conversationally, “Nice place Selkirk has here.”
“It must cost him a fortune to keep it up.”
“He has a fortune.”
“Why should he be having your car shadowed?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Mason said. “We weren’t shadowed earlier in the day. However, that’s entirely up to Selkirk. If he wants to spend his money on detectives, finding out where I go, it will at least be a bonanza for the detectives and will keep some of Selkirk’s money in circulation.”
Mason closed his eye in a broad wink to Della Street, then stretched, yawned and said sleepily, “I’ve been losing too much sleep lately. I guess there’s nothing I can do from now on except... I guess we can afford to slow down until Norda Allison’s preliminary hearing comes up... ho... ho... hummmm! This place certainly is relaxing. It’s making me sleepy.”
Once again Mason closed his eye in a broad wink.
“That mint julep hits the spot,” Della Street said. “It also has a relaxing effect.”
Mason said sleepily, “It does for a fact — well, Della, drink it up because as soon as Selkirk returns we’re going to get away from here. We’ll check with Paul Drake to see if there’s anything new, then call it a day and I’ll see you at the office in the morning.”
“Aren’t you going to finish your drink?” Della asked.
“I’m driving,” Mason said. “The drink was so tempting I had to taste it, but I’m limiting myself to a couple of swallows. I have an aversion to drinking and driving.”
“One drink isn’t going to affect your driving,” Della Street said.
“It isn’t that so much,” Mason told her, “as the fact that I dislike to lose lawsuits. Suppose someone runs into me at an intersection. He may have gone through a red light, may have been going too fast and have defective brakes, but an officer comes up to investigate, smells liquor on my breath and I tell him that I’ve had one mint julep. You know how a jury would react to that. They’d say, ‘Yeh, the guy admits to having one. That means he must have had a dozen.’ ”
“Under those circumstances,” Della Street said, “you can have the sole responsibility. I’m going to finish this drink. It’s the most wonderful mint julep I’ve had in a long time.”
“Thank you,” Selkirk’s voice said, as he came unexpectedly around the corner of the alcove. “I’ve telephoned my legal department, Mason, and they’ll get on the job immediately.”
“That’s fine,” Mason told him, getting to his feet. “Your relaxing atmosphere has made me drowsy.”
“Care for a swim and a little relaxation by the pool?” Selkirk asked. “I have plenty of suits and dressing rooms.”
“No, thank you,” Mason told him. “I’m a working man and have to be on my way.”
“I hope you and Miss Street come back again,” Selkirk said, and then with his voice suddenly taking on an authoritative note, said, “And it will be better if you telephone.”
“Thank you for the invitation,” Mason told him.
They shook hands. Selkirk escorted them past the pool, to the parking space.
Della Street jumped in the car, slid under the steering wheel and over to the far side of the seat. Mason got in behind the steering wheel.
“Just drive right on through the other end of the parking place and around the circle,” Selkirk said. “The gate will be open for you as you go out.”
Mason nodded, swept the car into motion.
It was a neighborhood of rolling hills and vistas of country estates. Glistening white houses and hillside subdivisions met their eyes as they swung down the long driveway to the highway.
Mason made the boulevard stop, then put his car into motion, swung over to the stream of fast-moving traffic and stepped on the throttle.
“You’re very anxious to get where you’re going, all of a sudden,” Della Street said.
“Yes,” Mason told her, “I have decided there’s no use working too hard. Let’s get where we can relax. I know a cocktail bar about a mile down the road. We can pull in there and—”
“But I thought you wouldn’t have a drink when you were driving.”
“I won’t be driving for a while,” Mason said. “We’ll get in there where it’s cool and dark and comfortable and forget about the case. There’s nothing more I can do now until the matter comes up for the preliminary examination... not unless Paul Drake’s men uncover some new information.”
Della Street started to say something, then checked herself.
Mason drove silently until he came to a small hotel, said, “There’s a parking lot here. We’ll leave the car and go relax for a while. It will do us good.”
He swung into the parking lot and led Della Street into the hotel.
“What in the world are you doing, Chief?” she asked.
“I don’t know whether the car is bugged or not,” Mason said. “But we do know one thing. They have it rigged up so they can follow us by using electronics. Quick, Della, right through the cocktail bar and... there’s a taxi stand right outside and... thank heavens there’s a taxi there.”
Mason signaled a cab driver, caught Della Street’s elbow in his hand, hurried her across to the taxicab, jumped in beside her, slammed the door shut and said to the driver, “Straight on down the street. I want to catch a party who just left here.”
The driver put the cab into motion.
Mason, looking through the rear window, said, “Turn to the left at the first street and then turn to the left once more.”
The cab driver obediently followed instructions.
Della Street said in a low voice, “What’s the idea, Chief?”
Mason said, “Horace Livermore Selkirk has Grace Hallum and Robert up there in the house with him.”
“You’re certain?” Della Street asked.
“Pretty certain,” Mason said. “There was a toy boat in the swimming pool when we went in. When we came out it was no longer there. Horace Selkirk could well have been one of them with the aura of authority who stopped the trip to Mexico City.”
Mason said to the cab driver, “Turn to the left once more and then to the right. I’ll tell you where to go.”
“But, Chief,” Della Street protested, “we can’t go back up there in a taxicab and even expect... Why, he won’t let us inside the gates.”
“That’s true,” Mason told her. “But I think he’s afraid now that I’m suspicious and my best guess is he’s going to get rid of the boy — after all, he’s in a very vulnerable position.”
“He is if he gets caught,” Della Street said. “But... I’m afraid I don’t get it.”
“Well,” Mason told her, “our car is hotter than a firecracker. He’s got it bugged up so his private detectives can follow it. We put it in the parking place there at that hotel and cocktail lounge, and you can bet that his detectives followed right behind us. We went into the cocktail lounge and they probably watched where we were going, then went to telephone a report to Horace Selkirk.