“I even understand that you were a little lucky at the gaming tables a while back. If you don’t mind accepting a word of advice from a seasoned officer, I would suggest that now you’ve made your little pile of winnings, you stay away from the tables for the rest of the evening. They have an excellent floor show here, I understand.
“And of course you won’t mind having the Las Vegas police keep an eye on you, Mason. We want to know where you go, what you do and with whom you talk. I wouldn’t tell you this, only I know that you’ll spot the gentleman waiting around the entrance to the casino as a plainclothes officer who has been instructed to keep you in sight. In such cases if there’s a mutual understanding it’s always so much easier all around.”
Tragg bowed with mock deference as he held the door open.
Mason turned to Nadine Palmer, “I think you’ve made a wise decision,” he said. “Get an attorney.”
“Are you presuming to advise her?” Tragg asked.
“Just as a friend, not as an attorney,” Mason said.
Tragg said to Nadine Palmer, “Mr. Mason is representing other people in this case. Everything he does is done for their best interests. Quite naturally if he can get you involved with the police, it’s going to make things a lot easier for his clients. I’m just telling you this so you can take everything into consideration. I wouldn’t want you to labor under any misapprehensions, and I’m quite certain Mason wouldn’t want you to think he was advising you as an attorney while he has conflicting interests because then he’d be guilty of unprofessional conduct.
“And now, good night, Mr. Mason, and I hope you enjoy the floor show.”
“Thank you,” Mason said. “I’m quite certain that I will, Lieutenant, and I hope you enjoy your visit here.”
Chapter 11
The phone was ringing as Mason opened the door of his bungalow.
The lawyer kicked the door shut, hurried across to the telephone and picked it up at the end of the third ring.
“Hello,” he said.
“There’s a long-distance call for Mr. Perry Mason from Los Angeles,” the operator said.
“This is Mr. Mason talking.”
“Just a moment.”
Almost at once Mason heard Paul Drake’s voice on the line. “Hi, Perry.”
“Hello, Paul. How did you locate me?”
“Detective work and deduction,” Drake said. “I knew you were headed for Las Vegas, that Genevieve Hyde worked in the place where you’re staying, and felt sure you’d register there.”
“I’m here,” Mason said. “Also, Lieutenant Tragg is here.”
“How did he get there?”
“Apparently followed me. After I took off for Las Vegas, Tragg telephoned the local police to pick up my trail as soon as I arrived. Then he grabbed a plane, came over here and joined them.”
“They got anything?” Drake asked.
“That’s quite a question,” Mason said. “Nadine Palmer was hitting the tables pretty heavy and doing a good job of it. They came down on her with a search warrant and recovered a bunch of money.”
“Well, they’ve uncovered lots here,” Drake said. “I think your clients are in a mess, Perry.”
“My clients?” Mason asked.
“That’s right.”
“It sounded as though you had an ‘s’ on the end of that,” Mason said. “And Lieutenant Tragg keeps referring to my clients in the plural. As far as I’m concerned I only have one client in this case, and that’s Morley Eden.”
“I think you’ve got two,” Drake said. “I think they’re together.”
“Who’s together?”
“Morley Eden and Vivian Carson.”
“But that’s absurd,” Mason said. “Good heavens, Paul, they wouldn’t...”
The lawyer’s voice trailed away as the idea germinated in his mind even while he was formulating the words pointing out its absurdity.
“Exactly,” Drake said, as Mason remained silent.
“Go ahead, Paul,” Mason said, “give me the facts. What have they uncovered?”
“They’ve found Loring Carson’s automobile.”
“Where?”
“In Vivian Carson’s garage.”
“You mean out at Morley Eden’s house? Or...”
“No, in the garage at her apartment.”
“Go on,” Mason said. “Give me the facts, Paul.”
“Well, all I know is that after Carson and his wife separated she went to an apartment house where each apartment has a private garage space — an underneath, two-car garage that goes with the apartment. Now, Mrs. Carson was staying there in her apartment until Saturday when she got her surveyor and crew of construction workers and went out and ran the fence right through the middle of Eden’s house. Then, of course, she moved in.”
“Go on,” Mason said.
“Naturally she moved in on a hurry-up basis. She took what stuff she could carry in her automobile, and of course she retained possession of her Hollywood apartment. In fact, she has it on a lease.”
“And that’s where they found the car?”
“That’s where they found the car.”
“How did they happen to go there to look for it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Any chance Loring Carson left it there himself?”
“No. That’s where you come in on the deal, Perry. Both of them left it there.”
“You mean Loring and Vivian?”
“No, I mean Vivian and Morley Eden.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m not, but the police are. They have a witness who has made a positive identification of Morley Eden.”
“Just one witness?” Mason asked.
“How many do you expect on a deal of that sort?”
“It’s a mistake,” Mason said. “Vivian may have been mixed up in it and may have parked the car, but Morley Eden wasn’t with her. That’s for sure. Eyewitnesses can be mistaken lots of times.”
“I know,” Drake said, “but there are certain things to keep in mind. Vivian Carson was all mixed up in this divorce case with charges of weekend trysts and all that. In the minds of the neighbors she became a scarlet woman.”
“What does that have to do with it?” Mason asked.
Drake said, “You know how one woman always likes to spy on an erring sister. It’s an interest that’s composed partially of curiosity, partially of envy, and—”
“Forget the philosophy,” Mason said, “even if it is your nickel that’s paying for the call.”
“Oh, but I’m putting it on my expense account,” Drake said, “and I like to philosophize.”
“Well, I don’t. Things are moving too fast. What happened?”
“This neighbor heard Vivian’s garage door being raised. She rushed to the window to see what Vivian was up to and whether Vivian was alone. She saw Vivian and a man she identifies as Morley Eden. Vivian parked the car. Morley Eden was running around helping her very solicitously. Then he lowered the garage door, she locked it, and they walked rapidly away. That car they drove into the garage was Carson’s missing auto.”
“That’s fine,” Mason said. “That gives them a good case against Eden and Vivian Carson, and now they’ve got a good case against Nadine Palmer. We’ll see how many more murderers Lieutenant Tragg can uncover at this end.”
“Be careful you aren’t one,” Drake said jokingly. “When are you coming back, Perry?”
“Sometime tomorrow morning. I’m hoping they’ll turn Nadine Palmer loose after they’ve given her a shakedown at Headquarters.”