“What the devil are you doing there?” Mason asked.
“Following my profession,” Tragg said.
“Well,” Mason told him, “that’s what I’m doing.”
“So it would seem.”
“You sound disappointed,” Mason said.
“Not disappointed. Only startled. It’s such a strange sensation to listen in on a conversation you’re having with a client and hear you suggest that the client should cooperate with the police.”
“Oh, I always do that,” Mason said breezily. “It’s not often that you hear me, that’s all. Have you been in touch with Headquarters lately?”
“Why?”
“I rang up and left a tip for you.”
“The hell you did!”
“That’s right. About this check.”
“Is that on the square?”
“Sure it is. Hang up and Headquarters will be calling you.”
Tragg said, “And just in case this is a grandstand, Mason, and you intend to call Headquarters as soon as I’ve hung up, I’ll dial Headquarters right from here and get them on the line and find out if the information is already in there.”
“It will be,” Mason said. “But what are you doing with Miss Marlow?”
“Questioning her.”
“Well, she’ll give you the answers,” Mason said.
“Yes,” Tragg commented dryly, “I had just about come to the conclusion that she knew all the answers. Remember now, don’t try to call Headquarters, because I’m going to beat you to it.”
And Tragg hung up.
Mason dialed his office. Gertie answered the phone.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “Running a night shift?”
“Miss Street said things might be moving rather fast tonight, so we thought we’d wait around. She brought in some hot dogs and coffee and we’re just sitting here talking.”
“Della’s there?”
“Right here.”
“Put her on.”
Della Street came on the phone, said, “Yes, Chief.”
“Thank heavens you’re there!” Mason told her. “We’ve got to work fast. Get out your form book. Make an application for a writ of habeas corpus for Marilyn Marlow, state that she is being detained by the police without any charge whatever having been placed against her, that her detention is, therefore, unlawful and illegal. Then make out a writ of habeas corpus for a judge to sign and be sure that the writ provides that she can be admitted to bail, pending the hearing on the writ. Have you got that?”
“Okay, Chief. Gertie and I will hammer it out right away.”
“That’s fine,” Mason said. “We haven’t a second to waste.”
“The police have taken Marilyn Marlow?”
“They are going to,” Mason said.
“And then what?”
“Then,” he said, “we run up against a very ticklish, very delicate and personal problem. Ralph Endicott has a carbon copy of a letter which he claims Rose Keeling sent Marilyn Marlow yesterday.”
“Oh, oh!” Della exclaimed in dismay.
“Exactly,” Mason told her, and hung up.
Chapter 13
Marilyn Marlow sat under the glare of a pitiless light which threw every fleeting expression on her face into sharp visibility.
The detectives and officers who sat in a circle around her were vague, indistinct, shadowy objects back of the glare of this light.
“Can’t you get that light out of my eyes?” she asked.
“What’s the matter?” Sergeant Holcomb’s sneering voice asked. “Are you afraid to let us see into your eyes?”
“I’m not afraid to let you see into my very mind,” she said indignantly, “but that thing gives me a headache. It’s wearing me out. The glare is like driving at night when you’re tired and meeting an endless string of headlights.”
“Come, come,” Sergeant Holcomb said, “let’s not talk about the light. Let’s talk about the case. The quicker you tell us about that, the quicker the light will go off.”
“Those diamonds you’ve got on,” another voice said, “where did they come from?”
“I’ve told you where they came from. My mother was a nurse. She nursed George P. Endicott for months before he died. He knew he was going, along toward the last, and he gave her the family jewelry. He said there was no one to take over after he was gone.”
“Except two brothers and a sister.”
“He cared nothing about them. They never came to see him while he was in the sanitarium. It was only after he died that they became affectionate. Then they moved into his house and took charge of everything they could get their hands on.”
“Rather vindictive, aren’t you?” Sergeant Holcomb said.
“I’m simply trying to tell you the truth.”
“Okay,” a voice from the shadows said, “what about the diamonds?”
“These were some of the jewels. He gave them to my mother and I inherited them from my mother when she... when she passed away.”
A voice that was rasping and taunting, a voice which seemed only to make sneering, sarcastic, nasty remarks, came from far back in the shadows, hurtling another accusation at Marilyn Marlow. “Your mother was a nurse. She was nursing Endicott. She made a lot of dough when he kicked the bucket. How do you know she didn’t help ease him out of the picture?”
Marilyn Marlow started to get up out of the chair. “Are you accusing my mother of murder?” she blazed. “Why, you...”
A big hand clapped down on her shoulder and pushed her down. “Sit down, sister. Just answer questions. Never mind pouring on the abuse. Now, when did you see Rose Keeling last?”
“I... I can’t remember just when it was.”
“Saw her today, didn’t you?”
“I... I can’t remember just when... I saw her...”
“Oh, quit stalling. Bring that other dame in, Joe.”
A door opened. A woman came in who stood as a vague, indistinct object back in the very dim shadows beyond the brilliant light.
“Take a look at her,” a voice said. “Ever seen her before?”
Marilyn Marlow said, “I can’t see who it is.”
The sneering voice said, “You ain’t the one we’re talking to. We’re talking to the witness. Ever seen this dame in the chair before? The one under the light?”
“Why, yes,” a woman’s well-modulated voice said.
“Okay, okay. Where did you see her?”
“She’s the woman I was telling you about, the one I described to you, the one I saw coming out of Rose Keeling’s flat, the one...”
“Hold it, hold it!” the voice cautioned. “Never mind spilling everything in front of the suspect here. But this is the jane you saw, the one you were telling us about previously?”
“Why, yes. That’s right.”
“Okay. That’s all. Take her out, Joe.”
The feminine figure was whisked out of the door.
“Okay, baby,” the voice said, “come on, let’s come clean. Let’s have it and get it over with.”
Marilyn Marlow, confused, said, “I tried to see Rose Keeling.”
“Sure you did. You went to her flat today. Okay, now, tell us what happened. And if you try to lie, that’ll put your pretty neck right in the middle of a hemp loop.”
“I... I just went there.”
“Don’t kid us like that. You went inside. This witness saw you coming down the stairs and leaving the place. She’s described the whole business. She just had an idea something might be wrong, and she was keeping an eye on everybody that came and went. We’ve got the whole timetable. Now, you try holding out on us and you’ll be inside looking out. You come clean and explain things satisfactorily and we’ll give you a break. We have to know that you’re on the up-and-up. Now, why didn’t you tell us you went to Rose Keeling’s flat?”