"What a mess!" Della Street exclaimed.
"But," Mason pointed out,"we have one advantage. We have the fingerprints of everyone who was atthat party By the time the people in that fingerprint van get done classifyingthem, we can find if anyone there has a criminal record. We'll check on theservant's first."
"And suppose we find thethief?" Della Street asked. "Then what? Who makes the complaint?"
Mason grinned. "No one."
"You mean you let the thief getaway with forty-seven thousand dollars?"
"I didn't say that," Masonsaid. "We do a little cloak-and-dagger stuff of our own. Once we've foundthe thief, we steal the money back again."
"Couldn't you make a complaintand -"
Mason interrupted with a firm shakeof his head. "You can't make a complaint in a situation of that sort – notwith the income tax being what it is. Everyone would jump to the conclusionthat the forty-seven thousand dollars represented money the Warrens were trying to conceal from their bankaccount, and therefore were keeping it stored in a suitcase in Mrs Warren'scloset.
"The Bureau of Internal Revenuewould move in and want to examine everyone in connection with the case. They'dhave to know that the money was being saved to pay some sort of a blackmaildemand. They'd look Mrs Warren up, inquire into her past, and in no time at allwould find out about the skeleton in her closet.
"No, Della, the thing has to behandled very circumspectly, and completely under cover."
"And that's why Mrs Warren hassaid nothing about the loss of the money?"
"What could she say?"Mason asked.
Della Street was thoughtfully silent for a moment, thensaid, "Nothing, I guess, but it must be horribly frustrating to haveforty-seven thousand dollars which has been carefully saved in cash disappearand not be able to utter even a word of protest."
"I think," Mason said,"that describes it very accurately – a horribly frustratingexperience."
Chapter 6
Later that afternoon the telephoneon Della Street's desk rang a routine summons. Della picked up the receiver, said,"Yes, Gertie," then suddenly her jaw sagged, her eyes grew large, andshe said, "Why – Wait – Hold the phone a minute, Gertie."
Della Street turned to Perry Mason. "A man in theoffice says he is Collister D Gideon."
"Well, what do you know,"Mason said. "I guess we're going to have to give Mr Gideon credit forbeing a pretty clever individual. By all means, Della, tell him to comein."
"But Chief, he – Good heavens,that means he must know…"
"Know what?"
"Everything."
Mason said. "If he gave LornaWarren forty-seven thousand dollars to keep for him, he certainly knows abouther present whereabouts. If he didn't give her the money to keep for him, butregarded her as a loyal employee, he has probably kept up with what has beenhappening in her life and that complicates the problem."
"But what can you do?"Della asked. "If he shows up here …"
"He has shown up here,"Mason said, "and that means he thinks he holds the high hand and is goingto call for a showdown. I'm becoming very much interested in Collister DamonGideon. Show the gentleman in, Della. Then tip Gertie to call Paul Drake andhave a shadow put on Gideon as soon as he leaves the office."
Della Street said, "I'll be right out,Gertie," hung up the phone, vanished to the outer office and a few momentslater returned leading a slim-waisted, well-dressed smiling individual in hislate forties into the office.
"This is Mr Mason," shesaid.
Gideon didn't offer to shake hands.
"How do you do, Mr Mason,"he said. "I don't know how much you know about me, but I am assuming youknow a great deal. May I be seated?"
"By all means," Masonsaid. "What makes you think I know anything about you?"
"Putting two and twotogether."
"Would you mind telling mewhich two and two you put together?"
"Not at all," Gideon said,settling back in the chair, looking around the office with the swift survey ofa man who has been forced by environment to make instantaneous and accurateappraisal of his surroundings.
"You see, Mr Mason," hesaid calmly, "I'm a crook."
"Indeed," Mason said.
"That is," Gideon amended,"the government says I'm a crook, and a jury of my peers agreed with thegovernment."
"And the aftermath?" Masonasked.
"A term in a federal prisonwith very little time off."
Mason shook his head with what mighthave been a gesture of sympathy.
"Now then," Gideon said,"at the time I was in business and ran head on into the governmentalforces of so-called righteousness, I had working for me a very beautiful youngwoman, a Margaret Lorna Neely."
"I take it she wasn'tinvolved," Mason said.
Gideon smiled. "The governmenttried to involve her but the charges didn't stick. The jury acquitted her andconvicted me. The government tried us together, possibly with maliceaforethought, feeling that a jury acting on rather weak evidence would salveits conscience by acquitting one defendant and convicting the other."
"You don't seem to be bitterabout it," Mason said.
"I don't seem to be bitterabout it," Gideon said. "It would do very little good to be bitterabout it, and the last few years of my life have taught me a great deal, MrMason. One of the things I have learned is not to do things which can't resultin any ultimate benefit to me."
"Indeed," Mason said.
"Among other things, thoseyears have taught me that the world, beneath its veneer of civilization, is gearedto the ancient principle of survival of the fittest, and in the battle forsurvival the person who is utterly ruthless has a very decided advantage overthe person who practices the so-called Golden Rule."
"I see," Mason said."You still haven't told me why you came here."
"It pays to read thenewspapers," Gideon said, "particularly the society column, and Inotice in the afternoon paper that at an informal gathering given by HoraceWarren, the noted financier and progressive businessman, the guests werethrilled by the presence of Mr Perry Mason and his beautiful secretary, Miss Della Street."
Gideon made a slight bow in thedirection of Della Street. "The newspaper account," Gideon went on, "which you mayhave missed, Mr Mason, mentioned that the noted attorney was so busy with hislaw practice that he seldom had time for any social life and the guestslionized him."
"Indeed," Mason said."I hadn't read the account."
"It was a very interestingaccount," Gideon said. "Now, in view of the fact that Margaret LornaNeely is the present Mrs Horace Warren, and in view of the fact that you seldomattend social gatherings, and in further view of the fact that both you andyour secretary were there, I gathered that there was some official reason for yourattendance.
"Furthermore, being somethingof an egotist, I assumed that it was barely possible my release from prison hadsomething to do with the reason you were there.
"Now, if Mrs Warren had wantedto consult you, she would have gone to your office. If Mr Warren had wanted toconsult you, he might not have cared to call on you at the office. The factthat you were there at his house as a guest would indicate that you had beenretained to size up the situation more or less surreptitiously, so tospeak."
"In my profession," Masonsaid, "I have always found that reasoning from a premise may be fallaciousand is almost certain to lead to erroneous conclusions."
"Isn't that the truth!"Gideon exclaimed. "You know, I've been betrayed by mistakes of that sortso that I've learned not to make them. However, let's get back to the matter inhand, Mr Mason."
"In what way?" Masonasked.
"The authorities have been veryanxious to locate Margaret Lorna Neely. They seemed to think that I knew whereshe was.
"Of course, all mycorrespondence for the last few years has been rigorously censored and I havehad to keep in the background. I didn't dare write anyone, nor did I care tohave anyone write me. However, I have managed to keep certain bits ofinformation locked up in my head where they couldn't be pried out byinquisitive government officials.