"Well now," Tragg said,"that looks very much as though she had been down there. That complicatesthe situation somewhat."
"No comment," Mrs Warrensaid.
Tragg looked at her. "You're anapt pupil."
"No comment."
"Aren't you interested insaving your husband the publicity and the humiliation of being a defendant in amurder case?"
"No comment."
Mason grinned.
Tragg frowned and got to his feet."All right, Mason," he said. "You win this round. This is onlythe opening part of the fight. We're feeling each other out. Later on I thinkyou'll be on the ropes, fighting to keep on your feet. I think you're mixed inthis pretty much yourself."
"No comment," Mason said.
Chapter 16
Paul Drake was waiting in Mason'soffice when the lawyer and Della returned.
Mason said, "For yourinformation, Paul, Collister Gideon was murdered. Horace Warren has beencharged with the crime. Neither Warren nor his wife is making anystatement."
"I know, I know," Drakesaid. "That's your news. Wait until you hear mine."
"What's yours?" Masonasked.
"The artist that I had make thephoney composite picture of Collister Gideon was up at headquarters. He showedthe picture we had him make to someone on the homicide squad to see if itchecked with anything they had.
"They were just fresh frominvestigating the Gideon murder and recognized the picture right away as asketch of Gideon, so they wanted to know what had happened and who the artisthad made it for, and why, and he referred them to me and I mean the police camedown on me hard."
"You didn't do anythingillegal," Mason said.
"The hell I didn't," Drakesaid. "There's a law about tampering with witnesses."
"What witnesses did you tamperwith?" Mason asked.
"You know damned well how Itampered with them," Drake said. "I took the sketch along and triedto get the witnesses to describe the man in the sketch as having the samegeneral appearance as that of the man they had seen running out of the place.The artist said he was under instructions to duplicate a picture of Gideon.
"This is too big for me to takeby myself, Perry. They suspected what had happened anyway, so I finally toldthem I was acting under orders and that you had given the orders."
"So what do they intend todo?" Mason asked.
"They intend to raise hell withyou for lousing up a robbery case.
"They think that you weretrying to protect a client, that you're representing the man who held up thesupermarket and shot the watchman and that he hasn't been apprehended as yet,but that you're getting in and trying to confuse the witnesses. HamiltonBurger, the district attorney, is going to send for you and put you on thecarpet. And he's going to release to the press exactly what happened."
"Let him release," Masonsaid. "I acted within my rights as a citizen. I wanted to know who held upthat supermarket."
"Why?" Drake asked.
"That's none of their damnedbusiness," Mason said. "I don't have to account to them for myactions. I'm a licensed attorney at law I can investigate any crime I damnedplease and do anything I want to, to protect the interests of my clients, justso I keep within the law … And I sure as hell am going to protect my clientsas long as I have any breath and pulse."
"You tried to influence thosepeople in making an identification."
"The police do that a dozentimes every twenty-four hours," Mason said. "They get a favouritesuspect in a particular case, or they work with a mug shot and they force anidentification. They said, 'Look at this picture, look at it good. Look at thismug shot. Now remember the man who held you up. Now look at this sketch by theartist. Doesn't that resemble the man? Think carefully now, because if youdon't answer this question right a guilty man may go free to commit othercrimes.'
"Don't tell me that it's acrime to ask a witness to identify a picture, because if it is every policeofficer in the country will be in jail."
"Well, I'm just letting youknow," Drake said, "because – "
The telephone rang several short,sharp rings, Gertie's signal that there was some emergency in the outer office.
The office door opened and a youngman entered, saying, "I'm Tarlton Ladd. I'm an investigator for thedistrict attorney's office. Here are my credentials if you care to checkthem."
"Okay," Mason said,"you're an investigator for the DA. What do you want?"
"The district attorney wants tointerrogate you on a matter which may lead to the institution of criminalproceedings."
"Against whom?"
"You."
"When does he want tointerrogate me?"
"Now."
"And if I don't choose togo?"
"Then I have a subpoenaordering you to appear before the grand jury tomorrow at ten o'clock."
Mason thought things over for amoment, then said, "Okay, I'll go." Mason turned to Della Street. "You mind the store until I get back,Della."
Mason's last view of his officebefore the door clicked shut showed Della Street and Paul Drake standing silent withapprehensive faces.
Chapter 17
Hamilton Burger, the districtattorney, said, "This is in the nature of a formal hearing for the purposeof making a criminal complaint if the evidence indicates a crime has beencommitted, or preferring charges before the disciplinary division of the Bar Association,or both.
"Mr Mason, you are acquaintedwith Sergeant Holcomb of the police department and this is Drummond Dixon, anartist, and Drew Kearny. The other gentleman is Parley Fulton, a privatedetective employed on occasion by the Drake Detective Agency and we have here acourt reporter who is taking down the proceedings."
"Will I have a right to askquestions?" Mason asked.
"This is not a court hearing.We are trying to determine whether there is ground for taking action."
"Are you afraid to have thesewitnesses interrogated except by one side?"
"I'm not afraid of anything oranyone in connection with an investigation of this sort."
"Very well, then I want to havethe right to ask questions."
"I see no reason for you to begiven an opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses."
"Then I'll get up and walkout," Mason said. "If you're going to conduct a star-chamber sessionand try to influence witnesses to testify your way, I'm not going to haveanything to do with it."
"I'm not trying to influencewitnesses and you know it," Hamilton Burger said angrily "You've beenguilty of some rather sharp practices at times."
"Sharp but legal," Masonsaid. "When I represent a client I try to represent him."
"Well, there's no use havingall this bickering," Hamilton Burger said. "We'll proceed with thehearing and if you want to ask questions, you may ask them, but if thequestions are not within the bounds of propriety I will advise the witness notto answer them."
"At which stage I'll get up andwalk out," Mason said.
"Whereupon you'll be broughtbefore the grand jury," Hamilton Burger warned.
"At which time I'll tell myside of the story, that you were having a star-chamber session, that I waswilling to be present and answer questions but I wanted to have the matterfairly presented and to that end insisted on my right to ask questions."
"We'll start with ParleyFulton," Burger said. "What's your occupation, Mr Fulton?"
"I'm a private detective."
"Early this month were youemployed by anyone in such capacity?"
"I was."
"What person?"
"Paul Drake."
"That's the head of DrakeDetective Agency?"
"Yes, sir."
"And what were you ordered todo by Mr Drake?"
"I was given a photograph andtold to have Mr Dixon, whom I knew, practice making sketches from thatphotograph so that he could make a likeness in crayon."
"And what else were you told todo?"
"I was told to hunt up theeyewitnesses of the hold-up at the Pacific and Northern Supermarket, thewounded watchman and Mr Kearny here, and tell them I was investigating thecrime which had taken place there, involving the attempted murder of thewatchman. I was to ask them to give me a general description of what thehold-up man had looked like. That was on the morning of the fourth.