Where did you get the money to pay for the car?
This other woman gave me money for expenses when I was working there at the office yesterday morning. Miss Corning told me to use that money and that shed replace it.
What time did she tell you shed be there, Mason asked, at this rendezvous on Mulholland Drive?
She didnt tell me. She told me to be there by at least fifteen minutes past seven and to wait until exactly seven-fifty. She said that she would join me during that interval if she could.
When did this call come in?
About... oh, I guess it was five forty-five.
Mason glanced at Della Street. That couldnt have been too long after we talked with her.
She told me that she had talked with you on the phone, Mr. Mason. I wanted to know if she knew where I could reach you, and she said no, you couldnt be reached, that you were out of the city but that youd telephoned her.
Youre sure it was her voice on the telephone? Mason asked.
Oh, yes, Im quite sure. She has certain little mannerisms of speaking and I have a good ear for voices on the telephone. Im quite certain it was she.
You turned the car in and walked here from the car-rental agency?
She hesitated.
Did you?
No. Mr. Mason, I know I shouldnt have, but I was so upset... I stopped at the cocktail lounge and had a drink. I needed it.
They know you there?
Yes. The bartender is very nice. I stop in there once in a while.
How long were you there?
Not long ten or fifteen minutes.
Then you came here?
Yes.
Mason frowned. The thing simply doesnt make sense, he said. You cant fit it together any way so it does make sense... did Miss Corning tell you anything about her sister or her business manager from South America?
Not a thing, Susan said.
Look here, Susan, Mason said. This woman is from South America. She hasnt been here for years. She couldnt have given you all that detailed information. She couldnt have known about the distances, whether or not the attendant at the service station was alone, or
Oh, but she could, Susan interrupted. She said shed engaged a detective agency and that all of these things were bits of a puzzle that would all fit together. She said the persons who had been planning to loot the company were planning a meeting that we were going to walk in on. She said that by the time you returned to town wed have all the evidence you needed... and it was Miss Corning, all right. I knew her voice. There couldnt be any mistake.
Mason said, Im afraid youve either been a credulous little fool, or that Miss Corning has exposed herself to danger and may have been injured and in that event youre really in trouble.
But, Mr. Mason, what could I do? Absolutely everything depends on having the confidence and the backing of Miss Corning. I couldnt do anything except what I did... She said her detectives had just reported and that there was no time to spare. She said shed have given ten thousand dollars if theyd reported a little earlier and before you had phoned her. She said she thought you were in Mojave.
Abruptly Mason started pacing the floor, his eyes level-lidded with concentration.
Whats the matter? Susan Fisher asked. Do you suppose...?
Della Street, knowing the lawyers habits of thought, motioned Sue to silence with a finger on her lips.
Mason paced back and forth for nearly two minutes. Suddenly he whirled. All right, Sue, can you draw me an accurate diagram of the place where you parked the car?
Of course. She gave me a description of mileage and I took it down in shorthand and
Wheres the shorthand?
Right here.
Have you transcribed it?
No.
Do you have a typewriter here?
Yes.
Write out the description, Mason said, just as fast as you can. Then sit right here in this apartment. Dont leave until I tell you to, no matter what happens.
Spurred by the urgency of his manner, Sue Fisher uncovered a typewriter, ratcheted in paper and typed out the driving directions.
Mason studied the paper for a moment, folded it, shoved it in his pocket, said to Della Street, Come on, Della.
Im to wait here? Sue Fisher asked.
Right here, Mason instructed, and if Miss Corning phones find out where she is, then call Paul Drake and tell him. In the meantime, Im going to phone Paul Drake to put a bodyguard on duty here.
Suppose she phones and tells me to go out to join her and
Find out where she is, phone Drakes agency, and then do exactly as she says. If you notice a man following you, dont be afraid. That will be Drakes man.
Mason hurried Della Street to the elevator, paused to phone instructions to Paul Drake from the booth in the lobby, then hurried to his car.
Were going out there? Della Street asked.
Mason nodded.
Why? What do you expect to find?
Mason said, We may be in time to prevent a murder.
Chief, you think... you mean...?
Exactly, Mason said.
Ordinarily an exponent of careful, safe driving, Mason on this occasion crowded his car into speed.
Youll be picked up, Della Street warned as Mason shot through a changing traffic signal.
So much the better, Mason told her. Well impress an officer into service and take him along.