But there were no officers. The lawyer drove up on Mulholland Drive and started checking distances.
This is the service station, Della Street said.
Mason, tight-lipped, nodded grimly, slowed his speed and moved cautiously down the road.
Wait a minute, wait a minute, Della Street said. Thats the place right there, where she had the car parked, Chief.
I know it, Mason said. I dont want to leave our car parked there.
He drove on another hundred yards before he found a place where he could park the car. He took a flashlight from the glove compartment. Come on, Della, he said.
The lawyers long legs set a pace which forced Della Street to keep at a half-trot in order to keep up with him. They came back to the cleared place in the road where there were marks of tires in the soft soil.
The questing beam of Masons flashlight moved around through the brush.
Precisely what are you looking for? Della Street asked.
Abruptly the beam of the flashlight answered her question as it came to rest on a red one-gallon can which had been thrown over into the brush.
The gasoline can, Della Street said. It must be empty!
Mason nodded.
Do we pick it up and...?
We touch nothing, Mason said. This way, Della.
Automobiles which had been driven through the low brush out towards the steep slope had made a roadway which consisted of but little more than two parallel lines of broken low brush.
Mason led the way to a point where there was a cleared space right at the edge of the steep slope. Petting parties had parked here, then turned their cars and gone back to the highway so that there had been left a circular space virtually devoid of vegetation.
Mason switched out the flashlight and listened.
From Mulholland Drive there was the occasional whine of a car. Far, far below, the noises of the city, muted by distance, furnished a rumbling undertone. A sea of twinkling lights stretched as far as the eye could see until a dark segment marked the location of the ocean. Overhead, stars blazed in tranquil steadiness.
What a beautiful, beautiful spot, Della Street said. Wouldnt this make an ideal She broke off abruptly with a half-scream.
Masons flashlight, which had been switched on once more and was exploring the edges of the clearing, came to rest on a sprawled shape lying on its back in the unmistakably grotesque posture of death.
Mason moved closer.
The odor of raw gasoline permeated the atmosphere.
The lawyers flashlight came to rest on the features.
Chief, Della Street said, half-hysterically, its Lowry Ken Lowry, the manager of the mine.
Mason nodded. The beam of the flashlight continued to move.
And here are account books, Della Street said, all soaked in gasoline.
Mason nodded, approached the body of Ken Lowry. The lawyer bent over him and felt for a pulse.
All right, Della, he said, lets go.
Chief, what happened? What...?
We were too late to prevent a murder, Mason said. We may have been early enough to have prevented the destruction of evidence.
You mean fire?
Mason nodded. Lets be careful, Della. Theres probably a cold-blooded murderer watching everything we do.
He retraced his steps to Mulholland Drive, took Della Streets hand in his and ran down to where he had left his car. He jumped in the car, drove it to the service station.
Got a phone? he asked the attendant.
The man nodded, motioned to a telephone.
Mason hurried inside, dialed police headquarters. Homicide, he said.
A moment later, when he had the connection completed, he inquired, Lieutenant Tragg happen to be there?
He dropped in for a minute and is just leaving. I can perhaps catch him in the corridor if
Get him! Mason shouted. Tell him its Perry Mason. Tell him its important.
Mason heard a voice shouting at the other end of the line, Hey, grab Tragg! Dont let him leave the building.
Several seconds later, Mason could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the telephone and Traggs voice saying, Yes, hello... Tragg talking.
Mason said, You arent going to like this any more than I do, Lieutenant. Ive found a body.
I see, Tragg said dryly. And you are quite correct.
In what?
In that I dont like it any more than you do, probably not as much. Now, where are you and whats it all about?
Mason said, The body is soaked in gasoline and I believe the murderer intended to set fire not only to the body but to some documentary evidence that is nearby. Im going back and try to prevent it. Get officers up on Mulholland Drive just as fast as you can. Im going to try and stand guard. Ill put Della Street on the telephone. Shell tell you where I am and how to get here.
Mason handed the phone to Della Street.
You talk with him, give him directions, he said. Im going back.
No, no, she cried. Its dangerous. You cant... youre unarmed...
Once this evidence gets destroyed, Mason said, our client goes to the gas chamber. I dont think the murderer will start the fire if he knows theres a witness.
Hell kill the witness, Della Street said.
You tell Tragg how to get here, Mason said. Thats the best you can do. Tell him to rush up a radio prowl car and then get up here himself.