'No. He was wearing a money belt. It was empty.'
'Did you search Boring's automobile?'
'Yes.'
'Did you find any money?'
'No.'
'As far as you know, the money which you have mentioned represented the entire cash which he had?'
'Yes.'
'That's all,' Mason said.
'That's our case, if the Court please,' Leland said. 'We ask that the defendant be bound over for trial.'
'Does the defense wish to make any showing?' Judge Talent asked. 'If not, it would seem that the order should be made. This is simply a preliminary hearing and it has been established that a crime has been committed and that there is at least reasonable ground to believe the defendant is connected with the commission of the crime.'
Mason said, 'It is now eleven-thirty. May I ask the Court for a recess until two o'clock, at which time the defense will decide whether we wish to put on any case?'
'Very well,' Judge Talent said. 'We'll continue the case until two P.M. Will that give you sufficient time, Mr. Mason?'
'I think so, yes,' Mason said.
After court adjourned, newspaper reporters interviewed Mason and Leland briefly.
Leland, coldly aloof, said, 'I am fully familiar with counsel's reputation for turning a preliminary hearing into a major courtroom controversy. It is entirely improper and, if I may say so without criticizing my brother district attorneys, I think the reason is that some of those district attorneys have become a little gun shy of Mr. Mason. They try to put too much evidence and that gives the defense an opportunity to make a grandstand showing.'
The newspaper reporter turned to Mason. 'Any comment?' he asked.
Mason grinned and said, 'I'll make my comment at two o'clock this afternoon,' and walked out.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mason, Della Street, and Paul Drake ordered lunch to be served in their suite at the Mission Inn.
The telephone rang shortly after Mason had placed the order.
Della Street nodded to Mason. 'For you, Chief,' she said, and then added in a low voice, 'Mrs. W.'
Mason took the phone, said, 'Hello,' and Mrs. Winlock's smooth, cool voice came floating over the line.
'Good afternoon, Mr. Mason. How did the court hearing go this morning?'
'Very much as I expected,' Mason said cautiously. 'And do you want to do something that is for the best interests of your client?'
'Very much.'
'If,' the voice said, 'you will adhere to the bargain I outlined to you, you should be able to score another triumph over the prosecution, have the defendant released and have the case thrown out of court.
'Both my son and I are in a position to testify, if necessary, that when we entered that unit the man was lying on the floor breathing heavily and we thought he was drunk. And I will testify that I was the one who made the phone call to the manager of the motel.'
'Suppose I simply subpoena you and put you on the stand?' Mason asked.
She laughed and said, 'Come, come, Mr. Mason, you're a veteran attorney. You could hardly commit a booboo of that sort. Think of what it would mean if I should state the man was alive and well when I left.'
'And your price?' Mason asked.
'You know my price. Complete, utter silence about matters which will affect my property status and my social status. Good-by, Mr. Mason.'
The receiver clicked at the other end of the line.
Della Street raised inquiring eyebrows.
Mason said, 'Paul, you're going to have to pick up lunch somewhere along the line. I want you to go out to the Restawhile Motel. I want you to take a stop watch. I want you to get the manager to walk rapidly from the switchboard, out the front door, down to Unit to. I want you to have her open the door, walk inside, turn around, walk back, pick up the telephone, call police headquarters and ask what time it is. See how long it takes and report to me.'
'Okay,' Drake said. 'What time do you want me back here?'
'Call in,' Mason said. 'I may have something else for you. Telephone a report just as soon as you have checked the time.'
'Okay,' Drake said, 'on my way.'
Five minutes after Drake had left, the chimes in the suite sounded, and Della Street opened the door to a very agitated George D. Winlock.
'Good afternoon,' Winlock said. 'May I come in?'
'Certainly. Come right in,' Mason said.
Winlock looked at Della Street. 'I would like very much to have a completely private conversation with you, Mr. Mason.'
'You can't do it,' the lawyer said. 'Under the circumstances I'm not going to have any conversation with you without a witness. However, I may state that Miss Street is my confidential secretary and has been such for quite some time. You can trust to her discretion, but she'll listen to what's said and, what's more, she'll take notes.'
Winlock said, 'This is a very, very delicate matter, Mr. Mason. It is very personal.'
'She's heard delicate matters before which have been very, very personal,' Mason said.
Winlock debated the matter for a moment, then surrendered. 'You leave me no choice, Mr. Mason.'
'Sit down,' Mason said. 'Tell me what's on your mind.'
Winlock said, 'My wife has told you that she and her son, Marvin Harvey Palmer, are willing to testify that they were the two people who were seen entering Unit io between eight and nine; that at that time Boring was lying on the floor breathing heavily; that they smelled whiskey and thought he was lying there drunk; that Marvin Palmer waited for some minutes, hoping that Boring would revive so that he could talk with him; that my wife was there a much shorter period of time.'
'Well?' Mason asked.
'It's not true,' Winlock said, with some agitation. 'Boring was in full possession of his health and his faculties when they were there.'
'How do you know?'
'Because I was there after they were.'
'You haven't told me,' Mason said, 'what was the nature of your interview with Boring.'
'I told him I was going to have him arrested for blackmail, that there was no longer any opportunity to keep my relationship with Dianne secret, that you had uncovered it and that Dianne herself knew about it, that under the circumstances I was going to have him arrested in the event he wasn't out of town by morning.'
'Did you ask him for the ten thousand dollars back?'
'Yes. I made him return the money.'
'Without a struggle?'
'I threw a terrific scare into him. He hated to part with that money, but he didn't want to go to prison for blackmail.'
Mason said, 'You had given Boring ten thousand dollars in cash?'
'I had.'
'At what time?'
'At about five P.M. He had stopped by my office just before closing time. He was there very briefly. I had the money ready for him.'
'And from your office he went directly to the motel?'
'I believe he did. You should know. Apparently you were having him shadowed.'
