'And he lost his gamble.'
'Hedley, himself, didn't-'
'Hedley, himself, didn't know anything about Palmer's murder,' Mason went on. 'It was his mother who was trying to protect him; his mother who killed the man who could have betrayed her son.
'When you stop to think of it, it had to be the mother. She could have had access to the bureau drawer in Desere's apartment. She was the only one who could have secured that gun, who had a sufficiently strong motive to commit murder if she had to.
'Hedley really gave himself away during that fight with you, Kerry. He ran into Desere's bedroom. He was looking for a nylon stocking. If he'd got his hands on one you'd have found him an expert garroter. He's had lots of practice.
'It was thinking about that rush to the bedroom and trying to find the reason for it that started me thinking along the right line.'
Dutton shook his head. 'I can still feel the arms of that metallic chair in the gas chamber.'
'You certainly led with your chin,' Mason told him, 'trying to protect the girl you loved and trying to surprise her with an inheritance.
'Now then, make me a check for five thousand dollars covering my fee and Drake's expenses. Get out of here, hunt up Desere Ellis, tell her you love her and ask her to marry you.'
'That last,' Dutton said, 'is probably the best advice I've
