The Case of the Singing Skirt

'You mean gambling is a good thing for the community,' Mason said, 'for the citizens who make up the community?'

'That's right. Now you're getting the idea.'

'Then there's no reason why we shouldn't tell the married women that the husband has the management of community property but he can't gamble it away. If a gambler wins the wife's share of community property, he can't keep it.'

The smile faded from Fenwick's face. 'Now that's a horse of another color, Mason. You're getting things all mixed up. I didn't say that, and we don't feel that way.

'In the first place, I think that when you make a careful study of the law you'll find you're mistaken, and frankly I'd like to have you make a careful study of the law. That's going to take some time, Mr. Mason. You're a lawyer, and we don't want you to do it for nothing. My association needs some representation here, and we'd like to retain you to sort of keep us advised on the law.

'One of the first things we'd like to have you do would be to take a year or so and really study up on the decisions relating to gambling and games of chance. We'd put you under a retainer of, say, fifteen thousand a year.'

Mason grinned. 'What do you want me for, Fenwick? You've already hired Gowrie.'

Fenwick's eyes widened. 'How did you know?' he asked.

Mason grinned.

'Well,' Fenwick said, 'after all, Mason, we're both of us grown up. Think this proposition over, will you?'

Mason shook his head. 'I'm busy with trial work,' he said. 'I don't have many interests outside of that.'

'Well, you sure knew some law that threw a monkey wrench in the machinery of our organization,' Fenwick said. 'Boy, they got me on the telephone and told me to get down here so fast it'd make your head swim. I was on a vacation down at Acapulco and had a very pleasant, understanding little companion along with me. Wham! Boy, did I get a telephone call! Get on the plane, get up to Rowena, talk with George Anclitas, talk with Perry Mason, talk with Darwin Gowrie, talk with Mrs. Helman Ellis!'

'You evidently made good time,' Mason said.

'I made good time. I can get along without sleep when I have to and still keep going.'

Fenwick hesitated for a moment, then met Mason's eyes. 'Well, why not?' he asked. 'Sure, I've seen Gowrie.'

'And what about Mrs. Ellis?'

'I'm looking for her,' Fenwick said. 'That's why I'm still hanging around here. We can't find her. She is in some kind of a ruckus with her husband. She was away for a while. Her husband thinks she was in Arizona. But she came back early this morning, then got in the family yacht and sailed off somewhere.'

'Where?' Mason asked.

'I wish I knew. I'm figuring Ensenada on a guess. I've got men covering Ensenada and Catalina. The minute her boat shows up, I'll take a plane and go talk to her. I was going to ring you up at your office and make an appointment. Finding you here has saved me a lot of trouble.'

'I understood Mrs. Ellis was looking around in Arizona,' Mason said.

'That's where she was. She didn't stay long. The party she was looking for wasn't where she expected to find her. She got a hot tip from some place and came back here, all worked up. She thought she'd been deliberately sent on a wild-goose chase.'

'Who tipped her off?' Mason asked.

'I don't know. I heard about it, that's all, just the sort of gossip a man can pick up.'

Mason stretched and yawned.

'Look here,' Fenwick said, 'I'm not an attorney, Mr. Mason, and I'm not in a position to question your judgment about the law, but if-now, I'm just saying if-that decision you mentioned is out of line with the law generally or if there's been a rehearing, or if the case hasn't been decided by the State Supreme Court and this represents just an outstanding departure from the ordinary doctrine of law, I know you'd want to be the first to find out about it.

'Now, I'll tell you that we've got a battery of highpriced lawyers looking into this thing and we'll know the answer within a day or two. If, of course, your ideas about the law are wrong, you'd want to be the first one to correct the erroneous impression you gave Mrs. Ellis.

'Now, as I told you, we're willing to pay for research. We don't want you to start looking this point up for nothing. In fact, I'm authorized to give you fifteen thousand dollars just to start looking it up.'

There was silence for a moment.

'In cash,' Fenwick said.

'I heard you the first time,' Mason said. 'Right at the moment I'm busy. I won't be able to do any research work.'

Fenwick extended his pudgy hand. 'Well, you know where I stand, Mason. Think it over-but if you're too busy to research the point, my associates here in Rowena certainly wouldn't want to do anything that would interrupt your schedule.'

'In other words,' Mason said, 'if I'm so damned busy, why don't I stay in my office and mind my own business.'

'Something like that.' Fenwick grinned, gripping Mason's hand.

The chief of police touched two fingers of his right hand to the brim of his cap, turned back toward the police car. Fenwick walked back and joined him. The car purred into motion, glided past Mason's automobile and turned to the left down the block.

Mason turned on his lights.

Della Street came out to stand by the edge of the swimming pool.

Mason started his car, drove out of the alley, across the street and swung in close to the curb.

Della Street, moving rapidly, walked across to the car, jerked the door open and jumped in.

'Everything okay?' he asked.

'Everything okay,' she said. 'There was one other woman in the place. When she had the attendant occupied, I went to work. There was a washbowl with open plumbing, and I got the tube of ice suspended from the two shut-off valves just as you suggested. The gun's out of sight unless someone should happen to get down on the floor and look up.'

'Okay,' Mason said, 'we'll be on our way.'

'I see that you had company.'

'The chief of police and a lobbyist for the gambling interests,' Mason said.

'What do the gambling interests want?'

'To retain me,' Mason said. 'They think I'm working too hard. They'd like to pay our expenses to Acapulco and have us keep out of circulation for a while.'

'And you told them?' Della Street asked.

'That I was busy,' Mason said.

'And so, now?' she asked.

'Now,' Mason said, 'we get out of Rowena-fast.'

CHAPTER EIGHT

Thursday afternoon, while Della Street was out of the office on an errand, the unlisted telephone in Mason's office buzzed its signal.

Mason, knowing that Paul Drake was the only outsider in possession of the unlisted number, dropped the book he was reading, picked up the telephone, said, 'Hello. What is it?'

Paul Drake's voice, clipped with urgency, came over the phone. 'Perry, have you heard from your client in that Rowena case?'

'Ellen Robb?'

'Yes.'

'I haven't heard from her all day, Paul. Why?'

'Better get her,' Drake said.

'What's happened?'

'I don't know for sure. I can give you some of it.'

'Shoot.'

'Mrs. Ellis boarded her yacht and took off for destinations unknown.'

'I know,' Mason said. 'I talked with the lobbyist for the gambling interests, and he had an all-points bulletin out for the yacht. He thought it was due in Ensenada or in Catalina.'

'Well, here's the thing,' Drake said. 'Sometime late this morning a submarine that was quite a ways out beyond Catalina Island noticed a boat in proscribed waters. It was drifting aimlessly. The submarine hailed the boat, got no answer and went aboard. The boarding officer found the cabin was locked, found the tanks were out of gas, that no one seemed to be aboard. He forced the cabin door and right away knew something had happened.'

'Such as what?'

'Murder.'

'Go on,' Mason said.

'The body inside had been there for a while. It was the body of Mrs. Ellis. She had evidently tried to protect herself. There were evidences of a struggle. The gun that she had evidently tried to use was lying by her hand. One shot had been fired from it. The gun was cocked, ready for a second shot, which Mrs. Ellis never got a chance to fire. There were two bullet wounds in the body, apparently both of them chest wounds. Either one would have been fatal within a matter of minutes. There had been a massive hemorrhage, and the inside of the cabin was a mess.

'Now then, there's something that links Ellen Robb to the case. I don't know what it is, but I understand police are looking for hen. They have out an all-points bulletin and they're really making a search.'

'Anything else?' Mason asked.

'That's all.'

'Okay,' Mason said. 'I'll get busy. Where are you now?'

'At the office.'

'Stay there,' Mason said. 'Hold a couple of good men in readiness. Now, you have bodyguards watching Ellen Robb's motel?'

'That's right.'

'You've had a recent report from them?'