'Slid my car into the curb on Figueroa, switched off the ignition and jumped out.'
'And of course that's on the road to the beach,' Mason commented musingly.
Brownley nodded.
'Go on,' Mason told him impatiently. 'What happened?'
'She was walking ahead of me in the rain. In fact, she was running.'
'Could you see her?'
'Yes. The light yellow rain coat showed up as a light patch. I ran as hard as I could without making any noise, and of course, I could go faster than she could. That light-colored rain coat was easy to follow. I could see it indistinctly, but you know how it would be…'
'Yes. I know,' Mason said. 'Where did she go?'
'She walked four blocks.'
'Walked four blocks!' Mason exclaimed.
'Yes.'
'Why didn't she drive?'
'I don't know.'
'You mean to say she was driving a light yellow Cadillac coupe and she parked it on Fifty-second just off Figueroa and then walked four blocks through a driving rain?'
'She ran most of the way.'
'I don't care whether she was running or walking. What I mean is, she left the car and went on foot?'
'Yes.'
'Where did she go?'
'There's a little apartment house there. I don't think it has over eight or ten apartments in it. It's a frame house, and she went in there.'
'Any lights?' Mason asked.
'Yes. There were lights on the second floor in the right-hand corner and on one side-it's only a two-story building. The shades were drawn, but I could see the light through the shades, and occasionally I could see a shadow moving across the curtains.'
'You mean you stayed there and watched?'
'That's right.'
'How long?'
'Until after daylight.'
Mason gave a low whistle.
'I went up to look the place over,' Brownley said, 'and as nearly as I could figure from the mail boxes, the front apartment was in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Stockton. I couldn't tell whether the side apartment which was lighted was in the name of Jerry Franks or Paul Montrose.'
'And you stayed there until after daylight?'
'Yes.'
'Then what happened?'
'Well, after it got light I moved farther away of course. And then I could see the back of the building as well as the front. There were a bunch of vacant lots along there and I found one where I could stay and watch.'
'And it had quit raining then?'
'It was just quitting.'
'Then what happened?'
'Then Janice and a short, chunky fellow, with a felt hat, came out of the place and walked rapidly down the sidewalk toward Figueroa Street. It was daylight then and I didn't dare to crowd them too closely. I waited until they'd got quite a start. You know, it wasn't bright daylight, just the gray of dawn.'
'And Janice was wearing her rain coat?'
'Yes.'
'The same one she had worn earlier?'
'Yes, of course.'
'What did she do?'
'She and this fellow climbed in her car and turned it around and started back toward town. I made a run for my car, but by the time I got into it, started it and turned around they were far enough away to be out of sight. I stepped on the gas and finally caught up to where I could see them. I turned up the collar of my overcoat so they wouldn't recognize me, and turned on my headlights so it would be hard for them to see what the car looked like.'
'But they knew, of course, you were following, after you turned your headlights on?'
'I guess so, yes. But they didn't slow down any or try to ditch me.'
'There were other cars on the road?'
'Not very many. I think I met one or two, and maybe passed one. I can't be certain. I was watching Janice.'
'And what did she do?'
'She drove directly to this hotel. She and this man got out. I had a chance to see him then. I think he has gray eyes and a gray mustache. He wears glasses and…'
'Ever see him again?' Mason asked.
'Yes. He's up there now. He went in about fifteen or twenty minutes ago.'
'The same man?'
'Yes.'
'You're sure?'
'Yes.'
'Look here,' Mason said slowly, 'there was a back exit from that apartment house?'
'Yes.'
'Did you watch it while you were shadowing the place?'
'No. That's what I've been trying to explain. I watched the front and that was all. After it got light enough to see, I got where I could see both front and back, but that was only a few minutes before they came out.'
'And lights were on in these apartments when Janice got there?'
'Yes.'
'And you stayed there all the time, watching the place?'
'Yes.'
'But she might have gone in the front, out the back and then returned through the back door any time before daylight. Is that right?'
'Yes, of course she could have done that.'
'And you think she did?'
Brownley nodded.
'What makes you think so?'
'Because she was desperate. She's an impostor. She was going to be showed up and sent to jail.'
Mason said slowly, 'The thing doesn't make sense.'
Brownley's tone was impatient. 'I'm not claiming it makes sense,' he said. 'I'm telling you what happened.'
Mason frowned thoughtfully at the tip of his cigarette for several minutes, then slowly opened the door of the car.
'Have you told anyone about this?' he asked.
'No. Should I?'
Mason nodded and said, 'Yes, you'd better tell the D.A.'
'How will I get in touch with him?'
'Don't worry,' Mason said grimly, 'they'll get in touch with you,' and slammed the door of the car shut behind him.
Chapter 12
Mason, his face wearing a worried frown, sat in the visitor's room and looked through the wire mesh to where Julia Branner sat directly across from him. A long table stretched the length of the room. Down the center of the table ran the wire mesh, separating visitors from prisoners. A jail matron stood at the far corner of the room on the jail side. On Mason's right, back of a barred partition which was between Mason and the door, two officers were on duty. Back of them was a little room containing a veritable arsenal of revolvers, tear bombs and sawed-off shotguns.
Mason tried to hold Julia Branner's eyes with his, but she kept avoiding his gaze. Mason said, 'Julia, look down at my hand-not that one, the other one. Now I'm going to open that hand causally. There's something in the palm. I want you to look at it and tell me if you've ever seen it before.'
Mason glanced at the matron, looked out of the corner of his eye at the two officers, slowly opened his right hand, but carefully avoided letting his own eyes drop. Julia Branner stared as though fascinated at the hand. Slowly, Mason closed it again into a fist and pounded gently on the table as though emphasizing some point. 'What is it?' he asked.
'A key.'
'Your key?'
'What do you mean?'
'A man by the name of Sacks,' Mason said, 'a private detective, is going to claim you gave him that key and…'
