The Case of the Phantom Fortune

Chapter 16

Paul Drake was waiting in Mason'soffice when the lawyer and Della returned.

Mason said, "For yourinformation, Paul, Collister Gideon was murdered. Horace Warren has beencharged with the crime. Neither Warren nor his wife is making anystatement."

"I know, I know," Drakesaid. "That's your news. Wait until you hear mine."

"What's yours?" Masonasked.

"The artist that I had make thephoney composite picture of Collister Gideon was up at headquarters. He showedthe picture we had him make to someone on the homicide squad to see if itchecked with anything they had.

"They were just fresh frominvestigating the Gideon murder and recognized the picture right away as asketch of Gideon, so they wanted to know what had happened and who the artisthad made it for, and why, and he referred them to me and I mean the police camedown on me hard."

"You didn't do anythingillegal," Mason said.

"The hell I didn't," Drakesaid. "There's a law about tampering with witnesses."

"What witnesses did you tamperwith?" Mason asked.

"You know damned well how Itampered with them," Drake said. "I took the sketch along and triedto get the witnesses to describe the man in the sketch as having the samegeneral appearance as that of the man they had seen running out of the place.The artist said he was under instructions to duplicate a picture of Gideon.

"This is too big for me to takeby myself, Perry. They suspected what had happened anyway, so I finally toldthem I was acting under orders and that you had given the orders."

"So what do they intend todo?" Mason asked.

"They intend to raise hell withyou for lousing up a robbery case.

"They think that you weretrying to protect a client, that you're representing the man who held up thesupermarket and shot the watchman and that he hasn't been apprehended as yet,but that you're getting in and trying to confuse the witnesses. HamiltonBurger, the district attorney, is going to send for you and put you on thecarpet. And he's going to release to the press exactly what happened."

"Let him release," Masonsaid. "I acted within my rights as a citizen. I wanted to know who held upthat supermarket."

"Why?" Drake asked.

"That's none of their damnedbusiness," Mason said. "I don't have to account to them for myactions. I'm a licensed attorney at law I can investigate any crime I damnedplease and do anything I want to, to protect the interests of my clients, justso I keep within the law … And I sure as hell am going to protect my clientsas long as I have any breath and pulse."

"You tried to influence thosepeople in making an identification."

"The police do that a dozentimes every twenty-four hours," Mason said. "They get a favouritesuspect in a particular case, or they work with a mug shot and they force anidentification. They said, 'Look at this picture, look at it good. Look at thismug shot. Now remember the man who held you up. Now look at this sketch by theartist. Doesn't that resemble the man? Think carefully now, because if youdon't answer this question right a guilty man may go free to commit othercrimes.'

"Don't tell me that it's acrime to ask a witness to identify a picture, because if it is every policeofficer in the country will be in jail."

"Well, I'm just letting youknow," Drake said, "because – "

The telephone rang several short,sharp rings, Gertie's signal that there was some emergency in the outer office.

The office door opened and a youngman entered, saying, "I'm Tarlton Ladd. I'm an investigator for thedistrict attorney's office. Here are my credentials if you care to checkthem."

"Okay," Mason said,"you're an investigator for the DA. What do you want?"

"The district attorney wants tointerrogate you on a matter which may lead to the institution of criminalproceedings."

"Against whom?"

"You."

"When does he want tointerrogate me?"

"Now."

"And if I don't choose togo?"

"Then I have a subpoenaordering you to appear before the grand jury tomorrow at ten o'clock."

Mason thought things over for amoment, then said, "Okay, I'll go." Mason turned to Della Street. "You mind the store until I get back,Della."

Mason's last view of his officebefore the door clicked shut showed Della Street and Paul Drake standing silent withapprehensive faces.