The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret

Chapter Twenty-One

Sheriff Jewett said, “In view of your client’s statement, Mr Mason, I don’t see why you accused me of incompetent investigative technique in that I failed to mark the location of the yacht where we recovered it. Quite evidently the yacht had drifted with the rising tide down the bay and had come to rest there.”

“The point is,” Mason said, “that you don’t know what went overboard from that yacht. You don’t know what evidence might have been thrown overboard.”

“What makes you think any evidence was?”

“I think it was,” Mason said. “I think something very significant was thrown overboard. I also think that in the best police procedure any investigation worthy of the name would have marked the exact location of that yacht and had divers explore the bottom.”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at,” the sheriff said.

“You’ll find out before I rest my case,” Mason told him.

The sheriff said, “All right, I’ll tell you the same thing you told the district attorney. You run your business and I’ll run mine.”

“Thank you,” Mason said, smiling. “As far as I’m concerned the press conference is over. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs Bancroft, and in the meantime don’t answer any more questions. Just say that you’ll tell your story at the proper time and in the proper place. From now on, keep your own counsel. Don’t tell anybody anything.”

Mason stalked out of the room.

Della Street said, “Why didn’t you show the sheriff up by proving that two typewriters had been used on that note?”

Mason smiled at her. “It won’t help our case to get the sheriff confused, but it will help our case to keep the blackmailers confused.”

“Why? One of them is dead.”

“Do you know that there were only two?” Mason asked.

She thought over his question for a few seconds. “No,” she admitted at length.

“Exactly,” Mason said, and then, after a pause, “Let’s eat.”