Boy's Cinema (1935-39)

u minibar A. Two-five-l'oui-Uvo-three-four. Search the police records right away. There's a chance it might be listed." 'Say, boss," protested Spiidsy, "d'you know it's ten o'clock at night, and I've only lifted the hundred twenty- five times?" " You lift yourself down to police headquarters right away," commanded Peiry. "I'll call you in an hour. Yes, and tell Mrs. Mason I'll be there before long." He put down the telephone, and then he knelt on the floor again. He found a second empty cartridge which had rolled under the desk, and with his pencil he raked it out till it was lying beside the one he had already discovered. The two used cartridges matched in every detail, and having satisfied him- self as to this he put one of them in- his coat-pocket, left the other near the gun, and went to the door. "Oh—er—Mrs. Belter," he called in a guarded voice, "come in a minute, will you?" She entered the room without demur, this time, and he motioned to her to close the door. "You heard but one shot?" he ques- tioned. "That's right," she replied, looking anywhere but in the direction of the body. " Do you think it could possibly be suicide?" "Sure," said he dryly. There were casement windows at the end of the room, and one of thein was wide open. He walked across to it and leaned out over its sill. " Have you any idea who was here arguing with your husband?" he turned to ask. "Well, the other man spoke quite clearly," she said. "Have you ever heard the other man's voice before?" "I think so." "Do you know who it was?" "Yes." He strode towards her. " Well, don't be so mysterious—I'm your lawyer. Who was it?" She looked at him strangely, and she said: "You know who it was." "How should I know who it was?" "Because it was you, Perry." He stared at her for a full second, compressing his lips; but she did not flinch. " So that's the kind of a plaj'mate you are?" he said. "I won't tell anyone—ever." He shrugged his shoulders. "All right," he gritted, "how did I kill him, and why?" "I don't want to be cruel. Perry," she said, spieading out hor hands, "but after you had the arfiunient with my husband you icturncd up the back stairs. You killed him, Perry. That's why I went all the way over to your end of the town to telephone. I wanted to give you time to get home, so you would have an alibi." His lips, beneath his wisp of a. mous- tache, curled scornfully. "You're a liar, Mrs! Belter!" lie .said. "Now I'll tell you what to do. First of all, you're going to forget perniaiientlj that pipe-dream of yours about having heard me in tliis room " "But what are we going to do?" she broke in feveiishly. " If Locke prints that Beechwood Inn story, suspicion may even shift to me!" "Will you let me handle Frank Locke?" She nodded emphatically. "Oh, I do trust you, Perry," she de- clared. "Well, that's fine!" .said he. "Now iiston; I want forty-live minutes for in- January Otli. 1937. BOY'S CINEMA yestigation. You go to your room an<I keep quiet. Don't say a word to a soul, *nd don't call the police uhtil you hear from me. I'll be back as soon as I can." He went out from the room to the stairs, saw from the top of them that the hall below was deserted, and descended swiftly to the front door. In his car he travelled straight to the home of Peter Milnor, candidate for the Legislature, who lived on Telegraph Hill. A black-haired Japanese servant opened the door, clad in pyjamas and a dressing-gown, and he assured Perry that his master had gone away. But Perry swept him aside and strode into the hall because he had caught sight of the politician on the stairs. "Good-evening, Mr. Milnor!" he said loudly at the foot of them. " Have you heard? You're in quite a jam!" Milnor descended in anger. He was a man of about forty, with a strong, clean- shaven face, and he was carrying a suit- case. "I don't care who you are," he snapped, " and you'll have to excuse me. I'm just leaving." "Where's your 'phone?" asked Perry. A pair of dark blue eyes blazed at him. " Would you mind telling me who you are?" " I'm Perry Mason, and I'm your attorney in the trial for your life for the murder of George C. Belter," was the amazing reply, and with that Perry dived through an open doorway into a well-appointed sitting-room, found a telephone on a desk in there, and pro- ceeded to ling up his flat. Peter Milnor followed him; the Japanese servant stood gaping in the doorway, holding his master's hat and overcoat. Spudsy, by this time, had returned from police headquarters, and he answered the call. "Oh, hallo, Mr. Mason!" he said. " Yeah, they had a record of that auto- matic. It belongs to some guy named Peter Mitchell." "Peter Milnor, eh?" said Perry, his eyes on his unintentional host. " Well, he did have a motive for killing Belter. Good work, Spudsy. Tell Sirs. Mason I'll be home in an hour." He sat down at the desk, and he looked up at the startled politician. "Well, Mr. Milnor," he said, "about two hours ago George C Belter was murdered with a thirty-two Colt auto- matic. A man's voice was heard in his study, and your gun was used." " Aly gun?" howled Milnor. "Not my gun!" "You're a liar!" returned Perry calmly. "It's registered in your name!" "That gun's registered under the name of Peter Mitchell!" blurted the horrified politician, and Perry laughed. "Who's Peter Mitchell?" he chal- lenged. "Well—well. Peter Mitchell doesn't exist. li-hiit they can't trace that gun to me!" "That's where yoti're mistaken, Mr. Alilnor," said I^eriy. "I saw you at the Belters' house early in the evening, and 1 heard you talking to the butler." Jle fished out his fountain-pen and offered it. "Now the first thing I want is a campaign contribution." Milnor. who seemed to have gone to pieces, stammered that all he had in the way of money consisted of two thousand dollars' worth of travellers' cheques. " I can cash them," said Perry cheer- fully, and reached out a hand to the telephone while the cheques were being endorsed in his name. He dialed a number, and x'lesently was .speaking to Every Tuesday a doctor with whom he iiad had many professional dealings. "Is that the Fairview Sanatorium?" I he inquired. "Oh, hallo, doc—I didn't recognise your voice. Listen, send an ambulance right away to two-four-five Telegraph Hill. Yes, just around the corner, that's right. Algernon P. For- tescue is the patient. Nothing serious. Nervous bieakdowii. Want you to take care of him for me." Down went the telephone, and he re- ceived the travellers' cheques and pocketed them. "Now—er—why did you kill him?" he asked. Milnor, who had sent the Japanese ser- vant away, was certainly exhibiting several signs of a nervous breakdown. "Oh, I didn't!" he almost scicamed. "I swear I didn't! I was there earlier —you're right about that. He tried to pump me about his wife, just because she'd been with me to a dinner and dance at the Beechwood Inn, but I didn't go back." "If Frank Locke prints that Beech- wood Inn stoiy," said Perry, "the police will get you pronto. There's the motive—fight over Belter's wife! Digley, the butler, saw you there!" "I was there in the name of Gar- wood," stuttered Milnor. "That was Belter's idea." "Well, if they get you on the carpet," retorted Perry, "you'll be Milnor, not Garwood!" "You've got to keep that story out of print!" "Arc you telling me? How well do you know Frank Locke ? We've got to get something on that bird!" Milnor dropped on to a chesteifield and mopped his face with a handker- chief. "Belter had something on him," he said. "Mrs. Bolter told me about it. He was in some trouble down soutji —Georgia. There was a woman mi.xed up in it." "'Hmm!" mused Perry. "Well, that's fine. Georgia is only a few thousand miles away as the crow flies— but I'm no crow." The Japanese servant appeared wondcringly with two white-robed in- ternes from the Fajrview Sanatoriimi, and Milnor started up in dismay as the intcrne.5 deposited a stretcher on the floor. "Mr. Algernon P. Fortescue," said Perry, taking the wretched man's arm, " may I assist you ? Your litter awaits! Come, come, my dear fellow, you're a sick man!" Milnor was led to the stretcher and made to lie down upon it. "Oh, but listen!" ho began. "I— ei—I ". "Take it quietly till all your troubles blow over," urged Perry, and he draped the politician's overcoat upon the pros- liatc body and dumped the politician's soft-felt hat on top of the coat, thea pointed to the door beside which the Japanese servant was scratching his head in bewilderment. "Out, my men!" Milnor was borne away on the stretcher, and Perry used the telephone again. "Police headquarters?" ■ ho said. " Hoinicid(> squad, please." He looked at the staring Jap and told him he could go to bed ; but the Jap seemed to have become incapable of movement. "Hallo! Homicide .squad? Perry Mason speaking. I want to report ;j murder at fivc-fifty-six, Elmwood I3rivo. George C Belter." "Oh, the Belter murder, Mr. Mason?" said the voice of a desk sergeant at the other end of the line.