“A friend?”
“Hardly that. I had lunch with her today, as it happens.”
“Where?”
“Oh, in a department store tea room.”
“How does it happen you’re eating in department store tea rooms?”
Mason paused to light a cigarette. “Since it seems to be a matter of professional interest,” he said, “I don’t mind telling you that the food was excellent. Moreover, the selection was somewhat forced upon me. You’ll remember that it started raining pitchforks about noon.”
“In which event,” Sergeant Tremont said, “you evidently didn’t invite the lady to lunch, but met her at lunch.”
Mason grinned. “That,” he said, “is the result of having a deductive mind.”
“It still isn’t answering my question,” Tremont said.
“You’ve already answered it,” Mason told him.