Sergeant Holcomb frowned thoughtfully. “Where were you, Miss Gailord?”
She said, “Why, I don’t know… Tuesday… Oh, I know. I was having lunch with Coleman Reeger… I guess you know him. He’s the polo player. His family is very prominent socially.”
Sergeant Holcomb walked over to the telephone on Mason’s desk, picked it up, and said, “Put me through to police headquarters. I want to get the autopsy surgeon who’s working on the body of Albert Tidings. I’ll hold the phone.”
He stood with the receiver held to his ear.
Mattern said to Mason, “I can tell you some things now, Mr. Mason, which I wasn’t at liberty to say before. As far as Miss Gailord’s affairs are concerned, I know something about them. The very last thing Mr. Tidings did was to make a most advantageous deal for Miss Gailord.”
“What was it?” Mason asked.
“He sold out ten thousand shares of stock in the Seaboard Consolidated Freighters, and invested the proceeds in Western Prospecting. Just before he left the office, he told me to be sure to take the check down to Loftus & Cale, to see that the deal was put through.”
“How much was the check?” Mason asked.
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
“What’s Western Prospecting? Is that a listed stock?” Mrs. Tump asked.