“No, Mrs. Tump. It’s not listed.”
“I never heard of it,” Mason said.
“Well,” Mattern said, “confidentially, they’ve struck… I’m sorry, Mr. Mason, but I can’t divulge details, but Mr. Tidings made a complete investigation. Out of that one deal, Miss Gailord will net — well, let’s call it a handsome profit.”
“Why so cagey?” Mason asked.
“Because,” Mattern said, “the information is highly confidential, and you know there’s nothing on earth so dangerous as having information leak out on a stock deal. I didn’t intend to say anything about the stock as an investment. I merely mentioned it to show that Mr. Tidings was working in Miss Gailord’s interests. He devoted weeks of study to the situation. He’d had a mining expert making confidential reports on the holdings of Western Prospecting, and had been to considerable pains to get detailed, accurate information on one of their holdings — a mining property.”
Mason said, “There’s no reason why you can’t give Miss Gailord any information you have about that stock.”
Mattern said, “You’re a lawyer, Mr. Mason. I’m not. I’m not going to match wits with you, and I’m not going to argue law; but I presume Mr. Tidings’ estate will have to be administered. The administrator will have a lawyer. I’ll turn my information over to the administrator, and you can talk with the administrator’s lawyer… I think you can appreciate my position.”
“What time did you take this check over to the broker’s?”
“Shortly before eleven.”
“Tuesday morning?” Mason asked.