Mason said, “That’s the logical thing to do — if I knew where I stood.”
“What do you mean, Perry?”
Mason said, “Frankly, Paul, I don’t know who my client is.”
“Come on,” Drake said. “Talk sense.”
Mason said, “I’ve been retained by someone to protect a woman. I think I was hired to defend this woman from the charge of murdering Albert Tidings.”
“That wasn’t specifically mentioned?” Drake asked.
“No, Paul. It wasn’t. A man come to my office after midnight Monday. It was raining then — raining hard. There was a woman with him. The woman wouldn’t let me hear her voice, wouldn’t let me see her face. The man made arrangements by which she could be identified. When that identification was complete, I was to receive a very substantial fee.
“Now, I can’t figure anything which would have justified all of that frenzied effort — that business of getting me out of bed to protect someone, unless it had been an emergency and a serious one. I figure a murder would be most apt to fill the bill.
“Of course, when I learned of Tidings’ murder, I thought at once that that must be it. But I was employed on Monday night. The murder apparently hadn’t been committed until Tuesday. Then I started checking up on clues, and everything that I found indicated Tidings died on Monday night… And my best guess is that it was before midnight on Monday.”
“I still don’t see why your move isn’t to try to force a confession out of the secretary,” Drake said, “—if you’re certain your client was a woman.”