“No jury could ever find me guilty of murder. There isn’t a shred of evidence.”
Mason smiled. “Thanks a lot, Mattern. You’ve given me a perfect out. I don’t need to worry about my client. You’re the fall guy. Good night.”
Once more Mason arose from his chair.
“Listen,” Mattern said desperately. “I’ll give you the real low-down, Mr. Mason. I’ll tell you how it was. Honestly, I didn’t kill him. He’d been dead for a long time when I saw him.”
“When was that?”
“About eight-thirty Tuesday morning.”
“Where?”
“Right where he was lying. Right on the bed where the body was found.”
“What happened?” Mason asked.
Mattern said, “Tidings was trying to get something on his wife. He told me that she was mixed up with some man who had to keep in the background because of what might happen in a divorce action. Tidings said he’d found out about this man and that he was going out to see his wife and call for a showdown. There were some important papers he had to go over, and he promised to be at the office at seven-thirty Tuesday morning to sign them.