Mason said, “I’m sorry, Miss Hastings. I deal in results. I care little for methods.”
“So I’ve observed,” she said. “I think, Mr. Mason, I could learn to hate you with very little effort.”
Mason’s tone was detached and impersonal. “Many people hate me.”
“I’ll tell the truth,” Adelle Hastings said wearily. “I’m cornered. I have to. Robert Peltham came to me nearly two weeks ago. He told me he was satisfied there was something wrong with the administration of the trust fund. I didn’t believe him at first, but he called my attention to certain significant facts. He said that for personal reasons it was impossible for him to take the initiative. He suggested that I do so.”
“You did?”
“I made some preliminary investigation.”
“And then?”
“Then,” she said, “last Monday night — Tuesday morning to be exact — at about three o’clock in the morning, Mr. Peltham called me on the telephone. He said he had to see me at once on a matter of the greatest importance.”
“At that time, you’d taken steps to see that there was to be a complete investigation?”
“Yes.”