The door opened. Della Street came bustling into the office.
“Okay?” Mason asked.
“Okay,” she said. “It was just exactly as you figured. Mrs. Tump bribed him to pin the crime on Peltham. Freel had sold Tidings the information about Byrl Gailord just as you’d suspected.”
“Can he prove Mrs. Tump committed the crime?”
“No, only that Mrs. Tump bribed him to pin it on Peltham.”
Mason grinned across at Sergeant Holcomb. “Even better than I thought, Sergeant,” he said. “The Clarion won’t dare to accuse Mrs. Tump of the murder in so many words. They can only publish Freel’s confession and accuse her of bribery. You know if I were you, Sergeant, I think I’d go to work on Byrl Gailord. I doubt if she had any idea Mrs. Tump was going to shoot him, but after the crime was committed she agreed to stand by her grandmother. I think a shrewd officer who went to work fast, before The Clarion hit the streets, could…”
Sergeant Holcomb spun on his heel, took two quick steps toward the door, then stopped and came back. Abruptly he pushed a hand out at the surprised lawyer.
“All right, Mason,” he said, “I don’t like your methods. Some day I’m going to throw you in the can, but I do appreciate good detective work when I see it and I’m enough of a cop to pull for a guy who solves crimes, even if I don’t like the way he goes about it.”
Surprised, Mason shook hands.
Sergeant Holcomb said, “Don’t think for a minute this gives you any right to cut comers on your next case.”