“Why, I don’t see what he has to do with it, except as he can give you some information. Why don’t you take the case and then get in touch with Mr. Peltham? I’ll pay you a retainer right now.”
Mason thoughtfully flicked ashes from his cigarette. After a moment, he said, “Of course, Mrs. Tump, you have no legal standing in the matter. As I have pointed out, you aren’t related to Miss Gailord. Any action would have to be instituted by Miss Gailord herself.”
“I suppose that’s right.”
“And,” Mason said, “before I started anything, I’d have to see Miss Gailord and have her give me a direct authorization to act.”
Mrs. Tump, suddenly businesslike, glanced at a jeweled wrist watch. “At two o’clock tomorrow afternoon?” she asked. “Would that be convenient?”
Mason said, “I’d be very glad to give her an appointment for that time.”
Mrs. Tump pulled herself out of the deep recesses of the leather chair. “I’ll get busy right away,” she said. “—Oh, by the way, Mr. Mason, I may have done something wrong… Perhaps I got the cart before the horse.”
“What?” Mason asked.
She said, “When Mr. Tidings told me to see his lawyer, I told him that he could see my lawyer, that Mr. Perry Mason would call on him at eleven o’clock this morning. I hope that was all right.”
Mason did not answer her question directly. He said, “You’re a resident of this city, Mrs. Tump?”