“Certainly. Mrs. Tump is acting for me.”
“Do you know Mr. Peltham?”
She hesitated for a moment, then said, “He’s Mrs. Tump’s friend. I believe he’s the one who sent her to you.”
“So I understand. Now you must be pretty well acquainted with Mr. Tidings?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How do you get along?”
“We were always friendly. It never entered my head to doubt him until I started checking up recently. I tried to find out where I stood and Uncle Albert — I’ve always called him that — became furious. He said Mrs. Tump was poisoning my mind, that she was trying to get control of my property — but she isn’t. I trust her absolutely. I know some things I can’t tell even you, Mr. Mason, but she is empowered to act for me in every way.”
“Thank you,” Mason said. “That was what I wanted to find out. I’ll see you at two o’clock, then.”
He hung up and said to Della, “Get me that Journal on the phone, Della. Let’s see if there’s been an answer sent in to that ad of mine.”
Della Street nodded, put through the call, and a few moments later signified to Mason that his party was on the line. Mason said, “Perry Mason talking. I put a personal ad in your paper to make the morning edition. I wonder if there’s been any answer to it.”