Mason turned the pages. Once more he gave a low whistle.
“What is it?”
“Telephone receiver,” Mason said.
Della Street regarded him with startled eyes. “ ‘Coast clear after midnight but lift telephone receiver.’ And the police found fingerprints on the telephone receiver!”
“That’s right. What’s next?”
“The sixteenth word in the B column on page 94.”
“Before,” Mason announced. “What’s the last word?”
“The eighth word in the B column on page 1055.”
Mason turned the pages and said, “That’s ‘touching.’ That gives us the message, Della. ‘Coast clear after midnight, but lift telephone receiver before touching.’ ”
“Before touching what?” she asked.