“How about side trips?” Mason asked. “Do we stop off in between boats?”
“We can if you want, but what you need is a rest. So I thought it would be better to get on a ship, pack our stuff in staterooms. Take all we want, and not have to bother with loading and unloading it, getting it through customs, and into hotels. In case you don’t know it, you have a de luxe suite, all the way around the world. Starting Saturday afternoon you can unpack your trunks, put on your bathrobe and slippers, be where there are no telephones, hysterical women, or lame canaries.”
“That’s swell,” Mason said, grinning. “Speaking of lame canaries, do you suppose we could send a cablegram to Paul Drake and find out what’s happening in the present case? After all, you know, we have to make a living in order to pay for de luxe suites on the Dollar Steamship Lines.”
“Yes,” she said, “I presume we could reach him by cable, although I hope you won’t try to carry your business along with you.”
“Oh, not in the least,” he said, grinning. “Where are we now, in Kobe?”
“No. We were in Shanghai, the last stop. But, why bother with cablegrams? Why not use International Long Distance?”
“Now there’s a thought,” he said. “Let’s get him on the line.”
Della Street put through the call, said to Perry Mason, “Remember, you’re only as far as Shanghai, then you go down to Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore— Oh, yes, that’s one optional side trip. We can stop over at Singapore and run down to Bali, Java and Sumatra. I’ve arranged for that trip at your option.”
“Okay,” he told her, “let’s take that trip. We may as well see it all while we’re doing it. Besides, if we stay on one ship too long the captain might commit a murder and I’d have to represent him. Say, Della, how about stopping over in Honolulu, running down to Australia with Captain Johansen on the Monterey, and—”
She said into the telephone, “Hello, Mabel, this is Della. The boss is in and wants to talk with Paul... Okay, put him on... That folder up in the upper right-hand comer of the desk is the one on Bali, Chief. Better look at it... Hello... Just a minute, Paul. The boss wants to talk with you.”