“Can she prove that he did?”
“I’m afraid not. You know how it is with things like that. A woman certainly wouldn’t ask her husband to give her a receipt. Rosalind had some bonds and she gave them to Walter and told him to sell them and put the money in the business. Walter admits he sold some securities for her, but he claims the money was turned over to her. And George Wray, that’s Walter’s partner — Prescott & Wray in the Doran Building, Insurance Adjusters — says it’s absurd to think that Walter put any such amount of money in the business. He says they’ve been taking money out of the business instead of putting it in.
“So you see what’s happening. Walter’s got that money and he’s trying now to put Rossy in the wrong so he can get away with it.”
“Yes,” Mason told her, “I think you’d better see some good lawyer who specializes in domestic relations and...”
“No. No. We want you. You see— Well, something happened this morning.”
Mason smiled at her and said, “Now listen, young lady, I’m not interested in divorce cases. I like trial work. I specialize in murder cases. I like mysteries. I sympathize with your sister, but I’m not interested in her case. There are hundreds of competent attorneys in the city who will be glad to represent her.”
The young woman’s lips trembled. “I w-w-w-wish you’d at least hear what I have to s-s-s-say,” she said, blinking back tears. But, apparently recognizing the futility of her appeal, she hooked the middle finger of her right hand through the ring in the wire cage, and prepared to arise from the big leather chair.
Mason said, “Wait a minute. I’m interested in that canary. Odd things like that stick in my mind. Now, I want to know why you carried that canary into my office.”
“That’s what I wanted to t-t-tell you. I was working up to it in my own w-w-w-way.”
“Go ahead and tell me,” Mason said, “and then perhaps I can forget it. Otherwise I’ll be wasting the entire afternoon speculating on the thing, trying to uncover some logical explanation.”