Mason said, “I’m sorry. I should have let you walk out, then I could have indulged in a lot of speculation as to what combination of circumstances had forced a frightened young woman to carry a caged canary through the streets and into my office. Now you’ve explained a perfectly intriguing mystery into an uninteresting commonplace.”
Her eyes showed indignation.
“I’m so sorry I bored you, Mr. Mason!” she blazed. “After all, my sister’s happiness doesn’t mean a thing as compared with your entertainment!”
The lawyer smiled and shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong,” he explained. “I’m going to see you through. That’s the price I’ll pay for indulging my curiosity. So go ahead and tell me the rest of it.”
“You mean you’re going to represent her?”
Mason nodded.
Her face showed relief. “That’s splendid of you.”
“Not at all,” Mason said wearily. “I became interested in that canary. The only legitimate reason I had to pry into your private affairs was as your attorney. So I made my decision and will pay the price. The fact that I’m about to embark on a distasteful case naturally needn’t concern you. So Jimmy Driscoll told you he loved you, did he?”
She nodded.
“Had he ever told you that before?” Mason asked, watching her shrewdly.