“That,” Drake admitted, “is a thought.”
“Moreover,” Mason went on, “the murderer probably has moved into a new neighborhood. You might make a check on any new parrots.”
“What do you want me to do?” Drake asked. “Take a bird census, or put a bird bath on the roof and watch for parrots... My God, Perry, have a heart! How the devil can a man find a new parrot?”
“I think,” Mason told him, “you’ll find there aren’t so many parrots. They’re a noisy pet, and they aren’t particularly apartment pets. People who have parrots are apt to live in the suburbs. Parrots are something of a nuisance as far as neighbors are concerned. I think there’s a city ordinance on parrots in apartments. I have an idea you may find something from talking to pet stores. Trace the sale of new cages. Find out people who have been inquiring about the care and feeding of parrots. And incidentally, Paul, remember there’s a pet store here in the block. Karl Helmold, the chap who runs it, is a client of mine. He’ll probably have some trade lists, which will give you the names of the larger pet stores in the vicinity, and he may be able to tell you quite a bit about parrots. Put every available operative on the job.”
“Okay,” Drake said. “I’ll be on my way.”
Mason nodded to Della Street. “Come on, Della, let’s go take a look at that cabin.”
The road wound up the sides of the long canyon, turning and twisting on itself like a snake in pain. Through the windshield Mason caught occasional glimpses of purple mountains. Below, a threadlike stream tumbled whitely over granite boulders. Back of the car the heat haze of the valley country showed as a gaseous blanket, heavy, oppressive, shimmering.
It was dry up here, and the air was impregnated with scent which oozed from the tips of pine needles. It was hot, too, but the dry balsam-laden heat was kind to the nostrils. High overhead the southern California sky was so blue that it almost seemed black in contrast with the bright sunlight which beat down upon the sheer granite ridges where there was not enough soil to support trees.
They came to a shaded turn in the road, where a spring trickled into a natural basin, then overflowed, to spill through a culvert into a stream which plunged into the dark obscurity of tangled greenery.
Mason stopped the car and said, “We’ll let the motor cool, and have a drink of mountain water... Hello, here comes a police car.”