“As your fees?” Dail asked, raising his eyebrows.
Mason said, “Oh, say five thousand dollars for my fees, and five thousand to give her funds with which to cover additional expenses.”
“She’s not exactly impoverished,” Dail pointed out.
“Thanks to the circumstances and to your newspaper interview, Daile, the Prosecution is holding all of her funds as evidence.”
Dail abruptly arose and started toward the door. Half way there, he stopped and turned to Mason. “Ten thousand is too much,” he said.
Mason said, “Evidently, Mr. Dail, you were aware of Moar’s identity when I first approached you to ask about your attitude in the event of a restitution. I further understand, from a remark made by Mr. Rooney, that detectives would have met the ship and arrested Mr. Moar at the gangplank, under circumstances which would have been exceedingly humiliating both to Mrs. Moar and her daughter. Taking all that into consideration, I think ten thousand dollars is exceedingly reasonable. In case you consider it unreasonable, you might take into consideration how promptly any promise you could have made me would have been broken.”
“That’s the thing I can’t understand,” Dail said. “Why the devil did Moar offer to return twenty thousand dollars if he hadn’t embezzled the money?”
“He made no such offer,” Mason said.
Dail walked across to the door, opened it and paused on the threshold to say to Mason, “Understand this, Mr. Mason, when we were on the ship we were dealing at arm’s length. I was under no obligation to you to disclose that I knew Newberry’s real identity.”
“Exactly,” Mason said, “and at the present time, we are still dealing at arm’s length.”