“I’m sure I couldn’t tell you. It was something Carl was promoting. He lost all his own savings along with Evelyn’s, but that didn’t help Evelyn any. You know, when a man tells a girl he has a wonderful investment for her he can’t be expected to guarantee she’s going to make money on it, but when her savings are wiped out she naturally doesn’t feel so cordial toward him. She’s lost her respect for his judgment.”
“Where is she now, by the way?” Mason asked.
“Why, in Honolulu.”
Drake flashed a significant look at the lawyer, but Mason, taking a cigarette case from his pocket, said, “Mind if I smoke?”
“Not in the least,” she said. “I’ll have one with you.”
She took a cigarette. Drake also took one. “Three on one match?” Mason asked.
She laughed heartily. “Good Lord, yes! Six on one match if you want to.”
She leaned forward and accepted his light. Drake held back, looked sheepish for a moment and said, “Go ahead, Perry. I’ll light my own.”
Mason said to Marian Whiting, “He’s a confirmed pessimist. No use trying to reform him. How long’s your sister been in Honolulu, Miss Whiting?”
“Just two weeks.”