Chapter 11 chapter Ten

Not long after Trager took Catherine away, Mason's unregistered phone rang, and it turned out to be Derek. "Perry, I checked those cars, and one of them is registered in the name of Huber Diling. His address is 965 Hanstead Street. Do you want to talk to him?" "Not yet," Mason said. "Let's go to Mrs. Lame first. I'll pick you up from your office. My client was arrested for attempted murder, so the situation is different now. The first thing to do is to fight for the statute of limitations. I'll be there in three minutes, and you have to use Time to send someone to look into Bernice Elwood of Palm Springs. She was the dead Gerald Elwood's first wife."

"Is Sophia the second term?" Derek asked. "It should be," Mason said. "Paul, find some people to do this, and I'll come to you right away." Mason hung up the phone and picked up Derek at the Derek Detective Agency a few minutes later. They drove to a three-story building in an old urban area. The man Derek sent to watch there saw their car and slammed on the brakes to show that he had seen it. Derek said: "Perry, are you going to ask my men? But be careful not to be seen." Mason shook his head and said, "Let's go straight to the blind woman and talk to your people later."

"Okay," said Derek, lighting a cigarette, "this is a signal to my man to stay where he is and wait and see what happens." They went to the house and Mason rang the bell. There seemed to be voices from upstairs, but no one answered the intercom. Mason rang the doorbell again, still no answer, Mason said: "We may be late, go and ask your people." They crossed the street and walked to Derek's car. "Is she out?" Mason asked. The man shook his head. "I haven't seen her go out since I came." "Is anyone going in?" "No."

Mason and Derek looked at each other. "Maybe she doesn't want to answer the door," Derek said. "She lives on the second floor, which is inconvenient after all, and she may be terrified by salesmen. There are many people selling books door-to-door, selling insurance, asking for donations..." "I know," Mason cut him off. "The problem is that she is working with Sophia. Now that Sophia has encountered an accident, I worry that she will also be in danger." "Do you want to call the police?" Derek asked. "Notify only as a last resort," Mason said. "But I'm going to take a look first, and if she's alive, I'm going to have a talk with her, and if she's dead, I'm going to do a quick check before the police get involved."

"It's dangerous," Derek said. "Didn't I often go through life and death?" Mason said, and walked back to the house. Mason rang the bell again. "She can use the walkie-talkie to see who it is first, and then press the button to let him go up if she wants to see someone. If she just wants to say a few words, she can also come down, open the six-inch square on the door, and then she can talk ’” Mason said. Derek said lightly: "But she can ignore it. If you were blind and lived alone, what would you do?" Mason thought for a while and said, "I might ignore it accordingly."

Mason leaned over the intercom and said loudly, "Mrs. Gilman! Mrs. Gilman! We have something important to do with you." Still no reply. Mason whistled loudly and said loudly, "Mrs. Gilman! We have something important to discuss with you." The door on the first floor was suddenly opened two or three inches wide, and a safety chain inside the door could be seen to be tightly stretched.I only heard an authoritative and sharp female voice saying: "What are you arguing about? I am the manager here, what's the matter?" Mason said, "I'm sorry, but we have an urgent matter with Mrs. Gilman. I believe she was home, but she just didn't answer the door."

"Of course she didn't open the door," said the woman. "Why do you want to drive? No friends will come to her. Why does she have to walk up and down the stairs for some irrelevant things? Tell you, she is a blind person who lives alone. You go away quickly, don't make a noise there. " Mason said, "I'm sorry, please listen to me, my name is Mason, and I'm a lawyer." "You're Paley, Mason?" "Exactly." "Unexpected!" The woman exclaimed, and after a while said: "Tsk tsk!" "This is Paul Drake," Mason said. "Collaborate with me to investigate."

"Investigation?" the woman asked shrewdly. "Is he a private eye?" "Yes." Derek said respectfully. "What is your business with Mrs. Gilman?" "We have something to talk to her about," Mason said. "Very important." "Is it important to you, or to her?" "Probably important to her," Mason said. "I think there must be something weird. I have seen you walking around outside and talking to the person in the car across the street. Who is that person?" "He's Mr. Derek's assistant," Mason said. "We thought Mrs Gilman might be in danger and wanted to warn her."

"Warning?" The woman's voice became sharp. "A blind person, what's the use of warning her? What's the use?" Mason was silent. "Put yourself in her shoes," the woman said again. "She can't see anything, and she lives alone in the dark in this big city. You two suddenly came to tell her that someone was going to kill her. How does this help her? If she is really in danger, you should go to the police." "We might be able to help her," Mason said. "Maybe we can send someone to protect her." "Who's going to pay?"

"We pay." "I understand." The woman said thoughtfully. Mason gave her the friendliest smile and said, "Now you can tell us how to find her?" "I'll call her for you." "Well, do you have the key?" "You don't need a key, I can just call by phone." "Does she have a phone?" Mason asked. "Of course there is. A blind man who lives alone can't get enough of a phone. But the number is not registered, and I probably only know it. Wait a minute, I'll ask her if she wants to see Perry Mason. What's the name of the other one?" "

"Paul Drake." "Okay, I'll go ask." The woman paused and said: "My name is Moniva Gooding, and I am the manager of the apartment. I live on the first floor, and the upper two floors are rented out. The house is not the most beautiful, but it is very comfortable. Wait a moment, I'll ask her." Mrs. Gooding went away for about three minutes and came back again. "I'm sorry," she said. "No one answered the phone." "No one answered?" Mason asked. Mrs. Gooding shook her head. "Maybe she was there and just deliberately didn't answer the phone, as if she didn't answer the door," Mason said. "Usually she doesn't answer the door, but whenever she's around, she'll answer the phone. She knows I'm probably the only one who has the number. By the way, there seems to be another woman who calls her, but I don't know who it is." "Is that Mrs. Elwood?" Mason asked. "Eywood...Eywood...this name sounds a bit familiar. I seem to have heard her mention it, is it Sophia Eywood?" Mason nodded. "I often hear her mention a person named Sophia. As for whether the surname is Elwood, I don't know. Anyway, no one picks up." "Since she's home," Mason said. "Something must have happened." "How do you know she's home?" "We can be sure of this because the people sitting in the cars across the street have been paying attention to her," Mason added hastily, "The purpose is to protect her before we come to warn her." "What danger is she in?" asked Mrs. Gooding. "Honestly, we don't know either," Mason said. "But we have reason to believe that someone was desperate for something from her and was willing to break in and take it." Mrs. Gu Ding thought for a while, and finally said: "I'll take the master key and go up to see her. You wait here." "Better we go up with you," Mason said. "In case something really happens, it's better to have a witness by your side." "Why witnesses?" "In case you see something, there will be evidence." Mrs. Gu Ding hesitated before saying: "Okay, you come in, but don't touch things or criticize. Think about it, suppose you are a blind man who lives alone, and you have to cook, wash dishes, collect clothes, and make beds by yourself." , I have to do everything by myself, just putting things in the right place so as not to stumble is already very difficult. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to keep the house tidy. You can only save food and money, Let it go. So let me tell you first, don't criticize indiscriminately." "I understand," Mason said. "We're not interested in how tidy her home is." "Also," said Mrs Gooding. "When you talk to her, don't scare her, you know? It's okay for someone to kill her, but you can't scare her. Think about what it's like to live in the dark for a long time. You wake up at night and if someone crawls into your bed with a knife, you don't know it. You can get used to other things, but fear is hard to get used to. Come with me now, remember to follow me. Don't Walking around, I want you to keep in mind Edith Gilman's life situation. Occasionally I will go in and help her clean up and take out the unwanted things, but blind people can't... just take the sweeping Let’s talk about it, blind people can’t do well. Of course, we have to go with the situation. Let’s go up, remember to follow me.” Mrs. Gooding opened the door and came out, took out the key and opened the door leading to the second floor.Mason and Derek followed upstairs. As soon as they went up the stairs, they were greeted by a stale musty smell.At the end of the stairs is a reception hall. Mrs. Gooding said: "God knows whether the lights are turned on or not. She has to cook, so the electricity is always on, but it doesn't matter to her whether the lights are turned on or not, even if the light tube It's all burnt out, and she's fine." As she spoke, she turned a switch, and when the light came on, a room with extremely simple decoration appeared before her eyes.There was a dresser, but there was nothing on it.The chairs are placed against the wall, so the center of the room is unobstructed.The bed was placed on the other side by the window. The bed was unmade, the sheets were a bit messy, and the pillows were piled up in the corner of the bed. "As I said," said Mrs Gooding. "She doesn't have time to make the bed at all." She called out, "Edith, yo! I'm Moniva. Are you home?" She stopped and waited for a while, but seeing no reply, she frowned and called out again. "Edith, yo drink! yo drink!" Mrs. Guding said: "You two stay here, I will look around." "Shall we find it for you?" Mason asked. "No. This place is not suitable for receiving guests. Edith will be pissed if she finds out that I brought you up. You go out and sit outside." Mrs. Gooding led them into the drawing-room, where there was a comfortable chair with a radio on a table beside it. "The poor man just listens to the radio all day," Mrs Gooding said. "She knows the voices of all the broadcasters, and she knows all the news every day, which will surprise you. Remember, don't touch things." Derek and Mason stood in the middle of the living room, only to hear Mrs. Gooding walking around on the second floor, calling from time to time: "Edith, I'm Moniva, where are you? Are you okay?" Two or three minutes later, Mrs. Gu Ding returned to the living room and said, "She's not here, she must have gone out." "I'm sorry," Mason said. "But it's not possible, our people have been watching outside." "Does that man know Edith?" asked Mrs. Gooding. "I know." "How did he know?" "He's seen her a few times," Mason said vaguely. "Is there a back door here?" "Of course, I won't leave only one exit. What if there is a fire?" "Where's the back door?" Mason asked. "The place leading to the alley after going down the stairs, people who deliver goods come in from there." "Have you looked there?" Mason asked. "No," she said. "I'll look for it now, you wait here." She walked over quickly, came back after a while, and said: "The back is not locked, she must have gone out through the back door." "What does that mean?" Mason asked. "Hmm..." Mrs. Gu Ding hesitated to speak. "Huh?" Mason asked again. "Sometimes she would call her friends," Mrs Gooding said. "The one named Sophia will pick her up at the back door." "Why the back door?" Mason asked. "That's a question for me," said Mrs. Gooding. "I don't like to meddle in other people's business. Once I went to the back to take out the garbage, and I happened to see Edith groping down the alley. There was a Cadillac waiting in the alley, the car was still running, and there was a driver in it, a woman. Go halfway up the stairs to help Edith. I heard Edith say, 'Sophia, how are you today?' That's all I heard. I stopped listening on purpose, she If there are friends who don't want others to know, I don't want to pry into people's privacy." "I see," Mason said.After a while, he added another sentence: "Are you sure she's not at home now?" "I searched everything except under the bed." Mason said seriously: "Then let's look under the bed." "What is she doing under the bed?" "I don't know," Mason said. "But why did she come in through the front door and go out through the back door, and there was a car to pick her up?" "That's her business too, it has nothing to do with us." "But we can always find out if she's really not at home." "She couldn't have crawled under the bed." "Maybe someone hit her on the head and pushed the body under the bed," Mason said. "Nonsense." "Tell you," Mason said. "Her friend Sophia also lives alone. Someone broke into her house last night, beat her on the head, threw her on the ground, and walked away." Mrs. Guding stared at them both incredulously. "You mean that friend of Edith's?" "I don't know," Mason said. "That's what we're looking into, however, we believe the two of them may be friends." "It's amazing," whispered Mrs. Gooding. "You said the back door was unlocked?" Mason asked. "Yes, the back door is not a spring lock. You need a key to lock it. She must have left in a hurry, so she didn't take the key out. The key is still hanging on the door." "Isn't that usually the case?" Mason asked. Mrs Gooding looked at Mason and said, "If you were blind, wouldn't you lock the door?" "No." Mason's answer was short. Derek said: "Of course, there is a good chance that someone is waiting outside the door, saying something important, urging her to hurry ... and it may be someone she knows." "It might be someone I don't know," Mason said flatly. "Mrs. Gu Ding, who lives on the third floor?" "It's empty now." "Can we take a look?" Mason asked. "Certainly. But you must go down first, and then go up by the front door." "I want to see it," Mason said. "Is there no furniture in it?" "No." "I don't know what the pattern inside looks like, is it similar to this floor?" "yes." "Can I have a look?" Mrs. Gooding said, "Follow me, please," and she went downstairs first, and opened the downstairs door, and when they were all out, closed the door, and then opened the door leading to the third floor with the master key, saying : "Do you mind if you start climbing the stairs from here?" "No," Mason said. The three of them went up the stairs, which led to a locked door which Mrs. Gooding opened with the master key. Mason and Derek walked on the empty floor, and Mason said to Mrs. Gooding: "Thank you very much, Mrs. Gooding. We are leaving. When Mrs. Gilman comes back, can I trouble you to call Derek Detective Agency?" "I don't do such things," said Mrs. Gooding at once. "I don't spy on my tenants..." "That's not what I meant," Mason said. "I meant to leave a card asking her to call back, but she won't see it." "I see," said Mrs. Gooding. "Well, when she comes back, I will tell her your phone number, and I will say that you are looking for her, but I don't want to scare this poor woman, I will just give her the number." "If you tell her the number, will she remember it?" Mason asked. "Won't she remember?" cried Mrs. Gooding. "You don't know how good her memory is. She can remember a phone number for weeks. Her memory is unmatched, and her memory is amazing for news, current events and so on." "That's fine," Mason said. "Then please pass it on." "You guys figure it out, I don't want to scare her." "We don't want you to scare her either. Thank you very much for your cooperation." "Perhaps I should thank you instead of Edith," said Mrs Gooding. "However, it's not too late to thank you when everything is clear." Mason and Derek went downstairs to the parking lot across the street. "What do you think?" Derek asked. "Something might have happened to her," Mason said. "Maybe playing some kind of trick." "What do we do next?" "I want you to send two men," Mason said. "One guards the front door and the other guards the back door. She will notify us as soon as she comes back. When I was upstairs just now, I copied the number of the unregistered phone..." Derek laughed and said, "Mason, next time we better have a tacit understanding. I was busy copying that number just now." "Well, we both have that number," Mason said. "When she comes back, we'll call to see if we can arrange a meeting. At least we can warn her." "So what to do now?" Derek asked. "With these two blind women, we're now a huge step ahead of the police," Mason said. "We shall continue to maintain this advantage. If there is anyone who really wants to kill Mrs. Gilman, the lame woman, it must be at her house." "Or sit here and wait for her to come back and sneak her away," Derek said. "It's possible," Mason said. "But why would they do it?" Derek shrugged. "This is not to slaughter sheep." Mason said: "If you want to kill her, you can beat her to death and dump her body in the apartment. It's like if the murderer wants to kill Sophia, he should not miss it. But the murderer hit her on the head with a flashlight, which made her die." She is unconscious now, struggling on the verge of life and death. Why did the murderer use a flashlight, and why did he only hit it once?" "Go ahead," Derek said. "You must have thought of something." "The murderer would use a flashlight as a murder weapon. He must have had only a flashlight at hand at the time. In other words, he might have been looking for something with a flashlight and was bumped by Sophia, so the murderer picked up the flashlight and knocked Sophia unconscious. , the murderer took advantage of the gap to escape. Therefore, the murderer's goal was not to kill Sophia, but to find something else. If Mrs. Gilman was kidnapped, then the criminals probably came back to search for something, This is a very likely hypothesis. So, the criminals are probably looking for something, but they don't know where it is. I must investigate this case. I want two people at Mrs. Gilman's house tonight. Keep an eye on, if anyone wants to go in and search, you must find out his identity, and copy down the person's car number, and at the same time ask your people to call for help immediately, so as to catch the turtle in the urn. In addition, I think tonight Someone should come to Sophia's house, and in the same way, ask your people to call for help, and then we will go to see the real face of Lushan." "So, the reinforcements don't count, at least four people are needed tonight?" Derek said. "Not bad," Mason said. Derek smiled and said, "It's a lot of fun now."