Chapter 4 Chapter Four

After taking a hot bath, Mason wrapped himself in a light silk nightgown, then slumped down on the recliner, concentrating on reading a mystery novel.The dark clouds that had gathered on the high mountains in the northeast all afternoon were drifting towards the city.As Mason flipped through the pages, the distant thunder became more and more audible. Suddenly, the phone rang. Mason's eyes were still fixed on the book, he reached out and fumbled for a while, and finally picked up the microphone and said, "I'm Mason, what's the matter?" Della's voice said, "Boss, I think you'd better come over to me."

"where?" "My apartment." "Is there something wrong?" "I've had a few very excited visitors here." "Have you talked to them?" "We talked about it." "Do you think I'd better go there?" "If you can." "Okay, Della, be there on time in fifteen minutes. Remember, the walls of the apartment are thin, and excited voices will attract attention, and you're going to keep them quiet until I arrive." "I've now put a gag order in place against talking, and I thought you might want to hear the details for yourself."

"Well done," Mason said. "I'll be there right away." He called the garage man to get the car ready for him, and dressed hastily.The result arrived one minute and five seconds earlier than scheduled. In Della's apartment, Mason saw that Della had changed into out clothes, was holding a raincoat, was wearing a hat, and had a purse and a shorthand book under her arm. Across from Della, sitting side by side on the couch, were Anders and Phil, pale and wide-eyed. Mason nodded and praised Della's preparation, and said to Anders: "Oh! You found her." Phil said, "Did you really know that from the beginning?"

"Do you know that you are Meiyi, not Sylvia?" Mason asked. She nodded. Mason said lightly, "Of course, that's what got me interested in the first place. Did something go wrong?" Anders was about to speak when Phil put his hand on his arm and said, "Let me tell him, Harlow. Pen Wenworth is dead." "What's going on?" Mason said. "Someone shot him." "Where?" "On his yacht, the Panwin." "How do you know?" Mason asked. "I'm there." "Who killed him?" Phil's eyes flickered.

"I didn't," Anders said. "No," Phil said hastily. "Harlow didn't kill him." "Who killed it?" "I have no idea." "How did it happen?" "While I was wrestling with him, someone leaned in through the open skylight in the cabin and shot him," Phil said. Mason narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you look up?" "yes." "See who?" "No. I guess the flash and the gunfire got me a little distracted, so I didn't get a good look—just a figure." Mason frowned, looking directly at her.

She hurriedly explained: "You know, it's bright in the cabin, but the figure is in the dark above. The skylight was opened because the air inside was not good. Well, my hands were empty at that time, and Pan was trying to..." "Okay," Mason said. "You don't need to draw me a picture. What happened?" "I'm not sure if Pan said something, but I heard someone talking, but I couldn't make out what was said, so Pan looked up." "Where was your posture?" Mason asked. "I was twisted into a ball, my buttocks on the cushions in the cabin. His knees were on my stomach, his right hand was around my neck, and I tried to twist my shoulders so I could bite his wrist so he wouldn't have to. Trying to catch me by the throat. My hands clutched his bare arms."

"Naked?" Mason asked. "yes." "Is he naked?" "Only in underwear." "what's next?" "Someone was yelling something, and I think Wenworth looked up at the skylight, and then, bang, it happened." "Killed on the spot?" "He rolled off the cushions, covered his face with his hands, pushed open the cabin and ran towards the stern." "And then?" Mason asked. "I looked up and saw a moving figure and heard voices on the deck. So I ran to the door leading to the stern and I called Hupan and asked him if he was hurt. He must have been lying by the door, blocking the The door, so I can't push it open."

"Does the door open toward the stern?" "yes." "and then?" "Then I ran out onto the deck." "Where did you meet Anders?" "On deck," she said, looking away quickly. Mason frowned, looking at Anders. Anders said, "Now let me tell you, Mae." "Go ahead," Mason said. "I didn't trust that Wenworth man—I thought he might know where Mae was, or that Mae would contact him. So I went to the club where he kept his yacht." "Have you found her yet?" "Yes, she drove to the Yacht Club at about nine thirty."

"What happened?" Mason asked. "She got out of the car and went to the boat, and I...uh..." "Go on," Mason said impatiently. "what have you done?" "I lost my guts," Anders said. "I think she came aboard voluntarily, and maybe she wanted me to leave her business alone." "Smart assumptions," Mason said. "Let's keep listening!" "Well, I sat there, feeling very useless, more inferior than anything else..." "For heaven's sake," Mason interrupted. "I know how you feel and what you think, but I want the facts. We may have to move fast, what happened? Please tell me frankly and quickly."

"I heard Mae screaming," Anders said. "I jumped out of the car and ran to the yacht. The yacht is tied to the floating dock, and there is a walkway through the dock, and there are many U-shaped mooring areas..." "I know all of this," Mason said. "You don't need to mention these details." "No, these are important," Anders insisted. "You know, my eyes are on the lights of the yacht, and I'm running fast..." "In the end he fell into the water." Meiyi interrupted. "I fell," Anders said. Mason looked at them in turn and said displeasedly, "You're really good."

"Yes, I fell into the water. The gun must have been fired at this time. I don't know anything. It happened while I was in the water." "Can you swim?" Mason asked. "I'm a very good swimmer." "Championship swimmer," Phil added. "I've won a few championships, but it's not a big game, it's just an interschool competition." Mason looked at his dry clothes and said, "What happened to your clothes?" "I changed my clothes," Anders said. "When Meiyi called your secretary." "Where did you change it?" "In the car." "Did you prepare an extra set of clothes in the car?" Mason asked suspiciously. "I was wearing work clothes," Anders said. "Don't you understand?" Phil explained. "Harlow tried to follow Penn, but he thought he needed a disguise, since they'd already met, so he put on overalls and a workman's round cap..." "So you put your other clothes in the car?" Mason interjected. Anders nodded. "Do you have a pistol in your car?" Mason asked. "Have." "Where is the gun now?" "I...we threw it away." "Where is it?" "On the way back to the city from the yacht club." "What time?" "About thirty or forty minutes ago." Mason's eyes moved to Phil. "Did you call the police?" he asked. She shook her head. "Why didn't you call the police?" "Because no one but Harlow knew I'd been on a yacht, and... well, I found Harlow soaked, so I couldn't call the police." "Why did you go on the yacht?" Mason asked. "I wish to reason with Pan." "You've tried it before, haven't you?" "yes." "Did you make it?" "No—but you don't understand." Mason said, "Okay! Go on, then, and let me understand." "Pam," she said. "He wants... well, wants me." "As I guessed," Mason said. "He would do anything, he would marry me." "You say no?" She nods. "Did you ever say yes?" "No," she said, shaking her head angrily. "You messed things up," Mason said. "I know," she said, blinking quickly. "Forget it," Mason said sternly. "do not Cry." "I won't," she said. "I won't cry. Tears are a sign of cowardice. I hate cowardice. I hate it." "So intense?" Mason asked. "It's much more intense than that." Mason noticed that Anders was visibly uncomfortable. "Does anyone know that you're going to meet Wenworth on the yacht?" Mason asked. "No." "Not one?" "No." "Where is your car parked?" Meiyi's eyes suddenly showed a look of frustration. "Jesus," she said. "We left my car there and Harlow urged me to get in his car..." "Is that your own car or is it a rental car?" Mason asked. "It's a car I rented from a car rental company," Anders said. Mason narrowed his eyes and said, "Okay! Let's hit the road! Let's drive back to the yacht club. You get back on board the yacht, get your clothes into a fight...by the way, how was the fight? There were bruises hurt?" "It should be, we fought fiercely!" "Let me take a look," Mason said. She hesitated, looking at Anders. Mason said, "Forget it! There's no time to be shy. If you need to, just go into the bathroom and I'll have to look at the bruises." Meiyi lifted the left skirt to the center of her thigh and said, "Here's one." Mason nodded. "Is there any more?" "I have no idea." "Go to the bathroom with her," Mason said to Della. "Look carefully, I want to make sure she has no bruises." After the two women walked into the bathroom, Mason looked at Anders and said, "Your story sucks." "That's the truth." "Still bad," Mason said. "Is there anything you didn't say?" "Mei thinks I'm cowardly, and she hates it," Anders said. "Are you?" Mason asked. "I don't know, but I don't think so." "Then why does she think you are cowardly?" "Because I was wandering around with a gun. She said the man should get out of the car and grab her before she got on the yacht, or follow her on board and give Wenworth a good beating." "She might be right," said Mason darkly. The bathroom door opened, and Mason caught a glimpse of Phil getting dressed in flesh-colored underwear.She saw Mason looking at her through the crack of the door and said, "Would you like to see, Mr. Mason." Mason looked at Della and asked, "Is there any gain?" "A lot," she said. "She was literally treated roughly." "Put on your clothes," Mason said to Phil. Della closed the bathroom door.Mason started pacing.When Phil came out of the bathroom, Mason whispered, "Okay, you two listen, Anders, you go back to the hotel, talk to the night shift guy, and get him to notice the time. Tell him you can't sleep, and then go back to the hotel in the lobby." You're going back to the yacht club with us, Mae. You're going to board the boat, and after we've looked at the situation and made sure there's nothing to prove that you're lying, start calling for help. You're going to run out onto the deck in disheveled clothes and scream all the time , until someone notices you. Then speak up." "You mean to come here..." "Of course not," Mason said. "You said you wrestled with Wenworth and someone shot him and he ran to the back and you tried to follow. But you were unconscious from the fight and tried to open the door but his body was stuck in the door , you can’t open it, you try and try for an indefinite amount of time — what seems like an endless stretch. Finally, you get hysterical and start calling for help. Can you do it?” "I think so." "Okay," Mason said. "That's the only way to get you out. Your car is there, and your fingerprints are all over the cabin. I don't think it ever occurred to you to wipe them off, did you?" She shook her head. "Wenworth was in his underwear and maybe had fingernail scratches on his arms; and your clothes are messy and you have bruises on your body, so the police don't have to think twice about what he's doing." "Why don't I try to get rid of it?" she asked. "Why don't I just wipe off the fingerprints on the doorknob and get the car back..." "Because they're looking for a woman who might be involved, and they're looking for her boyfriend," Mason said. "They're going to go after Anders and charge him with first-degree murder. As things stand, they're only going to ask for second-degree or manslaughter. At worst, you can make the scuffle very realistic. , let it turn into self-defense homicide. You two try to cover it up, and then the situation is: the prosecutor will claim that you forged checks, and Wenworth blackmails you, so you go to the ship and try to negotiate to settle this matter .” "Will they believe I'm fighting for my honour?" Mason looked directly at her and said ominously, "They will, unless they can prove that you were his mistress already, and if they can prove that, then you'll have to ask God for help." She looked at the lawyer intently, without any expression on her face. Mason said, "Okay, let's get started, we've wasted too much time." "What about me?" Anders asked. "Am I going to stay at the hotel until... until the police come?" "No," Mason said. "Wait till I call you. I'm going to check things out, and I'll call you before the cops might get you. Then, what you might do is change hotels, check in under a false name, lie down, Pretending to find a way to contact Meiyi without anyone knowing about it. I'll give you a call. Hurry up, Meiyi. Let's go. Della, this is a dangerous matter, and you can stay out of it." "As long as I can be useful, I don't want to stay out of it," Della said. "Okay!" Mason said. "follow me."