Chapter 5 chapter Five

On the way to the yacht club, some rain hit the windshield.Behind them, thick clouds obscured the starry sky, and there was the faint light of lightning and the sound of thunder.But by the time they arrived at the yacht club, the thunderstorm had been left behind. "Which way to go?" Mason asked Meiyi. "Turn right at the next intersection. Slow down now, another turn in a few hundred feet. Follow here, close to the wall, turn there, there is parking space on the left." "Where is your car parked?" "It's right there." Mason said, "Wait a minute, give me the car number and a description of the car."

"It's a Ford convertible," she said. "The car number is WUM574." Mason said, "You sit in the car for a few minutes." He turned off the lights and said, "Watch her, Della." Then he slipped out and paced the parking lot until he saw the car Phil was describing.He came back a few minutes later and said, "It's quiet here, let's go on the boat and have a look. Della, you'd better stay here." Della said, "Let me go, you might want to jot something down." "That's fine," Mason said. "If you think so, come with me, Meiyi, you lead the way."

Phil hesitated, grabbed Mason's arm with a trembling hand and said, "Uh, I don't know if I can... face it." Mason whispered, "If you don't have the guts to do the play, let's not try it. I'm not so eager to take risks. As for you, it's the only way to save your boyfriend. Do you love him very much?" She said very flatly: "I don't love him at all, but he thinks he loves me. Maybe, I don't know. I left him out of my life when I left North Mesa. I know I wasn't born to be a ranch hostess." Mason looked at her curiously. She went on calmly, "I do these things for him because I feel I should. I want him to stay home and mind his own business, but he tries to help me."

Mason whispered: "Do you think he shot Wenworth?" Phil's fingers gripping Mason's arm tightened. "I don't know," she said. "Sometimes I think... oh no, he won't lie." "Okay," Mason said. "I can't help you with the chaos that's going to happen. What? Are you going to do what I suggest, or are you going to call the police and tell the truth?" "As you suggest," she said quietly. "But give me a minute to breathe. I hate going back to the cabin." Mason shook her elbow and said, "If you're going to do it, do it. If you're not going to do it, say it."

"I'm going to do it," she said. Mason nodded to Della.The three of them walked from the parking lot to the long floating dock.All kinds of boats crowded the U-shaped mooring area, and the tangled masts seemed to be sticking out into the approaching clouds.The starlight was gradually obscured by clouds. "Thunderstorm is coming," Mason said. No one answered.Their footsteps sounded on the planks of the dock.A drifting breeze ruffled the water, and spray lapped the hull. "Where's the yacht?" Mason asked. "At the far end." Meiyi said. They walked down, passing by several lighted yachts from time to time, some with laughter and some with guitars.A woman's high-pitched, angry voice came from one of the boats, as if asking someone, where did he think he could escape?Said he was not a gentleman, but a liar, a sleazy man, and a miser.

"Where the hell is that ghost yacht?" Mason said. "It shouldn't be too far away." "Can you recognize it when you see it?" "Of course, I travel a lot in it." "A large one?" "Well, it's pretty big, about fifty feet." "A motor sailboat with sails, or just a motorboat?" "It's a motor schooner, old fashioned. Pam says it has character. It's the latest thing, with lots of electronics, even what's commonly called an Iron Mike." "What's Iron Mike?" Della asked. "A self-driving device," Phil said. “You turn it on and it hooks up to the compass and the steering wheel, you set the course the yacht is going to go and it goes, and when it starts to turn, the compass turns on an automatic mechanism. I Don't know the details, but it works."

Mason said, "There are three ships from here to the end. Is it one of them?" Phil stopped, eyed him suspiciously, and said, "No, it's not one of those three." "Are you saying we've gone too far?" Mason asked. "Unlikely...yeah, I think we've gone too far." "Okay," Mason said. "Walk back and concentrate on what you're doing and watch the yacht carefully." They walked back slowly until they saw the parking lot again.Phil whispered, "It's not here." Mason said, "Well, let's figure out where it is. Do you remember the boat next to it?"

"No," she said, "I don't think I remember. I just kept walking until I saw it." "So there's no big yacht next to it?" Mason asked. "No. I remember it was parked between two boats. Oh! Wait a minute, I think one of them is the Edina." Mason said, "Then let's go find the Edina." They made their way slowly to the end of the dock, and Mason said, "The Edina is up ahead. There's an empty seat next to it." Phil stopped to look, then turned to Mason and said, "I remember, it's here. I remember the keg was at the end of the boat. But now the boat's gone."

Mason's eyes narrowed. "Are there guards here?" "Yeah, he lives in a houseboat over there. I don't know what he does other than answer the phone and take messages. I think they lock up here around midnight, you know, I mean we drive through the door. The members of the club have the key." Huge drops of rain began to fall, falling on the road and water. Mason said, "A thunderstorm is coming. Get back in your car. I'm going into town and you drive with me. Do you remember where Anders dropped his gun?" "I think so. I know where." "Very good!" said Mason. "When we got to that place, you just let the lights go on and off. I had a flashlight, and we pulled over and went out and picked up the gun."

"What might happen to the Panwin?" she asked. "Just one thing," Mason said. "It moved, and probably moved under its own momentum." "That means—someone got on board?" "Exactly," Mason said. "a?" Mason squinted at her. "Is that your boyfriend?" he asked. "Does he know anything about mechanics or yachts?" "He... yes, I think he understands." "Why do you think so?" “He was in junior college and he worked on a fishing boat in Alaska one summer, and I think he made at least one voyage from San Francisco to Turtle Bay.”

"Let's get out of here and talk about it later," Mason said. He took Meiyi to the front of her car and said: "It's best for you to lead the way until we get back to the main road into the city. If anyone stops you, I will speak. After arriving at the main road, the I will lead the way. If anything happens, it will be before this. When you get to the place where the gun was abandoned, don't forget to flash your lights." "I will," she promised. "Are you all right? Can you drive?" "Oh! Of course." "That's good, let's go!" The raindrops became more rapid, the lightning became more dazzling, and there were rumbling thunders from time to time. Mason and Della returned to Mason's car.The lawyer started the car, turned on the lights, and followed Meiyi out of the parking lot.The wipers swung monotonously back and forth. "Do you think she's lying?" Della asked softly. "I don't know," Mason said. "She's a woman, and you should know better than I do. What do you think?" "I don't know," Della admitted. "However, it looks like she's hiding something." Mason nodded absently, then stared at the red taillights of the car ahead. "The more I think about it," he said slowly. "The more I'm glad I don't have a yacht." Della said, "I don't think it would do any good to tell you beforehand that it's too risky." "It's really useless," Mason grinned. "I have to take a risk. Because once I agree to take a case, my responsibility and my loyalty is 100 percent. I will do whatever it takes to get the truth, and of course sometimes I have to take shortcuts." "I know," Della said quietly. Mason glanced at her. "But you don't have to risk it." Apparently Della didn't think the statement warranted comment. They were silent for five or six minutes before the car arrived at the main road.Mason passes Phil's car.Della asked, "Shall I keep an eye on her headlights?" "No, I can see it in the rearview mirror," Mason said. The heavy rain poured down, the lightning slashed across the sky, the green light illuminated the ground, and the deafening thunder immediately resounded through the sky.Another fifteen minutes later, the car behind Mason flickered.Mason pulled the car over to the side of the road, turned up the collar of his jacket to keep out the rain, and ran to Phil's car.Her car was off, the windshield wipers were still on, and the headlights turned the falling raindrops into golden droplets. As Mason approached, Phil rolled down the window and said, "I think it's right here." "How sure are you?" "Pretty sure. I remember there was a hot dog place across the street behind us. We were about fifty yards past it, I think." Mason looked back at the white building. “The lights are not on in that store right now,” he said. "Was there a light then?" "Have." "How did he lose it?" Mason asked. "Stand here and throw it, or throw it out, or just open the car door and throw the gun?" "He walked out, stood by the car, held the gun in his hand, and threw it with all his might." "Cross that fence?" "yes." Mason stared at the ditch that had begun to collect water, and then said, "Wait here." He returned to the car, took a flashlight from the glove box next to the dashboard, climbed over the barbed wire fence, and started Search the wet grass.He let the light of the flashlight draw circles on the ground, and when other vehicles approached, he turned off the flashlight and stood still until they passed. After fifteen minutes, the batteries in the flashlight died.Mason climbed over the fence and scrambled up the slippery berm on the side of the road, and said to Phil, "It's no use, I can't find the gun, and I don't want to look for it anymore." "I'm pretty sure the gun is nearby." "We'll find out tomorrow morning." "Now what do you want me to do?" "where do you live?" "The address I gave you, Palm Peak Apartments." "We have your number, don't we?" "Yes. I'm sorry, Mr. Mason, I lied to you. I mean I once claimed to be Sylvia..." "You have a lot of time to apologize later," Mason said. "I'm more forgiving when I don't have to stand and listen in the rain, when the cold rain isn't running down the nape of my neck, when my feet are dry." "What do you want me to do?" Mason said, "Do you have Della's phone number?" "No, we are calling to the office..." "It's the same," Mason said. "There's a day number and a night number. The night number is Della's apartment. My number isn't in the phone book, only she knows it. You keep driving back downtown, to the Palm Peaks apartment, to bed, and then Act like nothing happened. If someone pulls you out of bed and asks you questions, don’t answer, don’t say a word, don’t admit, don’t deny, and don’t explain. You insist on calling Give me a call and I'll speak." "What if no one says anything?" Mason said, "Then get up, have breakfast, call us in the morning. And for God's sake, stay out of trouble between now and then." "What does it mean?" "Stay away from Harold Anders. Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut," Mason said. She put her hand on Mason's and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Mason, you have no idea how grateful I am." "You save your gratitude for now!" said Mason. "Good night." "Good night, Mr. Mason." The lawyer turned and walked to his car, water spilling from his soaked feet with every step. Della opened the door for him. "Found it?" she asked. Mason shook his head. Phil started the car, passed them, honked the horn twice to say goodbye, and then sped off on the dark road. Della opened her purse and took out a small bottle of whiskey. "Where did this come from?" Mason asked. "From my private wine cellar," Della said. "I think you might need it. Jesus, you're so wet." Mason handed the bottle to Della, who shook her head and said, "You need it more than I do, Boss, drink it." Mason lifted the bottle to drink, then handed it to Della. "You'd better drink, Della." "No, thanks. I'm fine. You've been out long enough." "I want to find the gun," Mason said. "Do you think she remembered the location correctly?" "It should be right, the hot dog shop is her signpost." "It's very difficult to find that kind of thing in the dark." "I know," Mason said. "But I searched very thoroughly. The area is seventy-five paces square. I have searched almost every inch of land in this area." "Yes! But you're also thoroughly wet." Mason started the car, shifted into gear, and said, "That's what happened." "Any clues?" she asked. "No," Mason said. "Not yet. This bottle of whiskey really works." "Where do we go now?" "Find a phone," Mason said. "Call Anders at the View Inn." They drove silently for a few miles, and the rain had turned to a drizzle, and soon stopped.They found the phone at an all-day dining restaurant on the outskirts of town, and Mason dialed the Bell View Inn. "I know it's late," he said. "But I want you to pick up Mr. Anders. I believe he's in room 309." "Is he waiting for the call?" the hotel clerk asked. "You'll take it, you'll be fine," Mason said. "It's business." After a moment of silence, the clerk said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Anders didn't answer." "He might be in the lobby," Mason said. "You might as well look for it." "No, he's not here. There's no one in the hall. I haven't seen him since this morning." "do you know him?" "Yeah. I don't think he's in the hotel, but I took him to his room to make sure." "Is there his key?" "Not here." "Please answer it again, louder, he may have fallen asleep." There was another silence, and then the staff's voice: "Sir, he still hasn't responded. I have called several times." Mason said, "Thank you." Before the clerk could say "Do you want to leave a message?", Mason hung up. Mason waved to Della in the car.They drank a cup of hot coffee at the dining table. "Have you gained anything?" she asked. "Nothing," Mason said. "He's not in now." "Not here?" "Not here." "But you specifically told him..." "I know," Mason said disapprovingly. "But he's not here. I'd like some ham and eggs, how about you?" "Same," she said. Mason ordered ham and eggs.While waiting, they sat side by side, quietly sipping coffee.Della looked troubled.Mason's face showed patience, determination and concentration.