Chapter 9 Chapter nine

As they waited for the elevator, Mason said to Della, "I'll drive you home now, so you can get some sleep!" "Don't be silly," she said with a smile. "You're exhausted." "No! If you think that you can hide the contents of those letters from me, you would be too naive." Mason smiled and said, "Do you want to read all these letters?" "Of course, you have to read every one," Della said frankly. "After all, you should be considerate of women's curiosity, right?" "I thought you were probably tired."

"I'm not tired at all now, and I feel so much more refreshed and lightened up from that dinner. And—oh my god, boss, I think I could sit and listen to Van Nuys all night." "His voice is truly extraordinary," Mason confesses. "Perhaps his personality traits were quite extraordinary as well." "A woman is lucky to have a friend like him," Della said wistfully. "This friend can really understand her, empathize with her, and ... and try to save her." "Save her? Save her from what?" Mason asked. "Of course out of the trouble she created herself."

"Obviously, Delphine Milfie doesn't want to break free from her own shackles." "Indeed. But, I mean, she's enviable to have a friend like Van Nuys. When are you going to read those letters, boss?" Mason smiled and said, "Tomorrow morning." Together they walked through the corridors of the hotel. "Good night." Mason said goodbye to the hotel waiter. The waiter's response was a very low grunt, barely audible. "Boss, where are you going to read these letters?" "In the office, of course." "when?" "tomorrow morning."

She smiled and said, "I can't let you do that. Come on, let's turn on the lights in the car first." They took their seats in the back of the car; Mason produced six letters, all pen-and-ink.Several postmarked letters contained the address of Douglas Powell's lodgings in a San Francisco hotel.As for the subsequent letters, there were only the initials "D.B." and the return address of the hotel in San Francisco.The letters cover a period of about six weeks, and the contents of the letters also suggest that the two of them became increasingly close. "What do you think?" Mason asked Della after reading the letter.

"He seems like a pretty decent boy," Della said. "Boy?" Mason asked puzzled. "Well, I mean—he seems a little inexperienced in the emotional realm." "Why do you think so?" "I'm just judging by the way he's been in the relationship so far; he's... oh, I don't know. He's head over heels in love; that's it, he's naive, he's an idealist Douglas would not be happy with Delphine, and Van Nuys was right, it would probably be a great tragedy." "Well," Mason said. "Let's see what Douglas himself has to say."

"You mean to..." "We have to make a long-distance call to him. If we have to travel so far away to talk to him face-to-face, it may be too late; even if we go there to talk face-to-face, it will probably be a waste of time. The police had contacted him earlier to see what Mr Douglas Powell himself had to say." They went to a larger hotel and called him from a long-distance booth.The line was connected quickly, and after a few seconds the operator spoke. "Mr. Mason, the Douglas Powell you are looking for is not in San Francisco at the moment. He has gone abroad and may not return in a few days."

"Do you know where I can call him?" Mason asked. A sweet voice came from the other end of the phone and said: "If it's convenient for you, you can ask the waiter at the hotel. The information I can provide is that he is not currently in San Francisco." "Very well, thank you," Mason replied, and then turned to Della. "I bet he's in Los Angeles now, what do you think, Della." After a while, a man's voice said, "Hello?" Mason said: "I'm trying to get in touch with Douglas Powell. I have something very important to find him immediately."

"You're in Los Angeles now, aren't you?" "yes." "Well, he's there too." "Can you tell me how to find him?" "At the Claymore Hotel." "Thank you." Mason finished and hung up the phone. "Now," Mason said to Della. "One thing is certain, you should go home immediately and get a good night's sleep." "What did they tell you about Powell?" "Powell is here in Los Angeles at the moment." "Where is it?" "Staying at the Claymore Hotel." "It's less than two blocks from here," Della said.When Mason showed a hesitant expression, she continued: "If I go home now, I will never be able to sleep."

"You should learn to control your emotions and not take a murder so seriously," Mason told her. "Murder? This is a romantic love story. It's completely different from murder. It's completely different! Well, boss, let's go."