Chapter 4 Chapter Four

As soon as ten o'clock came, Mason relieved Della from a group of admirers and bade his host and hostess good night.Passing by Wannie, he watched Wanney perform an exaggerated farewell and kissed Della goodbye on the right cheek. "It was hard to meet again," he said. "I can't lose you again," adding emphatically, "I speak from the bottom of my heart, Della." Mrs. Warren said: "You have to do what you say, Wannie, take advantage of the opportunity, and don't let others take advantage of it." "Just wait and see," Wanney said. When Mason turned his head to look around, he caught a pair of hateful eyes staring at Della.He knew that the lady with the malicious eyes was called Chester, but others called her Adele.The lawyer reminded himself of asking Della about Adele when he got back to the office.

Warren shook hands with Mason eagerly. "We are very grateful to Wani and Della. Please believe me, it is a great honor to meet you, Mr. Mason, and I hope to see you more often in the future." Mason thanked his master with a salute, and left with Della on his arm.Before they came to the parking space, Mason closed the door for Della and started the car. Della smiled and said, "You look as if you just went to the dentist." Mason pulled the car out of the driveway. "I'm tired of small talk, and I hate standing and walking in crowds. There are also women who can be very enthusiastic and owl-like. It's really disgusting."

"Only one," Della said. "Everyone else is very pleasant." "One person is enough," Mason said. "The woman with the wine glass in her left hand has been entangled with me, and her right hand is still hooking my collar, as if she is afraid that I will turn around and leave... Who is that woman with blond hair and bucket figure who sees you as a thorn in my side?" "It's Adele Chester," she said. "Berrington introduced her to everyone. She acted like she hated me at first, but she wasn't the only one, there was another one named Rosalie Harvey. Don't know if you have Noticed her, green eyes, dark hair, wearing a..."

"I noticed," Mason interrupted. "Is she somehow related to this matter?" "She's Wannie's secretary," Della said. "Been working for Wanney for five years. I guess she sensed something was weird and was curious, but she didn't dare to get to the bottom of it." Mason said: "The hostility of these two women is understandable. In order to show off in front of you, Bellington snubbed his female companion, which made Adele displeased. As for Wannie, after he promoted you Finally, the story of his lost soul in the moonlight stabbed the heart of the secretary who had secretly admired him for many years. It is not difficult to understand the attitude of his secretary. As for the others, did they reveal any signs of hostility—Judson Wang What kind of role does Nenny play?"

"Wonnie is Warren's right-hand man as a corporate manager." "He's a little too young for the position he holds, isn't he?" "It depends on what you think about it. He's very smart, and trust me, he's good at deliberation." "What are you thinking about?" "A question about why you showed up at the dinner." "Yes," Mason said. "I imagine Wannie must have had a hard time getting the story of this encounter together, especially considering the fact that I rarely socialize. What is the nature of the party tonight? Dave pull."

"I don't know either," Della said. "From the arrangement of the house, it can be concluded that they often receive guests. But this banquet is a 'complex'. Bellington is invited for business reasons, some people are from Warren's business, and there are also neighbors, And Mrs. Warren's bridge club pals, and that's about it... I suppose you're not enjoying your time tonight?" "At least I made five hundred dollars," Mason said. "Don't think of me as a grouchy old guy, Della. But being a professional rarely has fun at those kinds of social gatherings. At least five people approached me tonight, making small talk superficial. legal terminology and my career, and finally asked me for my opinion on the legal problems they encountered. Just like doctors in social situations, they can’t avoid encountering others describing their illnesses, and then seek advice."

"Where did you and Warren go after you hit the pool?" Della asked. "I tried to keep an eye on you, but you suddenly disappeared near the shower." "We went through a door to a bathroom," Mason said. "From the bathroom to Lorna's bedroom." Della raised her eyebrows high. "Warren wanted me to see a suitcase containing 47,000 yuan in cash. This suitcase was kept in a cupboard by Lorna." "Did you see the box?" she asked. "I saw the box," Mason replied. "But when we opened it, it was full of newspapers."

"Does that mean she has paid the ransom?" "Warren thinks so." "Don't you think so?" Mason said: "When a person pays blackmail money, he only needs to hand over the money. If Mrs. Warren was blackmailed, she would take out the box and put it on the bed, open the box and take out 47,000 yuan in cash to the blackmailer. and put the empty box back in the cupboard. If one takes out the money in the box and stuffs it with old newspapers so that the box weighs as much as it did, it's more like theft." "Oh my god, if someone really stole the 47,000 yuan..." Della's voice gradually became a gossamer.

"Indeed," Mason said. "But things are not that simple. If someone wants to use that money to frame Mrs. Warren, it will be a big deal. If Mrs. Warren is going to pay the extortion money, and when she opens the suitcase and sees newspapers instead of money, then she But there's trouble. You can't pay the blackmailer with a bunch of newspapers, can you?" "Of course I can't." After Della finished speaking, she fell silent, and she began to imagine the moment when Mrs. Warren opened the suitcase without knowing it. After a while, Della said, "But who's going to take the money?"

Mason said: "The blackmailer, this person knew she had cash ready to pay, so he sneaked in and stole the money. Then, denied that he had anything to do with the theft, and demanded the money." "It is possible," Della cried. "Or so," Mason went on. "Someone who did not want her to pay the ransom money took the money and replaced it with old newspapers." "Someone who doesn't want to see her pay this ransom?" she repeated. "Exactly." Mason said. "That might be her husband," she cried. Mason's Mu Jing is moving.

After thinking about all possible scenarios, Della said: "When she pays the blackmailer, if she tells the fact that the money was stolen, he will call her a liar... Then things will become complicated... But But you accepted the deposit and came to protect her, boss, this matter is at hand! Warren must be the one who took the money himself." "We can't confirm this," Mason said. They were silent all the way until they got back to the office. "I suppose you're having a good time tonight?" Mason said as he flicked on the office light switch. "I'm having a great time," she told him. "Maybe we should be more social," Mason said. "Usually we move from one homicide to another like hummingbirds flying from one to the next..." "Don't compare homicides to honeysuckle," she interrupted. "And don't be so callous. It's just an ordinary blackmail case." Mason shook his head and said, "This is not an ordinary case, Della. I'm not even sure if it's a blackmail case." "why?" "I've never had a client who avoids me so much," Mason said. "What do you mean by that? Mr. Warren not only showed you around the house, but also talked to you no less than ten times tonight, besides..." "Oh," Mason interrupted. "It was just a warm-up talk, that's okay. Did you notice how Warren went to great lengths to emphasize to me that he couldn't talk? I could barely find a way to get close to him without smashing him Want the work I've done for him." Della took out the coffee percolator, filled it with coffee, and plugged it in. "Derek's catering is pretty good," she said. "Indeed, and good champagne." "Do you think it is possible for us to be invited to other parties?" "I doubt that Warren will keep his distance as long as we are familiar with the situation." She smiled and said, "Don't forget, I still have my old lover on the ferry, Judson Wanney." "Good," Mason said. "You have him, but he just does what Warren tells him to do. I always feel like he plays his role with all the enthusiasm until the end of the event." "There's nothing wrong with total enthusiasm," she said. "Because he wanted to find out what happened. When it comes to acting, do you know that Warren always wanted to be an actor in the past, and until now, he still uses a tape recorder and stands in front of a mirror?" Mason changed into a comfortable sitting position, put his feet on another chair, lit a cigarette and said, "This kind of person always goes too far, making him look like a clumsy actor. He thinks he's great, so his expression and mannerisms are exaggerated." Derek's password came from outside Mason's office door. Della opened the door to let him in. "Hello, cook," Mason said. "We didn't expect you to come back so early." "I left early because work was over quickly," Derek grinned. "When you're CEO, you can leave the dirty dishes for someone else to clean up." "They're not going to wash the pile of dishes, are they?" Mason asked. "They didn't wash it locally, they took the dishes back to the central factory to be processed. Each plate was hand dried and polished with a towel so that they couldn't see the slightest trace of fingerprints left on it. Every cup It's all smooth and shiny." "Is the work efficiency of fingerprint personnel high?" "very high." "Well, what did you find, Paul." "We compared it for a long time, and it was not until the end that we found out all the fingerprints." "That is how the matter?" "The last person whose fingerprints were compared was not the person we were particularly interested in. After we took all the fingerprint samples of the cups and plates, we finally processed the remaining one." "Whose fingerprints?" Mason asked. Derek said, "It's Mrs. Warren's fingerprints." "Lorna Warren's?" Mason said thoughtfully. "I should have thought of that earlier." "How could you have guessed it was her?" Della asked. "Remember Warren's odd attitude and those odd instructions? He asked me to protect his wife from fingerprinters, whoever the stampers were, and no matter how much it cost. Then he admonished us with unusual caution. , there is no need to tell him the result of the fingerprint discovery." "You mean to say," Della said. "What does he pay for you to protect his wife from herself?" Mason nodded and turned to Derek and said, "Paul, is the number of fingerprints you have collected enough to be sent for analysis?" "I got almost the number of complete fingerprints for everyone," Derek said. "Although some fingerprints are stained, we try to collect ten clear fingerprints for each person." "Including Mrs. Warren's?" "I'm sure we have her." "Okay," Mason said. "Get your police friend to contact the FBI and see if she has a criminal record on file." "Criminal record!" Derek said. "Are you crazy?" "I don't think so, Paul, you don't do blackmail unless you have a case for it." "But she's not an easy character." Derek retorted with reason. "The more difficult it is, the bigger the problem." Mason told him. "How much time do you give me?" Derek asked. "I'm giving you five hours of sleep tonight," Mason said. "You report back at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, which is close to noon in Washington." "Then the police and the FBI have to step up," Derek pointed out. "In order to screen out those ten fingerprints for analysis, it seems that my eyelids have been closed for a long time tonight." Mason pointed to the coffee pot and said, "Della will give you enough coffee to keep you awake before I send her back, Paul..." Derek sighed, handed the coffee cup to Della and said, "Please add more creamer and sugar for me, Della."