Chapter 13 Chapter Twelve

It was nearly two o'clock when Mason's unregistered phone rang. Mason hurriedly picked up the microphone and said, "Hello, Paul, how are you doing?" Paul Derek's crisp voice came from the microphone. "The guy I sent on guard outside Eva's door just called. A guy who looks like Kathy the Thieves just got out of his car and walked into Amory's house." "Alone?" Mason asked. "Alone," Derek said. "Do you have a phone in your men's car?" "Yes, so he can contact us anytime." "Okay," Mason said. "Paul, I'll be right over."

"Do you want someone to accompany you?" Derek asked. "I think I can handle it," Mason said. "An extra person might get in the way. But I'm waiting for the fog to clear in the harbor and have a helicopter on call. If Della calls and says the fog has cleared, you tell the guy who's standing guard outside Emory's to come in. tell me." Mason hung up the phone in a hurry, and said to Della: "Della, you continue to pay attention, as soon as the fog clears, I will go to see the yacht." "Are you going to see Kathy?" she asked. "I'm going to talk to a blackmailer," Mason said. "Talk about it really openly and honestly."

"Be careful," she reminded him. Mason grinned and rushed out the door. Mason quickly rushed to Emory's house.The person sent by Derek to stand guard recognized Mason, stepped forward and said, "Mr. Mason, he's still up there, do you want me to go up with you?" "No, you stay here," Mason said. "Do you have a radio in your car?" "Have." "Keep in touch with the office," Mason said. "If anyone is looking for me, come up and tell me." "What should I say?" "Just say people from the office are looking for me," Mason said.

"How long will you be up there?" "Not long," Mason said. He took the elevator up, walked down the corridor to the door of Amory's house, and rang the mother-of-pearl bell. An electric bell could be heard inside, and after a while Eva Amory came to open the door. "Hello," Mason said. She stood hesitantly at the door, and Mason pushed it open and walked in, only to see a sturdy man about fifty years old inside, looking up at him with firm, cold gray eyes. Mason said, "I think you're probably Stetson Casey—sometimes called Thief Casey, and you're probably holding the papers you want Eva Amory to sign. I'm here to tell you, She won't sign, and I don't like blackmailers very much, you get out immediately and don't bother this lady anymore, or I'll let you have a taste of being behind bars."

Kathy stood up slowly, pushed the chair away and said, "I don't like lawyers very much, and I'm not a blackmailer. I'm a businessman. It's okay to say that I'm mercenary. I'm too smart, and I can see through any tricks at a glance. .This is not extortion, but a publicity trick. Anyone can see that it is fake. Let me tell you, Mr. Mason, Eva Amory has just confessed to me, and the documents in my hand can prove it all It's a conspiracy." "Let me tell you what kind of conspiracy it is!" said Mason. "Who do you think put three thousand dollars in the coffee can?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know." "Not only can I tell you who put it in," Mason said. "It can also be shown that this is not a publicity stunt." Casey's shrewd eyes watched Mason without blinking, obviously weighing whether the situation was in his favor. "Okay," he said at last. "Big lawyer, let me open the skylight and tell the truth! I have a wide network of people. I know a person named Weimar Jilly. He discovered some inside information and began to blackmail some people; as for who it is, I It's inconvenient to say now. Ji Li is under my control. If you are willing to deal with me, that's great; if you don't, it's okay."

"We don't want to," Mason said. "You go!" "Did you rent this room?" Kathy asked. "No, but I'm a taxpayer," Mason said. "Municipal Jail is being repaired with taxpayer money. Now I'm going to show you your cards, Casey, and make you look bad. If you ever push this lady to say it's a publicity stunt, I'm going to stand up and prove it I put the money in the coffee can. I can prove it with the check that was cashed, and the bank can prove that I asked for ten and twenty dollar bills when I got the money, and we're just in case , has registered the numbers of certain notes. Eva Amory will not claim that this is a publicity stunt or that you placed the money or have anything to do with you because it is simply not the case .If you dare to take the opportunity to make trouble, we will sue you for extortion, fraud and forgery."

After Mason finished speaking, he picked up the document on the table in front of Casey, tore it into four pieces, and threw it on the ground. "Kathy, what else do you have to say?" he asked. Casey seemed furious and looked at him coldly. "Not now," he said. "But you'll find out later." "Say it now," Mason said. "I'll tell," Casey said. "I'm afraid you won't like to hear it when the time comes." Then the doorbell rang. Mason opened the door forcefully, and Derek's men stood in the doorway. "Someone from your office is calling for you," he said.

Mason turned his head towards the door and said to Casey, "Get out!" "This room is not yours," Kathy said. "Not bad," Mason said. "Get out!" "You can't drive me away." "Want to bet?" "Now that the backup is here, of course it's not necessarily the case." Casey said. "Who the hell is this guy?" "Private eye," Mason said. "He's been spying on you for a while, and now we have enough evidence to sue you for blackmail." Casey's eyes wavered, and for a moment he looked like a beast caught in a trap.

"Show him your papers," Mason said to the detective. The detective on guard took his papers from his wallet. "Okay," Casey said. "I'll just go, but you can't sue me, you can sue Ji Li, but you can't sue me." Mason said, "Want to bet?" "I don't want to bet," Kathy glared at him. "But I'd love to..." Hearing Kathy's voice get quieter, Mason said, "You can do whatever you want." Casey turned and strode out. Mason turned to Eva Amory. "Eva, you're going to Paul Derek's office now. You're going to be there for a few hours while we sort things out."

"He threatened to..." "It's nothing to be surprised about," Mason said. "He's made a living out of threats, and they're all bluffs, and they don't do anything; he can only live by scaring people. Come on, go to Derek's office and wait a while. Go get your stuff in order, I'm in a hurry." "You'll have to wait a few minutes," she said. "I……" "Go get it," Mason said. "I can't wait." He turned to Derek's men. "Let her ride in your car," he said. "Take her to Derek's office and tell her to stay there for a few hours. In case that Kathy is waiting outside and making trouble...you can handle it?" "I can let him go with one hand." The detective looked calm and confident. "Okay," Mason said. "He will leave it to you." After he finished speaking, he immediately turned around and rushed to the stairs, jumped down in three steps at a time, then jumped into the car and rushed to the heliport. Bancroft and Della were already there waiting for him. "Have you been waiting long?" Mason asked. "Just a few minutes," Bancroft said. "The driver said that the fog in the port is gradually lifting." "Let's go!" Mason said. They got into the helicopter, piloted and started the engine, and the helicopter quickly rose to high altitude, crossed the urban and suburban areas, and then descended slightly, flying over the vast fields. The fog belt could still be seen ahead, but when approaching the port, the fog could be seen turning into strands of water vapor. The driver carefully flew around the edge of the fog at an extremely slow speed, hovering almost stationary over the port. "I see!" Bancroft exclaimed. "The Yacht Club is there. That's where the Jinnasha usually moors." "Where's the gas dock you saw last night?" Mason asked. "Fly a little to the right," Bancroft said to the pilot. The helicopter hovered over the water. "Just down there," said Bancroft. "No boat," Mason said. "Was it windy last night?" "No, it's calm and the sea is calm, that's why the fog has been covered for so long, and there is no wind at all. When there is a little wind from the land, the fog starts to disperse." Mason said, "Last night there was a high tide. Fly to the front of the harbor and have a look." The driver followed the instructions and slowly flew towards the front of the port. "Look ahead!" Bancroft said suddenly. "It seems to be the Jinnasha!" "Where?" "About a mile ahead." Mason nodded to the pilot, and the helicopter immediately accelerated forward and finally flew over the yacht.The yacht was stranded on a sandy patch of shoreline at the head of the bay. "Is that your boat?" Mason said. "Yes." Bancroft nodded. "Is the tide low now?" "yes." "Did the anchor hold the ship aground?" "yes." "Do you know how deep the water is here?" "According to my knowledge of the bay, and from the point of view of the mooring line, it should be ten or twelve feet deep, with about twenty to twenty-five feet of the ship's line in the water." Mason said, "Did you notice that the boat is still tied to the yacht?" "I noticed," Bancroft said. "Obviously someone stole the yacht," Mason said. "I figured we'd better have the police with us when we got on board." Helicopter pilot said, "There's a police station up ahead, I can land there. Also, I have an aerial camera in my case so I can take pictures if I need to." "Go for it," Mason said. "But don't mention the photoshoot to the police just yet." A few minutes later, the helicopter landed next to the branch office. Mason quickly explained it to the police. "We believe that Mr. Bancroft's yacht was stolen last night. It has now been found and is stranded nearby. The lifeboat is still tied alongside, so the thieves may still be on board. Would you like to have a look?" "Okay," said the policeman. "Do you have a boat?" "Have." "Let's go together," Mason said. "Me and the helicopter are here waiting for you to come back," the pilot said. The police drove them to the ferry port, boarded a speedboat, and headed for the bay. "You just drive," Mason said. "We'll let you know when it's near." "About forty miles from here, on the sandy side," said Bancroft. "Has it broken down?" "yes." They moved quickly through the channel, only slowing down as they entered shallow water. "Is that your boat ahead?" asked the policeman. "Yes," said Bancroft. The policeman drove around the yacht while shouting: "Hello, the Ginasha! Is anyone on board?" No reply. The policeman said, "I'll go to the boat and have a look." "Shall we go up with you?" Mason asked. The policeman shook his head. "You'd better stay here. You say the yacht was stolen?" Bancroft did not answer. The police drove the speedboat to the side of the Jinnasha, put down a few rubber tires, tied the speedboat to the Jinnasha, and jumped aboard the Jinnasha. Bancroft whispered to Mason, "Mason, I'm going to plead guilty later." "What's the meaning?" "If Ji Li is dead, I will say that I shot him, and..." "You shut up!" Mason said. "You know, to convict a person, there must be absolute evidence, and now we can only rely on this. You can be responsible, say that your wife is hysterical, so you insist on giving her a large amount of tranquilizers, So she can rest completely. Remember, they can't find the gun, because your wife threw it in the water when she jumped overboard." "But wouldn't they send a diver to the bottom where she dived? It's shallow and flat." "She didn't have to tell the whole story," Mason said. "Since it hasn't been told, it doesn't need to be told now. It's not my preferred way of doing things, but we have no choice now. When the time comes, we'll tell the truth. But remember, your wife is with a man named Alvin Fodis's people boarded the ship. When the police found the ship, Fodis was missing and Ji Li was killed. The police will definitely file a complaint after they find Fodis and ask the truth." "What will happen then?" Bancroft asked. "I'm afraid the case will be complicated by then," Mason said. "Your wife must insist that she has reasons for not telling the whole truth, and that certain parts of last night must not be told. In short, her words should be: She will tell the truth when the time is right, but for some Reason, she can't announce the truth now." "It's still ugly," Bancroft said. "Is there any way you can make it less ugly?" Mason asked. "You should have called me last night and asked me to tell the police what happened, saying that the gangster attacked her, and she shot in self-defense in a panic. I don't know if she shot the gangster." "She knew she was shot," Bancroft said. "After the gangster fell forward, he didn't move anymore. Obviously he was killed on the spot. She..." The policeman came back on deck and said, "Well, it's a bit of a complication! There's a man dead on board—looks like he's been dead for a long time, the bullet apparently went through the heart." "That's really complicated," Mason said. The policeman looked at him gravely. "It's just complicated. Why would a ship owner bring the most famous criminal lawyer in the country to report a theft? I started to feel very strange." Mason smiled and said, "That's a long story, man." "Would you like to talk about it now?" asked the policeman. "No," Mason said. "We found out," said the policeman. "At most, it's just a little troublesome. It can always be found out." "How long has this man been dead?" Mason asked. "Obviously it's been a while. I don't want to spoil the scene, I'm going to notify the sheriff, take the boat into custody, tow it to the docks, and get it checked out by experts... I warn you, anything you say can be taken against you Your evidence!" "Are you going to tow the boat?" Mason asked. "It must be delayed," said the policeman. "We have to preserve the scene of the mortuary for fingerprint experts and photographers to take a look at." Mason wanted to say something, but couldn't say it after all. "Now we have to listen to you," he said. "Anything to say?" the policeman asked. Mason shook his head. "What about you?" the policeman asked Bancrowe. "We're going to have to wait for the site inspection," Mason said. "We were shocked by this incident." "I think you guys seem to be mentally prepared!" said the policeman.