33- The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom by Erle Stanley Gardner

Author:Erle Stanley Gardner [Gardner, Erle Stanley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-02-19T10:04:08+00:00

Chapter 12

It was dark by the time the limousine returned Perry Mason and Della Street to San Diego. Mason stopped long enough to telephone Paul Drake.

“Okay, Paul,” Mason said. “Della and I are leaving San Diego. We’ll go to Oceanside and have dinner there. Then we’ll meet you and go on out to see what we can do with Hackley.”

“He’s going to be a tough nut,” Drake warned. “I’ve been getting a little more dope on him. He’s considered pretty hard.”

“That’s fine,” Mason said. “I like ‘em tough. When can you get to Oceanside?”

“I’m ready to start right now.”

“All right,” Mason told him. “Della and I will pick up our cars at the airport and then go get some dinner. You can cruise slowly along the main street until you find us … you can’t miss my car. I’m driving the convertible with the light tan top.”

“Okay,” Drake said. “I’ll find you.”

“We’re on our way,” Mason told him, and hung up.

The limousine purred smoothly along the coast route until it reached Oceanside. Mason had the driver take them to the airport where he and Della Street picked up their respective automobiles, paid off the limousine, and drove back to the center of Oceanside where Mason found two parking places near a restaurant.

They entered the restaurant, enjoyed a leisurely dinner, and were chatting over after-dinner coffee and cigarettes when Drake walked in, looked around, spotted them, waved his hand and came over to join them in the booth.

“What’s new, Paul?” Mason asked.

“I could use a cup of coffee,” Drake said, “and a piece of that 114

lemon pie. I had a late lunch but I’m beginning to get hungry … Hang it. Perry, there just isn’t any easy way out of Los Angeles. You have to fight traffic no matter what you do.”

“I’ll say,” Mason told him. “What’s new in the case, anything?”

“The police have found Edward Garvin’s fingerprint on the murder weapon,” Drake said.

“Why not? Garvin admits that he handled it. What else is new?”

“Not very much. I got a little dope on this Hackley. He was mixed up in some gambling. I didn’t find out too much about it but people who know him think he’s dangerous.”

“Well, that’s fine,” Mason said. “We’ll go look him over. We should be able to give him quite a jolt. He doubtless thinks that no one is ever going to connect him with Ethel Garvin.”

Drake said, “Well, I’ll have that piece of pie and a cup of coffee before the shooting starts anyway.”

They waited until Drake had finished, then left the restaurant. Mason said, “We may as well all go in one car. Let’s get in my bus. It has a wide front seat.”

“That’s an idea,” Drake said. “Put Della in the middle. It will give me an excuse to put my arm around her. I haven’t made even the preliminary approaches to a pretty girl for so long I’ve forgotten how.”

“Don’t think I’m going to educate you,” Della said. “I have no time to waste with amateurs.

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