Mason said,Can you wait there for another hour or so? Make it soon, she said. Yeah, but there was nothing figurative about her, Dino said. I cant wait until we find out who she is. Ill bet we clear a few more murders. I turned this canoe over to a fingerprint expert at the request of the sheriff. That Cowl doctored the evidence to incriminate you. Id like to ask some questions about one of your clients. Vullo dismissed his secretary with a curt nod and when she was gone I said,Ive heard about someone who might be able to help you find a replacement for Max. Hes a headhunter. Perry Mason, Mason interrupted. And very pleased to meet you, Miss Fenner. Mason paused to think that over, then nodded thoughtfully.Of course. That was Alders logical move. He realized what he was up against as soon as he saw this letter in the bottle. He knew that he had to find Carmen. And perhaps through her find some way of discrediting some of Minerva Danbys statements. Okay, Della, go bring Dorley Alder in and well see what he wants. We need to fight back. We need to reassure the base that we havent given up. Id automatically slipped into canned-speech land. But I needed to hear it myself. We know that Cory Tucker is innocent. We know that somebody set him up and set us up. We know that the press has taken Showalter’s word for things without doing any serious investigating on their own.’ As he neared the city he got a call from Campbell. Yes, from my days as a policeman, but I never wear it. Not with any ofmy men. Weve used all of the known tricks on him, and hes not talking. Incidentally, Mr. Elkins has a nice black eye. Thereve been some extremely interesting new developments, Slick said. He reached over to Roger Vullos desk and handed me the morning edition of theWashington Post. I looked at it, but saw nothing that was relevant. Better get your story ready, Mason warned. Well, you know what he does at times like this... I understand, but theres no need to do that with Ruth. I can tell her exactly what Im trying to do, and— Well, if youre the target, its got to be either a woman, her ex-husband, or her current boyfriend. It wouldnt be the first time..