Marty Case was shown into Dinos office. Dino, he said, take me to a wine shop. He finally went back inside, where Valentine said,Damn, she is so hot. Are you doing her? Well, Mason told him, thats what I meant. She was a nice, bright girl, if thats any help, which it probably isnt. The swing was a long single length of three-quarter-inch manila rope and to its other end I had already wired a gunny sack stuffed with rags and an old army blanket. The idea was to swing off the porch rail out over the pond, let go of the gunnysack, and drop into the deepest part of the pond with a fine, cool splash. But his Ford was parked at the curb, which meant he was probably inside unless Cindy had taken him somewhere. No argument from me, Conrad. I got the gun here if you try anything. Cross-examine, Hamilton Burger said to Perry Mason. Sure its all right, Mason said. He handed Carmen Monterrey three folded dollar bills. Here, he said. “Give her a good reading.” The jury will, of course, be instructed to consider the newspaper clipping only for the purpose of showing the date at which the purse was dropped. But you know what a jury will do. Theyll eat that stuff up. You know how many times I been married now? Did you try his house? They erected the stepladder and the sheriff insisted on his official prerogative of being the first up the ladder. Dino shook his head.I think somebody saw that as a gift to me. But we have to have a plan. We just cant waltz in there to get killed. The insults were offered routinely and replied to in the same fashion, almost mechanically, without heat or rancor. It was simply what Freddie Koontz had long ago decided should be the proper form of address to go with robust male companionship. If you couldnt match him insult for insult, you were probably a pansy or worse, although it was doubtful that Freddie could think of anything worse. Stone went back into the cabin and flopped into a seat next to Dino. No..