The defence attorneys ace-in-the-hole was probably no part of his own case but would depend upon some masterly cross-examination of a witness for the prosecution. The last witness for the prosecution was Ezekiel Elkins, and Mason had shrewdly jockeyed the district attorney into such a position that Elkins had concluded his testimony on direct examination just as court had adjourned, so that Perry Mason would be able to start his spectacular cross-examination in the morning. What year was that? Four-thirty. Thats after me and Marjorie finally got Dorothy to bed. She was almost out on her feet by then, but she was still talking about killing herself. Jesus, I think she gets her kicks out of talking about it. You had only four rounds the last time we talked about this. Valentine turned to look at Devine.Its for you, Travis. At first Hawkins had denied it, but after Devine laid fact on top of fact the man admitted his guilt. And then he had come at Devine with a knife. The men had fought. But Devine was younger, stronger, and his inner motor just couldnt be beat by the likes of Hawkins. He had left him there, unconscious. But he had never expected the man to die out there. Of seventy-three? My first test was to measure the lands and grooves and get the pitch in order to determine the type of weapon from which it had been fired. Yes, sir. He was quite explicit about the phrasing, Vullos secretary said. Women. The fact that its a woman points to you. It was getting dark when they set down at Santa Fe, with Stone back at the controls. He cut the engines and called Ed Eagle. He hesitated and then decided to see if the other key on the ring would open it. He didnt know why she would lock her phone up in there, but he had seen her rushing around enough times trying to find stuff at the town house. Her car keys had once ended up in the refrigerator for some odd reason. She nodded gravely and I could see that she was more than just a little drunk.Thats what I was, wasnt I? The best fuck in St. Louis. Guys used to come from all over — from Chicago, Denver, Omaha, all over — just to find out if it was true and every man jack of em told me it was. She looked at me and smiled and I saw that there was a lot more gold in her smile than there had been. He took his glass of beer and started wandering from room to room. There were a few people scattered here and there, but they seemed dwarfed by the space. Devine figured you could cloister an entire Army battalion in here, no problem. Do you think he travels? Like, to England? The elevator sped upward and disgorged him on the twenty-seventh floor, where two Secret Service agents stood on either side of the door to Suite A. They knew him, so didnt bother to frisk, then one opened the door for him. Holly stood before him in an emerald-green gown that set off her red hair, looking like a star from Hollywoods golden years. She came toward him, arms out, then stopped. Which arm? she asked. You have the original, Mason said. In case I should ever be called upon to tell my story, I want to be sure that I tell it right. Now then, youre going to get out your portable typewriter, copy that letter, keep one copy for yourself and give me one copy. Montgomery and Devine sat next to each other on a couch, while Cowl sat across from them. I wish it was a slam dunk for the Tucker kid, Mike said. Hes obviously been set up — unless he did it, of course — but that may not be easy to prove. Mason said,Youre dealing with a shrewd individual, Dorothy. He knew who had the bottle. He simply waited until you had gone ashore, and then he went aboard and started searching the yacht. Evidently hes a pretty good yachtsman and as such figured out the places where something like that could be hidden. So now he has the bottle and the letter and has enough evidence against you so he can convict you of breaking into his house. Is that right?.