Erle Gardner - The Case of the Empty Tin

“Mrs. Sarah Perlin, Hocksley’s housekeeper, telephoned the office and said that if she could talk with Mr. Mason personally, she’d make a complete confession. She wanted to know where she could reach you. What do I do?”

“A complete confession?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is she?”

“Waiting on one of the other trunk lines.”

“Trace the call?” Mason asked.

“Yes. It’s from a public pay station. I didn’t know what to do. I thought I’d get in touch with you and let you be the goat. If we don’t relay the information on to the police and try to hold her there until a radio car can get on the job, we’re sticking our necks out. But, on the other hand...”

“Tell her to call this number,” Mason said. “Tell her she can talk with me here.”

“And how about the police?”

“Forget ’em.”

“Okay,” Drake said, “I’m stalling her along on the other line. Hold the phone, Perry, until I see if she’s still on the line.”

Mason held the telephone, hearing only the slight buzzing sound of the wire. Then he heard Drake’s voice once more. “Okay, Perry, she says she’ll call you in twenty minutes. She thinks I was having the call traced and notifying the police. She says she’ll go to another pay station. She says if I’ve notified the police, it won’t do a bit of good, that you’re the only one she’ll talk with.”

“Said she’d call in about twenty minutes?” Mason asked.

“That’s right.”

“Okay, Paul. What are you doing up at the office this time of night?”

“No rest for the wicked,” Drake said wearily. “A lot of stuff has been coming in. I’m up here sifting the reports, and juggling the men around on new assignments. I was just ready to quit.”

“What time is it?”

“About one o’clock.”

“How did that woman sound on the telephone, Paul?”

“She didn’t seem particularly excited. She has a good speaking voice.”

“But she said she was going to make a confession?”

“That’s right. I guess that’ll crack the whole case. The way the police figured it out, there was only one shot. Two people had disappeared. That meant Hocksley had killed his housekeeper, removed the body, and was in hiding, or that she had killed him.”

Mason said, “In that latter event, I think there was an accomplice. She didn’t give you any inkling of who it was, did she?”

“No, not a thing. Just said that if she could talk with Mr. Mason personally, she’d make a complete confession. Otherwise, there was no dice.”

“Better stick around,” Mason said, “in case I need you.”

“For how long?”

“Oh, until I tell you to quit.”

Drake said, “Okay, there’s a couch here in the office. I’ll bed down on that, and the night operator will call me in case you phone in.”

“Hate to bust up your sleep,” Mason apologized.

“Oh, it’s all right. I’m used to that.”

“Okay,” Mason said, “I’ll give you a ring.”

He hung up the telephone, stretched, yawned, got out of bed, closed the windows in the room, dressed, and was smoking a cigarette when his telephone rang.

Mason picked up the receiver, said, “This is Perry Mason talking,” and heard a low voice saying in a tone of calm finality, “This is Mrs. Perlin. It’s all over. I’ve decided to confess.”

“Yes, Mrs. Perlin.”

“Don’t try to have this call traced.”

“I won’t.”

“It won’t do you any good if you do try.”

“I tell you I won’t try.”

“I want to talk with you. I must talk with you.”

“Go ahead. You’re talking with me now,” Mason said.

“Not this way. I want to be where our conversation can be absolutely confidential.”

Mason said, “Do you want to come here?”

“No. You’ll have to come to me.”

“Where are you?”

“You promise you won’t notify the police?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll come alone?”

“Yes.”

“How soon?”

“As soon as I can make it. That’s on the understanding that you’re going to play absolutely fair with me and will make a frank statement.”

She said, “Come to six-o-four East Hillgrade Avenue. Don’t park your car directly in front of the house. Leave it half a block down the hill. Don’t go to the front door. It will be locked, and I won’t answer the bell. Go around to the garage in the back of the house. Wait there until you see a light turned on in the house. When you see that light turned on, go in through the back door. It will be open and unlocked. Be certain you come alone and don’t try to tip the police off.”

Mason said, “It will take me fifteen or twenty minutes to get there.”

“That’s all right, only remember to do just as I told you.”

Mason said, “That’s all very well, Mrs. Perlin, but I certainly can’t go chasing around at night simply on the strength of a telephone conversation with a woman who says she has something confidential to tell me.”

“You understand who this is talking, don’t you?”

“Mr. Hocksley’s housekeeper?”

“Yes. I’m going to tell you the truth. I want someone in whom I can confide.”

Mason, trying to draw her out, said, “That’s all rather vague, Mrs. Perlin.”

She hesitated, then said slowly, “I shot him. I had a right to shoot him. I destroyed the body so it can never be found. And then I wondered if that was the wise thing to do. That made it look as though I were a criminal. That’s what I have to ask you about, whether I shouldn’t tell the whole truth. I was absolutely justified in what I did. No jury would ever convict me — not ever. Now, do you want to see me, or do I have to call some other lawyer?”

“I want to see you,” Mason said. “You’re at that address on Hillgrade Avenue?”

“I’ll meet you there — if you play fair. Otherwise you’ll never see me. Be sure you do just as I told you. Don’t come in as soon as you get there — and when you do come, come in through the back door. I have to do it that way so I can be certain you’re playing fair with me. You probably think I’m hard to get along with, but you’ll understand after I tell you the circumstances.”

Mason said, “All right, I’ll be out,” and hung up the telephone.

He looked at his watch to verify the time, then wrote the address 604 East Hillgrade Avenue on a sheet of paper, folded the paper, put it in an envelope, addressed the envelope to Lieutenant Tragg, sealed it, and placed it on the little table by the side of the bed, then he called the Drake Detective Agency. When he had Paul Drake on the line, he said, “Paul, I’m going places. It doesn’t sound any too good. There’s just a chance we’re dealing with a woman who is a homicidal paranoiac. In case you don’t hear from me within an hour, bust out to six-o-four East Hillgrade Avenue — and be damn sure you get in. Also be sure you have a gun in your hand when you go in, and you’d better have a couple of hard-boiled men with you.”

“Why not let me pick up a couple of tough operatives and go out there with you, Perry?”

“I don’t think it would do any good. She’s given me certain specific instructions. She’s evidently where she can check up on me to see if I’m following those instructions. I wouldn’t doubt if she’s planted right across the street waiting to see what I do.”

“Okay, Perry, I’ll crash the joint in exactly one hour if I don’t hear from you.”

Mason slid the receiver back into place, put on a light topcoat, pulled his hat down low over his eyes, and left his apartment. Walking to the garage where he kept his car, Mason was careful to avoid looking around, as though afraid someone might be shadowing him. He slid in behind the wheel of his car, warmed up the motor, nodded to the night attendant in the garage, and rolled out into the dark, all-but-deserted street.