Erle Gardner - The Case of the Empty Tin

Luceman will be on the inactive list for several days, but, aside from that, need expect no bad effects, as the bullet missed the principal arteries and only grazed the bone. The “burglar” at latest accounts had not returned. Perhaps it has decided it is less trouble to prowl the alleys in search of nocturnal quadrupeds, and forego its milk diet.

Mason glanced at Della Street, smiled, walked over to the counter, and said, “Could you let me have one of these papers of the fourteenth? I’d like to answer some of the ads in it.” He deposited a nickel on the counter and after a few minutes the girl supplied him with a copy of the paper.

Mason thanked her and escorted Della Street back to the automobile. “We will now have a chat with Dr. Sawdey, who is doubtless back from the hospital by this time,” he said.

Mason rang the bell of Dr. Sawdey’s residence. After several moments, the man they had seen at the hospital opened the door.

“Dr. Sawdey?” Mason asked.

The doctor nodded, looking shrewdly from Mason to Della Street, then down to where the taxicab was waiting. He might have been making a diagnosis. “It’s late,” he said, “and except in matters of extreme emergency...”

Mason said, “I will detain you only a moment, Doctor. But I’m a friend of Carr Luceman. I knew him back East, and thought I’d look him up. I had his address, and drove down there as soon as I...”

Dr. Sawdey said, “He had an accident. He’s at the Parker Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, he can have no visitors.”

Mason’s face showed his concern. “I heard he’d had an accident,” he said. “I want very much to see him, and I think he’d like to see me. I only expect to be here for another twenty-four hours. Would it be possible for me to see him in that time?”

“I’m afraid not. He has overtaxed himself. I warned him particularly against that very thing. As a result, he’s weakened his resistance, and complications have set in. It’s going to be necessary for him to be kept absolutely quiet for several days.”

Mason said, “I might wait over if by day after tomorrow...”

Dr. Sawdey said positively, “I am certain that it will be necessary to keep him quiet for at least three days.”

Mason said, “Gosh, that’s a shame. I’ll send him a card. I’m awfully sorry I missed him. Have you known him long, Doctor?”

“I’ve seen him on several occasions,” Dr. Sawdey said guardedly.

Mason said impulsively, “Well, I hope this doesn’t affect his other condition too much. How are his legs now, Doctor?”

The doctor said gravely, “In a man of his age, one may expect progressive... however, I think it will be better if you correspond directly with Mr. Luceman. You can address him at the Parker Memorial Hospital, and I see no reason why he can’t open mail within the next forty-eight hours. And now if you’ll excuse me — I’ve had rather a hard day, and I have some operations to perform in the morning.”

Mason bowed gravely. “I’m sorry I disturbed you, Doctor, but I was very much concerned. You see I was quite intimate with Mr. Luceman at one time.”

“If you’d leave your name,” the doctor said, “I might...”

Mason had already started down the stairs. “So sorry I disturbed you, Doctor. I can appreciate the demands that are made on your time.” And to keep the doctor from realizing that he had failed to follow his suggestion, Mason went on, “What time do you operate in the morning?”

“Eight-thirty,” Dr. Sawdey said and closed the door.

“Hungry, Della?” Mason asked as they approached the taxicab.

“I could use a little food,” she admitted.

Mason said, “ I don’t feel particularly hungry, and I want to keep an eye on Dr. Sawdey. I want to see if he goes out within the next ten or fifteen minutes. Suppose you take the cab and go to Locarno’s Grill. I’ll be along in twenty minutes or half an hour.”

She regarded him with that whimsical expression which a woman reserves for a man of whom she is very fond and who has been rather clumsy in seeking to outwit her.

“Something wrong with that?” Mason asked.

“Dr. Sawdey is a doctor. If he leaves, it will be on a call.”

Mason nodded.

“And it would be on an urgent call. Therefore, he’ll leave in an automobile. I suppose you’re going to run after him on foot?”

Mason said, “No. I just want to know if he goes, not where he goes.”

Della Street placed a hand on his arm. “Now, Perry, my lad, listen to me. You’ve got something up your sleeve. If there’s going to be any housebreaking, I’m going to be just as deep in the mud as you are in the mire.”

“What makes you think I’m going housebreaking?”

“Don’t be silly!”

Mason said, “It’s a felony. It’s dangerous. In case we get caught, we can’t very well make explanations.”

“All the more reason, then, why you should have an accomplice.”

“No. It’s too dangerous. You go to the restaurant, and...”

“Bosh! I’m going to stay with you. Do we take the cab or...”

Mason said, “We get rid of the cab right here.” He walked over to the driver, handed him a bill, and said, “The change is yours, buddy. We’re supposed to be back in ten minutes. The doc’s going to have a prescription ready by that time. So we’ll just walk around.”

“I could wait,” the cabby said, “if it’s only going to be ten minutes, and...”

“No, thanks. We’re visiting friends in the neighborhood after that, so it won’t pay to wait.”

The cabby touched his hat and drove off.

Della Street said, “Here we go! Embarking on a career of crime! If I’m going to be an accomplice, I may as well learn crook jargon and talk out of one side of my mouth. What am I, a steerer?”

Mason said, “No. You’re a moll. You’re going to case the lay.”

She walked with an exaggerated swing to her hips, said out of one side of her mouth, “Cripes, Chief, I’m the moll who can give you de office in case a harness bull tries to queer de act. I’ll stroll on past an’ give him de eye, an’...”

“And get yourself arrested for soliciting a self-respecting police officer on the street,” Mason interposed.

“Well, what of it? Ain’t you de mouthpiece that can spring me? Why should I take a rap when I got de swellest mouthpiece of ’em all on my string? Maybe you could slip the beak a grand an’ square the pinch. But right now we got a crib to crack. We can’t waste time...”

She stopped as she heard a distinctly startled gasp behind her. Looking up, she saw Mason grinning broadly, saw an elderly gentleman who had noiselessly approached from behind on rubber-soled shoes, regarding her with shocked consternation. Then, with a muttered, “Pardon me,” he had pushed on past, walking so rapidly that his feet seemed to be hardly touching the sidewalk.

Della Street muttered under her breath, “Good heavens, did he get an earful!”

“Did he get an earful!” Mason chuckled. “He acted as though he had two ears full.”

“Where did he come from?”

“I don’t know. I just happened to turn my head and caught a glimpse of him pussyfooting along behind. His face looked as though he’d suddenly received the bill for his new income tax.”

“You don’t think he could have been following us?”

Mason shook his head. “Not that chap. He’s some mousy retired bird who lives somewhere in the neighborhood. You certainly gave him something to think about. The way he whisked himself around that corner, you’d have thought he was a puppet someone was jerking on a string.”

Della Street said, “I thought I was putting on a swell act. My walk alone must have been enough to startle him. I felt like Fatima, the sideshow Turkish dancing girl.”