You have an automobile? An early dinner? she asked. Inside the house, I went to the living room closet and opened the door. I kept the carbine on two pegs at the rear of the closet, but it wasnt there. A friend of mine. It is assumed that Perry Mason may now attempt to show that George S. Alder must have committed suicide, or was the victim of an accidental discharge of his own gun. Despite the fact that Masons client has insisted she was not on the premises that night, despite circumstantial evidence indicating that this statement is, to put it mildly, subject to some correction, Perry Mason is in the advantageous position of being able to conform his courtroom strategy to whichever direction the cat may jump. We figure thatll be the easiest one, Murfin said. Its kind of obvious, isnt it? He was facing the person who shot him? It was at this point in his survey that Mason suddenly became conscious of the swimmer. There was another brief silence and then Mixs voice came on again. The people whore holding me are serious. They mean business. They want two million dollars for my release. I repeat. Two million dollars. Youre going to have to deliver it exactly when and where I tell you to. The money must be unmarked. It must be old or at leastwell used. Don’t try anything tricky. If you do, you’ll just get me killed. People make jokes at funerals all the time. They dont mean to, but they cant help themselves. He looked at his watch. Six thirty. Speers would not expect him to be home. He walked over to the wall separating their bedrooms and put his ear to it. He heard clicking. She was on her laptop. He stood there, hoping that she might make a call and he could attempt to listen, but that didnt happen. The clicking stopped. A minute or so passed and her door opened and she passed down the hall. He opened his door a crack to see her at the top of the stairs dressed in her yoga clothes. She went down the steps. I made a fool of myself, he admitted. He did very well. Whatd they offer him? Area 51? Nobody said anything. The killer must be someone at the firm. We thought that all along, didnt we? Aha, what?.