The Case of the Grinning Gorilla

Della Street once more sat down at her secretarial desk. Mason leaned over her shoulder as she spread the afternoon paper out on the desk.

Headlines across three columns at the top of the paper screamed:

POLICE HINT POSSIBILITY SECOND MURDER

AUTHORITIES INTERROGATE SUSPECT IN ADDICKS’ MURDER ON DISAPPEARANCE OF ATTRACTIVE SECRETARY

“Why, the nerve of him,” Della Street said, “the...”

“That’s all right,” Mason said, “let’s take a look and see how far he’s gone, Della.”

Together they read the article, an article which stated that police were now making inquiries of Mrs. Josephine Kempton concerning the mysterious death of Helen Cadmus, the attractive secretary who was supposed to have jumped overboard from Benjamin Addicks’ palatial private yacht in a storm-tossed sea some months earlier.

That death, the newspaper pointed out, had been treated by the authorities either as a suicide or as an accident, but with the murder of Benjamin Addicks authorities had reopened the entire files surrounding the death of Helen Cadmus.

The article went on to say:

The district attorney pointed out that Josephine Kempton, who is at present under arrest as a suspect in the murder of Benjamin Addicks, shared connecting staterooms on the Addicks’ yacht with the attractive secretary. Helen Cadmus mysteriously disappeared during the night of a wild storm off the coast of Catalina Island. Mrs. Kempton swore that she had taken a seasick remedy which had made her drowsy and had gone to bed and gone to sleep.

While the statement was taken at its face value at the time, the district attorney declared that, in the light of more recent developments, investigation into the death of Helen Cadmus is being reopened. “We are,” he said, “making no accusations or insinuations at the present time because we are not in a position to make any. We simply feel that in the interests of justice the death of Helen Cadmus which, at the time, was taken as a tragic accident in a storm, may have had more sinister implications.

“All I can say is that we are making an investigation, and that we have interrogated Mrs. Kempton as to her knowledge of what transpired on the night Helen Cadmus disappeared, and that Mrs. Kempton has refused to give us anything more than the time of day.

“I care to make no other statement.”

Mason’s jaw clamped, his eyes were cold and angry.

“Well,” Della Street said, “Hardwick was as good as his word.”

“No better certainly,” Mason said. “All right, Della. Wait here for a minute. I’ll go see Paul Drake. We’re in a shooting war, and I hope he has some ammunition for us.”

“You want me to give him a ring?” Della Street asked.

“No,” Mason said. “I’ll go on down to his office and see what’s cooking. In the meantime, Della, ring up the newspapers and tell them that if they’ll send representatives over here I’ll make a statement about the Addicks murder case.”

“Do you want me to wait until you’ve seen Paul before...?”

Mason shook his head.

“You mean if Paul doesn’t have anything you’ll make a straight denial and...?”

Mason said, “A straight denial, Della, won’t buy us anything in this situation. We’re going to have to put Hardwick and his side of the case on the defensive. I’ll need something spectacular. If Paul Drake has the ammunition I’ll shoot it. If he doesn’t, I’ll shoot blanks, but those blanks will make so much noise the other side will start running for cover. You put through the calls, Della, and hold the fort. I’ll be back as soon as I can get in touch with Paul.”

Mason went out through the exit door from his office into the corridor, walked down to the offices of the Drake Detective Agency, jerked open the door, caught the eye of the receptionist at the switchboard, and said, “Is Paul in?”

She smiled. “He insists he’s all in.”