The Case of the Mischievous Doll

Mason grinned. “He didn’t get the facts until later. Tragg’s interview with us in the room that was bugged, and the subsequent story in the newspapers, gave him his chance to put one over on the police and Hamilton Burger. Jasper is smart. He desperately wanted immunity for his crimes — and of course he’d found Minerva’s thirty-eight-calibre gun in the apartment at the Parkhurst. You can also bet that the police questioning gave him enough leads so he could build a pretty convincing story. Naturally the police were anxious to have all the details explained, and Jasper, having rented Apartment 805 and studied the tenant of 907, knew a lot of details he could use to make his story convincing. Because Hamilton Burger was so anxious to get something on me and to convict my client, he was an eager victim.

“Minerva Minden tells me she was out in the parking lot. The attendant thought she had been drinking and asked to see her driving licence. She showed him the only licence she had — the one in the name of Dorrie Ambler. The parking lot attendant remembered the name, Ambler, and told Dunleavey Jasper he thought that was the name of the woman who had stolen his car. But Jasper, of course, didn’t dare tell this to the police because it would ruin the story he was putting across, so he said on the stand he had located the car through underworld connections.”

The phone rang. Della Street answered it, said, “Henrietta Hull wishes to know how much your fee is going to be.”

Mason grinned. “Tell her it’s one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and to make the cheque payable to the Children’s Hospital. After all, I don’t think Minerva should get off too easy.”