Chapter 9 Nine

Lieutenant Trager of the city police corps sat in Perry.Next to Mason's bed, the spring bed rattled loudly under the pressure of his body.Mason opened his eyes from the noise. Hello!Mason said, what are you doing here? Trager smiled at him and said: Believe it or not, I'm on vacation. Shall I choose?Mason asked, his voice a little weak. What to choose? Do I believe you or not? Tragg laughed and said: Mason, this is indeed true.My brother-in-law is the sheriff here.I went fishing and on my way back I stopped by my sister's house to deliver some salmon to her and just called to tell me about the poisoning.My brother-in-law Sam.Gregory wanted me to deal with it.I turned him down straight away. I already had quite a few cases in hand, so I didn't want to cause any more trouble.But he said the victim was my fellow Perry.Mason and secretary Della.You can definitely imagine my reaction.I don't want to miss such an important case.

Mason's eyelids trembled slightly, he wanted to smile, but couldn't.He said: "I was a little dizzy and they gave me a subcutaneous injection.Tell me the truth, Tragg, are you alive, or am I seeing you because of my drug reaction nightmares? I think you are having a nightmare. I think so.now it's right. How did you become a victim this time? I can't bear to look back. Oh, you've always been in danger, you've always been the one to defend the criminal, now you can experience what it's like to be a victim. Mason pulled himself together: You can't say defending criminals, he said a little annoyed, I never defend criminals.I just ask that justice be done.

Of course, all technical means are used.Trager said. Mason's voice was a little indistinct as if he was talking in his sleep, but he wasn't confused at all. He said: Why not?Laws are technical and interpreted strictly literally.Any rules made by anyone are technical.You establish a boundary between what is legal and what is prohibited, and you will always have ambiguous cases.Lieutenant, and I ask you to remember that my client is only a criminal if the jury finds him guilty.But so far, no client has been convicted of thinking that the medicine will pass quickly after I injected it.

Trager asked curiously: Next you should say that the person who poisoned your sugar should also be protected by law? why not? You don't hate him at all? I will not disregard due process of law just because I hate someone.Due process of law is my only recourse against an unfair trial.To me it means government, it means law and order.Damn it, Trager, do you understand what I mean? Of course I understand. My head is clear, Mason said, but my head is a little stiff.You helped me sort out my thoughts, but it's a bit messy when I say it through this mouth.However, I feel better and better.How is Della?

she is nice. what time is it? It was about midnight. Banning.where is clarkhow is he? no one knows.he is not here.Now let's finish this moral question.Can you put aside your personal grievances and defend the poisoner my brother-in-law caught? why not? Even in situations where you think that person is guilty? Mason said wearily: The law guarantees everyone the right to a jury trial, Trager.If I refuse to defend someone because I think he's guilty, it's Perry.Mason's trial, not a jury's trial.Of course, the defendant would not let me represent him either.Why do you say the poison is in the sugar?Is this just a guess?

No, we found white arsenic in the sugar bowl. Is poison mixed with sugar? No.Someone obviously sprinkled the poison on the sugar.It looked like he didn't have time to stir it, just put the poison on it. Mason sat up reluctantly on the bed.He was much more sober, and he spoke clearly: You see, Trager, this is not right. What's wrong? sugar. What happened to the sugar? Della.Streeter and I both happen to add sugar to our tea.Banning.Clark also added sugar.Clark had finished his meal, and he wanted to join us for a cup of tea, which the butler served first, after which Nell.Sims poured a cup herself, and I distinctly remember her adding two heaped spoonfuls of sugar to the tea.Then, everyone had a few drinks.At least Della, Banning and I refilled our tea a few times.If the arsenic was just on top of the sugar in the sugar bowl, and not mixed with the sugar, I doubt you'd find much poison in the leftover sugar you used.

Oh, indeed, we Tragg stopped talking suddenly.He looked up and said with a smile, come in, Sam.Meet this man who always annoys me.Sam, this is Perry.Mason, the famous lawyer, the one who disrupted my action plan several times. Sam.Gregory was stout and energetic, with a kind smile and a determined look in his eyes.He walked into the room with Perry.Mason shook hands, I've always wanted to know you.he said sincerely. But don't tell me you're interested in his case, Tragg said, he's never finished. No, said Gregory, I am only interested in the case out of kinship.I've always wanted to see the kind of guy who could annoy the Lieutenant and make him run around.

Well, said Tragg, I knew I shouldn't bother myself to say such things. What did the steward say?Mason asked, was she poisoned too? So far, the housekeeper hasn't said a word, Trager said, I don't know if she was poisoned, in fact we didn't find her at all, of course her daughter ran off to get married, I guess her mother called her daughter long distance Call to stop the marriage.Mrs. Bradisson and her son Jim had apparently gone with a lawyer named Moffgate.They're having a meeting somewhere, and they must be afraid you're going to put a bug on the wall or something.

how long have you been hereMason asked. A little over an hour.Fortunately, there was a nurse who used all the antidote for arsenic poisoning that she had on hand.As soon as your symptoms of poisoning appear, she will take medicine to control the toxin and excrete it from the body.She's amazing, the only thing I'm not happy with is that she didn't let us know right away.She did some medical treatment for you, then called the doctor, and then she didn't report it because she wanted to hear the doctor's diagnosis first.There was nothing wrong with that, but after getting the doctor's prescription, she was busy with treatment, or so she said.I think she hid the doctor somewhere until the morning, when we could question him.The doctor could not be found on the phone either, and he reported to the central agency that he was out, and they assumed he was here.

Trager smiled at Mason: "This woman is loyal.I wouldn't really blame her if she was really delaying the doctor's escape.But it drove Sam crazy.I think Sam could have interrogated him for an hour if the doctor had been there.The working woman is indeed loyal to her boss. For example, Della.Streeter, she's made it her life's work to be your secretary, God knows how much she'll have to juggle.I think it's not easy to get along with just because of your moody temper. I always thought it was her personal loyalty to you that kept her going for so long, but now I see how ambitious she is.

Mason nodded and said: This is something higher and better.They are all putting their heart and soul into their work.Hey, wait!If we are alive because of timely treatment, then Banning.What will happen to Clark and the butler?There is also a lot of sugar in their tea! Gregory said: "That's what worries us too and we're doing everything we can to find them.Clark and Powers must have gone off in the old car, we've put it on the radio, and we'll find it shortly. Suddenly, a man showed his head by the door and said: Sir, can I have a few words with you? what's up?Gregory asked. Mrs Sims is back. Is she sick? She's fine.I didn't tell her about the poisoning, she was going back to her room to go to bed. Go and bring her here, said Gregory, moving the lamp so that Mason's face was lost in the darkness.He went on to say, I want to ask her a few questions. Gregory laughed and said: She is a good person who can endure hardships and stand hard work.I heard that Banning.Clark called her over after his wife died in January 1942.She was running the restaurant in Mojave at the time, but he was paying her a lot to run the house.He hated the house, maybe for some reason.His wife used to hang out here, play bridge, and eat and drink late at night.Those prospectors carnival, but when they stop they still have to live in the desert, living in the open air.This is completely different, with The door opened.Mrs. Sims said listlessly: You looking for me?God, can someone get a good night's sleep without asking questions?I thought you'd search every corner from cellar to attic and then Something new, Gregory interrupted, you made dinner in the kitchen tonight, didn't you? Oh, if that's of value to you.I cook dinner.I told Mr. Clark that a famous lawyer could not be entertained in the kitchen, but he didn't want anyone to know he was there and insisted on being in the kitchen.By God it was a big kitchen with a table and Did you serve tea during the meal? Yeah, you can't just serve the coffee, no matter Did you drink tea yourself? yes, if you doubt that too, i You put sugar in your tea too, didn't you? Of course I added sugar, so to speak You got your sugar from the sugar bowl on the table, didn't you? Yes, I just got rid of the sugar bowl touching the floor, I had a hard time getting it off, but You don't feel uncomfortable at all? Is it the tea, or the sugar, or your problem? Don't be mean, just answer my question, are you feeling sick? what do you mean? I mean Perry.Both Mason and his secretary were poisoned. Mrs Sims said: "I suppose it's a forced confession?" We are just asking you questions. So why tell me all this bullshit?Why not ask what you want to know? We speak the truth.Mason and his secretary are poisoned. Once she believed it to be true, she couldn't sit still and said: Hey!Huh!Are they dead? No.Fortunately, the nurse on duty handled it well and gave them antidote, and they are fine now.But the problem was that a large amount of arsenic was found mixed with sugar from the sugar bowl. Oh my God!Tonight is my candy from the sugar bowl! You don't have any adverse reactions? of course not. Are you sure the sugar came from the same sugar bowl?That white sugar bowl with the twist on the top? able.There is only one sugar bowl on the table, the one I keep in the kitchen. Where did you put it! On the bottom of the pantry shelf. Is it possible for others to go there? Of course it is possible, for example, that Mr. Clarke took sugar from that jug. What happened to him? We don't know, can't find him. You mean he's missing? Yes. Gregory said: Mrs. James, I think you should realize that this is the second time your food has been poisoned, and your situation is not very good. I don't understand what are you trying to say? You should tell us everything you've done. I don't see what this has to do with you. This can be important. Oh, I'll say it if it works for you.My daughter and that mineral salesman, HaywardSmall ran away, and they were going to Las Vegas to get married.Oh, and Jerry was stationed in the barracks near Kingman, Arizona, and he left Dolena's name to a guy who ran a pool hall, and he said he'd have a message if Dolene called.The boys from the barracks used to go there, and I called the pool hall, and it happened that Jerry was there.I told him what had happened, and I said Dolena was a good girl, but he had no competition for the sweet words of that cunning mineral salesman. What did Jerry say? He didn't say anything. What do you want him to do? No.I just told him that if he had the guts, he had to figure something out. You've been on the phone, haven't you? Yes, it was hard to call in. After an hour of delay, they told me that the line was busy and waited for another two hours.War does keep the phone busy. Tragg laughed: The phone is cheap. Calling Kingman, Arizona is not cheap, especially for a woman like me who works and earns his living. Trager asked: How do you explain that you took sugar from the jar and put it in the tea, and there was no reaction, but the other two people who ate sugar from the same jar quickly developed symptoms of arsenic poisoning. I don't explain, Nell.Sims snapped, you should explain, it's your business. You don't think your daughter is in love with Hayward.Small? He was smooth-tongued and cunning by nature.He has been hanging around my daughter, taking her out and coming back late and getting later every day.I don't like this, he's too old for my daughter.He's always staring at you like he's doing some sort of psychological tactic on you, something a girl Dolena's age doesn't need.What she needs is romance, and he's not the type to give her that kind of flair, and he's married, he told me himself.Everyone knew that it wasn't right for a married man to be with a girl Dolena's age, even if he was divorced. Do you think I mean you think their relationship is out of line, Mrs Sims? Mrs Sims stared at the two of them seriously and said: People are good people, but they can't say good things.My daughter is a good girl. I understand, but I just want to know exactly what you mean when What I have said has said what I mean, there is nothing to say about that kind of thing.Now that I've told you all I know, I'm going to bed.She turned and strode out of the room.Trager turned off the light. Just now, in order to prevent Mrs. Sims from seeing Mason on the bed, the dazzling light had been facing him directly. Trager said: Mason, what do you think?The medicine is coming up again? Mason didn't make a sound, breathing evenly, and closed his eyes. It's the medicine, Trager said, he's so weak and the nurse said he's all right, she'd keep Dr. Kenward here so we could ask him a few questions.Oh Sam, or she's lying, or she took sugar from that arsenic sugar bowl and had no ill effects. She probably didn't add sugar. wrong.Perry.Mason said she added sugar to her tea. Well, I'm thinking about something. what is it Suppose she added arsenic instead of sugar from that jug.It's easy to reach in with a spoon.When it was taken out, the poison was poured in the instant the lid of the sugar bowl was closed. Trager said: "I've always thought that too.The last person who took the sugar without being poisoned is the most suspicious.Sam, let's have a cigarette, we need to rest now.The next step is to examine each suspect and see if I can find arsenic on someone, or find out where the person bought the poison from. They lit their cigarettes and took a few puffs in silence.Sam.Gregory stretched out his strong arms, yawned and said, "Oh, I'm going to bed, I'm going to sleep." Suddenly, intermittent explosions came from the yard, and the sound shook the eardrums.Gregory swallowed even the last part of his sentence, turned around, and listened sideways.There were two more explosions, and the silence after the sound was even more terrifying. There was a sound of walking on the floor above them, first running to the stairs, then rushing downstairs. The side door of the small building leading to the garden was rushed open, and the door hit the wall with a bang. Sam.Gregory drew the revolver from the holster, which had been worn for a long time and shone a little.He said with a heavy face: Something went wrong, the sound came from the southeast corner of the ground? I think so, Trager said, go. They ran out of the room.Gregory ran ahead, shouting: Once we His voice was Wilma.Staller's scream was interrupted. Two more shots were heard from the cactus garden.