The big man on the stand was clenching and unclenching his huge hands. His facial muscles were twisting in the manner of a grown man who wants to cry and has forgotten how.

  Dillard wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

  "You'd better answer that question, Mr. Dillard," the judge said somewhat sternly, "and answer it truthfully."

  "All right," Dillard said. "That's the way it happened. I clobbered the guy. Only, I didn't knock him down, he was standin" in the door of my unit calling me names and he made a pass at me. I beat him to the punch and clobbered him.

  "The blow knocked him back and his head struck against the corner post on the porch and he slumped to the ground.

  "I didn't know he'd been hurt too bad, but I'd been in enough trouble. I picked the guy up and carried him back to Unit io and dumped some whiskey over him. Then I saw he was badly hurt. I went back and tried to figure what to do and I saw this girl come in."

  "The defendant?" Judge Talent asked.

  "That's right. I didn't put down the time or anything. I went back over to the desk and sat there with my head in my hands. I heard her drive away and then after a while I heard the cops come and I knew I was in a spot.

  "I called Sid Nye and told him "Hey Rube." He'd been in carnival life and I'd been in the circus. I knew that would get me reinforcements. I intended to tell him what had happened, but he brought Perry Mason down with him and then I knew I was in a real jam.

  "Before they came, I faked that entry in the book. I just wanted to get the girl's visit down and I didn't know what time she came or what time she left so I approximated it.

  "Then I did want to get out of town. I didn't intend to do anything that would put this girl in a jam. I just wanted to save my own neck."

  Judge Talent looked at Leland.

  The prosecutor stood for a moment, his facial expresson indicating the confusion of his mind. Then he slowly seated himself as though his leg muscles had lost the strength to support him.

  Judge Talent turned to Mason. "Would you mind telling the Court how you deduced what happened, Mr. Mason? Obviously it just occurred to you."

  Mason said, "If the Court please, I had only to realize my client was telling the truth to appreciate the fact that something had to be wrong with the testimony of this witness. I then started searching for a possible explanation. When I saw the neat way the entry of Dianne's visit had been made, I knew it hadn't been written in the dark.

  "When I saw the letters, P.M. after the time, I knew the entry had been faked. No detective making notes on a night stake-out would write P.M. after the hour.

  "I reproach myself for not seeing it sooner."

  "On the other hand," Judge Talent said, "the Court compliments you on a masterly cross-examination and on your quick thinking."

  The judge turned to the prosecutor.

  "The case against the defendant is dismissed, and I think we had better take the witness, Dillard, into custody for perjury and a suspicion of homicide; although I have a feeling that he is probably telling the truth and the actual blow was struck in self-defense.

  "Court's adjourned."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Mason, Della Street, Paul Drake and Dianne Alder sat in the bedroom of Mason's suite at the hotel.

  Della Street said, "I can't hold off the press much longer, Chief. They're milling around there in the living room and it's taking more than cocktails to hold them in line. They want information."

  Mason looked at Dianne. "What do we do, Dianne?"

  Dianne took a deep breath. "As far as my father is concerned, he has repudiated me. I loved him at one time. I feel very fond of him now, but I recognize his weaknesses.

  "As far as the woman who is living with him is concerned, she is a woman. She has problems of her own. She has built up a social position here and I don't want to sweep that out from under her."

  Again she took a deep breath, then smiled at Mason. "I'm returning to Bolero Beach," she said. "I came up here as Dianne Alder, a model, and I'm going back to Bolero Beach as Dianne Alder.

  "You can make whatever settlement you want to with my… my father."

  "You don't want to see him?"

  She blinked back tears. "He doesn't want to see me," she said, "and I can realize that it's dangerous for him to do so. I have no desire to wipe out the happiness of other people."

  Mason nodded to Della Street. "That does it," he said. "We'll go out and give the reporters a statement."

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