Free The Case of the Sulky Girl by Erle Stanley Gardner Page A

Mason. "Devoe wouldn't have had time to get to the room, have a quarrel with the man, and work himself up into the frenzy of rage necessary to result in murder. Furthermore, the clews which were planted, and were for the purpose of directing suspicion toward a couple of burglars, indicate the murderer knew the logical motive for the killing was that of robbery."
    Judge Purley fidgeted uncomfortably. He seemed struggling with the desire to make a statement, and a reluctance to do so. Perry Mason watched him as a sailing hawk might study a sloping hillside.
    "Well," said Judge Purley, at length, "I must say, counselor, that you have done a very nice bit of reasoning. I wasn't supposed to mention it, but inasmuch as you seem to know, there can be no harm in my confirming your suspicions, or perhaps I should say, your deductions."
    "The motive, then," asked Perry Mason, "was robbery?"
    "The motive was robbery," said Judge Purley.
    "Money?" asked Mason.
    "A very large sum of money. Mr. Norton had on his person at the time of his death, something over forty thousand dollars in currency. That money was in a wallet in his inside pocket. When the body was found, the pockets had been rifled and the wallet was gone. That is, it had been lifted from the inside pocket and lay near the body, empty."
    "Were any of the other pockets disturbed?" asked Perry Mason.
    "Yes. They had all been turned wrong side out," Judge Purley said.
    "Have the police found any of the money?" asked the lawyer.
    "That is something which probably won't come out until later, counselor," said Judge Purley. "But I don't mind telling you in confidence that they have. They found two one thousand dollar bills in Devoe's trouser pocket. Those bills can be identified by their numbers as being part of the currency which Norton had in his possession, and Devoe has made the mistake of stating, in his maudlin way, that he doesn't have any idea how the bills got there."
    "Has it been brought out why Norton had such a large sum of cash in his possession?" Mason wanted to know.
    Judge Purley started to speak, then checked himself.
    "I think, counselor," he said, "that I have given you all of the information which I should give you. After all, your interest in this matter, while it is parallel with that of the police, is not, of course, identical. Much of the information which was given to me was given to me in confidence because of my judicial position, and I do not think that I should disseminate it carelessly."
    There was a faint twinkle of amusement in the eyes of the attorney as he surveyed the ponderous form of the magistrate. Judge Purley radiated a sense of exaggerated self-importance.
    "Of course, judge," said Perry Mason, "one must understand and respect your position. I didn't want you to think I was merely curious. I was trying to get a mental picture of what had happened. I am advised by the interested parties that I will be in charge of the estate, and, under those circumstances, I wanted to have complete information."
    "That's true, of course," said Judge Purley, nodding his head, "and that's the reason that I gave you as much of the inside information as I did. You will, however, counselor, regard it as strictly confidential."
    "Oh yes, of course," said Perry Mason, and there was just a trace of mockery in his voice, which caused the judge to took up quickly. But the face of the lawyer was bland and innocent.

CHAPTER NINE
    SUN streamed in through the window of the room, and shone upon Edward Norton's massive desk.
    A police representative sprawled in one of the chairs, a cigarette drooping from his lips, a pencil poised over a notebook. Don Graves, the efficient secretary of the dead man, checked off the documents.
    The furniture in the room was in exactly the same position it had occupied the night of the murder. According to police orders, things were to be disturbed as little as possible.
    Perry Mason, as the attorney representing the interested parties, was