Free The Case of the Lazy Lover by Erle Stanley Gardner Page A

to cover the places where they could have holed up for the night."
    "What about the near auto courts?"
    "what do you mean `near'?"
    "Right around here."
    "Have a heart, Perry. There are too many of those. We're picking up the ones within about a hundred miles and…"
    "We're overlooking a bet," Maser interrupted.
    "What do you mean?"
    Mason said, "Allred spent Saturday night in the motel in Springfield. He also spent yesterday night in that motel. I have a hunch Mrs. Allred won't stay in a motel with Fleetwood unless her husband is there. That means it has to be someplace within two or three hours' drive. Check the motels in Springfield again. Check the near ones, Paul."
    "We can't do it, Perry'. There are just too darn many of them around the city, too many different roads that…"
    "That's all right. Put your Springfield man on the job. Check the courts in Springfield. Check the ones that are on the roads near Springfield."
    "Okay," Drake said wearily. "We'll try and do the best we can, Perry."
    Mason hung up and began pacing the floor, until after almost an hour, wearied by the sheer physical exertion, he flung himself once more into the big chair under the reading light. He was restless, nervous, and frowning and irritable. Two more hours found him dozing.
    The phone rang again.
    Mason jerked the receiver from its cradle, said, "Yes, what is it?"
    Paul Drake said, "My face is red, Perry."
    "Shoot."
    "You called a turn. Frankly, the possibility hadn't occurred to me."
    "Of the near-by auto camp? You mean you've located them?"
    "Yes."
    "Where?"
    "It's a little place and it's only about thirty-five miles from Springfield. It's up in the mountains, on the road that cuts across the high mountain range and comes down to the desert on the other side. This place is a little auto court known as the Snug-Rest Auto Court. The registration is the same as it was in Springfield, R. G. Fleetwood and sister."
    "The accommodations?"
    "Double cabin with three beds."
    "Mrs. Allred's car there?"
    I don't know, Perry, whether it's there right now or not, but the license number is her license number. It's the party we want, all right."
    "Why don't you know whether the car's there now or not, Paul?"
    "Because my man isn't up there. He's at Springfield. He couldn't possibly have covered all the different roads except by telephone, and he's been telephoning every auto court asking them to give him a list of reservations that were made any time during the day."
    "How long will it take us to get there?"
    "Right around three hours, Perry."
    "We're on our way!" Mason told him excitedly. "I'll drive down and pick you up. Stick a gun in your pocket."
    "Going to take Della?"
    "No. The party may be rough."
    "Want my man to go up and wait, keeping them under observation?"
    "No. He may tip them off. Tell him to stay on the job in Springfield. We may want to call him for something there."
    "How soon will you be here?"
    "Damn near as soon as you can get downstairs," Mason said, hanging up the phone and grabbing his hat and coat from the chair.
    His car was parked in front of the apartment building, fully serviced. Mason made time to the office building where Paul Drake, his thin frame wrapped in a heavy overcoat, climbed protestingly into the car.
    "For the love of mike, Perry, have a heart! Don't scare me to dead getting there; and try to keep four wheels on the ground on some of the curves. That road from Springfield up over the mountains is a humdinger. Ever been over it?"
    "Three or four times," Mason said.
    "Well, it's a bad one. You go right straight up. You follow a stream for a ways and then zig-zag the side of a canyon until you hit the plateau country on top. It's a damn mean road."
    "Then hang on," Mason said. "I'll try to get you there in one piece."
    "What's the hurry?" Drake asked.
    Mason said, "I have a hunch there's more to this than appears on the surface, Paul. I'm not too certain but what Allred isn't planning to pull a fast one."
    "You