"What good will that do?" Drake asked. "You know she had the opportunity because she did it. There must have been sufficient time for the murder to have been committed because she did go to the yacht and she did fire the bullet from that gun-if the district attorney's theory is right and you switched guns on her-and I take it that the theory is right."

"Take any theory you want to," Mason said. "I'm not making any admissions-not yet."

"Well, I can give you the time she checked in at the motel," Drake said. "It was at eleven-fifty, Tuesday night."

Mason nodded to Della Street. "Let's get our work sheets, Della. Let's see what time she left the office."

Della Street opened the date book to the date, ran down the page of the date book and said, "She arrived here at nine-twenty on the morning of Wednesday the tenth and left at nine-forty-five."

Mason said, "Mrs. Ellis was alive Wednesday morning. Her husband saw her early that morning."

"She couldn't have committed the crime after seven on Wednesday evening," Drake said, "because we had a bodyguard on the job. She was virtually under surveillance. Moreover, she went to the motel in a taxicab Tuesday night. Wednesday morning she went out before the manager saw her. Presumably she went to the bus station, took a bus and then a cab to your office. She left your office, took a bus back to Costa Mesa and then a taxi to the motel.

"We've traced her on the journey back to Costa Mesa and there's no question of the time schedule there. The manager is certain she didn't leave the motel again Wednesday afternoon, and then our bodyguards were on the job.

"So she must have killed Mrs. Ellis on the yacht between 6:oo A.M. Wednesday when the evidence shows Mrs. Ellis left for the yacht, and the time she would have had to have taken a bus to get to your office Wednesday morning."

"Provided she took a bus," Mason said. "She could have used taxicabs, and stopped by the yacht club long enough to have committed the murder and then gone to my office."

Drake said, "Ten to one, Perry, that's exactly what she did, and Hamilton Burger is going to come up with the cabdrivers who will identify her."

Mason was thoughtful. "You had men watching the unit of the motel. You were guarding against people who might have tried to hurt her, but she wasn't under surveillance."

Drake shook his head. "There was only one door in that motel unit, Perry. My men were watching to see that no one went in who might intend to make trouble and, by the same sign, they can also be sure that no one went out."

"Your men are thoroughly dependable?" Mason asked.

"The best."

"And they keep records?"

"Just like your own time records," Drake said.

"The men didn't leave for anything?"

"Not a thing," Drake said. "There were two men on the job. When one of them would go to report or powder his nose, the other man would be there waiting. You told me you wanted a one-hundred per cent job of bodyguarding and you got a one-hundred per cent job of bodyguarding."

"And when I went out there," Mason said. "I told you to dismiss the bodyguards."

"You told me to dismiss the bodyguards, but Mrs. Ellis was dead by that time-that was shortly before Ellen Robb was arrested."

A slow smile twitched at the corners of Paul Drake's mouth. "Perhaps," he said, "you can get Hamilton Burger's theory fouled up on the time element but… He let his voice trail into silence, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Exactly," Mason said. "Your mind has run up against the fact that the proof is mathematical. The bullet was fired from that gun. If I gave her that gun, Paul, she fired the bullet from it after I gave it to her. And she simply had to have had time to fire the bullet, regardless of when she fired the bullet."

"But if Nadine Ellis was dead at the time the second bullet was fired," Drake said, "the crime is simply that of desecrating a corpse. That's only a misdemeanor. It may not be that."

"You're forgetting the implications," Mason said. "If she knew where the body was and if she went and fired a second bullet into it, it was because she had committed the murder and was taking advantage of this legal technicality she overheard me discuss over the telephone."

Mason looked at his wrist watch, sighed, and said, "Well, this is the end of a perfect day, Paul. We're going to have to leave for court in order to be there at eight o'clock. As long as I can find some way to crossexamine Ellis, I can stall off the fatal blow, but the minute I quit asking him questions Burger will call me as a.witness and then I'm all washed up-and the worst of it is Judge Keyser knows exactly what the score is and doesn't intend to let me stall. I've got to use all my ingenuity to prolong this case until I can figure out some way of keeping off that witness stand."

Mason helped Della Street on with her coat, switched off the lights.

As they went out the door Paul Drake said, "I know now how a fellow feels when they come to get him on the day of the execution and start leading him along the last mile to the gas chamber."

"Nice feeling, isn't it?" Della Street said.

Mason might not have heard them. His eyes thoughtful, he walked toward the elevators with the same steady rhythm that had marked his pacing of the office floor.

Judge Keyser surveyed the crowded courtroom with stern eyes as he stood at the bench. Then he seated himself, and the bailiff said, "Be seated."

Hamilton Burger arose. "Your Honor," he said, "pursuant to the understanding and the demand of defense counsel, George Anclitas has here in this brief case the three weapons from his place of business.

"I wish to submit to the Court that one of these guns which have been produced is of some significant evidentiary value in the case, because it now appears that one of these guns fired the other bullet which was taken from the body of Nadine Ellis.

"If the Court please, since there is no jury here, I am going to state to the Court certain facts in connection with these guns.

"We have in evidence the gun which was found in the yacht, the Cap's Eyes. This gun was the one which was purchased by George Anclitas' partner and given to Helman Ellis by George Anclitas. We will call this the Ellis gun. It is Exhibit E in this case.

"We also have the revolver, Exhibit B, which was found in the possession of the defendant.

"Now, just in order to keep the records straight, I wish to state that during the recess the ballistics expert, Alexander Redfield, fired test bullets from the three guns which were in the possession of George Anclitas. This was done for the purpose of protecting our interests in the case. It is a well-known fact that when he is defending a client in a murder case Mr. Perry Mason can juggle guns around so that the Court, the witnesses and the issues become confused. We don't want that to happen in this case.

"Now then I will state that, to the surprise of the prosecution, it turns out that one of these guns in the possession of George Anclitas did fire the bullet which was recovered from the body of Nadine Ellis and which bullet is in evidence as People's Exhibit C-i.

"Despite the fact the barrel has since been defaced, we are in a position to show that this is the same gun which was submitted to Maurice Halstead for test purposes, that it was in the possession of Mr. Perry Mason; that is, it was given to Maurice Halstead by Paul Drake, a detective employed by Perry Mason in this case.

"This gives us three weapons which are either involved in the case or which will be involved in the case. That leaves two more weapons which are not involved in any way in the case, and I now suggest that the Court make an order releasing George Anclitas from further attendance and releasing him from any obligation in response to a defense subpoena duces tecum to bring those guns into court.