Along with defending his client Perry knocks chips off shoulders and deflates pompous egotists for more courtroom fun. This case is in the small ski resort town of Bear Valley.
A scream in the night and the sound of breaking glass. San Burris gets curious. His nosy wife Betsy gets a telescope to spy on the neighbor’s cabin. It’s owned by playboy Arthur Cushing. He’s in a wheelchair ever since breaking his ankle skiing.
The scream also got the attention of Belle Adrian. She knows her daughter Carlotta was with Arthur watching some home movies of their ski trip. She doesn’t see Carlotta’s car in the garage and goes over to the Cushing cabin. Arthur has a bullet in him and there’s glass all over the floor.
Belle thinks Carlotta killed Arthur and she cleans the place up leaving no trace of Carlotta’s visit. Through the telescope Sam sees her. When she leaves he goes over. When Belle gets back home she sees Carlotta is asleep. When she wakes up she tells Belle that she slapped wolfy Arthur a couple times and walked out. Her car has a flat and she had to leave it on the road. In the glove compartment was her lawyer friend’s gun.
Sam tells Belle she better get a lawyer. Just so happens Perry Mason is in a client’s cabin on vacation. Belle goes to see him thinking she’ll hire him to defend Carlotta. Turns out Belle will be Perry’s client.
Perry calls in Paul Drake to take down the license plate of every car he and his men see. Sounds useless but Perry has his reasons. Before it’s all over he has to deal with a local D.A. who is out to get the big city lawyer and Carlotta’s lawyer friend who has a huge chip on his shoulder.
This is one of the better Mason books and defintely worth reading.
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