Im hoping that some day the public will awaken to the importance of having highly competent, specially trained forensic pathologists available in sufficient numbers to do a good job.
Dr. Myers doesnt care what title is given him or whether the person in charge of investigating deaths is called a coroner, a medical examiner, or a sheriff, just so that person has available a highly trained, duly certified forensic pathologist, and understands enough of the problems of homicide so that the evidence remains undisturbed until the forensic pathologist has a chance to evaluate it.
This is good philosophy. It means a lot more to you and to me and to our loved ones than we seem to realize.
And so I dedicate this book to my friend:
RICHARD O. MYERS, MD.
ERLE STANLEY GARDNER
Cast of Characters
SUE FISHER Endicott Campbells confidential secretary at Corning Mining, Smelting and Investment Company, she was quick to see the difference between a hundred-dollar bill and a ten-dollar bill but she hadnt learned that the hand is quicker than the eye
CARLETON CAMPBELL Endicott Campbells young son, he wasnt big enough to know that if the shoe didnt fit he was better off not trying to wear it
ELIZABETH DOW Carltons horsy, greedy, self-centered governess, she couldnt wait for her ship to come in so she tried flying now and paying
AMELIA CORNING Cornings arthritic spinster owner, she knew that an apple a day didnt always keep the doctor away but she also knew that every dog has his day
ENDICOTT CAMPBELL The overbearing little manager of Amelia Cornings business, a penny saved was too little earned in his books
PAUL DRAKE Perry Masons tall, dark and handsome detective associate, he ran interference while Perry carried the ball
PERRY MASON A fast man with a clue, the police could run circles around him but he still managed to keep one jump ahead of them
PERRY MASON A fast man with a clue, the police could run circles around him but he still managed to keep one jump ahead of them
DELLA STREET Perrys secretary and long-time fiancée, she kept the spark alive by keeping just enough irons in the fire
KEN LOWRY Manager of the Mojave Monarch mine, a loss in Amelia Cornings books, he insisted a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush until he discovered that if you could sing it didnt mean you could also fly
SOPHIA ELLIOTT Miss Cornings widowed sister, she wore the pants in the family without paying much attention to the fact that in such an outfit a good man was especially hard to find
ALFREDO GOMEZ Introduced as Amelia Cornings business agent from south of the Equator, one look at the slick, mustachioed gentleman made people beg, South America, take it away!
LT. TRAGG The dour officer from Homicide, he was for motherhood and against sin, and he proved it by giving Perry a very painless break
FRANK GOLDEN Proprietor of the We Rent M Car Company, he testified he had rented Car Number 19 at six-thirty and ten-thirty on Sunday the fourth, but there was some doubt that he knew his numbers
HAMILTON BURGER Perrys adversary at the bench, the district attorney was becoming more and more apoplectic with every day in court
CARLOTTA AMES JACKSON A snippy nervous busybody, she was only a chambermaid in a hotel but she knew more than the desk clerk
CINDY HASTINGS A not especially merciful nurse, she looked enough like Amelia Corning to be her sister but could she pay the same bills?
Chapter 1
Sue Fisher had to sign the register in the office-building elevator because it was Saturday morning and all of the offices were closed.
Sue had been looking forward to a restful weekend, but a wire announcing that Amelia Corning was due to arrive from South America on Monday morning necessitated a lot of last-minute statements and reports which she had been unable to get together by quitting time Friday night. So she had promised Endicott Campbell, manager of the Corning Mining, Smelting & Investment Company, that she would come in Saturday morning, finish typing the reports, and have everything on his desk so that the statements would be available the first thing Monday morning.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that in addition to an arthritic condition which confined her to a wheelchair, Amelia Corning was rapidly losing her eyesight. In fact, there were rumors from South America that she had already lost her vision to such an extent that she could only tell the difference between light and dark, and people were hazy, blurred figures whose features were indistinguishable.
Susan Fisher had been with the firm for more than a year and knew Amelia Corning only by her stiff, cramped signature which from time to time appeared at the bottom of irascible letters of brief instructions.
By ten-thirty, when Sue Fisher was well immersed in her work, she heard the patter of running feet, then the sound of knuckles on the door and a childish treble saying, Oh, Miss Sue, Miss Sue.
For a moment, Sue Fishers face softened. Then she frowned with annoyance. Carleton Campbell, the bosss seven-year-old son, worshipped the ground she walked on and Sue, in turn, was strangely drawn to the youngster. But Elizabeth Dow, the governess, was, Sue felt, more and more inclined to wish off some of her responsibilities and disciplinary problems on Sues shoulders.