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Mason picked up his knife and fork, divided the ham steak in half, put a piece on Della Street 's plate, one on his own, and gave his attention to the ham and eggs.
"Well?" Della Street asked.
"Dia
"She has a striking figure," Della Street said.
Mason nodded.
"She might be described as whistle bait," Della Street went on.
"Well?" Mason asked.
"Do you suppose the party of the first part is completely unaware of these things?"
Mason said, "In the course of my legal career I've seen quite a few approaches. I've never seen one quite like this, if that's what the party of the first part has in mind."
"In the course of my secretarial career," Della Street said demurely, "I've seen them all, but this is a new one.",
"According to the letter of that contract," Mason said, "if Dia
"Marrying a million dollars is not one of the normal occupational hazards of a legal secretary in a relatively small beach town," Della Street said.
Suddenly Mason snapped his fingers.
"You've got it?" Della Street asked.
"I have an explanation," Mason said. "I don't know whether it's the explanation but it's quite an explanation."
"What?" Della Street asked. "This thing has me completely baffled."
Mason said, "Let us suppose that the party of the first part, this Harrison T. Boring, whoever he may be, is acquainted with some very wealthy and rather eccentric person-some person who is quite impressionable as far as a certain type of voluptuous blonde beauty is concerned.
"Let us further suppose Boring has been scouting around, looking for just the girl he wants. He's been spending the summer on the beaches, looking them over in bathing suits. He's picked Dia
"Wait a minute," Della Street interjected. "If Dia
"I know, I know," Mason said, brushing her levity aside. "But this individual has particular and rather peculiar tastes. He's very wealthy and he likes young women with lots of corn-fed beauty, not fat but, as Dia
"Probably some old goat," Della Street said, her eyes narrowing.
"Sure, why not?" Mason said. "Perhaps some rich old codger who is trying to turn back the hands of the clock. Perhaps he had a love affair with a blonde who was exceptionally voluptuous and yet at the same time had the frank, blue-eyed gaze that characterizes Dia
"So Boring makes a contract with Dia
"Any one of several things can happen. Either the pigeon becomes involved with Dia
"And then," Della Street asked, "Boring would be getting fifty per cent of Dia
"Then," Mason said, "comes the proviso that any money she receives within the time limit of the contract, whether by inheritance, descent, bequest or devise, is considered part of her gross income. Boring arranges that the wealthy husband leads a short but happy life, and Dia
Della Street thought that over for a moment. "Well, what do you know," she said.
"And that," Mason said, "explains the peculiar optional extension provisions of the contract. It can run for two years, four years or six years at the option of the party of the first part. Quite evidently he hopes that the matter will be all concluded with the two-year period, but in the event it isn't and the husband should be more resistant than he anticipates, he can renew the contract for another two years, and if the husband still manages to survive the perils of existence for that fouryear period, he can still renew for another two years."
"And where," Della Street asked, "would that leave Dia
"No, no, not that," Mason said. "He couldn't afford to."
"Why not?"
"Because," Mason pointed out, "a murderer can't inherit from his victim. Therefore Boring has to manipulate things in such a way that the wealthy husband dies what seems to be a natural death. Or, if murdered, that some other person has to be the murderer. Dia
"With that much involved, wouldn't the contract be contested on the grounds of public policy, undue influence and a lot of other things?"
"Sure it would," Mason said, "but with that much involved and with a contract of this sort in the background, Dia
"In other words," Della Street said, "Harrison T. Boring walked down the beaches looking for a precise type of feminine beauty. When his eyes lit on Dia
"Bear in mind," Mason said thoughtfully, "that there are certain other things. Dia
"Usually a girl with Dia
"I see that Dia
Mason's eyes were level-lidded with concentration. "What has Dia
"Very little. She knows very little.
"Dia
"Unescorted?" Mason asked.
"She tried to be. She wanted exercise. The average man who wanted to swim with her wasn't particularly keen on that sort of exercise; in fact, very few of them could keep up with her. She walked and ran and swam and, of course, acquired a delightful sun tan.
"Since women of that build like to admire themselves in the nude in front of mirrors, and are painfully conscious of the white streaks which mar the smooth sun tan where convention decrees a minimum of clothing should be worn, Dia