Perry Mason had been at work at his desk all day and had been wondering what Dr. Kennedy had found at the mine. Paul had called and told Della and him that he had told him that he didn't want to be disturbed and would let them know when he found something. It was late and once again he had found himself working past six again.
Paul had been busy at the county records office and had now arrived at the bed and breakfast. He had been able to find out who had owned the property before the two women . The mayor had sold the property Ann and Allen from the bed and breakfast. The mine entrance that was located on the land had not been used since the year 1915.
Lisa and Bonnie had been waiting anxiously all day for the news on the mine. Bonnie had left for a while and done some shopping, but other than that they had both been waiting all day. They had been a nervous wreck wondering about the land and the money that they could have. But as the day turned into dusk and Dr. Kennedy was not around, Paul became concerned.
By eight that evening the doctor had not shown up and Paul decided to go up to the mine and check on him. As he pulled up to the property he found Dr. Kennedy's car still in the same place that it had been when Paul had left him earlier that afternoon. As Paul went into the mine he called his name and got no response. As he came around the corner he found Dr. Kennedy dead and the shovel lying next to him.
That was when Paul immediately went out to his car and called the police. He knew that Dr. Kennedy had been murdered and that it had been a while because of the condition of his body. As he met with the police he went down to the mine once more and showed them where Dr. Kennedy had been. The police took many pictures and called the coroner.
In the meantime Paul went back to his car and placed a call to Perry Mason. Perry and Della had just started out the door when the phone rang. Della and Perry turned and Della picked up the phone. Paul was on the phone and as she handed the phone to Perry his expression changed quickly. He told Paul. "All right keep me in touch please"
Della looked at her boss as he hung up the phone and said "Dr. Kennedy has been murdered. Paul found him in the mine on Bonnie and Lisa's property. The police are with him right now. They think he was murdered somewhere around three hours ago."
Della was surprised and upset by the news. She and Perry had been friends with Dr. Kennedy for years. She knew his wife and children . She would be giving them a call. 'What a terrible thing.' she thought to herself.
When Paul finally got back to the bed and breakfast he found Lisa and Bonnie along with Ann and Allen. Word of the murder had spread like wildfire through the small town. There had not been a murder in the town since the 1930's.
Paul was now in investigative mode full time. He had seen that some of the material that Dr. Kennedy had been working on in his car. But, the police now had the car in their custody. Paul had asked the police to make sure that the material that the Doctor had put in the car were tested. The examples might give them an idea for the motive for the murders.
Police Chief Craig Patch had been busy all day looking into the murder. He had called in the state police to help him and his department do the investigation properly. There was now the problem of the murder along with the claim of gold being out here once again. He had grown up in the town and had heard the many stories of the gold that was still out here in the barren part of town. But he had never believed it. That was until the mayor and his father had come to the bank carrying gold.
Jared Jenkins was a worried man. He had seen the body. Oh he didn't kill that doctor. Why would he do that? But someone had killed him, and he knew that he and his son Grant were going to be prime suspects. He knew that Paul was going to tell him how he had caught him doing some mining on the women's property. But, he and his son had offered a fair price for the property. After all, he was not sure if the property had gold or not.
As Jared walked up and down the living room he saw Grant coming up the driveway. Jared was sure that his son knew all about the murder. He also knew that he had seen his father trespassing on the women's property. He was sure that Grant thought that he had been the one who had killed Dr. Kennedy..
As the mayor of the small town Grant Jenkins was now a nervous man himself. His father had been telling everyone around town about his discovery of gold on their property and now there had been a murder. As he took a seat on the couch he asked his father "Dad I need to know did you kill that man?"
Jared laughed "Why on Earth would I do that ? Of course not. But the trouble is I did see the body . I panicked and didn't tell anyone. He must have been killed sometime around four. I left at five and didn't see him. I didn't see any other cars either. That road is a long and dusty one and if there had been someone on the road I would have seen them." Jared told his son.
Jus then the mayor and his father heard a car in the driveway. It was the state police and they were there to ask the two men some tough questions.
