Note: Now we finally get to see the lady detective in this chapter. She will tell us more about the thrift store shooting with George.

It was getting closer to 2:15. Cindy McCarey had never met Perry Mason before, so this was her chance. She did remember George's last name was Mason, and so this probably gave her an idea Perry was his son.

"Cindy?"

"Yes, Adam?"

"Would you mind giving Perry a message for me?"

"Sure. What's the message?"

"We need to get together again sometime."

"I'll tell him and thank you for saying something," Cindy told him.

"Thank you, Cindy. I'm thinking of leaving the office early."

"Are you all right, Adam?"

"I'm fine, but didn't get much sleep last night."

"Go home now and I'll take care of everything else."

"i don't know what I'd do without you, Cindy. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"What can I tell him about George? That was so long ago. How can people at that time remember who George Mason was?" Cindy asked herself as she locked her office door and headed to the parking lot.

She worked with Adam Smith since he had his own detective agency, and has been there since he started it. She didn't know Alexander Benson, but just the name as well.

Cindy knew how to get to Perry's office, so there was no need to ask for directions.

"Why would his son want to take over a case that never got solved? That doesn't make sense to me," Cindy said.

Cindy McCarey had always shown interest in this kind of work ever since she was growing up, and now look where she is - her dream.

Cindy was somewhere in her 50s, so she's old enough to remember a case George Mason worked on before he stepped down to raise his child when he announced that he was quitting.

Cindy had always gotten along with Adam Smith, so it was a good thing she stayed with him until today.

Cindy was able to make it before 2:15 that afternoon to chat with Perry. When she walked in, Cindy saw Paul was there with him. Della was somewhere else so he could have some privacy with Cindy. Della's nice enough to do that.

Perry and Paul both heard Cindy knock on the door.

"I'll get it, Perry."

"Thank you, Paul," he said.

Perry hasn't been up from his desk in a while, but ate lunch there as usual.

"Perry, when was the last time you got up?" Paul asked when he opened the door for Cindy.

"Are you Cindy McCarey?" Paul asked.

"Yes. You're Paul Drake, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I don't know, Paul. For a long time."

"Do you want me to stay or leave?"

"You can stay unless you want to hang out with Della."

"I'll hang out here. I will go tell Della Cindy's here."

Both Perry and Paul saw Cindy was a brunette with hazel eyes. Her hair was light brown, but it wasn't thick.

"Why don't you take a seat, Cindy?" Perry asked, helping her to a chair.

"Thank you, Perry. I knew I would find your office without any problems."

"Where do you work? I remember Paul saying you're an investigator like he is."

"Yes, I'm a private investigator, Mr. Mason. I have a message for you."

"From who?"

"My boss."

"You mean Adam Smith?"

"Yes."

"Give me his message."

"He wants to get together again sometime soon."

"Thank you. Tell him to come up with something and we'll do it."

Before they were about to begin their conversation, the phone rang.

Good thing Paul and Della were close to the phone than he was.

"Perry Mason's office," he heard Della say.

"He's here, but in a meeting. May I take a message?"

Paul rejoined them.

"Della's taking a call for you, Perry."

"I heard, Paul. Did you tell her you'll be here with us?"

"Yes, I did, and that's when the phone started to ring."

"Thank you, Paul. Tell him what you just told me, Ms. McCarey."

"Just call me Cindy. I work with Adam Smith," she repeated so that way Paul could hear also.

"Adam Smith? How did he pick you up to work with him?" Paul asked.

"That was sometime after George Mason couldn't solve that case and Adam opened his own detective agency and I've been there since."

"This is why I had Paul reach out to you, Cindy. I'm representing Ada Mason."

"How is she?"

"Not doing so well. What case do you want to share with me?"

Cindy was in her 50s, so she still had a lot of work to do until she's ready to retire.

"I heard from my boss that you were interested in solving that case with the retail store that George was involved in."

"Yes, I am. Ada is a witness to the case."

"No way. Sorry, Perry."

"You don't have to apologize, Cindy. These things happen. Tell me what you remember."

"All right. I worked with George at that time. I'm sure Adam said something about that to you."

"Yes, he did. Please continue, Cindy."

"I guess this was the message Adam wanted me to give out."

"I'm listening," Perry said as the phone continued to ring a few more times.

Good thing Della stayed there. Those calls can wait another time.

Della showed up for a bit.

"Paul, there's a phone call for you."

"Thank you, Della."

"Della, this is Cindy McCarey. Cindy, this is my secretary, Della Street."

"Nice to meet you," they both said.

"Is there anything you'd like, Cindy?"

"A glass of water would be good and thank you, Della."

"You're welcome. What about you, Perry?"

"Same, but ice water."

"I'll get right to it."

"I'm sure you remember Ada Mason."

"What about her do I remember her for?"

"She said that she remembers seeing you a few times. This could be a big help to this case if anybody else remembered the time of the shooting started at that Goodwill store."

"I can't say I remember your mother, Perry, but I think I saw her outside waiting for somebody. Could be George, but I'm not sure. I could be wrong about the description."

"What did she look like?" Perry asked.

"I think she looked like you, but I could be wrong."

"Of course I take after her, but I don't have much of George. I don't think Ada isn't answering any questions yet. We're still working on reconciliation."

"Sorry, Perry. I can tell you all I remember about the shooting."

"I heard some of these names at that time are no longer alive."

"That's right. I didn't know much about your father, except for the case my boss worked on with him. I only learned from him."

"Did he say anything about children being involved around when the shooting began?"

"I think so. I thought you heard everything from him."

"I don't think I have, but I will need to talk with another investigator Paul was able to track down."

That's when Paul and Della arrived.

"You can listen in, Della, as long as the phone isn't so busy."

"Thank you, Perry. Tragg and the Pattersons called."

"I'll take care of them later."

"Who are the Pattersons?" Cindy asked.

"I know you must have followed my case with the car accident I was involved in."

"Yes, I did follow it. Hope you recover sooner rather than later, Perry."

"I still haven't heard when the doctor wants me to drive a car again."

"You mean the one who's in jail?"

"Yes. My own doctor has talked with him, but I don't know what his answer will be yet."

"That happens. My boss did want me to bring this over," Cindy said, giving Perry a file.

"What's the file for?"

"It's the one from your father's case, Perry. I don't know if you saw it or not."

"What is it?" Della asked.

"Wait until you see, Della."

So he opened the file and found a picture of the shooting and an article. It was the name of the article that Paul found.

"What's this picture in here for, Cindy?"

"I don't know. Maybe you already knew about it."

He looked at the picture. George was in there, all right. He looked like he was being taken into the hospital in the picture, but looked like he was bleeding for a while.

"Perry, are you all right?" Della asked.

"Take a look at this," he said, handing it to her.

Even Paul bent down for a closer look.

"I don't see that in my copy, Perry. You might want to show this to Tragg."

"I plan to. Maybe he knows about this picture."

Of course the picture was black and white. Perry couldn't get a close look at the gun his father had when the shooting happened.

He planned to take it home and show Ada and see if she's seen that picture before. If not, that's okay.

"Do you know Tragg?" Perry asked Cindy.

"I've met him a few times, but not to work with. Maybe Adam might know him. He left the office as soon as I did. He sounded tired when I was going to leave."

"Maybe it's because of all the work he's done in the past," Paul replied.

"You can be right. I don't know when he'll step down," Cindy said.

"What else can you tell us about George?" Perry asked.

"What do you want to know, Perry? I thought you knew that stuff by now about him," Cindy told Perry.

"I know I should, but I didn't learn about it until recently. I knew he was a lawyer too."

"But he really didn't give you much information about what he did?" Cindy asked.

"No. Somehow it never came up. Maybe you should come with us to the police station and we can show this to Tragg. How does that sound, Cindy?" Perry asked.

"Fine with me. Does he know you're working on one of your father's cases?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, he does. There is some information the police is taking care of that Paul and I can't."

"That makes sense. My boss did say you were asking questions about children being involved in a shooting like this in a retail store."

"Yes, I have. The car accident I was part of had a couple of children, but it was mostly from the people who hit my car. I remember seeing two children, but they only left one behind."

"That's too bad, Perry. Where are they now?" Cindy asked.

"Back home. They thought that they only remembered having one child in a foster home. I keep in touch with them also."

"That's nice of you to do that, Perry. Why would you keep in touch with them for?"

"Just in case the child's parents decide to come back and think they missed something or someone."

"I would have never thought of that. Is this where the police come in?"

"Yes. Ada's been a big help in this case so far, since she and Della have found some files I would be interested in."

"Was the shooter a friend or classmate?" Cindy asked.

"I don't know, but my mother guessed that also."

"I'm sure she did."

"I asked her if he kept any yearbooks so the case could help us out by getting it done. I told her she would have made a great secretary."

"I'm sure she would. Even I wouldn't have thought about the guess of yearbook thing," Perry," Cindy told him.

"Why don't we go pay a visit to Tragg?" Perry asked.

"I would call him first, Perry. He did ask for you when Cindy walked in," Della said.

"Thank you for saying something about him. Glad you were able to find this picture of the shooting, Cindy."

"No problem, Perry. Maybe I can work at the police station when Adam steps down."

"I don't think so, Cindy. It was nice of him to hire you and help work on this case."

Perry made the quick call to the police department and then they were on their way.

"Perry, let me drive. You need to look at the newspaper article Adam wanted me to share with you."

"Cindy, I accept your offer to the police department. Paul, Della, do you want to tag along as well?"

"Yes, Perry. We want to see the look on Tragg's face when he sees the picture and the article," Paul replied.

"I'll drive, Della."

"Thank you, Paul. You're okay going with Cindy?" Paul asked.

"Yes. Then I can read this thing."

They didn't say much on the way to the police station since Perry was reading the newspaper article that Paul and Cindy have shown him. It made sense to have George's name not being mentioned, but Perry wondered how the store manager knew there was a lawyer and what was he doing at a Goodwill store?

"Cindy, this was the same article my investigator gave me."

"I didn't know you saw it before."

"Not until today. I'm sure the police will ask that same question."

"Which is what?" she asked.

"What is a lawyer doing in a Goodwill store?"

"A wonderful question, Perry."

"I know it is. I could ask that at court when it gets closer."

"There might not be a court date, Perry. Some of us aren't alive anymore."

"I bet you there is going to be a court date, Cindy. I told my mother and Paul that."

"What were their reactions?" Cindy asked.

"Paul thought I sound positive about having one. I just want everybody there to hear all of this stuff."

"I understand, but sorry your mother had to be a witness."

"Since she is one, she still isn't answering my questions. Even Della said her counselor friend is interested in coming to the court date so she could see for herself why we haven't talked in the past couple months since that's when he was murdered."

"What happened there?" Cindy asked.

"I know it's personal, but I don't think I will share with you."

"I understand, Perry. Sorry if I asked a personal question."

"That's all right. I had a few contest winners at the time he was murdered ask her a personal question and she wouldn't answer. My mother still believes I think she was the one who murdered my father. But she didn't."

"That means you're on her side when she thinks you aren't?"

"Exactly. Della somehow thought it was a good idea we see a counselor. My mother prefers women, which makes sense."

"I hope things will get better when this case is solved."

"I hope so," Perry agreed.

They finally made it to the police station.

"This is the place, right?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, it is. I see Della and Paul behind us," he said, looking through the window of the passenger's side.

"Good. Did they get to look at the article and picture?" Cindy asked.

"No," Perry answered as they got out of the car.

He still had the file with him.

Before they all walked in, Cindy said, "Perry, there is something about your father's case you need to know."

"What's that?"

"I was a teenager at the time when the shooting started. I was one of those children."

"No way."

"I guess I got more details from Adam since I didn't remember much expect to share this with you."

"Did you know George looked familiar to you at the time?"

"Of course not. I didn't follow the newspaper like my parents did," Cindy answered as they all walked into the police station.

"Thank you, Cindy. You've been a big help on this case. You will have to show up in court if there is one. I believe there will be."

"Even if it means relatives if longshot people aren't here anymore?"

"No, but it's a good idea. I don't think that's necessary to ask the relatives because they might not even heard of the shooting."

"That makes sense," Cindy said.

Tragg was at the desk when they came in.

"Hello, Perry. I see you made it."

"Yes, I did. Della here said you called."

"Of course I did. What do you have here?" he asked, seeing the file Perry was holding.

"Take a look for yourself," Perry said, handing the file over.

"I thought about the update on the car accident you were involved in. Your attorney knows about the update since I shared with him after I called your office."

"What's that?"

"No court date. Even those people who hit your car don't remember having two children and one left behind in a foster home," Tragg said.

"That means the child will have to be in foster care the rest of her life, right?" Perry asked.

"It looks like it unless they think of adopting the child."

"Tragg, this is Cindy McCarey. She works for another private detective."

"Hello, Ms. McCarey."

"It's nice meeting you," she told him.

"Who is it?"

"Adam Smith," Cindy answered.

"Now I know who you both are. I'm sure both of you were at the shooting when it happened."

"How did you figure that out? I was just telling Perry I was a teenager at the time when it happened, but Mr. Smith gave this file to me and show Perry, and now here we are."

"I might be interested in talking with your boss myself. Is he working today?"

"He left early. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day and time."

"Tell him to come over here when you talk with him again."

"I will, sir. Do you need me around?"

"I think so."

Tragg looked at the picture of the shooting before reading the article.

"Where did this come from?" he asked, looking at the black and white picture.

"That's the file I brought with me," she answered.

"Perry, did you look at this picture?"

"Yes, I did. Paul here found an article that is in this file you're going through."

"I didn't even get to read the article when I first went through it. All i did was go straight to Perry's office so he could check it out first."

"Now let me look at the article," Tragg said, putting the picture down.

"Perry, one question about that picture. Did you recognize anybody besides your father?"

"No. My guess whoever started the shooting could have been in court with me that day. I don't know the name."

"Why are you taking over a case that's old?" Tragg asked.

"Because I wanted to do something for him," Perry answered.

"Do you have the original file?"

"Yes. In the file cabinet at my mother's house."

"This is a big help for sure. I'll go see if I could look up that person who wrote the article."

"He already asked me to do that," Paul replied.

"I guess we both can, Paul."

"I guess so," Paul agreed.

"Cindy, would you like to share with Tragg what you were just telling me in the parking lot?" Perry asked her.

So she did.

"That means you knew Perry's parents?" he asked.

"No, I didn't, but my parents followed George Mason sometimes. That's how I recognize the name. Now that means they're both gone, they can't follow this case George's son is taking over."

So Tragg handed Cindy the picture that Perry gave him.

"Have you seen this picture before?"

"Not until my boss gave it to me."

"Do you recognize any of the people?"

"No. I only told Mr. Mason I was a teenager back then, but it was the same exact store Perry's father was involved with."

"Tragg, I don't see what he was doing in a Goodwill store. My folks didn't shop at thrift stores," Perry said.

"Thank you for dropping by with this information. Just wanted you to know there isn't any reason for a second court date from the accident case."

"That's what I thought too, Tragg, but I think the child that the Johnsons left behind probably won't come back."

"Looks like you can be right, Perry," Tragg agreed.

"You can talk with my boss too if you have to," Cindy told him.

"Maybe I will. Does he know your father, Perry?"

"He didn't remember him very well."

"We can get together another time, Perry. There's an appointment I need to go to. We'll talk more about this file you brought in."

"Sounds good with me."