The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe

It all began enough when, to get out of a shower, Della — Perry Mason’s “girl Friday” — dragger the lawyer-sleuth into a department store restaurant for tea.

That was where they first saw Mrs. Sarah Breel and her niece, Virginia Trent. They where in a spot too, with the store detective on Mrs. Breel’s trail, and even Virginia admitting her aunt was a kleptomaniac. It all seemed so strange, naturally Mason got interested. And Della Street, trained by years of experience to read the how’s moods, realized he didn’t go far just on theory... that if he appeared to see more than met the eye, his perception was based on scene point in practical psychology.

From this odd beginning, the vagaries of a whimsical fate catapult Perry mason into the case of the missing diamonds, the homey woman who didn’t look like a shoplifter, the methodical drunk, the thick reddish stain on a woman’s kid shoe, and beautiful Lone Bedford. No one knew much about her, but all the men wanted to know more — including Perry Mason!