title: The Case of the Baited Hook
author:  Erle Stanley Gardner 
description: Who was the masked woman?  Thats the question plaguing the perpetually inquiring mind of Perry Mason.  No one loves a good mystery more than Mason  but being asked to represent a client whos concealing her identity, not to mention the particulars of her case, has given even the legendary legal eagle a case of ruffled feathers.
  Yet the intriguing cloak-and-dagger tactics have Perry hopelessly hooked.  As for the sexy, silent siren behind the mask, is she heiress Byrl Gailord or penniless but proud Adelle Hastings?  Both women have ties t a man named Tidings.  A man who may be a protector or a predator.  A man who could answer lots of tough questions  if only he hadnt been murdered
zlib_text:  
   
   
  BAIT & HOOK
  
  Chapter one
  At the very beginning, almost two years ago, it had been a thrill.
  He'd been in a tight spot, out of work and unable to find any, and the
  bills just kept coming.
  Sex for money. Quick and easy, he'd thought, not to mention very
  temporary. He thought he'd do it a month, maybe two, just until he
  bounced back, but here he was fresh from his first stretch in the
  county jail, barreling toward 27, and still at it like a bad habit. It put
  money in his pocket though, and until he found a job with real pay it
  would have to do.
  He dressed down, like always. Jeans worn soft, an old green t-
  shirt. Tennis shoes and a thin nylon jacket. He went for rough but
  approachable, which a certain kind of guy seemed to like. Made it
  easier for them, maybe, like in a way they were helping him. He was
  big enough to admit they were.
  The clear day had turned overcast and the evening sky hung low
  and dark. He went to a little place in the Mission where the majority
  of occupants appea