Perry Mason

The Case of the Nefarious Necklace

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters from the show are not mine. Ellena and the basic story idea are Harry2's. The rest is mine! Harry2 brought this idea to me three years ago, when I was working on The Malevolent Mugging. I was interested and we planned for it a bit. I posted the first scene on Livejournal back then, but I didn't feel I could write the story in full until I finished the then-current story. That didn't happen until this year. So now it's finally time to tell Harry2's idea. I hope he likes what I've done with it! As with the episodes themselves, two of the oneshot characters must carry the first two scenes of this chapter alone to set up the plot. The main characters overall will of course be the main characters from the series, but characters from The Bogus Books and The Decadent Dean will also be important. This does follow my Perry timeline, but the previous stories shouldn't need to be read. However, the characters have had several experiences with the paranormal by now and even Hamilton is forced to start believing in it. The setting is the present-day, since the series is not a period piece, but I try to keep the feel of the series anyway.

Chapter One

"They're beautiful. Where did you say you got them?"

Pearl Chute held the emerald earrings to the light, intrigued as the hanging gems sparkled and shimmered under the glow.

Gene Torg, her close friend and former partner-in-crime, shrugged. "Some oddball palmed them off on me. The necklace too. And I'm telling you, Pearl, he was scared for his life." He started to pace the room, his hands in his pockets. "There has to be something wrong with the stuff. I was planning to get rid of it before you came in."

"Oh, Gene, why must you always be so cautious?" Pearl began to remove her own earrings to try on the new ones. "I agree that something must be wrong, but surely you're exaggerating. They're probably hot and he was worried about going to jail."

"Like you should be, after serving time for your part in Old Man Kraft's book racket," Gene retorted. "But no, Pearl, he wasn't just worried about going to jail. He really, honestly thought he was going to die, the way he kept jumping all over the place and looking over his shoulder."

"If you were so suspicious, why did you accept the jewelry in the first place?" Pearl wondered.

"He shoved the bag at me and ran off. I tried to catch him but I couldn't, so I decided to at least see what had got him so upset. And I couldn't really see what it was out there. I thought it'd be better to look at it back at the apartment."

"It was," said Pearl as she applied the earrings and admired herself in the mirror over the mantel. "If you'd looked at them out there, you probably would have got rid of the bag then and there."

"That's what I probably should have done." Gene stopped pacing and gave her a pleading look. "Pearl, you know I'm really trying to go straight this time. You said you were going to try, too."

Pearl sighed in exasperation and turned to face the agitated man. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, Gene! I am going to try. But we don't actually know there's anything wrong with these emeralds. I haven't heard about any stolen lately. At least give me a few minutes to enjoy them before we have to give them up." She reached for the necklace. "The only person who knows you have them is that strange man, right?"

Gene rocked on his heels. "Well, yes, but he could decide to call the police and get them off his back, or call the rightful owner, or any number of things that would get us in trouble. Or more specifically, me, since I was the one there!"

"You didn't even go to jail for your part in the book racket, miniscule though it was." Pearl held the necklace up to the mirror, admiring it as she had the earrings. "And it was mainly because you had absolutely no idea the book was worth more than a few dollars and you wouldn't have taken it if you'd known. Joseph Kraft's niece was nice enough to not want to prosecute you. Not to mention that no one could corroborate your conversation with Mr. Kraft when you took the book back to negotiate our deal."

Gene frowned, a bit of hurt flickering in his eyes. "What's your point, Pearl? Are you saying that even if I'm caught for something I didn't do, I should take the rap because I didn't get the other one and you did?"

Pearl frowned too. "That's not what I meant at all."

"That's what it sounded like." Gene turned away. "And if you really didn't mean that, what did you mean?"

"I just mean that you should settle down for a few minutes. Of course I don't want you to get into trouble, Sweet. If I really thought that would happen, I'd take these off right now." Pearl approached him from behind, resting her hands on his shoulders. "You believe me, don't you?"

Gene stiffened, but then relaxed and sighed. "Yes, I believe you."

"Good." Pearl snapped on the necklace. "Oh. Oh my."

Gene spun around just in time to see her sway to the side. Stunned, he reached and caught her. "What happened?" he exclaimed in worried disbelief.

Pearl tried to steady herself in his arms. "I guess all these emeralds must have gone to my head," she said. "When I put the necklace on, suddenly I got dizzy." She leaned in close, kissing him on the lips. "Maybe it really is dangerous."

"It certainly wouldn't surprise me." Gene hesitated, then returned the kiss.

Without warning Pearl's eyes flickered and she struck out, slapping him hard. "What's the deal, Buster?!" she cried. "I don't like you gettin' fresh."

He fell back, his jaw dropping at the display. "Pearl?! What are you talking about?" He brought a hand to his sore cheek. "If that was your idea of a joke, it wasn't funny!"

"Who's joking? And who's Pearl?" Her hands went to her hips. "My name's Ellena."

Gene was starting to feel very strange. There was something odd in the room, a sense of another presence. An unwelcome, unfriendly presence.

Frowning, he moved forward and reached for her again. "Pearl, I really don't appreciate the way you're acting tonight." His eyes narrowed. "You insist on trying that jewelry on when I want to get rid of it, you act like you're criticizing me for staying out of jail, and now you're treating me like I'm a complete stranger!"

"You are," Pearl retorted. "I've never seen you before in my life. And quit callin' me Pearl, will you? I'm telling you, I'm Ellena!"

A chill ran up Gene's spine. The look he was receiving from Pearl was utter blankness and anger, as though he really was a stranger. And Pearl, who was normally as cultured as the objects whose name she bore, was now talking like a tough girl with a mixture of French and Southern accents.

He took a step back. Pearl had acted like Pearl until she had put on that necklace. Well, unless he wanted to say that her criticism of him from before had also not seemed like her. But he admittedly could picture her saying those things, under certain circumstances. Everything she had said and done after applying the necklace, on the other hand, was not her in the least. If she were aware of it, she would never behave like this.

But how could she not be aware of it? The only other explanation would be if something in the necklace really had given her a whole new identity and personality. And that was absolutely ridiculous and impossible.

Wasn't it?

"Well, what are you standing around here for?" Pearl demanded now. "I don't want you here. Go on, get out!"

Gene's eyes flashed with indignation. "This happens to be my apartment!" he shot back. "If you don't want to be around me, you're the one who should leave." He crossed his arms. "And if you are someone named Ellena, what did you do with Pearl?"

"I don't know no Pearl." Pearl turned away, heading towards the door. "And I'm gonna leave. Don't you worry about that."

Gene silently followed after her, extending a hand to try to undo the clasp at the back of her neck. This had started with the necklace. He had to see if it would end without the necklace. And in any case, he could not let Pearl leave this building in her delusional condition.

Pearl shot out, grabbing his wrist in a deathgrip and twisting it while digging in her fingernails. "Don't you dare touch me," she hissed. "Don't you ever try to touch me again!"

Gene cried out, jerking his injured wrist back. But he opted to ignore the pain and dash after Pearl, tackling her to the floor.

"If you are Ellena," he growled while trying to wrestle her down, "you're walking off with my friend Pearl's body. I don't appreciate that. And I don't think Pearl would, either!"

Her face contorted in rage and anger. Just as he struggled to take hold of the clasp, she snatched a heavy lamp from off the end table and brought it down on his head.

Pain and agony spread across his features. He slumped over on the floor, the necklace coming off in his hand.

Pearl sat up in the next moment, blinking, bewildered. "What's . . . what happened? Gene?" She went sheet-white at the sight of him lying on the carpet, so still and quiet. "Gene!" Shaking, she gripped his shoulder. "Gene, wake up. I'm sorry, Gene. I didn't mean those things I said. Honestly, I didn't! And I didn't mean to hit you. I don't know why I hit you. I never wanted to hurt you!" She turned him onto his back. "Gene, please. Please wake up! Please. . . ." Her voice quavered and broke as she touched his cheek.

Gene's eyes fluttered and opened. "Pearl?" he mumbled. "Is it really you this time? Not . . . not that Ellena?"

"I don't even know who Ellena is!" Pearl cried. "But when I put on that necklace it felt like . . . like something jumped into my body. I couldn't control anything I said or did. Oh Gene . . ." She bent down, still trembling as she embraced him. "I thought she . . . I . . . one of us killed you!"

Gene drew her close. "I'm alright," he said. He grimaced. "Well, no. Correction—I'll be alright as soon as everything stops pounding through my head. And Pearl . . ." He looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you're done with the necklace. The earrings too."

"Yes!" Pearl exclaimed. "I don't want them anymore. If the necklace is cursed, the earrings probably are too." She knelt up, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she took the earrings off. They dropped to the floor, bouncing off the carpet near the necklace.

Gene eased himself into a sitting position, a hand held to the back of his head. "I'll take them away," he vowed. "I'll put them back near where that mysterious man handed them to me. I'll drop them down in a crack or something so no one will find them. They're too dangerous for anyone to use."

"I'll come with you, Sweet," Pearl said tearfully. "You're in no condition to drive. And it's all my fault."

Gene looked at her, both stunned and touched by her sorrow and regret. He had to admit, the image of an infuriated Pearl bringing the lamp down on his head was probably going to haunt his dreams for a while. Those few minutes with Ellena had been positively frightening.

"Alright," he consented. "Help me up and we'll go."

Pearl nodded in full agreement. After gathering the jewelry into the old bag Gene had brought it back in, Pearl got to her feet and helped Gene by letting him lean on her for balance. She drew an arm around his waist as he stood.

"Gene," she whispered, and she was completely sobered and sincere, not the usual coquette. "Can you ever forgive me?"

He looked at her, moved by her distress. He drew her close to him.

"Ellena, probably not," he quipped. Growing serious himself, he continued, "But you, Pearl? Yes, I forgive you."

And she smiled with relief and joy.

xxxx

The spot where Gene had received the mysterious jewelry was near the mouth of Topanga Canyon. Pearl followed his directions and finally arrived at the spot, frowning at the dark and rather eerie scenery. Outside, the early autumn winds howled through the trees, bending and twisting them into unsettling positions. The air had smelled of oncoming rain in the city; up here the scent was much stronger.

"It couldn't be more like a horror flick if it tried," Pearl muttered, gripping the steering wheel. "Why were you up at a place like this?"

"Well . . ." Gene gave a helpless shrug. "There was a cabin for sale up here, cheap, and I thought I'd come up here to look at it. Maybe if it was decent enough, I'd get it and . . . I don't know, come up on weekends or something."

"Real estate in Topanga Canyon is not cheap," Pearl scoffed, "unless there's some unpleasant reason why it's for sale."

"I know," Gene retorted. "The place looks nice enough, but then I found out it'd been owned by a guy named Tobin Wade. I thought I remembered he got murdered up there, so I was going to come back and look it up. On the way down, I ran into this nut with the jewelry."

"Oh brother." Pearl shook her head. "You really know how to pick 'em. You're right about Tobin Wade being murdered. That's probably why the place hasn't sold. But by now it's been three or four years since then. How come you only heard about it now?"

Gene shrugged. "It was on the market again after being sold at least once since his death. The person I talked to was really freaked about something. She tried to say that living in the canyons wasn't for her and she kept hearing all kinds of spooky noises. I was ready to laugh it off, even knowing that Wade had been murdered, but after this deal with the necklace, I don't even know anymore."

Pearl understood completely and even shared his feelings. She wasn't one to believe in ghosts, but something was very wrong with that necklace. They both just wanted it gone.

"Okay," she said, changing the subject, "so where are you going to get rid of this jewelry?"

"Let's drive up this road near his cabin," Gene suggested. "There's a cliff not far from there. Maybe I'll just throw it in the water."

"It could always wash up on shore," Pearl sighed. "If the idea is to really get rid of it so no one else will have to deal with it, then it'd be better to bury it somewhere. Preferably not on somebody's private property."

"It could always be dug up," Gene objected.

"Alright, Mr. Wise Guy. What else do you suggest?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know." Gene leaned on the inside of the door, running a hand through his hair. "This whole experience has been a nightmare. I wish I'd never accepted the sack!"

"Hmm." Pearl drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "You could always leave it for someone who might know how to deal with it a whole lot better than we do."

Gene blinked and turned to look at her. "And just who would that be?"

"How about that lawyer, Perry Mason?" Pearl said cleverly. "You've had encounters with him before and know that he's basically honest. He'd never sell the jewelry to make a profit on it."

"Oh, come on, Pearl," Gene objected. "Mason wouldn't sell it, sure, but would he really believe that we're carrying possessed jewelry?"

Pearl shrugged. "It's worth a try. At least you wouldn't be leaving it for some random innocent to find and try on."

Gene heaved a frustrated sigh of resignation. "You're right. Okay, let's try Mason and see what he says."

"Good." Pearl started the engine and turned the car around. "I don't want to spend another minute in this creepy place."

xxxx

Della was reorganizing things in her office when she heard the outer door open. While it wasn't unusual to have visitors to Perry's office so late, Della felt herself tense just slightly. She had to wonder just what sort of story the visitors would tell this time and what Perry might end up getting dragged into. Not to mention, Perry wasn't here at the moment and that could go good or bad depending on what the visitors wanted of him.

"Hello?" called a vaguely familiar voice as a nervous knock came on Della's door.

She set a stack of folders to the side of her desk. "Come in," she called back.

The last thing she was expecting was for Gene Torg and Pearl Chute to enter the room. Gene was clutching a brown paper bag so tightly his knuckles were white. "Is your boss in?" he asked uneasily.

"No, he isn't," Della replied, instantly on guard. Gene Torg was a con artist and petty thief whom Perry had tangled with on two prior occasions. Seeing him was more than enough to set off alarm bells in Della's mind, and when he was accompanied by the much more devious Pearl Chute, that alarm only increased tenfold.

"Any idea when he'll be back?" Gene pressed. "It's really quite urgent."

"He's meeting with a client right now," Della said. "He might be another hour or more."

Gene exchanged a distressed look with Pearl, who decided it was time to take charge. "Well, look," she said, "we don't really need to talk with him. We just need to leave these things here for him to deal with when he sees fit." She indicated the bag Gene was gripping.

Della raised an eyebrow. "I see," she said slowly. "Mr. Mason might not agree to look after your belongings. I'll need to know something to tell him about why you want him to 'deal with' them."

"Tell him they're dangerous!" Gene exclaimed. "Some guy gave them to me tonight and he was running scared for his life! And with good reason!"

"What are 'they'?" Della frowned, images of stolen merchandise dancing through her mind.

"A necklace and a pair of earrings," Gene said, opening the bag to let her look. "I'll admit I'm not sure about the earrings, but there's something wrong with the necklace."

"Wrong? It's gorgeous." Della reached into the bag and lifted it out, gazing at it in wonder.

"Take our advice, Honey—don't try it on," Pearl interjected. "Don't do anything with it except lock it in the safe until Mr. Mason comes back. He can call either Gene or myself and we'll tell him the full story."

Della replaced the necklace in the bag. "You said someone gave you these things," she said to Gene. "Are they stolen?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Gene answered helplessly. "That isn't why I said they were dangerous."

Della slowly shook her head as she walked back to her desk. "I'm sorry, Mr. Torg. I really don't think Mr. Mason would be interested in your case."

"Because I've done a few petty wrong things in the past?" Gene retorted. "It's not like I was ever in the big league or something. And I'm trying to go straight now; you can check with Pearl or anyone else who knows me! Check with the police!" He followed her over, his eyes filled with desperation. "Please, Miss Street, just take this until Mr. Mason comes back. If he doesn't want to help us after he hears our story, then fine. But give him the chance to say No; don't say it for him!"

Della stared at him. He seemed truly frightened. From Pearl's tense expression, she was worried too.

"What would it hurt?" Pearl spoke now. "If Mr. Mason believes us, I don't think he'd want you to turn us away."

Della's lips pressed into a thin line. She didn't like a near-stranger telling her what Perry would want. Still, she was a compassionate person and their distress touched her heart. "Alright," she said at last. "Leave the bag here, along with the numbers where you can be reached. I'll tell Mr. Mason about it as soon as he gets in."

If there was ever a physical sight of someone having a burden removed from their shoulders, it was in the way Gene's eyes brightened and he straightened up. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, setting the bag on Della's desk and reaching for a small pad of Post-It notes. "Thank you, Miss Street."

"Of course," Della said, all the while hoping she wasn't going to regret this.

She waited until after they had both given their numbers and she had given them a receipt before picking up the bag to relocate to the safe. They were gratefully departing the office and no one else was around, but as she carried the bag into the law library, it sounded like a faint voice coming from the direction of the bag.

"Della . . . I'm Ellena."

She stopped walking and frowned. Was there an electronic device attached to one of the pieces of jewelry? Maybe one of the earrings was a receiver and the other was a transmitter. But Gene had said it was the necklace to be wary of, hadn't he?

Holding the bag with one hand, she lifted the contents one at a time and carefully inspected them in the light. If any of them were concealing any kind of electronic device, she couldn't see it. Maybe she would have Paul come up later and scan them. Or maybe not—she could have easily been imagining things. It was late and she was tired and now she needed to wait for Perry to come back from Manzana Valley in order to give him this bizarre message.

She opened the safe and placed the bag inside before quickly locking it in. As she straightened, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Something about that bag and its contents made her nervous.

That was probably just because Gene Torg had brought it in, though. And because it was probably stolen merchandise.

Still, as she walked back to her office, she couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps it was something more.