Perry Mason and the Case of the Debutante

by susan cousineau

This is my second attempt at a long story. I went a little further into Della and Perrys relationship and hope that you enjoy the book

It was the start of a warm autumn day at the office of Perry Mason attorney at law. The

office was a large office with three different rooms and a reception area. The rooms were filled

with files and books and folders of current and past cases. Perry Mason walked into the

office that morning through the front door to meet and greet all of his workers. This morning

he was not needed in court. It was a rare occasion that he could come right to the office early

in the morning and not go to the courthouse first. He employed a large staff and took in young

people who were in law school, He taught them some of his expertise while using them to

do research for him from time to time.

Over at the fax machine was his personal secretary Della Street. Della was everything

that a man could want in a woman. She was bright pretty and dedicated to the work that

they were both involved in. She was his right hand, if not for her he did not know what he

would have done or what he would have become. That day that she had stepped into his

life, had been the best day of his life. She was the thirteenth person that he had interviewed

that week and he had been getting very discouraged. Della had taken over the job as overseer

of the business from the day that she had walked in the would stay by his side through

thick and thin and never complained about the long hours that sometimes were necessary in

their line of work. As a matter of fact she seemed to enjoy the long hours.

Della looked over at Perry Mason who had just stepped in the door. He was the man of

her dreams handsome kind and dedicated. He would never give up on anyone no matter how

bad things appeared to be. He was dedicated to the thought that everyone deserved justice

and he was like a bull when he thought that someone had been wronged. He was the man that

she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He had uncanny ability to identify a

murderer by putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together. Sometimes it would appear as

if he was fishing for information, but he always had a purpose to his questions. It was a rare
occasion that he did not read a client right. Since Della had gone to work for him he had not

accepted a guilty person as a client yet. It was not that he could get a client off on a technical-

ity, it was that he could talk to a person and know whether or not they were guilty within a

matter of minutes.

She went on into his office with his cup of coffee and took a seat next to him at his large oak

desk. She had a chair at which she usually sat and took dictation from clients who would come

in or minutes that had been taken at trial. The office was very busy and there was always some-

thing going on. Most of the time the work was very interesting and Della enjoyed meeting all

of the different people. Some were in their worst nightmares and they needed Perry Mason to

help them find out the truth in their life. There had been many cases where Perry had found that

the last person that she would have guessed had been the guilty person turned out to be just

that. As time had gone by she had gotten better at figuring out the mysteries that some people

kept hidden, but Perry was the genius at it.

Most of their detective work was done by a man named Paul Drake. He was tall handsome

and very good at finding out things that people preferred to keep hidden from the general public.

He was the owner and founder of the Drake Detective Agency. Many nights Della would sit

out in a car with the two men in her life and watch homes or people. She would sit in the middle

seat between the two men and take notes as to what she saw and heard, always a pen or pencil

in her hand. That part of her job was her least favorite. If it was not for Paul and Perry those

long nights were either too hot or too cold and unbelievably boring. But on more than one

occasion they had seen something during those hours that had told Perry who the murderer was

and how the murder had been committed.

One of the best things that she enjoyed were the many cars that Paul and Perry had to

use at anytime that they needed it. Perry had a lincoln a mustang and a small ford compact,

While Paul had a cadillac convertible or his family van or station wagon. Depending on where

the three would be doing the observing would depend on what car that they would use. It was

one of the better parts of the job for her as she got to sit in between her two best friends. Some-

times if they were going to be at a house for several days in a row or for many hours they would

switch the cars halfway through the watch. It was a rare occasion that they would be seen. The

to men knew how to blend in and not be noticed.

Unlike Perry Paul was married to his childhood sweetheart Sue and he had a young boy

who had just turned five the other day Paul Jr. He now only had his daddys name but he was

also the spitting image of him. Perry and Della had been to his home many times and Sue

and her had become good friends. It was hard being married to Paul, he was always busy going

somewhere and many of the nights he would be out on the road watching and observing different

people and things. He was the best man for the job and had been a very useful tool that Perry

used to solve some of his cases.

Before Paul and Sue had gotten married she had worked at the office, but once Paul Jr had \\

been born Sue had no more interest in getting involved in her husbands work .Its many

danger were not meant for a mother she had told her so she had decided to stay at home to care

for the house and her son. Sue had told Della that she never regretted that decision. She was

happy just being a housewife.

It was while Perry was doing dictation that the buzzer rang to let them know that Gerty had

someone on the other line that needed to see Mr. Mason as soon as possible. Perry gave Della a

nod and he took the phone. It was a Mrs. Clemmons and she needed to see Mr. Mason as soon

as he was available regarding some missing money in a trust fund that had been set up for her

niece many years ago when her sister and her husband had been killed in a car accident. She had

just turned twenty-one and the bank where the trust was being held and her lawyer were side

stepping the giving her niece full rights to the account. Her niece Dora had planned

to buy a house and she could not do that until the money was released.

Perry agreed to see her that afternoon at two pm and Della noted it in her appointment

book. Sometimes there were some less than honorable people out there in the general

public who were known to help themselves to people who had large trust funds set up for

them at a very young age. Perry would be happy to look into the problem for her, he just

would need her niece Dora to sign some papers so that he could get the ball rolling into the

investigation. Nancy Clemmons promised Mr. Mason that she would bring her niece with

her. He thought that it would be a simple case, he should have known that when people

came to see him, no problem was ever simple.

Promptly at two that afternoon Mrs. Nancy Clemmons and her niece Dora came into

the office. Right away Della noted that they were dressed in fine clothing and it was apparent

that Dora had been taught the way to act. She gave the appearance of being a well schooled

young lady. Indeed she had just turned twenty-one two weeks ago.

Nancy Clemmons started to speak to Mr. Mason and Dora put her hand on her aunts knee.

"I was due to get control of my trust fund on my twenty-first birthday, so I made an appoint-

ment with my attorney Mr. Davis. When I was younger I had his father to handle my affairs but

he passed away suddenly of a heart attack several years ago. and ever since then his son had

been handling my money. I have never had any indication that anything was wrong until it

was time for me to take control of my trust fund. I have been given the shuffle from him

every since. He is the junior partner in the firm of Willaims Bagley and Davis. I have been told

that they are to be one of the best law firms in town. Since I have never had any problems with

the firm or Mr. Davis before I was surprised at the problem that I was having now." Dora told

Mr. Mason.

" I am familiar with the law firm and know Mr. Williams and Mr. Bagley well. As for Mr.

Davis I have only met him once or twice. He seemed to be a good attorney, and he would have

two good mentors. His father was an attorney with a very good reputation." Perry assured the

two women who had come to see him that day.

"So what has happened that has caused you to seek another lawyer. You told me on the phone

that there was a question of some money missing from your trust fund. What makes you think

that has happened? Did you see a statement of some sort?" Perry asked Dora.

"Well, when I went to the bank, I went to see a Mr. Mathers. He has always handled any

monetary questions that I had, but this time he was very evasive and told me that I would have

to wait two more weeks for the paperwork to clear. Only then could I touch any of my money.

It was when I glanced at his computer that I saw my account balance. , From all of the state-

ments that I have been receiving from the bank it looked as if my account was over ten

thousand dollars short. I asked him about it and he told me that I was mistaken and that

everything was in order I just had to wait for all the legal issues to clear. So when I came

home from the bank I called Mr. Davis. I have been calling him all week and he will not

return my calls." Dora told them. Yesterday I tried to see him and went to his office

without first calling, and although I saw his light on in the office his secretary said that he

was not there. When I asked his secretary she said oh he must have forgotten to shut off

the light. He is at court right now and will not be back for at least the rest of the day. He

may be in court for the rest of the week. Now, I do not like to doubt someone but it did

seem strange. There had been no mention of him being in court to me before."

"That is why I called you Mr. Mason. I was getting tired of the run around and

have been told that you were the best in the business. I was also told that you were an honest

man and that if there was anything going on illegally you would find it out for us. Dora is a

young woman who has just started out in life and she deserves all that is coming to her. I have

used this firm for years but the last few times that I have been there I felt uncomfortable. "

Doras aunt Mrs. Clemmons chimed in.

"I promise that I will look right into this. I will contact the bank. As they said it could

be that there are a couple of things that the bank needs to confirm but I will make sure

that is the case. We will call you as soon as we find out anything ." he promised her with a

genuine smile. With that Mr. Mason stood up and shook both of their hands. Della walked

them to the door and gave them both a genuine smile.

Dora and her aunt left the office a little worried, but Della was sure that they both now felt

better. People usually felt better after talking to Mr. Mason. They knew that if her boss took

them in as clients that they had a strong person who was smart and cunning and that if things

could be fixed, he would fix them. Perrry specialized in criminal cases but was a very capable

attorney when it came to Probate laws also. His office had handled many cases that involved

the Probate Court. But, Dora Clemmons parents had died nearly twenty years ago when she

and Perry were both just children.

Perry asked Della to give Paul a call and ask him to look into what was going on with the

law firm of Williams Bagley and Davis, in particular the younger Mr. Davis. He wanted to know

if there was any reason to be concerned about his client and her money. What kind of reputation

did he have, and what kind of money dealings was he involved in? He wanted to also check

into the accounting firm that he usually dealt with. He wanted to know if they heard anything

negative about the law firm. Della wrote down all the information and went into the outer

office to place the call.

That Saturday evening was to be a celebration of the retiring of judge Caldwell. He had been \\\
a good friend of Perry Masons and had been of great assistance to him when he had been in law

school,. When he was young and green trying to get his office going he had been the man who

Perry Mason had gone to He had always been happy to advise Perry at no charge to him just

as long as he had no connection to the case that was in question.. The party was to be a black tie

affair and of course he was going to bring his best gal Della with him. He would pick her up in

his brand new Lincoln Town car as she would be dressed in a gown herself. It was to be a gala

affair.

Perry pulled up in front of the neat little home that Della had bought just two years ago. It

was a small bungalow that she shared it with her sister. The home was very neatly kept as

would have been expected and when Perry knocked on the door he was met by a smiling Della

Street. She was dressed in a dark blue gown with gold sequins that enhanced her dark blue

eyes and fair skin. She was so beautiful to him it was all he could do not to kiss her right there,

But that would not be the polite thing to do. She was a lady and deserved to be treated as such.

Della took a look at Perry. He was dressed in a tuxedo and was quite stunning. With his

good looks and mannerisms he would overshadow the judge if he was not careful. The two

made a good couple and always caught the peoples eyes in a room when they entered. Della

always was on his arm and they would smile as they entered.

Her sister Lori had helped her get ready for the dinner and smiled at Mr. Mason. "Ah

you are quite the looker Mr. Mason, The two of you have a good evening together and do not

worry about me. I will be out with friends too." she told them with a smile.

The dinner was delicious and Perry was delighted to see his old friend Michael Williams of

the Williams Bagley and Davis law firm. He was happy to see his old friend and hoped that

if there was any problem with the firm or the young Mr. Davis that things would work out.

Perry and Della took a seat at his table and sat back to enjoy the event and the dinner that

was sure to be delicious. The seats were near the table that had been set up in the Judges

honor as Perry was to speak that night.

Perry was honored to have been asked to speak at the retirement party. He and the judge had

and were good friends. He had high hopes that their friendship would continue even after he

retired. Perry knew that he had at least another thirty years before he retired. But his friend had

told him to enjoy the years because they would go away too fast. He had told him "Do not

wait until tomorrow for something that can be done today, for tomorrow is never promised.

Through the years I have seen too many examples of people with plans for their future just to

have their lives taken away from them in just a matter of a few seconds. Remember that." he

had told him with a sincere look.

There were many speeches and toasts that night all to the judge. He was admired all over

the state and he had his wife at his side. They were thinking of possibly moving to San Diego

to be nearer their son, but the judge still planned to keep in touch with his many friends. He said

that it was just another step in the many steps that one takes in their lifetime..

After they ate and all of the speeches were done it was time for a dance. Perry enjoyed

the dancing part the most at this type of function. Because he was so shy it was the one

and only time that he and Della could be in each others arms and he would not have to feel

shy about it. They danced nearly all of the slow dances and made quite a pair. They were as in

sync on the dance floor as they were in life. Perry knew that it was time to perhaps make his

first move, but when? He had never really dated anyone but a few girls that he had met

at law school. But he had never had a serious relationship. He was always too busy with his

work and had long ago given up on the thought of finding someone special. But as he and
Della had worked together more and more he had found himself thinking of her even when

she was not around. More than once he had thought of calling her just to hear her voice

on her days off but had resisted the urge. She deserved the time off and should not have to

spend her free time with her boss. So, he had not socialized with her except at these types

of functions.

It was the October Columbus Day weekend that weekend and he had thought about perhaps

Della and him going on a ride up the highway by the ocean route one. They could stop at shops

at will and take the day in leisure. They enjoyed the retirement party and said their

congratulations to the judge and his wife and headed back to Della's house.

When they were in the car Perry approached the subject of perhaps taking a car ride up

towards the Monterey Bay perhaps. They might stop at Big Sur or some other places of

interest along the could find a place to stay somewhere on the route so that they

could both enjoy the leisurely ride and not worry about reaching a specific place. That way

they could stay anywhere along the route.

Della thought about it for just a moment. It was a long weekend and her sister Lori

would not be home until sometime late on Monday. It sounded good to her. "I think that

sounds like a great idea. It is time to get away, and with the holiday weekend the office

will not have to be open until Tuesday. When would you like to leave?" She was so lucky

she knew that Perry would get her a room and one for him. He was not the kind of boss

that expected extra benefits. They had gone places together on several occasions and to

her disappointment Perry had always been a gentleman.

Perry would not have minded leaving right then, but he knew that was not a practical

thought, so he said "What if we leave about noon tomorrow? We should miss some of the

traffic that would be leaving early in the morning to get out of the city and like I said we can find
someplace for us to stay along the way."

Della smiled the trip sounded good and she would have time to pack a bag if they did not

leave until noon. "Would one oclock be all right? I have church in the morning and I am on

the greeting committee this week. Sometimes I do not get home until a little later than I do

on other Sundays" she told him.

So it was settled she and Perry would leave around one oclock tomorrow for a ride up the

California Coast Highway. It wsfor a much needed rest and enjoyment of their time together.

He promised that they would take the mustang and if the weather permitted they would ride up

the coast with the top down. Della loved the mustang, it was dark blue with a white top and

had tan leather seats. Perry was a good driver and she would love the ride she was sure. She

would have to wear a hat and sunglasses though because her hair would be a complete disaster

if she didn't. Oh and she needed to bring some sun screen. The last time that she and Perry had

gone on a long ride with the top down she had gotten sun burned. It was not only the sun that

caused the burning though, she knew that the breeze from the speed of the car made the sun

even hotter on her fair skin.

Church did not end until almost twelve thirty that day. It had been a busy day because

of the holiday and it seemed to Della like they were all in the mood to talk. She enjoyed

seeing the people though, as some of them did not come to church every Sunday. She

talked to each of them as they left that afternoon and then headed home.

By the time Della got home it was just fifteen minutes before Perry was due to be at

her home to pick her up. She had to leave the cat extra food and write Lori a note. She

thought that it was possible that Lori would get home before her and she thought that

she should know where she was going to be so she would not worry. After all Dellas car

was going to be left in the garage. and when her sister had last seen her Della had been

headed to the retirement party and Perry had not mentioned the trip to her. Lori was

younger than Della by three years but tended to be over protective sometimes. She

worked at a computer software company, where the hours were almost always the

same, unlike her sister. Della never knew what time she would get home from work. It

depended on the court and the case that Perry and her were working on.

Della had just finished the note when Perry rang the doorbell. He was dressed in a

casual outfit and looked nice. She was glad that she too had decided on wearing a pantsuit

that day. It was a tasteful outfit, but comfortable. She was wearing a comfortable pair of shoes

also because there might be a lot of walking. The two of them would do a lot of that in the next

couple of days. She had packed a dress, just in case they went somewhere where a dress was

needed..

Sometimes Perry would take her to one of the nicer restaurants when the two of them

went someplace together. Oh what was she thinking he always took her to the best restaurants

that he could find.. Perry never went anywhere often because of the enormous job that he had

and the responsibilities that went with it. When he did get a chance to get away he liked to go

first class. They would dine and stay at some of the nicer places that California had to offer.

Perry looked at Della with approval. Even in a pants suit she looked beautiful. Her hair was

neatly combed and she had put a hat on her head so that they could keep the top down on the

mustang. It was almost eighty degrees out that day and the sun was warm. There was not a

cloud in the sky. The roads might be a little crowded but the day was perfect and as he held

the door open for his friend he smiled and bowed to her.

As they arrived at the highway Della looked over at the ocean. The water was so beautiful

and the smell of the ocean filled her nostrils. Whenever they saw a flea market or anything

Perry would stop and they would shop for just anything that caught their eye. Della had so

much stuff in her house now she did not know what to do with it but she could never resist

going to a flea market. Especially she could not resist going to a flea market with her good

friend Perry. It was a good weekend for the flea market too. Many of the vendors were getting

ready to quit their spots until the spring. It was warm in Southern California but it could get

chilly during the winter months near the ocean. Most of the vendors would go to San Diego

or places like that where it was much warmer.

By the time they had stopped at the third market, Della and Perry had accumulated several

items. Lori, Dellas sister liked to collect dolphins and when they had run into a vendor that was

selling dolphin statues she could not resist buying a couple. She had to think about what

Lori already had because she did not need to have any duplicates. They would make good

Christmas and birthday presents. Maybe just a thinking of you gift. Della was sure that she

could makegood use of them anyways.

It was getting near to dinner time and they had not made it that far up the highway. It was

then that she saw that they were coming into Long Beach. That was where the Queen Mary had

been docked for the past few years. Della and Perry had taken the last cruise that the ship would

ever take. After they had gotten off of the ship it had been docked in the Long Beach Harbor to

become a restaurant and hotel. "Perry, let's stop at the Queen Mary. I am getting hungry and I

would like to see what they have done to the ship now." she smiled at him and he smiled back.

"You know Della sometimes I think that you are reading my mind. I was thinking the same

thing. Perhaps they will have some rooms available and we can spend the night on her once

again." Perry told her smiling as he turned off and took the parking lot was almost

full and he worried that there might not be a room available. It was a holiday weekend and the

weather had been wonderful. There were many people out on the road because of the holiday

and weather and he was sure that many of them had been planning the holiday for weeks.

As they pulled up to the ship Della took a long look. The ship looked as though she was

being well maintained and the sign on the gangplank indicated that the restaurant was open

She was glad to see that they were not the only ones that had dressed casually that day and she

would not be the only lady that was not wearing a dress and better shoes. It indicated that Perry

did not need to be wearing a tie also. Perhaps if they could not get a room they would have to be

happy with just going to the gift shop and perhaps walking one more time around the deck.

Della hoped that they would be able to get a room. She had not thought about getting a

room until Perry had mentioned it. Her memories of the last cruise came flooding back to

the days that she and Perry had gone on one of the most romantic cruises that a couple could

go on. It was on the ship that he had for the first time held her tight and put his arms around

her. She had thought that he might have kissed her, but not on that night. The next day it

was back to work and the cruise was barely mentioned again. As for the hug Perry never

mentioned that either. He had not hugged her like that since. It might have been a spur of

the moment thing the ship the water and all the other couples. She was not sure.

Perry looked at Della and remembered the cruise that they had gone on just a few years

before. He had been nervous staying with Della for seven days, but they had a great time

and on the last night of the cruise he had put his arm around her. He had thought of kissing

her, but he could not be that selfish. They were dedicated to helping others and he just did

not feel that they should mix work and pleasure. It was getting harder for him to continue to

hide his feeling though and a hug was now something that the two of them shared nearly as

often as they saw each other. Perry walked over to the man at the hotel guest desk and inquired

about getting two rooms. The man informed him that they were usually booked, especially on

a holiday weekend, but there had been a cancellation and he did have two rooms overlooking

the harbor if he was interested. Perry willingly accepted the rooms and gave Della a nod. A

bellboy went down to the car and brought their luggage to their room. It was not much luggage

as they were only planning to spend one night on this short trip. Perry gave the man a good

tip and thanked him.

They were given rooms next to each other and they indeed did look onto the harbor. They

were on the fourth floor. The last time that they had been on the ship they had been on deck

six. The room was small but clean and would work well for the night. Della would be able

to bathe and dress and get ready for dinner. She knew that the atmosphere at the ship restaurant

was somewhat casual but she did want to freshen up before she ate.

Perry made their reservations for six thirty, The time was perfect for her and she would

just have enough time to take a warm bath and change into one of her better outfits. She would

be ready for dinner by that time. . She put on the light dress that she had chosen for the trip and

fixed her hair and applied new make up. She looked at her hair in disgust.. The hat had ruined

hair and she could not seem to do anything with it. She ran a brush through it and got her good

shoes. When they went down to the restaurant Della was pleasantly surprised. It was the

same place that she and Perry had eaten at the night that he had first held her in his arms. The

food was delicious and with the slip of a twenty dollar tip they were seated on the harbor side

of the ship, where they could watch the setting of the sun over the water. As they sat there

and had their dinner they got to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset and the sky was

bright red. Della smiled at Perry and told him "red night at night sailors delight red night in

the morning sailors take warning."

As Perry was given the bill, the waiter told them that there was going to be a tour of the ship

that was going to be starting in about a half an hour. The tour would take them through the entire

ship and would explain what they had been doing to restore it. Also, because of it being the

month of October, they would talk about the haunts that are said to be on the ship also. So it

was going to be a haunted tour as well because of Halloween.

Della laughed nervously. She had never told Perry about the time when she was just fourteen

and she and her sister Lori had gone to a "haunted" house in their town. She had seen something

there that she was sure should not have been there and had never forgotten it. She and Lori had

made a pack that neither one of them would ever go out looking for ghosts again. So she smiled

and said "Well that sounds like fun to me."

Perry turned and smiled in sort of surprise. Della wanted to go on a tour of the ship and

listen to ghost stories? She was a woman of many surprises. He would have thought that

Della would be the logical and more sensible about those things. He then said "We will take

two tickets to the tour." to the young man with a smile.

"You surprise me young lady. I did not think that you would be interested in going on a

ghost tour. My brother Dave is on a paranormal team. He claims that he has seen and heard

things that would shock even me, but I am not sure as to if he might be just pulling my leg." he

told her with a smile.

Perry and Della went into the gift shop where Perry bought her a postcard as a piece

of memorabilia and he picked himself up a paper weight of the Queen Mary, for his desk

at home.

There was still about ten minutes before the tour started so Perry took Della out to the

deck. They walked over to the railing and looked over at the setting sun. The harbor was

lovely and Della took a deep breath taking in all of the salt air. Perry leaned over the railing

and looked down at the water. The water was a little dirty, but not like it had once been. The

harbor authority had been working long and hard on cleaning the harbor up.

He turned to look at Della and that is when their eyes met. This was not the place for him

to make a move toward her was it? He smiled down at her and was about to put his arm around

her shoulders when they heard the announcement that the tour was going to be starting soon

and to come to the foyer. With that Perry just put his arm around Della and they walked to the

tour together.

The tour was about two hours long and there was a lot of climbing up and down the stairs of

the ship. Della had made a bad choice in shoes and she wished that she had gone back to her

room and gotten her loafers. Perry actually had to help her get up and down some of the narrow

stairs and her feet were killing her. The ship was very large and on this tour she got to see many

places that she had not been to when they had taken the cruise / It had been the last cruise that

the ship would ever take. The woodwork on the ship was done very tastefully and it had all

been done over. All the original carvings had been cleaned up also. It was quite a ship and

there were plans to open more rooms to the public. They would one day become more hotel

rooms for guests meant more money for the rebuilding of the ship..

It was when the tour group reached the swimming pool that Della had an experience that

apparently no one else had. The tour guide was telling the group how the pool was no longer

being used and had not been used since the last cruise that it had taken. He said that the area

was supposed to be haunted. As the group turned and started to leave Della heard the

distinct sound of splashing water in the empty pool and when she turned around she could have

sworn that she saw a young girl in an old fashioned bathing suit standing next to the pool. "I

must be imagining things' she thought to herself. She wanted to tell Perry about it, but he

might not believe her. But, she nudged him and asked him to look back and tell her what he

did see.

Perry gave her a little laugh, and said "Oh do you mean the little girl standing next to the

pool? I see her,. I wonder where her parents are." he told her.

"By the look of her clothes I think that her parents are dead and so is she. Her bathing suit is
a suit that they once more around the nineteen thirties." Della told him.

Again Perry took her arm and smiled. "I do not believe in ghosts. There has to be an

explanation. When the tour is over I will ask the guide about is a special ghost

tour she was probably put down there by the pool for effect."

The tour ended promptly at ten and Della thanked the young man who had headed the tour.

He had been very knowledgeable and patient with her seeing that she was having a hard time

walking on the ship in her heels. Perry slipped him a ten dollar tip and he was very grateful to

them. "I thought that you deserved that tip and give five of it to the little girl please."

"What little girl are you talking about?" he asked.

"The little girl that was standing next to the pool. She was a nice touch to the ghost story that

you had just told us about." Perry told him.

"I swear I do not know what you are talking about. I am sure that there should not have been

anywhere near the pool. I do not think that there are any young girls staying at the hotel either."

the guide insisted.

"Well thank you for the entertainment anyways. I will give you a good reference, if you ever

need one." Perry told him with a smile.

Perry looked at his friend and could see that she was uncomfortable. "Let's go back to our

rooms. You look tired."

"If I could just go back to my room and change my shoes, I would be all right. I do not want

to go to bed this early on the ship unless you are tired too." Della offered him. She was too

geared up to think about going to bed at this time. It was only ten oclock at night and it

was a holiday weekend. She hoped that she was not getting that old.

"Who me? I could stay up all night. I have done that before many times and not always with

a beautiful woman." Perry told her with a smile.

"Just give me a few minutes and I will be right back." Della told him with a smile. With

that she went to her room and changed her shoes. She found Perry standing next to the railing

looking over the harbor. He was such a handsome man and so smart. She was so lucky to be

able to spend the time with this wonderful man. AS she walked the deck of the ship she could

see Perry standing there overlooking the water. He was smoking a cigarette and just staring

at the water.

Perry turned and saw Della coming toward him and smiled. "While you were gone I took the

liberty of taking out some of the brochures of what is happening here on the ship this evening.

There is dancing in the grand ball room if you are interested. I know that it would mean that

you would have to dress once more, but the dancing goes on until two am." he told her with

a smile. "It might be more for the younger crowd but I am game if you are." he told her with

another grin. He seemed to be almost laughing about it. That is if your poor legs will allow

you to. Are your legs all right? You seemed to be having some trouble walking on the tour."

"Let us see if we do have to wear heels. I hope not. I have a nice dress on and you are in

a suit and tie, perhaps that type of dress is acceptable." Della said with some hope in her

voice. She just did not feel like getting dressed again. The next time that she got dressed it

was going to be into her nightgown. She knew that sometimes the attire is more casual

when a dance was held at a tourist trap such as the Queen Mary.

"I know what you mean, we are supposed to be relaxing and I too do not feel like changing

my clothes again. I will ask one of the stewards." Just as he said that a steward walked by and

he caught him. The steward promised him that they were dressed quite appropriately and that

the ballroom was not a formal affair. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere than it had once

been when they had taken the last a matter of fact, the lady could wear pants if

she wished and he could drop the tie if he wished. What the steward did not realize was

to them they were dressed casual. Usually Della had on heels and it was rare that Perry

did not have a tie on.

Della was glad to see that some of the women did not even have dresses on and some of the

men were in very casual clothes. Most of the men did not have a tie let alone a suit and tie .But

Perry was the best dressed of them all without a doubt. They took a seat toward the back of the

room and ordered themselves a couple of drinks.

Della took a look around the room. It had been decorated in nautical style as there were

several ships wheels hanging on the wall. There were nets and different kinds of fish hanging

on the wall too. It gave you the feeling that you were out to sea. It did not look like you

were sitting on a docked ship.

The music was loud and not the type of music that Della was used to. She and Perry were old

fogies she guessed. The dance that the young men and women in the ballroom were enjoying

was rock and roll. The music was too loud and fast not the slow music that Della and Perry l

longed for that evening. After about twenty minutes there was finally a slow dance and finally

Perry asked her to dance.. He took her hand and they walked out to the dance floor.

Perry put his arm around Dellas waist and everything else became blurred.. It was as always

his only time that he could hold her close. He looked down at her and smiled. The lights

of the dance floor made her face have a strange glow, but she smiled back at him and he

went across the floor with her. It was always a sad time when the music stopped and Perry

again took her arm and they walked back to the table.

Perry knew that he and Della were out of place at this dance. The people were all about

ten years younger than them and they danced a dance he had only seen on the television. He

looked at his friend and could tell that she was thinking the same thing. He asked her "Shall

we go? I feel as though we need reading glasses and a rocking chair. I think that we are

the oldest people in the room."

Della nodded and was a little relieved. She had felt like she was her mother out there

on that dance floor. This was the type of place that her sister Lori would go to not her she

was too old for the music. She was just twenty-seven and Perry was but thirty-one but

she felt as though they were both in their sixties. By the looks on some of the faces in

the rooms the young people felt that way about the two of them also.

Perry took her out to the railing once more and they stood there watching the stars. It

was a brightly lit moonlit night and the stars seemed to jump as if to the music that was

being played in the ballroom. The railings were filled with couples holding hands and kissing

and Della felt a little uncomfortable. She thought again that she was the old lady among all

of the young couples. But she was with her man and he had just put his arm around her again

just as he had done on the last night of that cruise a few years before. She looked around and

realized that they were standing almost exactly where they had stood on that very night. She

smiled up at Perry and he smiled at her .

"Is this not the place that you and I stood the last night of the cruise?" Della asked him.

Perry had not honestly noticed it but he thought that she might be right. It did look as

if they were standing at the place that they had stood together on that last evening just a

few short years ago. He remembered he had finally gotten the courage to put his arm around

her that night. She had not pulled away as he had been afraid that she would and he had

felt very good about that. Now he was back at the same place where they had first touched

and he wanted it to be the first place that he kissed her. Would she pull back, or would she

join him? He turned and touched her hair that had gotten into her eyes. "I remember that

night Della, it was the perfect way to end a perfect cruise." he said with a smile. He looked

at her very tenderly and Della looked back at him the same way.

"It was a great way to end the cruise and quite fitting that we were among the last people

to disembark the ship the next day." Della told him. Was he closer to her than he had been,

yes, she was sure that he was. She had not noticed but he had his arm around her like they

were dancing. She wanted to get her first kiss right then. She could almost taste it.

Della and Perry were so close that their lips were going to meet by accident if neither one

of them pulled away and then she felt his lips. They were warm and moist, not wet and

he kissed her gently. He was a gentleman through and through and pulled away slowly. He

then held her in his arms for a few more moments. They spent the next ten minutes watching

the lights of the harbor and then as if in sync once again they headed back to their rooms.

When Della got into her room, she was flying very high. This had been what she had been

hoping for and now he had kissed her. It was the next step in their relationship and she knew

that she was going to have to keep it slow. Perry was a very dedicated man and would back

off quickly if she made any moves so she would have to be patient. After all it had taken him

three years to kiss her. Who knows how long before thing got any more serious. She hoped

that she would live that long.

Perry took a deep breath of relief when he walked into his room Della had responded in kind

the way that he had hoped she would. He had kissed her and she had accepted him. He had

not made it a long kiss as he did not want her to back off. They were a good possible match in

life and he wanted everything to be done right.

The next morning the restaurant served a buffet breakfast. It was a filling breakfast and

they were soon filled and on their way back into the mustang. Again the weather was very

warm and there was not a cloud in the sky. They were about two hours from the Big Sur

and they would have several shops to stop at once they arrived there, The view was spec-

tacular and Della was feeling very up and happy. She had been kissed by the man that she

was completely in love with the night before. He was driving up the California coast in

a sports car, what else could she wish for?

Della always brought her camera with her and had taken many pictures of their trip

together. The ocean the flea markets the boutiques all were caught on her camera as

they took the adventure together.

Della was surprised how quickly they arrived in Big Sur. It did not seem as though

it had taken very long to get there and she smiled up at Perry. There had been no

mention of the kiss between them and indeed he was acting as always had . Della was not

sure why but it made her feel more comfortable. Maybe she was not ready for things to

move too quickly either.

As they pulled into one of the many shops that they would see on their trip Della

looked around at the scenery. It was truly beautiful out here and there were standing

telescopes that she and Perry walked over to and look at the scenery up close. When

she had stepped over to peak through the lens, she had felt Perrys breath and the thought

of the kiss came back to her. She tried her best to act as though she was just looking through

the lens when her heart was pounding all the way to her throat.

Perry looked down at Della who was looking out into the scenery. Even in her hat and pants

she was still beautiful. For a moment he thought of taking her in his arms but that would not

have been right. For the moment they were just two close friends enjoying a trip up the

California coast line together. The weather could not have been better and the mustang had

been a joy to drive.

Perry knew that they would soon need to start back. They would not make it to Monterey

this trip. They had stopped at Long Beach and that had not been far enough north for them

to travel all that way in two days. The next time that the two of them took such a trip they would

either need to fly or leave a day earlier.

Just up the street there appeared to be a decent place for them to stop and have a late dinner.

It was already almost one thirty and he knew that they would have to head south when lunch was

done. Perry and Della were seated next to the window overlooking the valley. The dinner was

good and the service exceptional. Both Perry and Della had a steak dinner with mashed potatoes

and carrots. There had been a large selection of deserts but Della had a large breakfast and was

full. Perry had a piece of carrot cake and because he insisted she tried a bite. It was delicious/,

Della was a little disappointed that the trip was coming to the end. She knew that they still

had a six hour ride ahead of them and that Perry was right they should turn back now. There

had been a couple of places that she had seen on the other side of the road that she wanted to

stop at also.

They had not yet stopped at the ocean and Della wanted to take some more pictures. It was

true that they had spent the night on the water technically, she wanted to get some pictures of

the ocean and the surf something that was not part of the harbor. Perry looked over at her

and knew that she wanted some pictures of the ocean. Sand bothered his feet and he hated

how if he kept his shoes on the sand would get all in his shoes. He could take off his socks and

shoes and walk on the beach and then his feet would be dirty. He could not win no matter which

way he handled the situation. He would just take his shoes and socks off and wipe his feet

off with the towel that he had put in the back seat. He knew that Della would probably want

to take a walk on the beach so he had brought a towel with him..

Although Perry had never said anything Della knew that he was not fond of walking on the

beach. She had smiled to herself when she had seen the towel and the clean pair of socks in a

bag on the back seat. He had thought ahead. She smiled at the thought of him walking through

the sand and surf jumping every time he stepped on a pebble or a sea shell. He was so used

to being in a suit that he did not feel comfortable letting himself go. But tomorrow would be

the day for business this would be the day for fun.

They had been driving for about an hour when they came across one of the many beaches

that they had seen on their way up the coastal highway. Perry pulled over and they both

stretched. Perry took off his shoes and socks as did Della and they walked out to the beach

together. The tide was in and they did not have to walk too far to reach the water. Then

Della went to the water and she put her toes in first. The water was a little chilly but not too

cold for her feet. She kicked up the water a little and laughed as the water lapped over her

feet. She thought about splashing Perry but knew that he would not like it, so she just turned to

him and told him "Go on put your feet in. The water is not that cold"

Perry on the other hand was not excited about wetting his feet, but oh what the heck, it

was time to have fun, tomorrow he would be back at work. To his surprise he found the water

delightful and he too kicked the water up a little. Della and him found a few seashells and

both listened to the sea through them. There was a pile of rocks over on the side about fifty

feet away and Della decided that she wanted to climb on them. She climbed up on the largest

one and took a seat. Perry shook his head but joined her on the rocks. The two of them

sat on the rocks for about fifteen minutes. "You know I think that we should have brought

some fishing poles with us." she told him with a laugh. But then she saw a crab climbing

up the rock and decided that she had enough of the ocean for the day. They had a good time to

his surprise and were laughing as they got to the car.

Perry gave Della the towel and she wiped and cleaned her feet. He had brought two towels

and they had been put to good use. Even though she had cleaned her feet Della could still

feel the sand and knew she must have missed some. She knew that was what Perry didn't

like about the beach. He had not made any indication that his feet were bothering him. He

probably was more careful when he had cleaned his had no idea that he was arguing

with himself about the sand. He had missed some and it was in his socks, he just knew it. He

would have to wash his feet carefully when he got home that night, or his feet would drive

him crazy for the next few days. The last time that he had walked on the beach he had gotten

a rash on his feet that had lasted for weeks.

They enjoyed the ride back to LA and Della was glad to see her home as they came down

the street. She wanted to spend more time with Perry, but she was truly tired now and seven

in the morning would come early to her. Perry let her out of the car and grabbed her bag, she

took the bags that she had bought at the flea market, and they walked up the walk to her house

together.

Della did not see any lights on in the house and assumed that Lori had not gotten home yet.

She turned the lights on the in the living room and thanked Perry for the last two days. "It

was really nice getting away from all the troubles. I had a great time." she told him with a

smile.

"Always a pleasure Della. We will do it again I . He started to turn his back

and then leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead. " See you in the morning" and with

that he was off to his home.

Della had turned to grab her bag when she saw her sister Lori smiling at her. She must have

seen Perry give her a kiss. It was nothing just a kiss on the forehead after all. She did not see the

kiss that he had given her while they were on the Queen Mary. That would have surprised her of

that she was sure.

"Oh when did you get home? " Della asked Lori with a smile.

"I got home about three this afternoon. I found your note. Did you and Mr. Mason have a

good time?" she asked her with a grin. "You did not end up going to Vegas and getting married

now did you?"

"As a matter of fact we did not. We went on the Queen Mary for dinner and spent the night

on her. It has been done over almost completely and we even took a tour of the ship. We took a

ghost tour. I could not believe that Perry was willing to go on one. But, I did not realize how

much walking and climbing of stairs were involved my feet were killing me." she told her

sister with a smile.

'Della a ghost tour? I thought that you and I had sworn that we would never go on another

hunt or tour after what happened to us when we were kids." she told her with surprise in her

voice.

"Well it was more of a tour of the ship. They just mentioned a couple of places on the

ship that were supposed to be haunted. The ship is big and the stairs are narrow. Heals were

not meant to be worn on the tour trust me. I did hear and see something. Do you want to hear

what happened?" Della asked her.

"Something happened to you on the tour? Oh yes please tell me." Lori answered.

"We were at the pool and as the group started to leave I heard what sounded like someone

splashing in the pool. The pool had been closed for over two years and yet I thought that I saw

a young girl dressed in an old fashioned bathing suit standing next to the pool." Della told her

sister. Lori was the only person that she had that should confide in about such things.

"Wow that is something else. No one that was in the group heard or saw what you did?" she

asked her sister.

"Well one person saw her Perry. He was sure that she was part of the tour and that she was

standing there just to scare the people on the tour. " Della told her.

Della had now walked into her room and she was starting to put her things away and just

nodded her head. She had been dying to say something to Perry but she was afraid that he

would have thought she was crazy.

" Perry saw the little girl too? It figures that he would not believe she was anything but an

actress. So what else happened? Did he finally kiss you on the ship?" she asked her.

Della was not sure that she wanted to tell her that he had kissed her , but her hesitance

to speak right up was enough to give Lori the answer. "Oh my god he kissed you. Well

finally, it is about time." Lori reached over to her sister and gave her a big hug. "I know

that the two of you were meant for each other. When you are together it is like you have

the same thoughts. I am happy for you very happy."

Della gave her little sister a big hug and told her that they both were going to have to

get up early in the morning, and she was very tired. They would talk in the morning.

When Della woke up the next morning she could smell the coffee brewing and the bacon

and eggs that were being cooked. She got dressed quickly and came out to the kitchen. Della

took a seat at the table and started to eat. Lori and her had an unwritten rule that the first one

to get up in the morning would start the coffee and the breakfast. Most of the time it was Della

that got up first but on this morning she was very tired. She had laid in bed thinking about

Perry and what had happened and had woken up several times during the night.

Della told her all about the last two days and the trip to Big Sur. Perry was always

a gentleman she assured her. I bought you s present too. With that Della reached into

her purse and took out one of the dolphins that she had found at the flea market.

" Thank you Della. You know me and dolphins I love them. What a shame, a beautiful lady

sports car lots of money to spend and what happens? You and Perry see the ghost of a girl and

One kiss, at that pace you will be eighty before he proposes. " Lori told her with a devilish

smile. "He is just too shy I think. He acts as though he is afraid to show his true feelings

to you. He is not shy in the courtroom, but he is shy with you. I mean I am sure that you

are probably his best friend."

:Oh Lori it is not that bad. He is the type of man that does not make moves with his

personal life without a lot of thought. He has been a single man for a long time and it is

hard to make a change like that. Believe me I know I have been single for a long time also

and sometimes that is the way that I would like to stay." Della told her sister. She wanted to

change the conversation so she asked "So, how was you r weekend?" I thought you said

that you were going to find yourself a husband and that you would be married with three

children before Perry kissed me." Della teased her.

"It was great we went to Palm Springs and spent most of the weekend sitting out by

the pool. I met a nice man named Joe who said that he would call me later on this week,

and my friend Dawn, met a man named Don. Isn't that funny? We went out dancing on

Sunday night. I want to go back there again soon alone, ." she told her sister with a smile. Then

she thought of what Della had said about marrying Perry.

"Della you do not mean that. If Perry asked you to marry him, would you marry him?" she

asked her sister earnestly.

"Yes I would probably. He is the only man that has ever meant that much to me. Sometimes

he is the only man that I see when I am in a room full of men. Yes I think that he is my soul

mate my true soul mate." Della told her sister moment that she had met Perry that

day in his office Della had known that he was the man that she wanted to be with. She had heard

of that happening to other people, but had never dreamed it would be her. She had always been

the quiet one and had been on just a few dates in her life.

But it was Tuesday and it was time for the two of them to go to their perspective jobs and

as sisters what had been said that morning would not be repeated outside of their kitchen.

Della went on to the office and started to go through the mail and messages that had been

received over the long weekend. One of the messages had been very disturbing and she knew

that she was going to have to tell Perry about it as soon as he came in. It had been a message

from Dora Clemmons, it seemed that a bank teller had been murdered over the weekend and

it was the same teller that she had been dealing with. The last time that she had seen him

he had seemed to be uninterested in talking to her. But later that day he had called her and

asked her to meet him at a hotel in the shady part of town.

Perry knew that the work load was going to be heavy on that day but he was looking

forward to the work. He enjoyed being busy. It had been the most important part of

his life ever since he had made the decision to dedicate his life to law. He headed to

the office and was pleased to see Della already in the office bringing him a cup of

coffee.

"Perry there was a call from Dora Clemmons, she says that the teller at the bank who

had been handling her trust fund had been found murdered at a local hotel. She wants

us to give her a call as a soon as possible, because the police had already been to there

house asking a lot of questions.. "

Perry told Della to get her right on the phone. He would want to speak to her right

away. It was never good when one of his clients were questioned about a murder case

without him being in the room. The police had a way of getting information from people

without them even realizing that they had given out damaging information. He was sure

that Dora had nothing to do with the murder, but innocent people had been charged in such

cases before.

Della handed Perry the phone and he found himself speaking to Mrs. Clemmons the

aunt. It seemed that the police had just come to the house about a half an hour before

and had taken her niece Dora down to police headquarters for more questions. No she

did not think that Dora was arrested, but Dora needed a lawyer now. Perry promised the

lady that she did have representation and that he was on his way to police headquarters

right away."Della give a call to police headquarters and tell them that I am representing

Dora Clemmons and that she is not to questioned without me being in the room.. They

know better than to bring her down without her lawyer. Nancy Clemmons tried to tell them

that she was told not to talk to the police until she got her lawyer on the phone. The police

would not listen and now Dora was downtown at the police department. He was sure that

she might say something that she should not and that the police would use it as evidence.

As Perry went down the hallway of the police headquarters he was not surprised to run into

Lt Tragg. They nodded to each other as they entered one of the interrogation rooms. The

police had some evidence that did make ti look as though there was a possibility that she

could have been involved in the murder. It was not far into the interrogation that Perry

knew that Dora was going to be arrested for the murder. It was true and the police did

indeed bring charges against his client. There would be a bail hearing in the morning/

Perry was indeed sorry that Dora was going to have to spend the night in jail.

Once more someone was in trouble and had been wrongfully accused of a crime He was

involved yes he was involved once again. It was with heavy shoulders that Mr. Mason came

back to the office. He was glad to see Della there in his office working hard. Whenever he had
a client that he was sure was innocent he hated to leave them in jail overnight it always had

left a hard pit in his stomach. He took it to heart when he could not help someone like

this for at least another day This is why he had become an attorney, to protect the innocent.

He knew that it sounded corney but that was the reason he had gone to law school and studied

for all those years. He was going to help Dora just like he had helped the rest.

Perry called Dora s aunt and told her of the news. He gave his word that he would find

out who the real murderer was and that he would fight hard to get her niece bail. The bail

would be high though. Naancy . Clemmons said that she did not care how much the bail was

to be she would put it up. Her niece was not going to spend another night in jail , she would

see to it. "I am confident that you will be able to convince the judge that bail is an option.

I know that the court frowns upon bail in cases of capital murder, but she is innocent and

you will prove that." she said with an affirmative answer.

"Della it looks like the candles are going to be burning late in the office. Give Paul a

call ask him to come over to the office." Perry told him."I guess that it is back to work for

us. No rest for a lawyer or his secretary he told her with a smile.

Not twenty minutes had gone by when the familiar knock came on the door. It was Paul

Drake. He took a seat in the chair next to Della and took out his notebook. Apparently when

Perry and Della had been out on a car trip Paul had been busy. Paul looked up at his two

friends and smiled. He knew that they had been gone for the weekend and hoped that they

had a great time. There was something different in the air, he was not sure of it but he felt

a change in the atmosphere. He had gone through the dating scene once before and knew

of the heartaches. He was lucky and had ended up marrying his childhood sweetheart. He

wished the best for his best friends. The two of them deserved a happy life outside of the

office . They worked so hard when they were there.

Paul remembered the day that he and Perry had met. Perry had needed someone to help

with a stakeout and had seen the sign on the door and had walked in the door. Both of the

men were young and inexperienced, but Paul had been intrigued by the thought of doing a

murder investigation and so their friendship had begun. Between the different cases that he

had from this big city and all of the cases that he helped Perry with he had built his business

up to a large corporation with over thirty employees.

"Perry I have been able to get some information involving the young Attorney Davis, and

some of the people that he does business with. The firm of Williams and Bagley did not want to
accept Attorney Davis as a partner,. But many years before when the firm had been formed it

had been written into the contract that anyone of their children ever passed the bar exam they

could automatically join the team. Mr. Davis is not that good an attorney and has been brought

in front of the bench twice under threat of losing his license. He never lost his license to

practice, but some of his business dealings were questionable. It seems that Mr. Davis and Mr.

Mathers, the man that worked at the bank who had been murdered, had been partners in several

real estate deals that had gone sour. I think that the both of them are in financial trouble

and that may be part of the reason why Mr. Mathers was murdered. He and Attorney Davis

have several enemies, and some of them are trouble, big trouble. " Paul told them.

"What about the money that is missing? Do you think that the two men Davis and

Mathers are involved. " Perry said more to himself than to the others in the room. "I want

you to dig a little deeper Paul. Now that Dora has been charged with murder we are going

to need all of the facts even if I have to go to the court and get court orders." Perry told him. We

need to look into all the possibilities . But I think that someone who is directly involved in

either the bank or the law firm is the person that we are looking for. We will start there first

and then if we strike out we will look further.

"I am on my way right now." Paul told them and left again out of the back door.

That afternoon both Perry and Della were very busy preparing for the courtroom in

the morning. Perry was sure that he could get bail arranged for Dora, but he wanted to go

to the jail and talk to her once again. He had been gone all weekend and he was sure that

there were things that he did not know of that had happened over the weekend. He told

Della where he was headed and left for the jail.

When Perry got to the jail he was headed into a private room and Dora was led in by a guard

soon afterward. Dora looked as if she had been crying, but she looked all right. She had been

brought up to hold her chin up and she was doing the best she could to do that. She was so

young. She should have been out having fun not sitting in jail, he thought to himself.

When Perry arrived at the jail, one of the women guards came into the room with Dora.

Perry helped Dora to her seat, and then took a seat himself across the table from her. He

took her hands in his and asked her to tell him her story. Dora looked him in the eye those kind

and caring eyes then told him what had happened.

"After I left your office I received a call from Mr. Mathers . He wanted to talk to me about

my trust fund. He did not want to meet me at the bank, he asked me to go to the Peacock Hotel

and room number eight that night at eight. I got to the room at eight almost exactly, but when

I knocked on the door there was no answer. I stayed there for over twenty minutes and no one

else came or went. I tried knocking on the door one more time, but still there was no answer."

I then rode around town for hours trying to clear my mind. I did not stop any place I just

drove around thinking Dora told Mr. Mason.

"When you first arrived did you see anyone coming or going from the hotel? What about

when you were waiting in your car? Did anyone go by or leave while you were sitting there

that you noticed?" Mason asked her.

"No I did not see anyone in or around the area at all. The lights were on in the room and I

could hear the television going but no one answered the door. I left when the clock in my car

said that it was nine forty-five. I waited for almost two hours and saw no one. The only way that
someone would have been able to get into the room was through the back. Maybe they do have a
back door." Dora told him.

"I had called the bank to try to talk to Mr. Mathers . He had refused to speak to her once

again. That is why I was surprised when he called. I thought that maybe something was

happening at the bank and Mr. Mathers did not want that person at the bank to know that

he was talking to me I do not understand it, everyone has always been nice to me and then all of

a sudden no one wanted to talk to me at all. The only thing different was that it was now time

for me to control my own money.." Dora told him.

"Have you told me everything that you know? Are you sure ?" Anything that you saw

or heard might help your case. Try to get some rest and I will see you in the morning. if

you think of anything you can tell me in the morning. I have a private investigator looking

into the matter also. He will find out what is going on I promise you. Do not worry he is

the best in the business..

When Perry arrived back at the office, he found Della on the phone with Paul Drake. She

seemed a little excited so he started to listen to that end of the conversation. Della was saying

"That is right Paul. Dora had been asked to come to the hotel to meet with Mr. Mathers that

night. When she had gotten there she got no answer at the door." she was telling him "Perry

just came in why do not you speak to him?" and she handed him the phone.

"Perry I have spoken to the manager of the hotel and he says that a woman matching Doras

description was seen going into the hotel room at about seven fifteen. She ran out of the hotel

room and got into a brown ford. She took a left turn when she left. The manager does not think

that he has seen her before. He has some tapes that we are welcome to look at if we wish. He

has security cameras . Perhaps there is something on one of them. Do you want me to take

them so that you can watch them?" Paul asked him.

" Yes the tapes could tell me who the murder is. They have gotten clearer and we may be

able to identify the people on the tape. If we can we might find the murderer. As I said there is

evidence out there somewhere. We are the ones that need to find it and set Dora free. Are you

sure that it was Dora? She drives a toyota and it is black. Perhaps he was mistaken. Ask the

manger if he saw anyone else. Dora says that she was outside of room eight for almost two

hours. Someone must have seen her. It does not make sense. Well go back and as him if

he remembers a woman in a black car waiting outside of the room on that evening? I do not

think that she would have had time to change her car, and in the dark there are many people

who would look like Dora. She was an very average looking person." Perry told him.

Paul told him that he would dig some more and get back to him as soon as he had more

information. The tapes would be ready in the morning . The hotel manager was going to have

to make copies of them. I think that your are right there could be some important information on

one of the tapes. At least one of the tapes should show Dora in her car and that would validate

her story. Paul hung up and headed out to look further into what had happened on the

night before.

Della had been busy while Perry was gone and had typed up the briefs that would be

needed for the bail hearing in the morning. Perry read over all of the briefs and signed

them one by one. When everything had finally been completed he took a glance at his

watch. It was now after eight and he had not had any dinner. He smiled at Della and

told her "Well we have done everything that can be done for the day and we have to

and she left for home. How about calling it a night? I was thinking about

going out for chinese? Are you interested?" he told Della with a smile.

"I am starved and interested in anything that is available. I would be happy to have

dinner with you." Della reached for her coat and Perry helped her into it. Della turned

off the lights and then checked all the doors. When she was satisfied she took Perrys

arm and they walked out to the the elevator.

Dinner was good and it was nice to have a change of atmosphere. The people were

very quick to serve them as the waiters knew that Perry was a good tipper. Della was always

happy to spend some social time with him once again.. When the dinner was finished Perry took
her back to her car not even giving her a hug. 'Back to basics' she thought to herself.

But when she got home that night Lori had a big smile on her face and seemed to be

trying to hide something behind her. While you were gone we had a visitor. I think you

will like what came" and with that she stood back.

Della then looked on the television stand and gasped. There was a huge bouquet of

three dozen red roses, with a card . She opened the card and read Thank you for an

unforgettable haunted weekend. Perry.

Della could see that Lori was dying to see the card so she handed it to her. It was a nice

thought and Della loved the flowers. Perry was such a nice guy. Lor was a hopeless romantic

and Della gave out a little laugh.

"Oh Della I think he liked what happened this weekend whatever it was." Lori told her

with a grin.

That morning Della met Perry at the courthouse. The bail hearing had been set for nine

that morning, as it was the first thing on the docket that morning. As she went into the

courthouse she saw Paul Drake standing on the stairs having a cigarette. He smiled at

her and asked her if she was ready for another long day in the court. "I am waiting for

Perry, as I have more information for him. It might be good information and might be

able to help show that Dora is not the murderer." Paul told her quietly with a smile.

Paul and Della had not been standing on the stairway long when Perry showed up. He

was walking fast because he knew that his friend Paul Drake must have some kind of infor-

mation for him. That was the only time that Paul would be waiting for him there on the

courthouse steps.

"Good morning Della Paul. He looked around at the crowd that was gathering and said

"Let us go inside where we can talk privately." he told the two of them. He took Della by

the arm and the three of them walked into the court together. They went into one of the

briefing rooms "Go ahead Paul what did you find out Perry asked him.

"Well I looked a little further into who was seen at the hotel that night and I did find

two other woman that had been seen go into the room that day and two guests remember

seeing a woman in a black toyota knocking on the door of the room twice. Both of the

patrons said it was sometime around eight that night." Paul told him.. "I will be going

back to the bank this morning to see what else I can find out. I just wanted to see you

first." Paul told him.

"Thanks Paul. I thought that there were other people who had been involved in

the realty scheme and I think someone else had better reasons than Dora had to murder

Mr. Mathers. Let me know if you hear anything more." Perry told him.

After Paul left Della took Perrys arm and thanked him for the roses. "They look very

pretty and I have placed them on my television in my living room"

"Your welcome Della. I wanted you to know that I had a great time this weekend and

that I think that we should get away more often." he told her with a smile.

Now that the month of October had come the courthouse was cooler. During the summer

the courthouse was very apt to be hot and muggy. It was a welcome time that the room became

bearable. She had learned long ago to bring a sweater with her, just in case she needed it.

The court was crowded with the morning rush and the onlookers who were there to see

about the bail hearing for a murder case. There were always the students who came to take

notes when the famous attorney Perry Mason was representing a client.

One of the lady guards from the jail came into the courtroom with Dora. Dora had chosen

her outfit well and she looked good for the judge. Della smiled at her and told her not to

worry everything would work out all right. It was then that she saw Doras aunt come into

the courtroom. She took a seat in the aisle behind her niece and gave her niece a nod.

Della was glad to see that Dora had support and knew that was what Dora needed right

now in this trying time. She had seen this time and time again and she knew that the

clients that had support did better than those that did not have family support.

Hamilton Burger had come into the court to argue the point that no bail should be offered

to Dora because it was a capital murder case. She was too young and had access to a large

sum of money and could leave the country. Hamilton Burger was a man in his early forties that

stood about five foot ten with dark hair and eyes. He was a gentle looking man, but like Perry

could be as stubborn as Perry could be. He was an elected official and because of that had to

go with the public view from time to time. He was married with two children to a lady that

Della had gotten to know. She was a very nice lady and was known for her volunteer work

in the city..

The judge was a good judge. His name was judge Brown and he was well known

to be a fair judge. He listened to both sides of the issue and ruled that there was

enough evidence to hold Dora over for the trial. He ruled that she could be out on

bail but she would be put on a bracelet and the bail would be five hundred thousand

dollars with fifty thousand dollars cash. That amount of money would have made

most people have to remain in the jail until trial but her family was very wealthy.

Dora should have had over a million dollars available to her, but because of the

mishandling of her money and the freezing of her accounts, she had nothing to put

up. Her aunt put all of the money up front for her and Dora was out on bail by

three oclock that afternoon.

When Dora got our of jail she went right to Perry Masons office as he had asked

her to. She looked a bit nervous, but she had weathered the night in jail and if Mr.

Mason had his way, she would never spend the night in jail again.

Della took her seat next to Perry and took out her notebook. She still had not trans-

scribed the notes that she had taken at court that day. She and Perry had been busy

with other documents and had talked to Paul. The day had been a very busy day for

the Mason office.

Dora took a seat and gave Mr. Mason and Miss Street a smile. "Thank you for getting

me out of that terrible place. I thought that I might end up being there until my trial. It

could be as long as six months , at least that is what they told me when I was sitting in the

jail cell."

. "You had all night to think about anything that had happened, did you think of something

new at all? By the way, what kind of car were you driving that night?" Mr. Mason asked her.

"I did remember a car leaving as I came in come to think of it, but I paid no attention to it,

it was a small ford I think. I drive a black toyota. Did someone remember seeing me that night?" \
Dora asked.

"We may have a witness that remembers you, but the hotel manager says that he saw a lady

that matches your description walking into the room about twenty minutes before you say that

you arrived. They say that that lady was driving a small dark ford." Perry told her.

"That must be the car that I saw leaving that night. I am not good at identifying the type of

car that I saw. It was a small dark car, like I told you before." Dora told him.

"I want you to stay at home and not answer the door for anyone. If the police come you

have to open the door by law but anyone else do not let them in unless I call you and tell

you that they are expected. No newsmen or television reporters please. Do you understand

what I said?" Mason asked her.

"Yes I will go home and stay. No one will come in my home without your express

permission. Thank you Mr. Mason.

After Dora left Della looked at Perry, he was worried as she was. Things were not looking

good for her. They had just gotten a fax from Paul, she was not missing ten thousand dollars

she was missing over one hundred thousand dollars and possibly more. She had signed an order

that had been written up by Attorney Davis giving him permission to invest her money. But

Davis was not a good lawyer and had failed to notice that she had signed the paper two days

before her eighteenth birthday and therefore the signature was no good. He did not have the

right to touch any of the money in her account legally at all.

Attorney Davis was going to have to do some explaining to Mr. Mason and so he made

a call to the office and made an appointment to the see his colleague the next morning

at ten.

Perry looked over at Della and saw that she was busy transcribing some of the minutes

from court that day. She was busy and he wanted to read them. He wanted to go over those

notes. Something that Burger had said at the trial had caught his attention. "Della when

you are through with the notes from court I would like to look at them, please." he called

to her from her office.

During the next hour Della transcribed all her notes and then brought them into her

employer. Perry was reading Della s notes when he noted that Hamilton Burger had

made mention of the fact that Dora owned a home in Texas. She had never mentioned

that to Perry and he wondered if it was truly her property.

"Della get Paul on the phone if you can. I want him to find out who is the owner of the

property in Texas. Dora never mentioned it to me and I do not think that she is aware of

it. I think that the property belongs to someone else that they just used her name. I think

that someone else lives there now." he told her.

Just as Della was getting ready to call Paul the familiar knock came on the door and

it was Paul. "Hello beautiful" he told Della as he took his usual seat and opened his notebook

that he always carried with him.

"I think that I have found the woman who had been at the hotel at about seven thirty

the evening of the murder. There is a lady that works for Mr. Davis part time that drives

a black ford focus. She is roughly the same height and weight and age of Dora. She

could have been easily mistaken for Dora." Paul told him.

"Good work Paul. Now I have another job for you. Burger at court says that Dora owns

a home in Texas and that she could flee to that home. I have reason to believe that Dora has

nothing to do with the home and someone that is involved in the missing money is using

the home as their own." he told his friend.

The day was ending and Paul was going to be heading out of town. He stopped at

home to say hello to his little boy Paul Jr and enjoy dinner together. The next plane to

El Paso Texas was not leaving until ten pm that night, so he would have a few hours

with his family.

He went into his house and gave his wife a kiss just before telling her the bad news

that he would be gone for the next two days. She was in the middle of making dinner

and told him that it would be ready in about a half an hour. He gave her a kiss on the

cheek and went out to the living room where Paul Jr was standing there with a baseball

and glove in his hand. His dad had promised him that the next time he was home they

would spend some time together throwing balls. Paul went to the hall closet and took

down his old baseball glove. With that father and son went out into the yard to play a

game of catch. True to her word dinner was ready in thirty minutes as his wife Sue

had told him. Paul was getting tired, as apparently he was out of shape and was glad

that he had a good reason for the game of catch to end.

Supper was a busy affair and Paul Jr had lots to tell his dad and mom. He had lots

of new friends at his school and he was the best reader in the class according to his

teacher. Paul truly wished that he could spend more time with his family, but once

again there was someone in trouble and his skills as an investigator was needed. He would

be leaving for Texas that evening and staying at a hotel. He would be talking to the local

authorities and finding out just who lived in the house. The information could be very

helpful to Perry and his murder case.

Paul and Sue packed his bag together and Paul once again promised to bring his son a

gift from another state. He knew that his wife no longer was interested in those little trinkets

that he had always brought to her. She preferred to have him safe and sound in their own bed

at night together. Paul left for the airport that night at eight thirty. Everything was all set

as far as a hotel and rent a car. It was planned that he would return in two to three days.

He gave his friend Perry a call to let him know that he was on his way to the airport and

that he would keep in contact with him while he was in Texas.

It had been another long day at the Mason office and Della was glad to see Perry showing

signs that he was getting ready to close the office. She was surprised that he was ready to

go home at this hour. It was just six oclock.

Perry looked up at Della and smiled. "Yes it is time for us to go home and take a rest, I

think that we are missing something on this case. I think the answer to the mystery is right

in front of us. A good nights sleep should clear our mind." he told her with a smile.

As usual Perry was right. She was very tired and perhaps a good nights sleep would help

to clear her head. Someone had killed Mr. Mathers, and if she and Perry and Paul were not

successful in finding out who the murder was their client Dora might end up being convicted

of murder.

Della and Perry left the office together, as usual, It was just that this time they were leaving

the office at a near normal hour. He took her arm as they walked down the hall and Della smiled

to herself. It felt good to have his arm on hers. She wished that he would come home with her,

but he had been right they were both very tired.

As the two got off the elevator and entered the garage Della looked over at her car. It was

a small modest car that she had chosen just two years ago. It crossed her mind that it was time

that she bought herself something that was not so practical. Someday she was going to buy

something on the spur of the moment.

Perry walked her to her car and opened the door for her. He was always a gentleman and

held the door open for her. She stepped into the car and smiled at him as sweetly as she could.

"Good night Perry I will see you in the morning." She watched as he walked over to his car

and smiled as the two of them left for their homes.

Perry lived in a penthouse in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. It was just two

miles from the office and if he needed to he could walk to work. He lived but four miles

from his secretary, as she lived on the other side of the office, just two miles from the office

also.

The penthouse where Perry lived was very elegant. It had a large open room with a large

working fireplace in the corner. It had a large eat in kitchen and a formal dining room. He had

many dinners at his home catered in the formal dining room. He had the best china that he

could find . He had two large bedrooms and two baths and a view of the city from the large

picture window off of his great room. The second bedroom was used mostly as a study and

was filled with all types of law books. If you looked around the rest of the house you would

not know that a lawyer lived there. He kept the house very neat and clean.

Perry had just sat down to eat his supper when the phone rang. To his pleasure it was his

brother Dave. He was the one person that he felt good about confiding in. Dave owned his

own business selling prescriptions to local pharmacies. He was going to be in town in a few

days and he would like to visit his brother. Perry was delighted to have him come and he insisted

that Dave stay with him. "Dave I have plenty of room, and I could not imagine having you spend

the night at a hotel somewhere. We do not get a chance to talk very often.. Forget it I will not

take no for an answer. So with that Dave would be coming to LA on Thursday..

Dave was Perrys younger brother. He was a single guy like his brother but he was seriously

considering getting married. That is at least what he had been telling his brother for the past

three years. He had tried to convince Perry that he should be getting married soon but

had never pressed the issue, thank goodness Perry thought to himself.

That evening Perry Mason fell asleep on his couch while studying the murder mystery

of Mr. Mathers. He now had the pictures from the security camera that had been hooked

up at the hotel, and he hoped that he would get answer to his questions somewhere on the

tape. There were hours of tape for him to watch, because he wanted a list of every person

that went near room eight on that night. There were three cameras working in the parking

lot that night. He wanted to zoom in on any license plates or faces if he could and it was

a slow pain staking process.

Meanwhile Paul had arrived in Texas. It took him about an hour to get his rental car and

get his baggage. The hotel that he had a reservation at was right next to the airport. All

of the cars now had gps and he found out that the home that was in the name of Dora Clemmons

was about an hour away. He would go to that house and keep an eye on it for a few hours.

in the morning. Texas was two hours ahead of California and it was now three in the morning

in El Paso, Texas. He would catch a few winks of sleep, before he went there ..

Della went home that night and was greeted by her sister Lori and her two young

giggling friends. 'no rest for Della tonight' she thought to herself. "Hi ladies" she

smiled to them and tried to escape to her room. But her sister and her friend Patty

would not hear of it. Come on over, we are playing a game on the computer. It

is a ton of fun. You have to answer all these questions about love and the computer

will tell you what kind of man you need." Lori and Patty told her.

"Oh I don't know. Those games are silly." Della chimed in.

"Do not worry about what she says girls. She thinks that because she is now almost

twenty eight years old that she is too old to find a boyfriend. I think that she will find

the man of her dreams out there someplace. You are too good of a person to spend your

whole life as a single woman." Patty offered to her.

Lori winked at her sister and said come on over and answer the questions. You will

get the answer . The computer is the new way for people to meet. I have dozens of

friends who have met their soul mate on line."

"Perhaps Della has already found hers. She is awful quiet." Mona said with a smile. "It

is the quiet ones that you have to be careful of girls."

Della watched as the four younger girls went on a site and were talking to complete

strangers. They were not being truthful to the man on line, so perhaps the man on line

was not being truthful to them. She did not feel comfortable going on line and trying to

find the perfect date She was happy with the man she worked with at the time. He had

kissed her the other night and perhaps it was just a sign of things to come.

After watching the girls she excused herself and went to her room. She really was

tired and tomorrow was going to be another long day at the office. She missed not

being with Perry. 'How silly can you be Della? You and Perry were together nearly

all day today. You need to get some sort of life. Maybe Lori was right.' and with that

her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep.

The next morning Della woke up feeling much more like herself. She had not been

thinking clearly and she had desperately needed a good nights sleep. She woke up got

dressed and was singing as she cooked breakfast when Lori came into the room.

Lori smiled as she took a seat at the table. "Well you seem to be in a good mood

today. Did you get your much needed sleep? You looked so tired this morning when

you got up." she told her sister in a worried tone.

"I am fine. I guess what they say is true. When you leave work for a few days to relax

it takes three days to get back on track." Della told her with a smile.

"Oh Della I just want what is right for you. It is your business how you handle your

personal affairs and I know that you care deeply for Mr. Mason. But it is your business

and if you want me to stay out of it I will." Lori offered her.

"No. It is all right Lori. If I think that you have overstepped yourself I will let you know.

You are my sister and I respect the way that you feel. I know that you are younger than me

and that some of your ways are different but I respect your opinion." Della told her and

hugged her shoulder as she handed her a plate of sausage and eggs.

"Perry is a wonderful man and he treats you like a queen. He is rich and has the

potential to stay that way. He is kind and he is handsome as all get out. He is a good

catch for anyone." she told her sister.

That morning Della was taking care of the business at the office when Perry came

in. He had all of the tapes of the hotel where Mr. Mathers had been murdered and he

wanted for her to watch them with him. He was sure that he was missing something

and perhaps a new pair of eyes would help.

"Paul called this morning and said that he is outside of the home that belongs to

Dora and will let us know as soon as he finds out anything." Della offered.

Perry was busy getting the tape ready for them to watch and just grunted his

answer. He then turned and pulled his chair up next to hers. The screen was not

that large so they kept the screen close to them. Della could feel his presence next

to him and had an uncontrollable urge to touch his arm, but she controlled herself and

dedicated her attention to the people on the tape.

It was almost two hours into the tapes that Della thought she noticed something in

the background. "Can you stop that please? Can you rewind the tape about five minutes

and slow it down.?" she asked Perry.

"What are you looking for? Did you see something on the tape? Where on the tape

should I be looking?" Perry asked her.

"In the right top corner just above the pool sign I thought that I saw a man watching

the hotel room. It looked like he might have noticed the security camera and had ducked

back behind the shadows." she offered him.

Perry reached over and backed the tape up. He put it on half speed and sure enough there

was the man that Della had spotted. He zoomed the picture in but the picture blurred. He

would need to have the man that worked for Paul Drake try to zoom in on the figure with

his equipment. Perry marked the time on the tape and he and Della continued watching it

together.

Perry and Della sat for hours watching the different tapes and Dellas neck was getting

stiff. They had finally finished the second tape and Della got up to stretch. She looked

up and glanced at the clock. It was two thirty. She was hungry. Perry looked down at

Della and smiled. "I guess that I can tell what you are thinking of my friend, you must be

hungry. Why don't we take a break from the tapes and get some lunch." he told her with

a smile.

"That sounds great to me Perry. My eyes are getting tired from staring at a blank screen

ninety percent of the time. You cannot look away because if you do something might happen.

It is a very tiring job, but it is ok. I just think that I might miss something if my eyes are not

given a rest." Della told him sincerely.

" We will bring this tape over to Paul's office and have his man look at the man that

can be seen looking over at the room. If he can make the photo a little clearer we may

be able to identify him." and with that he took her by the arm and they went out the back

door to the office together.

Paul's office was busy and the man that was the photography expert had gone to lunch,

but was expected shortly. The secretary would give the tape to him and he would contact

Mr. Mason as soon as he had worked on it.

Perry took Della to one of their favorite spots for lunch that day. She had a large

roast beef sandwich with chips and a cup of coffee. Perry had a turkey on rye with

chips and a coke.

Della looked over at her boss and thought of how handsome he was. He had a kind

face and no matter what happened she never got tired of looking at him. She was proud

of the work that he did and the fact that many innocent people were now free and the

right person was in jail because of him. Oh she had been there and had assisted him

on occasion, but he was the attorney. He was the true reason why they were free.

Perry caught Dellas gaze and was wondering what was going on in her mind. She

was thinking about the case he was sure. She was very good at catching certain things

like the man on the tape. He needed her with him. She was his right arm and partner.

But would she be his partner in life? He hoped that would happen some day.

Without thinking he took her hands in his from across the table and looked at her

very tenderly. "You know there are times that I do not know what I would do without

you. I have looked at the tape two times and I never noticed the man in the video. You

have sharp eyes. "

Della did not know what to say at that point. All she could say was "Thank you for

such a wonderful compliment. I guess that we just plain make a good team."

There was a quiet between them then and they both gave each other genuine smiles. Some-

times by saying nothing people speak volumes. That was the case that day in the restaurant.

Della knew now that they were falling in love. She hoped that nothing would happen to end

the way that they felt at this time. Many people who had been good friends had taken the steps

to romance and when the romance had ended, they found that they also had lost their friendship.

She was not sure that she was willing to take the chance.

When they had finished eating Perry and Della waked back to the office. They both

walked arm in arm and Della did feel like she was refreshed and ready to watch the

one remaining tape. This tape was the tape from the office and it would have a picture

of everyone who had taken a room that day and for the week prior and the week after

the murder. Perry had wanted to cover all bases. Little did she know but Paul had another box

filled with the tapes in his car. She would not be happy with that information. It would take

days for her and Perry to watch every tape.

After four hours of watching the tape with nothing happening Perry got up and shut off the

tape. "I think that is enough for the day. It is now almost seven thirty and tomorrow is another

day. Let's go home." Perry told her with a smile.

As Della got ready to leave Perry came up behind her and touched her gently on the

shoulder. "I was thinking that perhaps it would not be too late for you and I to go out

for dinner. I do not want to think of you going home to some sort of leftover, and for

me to make one more tuna fish sandwich. What do you say?"

Della turned around and found herself just inches from Perry's face. She started

to answer him but she had to back up a little. . She backed up about a foot and smiled

at him. "That sounds good to me. I am hungry and I hate to come home so late. I make

a mess in the kitchen / " she told him with a smile.

Once again the two of them left together from the office and walked arm in arm to the

elevator and the garage, When they arrived at one of their favorite spots Della and Perry

were seated at their favorite table overlooking the lights of the city. It was a beautiful

sight and the atmosphere of the restaurant was filled with romance. Once the dinner

was done it was time for them to take to the dance floor Della hoped.

Della was right and Perry asked her to dance with him right after they had finished

their main meal. They walked to the dance floor together arm in arm and once she

felt his arm around her waist Della was in heaven. They danced four times together

and then they went back to their table. They sat together in silence for a few moments

and then Perry told her ? I think that it is time for us to leave. We have hours of more

tapes to go over tomorrow."

With that Della was put back to reality. She would have a long day tomorrow but

it would be fine with her. because it would mean that most of the day would be spent

with Perry. So she just sighed and he took Perrys arm and off they went back to get

her car.

When Perry pulled his car up to Della's he got out and opened the door for her. He then

took her keys and unlocked the car door for her. He then kept the door open for her, yes

he was a gentleman through and through. As she stepped out of his car so that she could

get into her car he took her hand.

For just a moment the two of them touched and Della thought for a moment that he

might kiss her, but Paul Drake's photography man waved to them. "I was getting

ready to give you a call when I saw you pull into the garage. The tape that you brought

over to me, was very grainy but I think that by the morning it should be ready for

you to watch. It should be clear enough for you to identify the man once I have

completed the developing of the film.

"Thank you Tom for looking at the tape so quickly. If I am able to identify the man in the

picture we might be able to identify who the murderer is." Perry told him.

Tom smiled at Della and Perry He thought that the two of them looked like a nice couple/

For a moment he thought that he might have come across them during a more private moment

and that he should have waited quietly for the proper moment for him to approach the two of

them. Bur they had spotted him first and acted as though there was nothing going on. Perhaps

they were just talking.

Della smiled as Tom went back to the elevator and turned to Perry. "Well that is good

news with any luck tomorrow we will know the identity of the man in the picture. Perhaps

he can lead us to the murderer. Perhaps he is the murderer." she told him.

"I do hope that we have a few answers tomorrow Della. If we know who the man is

in the picture, perhaps he saw something." he told her. It was then that he started to

lean toward the car and open the door. Della reached for the handle at the same time

and when they touched Della closed her eyes just for an instant.

When she opened her eyes she found that Perry was looking at her with a questioning

face. She smiled up at him and touched his cheek. She did not know why she did that

it just seemed the thing to do. Perry then put his hand around hers and smiled. He leaned

down and kissed her. This kiss was a much deeper and longer kiss than the one that they

had shared on the ship. It literally took Dellas breath away. When they were done kissing

Della stepped back and studied the man that she admired so much. She was one lucky

woman.

Perry had decided that there was to be no going back for him or Della. If anything

happened and they found themselves apart what would be would be. He had wanted to

go very slowly and perhaps the two years he had waited to kiss her had been long enough

for them. He looked down at Della and took her in his arms . We must find the time

to talk Della. I do not want us to go through the change in our relationship too quickly. It

is important to me that we keep our business affairs and our personal affairs apart from

each other. Do you think that can be done?" he asked her.

:I think that it is possible. We would have to work on it. I think that two mature

adults can be happy, as long as they are willing to give and take. I do know that working

at your office is a job that I love. It is very interesting and I think that when someone

has been set free because of the work that I do, it makes me feel good. You and I make

a good team and I have always looked forward to going to work Times change and people

change. It is just part of life. Everything will work out of that I am sure." Della told him

sincerely.

" Everyday that I go to work I feel lucky. The work that I do to help our clients makes my

day. With you and Paul and some very good luck my office has gotten to be a busy place

I enjoy everyday and you are one of the reasons that I enjoy it. We will work it out and it will

work that is a promise that I give you now Go home and rest we will see each other in the

morning With any luck we will discover the identity of the man in the phot and perhaps there

will be something else on the tape that we have not finished watching as of yet." he told her

with a smile. "I am sorry but while you were shutting off the lights and locking the doors

one of Pauls men delivered a full box of tapes for us to watch. I did think that three tapes

was a very small number.

Della smiled back and somehow the few minutes of talk had settled her down a little. They

could make both parts of their lives work. She left the garage that evening feeling like a woman

who was in love with a wonderful man. She sang all the way to her house and when she

came in she could not wait to talk to Lori.

Lori was in the kitchen when Della walked in. She came around the corner and smiled at

her sister. "Hi. I just made some coffee, would you like some?" she asked.

Della took a seat and gladly took the coffee that she was offered. "it was another long

day at the office . Perry and I went out to dinner and when we came back we had a talk.

He wants us to give the romance a try. He says that he wants to keep the romance and

the business apart from each other. He and I think that if we are honest with each other

we both think that it will work." Della told her.

"Oh Della that sounds so wonderful. I hope that it does work. The both of you deserve

the best." Lori then leaned over and gave her sister a big hug. She knew that the first step

had been taken and that somehow her sister and Perry Mason would make their life together

work.

The next morning Della went to work and did her normal daily things. Perry arrived at

the office just a few minutes past eleven. He had to go to court to fill out some papers

and he had been held down by a call from Paul. Perry came into the office and gave

Della a smile. "I think that this case is starting to come together. I just spoke to Paul

and you would not believe who is renting the house that is in Doras name." he paused

thinking that Della might have her own idea on the subject.

"I have been thinking about the house in Texas and was wondering who would want

to put a home in Dora's name without her knowledge. I thought that perhaps the only

person that would do that would be her aunt. It would be a good tax write off if the property

cost too much money and it would also account for some of the funds that were missing out

of the trust fund." Della told him.

""Della you amaze me you hit the nail right on the head. It is rented to some people

who have nothing to do with the case. They just send the rent check to a realtor in

Texas. It is there that they take their fee and then send the money to Doras aunt here

in LA. I am going to want to talk to the aunt at sometime, but for now I will keep the

information under my hat. he told her with a smile. Paul is looking into everything a

little deeper and will be back in a couple of days.

"I had thought that you would be coming to the office soon, so I have the tape all set

for us to watch. All that is left is for the popcorn." she said with a laugh.

"There has still been no word from Tom today? I was hoping that he would have the

information for me when I arrived at the office." Perry told her as he pulled a chair

up next to her."

"No, I have not heard from him, but he did say that he would let us know as soon

as he had the information for us. He will call soon I am sure." she told him as she

hit the remote control to start the tape.

Della and Perry had been watching the tape for about an hour when there was a knock

on the back door. Della was surprised to hear the knock. Paul Drake was the only one

that used the door usually and he was in Texas. She opened the door and saw Tom standing

there. He had a photo in his hand.

Della welcomed him into the office and he handed the photo to Perry. The photo was a

bit grainy, but there was no doubt who the man was that was in the picture. The man in

the photo was his friend and associate Attorney Williams. He handed the photo to Della

and he knew immediately that she recognized him too. "Thank you Tom the photo is

clear enough. I know who the man is. I just need to know why he was there at the photo

on that date Thank you for your time."

After Tom had left Perry put his hand on his chin and thought for a few minutes. He

was sure now that there was more to this financial mess than one could see from the surface,

Now he was sure that his friend had something to do with the money from his customers

and possibly other peoples trust funds. He was sure that he either suspected what was

going on and was keeping an eye because of it or he was involved. Perry hoped that he

was not involved as they had been friends for over five years.

Perry and Della watched the tape for another four hours. There was nothing on this

tape, but again they both needed a break. Paul would be back in about two hours and

he was getting hungry.

Della got up and stretched . It had been a good day, tiring, watching all those tapes

were hard on the eyes. But the talk that she and Perry had last night had put her back

at ease and she had been at ease for the first time that week. She was getting hungry

and she would settle for anything.

"Why don't we have some sandwiches sent up? I don't mind. That sounds good to

me. I would like to look at another tape, I think that we are getting close to finding out

what really happened that evening. Somewhere on the tape is the murderer. He had to

go into the room somehow. It is a shame that the cameras were set to scan the areas and

were not set to tape a certain area all of the time. Whoever went in the room that night

has not shown up anywhere on any tape. We must keep watching.

Della leaned over to pick up the phone . She was going to call the deli just around

the block and order some sandwiches . Perry was putting the tape into the dvr when

Gerty knocked on the door. Mrs. Clemmons was out in the outer office and she said

that it was very important that she speak to Mr. Mason.

"Let her in." He then pulled his chair back to behind his desk and Della moved the television

to the other end of the room. Mrs. Clemmons came in and took a seat. She looked a little

nervous when she took the seat.

"I have been on the phone with a tenant of mine, it seems that they were outside their home

and that someone has been asking questions about a home that I have in El Paso Texas. I want

you to know that just three years ago when the elder Mr. Davis died, I had a bad feeling about

how some of my nieces money was going to be handled. Under the terms of the will I could

take some of the money and invest it for her. I took that money and purchased a home that

had belonged to my parents for my niece . I had hoped that the younger Mr. Davis would not

be able to find out about it because it was in Texas. That home has given Dora a small steady

income. But now, somehow , the police are under the impression that it was some kind of

hidden property. I do not know what to do now." she told them.

"You had the right to invest a small portion of Doras trust fund and a purchase of real

estate can be made out of state. It would have been hidden property if it had not been listed

in Dora Clemmons name. You have done nothing wrong under the law. But you did clear

up a question that I had and I am glad that you did. Do not worry we are working hard on

finding the real murderer and your niece will soon be free from any types of restrictions I

promise you that." Perry told her. He stood up and shook her hand and Della held the door

open for her.

"That meeting has settled one thorn in my side. When Paul told me that the home had

belonged to Dora but that the checks were coming to her aunt. Her aunt had been doing

her niece the right thing. She was trying to protect Dora from an attorney that she did not

quite trust." Perry told Della with a frown.

"I am afraid that perhaps Mr. Davis was not to be trusted. But, they keep on referring

to him as the younger Mr. Davis and he does not look that young to me. He looks as though

he is in his forties." Della told Perry.

"Now we really must watch the tape. The answer is on the tape I know it is" . Just then

Gertie knocked on the door and brought them their much needed sandwiches. Della took

Perrys sandwich out and put it on a plate for him, and then did the same with hers. She handed

him his lunch and she took a seat to eat hers. For a moment she thought that Perry was going

to get up and bring the television over but he did not and for the next ten minutes they sat

together in silence.

Perry was thinking to himself about what Mrs. Clemmons had said. It was true that she

had the right to use some of the trust and the money was used for a good purpose, but I

cannot help but wonder how much of the trust the aunt touched." Perry was thinking quickly

and Della knew that she should say nothing. He was just thinking out loud.

She agreed that the aunt could not be completely disregarded , but Della felt good about

her. She wanted to know why Attorney Williams had been at the hotel that evening. Perry

was going to meet him the next morning in his office. Perhaps he would be able to explain

everything to him. She had also known the attorney for almost as long as Perry and she did

not want to think that he had anything to do with murder.

Perry was busy pulling the television close to them once more and had now pulled his

chair back to the same spot that he had been sitting in for the past two days. Della sat back

and started to watch the tape again.

This time the tape had only been running for a period of about ten minutes when both Perry

and Della saw something that caught their eye. There in the middle of the room filling out

a room slip was none other than the wife of Mr. Mathers Marion. She was with a man that

neither Della or Perry knew,, He appeared to be in his early thirties. Perry tried once again to

zoom in but the picture was too blurry. "Della give a call to the hotel and see what room number

Mrs. Mathers registered in. Maybe she rented the room for her husband that night But I do not

think so we have already seen him come in and register himself. " Perry told her.

Just then there was a knock on the back door their friend Paul Drake was back from Texas

and Perry needed him to go to the hotel. "Perry I just got back and I thought that I had some

important information for you. I know that you now know who owns the house and the reason

that she says she purchased the home, but there is something else that you should know. The

people who live there now are the brother of the murder victim Mr. Mathers and his family.

The name threw me for a moment but he is his half brother and his last name is Clark. He

has been known to be in LA from time to time and has a lengthy prison record."

"Do you have a picture of Mr. Clark?" Perry asked him.

"Why yes I do."" Paul told him and handed Perry a picture of Mr. Clark.

Perry took one look at the photo and handed it to Della. The man that they had just seen

going into the hotel lobby was Mr. Clark. He had been at the hotel with Mr. Mathers wife on

the day before the murder.

" Della give a call to the hotel and see if they will cooperate and let Paul take a copy of

the hotel register. for that day. I want to see if someone else under the name of Clark or

Mathers registered as a guest that day and what room number did they take?"

Della called the hotel and the manager said that he would be more than willing to help

and that he would look it up for them. A Mr. Arthur Clark and wife had taken the room next

to the room where Mr. Mathers had been murdered. The room did have a joining room and

yes there was a way to gain entry to room eight from room seven. Della hung up the phone

and told Perry what she had just found out.

"Paul you and I are going to go over to the hotel right now. I want to see if there is any sign

that someone may have used some sort of substance to copy a key or that someone has used the

door between the two rooms. I want you to keep watching the tapes. There may still be inform-

ation on them also. I will be back hopefully with some good news. " Perry told her

With that Della took a seat alone in the office and turned the television back on so that she

could watch the tape. She sat there and saw nothing for almost two and a half hours, when

in the background she noticed someone walking past the window of the office. The man going

by the office was Mr. Davis. He headed toward room eight but the film did not go far enough

to the right so that she could see where he had gone that night. She marked down the time so

that Perry could look at it when he came back. She watched the tape for about another half an

hour, when she heard her friends Perry and Paul return.

They had some success with the hotel log and had been given a copy of it for the week prior

and the week after the murder. Perry and Paul had hoped that another name might show up

in the log. Perry smiled at the two men and told them "Well I had some luck of my own. Let

me show you what I found". She took the remote and rewound the tape to the time where she

had seen Mr. Davis. Both the men took one look at each other and nodded. They had suspected

that Mr. Davis was the man that the clerk had seen that day..

The next morning Perry was going to meet with his friend Attorney Williams and perhaps

they would have all their answers then. But for now it was late and it was time for the three

friends to go home. "I need to go home and get my house ready for my brother Dave. Don't

forget that the two of you are invited to my house tomorrow night for dinner."Perry reminded

them.

"Oh Perry Sue and I always enjoy having dinner at your house and we are looking forward

to it." Paul told him as he walked back out of the office once again.

"I will be there too. It is always a pleasure seeing your brother Dave. He is a very nice man."

Della told Perry.

The day had been a good one and Della was sure that they were very close to figuring out

what had happened to Mr. Mathers at the hotel on that fateful night. She went around the office

shutting off the lights and making sure that all of the doors were locked and then walked out of

the office on the arm of Perry.

Perry walked her to the car and gave her a sweet smile. "I think that we can make this thing

work Della." and with that he opened the door for her and she got in the car to go home.

When Della got home she had lots of things to do. She had not done any work in the yard

and the leaves from the trees were starting to pile up. She made a note of it in her head that

she had better call the landscape company and of all things her washing machine had chosen

this to be the day that it would no longer work. She would have to call the appliance repair man

in the morning too.

Lori had left her a note telling her that she had a a date that night and that she would not

be home for supper. It was usually Lori that found herself at home alone, so Della did not mind

having her dinner by herself. She had just put a dinner in the oven when her phone rang. It

was her mother. Her mom usually called about once a week and Della was glad to hear her

voice on the other end.

Her mother was calling to start making plans for Thanksgiving. She wanted to know what

she and Lori had plans. Usually Lori and her would make it a point to either have them come

to their home or sometimes they would come and visit their parents over the weekend. Her

mother and father lived only about an hour away and even in holiday traffic it was not too long

a ride for them to make anytime..

Della told her mother that it was a little early to start thinking about Thanksgiving, but she

would talk to Lori and get back to her. Her mom and dad were fine and everything was fine at

the home. She just wanted to know what Della thought she would be doing. "You are welcome

to bring anyone here that you would like , you or Lori you know."

She knew that her mother was hinting about either one of them bringing a man home, but her

mother had met Perry and did not know that he and Della were now a little more serious than the

last time that she had seen him and Della wanted to keep it that way at least for now. So she

said to her mother "Thanks mom I will let Lori know. and I will get back to you." and with that

she hung up.

Perry had just gotten home when he received a call from his friend Michael Williams asking

him to come to his office. He had something to tell him that could not wait until the morning.

So Perry went back out to meet with his friend. When he arrived at his friends office Perry was

surprised to find it dark. He stepped into the reception area and some lights came on automatic-

ally. With the lights on he could see that someone had been there and had now left. . He

called to his friend and got no answer. That is when he went into Mike Williams office. Even

in the dark he could see Mike sitting at his desk, but as he stepped closer he found that he had a

letter opener stuck in his chest and he was dead.

Who would want his friend dead? He was sure that the two murders could be tied in together,

but who would have the most to gain by both of these men being dead? His first phone call was

made to the police and then he called Paul. He would need Paul's help in finding out any inform-

ation that the police had on the case and fast. He was met by Lt Tragg who had lots of questions

for the lawyer, who had no information for him. He had seen nothing in the hallways and there

were no other cars in the parking lot. He had received a call from his friend asking him to meet

him at the office that evening and he had come over to talk to him. It had been about a half an

hour before he had arrived.

It was near to midnight when Perry finally got to go back home. He was glad that he had

hired a caterer to handle the dinner party that he was going to have the next evening, but he knew

that Della and him were going to be very busy that next day. It was going to be Friday and many

of the places that he needed to have access to would not be open on the weekend.

He would call Della at the office and let her know that he was going to go back to the

bank and talk to his friend once again. He was sure that someone at the bank knew about the

mishandling of funds by the trustees. He was also sure that young Mr. Davis had something

to do with the murders also, he just could not prove it.

He called Della at the office as soon as she came in and told her to keep watching the tapes.

He was sure that there was something on the tapes that would help his client. Della was getting

ready to hang up the phone when the other line lit up. She picked up the other line and it was

Doras aunt. She was in a panic. It seemed that Dora had gotten a call from a man that said he

worked for Mr. Davis asking her to come to his office. Dora and her aunt had thought that it

would be ok to go because with the bracelet she was allowed to see her lawyer, so she let her

go to the office.

When Dora got to the office she heard two men having a very loud argument so she tried to

hide around the corner of the room. She saw a man run out of Mr. Williams office and tried to

see him but he was too fast and she was too scared. When she was sure that the man was gone

she went into Mr. Williams office and found him dead. She ran out of the building and came

straight home.

"Miss Street the police came here just a few minutes ago and took Dora back to the police

station. A man named Lt Tragg said to tell you that this time Dora was going to have to stay with

them" she nearly cried to Della.

"Do not worry Perry will handle it. I will let him know what is going on right away." Della

promised her.

Perry was surprised to hear his cell phone ring and see that Della was calling him so soon, he

was sure that the news was not good and he was right. 'Oh why did his clients always get

caught doing stupid things. He had not seen her that night. She must have just missed him. He

told Della that he was on his way to the police station and that he would keep in touch with

her. Call Paul and let him know what has happened also.

Della called Paul who was busy going through the real estate transactions at the Registry

of Deeds and acknowledged what had happened. There had to be more information for

him somewhere in that office. Della then set back and started to watch the tapes again. It

was strangely quiet in the office and watching pictures without sound was starting to p ut

her to sleep. So, she decided to take a small break. Then she looked at the clock, no wonder

she was tired and hungry it was now a little after one.

Della was thinking about ordering from the deli once again when Perry called. Technically

Dora had not broken any rule by going to see her lawyer, and although she was now a prime

suspect in another murder, they had allowed her to go home.. He had just taken her home and

was on his way in. Della asked if he would pick her up a sandwich and he told her he would be

glad to and with that Della went back to watching the tapes.

Della turned as she heard the familiar sound of the key turning in the lock and smiled at Perry

who had a sandwich and a bottle of soda with him. "Why thank you sir." she told him with a

smile. I was just thinking about lunch when you called."

" I spoke to Paul and he is at the Registry of Deeds looking up any real estate transactions

that involved the firm of Williams Bagley and Davis and said that he has not had much luck

as of yet but he is still looking into it. I have been watching the tapes ever since you called

and have struck out there too. It is terrible what happened to your friend Mike Williams I feel

very sorry for his wife and family also." Della told him.

" Something that he knew or something that he suspected is what got Mike killed Della, I

am sure that the two murders are tied in somehow, I just have not been able to figure out

how. The answer is right in front of us I am sure. Dora said that she had heard two men in

his office arguing and that a man had run out the door while she was hiding. She was too upset

when I met her at the police station, once she calms down I want to talk to her again." and with

that he leaned over and took a chip from her plate.

They had just sat down to once again watch the tapes when there was another tap on the door.

Della looked up to see the door open and Perrys brother Dave walk into the room. Dave was a

handsome man with dark curly hair and broad shoulders. He smiled as he came in and gave

his brother a hug and then turned to Della. "Oh Della my sweet, if my brother does not soon

claim you. I will make you mine" and with this he kissed her on the hand.

Della smiled and pulled him up a seat. "So I did not think that the legal business was

so slow that you now spend your time watching television" he told them with a grin.

"No actually we are watching some tapes of a hotel where a murder happened. We

are looking for anything strange that happened on that day or for people who we might

recognize. It is a long drawn out process, because you cannot speed up the tape or

anything because you might miss something important. Would you like to join us?"

Perry asked him with a smile.

"You have always been nothing but work dear brother, you should get out once in a while

and enjoy the real world. Della you need to show him that there is more to life than just

murder." he told them with a grin. "No I was hoping that I could have the key to your pad

so that I could get changed and comfortable. It is very nice of you to plan a dinner party for

me. It was not necessary but thank you ." he told his brother.

"Here is the key and do not burn the house down while I am gone." Perry told him with a

laugh.

"I will try my best to behave. I do hope that you will be there tonight Della You are the light

in a world of darkness and always a pleasure to be around." and with that Dave walked out the

door to leave Della and Perry alone.

Della smiled at Perry and said "He sure knows how to turn on the charm. But the blarney,

I was thinking of putting my rain boots on. " and with that she smiled and took her seat

to go back to watching the tape.

That evening they closed the doors to the office at five oclock. Della wanted to get home

and get dressed for the dinner. It was not a formal affair but she would certainly want to wear

one of the newer dresses and put on her best cologne and jewelry. She would wear the pin

and earrings that Perry had bought her for her birthday.

The dinner was to be served at seven so Della left her house at about six thirty. It would take

her less than fifteen minutes to get to his home, and there was a valet at the home that would

park her car for her. She would arrive a little early, but not too early. She wanted to be prompt

and on time. She was just going up the stairs when she saw Paul and Sue coming up behind

her. They would arrive together and Della was pleased.

Della did not have enough time with her friend Sue and she was glad to see her that evening.

She was wearing a lovely dress and Della could tell that it was new. Paul looked good as he

always did and she was sure that Sue was mostly the reason for that.

When they arrived at Perrys apartment they were greeted by the two brothers. Della had not

thought that the two men looked alike, but when they stood together you could see the family

resemblance. Perry took her hand and smiled. They all took their seats in the living room and

the caterer offered them a drink. Della asked for a Tom Collins and took a seat on the divan

across from her friends Sue and Paul. Perry took a seat next to her and Dave took the seat that

was to the side of the two couches. Della was pleased that the divan was smaller and it gave

her an excuse to sit nearer to Perry. It worked, because he had no choice unless he wanted

his brother to take a seat next to her.

All five of the adults took a seat and the conversation was quite lively. They were all good

friends and because Dave was Perrys brother he was accepted right into the little group. The

dinner smelled very good and Della was starting to get hungry. Dinner was almost ready and

so Della finished her drink. The waiter came over and offered them some pate. That was one

of Dellas favorites and she took two of them. She smiled at Perry and finished them in just

two bite. He whispered in her ear "I knew that you would not be able to resist them that is

why I asked the caterer to make some."

The caterer announced that dinner was served and the small party went into the formal dining

room. It had been tastefully decorated and Perry had her take the seat to his right. The meal

was delicious and lively. It was a four course meal with roast beef and mashed potatoes. There

was a wonderful gravy with peas and carrots. The desert consisted of small individual pieces

of strawberry shortcake that had sour cream on the top. It was scrumptious and Della enjoyed

every minute of the meal.

When the men had taken out their smokes for the after meal Della and Sue excused them-

selves and went into the bathroom to freshen up. That had always been the place that they

had gotten to talk and not have the men around. They both knew that they would have

ten minutes before the men went to look for them. One the door was closed Sue smiled

at her friend. "Your dress and earrings are lovely. Aren't those the earrings that Perry

gave you for your birthday?" she asked her with a grin.

"Yes they are. I wanted to wear them so that he would know how much I liked them. He

has very good taste." Della told her with a smile. "Your dress is beautiful too. Is it new?"

"Yes I went shopping last Saturday while Paul was in Texas. He likes for me to wear

green. He says it compliments my eyes. Even Paul Jr said that he thought I looked pretty.

So how are things with you and Perry? You make such a sweet couple." she asked.

"I am afraid that our personal life is still a work in progress. I am sure that you know

I feel, I am just not always sure that he does." she told her friend with a sigh. But you

should see the three dozen roses that he sent me Tuesday. They are long stemmed and

they smell great too.

"Well he must be blind because you look great tonight. He must be taking you for

granted. Perhaps you should try not being so available. I had to do that with Paul if

I hadn't we would not be married. Take it from me you can be on his side but not

at it all the time. Try telling him that you have other plans the next time he asks you

to go somewhere with him. He will spend the night wondering believe me." Sue told

her with a smile. "Be nice be there but say no once in a while."

Della thought for a second. She might be right, about saying no. She was always to willing

to do things perhaps a no would be all right once in while. A no would only work if she really

did have other plans. The two of them walked out of the bathroom laughing and talking as

friends do and they were pleased to find the men seated in the living room once again. Della

thought about taking the sear next to Paul but just for a brief second. She sat down next to

Perry and was served a fresh cup of coffee.

The rest of the night went well. They ended but going out onto the roof top. It was a

little windy up there but it was a warm night and the lights of the city were mesmerizing. Della

loved to go our onto the roof and look out, she felt as though she could touch the stars if she

was to raise her hand to them. She was standing next to Perry and he put his arm around her.

It had been a good night after all.

The caterer company was busy cleaning up the dishes and the home when the five of them

returned to the penthouse. It was after ten and Paul Della and Sue were going to have to

return to their homes. Paul was going to be busy working for Perry the next day and that

night he had planned to sit outside of the Davis house and watch the activity once again.

Perry walked with Della to her car . The valet service stopped at nine that evening and

he did not feel comfortable letting her go to her car alone. It was a large city and sometimes

it was not safe for someone to be outside alone especially a woman. "Thank you for coming

tonight. I had a great time, He reached over to give her a hug and once again their lips met.

He was a very good kisser, or so she thought, she had never been kissed as an adult. Oh she

had a boyfriend in college but that had been all. They stayed in each others arms for a few more

moments and then she got into her car and went home.

Perry went upstairs and paid the caterer. They had done a great job and the place looked as

if nothing had gone on in there, even though the party had just ended not fifteen minutes ago.

When he walked into the room his brother was sitting on the couch smoking. "Perry, I wanted

to thank you for the dinner and the party. It was wonderful and the food was out of this world."

he told him with a genuine smile.

"Well thank you . It was nice to spend some time with family and friends and not be at

work. We should get together more often. Perry told his brother.

Dave could not help but smile,, his quiet well dressed brother who never dated anyone was

standing in front of him with lipstick on his lips. Perhaps he wasn't as shy as he thought

"Speaking of family our mom and dad would like to hae us come to their home for Thanks-

giving. I think that I can be there for them. They want you to give them a call and let them know

of your plans." David told him.

Perry had not yet thought about his plans for this Thanksgiving. He had gone to his parents

for the past five years and thought that his plans would not change. He would like to spend some

of the day with Della, but they might be able to get together either the day before or the weekend

afterward. He thought that she probably would have her own plans. "I was thinking that I would

be going to mom and dads house like I have been going." he told his brother.

"Well they just want to know so that mom can make plans so if you could give them a call

they would appreciate it." he smiled.

Perry took a seat on the couch and relaxed and lit a cigarette. He was used to staying

up much later than this and he had no office hours the next day. It was not often that

he had time to spend with his brother. They played a couple of games of cards and

talked the night away. It was after one when they finally went to bed. Dave was going

to be there for one more night so they would spend the day together on Saturday.

Paul had arrived at the Davis home and was settling down for a long night of watching

the home, when to his surprise the police arrived at the house. They came with lights

but no siren. They surrounded the house and two uniformed officers knocked on the door.

Paul watched in amazement as Mr. Davis was taken into custody. It was detectives,

not homicide and he would have to follow them downtown to the station. He got on the

phone and called Perry. Perry had just climbed into bed and that phone call had him up

and wide heard the phone and stuck his head out the bedroom door. "Something

happen with one of your cases?" he asked.

"Yes it would seem that a suspect in a murder case that I am involved in has just been

arrested. I think that it might be on another matter, though." Perry told him. "I am on my

way to the police station. I want to talk to the detectives." and with that Perry Mason was

on his way downtown once more.

When he arrived at the station he was told that Mr. Davis was not there and that he had been

brought to the FBI headquarters just down the street. It was as Perry suspected he was sure that

Mr. Davis had been arrested for taking funds from some of his trustees. When something is

taken over the state line it becomes a federal issue. Perry placed a call to the only remaining

member of the firm Edward Bagley. He reached his answering service and asked the service

to have him call him right away.

Mr. Mason was not friends with Ed Bagley but had spoken to him on several occasions. He

had the appearance of a man that could be trusted and he had never heard anything negative

about him. He needed to talk to him and find out why the FBI had arrested Mr. Davis. Perry

was pretty sure of the reason but he wanted to make sure that he was right. At this point he

was working on a double murder case and he was not sure that the FBI had the right man.

Mr. Bagley called Perry back right away and agreed to meet him at the office. Perry

wanted to have Della with him, but he decided to let her sleep as it was now three in the

morning. When Mr. Bagley came into the office it looked to Perry like he had a rough

week. He gladly took a cup of coffee that Perry offered and took a seat. "What I have

to stay need to stay here if possible. I know that you might have to use some of the inform-

ation but if that can be avoided I would appreciate it. Just over two years ago, my partner

Mr. Davis died suddenly of a heart attack. His son had been an attorney for over six years,

but he was not a good lawyer and had tried to run his law office alone. His father knew

that his son was not a good attorney, but it was his son. Once his father died Junior used

the contract that the three of us had once signed that had an option for our children to join

the firm if they ever earned their law degree." he paused for a moment.

"So what happened Ed? You need to tell me." Perry encouraged him

After a few moments he began again. "Well at first there were a few complaints that Mike

and I would hear. Someone that should have been given probation had been sent to prison,

and then the phone calls started to come in. When Junior would not answer the calls the

people began calling the general office number and the people of my staff were being harassed

with several calls a day. Most of the people on the line were looking for their money and some

had been quite threatening. Both Mike and I confronted him, but he just kept saying that it

was all right, that he had made a few bad investments, but the money was starting to turn around

and that he was working on a real estate deal. All the investors would be playing a different

tune once that came through. It was to be worth millions. Then Dora Clemmons came into

the office. Her aunt had been a client of ours for years, and Dora had turned twenty-one. She

was due to have full access to her trust fund and Davis was refusing to release her account.

When Mrs. Clemmons called and confronted Mike and me about the missing money, we

confronted Davis. He did not know where the money had gone. He had not touched the money

of that he was sure. But with all of the problems that he was having Mike and I were worried.

When I ran the audit on the account, it was found the be over one hundred and fifty thousand

dollars short. But, when I checked the account I could find no reason for the money being

missing either. I had a private firm look into the matter, and the findings are just preliminary,

but they do not believe that Junior had anything to do with the missing funds. Mike was to

meet with Junior on the night that he was murdered. I do not know if perhaps Junior Davis

was the murderer or not. This has been a real worry of mine ever since Mr. Mathers was

murdered." and then he finally took a breath.

"If you could give me a copy of the accounting firms findings as soon as you can, I would

appreciate it. Did you know that Dora Clemmons aunt had used some of the funds in her

nieces trust fund to purchase a house in El Paso Texas?" Perry asked.

" Did you say a house in El Paso? No but something about that rings a bell with me. Do you

know who she purchased the home from?" he asked Perry.

"Doras aunt said that she bought the house from her parents estate when they passed away.

She had felt that it was a good investment. Why?"

"I want to go back to my office and check our records. The house in El Paso rings a bell, but

I do not think that the house belonged to Mrs. Clemmons parents. I will go over the records this

weekend and get back to you on Monday" and with that the two men shook hands and left for

their perspective houses.

Perry finally got into bed that morning at four. He was very tired and knew that Dave had

made plans for them on that day. He had set his alarm for eight and got up on his own at a

quarter to eight on his own. He took a shower and came out into the living room Dave was

sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning brother. You look as though you could use a cup of my strong coffee' and

he handed him a large mug of black coffee. Usually he drank coffee with cream and sugar, but

this morning he needed it black.

"So what do we have on the planning board for today?" he asked as he took a large sip of

the very strong coffee.

"I was thinking of going with you to a few of the art museums that they have here in town. I

just moved into a new apartment and would like to hang some art to make it feel more like a

home. The apartment is large and nice but the walls are plain. I have no idea what kind of art

I want I just know that when I see a piece that I like, I will take it." he told him.

"That sounds good to me." Perry told him with a smile.

With Paul gone for the weekend and Paul Jr with his grandparents Sue had called Della the

next morning. " I was wondering if you would be interested in doing something together today."

"I have nothing important planned. What would you like to do?" she asked her.

"The shopping mall, maybe a manicure and pedicure, what do you think?" she asked her

friend.

"That sounds like a great way to spend the day. Lori just left to go to some kind of sporting

event and she will be gone most of the day. Let's go and forget about the guys and all of the

work and the problems that come with their jobs." Della told her.

Sue had said that she would be there within the hour, so Della went to her room to get

dressed. She knew that she wanted to wear shoes with an open toe because when you got

a pedicure you had to keep your toes exposed so that the nails could dry. She dressed

smartly as always but comfortable because they were going to be walking most of the day.

After all the mall had over one hundred stores for them to look at also. Neither one of them

had anyplace that they needed to be and if they were needed they both had cell phones on

them.

The two girls had a great day and looked dressed to kill when they left the mall that

evening. Della had bought herself two new pairs of shoes and two new dresses to match

the shoes. Sue had bought three outfits and two pairs of shoes also. When they got into

the car, they were both tired. They drove to Dellas house and Della invited Sue in. Sue declined

saying that she was tired and wanted to go home and rest. Della was glad that she had

wanted to go home as she was tired also.

It had been a pleasant day and Della had been pleased that she had not gotten a call from

Perry. With everything going on with the murder investigation, she was sure that he could

use her watching some more of those tapes. She thought about calling and offering to

help him, but when she got home Lori and her friends were all in her living room.

"Oh Della we were just getting ready to go out. We are going to one of the new nightclubs

that just opened. We were hoping that you would come home, because we want you to come

with us. Come on it will be fun. It will be a girls night out." Lori told her.

"Lori I have been out shopping all day, I am tired. Maybe some other time." Della told her.

"We will not take no. You cannot stay at home all alone, come on. Put on one of the new

dresses that you bought at the mall and come with us. You need to loosen up. We will stay

here and party if you refuse me." she told her.

Della looked at the group of friends in her house and knew that if they did stay there she

would not get any rest like Lori said. Her friend Sue had told her that she needed to go

out to different places. "All right I will go. But I warn you I am boring company. Give me

a few minutes to get dressed." and with that she went to her room.

Meanwhile Perry and his brother had just finished dinner, when Dave came out with the

idea to go out to one of the new nightclubs in town. They were both young and single and

Perry was one of the most eligible bachelors in town. "Perry we could have a great time. You

need to get our once in a while. There are many fish in the sea you know."

Perry thought about it for a while and then agreed to go. He had the new outfit that he had

bought just the other day thinking of a future date with Della and went into his room to get

dressed for the night life. It had been a long time since he had been out on the town so they

would call it and what better person to do it with than his brother.

When Dave and Perry arrived at the local night club they were let right in. The bouncer

recognized him and they did not have to wait. They looked at the long line and thought to

themselves ' thank god that we do not have to wait there to get in. It looked like there was a

two hour or more wait. Neither one of them noticed Lori and Della standing there in line and

went on in. Lori saw Perry and called to him but he did not hear her. She told the man that he

was a friend of theirs and he laughed at her. "No, This is my sister her name is Della Street

and she is his private secretary". The man had heard of Della and they were allowed right in.

The crowd was so bad that it nearly took Dellas breath away. She looked for Perry but could

not find him, but the four of them managed to find a table. It was near the back of the room,

but at least there was some air there that they could breathe. You could have cut the smoke with

a knife Della thought.

Lori reached over and took her sisters arm. " I know that this is not the type of place that

you usually go to but take a look around. There are many eligible bachelors here and they

would all love to have a girl like yours that they could call their own. Perry was here but

he may be gone by now. It is crowded and we might not even see him anyhow.. Come on

let's have some fun."

Della smiled at her and ordered a drink. It was so loud that it was near to impossible to

talk to each other. But, sure enough a man came over and asked Della to dance. He was

handsome and Lori gave her a nudge. With reluctance she went out on the dance floor

with him. He was a very nice man and it turned out that he was an attorney himself. He

did not seem to recognize her and when the dance was over he took a seat at their table.

Della did not see Dave approach the table, but she heard his voice and turned to see him

standing right beside her. "May I have this dance mam?" he asked her with a grin.

She nodded to the young man who had danced with her just a few minutes before and said

"I would be honored sir."

They walked out to the dance floor arm in arm and he put his arm around her waist. He

smiled and said "I saw you and that young man dancing a few minutes ago . He is a good

looking young man. Is he your date?"

"Why are you jealous?" she asked him with a sincere look.

"Good one Della. It is not often that I get a chance to dance with such a nice lady. Thank you

for saying yes." he told her.

Meanwhile Lori had been looking for Perry. She spotted him over with the rest of the VIPS

sipping a drink and looking quite bored. She walked over to him and started to say something

when security came over and asked him if she was bothering him. "No sir, she is a friend of

mine. "Hi Lori. I am surprised to see you here." he told her with a smile.

"I thought that I would try out one of the newer night clubs in town. I was surprised to see

you here." she smiled and said "How about a dance?"

Perry thought for a moment, he was not a very good dancer and he knew that Della had

been easy on him. But this was Dellas sister and he figured all right. "It would be my honor

and with that he gave her a bow and took her arm and they walked to the dance floor.

They started to dance and Perry discovered that Lori was a good dancer. She did not look

that much like Della, but there was something about her smile that reminded him of her. They

had just started to dance when they bumped into Della and his brother Dave on the dance floor.

They caught Perry completely by surprise and smiled as he said "hello".

Della did not why but she felt guilty about dancing with his brother and she found herself

blushing. "Hi Perry Dave saw me over at our table and asked me to dance. He did not tell me

that you were here. This is a pleasant surprise."

"I hope you wouldn't mind Dave, but may we switch partners?" Perry asked. "Thank you

for the dance Lori, we will have to do it another time." he said with a smile.

Perry took Della by the hand and then put his arm around her waist. "You do not think

that this was planned by the group do you?" he asked her.

"You know I do not think so. My sister and your brother have barely spoken to each other

before and she is always going out with her friends. I think that she genuinely thought that I was

going to be home alone tonight and wanted me to have some fun. I will ask her when we get

home, though" she told him with a smile.

"He pulled her closer and they started to dance the night away. It was so crowded that it

was nearly impossible to dance anything but on top of each other but neither one of them cared.

They were there to have fun. After all the agreement had been that they keep work and play

separate and this was the time to play. The night went quickly and Perry and his brother made

quite a hit with Loris friends. They each danced with all of them and Perry bought all of their

drinks. It was closing time before the group left. It was a good night and Della and Perry had

some time together alone also. Of course it was on a loud dance floor, but they had a chance

to hold each other in their arms and Della was pleased with that.

She had been surprised by Dave, he was so nice to her sister and her friends. He even

took down Loris cell phone number and had promised that he would call her the next time

that he was in town. Oh well, Dave was three years younger than Perry and Lori was three

years younger than her.

Monday morning came and once again Della got ready for another busy day at the office. She

had just put on the coffee when a man walked in. He looked familiar to her, but she was not sure

of his name. He walked right over to her and introduced himself. "Good morning Miss Street I

am not sure if you remember me or not I am attorney Ed Bagley. I was hoping to speak to Mr.

Mason. Is he in yet?"

"I am sorry but Mr. Mason has not come in yet. He should be here shortly, would you like

to take a seat?" Della asked the man.

"Yes I will wait. I have some information for him that I think he will consider important." he

told her.

Della walked into Perry Masons private office and was about to place a call to him when he

came in through the back door. She told him of Mr. Bagley being in the outer office and he

for her to let him in.

Mr. Bagley took a seat and looked at Miss Street. "Miss Street is my most trusted friend and

secretary, you can tell her anything that you tell me" he assured the man.

" The last time that you and I spoke you mentioned a house in El Paso. I knew that I had

heard something about a home there and so I went to the office and with some difficulty I found

the home. The home that you are talking about once belonged to a man named Arthur Clark. He

is the brother in law of the bank teller that got murdered. There had been a discussion about the

purchase of the property. We felt that Dora overpaid for the property and thatMathers brother

in law good a very good deal. Not only did Dora overpay for the property, she has been paying

the property tax and the upkeep on the property since then, and Mathers 's brother in law and his

family has been paying little or no rent at all."

Something about the way things were going had told him that something did not smell right.

But still that kind of news always was unsettling he had thought that Doras Aunt Nancy had

been genuinely concerned for her niece, but he no longer thought that was the case. "I want

to thank you for taking the time to come here and tell me this. It is of great help and what was

said the other night to me need not be repeated." Perry shook his friends hand and Della led him

out of the office.

It was now time for Perry to make his move. He needed to move quickly because Nancy

Clemmons had a close eye on his client and if she got wind of anything, he feared that Doras life

was in danger. "Della, I am going to go over to Doras house and pick her up. I want you to get

her a room at the Maker Hotel. While I am getting Dora I do not want you to say anything to

anybody about it. Once I get Dora to the office, I am going to the court and file an official

change of address and then , No I want you to call Tragg and ask him to meet me here in the

office in one hour I will be back here with Dora as soon as I can." and with that he went out the

back door.

Just as Della was getting ready to study another tape Perry called her and said. See if you

can get Hamilton Burger to come to the office too. They both need to be here." and with that

Perry was headed to Dora Clemmons home.

Della made the necessary calls and waited nervously for the people to come to the

office. She knew that both Perry and Doras lives were in danger. There had already

been two murders.

For once Della was glad to see both Lt Tragg and Hamilton Burger come into the

office. She told them that Perry was on his way and that he would fill them in with

everything that he knew when he got there. He was bringing Dora Clemmons with

him because he felt that her life was now in grave danger.

Both Burger and Tragg looked at each other. They had been in a meeting together

that morning and were getting ready to give Mason a call when Della called. They

had found out about the house in El Paso and of the man by the same name who lived

in that house and the information that he had spent the night before the murder in the

room next to the room where the room was committed. They were also now aware of

the fact that the rooms were joining rooms and that a key to that door was now missing.

They also had found out that Arthur Clark had spent the night at that hotel on many

occasions meeting Mr. Mathers there. Room number eight was the room that they usually

took. But this had been the first time that they had rented two rooms. That was why the

hotel manager had not recognized the name.

They too thought that perhaps Dora was in danger and were glad to find out that Perry was

on his way to pick her up. They would prefer to keep her where they thought that she would

be safe until the were able to look into things a little deeper.

Della was relieved when she saw Perry walk out of the law library. Since he did not

have Dora with him by the nod of his head she knew that he had left her in there. "Good

morning" he told the group.

"Everyone take a seat. I need to tell you what I have found out and why I now think that

my client Dora Clemmons might be in danger. It has bothered me since the first murder

that even though, I have watched hours of security camera tapes and there does not seem

to be a large number of people going in and out of the room. I also wondered why

would be unable to account for over one hundred and fifty thousand of dollars that should

have been in the trust account. I have been told that Mr. Davis has been in his office trying

to figure out where the money had gone. It is my opinion that he is not a crooked lawyer

he is just not the smartest. I think that he went to Attorney Williams for help with the case and

Williams figured out what had happened, and was killed because of his knowledge." he looked

at the two men and watched for signs that they felt the same way.

Burger was the first to speak. "The district attorney s office does not think that there is

enough evidence to order the arrest of Nancy Clemmons at this time, but we do approve

of putting her niece under the protection of the police . I will sen an officer to keep an

eye on her room at the hotel and an plain clothed officer to keep an eye on the lobby. We are

interested in her safety and if she is innocent we of course will help you find out who the

murderer truly is."

"At this moment I think that Dora will be better off away from her aunt. I am not totally

convinced that her aunt is the murderer. She might not know about her brother in law and

his dealings, I am working on that part. I just needed you to know why I was moving Dora

and I wanted your approval." Perry told them.

"As long as Dora continues being monitored and as long as we keep an officer near her room

for protection, I see no problem." Tragg told him.

"Thank you for your protection. I will let you know as soon as I learn anything that might

assist you with the case and the freeing of my client. I just need to once again convince her

not to let her aunt know where she is. She seems to think that she needs to call her aunt and let

her know. I did not want to tell her everything and scare her, but she may need to know at

sometime due to the danger." Perry told them.

Both Perry and Della said their thanks and the two men walked out the door together. It was

then that Perry went into the library and got Dora. "Dora I am going to take you to the hotel now

You are going to be given police protection as I fear that someone may try to harm you. There

has already been two murders and I do not want to see another. You must tell no one where you

are especially your aunt, " he warned her.

After the two men left Perry turned to Della and told her "Try to reach Paul. We need to

watch some more of the tapes. I think that we are going to find out what was going on that

night at the hotel room number eight. I also need to know if he has any more ideas on who

the man was that Dora had seen that night leaving Mr. Williams office."

Della called Paul and he said that he would get right on it. With that Perry had pulled

out the television once again and Della took a seat to watch some more of the tapes

from the hotel where the murder had taken place. Perry took Dora and headed out the

door with her to put her at her new home the hotel. He would be back once she was

settled.

As Perry drove through the city streets he talked to Dora . He wanted her to think that he

thought of her as an adult not a child, but he wanted her to know that he cared what was going

to happen to her if he was not careful and that he cared for. "Dora I know that it is hard for

you to understand, but someone has touched a large portion of your trust fund. That person is

at this time not known to us. We have several suspects and all must be watched very carefully.

Your aunt may be innocent but she may have some involvement, I am not sure. As soon as my

men have finished investigating the case you will be a free woman to do what you want, But for
the meantime it is in your best interest that you stay at a local hotel and have a policeman there

as a bodyguard. Hopefully, this will all be over in a few days. Do you understand the danger

that you could be in? There has already been two murders. Also if you call your aunt and some -

one gets hold of your phone they will be able to trace your aunts steps. " Perry told her.

"I understand and know that there could be danger ahead, but my aunt has been my strength

ever since my parents death. She has been good to me and I trust her. Because of what you said

I will not contact her until you have finished your investigation on one condition,. That is that

my aunt have police protection too." Dora told him.

"The district attorney has placed your aunt under protection and she will be watched wherever

she goes. No one will be able to hurt her I promise you that. Perry told her sincerely.

"Ok then it is settled I will not talk to anyone until I hear from you." she told him dejectedly.

Once Dora was all set and Perry was sure that the guard was in place he headed back to the

office. When he got back to the office it was after two and as usual Della was starved. She was

still sitting in the chair watching the tapes, but had seen nothing special all day. Perry reached

over and paused the tape.

" I am sorry that it is so late. I would think that you would be ready to have some lunch. Am

I right about that?" Perry asked her.

"As always I am starved by two oclock. Have you had anything to eat since breakfast?" she

asked him.

"No I have not eaten since breakfast and yes I am hungry. Why don't we take a short break

and go to the luncheonette on the corner." Perry offered.

"It sounds good to me." she told him with a smile. Della grabbed her coat and they were on

their way to a late lunch.

At this point both of them needed not only something to eat but a break from the stress of

their job. So they both ate quietly and a little slowly. When they had finished the lunch they

left and headed back to the office.

When they got to the office they were met in the hall by Paul. He had finally found out some

information for them and he was sure that for once it was good news. He went in through the

back door with Perry and Della and took a seat. He then took out his notebook and started to

read what was in it for them.

"I finally found the connection between Davis and Mathers. Mathers was his in at the bank.

Whenever someone was behind in their taxes or mortgage and Mathers thought that the property

could be purchased cheaply, Mathers would call Davis. Davis in turn would hide the purchases

by showing them as investments with his clients. It worked until the real estate market started to

go sour. All of a sudden they found themselves with property that was not selling as quickly as

it once had and the money was starting to get scarce. and because the economy had also gone

sour people were looking into taking money out of their accounts and Davis did not have the

money to cover their requests. When I started to look into El Paso Texas I found that the real

estate market had never crashed there and that the market was still very healthy. Davis had the

idea that perhaps they could start investing there. He hired his own half brother in law to

work the market there but he was a crook. He was keeping most of the money that he collected

in Texas for himself. At this point Davis was getting wise and went to his partner at the law

firm Attorney Willaims. Williams looked over the account and called Arthur Clark. Clark came

out here and got into an argument with Williams I think and killed him." Paul told Della and

Perry.

It was a lot for the two of them to swallow and Perry thought about it for a moment. That

does make sense Paul , you could be right. If it is true Nancy Clemmons could be innocent."

"Yes she could be innocent of killing Mr. Williams but what about Mr. Mathers? By the

time the murder occurred at the hotel, we know that Mr. Clark was in Texas." Della offered.

"We know that he rented the room the day before the murder and that someone lost the

key to the joining room. Who was the person in room seven on the night of the murder?" Paul

asked.

"There was no one in the room on the night of the murder." Perry offered.

The three friend sat and thought and it was back to the tapes. They were sure that something

was going to show up on one of those tapes and they just had to keep looking. This time to

get going faster on the tapes he gave Paul two tapes to bring home with him and watch. Della

would take two and Perry would take two home with him. They might be able to finish the

tapes within the next couple of days if they double and tripled things.

Perry and Della spent the rest of the afternoon watching the tapes with no luck once again.

The last thing that Della felt like doing was spend time at home watching the tapes, but that

was the young lady Dora Clemmons best hope for freedom and she knew that she needed to

watch them for the young girl.

That evening when she came in carrying the tapes Lori thought it would be fun to help

her sister so she sat down with Della and in the living room they started to watch the tapes

together. It was a little boring because there was no sound on the tapes and for the most

part all you saw was women and men coming in and signing the guest book. Lori knew that

she was supposed to be watching for anything strange but she had not seen anything so far.

They finished the first tape with no luck and Della was starting to think that she would

never find anything when five minutes into the second tape she saw something. She stopped the

tape and rewound it three minutes.. She went forward but at a slow speed and stopped the tape

at five minutes and fifteen seconds. There at the counter was standing Ed Bagley. He was

signing the register, but neither Della or Lori could read the date. They could estimate

the time of day, but without the help of Tom they would not be able to read the name that

he was using either.

Della called Perry and told him what she and Lori had found and he told her "Good work.

I will call Paul and see how soon he can have Tom take a look at the tape and I will call you

right back."

Della looked at her clock and noted that it was only eight thirty, so there might still be time

for Tom to look at the tape tonight. The information on the tape was too important. She waited

at the phone and Perry called her back in about five minutes. "I was able to reach Paul and he

wants to come by and pick up that tape. He is going to bring the tape to Tom at his house and

he says that Tom said that he should have our answer in the morning."

"Thank you Perry. Let me know if anything else happens tonight. I will see you in the

morning." and with that Della hung up the phone.

Ten minutes had not gone by when Della saw Paul pull up out front and she opened the

door for him. She handed him the tapes and told him the same thing that she had told Perry.

"Let me know if anything happens tonight. I am not going to sleep with all this excitement."

she told him.

"if something happens you will be the first person I think of Della. See you in the morning

ok?" Paul told her and with that he was out the door.

Della had a restless sleep but nobody called and she went to the office at the regular time. She

listened to the messages and made the coffee. It was when she was in Perrys private office that

she heard the familiar knock on the door and expected to see Paul, but it was Tom he had

zoomed in on the hotel log book and he had it so that it could be read. Della took out the photo

and got the surprise of her life. Mr. Bagley had rented room number eight. But he was not

signing in he was signing out. She knew that could mean but one thing, or at least that is what

she thought.

When Della got back to the office Gerty told her that Nancy Clemmons had been calling

all afternoon. She was frantic Dora had not been at the house when she had gotten back from

shopping and she was not answering her cell phone. Della was not sure what to do because

Perry had put her in the hotel because he was no longer sure that Dora was safe living with

her aunt. She knew that under no circumstances would Perry want to let Nancy Clemmons

to know where her niece was. Della was pacing back and forth when Perry came into the office
that day. when Perry had come in "Good morning Perry. We had a visitor this morning. Tom

came with the photo of the hotel register. Here took a look."

" Another problem is Nancy Clemmons has been calling all morning. She is in a panic

because Dora is missing. If She does not get some kind of call from someone she is going to

probably come here . What do you want me to tell her?" Della asked.

Perry picked up the phone and called Nancy Clemmons. "I am sorry that no one has gotten

back to you, but I have been busy. I have had to move Dora to a spot that is unknown to the

murderer. When she told me that she had been in the office when Attorney Williams had been

murdered I worried that if the murderer found out he might come after her. I am sorry but I am

not at liberty to tell you where she is. All I can say is that she is safe and as soon as the murderer

is found she will be back in your house

Perry looked at her with a question in his eyes. He knew that she thought that she had just

solved the mystery. He opened up the envelope and like Della he was surprised by the contents

in the folder. Perry went to his desk and looked at his tape recorder. He always taped everything

that happened at the office and he was sure that the tape had been running when he had met with

Ed Bagley. He looked and yes he did. He started to leave the office and then he took a look at

his friend and confident. "Della you want to go and solve this murder case or not?"

Della went around the desk and she grabbed her coat off of the rack as they hurried out the

front door this time. "Do you mind telling me where we are going" she asked him.

"We are headed to see Dora at the hotel. I think that she might be able to identify the voice

on this recorder. If she can I will know who the murderer is and so will you. I want to get there

quick because if I am right she is in very real danger." he told her as he hurried through the

streets toward the hotel.

When they reached the lobby of the hotel they nodded to the undercover officer and headed

up to Doras room. They knocked and Dora opened the door. "Dora I need a favor from you.

Will you listen to the voice on this recorder and tell me if you recognize the voice?" Perry asked

her.

Dora shook her head yes and took a seat on the bed. Perry started the tape and Dora listened

intently. She listened for a few minutes and then said. "Yes, that is the man that I heard arguing

with Mr. Willaims that night. He was the man that was yelling at him and then he ran out of

the office.

Perry then knew that it all fit. That is why no one came in our out of the office building

that night from the front. Ed Bagley had a private entrance like Perry had. He could have

easily gone into the office without being remembered or noticed. He belonged there. "You

have never met Mr. Bagley?" Perry asked Dora.

"No I did not go to the office often and I have never met Mr. Bagley I have just heard

of him from the name on the door." Dora told him.

"I want you to stay here for just a couple more days Dora we are very close to solving

this mystery. I now am pretty sure who killed Mr. Willaims. I must now know who killed

Mr. Mathers. There is a possibility that it was two different people.: Perry told her.

Della took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Everything is going to be ok I

promise you this. As soon as we learn anything I will call you." she promised the young

girl.

Della got into the car with Perry after thy both told the officer in the lobby to keep a

very careful eye out this day. Perry felt that something might be happening in the next

couple of days because the murderer must be aware that the law was closing in on them.

Perry was deep in thought and as Della rode with him she was aware of it and said nothing.

In the meantime she was thinking hard also. There still was a problem, why would Bagley

have murdered Mr Mathers? It was then that a thought came to Della. What if it was not

anyone that they had seriously considered to be a suspect? What if the murder had been

done because of something else entirely? What if they had been looking in the wrong place

the whole time? She looked over at Perry and was about to tell him what she was thinking.

Perry looked at her and said "I think I know who the murderer is. We have been busy

looking into all kinds of reasons why Mr. Mathers was murdered. We have been stuck on

the thought that he was involved in the stealing of money from his clients and a bad real

estate deal. What we have ignored is the fact that we saw Marion Clark on the tape going

into the hotel that day. I do not remember seeing her leave. What if she had found out

that her husband had been hanging around this hotel and thought that he was having an

affair?" he looked over at Della.

"You know Perry that makes sense. She may have found the key that her husband had

in one of his pockets. She may have confronted him and killed him in a fit of rage." she

offered.

Perry pulled over in the rest area that was up ahead and called Paul. "Paul I want you to

look into Mrs. Mathers I want you to look into how solid the Mathers marriage was, and

can you get back to me as fast as you can? Thanks." and with that he hung up.

"That is what we have been missing Della. We did not look into the Mathers family and

that was a big error. We knew that she had been at the hotel and yet we never saw her enter

room eight to meet with her husband. I think that if we go back to the hotel and look very

carefully we will find some kind of way that people have been going in and out of room seven

without being seen. They had then used the key to the joining door and slipped in and out of

the room without being noticed." he told her and started back down the highway . He was on

his way back to the hotel.

Della knew that she should have changed her shoes. When Perry had told her that they were

going to go out and find the murderer she knew that there would be a lot of walking. They

pulled into the hotel and stopped at the managers office. Because the police were still doing an

active investigation on a murder the room number eight still could not be rented and room seven

was also available. As a matter of fact the night before had been very slow and room six was

also available. He gave them the keys and the two of them headed over to room seven first.

Perry was sure that was the room that the murderer had used to gain access to room eight.

It had to have beens someone that Mr. Mathers had known or he would have been much more

on guard. Perhaps this had done before. Mr. Mathers probably was entertaining clients that

had a good reason not to be seen.

When they entered room seven everything seemed to be in good order and the room had

just been cleaned. They each tried all of the windows and they were tight except for one. With

little effort Della was able to open the window and crawl in and out of it. . So, now it was time

for them to look for a key that could be left in a certain spot . It would have to be in a spot that

could be readily reached, but in a spot that housekeeping probably would not find it. Perry and

Della walked slowly through the room feeling for a key on and under the air conditioner and

above the shower wall under things and then Della found it. The key had been put behind the

painting that was hanging on the wall. There was a small envelope that had been taped to the

wall and could easily be reached by anyone that knew where to find it.

Della nudged Perry and showed him the key and the envelope. They took the key out and

tried it on the joining door. It fit and easily allowed them access to the room eight. It was not

a loud door and there were signs that it had been used frequently. Perry was caught by surprise

that Tragg had not found the keys when he searched the room, but he may have not searched

the room because it was the room next door. They went into room eight and saw nothing to help

with the case. But now Perry was sure that they were real close to the truth, so they took the key

back and went out the door of room seven.

"Della I want to go up the office and take a look at the tapes of the last few minutes. I want

to see if we were caught on any of the cameras or not. I think that if you know the time you

could possibly time it so that you would or would not be seen by the cameras. These are moving

cameras and could easily be timed by someone who was familiar with them. I want you to stay

here and walk away and then go back/ I want you to walk back and forth at least down to room

twelve times." Perry told her and he headed to the office.

Della did what he told her to do and with that he came over to her. "I was right you could not

be seen but about one half of the time. If you watched the camera you could time it so that you

would not be seen. I want to go and look up who was staying in room twelve that night. It

would be a perfect room for someone to stay in. They could keep an eye on room eight and go

out the back of the room. Walk to room seven take the key and go in murder Mr. Mathers and

then go back to their room, all unnoticed. Now we have find out who was in room eleven and

twelve on that night."

They walked back to the office and talked to the manager. Yes, he remembered the people

that had stayed in room twelve that night. It had been Mr. Arthur Clark and his wife. They had

stayed at the hotel many times. They thanked the man and got back into the car.

"I am sure that it was not Mrs. Mathers that stayed at the hotel room twelve. The police

talked to the people in the room and they were sure that Tragg would have recognized Mrs.

Mathers right away. Now, who was it? We know that it was not the real Mrs. Clark, as

she never left Texas that week. She was at work in El Paso, so who could it be? It was

not someone that Tragg saw again, so it had to be someone who had not been seen since. Maybe

Paul will have answer for us soon." Perry said as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed

back to the office.

On the way back to the office Della was deep in thought. Who would have been able to slip

into the room and murder Mr. Mathers? It had to be someone that he knew well, as the hotel

manager had said that they had stayed there together many times. He had a good description

of her but had been unable to find her on any of the cameras. The manager had said that the

two Clarks had arrived at the hotel according to the log at three oclock that afternoon. Perry

wanted to check the tape for that day at three again if they had already looked. He wanted to

see if they could see who was in the car that day. He also wanted to look at all of the cars

that entered the hotel that day between two and the murder once again. He was sure that

the answer to the murder was still hidden somewhere on the tape.

The two of them arrived back at the office and before he got out of the car and headed back

up to the office Perry put his hand on Dellas lap and said "Sorry Della we need to look at some

more of those tapes. But now I know what to look for." and with that they went back up to

the office and started to study the tapes again.

Perry looked at the labels on the tapes and to his surprise the tape that he needed was the

very next tape that they were due to look at. It was the copy of the tape of the office on the

day of the murder. He could tell by the time stamp roughly what time he wanted to watch.

So he pulled his seat up next to Della and smiled at her. "This is it, but where's the popcorn?"

As the two of them had just settled down the familiar knock came on the door. Della got

up and Perry stopped the tape. It was Paul. He smiled as he noticed the chairs and the television

set up once again.. "I have been a busy little beaver this morning. I have been looking into

the marriage of the Mathers and have found that it was not all love and marriage where the two

of them were concerned. As a matter of fact Mrs. Mathers had left and gone to stay with her

parents twice this year already. But, I checked her alibi and she was nowhere near the hotel on

that day. She is a school teacher and she never left the classroom all day. She had an after

school class that lasted until five and then she had a meeting at the school that evening. She

was seen eating a sandwich in the teachers lounge at around seven that evening also." She

is not the murderer Perry. Sorry." Paul told his friends.

"All right then it is even more important now that we watch these tapes again. I think the

answer to our question is hidden someplace there." Perry told him and turned the tape back

on.

Finally at three that afternoon they saw Mr. Clark come in and get the room key for room

twelve. You could see his truck in the background, but the person in the passenger seat

was unclear, so once again Perry tried to zoom the person in. He hated to do it but he would

need to use Tom once again.

Paul stood up and said "I know that Tom is at the office right now. I will have him look at

this right away and we will see what he can bring out in this photo. While he is doing that

I will see if he can read the license plate number on the car. Because they were such regulars

at the hotel the manager did not ask for the plate number." and with that he took the tape out of

the machine and walked over to his office.

Della and Perry sat there quietly thinking..lt did look as though the lady in the car could be

Mathers wife Marion. She might have had her own reasons to kill him on that evening. He

was in a hotel and he had been seen with several different women. On the other hand she had

been in room twelve with Mr Clark and the hotel manager said that they had been there before. \\

What if that is the reason he was murdered? What if it was because of a three way affair? It

would not be the first time that it had happened.

They would have to wait for Tom to fix the photo for them. If she was the woman in

the picture Perry was going to have to talk to her. Perhaps she knew more than she had

let on the last time that he had spoken to her.

Bur meanwhile he and Della had more work to do. He had to get more court orders

and briefs set up. He wanted to make sure that he was ready when he was absolutely sure

that he knew who the murderer was. Right now he was nearly that sure that Mr. Bagley

had murdered Mr. Williams but there was still something left to tie up. He wanted to have

another meeting with all the suspects with Tragg and Hamilton present and then accuse

the person that he was sure had been the murderer.

The hours passed quickly and then the knock on the back door came once again. It was

Paul and he was carrying the photo that had been enhanced by Tom his photographer. "Perry

Tom says that the photo is still a little grainy, but he is sure that you will be able to recognize

the woman in the car. He got a good picture of the face.

Perry opened the envelope and sighed. It was the person that he had feared all along that

might have been the murderer. He handed the photo over to Della and Paul and they both took

a look at the picture. It was Nancy Clemmons. There was no doubt about it. The picture was

clear enough so that they were all positive of the identity.

Della was the first to speak "Now she has something to explain. I cannot believe that she

murdered anyone, she does not act like the type and I cannot think of any motive for her to kill

both men. I think that the murderer murdered both Mike Williams and Mr. Mathers."

Paul looked over at Della and Perry and thought for a minute. "That is Mathers brother in

law?" I do not know what to say. We know that he was in LA for something. I am not sure but,

perhaps she was there to visit with him. Just because she was at the office that day does not

prover her guilt. There were many people who had come and gone to room eight on that day

she could have had a good reason"

Perry was very busy thinking about what he had just seen. " I think that the two of you are

right. What if Clark is black mailing Nancy Clemmons? What would Clark have on her that

would have her buy a home in Texas for him and force her to do something at a shady hotel?"

I am not ready to confront her. We have just four more tapes to watch and I want to , s they say

watch the movie to the end."

"That sound good to me. But if I am going to be up half the night watching those tapes why

don't we go to my house where we can have a decent home made meal ? " Della asked.

Perry looked at Paul and then at Della. She was right the three of them would be watching

the tapes way past midnight and his back was killing him from sitting in the chair for the last

week bent over trying to see what was on the screen in front of him. Della had a large screen

television and a comfortable couch. "Well Paul I think that Della has made us an offer that

we would be fools to refuse. Della you go ahead home and start some of that home cooking

that you promised Paul and I and we are going to make a stop ourselves. We are going over

to Dora Clemmons at the hotel and make sure that she is all right. I want to let her know that

again we are very close to solving the murder." and with that the three of them left the office.

Perry and Paul got into Perrys car and drove over to the hotel. They met the police officer

in the lobby. He told them that everything had been quiet so far that evening. That is when

the two men went up to Doras room. They found the police officer sitting in the hall next

to the door reading the paper. He said that dinner had just been brought up and that he had

seen Dora not ten minutes ago. Perry knocked on the door and got no answer. He knocked

louder this time thinking that Dora might be busy, but still got no answer. That was when he told

the officer to open the door.

The officer took out his key and opened the door. Perry looked over at the table and found

Dora slumped over. He checked her right away and saw that she was alive. " Call an ambulance

and tell them to hurry. She has a pulse but it is slow and weak. " Perry then tried to wake the

girl but go no response. Paul noted that she had been eating when she had taken ill so he leaned

over and tried to see if he could smell anything in the food.

He could not but when the paramedics got there they took the plate of food that was left

over. They said that she was in a very deep sleep and they tried to wake her up roughly with no

luck. They put her in the ambulance and headed straight to the hospital with her. If they could

not identify what she had eaten she might not make it and Perry and Paul both knew it.. Perry

wanted to make sure that Dora had police protection while she was in the hospital, so he spoke to
the ofiicer that had been sitting out in the hallway. He said that he would go with her in the

ambulance. His orders were that he stay with her and not leave her side

Perry asked the officer "Where the food had come from? Was it the same person that usually

delivered the dinners? I need to know someone has just tried to kill my client." he told the officer

"We use the same deli. It is here in the hotel. I did not recognize the person that delivered

it, but they have several people that deliver the orders here at the hotel. " he told them He felt

very bad for the young lady she as nice and was always smiling. He hoped that she would be

all right and that she had been found in time.

Perry and Paul went right to the deli and talked to the manager. He had sent up the regular

delivery boy. It was not a different person. He would go and get the delivery person and

they could ask him. It was then that he found out that the man had quit about an hour ago.

The cook had made up the ladies dinner and had put it out on the shelf. When he had

turned back around it was gone and he had just assumed that one of the other workers had

taken the dinner up to the young lady. Perry and Paul asked everyone there and no one had

taken the food up to the room. That was when a young man named Marcus came up and told

them that he had delivered the food. He had taken the food from the shelve and brought it to

the lady. He had thought that he was doing her a favor.

Yes there had been someone there sitting at the counter. It had been a lady . She was in

her early forties with nice clothes . She was about five foot five and weighed about one hundred

and forty pounds. No one had seen her near the food though. They had all been busy with the

dinner rush delivering the food to the different rooms. Paul took out a couple of photos and the

young man that had brought Dora her dinner, said that the lady in the picture looked like the lady

that had been sitting at the counter. He had identified the lady that Paul and Perry knew as Diane

King. She was a teller at the same branch that Mr. Mathers had worked at.

The plot was really thickening and Perry knew that he was going to have to tell Nancy

Clemmons about what had happened to Dora soon. He had no solid proof that Nancy was

a danger to Dora and she was her aunt. He could not keep the information from her for long.

Paul and Perry headed over to the hospital to check on Dora when it occurred to him

that Della was at home making Paul and him a dinner. He picked up his phone and gave

her a call. Dellla was making dinner and was extremely upset about what had happened

to Dora. She would keep the dinner warm for them and start to watch the tapes with Lori.

"Please call me if anything happens." she asked him.

Lori walked into the kitchen and had heard some of the conversation. "What happened

to that sweet girl Dora? Did I hear you say that someone tried to murder her too? Oh my

god, I cannot believe what some people are capable of. We can keep the dinner in the oven

on warm for a while. I hope that Perry finds out who the murderer is." she told her with a

frown.

"That is what we both want. I have the tapes here and I think that I should start to watch

them. Perry is sure that the answer to the mystery is somewhere on the tapes. He is usually

right about these things. Would you like to join me in the living room and keep me company

while I watch the tapes?" Della asked her.

"Yes and now you also have my interest. I want to help you find the murderer too. I will

be glad to help you out." and with that Lori and Della took a seat on the couch and started to

watch the tapes again. It was going to be a long night.

Perry and Paul arrived at the office and were met by Lt Tragg. " I know that I usually do

not meet my clients until they have died. I heard that we almost lost Dora tonight. Do you

have any idea who may have had anything to do with the attempt on Doras life?" he asked him.

"Tragg we do not know whether or not someone tried to kill her do we?" Perry asked him

with a question in his voice.

" I am afraid that we do now Perry. The hospital called my office and told me that someone

had put enough arsenic in Doras meal to kill a horse. Do you have any information that my

office could use? This is getting to be a real thorn in my side. This could have ended up being

the third murder and I think that all three of them are connected."

Perry thought for a moment and then spoke. "All right I went down to the deli and talked

to the cook. One of the men that deliver the food to the people at the hotel recognized a picture

that Paul had. He told us that he had seen a woman at the counter just before they had brought

the food up to Dora. He recognized the photo of Mr.s Mathers.

"Are you sure about that? I will check it out and get back to you." Tragg told him.

Perry leaned over to Paul and told him. I need you to go the Mathers home and watch

what happens tonight. If anything happens at all I want you to call me right away. I will

be at Dellas house watching the tapes." With that Paul left for the Mathers home/

Before Perry left for Della s house he checked with the nurse. Dora was out of danger

and both security and the police would be keeping an eye on Dora and she would be safe there

of that she was would have to be kept at the hospital for a few days just to make

sure that everything had gotten out of her system, but she was young and strong and would be

all right with some rest.

When Perry got to Della's house he found Della and Lori sitting on the couch watching

the television intently. Della got up and fixed him a plate. It was meatloaf and even though

it had been done for over two hours it still tasted good. Perry had not realized how hungry

he was and how much he missed the home cooked meals that he never had anymore.

Della took a seat and ate with her friend. Lori came in and took a couple of

small pieces and took a seat with them. It was not often that Della and Perry ate

with her and it was a nice friendly supper. When the dinner was through Lori

jumped up and picked up the dishes. "You take a seat. I will clean the kitchen while

the two of you watch those tapes. I cannot watch one more minute of them. There is

no sound and the quality is terrible. I do not see how you have seen anything on them.

"They are hard to watch, and I am sorry that there are so many tapes. But we are at the

end of them, and by the end of tonight, there will be no more left to watch. I do thank you

Lori for keeping Della company and helping by watching the tape with her. Come on Della

with have a murderer to catch. With that he took her by the arm and they walked into the

living room. He took a seat on the couch that Della and Lori had pulled up closer to the

television and picked up the remote. For a moment he took a look at the roses that he had

given Della. They were very pretty and smelled good too.

Della took a seat next to Perry and smiled at him. "I told you that the roses were on the

television and that they made the whole room smell lovely. Thank you again for the roses

and with that she gave his hand a squeeze.

Perry smiled at her and said "Your welcome. Lovely flowers for a lovely girl, is what I

thought when I ordered them. Now we have to concentrate on the tapes because we need to find

out who the murderer is for sure. Whoever it is they have no problem killing over and over

again." and with that he hit the remote and the two of them sat there for the next two hours

watching the first tape. The first tape had nothing on it but what was expected and nobody

was on it that did not belong there.

Perry and Della got up and stretched. It was tiring just sitting there doing nothing but

watching a tape with no sound. They decided to take a short break and Della went into the

kitchen to get them a couple of cold drinks. She saw by the light through the door that Lori

had gone to her room to let the two of them be alone. She was considerate of her older sister

and Della loved her very much.

"I have brought us some soda pop. My mouth was getting dry watching the tape. She

handed Perry the soda and put the coaster down on the coffee table. I hope that you are

right and that the answer is on the tapes. I just needed to move. I must be getting old."

Della told him with a smile.

Della reached over and put the second tape into the machine. She took her seat next to

Perry and settled down for another boring two hours. She did not mind watching them really,

it gave her a chance to sit next to Perry for hours at a time. She could smell his cologne and

it smelled very good to her. She felt like she could reach over and kiss him right then but she

knew that it was not what either of them wanted. They wanted to find out what had happened

to the two murder victims and who the murderer was.

Now there had been an attempt on Doras life Perry did not think that anyone was safe they

needed\\\to find the identity more now than ever. Perry was thinking that they might try to take

another life if he couldn't figure out was going on. A person that killed so easily, had killed

before he was sure of it.. Tragg had men watching Nancy Clemmons and now they were on extra
watch due to the attempt on her nieces life. It seemed as though no one was safe anymore..

Della and Perry sat together for another half an hour when Perrys cell phone rang. Della

nearly jumped out of her skin when it rang. It sounded much louder than it was because the

room where they were sitting was so dark and quiet. It was Paul on the other line. He was

at the Mathers home and Mrs. Mathers had left. He was following her now and he was afraid

that she was headed to the airport. Was he going to try to run? "Follow her Paul and let me

know what happens." Perry told him.

"Did I hear right? Is Mrs. Mathers headed toward the airport? Maybe she will be picking

someone up." Della offered.

"Well we will soon know. As soon as Paul finds out something he will call. Let's get back

to the tapes, ok?" Perry asked.

"Yes back to the tapes. We now only have two and a half tapes left. We are running out of

time and footage. I hope that we did not miss something." Della told him and she then took a

seat. She almost sat in Perrys lap. It seemed that he might have sat a little closer to the

middle of the couch this time. She was fine with it and she took her seat next to him. He

smiled at her "I am sorry that there has been so much to watch. It just is so important that

we not miss anything. It could mean guilt or innocence Della."

"I know that and I have dedicated my life to making sure that no one goes to jail that

does not deserve it. I know that with you by my side that is a real possibility. You and me

we make a great team." she said with as much sincerity as she could.

With that the two of them started to watch the tapes once again. Perry had put his arm

on her shoulder and had made the show a lot more interesting. About an hour into the tape

she saw what they had been looking for. Right there in plain sight was the answer to the

question that they had been asking. Perry saw it at the same time and stopped the tape. He

snapped his fingers and gave Della a big hug. Now it all makes sense. I need to call Paul

and we need to get everyone together in the morning. I do not want anyone of the suspects

to have any idea of what is going on. I think that you are right Della I am willing to guess

that Mrs. Mathers is at the airport getting ready to pick up Mr. Clark.

That is when Perrys cell phone rang once again and it was Paul. Perry had been right

Mrs. Mathers had come to the airport to pick up Mr. Clark. They are headed out once more

and I am following them. I do not think that they are going to the Peacock Hotel. I think

that they are headed to Mrs. Mathers house.

"I am not surprised Paul. Now that her husband is no longer alive she can entertain him

in her home. I think that they have been having an affair." Perry told him.

"I will get a hold of you if anything happens Perry." and with that he hung up.

Della looked at Perry and smiled. "This case is almost all taken care of. I hope that Dora

is all right and that she can now be free from everything. Should we finish the tapes and make

sure that everything is what it should be? You said that you wanted to watch the tape until

the end and I think that we should.

Perry knew that is why he and Della were made for each other. Just like he was she did not

want to leave any stone unturned. No matter how tired she was she was always willing to take

the extra step of walk the extra mile. She was right they should watch the tape to the end and

make sure that they had found out everything that they needed to know.

"I think that you are right we do need to watch the rest of the tapes just in case. Well

take a seat we have some silent films to watch. He patted the cushion next to him and she

took a seat.

Della turned and looked at her friend. He was such a good and honest man. How was it

that she was so lucky and so many nice people out there had gotten stuck with wife beaters

drunks who did nothing around the house and never kept a job? She knew that she was one

of the very lucky ones and there was no way that she was going to take a chance on losing this

man no matter what.

Perry was watching Della. She was thinking of something, he was not sure what it was

but she was concentrating hard. She was a wonderful woman and deserved the best. He was

going to try and be the best person to her that he could be. The two of them had not noticed

that Lori had let Paul in through the side door and Paul had to clear his throat to get their

attention.

Della was so embarrassed to be seen acting like a teenager. Paul was Perrys best friend and

one of her closest friends too. She was sure that he had suspected that they liked each other for

a long time. So she decided to act like nothing had happened and she watched as

Perry got up. He also acted as though they were doing nothing and stood up. "Do you

have any news for me? Perry asked him.

"Yes. About five minutes after I got off of the phone with you the police arrived at the

Mathers residence. They arrested both Clark and Marion Mathers and took them downtown. I

tried to call you, but I kept getting your voice mail. Dellas house was on the way to the police

station so I decided to come here" he told Perry with a smile.

"Do you know why they were arrested? I do not think that either one of them had anything

to do with murders." Perry asked him

"I think it has something to do with the deals at the bank. There are many people who have

been put through the wringer and have lost their whole lives savings. There has been an investi-

gation on going of the bank actions and those two were right in the middle of it I am sure. I will

keep my ears and eyes open and keep you posted." Paul told him.

"Well for now it is important for us to check out the goings on at the hotel on that day that

Mr. Mathers was murdered. Why don't you just take a seat Paul ? You can help Della and

me find anything that looks suspicious.

Lori had been over in the corner grinning at her sister but said nothing. "Well Perry and

I have just decided that it would be a good idea for us to watch the last two tapes. There might

be something of use on them. Would you like to join us? We just took a break and were getting

ready to watch another part of the tape." Della told Paul.

Paul looked at the comfortable chair next to the couch and said "I think that sounds like a

good plan to me. But to tell you the truth I never got anything to eat and I was wondering if it

would be all right for me to grab a little snack."

Lori chimed right in "Well come this way Paul. I do not want you to not have anything to

eat. I will be glad to nuke you up the leftovers and when you are done you can join Perry and

Della watching the tapes.

So with that Paul and Lori went into the kitchen and Perry and Della sat back down to watch

another few hours of the tapes. About a half an hour later Paul came into the room and took

a seat. Perry paused the tape and turned the light on for him so that he could get settled. He

did not want him to trip on something because it was so dark. Once Paul was settled Perry

turned off the light and turned the tape back on.

Perry figure oh why not. He knew that Paul would think nothing if he put his arm on

Dellas shoulder and he had seen them on the couch. They were not doing anything inappropriate

but he was sure that they were too busy thinking about themselves and that their eyes may have

revealed their true feelings. He put his arm around Della and she did not make a move. He

then turned all his attention to the tape. About an hour later the tape was done and they could

finally stretch. Perry was beginning to think that he was going to be watching those tapes

forever. He knew that Della had watched at least twice as much as he had and he could tell

that she was tiring of it more and more everyday. Perry stood up and put the last tape into

the machine. If there was nothing on this tape that was the end of all the evidence that he was

going to get. He would have to get the rest of the information from the witness stand.

The three of them decided to take a ten minute break once again and with that Perry

and Paul went outside to smoke and Della went to her room to freshen up. She was a

mess. Her eyes were half closed but just one more tape. She looked at the clock and

saw that it was already midnight.

Della took a seat on the couch and smiled as her two friends came inside. She did not

mind when they smoked in the house, but because she and Lori did not smoke Perry would

not smoke in her house. It was just not polite he had told her. She smiled as Perry took

his seat and shut the lights off once again. Paul smiled at her as he took the chair and the

three of them were off to the silent movies again. He put his arm around Della again and

she rested against it. His arm was a strong arm and she wanted to just nestle in it and go to

sleep. She was ashamed of herself but she was so tired.

She remembered watching the hotel clerk sweeping the floor and then sometime soon

afterward she must have dozed off.

Perry looked down at Della and could hear her soft breathing. She had fallen asleep. The

poor thing had been up most of the night before and now she was being kept up once again. He

smiled over at Paul and pointed to his sleeping beauty. Perry was getting ready to call it a night

and bring the tape to his apartment when something on the tape caught his eye. When he leaned

forward to stop the tape Della woke up. She was so embarrassed to have fallen asleep and

started to apologize but Perry stopped her. "It is ok Della but I think that there is something

here on this tape that you should see. He leaned over and rewound the tape. There at the

very edge of the range of the camera you could see someone coming into room eight from

room seven. Because of the distance there was no way to know who the person was but

the time stamp on the camera was seven thirty two. on the evening of the murder. It would

have been just minutes before Dora arrived.

Paul sat up and told them "I am on it. I am going to have Tom take a look at the film as

soon as he can. He usually comes in at eight in the morning and I am sure that he can fix

the picture up for you. I will let you know as soon as I hear from him, or if he is in the

building I will have him bring it to you directly." he told his friends.

"That sounds like a plan Paul/ I will see you in the morning. Paul walked out the door and

got into his car. Meanwhile Della had gotten Perrys coat and was giving it to him along with

his keys. She tried to act casual and helped him with his coat. "I will see you in the morning

Perry. I am sorry that I dozed off." she told him.

:"It is ok you have not had a good nights sleep in days and it was bound to catch up with

you. Thank you for the dinner and you have been a wonderful hostess. We will see each

other in the morning and hopefully we will have the murderer under arrest. You sleep tight

for tomorrow is Friday and I want to be able to celebrate the end of a long and difficult case.

With that he gave her a gentle kiss. He held her in his arms for a few minutes more and then

told her goodnight and walked out the front door.

Della went straight to bed from there and barely had enough strength to get into her

pajamas. It had been a long week, but if the murder is solved and Dora is all right it was

well worth the effort she thought as her head hit the pillow. The next thing Della knew it was

seven in the morning and her alarm was buzzing.

Della went to the kitchen and started breakfast. She was hungry and was just finishing

up the eggs and bacon when Lori wandered in. She smiled at her sister as she poured herself

a cup of coffee. "Did you find anything after I went to bed?"

"As a matter of fact we think we did. Paul is having the man that handles all the photos

for him look at a part of the tape and we will find out sometime this morning. Perry called

and said that Dora is out of danger and that she could go back to the hotel tomorrow ." she

told her sister.

" I wanted to tell you that I am sorry about last night. I had gone outside to leave the cat

some food when Paul drove in. He wanted to talk to Perry and I knew him so I let him in.

He said that Perry was having some sort of problem with his phone and was not answering

it. I had just peeked in on you and you were just sitting there watching the tape, I did not

know that when I went outside you too would be acting a little more friendly towards each

other. I would have never let Paul in the room if I had known. But, you were not even

kissing you were just gazing into each others or something."Lori told her sister.

"Do not worry about it Lori. What is done is done and we have been around Paul many

times before. I am sure that he knew that we were fond of each other. " Della told her sister.

" I hope that you find out what is going on with these three murders I heard what Perry

said. He thought that the person had killed before, he enjoyed it too much. That kind of person

could kill without any regrets and is very dangerous to everyone that they come in contact with."

Lori told her. " Be careful."

"Oh I am you are right. That kind of person could kill and may have killed even before

this murder. I will let you know as soon as I do." Della promised her.

When Della got to the office that morning she was surprised to find Perry sitting in his office

already. She usually got there at least a half an hour before him. "Good morning beautiful I did

not sleep well last night. I have thought about the man on the tape and am sure that it can be only

one person. So I have sent Paul out to do a little more hunting. I wanted him to check up on

the death of the elder Mr. Davis and the death of Doras mother and father. It is just a hunch but

the deaths may all be connected. Have a seat." and with that he pointed to her chair .

"I have asked Tragg to look into their deaths too. We both agree that if the man on the tape is

the man that I think it is the three deaths could be tied together." he looked at her intently to see

if she had any thoughts on the matter.

"Perry I did not sleep well last night either. The person on the tape has bothered me all along

I think that it can only be one man also. I think that it is Ed Bagley. He is the only person that

had a reason to want all of the victims dead. If it was Mr. Clark or Mrs. Mathers, why would

they murder Mr. Williams? "If it was Nancy Clemmons. Why would she want to kill either

one of them? The people at the bank have no real reason as they handle larger accounts than

Dora Clemmons all the time, and most of them have only rare instances where they would have

spoken to her and for the most parts the trust had been handled by Davis. Now young Davis I

have thought of him, but it has occurred to me that he might be someones scape goat. He is not

a very good attorney and another attorney could have influenced him to do things that were not

on the up and up. He might have been convinced to skirt the law so they say.

"Della that is why I keep you around. I think that it is Bagley also. He had the opportunity

and the motive in all three of the deaths. What I am afraid of is that he also might have had a

reason to want Doras mother and father dead and also the older Davis. They might have found

out about his secret and it cost them their lives. I do not want you to go anywhere today without

me or Paul. If Bagley finds out that we are closing in our lives could be in danger." Perry told

her with a worried look on her face.

"All right I will stay here unless you or Paul take me with you. But if you can take me with

you please do. I want to get a chance to see the killer caught today also." she told him.

"Agreed. Now let us get back to work." he told her with a smile.

For the next two hours the two of them worked side by side getting ready for another

case that was going to be coming up in a week. Della sat next to Perry and took notes

on all of the information. Perry gave her the dictation for the legal briefs that were

going to have to be filed and several other letters that were going to have to be typed up

soon. He did not want her to leave his side, not now, he was worried that his and her

life could be in danger.

Just after eleven Della heard the familiar knock on the back door and got up to open it/

It was Paul and he had the envelope with the picture of the man in it. He handed the envelope

to Perry and waited. Perry took one look and saw that he was night. It was Ed Bagley. He

had been the man that entered room eight through room seven and then gone back through

the door barely five minutes later. Now Perry wanted to know if Paul had found anything more

about the murder of Dora Clemmons mother and father and the death of the elder Davis.

Paul sat back in his usual chair and took out his notebook once more. "I have not had much

time to look into this but I have had some luck. It seems that Tragg worked on the case of

Dora Clemmons mother and father many years ago when he was a young detective. It was

one of his first cases and he remembered it well.

He had always thought that the accident was suspicious. The car had been brand new and the

brakes had failed as the couple went down the steep hill just outside of their home. They

had both been killed instantly. They had the car inspected and the official cause of the accident

was listed as inconclusive. There was no reason as to why the brakes had failed that day and

speed was only a factor . The only reason that they were going too fast was because they had

no brakes." Paul told them.

"Did Tragg have any ideas on who might have wanted to have th young couple killed? They

left a young daughter and had their whole lives ahead of them. All of the money ended up in

a trust fund. Was there any more money than what was left in the trust? Did someone else

receive a large inheritance?" Perry asked him.

"That is what made everything come together for me and I am sure that Tragg will be right on

my back. When the Clemmons died in the car accident, they left a large sum of money some

one hundred thousand dollars to their dog Boots. Because Ed had been the one that had given

the dog he took him in when they died. Unfortunately about three days later the dog was hit

and ran in front of his home and he inherited the whole sum himself. Personally I think that

the dog was victim number three.. I am looking into their finances at the time of their deaths.

They used the same bank that Mathers worked at and the elder Davis and I thnk that Mathers

was blackmailing him. He used the hotel room to do some of the real estate transactions

and other investments.. I think that Bagley killed Mathers to shut him up. "

That is when Perry thought of something that his friend Mike Williams had said to him that

night in the office. He had told him that he had hired an independent accounting firm to audit

the books and the accounting firm had not thought that Davis was the person that had been

mishandling the funds/

"Paul I want you to look into what accounting firm that Bagley was using to audit the

books. It has been long enough perhaps they have finished the audit. The only member of

the firm that is now around is Ed Bagley and I do not want him to be the only one that has

access to the audit." Perry told him. I am going to the courthouse with Della and look

into the files that Davis filed with the probate court after the accident that killed Doras

parents. " Perry told her.

Perry and Della went to the probate court and the clerk led them to a computer system where

all of the older records were kept. There had been a time that he would have had to go to the

archives and pile through piles and piles of briefs but with the new system, he would have the

information at his fingertips in a matter of minutes.

Della knew that Perry did not need her there, but she remembered that he had promised her

that he would not leave her alone until the murder was solved. He thought that there was a small

chance that both of their lives could be in danger. She was the faster typer so she took the seat

in front of the computer and the two of them went to work. It seemed that Davis had

handled the case very methodically and had done everything right. There had been a

large donation given to the family dog and Bagley did end up getting all the money

even though the dog died three days after the Clemmons had been killed in the car

accident.

There also had been a donation that was made to a homeless shelter. The donation was

for 1.2 million dollars, a large large sum of money in the early eighties the year of the deaths

of Doras parents. Perry took notes on the name of the shelter. He remembered the shelter

closing sometime around that time he was sure. He was going to have to look into it. The

rest of the files were just legal notes and were of no assistance to him and Della.

Perry then went with Della to the Registry of Deeds and looked up the sale of the

building of the shelter. The Registry of Deeds was all modernized as the Probate

Court was and soon Della and Perry were looking into the records of the sale of

the building. Sure enough there it was July 29, 1982 . The building along with

the shelter was sold for the sum of seventy five thousand dollars to the one and only

Edward Bagley. The shelter was sold again three months later to a larger corporation

for a neat little profit. The building sold for the sum of one hundred and eighty thousand

dollars and had been made into condominiums. Perry remembered the name of the person

who had owned the building when it was a shelter. It was a small church in the poorer

part of town and he wondered if anyone remembered anything about the sale.

Perry placed the call to the church that had once owned the homeless shelter and made

an appointment to see the minister of the church at three that afternoon. It was now just

twelve thirty in the afternoon and he and Della would have plenty of time to have some

lunch. He knew of a place tht overlooked the city and he started to head over to it. It

was on the way to Our Lady of Peace the church that Della and him were going to be meeting

with the minister in about an hour and a half.

Perry took Della by the arm and walked her to the car. "I know that you are hungry by

now and we have a couple of hours before we have to be at the church . So I know of a

nice place where we can enjoy a leisurely lunch and then head over to see the minister." he

told her.

Della smiled at him and got into the car willingly. It was lunch time and she was starting

to get hungry. They rode to the restaurant in silence both in deep thought about Mr. Bagley

and how he may have been getting away with murders for almost twenty years. Perhaps the

minister was at the church at the time.

The lunch was great and as always Perry was a gentleman and very good company. They

laughed and joked all through it, enjoying every moment of it. It was like old times before

Perry had kissed her and she knew that their new relationship was going to work.

As they knocked on the door at the church, a kindly looking man in his early sixties

opened the door. He welcomed in Perry and Della and took them to the office in the back

of the church. "My name is Father Frank and I have been the minister in this church for

the past twenty years. I remember Darleyne and Martin Clemmons well. They were two

of our best people that I have ever met. They were true friends of the church and had worked

at the homeless shelter endlessly. When they were killed in the accident the church was in

shock. When the shelter was given the endowment we had big plans. We were going to

open another shelter. I had thought at the time that some good was going to come from

their deaths and I was determined to make good the use of the money.

"So what happen ed ? I see that you closed the shelter just a short three months after the

Clemmons deaths." Perry asked him.

"We had a fried of the Clemmons, an attorney by the name of Davis working on the probating

of the will. It was an estate that had a net worth of five million dollars and because of that the

probate took over two years to settle. We were due to settle with the estate on that Friday and

we actually had an appointment with Mr. Davis. We got a call that he had a massive heart

attack and had passed the night before." We were in shock and were contacted about three

weeks later by Attorney Bagley. He wanted to meet with me the next week." and with that he

took a breath and thought for a moment.

Perry sat there patiently knowing that the minister was trying to remember everything that

had happened that day. It had been almost twenty years and he probably had to think back

for a few minutes.

"Well, I went to the office and Mr. Bagley convinced me that if I sold the building that

then housed the shelter I could build a new building that was set up as a shelter and with

the money that we had coming to us from the Clemmons we could put in much needed

things such as a day care and a clinic for the local people. I agreed to the sales price of seventy-

five thousand dollars and started to make plans on the building of the new shelter. When I was

there I signed several papers and did not have an attorney look them over. With the charges

that Bagley was going to be charging the church for all the transactions, there was not going to

be enough money for us to run any shelter. He used every loophole in the law and took my

church for over seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars by the time he was done. I contacted

an attorney and he said that he could have done something before I had signed all the papers,

but it would now be much more difficult for us to collect. The attorney was going to charge

the church nearly as much as we had left in our account. When I tried to get a permit to open

another shelter down the street, the church was stopped by the local politician and it never

reopened. We took the money that was left and opened the free clinic. But when Bagley found

out what we had done , he went legally as the will ordered and closed the clinic. The money

had been left to the church for the homeless shelter and if the funds were not put to good use

by the end of five years the money went back to the estate. It had been five years and two

days since the death of the Clemmons and Bagley took the money. He then had the audacity

to send the church a bill for over one hundred thousand dollars. To avoid filing bankruptcy

we had to sign the papers saying that everything was basically a wash. Attorney Bagley

took off with the 1.2 million dollars and there was nothing that I could do about it." he told

Perry and Della.

"I am truly sorry about the trouble that Bagley gave you sir. I am working on a case that

involves him and I think that his day is finally here. Keep your eyes and ears on the television

and papers I think he should make the news shortly" Perry promised him.

Perry and Della thanked the minister and headed back to the car. Della could not believe

that Bagley had done that to a church. He had used his skills as a lawyer to steal nearly

every dime that had been given to some of the poorest most desperate people in the local

community. She wanted to see him in prison badly now.

"I think that it is time to call Hamilton Burger. He and Tragg need to know what I have

found out. I do not think that Davis Jr. has done anything wrong except trust Bagley, and

once he discovered what Bagley was up to he was probably blackmailed into doing whatever

Bagley told him to." Perry told Della.

When they got back to the office Della called Burger and asked for him and Lt Tragg to

come to their office in two hours. She also called Paul to come on over to the office. There

was now enough evidence to get Bagley arrested I am sure of it. He is a very dangerous

man/ He decided to give him a call and ask him to come to the office . He would tell

him that he had some more information about the case and that he needed to talk to him

in private. Burger and Tragg could hide in the library and hear every word that was being

said. Perry had a speaker behind his desk that he could turn on and off and would not be

seen by Bagley.

Perry was successful in getting Bagley to come to the office in a couple of hours and

now all he and Della had to do was get all the things together that they had found out. It

was a lot and Perry would want to make sure that he would get Bagley to admit to something

so that it would be easier to get a conviction. He had thought about what was to be said

and felt ready when Bagley came in. He would have Della meet Burger and Tragg at the

back door and show them to the law library.

If everything went well that afternoon Bagley would be in jail and Dora would be able to go

back to her aunts to begin her life again as a free young lady.

The two hours came quickly and Della let Burger Tragg and Paul in. They had only been in

the library for about ten minutes when Ed Bagley walked in the door. Perry welcomed him

and asked him to take a seat. "Ed I think that I have solved the murder mystery. You will be

surprised to find out who I think may have committed the murders. I wanted to talk to you alone

because we have been friends for a long time. I know of your dealings with Our Lady of Hope

Church and about the money that you received from the estate from the death of Doras parents.

I also suspect that your partner Davis had caught on to you and either the stress of the dealings

or something else he died. I also know that you were in room seven on the night of the murder

and I have you on tape using the connecting door to room eight. The time stamp on the camera

was seven thirty and you left not fifteen minutes later. Mr. Mathers was not seen alive after that.

You had me fooled for a while, but when you tried to kill Dora by poisoning her, it was an

easy thing to trace the poison and your name came right up. You must have realized that she

had seen you the night of Mike Williams murder and that she could identify you."

"Well that is quite a story Perry. When does Peter Pan arrive?" and with that he stood up

and pulled out his gun.

Perry went to tell him that Burger was in the library when he was shot. Tragg had pulled

his gun out but his shot was just a second too late. Bagley had been standing but a few feet

from Perry when he fired the shot. Perry was thrown back in his chair and he landed on the

floor on his back. His friends came in running and Burger called 911. Bagley was shot in the

back and bleeding profusely. But, Perry had been knocked out by the blow and was having

trouble breathing. Tragg had been trained in aid as had Paul and they raised Perry s head hoping

to help him with his breathing. There was blood everywhere and Della grabbed some towels.

They all tried to stop the bleeding but it seemed that it was coming out faster than they brought

over the clean towels the faster they filled with blood. They knew that Perry was in critical

condition and that he needed medical help right away. As for Bagley two of Pauls men had come

in and they were holding towels on his wound.

Della did what she could to help Perry, but she was not trained and she knew that Paul was

the best one to help their friend at this time. Paul sent her downstairs to show the ambulance

the back way to the office. It was the quickest way for them to come up and it kept her from

seeing what was going on. He knew that his friend could die if the bleeding was not stopped

and he did not want Della to see it.

The ambulance came in less than five minutes and the emts went right over to Perry. They

started an iv and gave him oxygen. The second ambulance came right afterward and they began

to work on Bagley. As they brought Perry Mason down the hall they told Paul and Della that

he was critical and they were taking him to one of the best hospitals in the world. That was

where he would have the best chance of surviving and coming back the way he had been without

any physical problems. The bullet was very close to his heart and they had one of the best heart

surgeons around. They were now waiting for him in the emergency room.

Paul took Della by the hand and told her "They will do their best to save him Della. Come

on I will give you a ride to the hospital. Tragg and Burger waved them on saying that they would

talk with them later.

Della was an emotional mess just a few minutes ago she and Perry had been talking about

what they would do that night once Bagley was in jail. He had known that they would probably

be coming home late that night so they would celebrate tomorrow a Saturday when the office

was closed. Now, he might never be able to do that again. It just was not fair the world needed

him. He had helped so many people, but now he needed the help.

Paul and Della arrived at the emergency room and asked about Perrys condition. The lady

at the front desk had no information for them yet. She promised that as soon as she heard

something they would be told. Della took a seat and tried to look at a magazine without

success. She just sat there and felt like crying. She cared for that man very deeply, he was

one of her best friends and as of lately, they had started to have a semi serious relationship.

She thought of Dave and knew that he needed to be called. He did not live that far away

and he could be there within a couple of hours or so. She looked at her phone and was glad

that he had given her his number. She called and Dave answered on the second ring. The

shooting was all over the news and he was on his way. Luckily he had called his parents

before they had seen it on the television and they too were on the way. It was going to be a

four and half hour ride for them. He had tried to convince them that he would call them and let

them know what was going on but they had insisted on coming to LA.

Perry had been taken to the emergency room and there was now an officer stationed outside

of his room. He was critical as he had lost a lot of blood and his heart had been injured by the

bullet and he needed to go to surgery as soon as he was strong enough to survive the surgery.

must warn you that he is in danger. We will know better once I operate." he told sent

him up for a cat scan and xrays but the doctor was sure that he was going to have some

surgery involving his heart.

It was time for the doctor to go and find Mr. Masons family and friends. The news was not

good he was an overweight man who smoked and had been shot near his heart and lungs. He

walked intothe emergency room and spoke to a lovely woman named Della and Perrys friend

Paul. "We have received the xrays back and Perry has been shot very near his heart. and he

would do everything he could to make sure that Perry was going to be ok. He has a good chance

but I must warn you that he is in critical condition.".

"Can we go in and see him?" Della asked.

"You could but he is not conscious and he needs to go up to the operating room." He looked

at Della and saw how worried she was and told her "All right you can see him for a few minutes,

but a very few. Do not worry there are lots of tubes and he will not look as he normally does but

some people think that he may be able to hear you." the doctor told them.

Della and Paul were led down a long hallway and into a small room that was located right

near the nurses desk. He was laying on the cot with lots of machines hooked up to him. They

told his blood pressure his oxygen level and his heartbeat and breathing pace. He was so pale

and did not open his eyes when Della and Paul spoke. Della took his hand and told him "We will

go away like we had planned for tomorrow when you get better I promise." She watched his face

and thought that he might have blinked his eyes. She could not help herself so she leaned over

and gave him a kiss on the forehead as he had done to her before.

Paul looked over at his friend . He looked bad. He had seen people who had been shot before

and knew that the fact that Perry had not shown any signs that he was waking up, he was really
worried. Bagley had been but a few feet from him when he had shot him. He looked at Della

and felt sorry for her too. It would not be fair for something to happen to this good man just

when his life was starting to come together. He reached and touched his friends hand . He

watched as Della gave him a kiss on the forehead and shook his head. He would pray for his

friend indeed.

Walking out of that room was one of the hardest things that both Paul and Della had ever

done. They both knew that it was the last time that they may ever see their friend alive, and

they were very worried.

Paul put his arm around Della and told her that everything would be all right. Perry is a

tough old goat and he will pull through if he can. He held her on the couch in the emergency

room and she began to cry. Paul knew that was what she needed and hoped that if the tables

had turned and he had been the one shot that his friend Perry would have been with his wife

Sue.

Perry had been in the operating room for just over an hour when Dave showed up. You

could see that he was worried and that he had not gotten dressed. He had jumped into his

car and come straight to the hospital.

Della had called Lori and told her what happened. She had wanted to come to the emergency

room to be with her sister, but Della had promised that she would call her as soon as she heard

anything . Perry was going to be in the operating room for another four hours and that his

brother Dave and his parents were on their way now. So, it was a lot of people to wait.

and hear about how the operation had gone.

Dave came right over to Della and Paul . He gave Della a big hug and told her that "I am

sure that Perry is going to be ok. He has my blood and us Masons are a strong family." He

remembered how he had seen the lipstick on his brothers lip and how much they had appeared

to him to be so much in love. He would just have to get better.

How could Bagley gotten away with so many murders and attempted murders? While he

was doing all those things he was representing people who had been charged with capital

crimes when he had been committing them all along himself. Della knew that the world needed

men like Perry to keep everything even.

The three of them were sitting in the waiting room when Paul spotted Hamilton Burger and

Lt Tragg. They walked over to a private area that Della had found just around the corner. Tragg

went to the girl at the front desk and showed her his badge. He asked if they could speak to the

people in the waiting room in the room that Della had found and she said it was all right.

The three of them went into the room and took a seat across from Lt. Tragg and the District

Attorney Hamilton Burger. The two men had witnessed the attempt on Perrys life, but still

needed to speak to Della and Paul. They had heard what Perry had said to Bagley but they

wanted to hear from his friends.

"I would like you to meet Perrys brother Dave." Paul told them.

Both men shook his hand and told him how sorry they were about what had happened to his

brother. Lt Tragg was the first to speak. "What we would like to do is get a statement from each

of you. I know that you are worried about your friend, but it is best to get statements just after

something like this happens. The memory is still fresh in your mind and you have not had

enough time to talk to each other and possibly think what you remember might not be

correct. I would like to use a recorder for this. Is that all right?"

Paul had always thought that he should have an attorney with him when he made a statement

to the police, but this was his friend that had been shot not just a client. His best friend was

in the operating room fighting for his life and for this he would talk. "Go ahead I will give a

statement. "Most of what Perry told Bagley was what I knew. We were supposed to sit

in the library and listen to what went on. If Perry got into trouble we thought that he would

be safe with you and me in the library. After all the two of us had loaded guns on us. Bagley

was just too fast. I think that he came to see Perry and kill him. I am still looking into it but

there was another murder case some ten years ago that might have involved him also. He is

a bad man." he told them.

Della I know that it is hard to talk right now. But we can help Perry in our own way if

we find out something from you. Perhaps there is something else that you know that might

help tie everything together." Tragg told her. He took Dellas hands and told her "I am so sorry

about Perry. At no time would I want him hurt. I too have dedicated my life to the thought

that only the guilty should be punished.""

"I know that it just was such a shock. He is so strong and sure of things. He was sure that

Bagley would confess when confronted. We did not think that he would pull a gun. Perry

knew that he was a dangerous man and had stayed with me all day. He had been afraid

that Bagley might have gone after me. I know that we saw Ed Bagley on the last tape that

was provided to us by the hotel manager. We saw him go from room seven to room eight

through the door that joined the rooms together." Della told them.

Just then Burgers phone rang. It was the hospital where they had taken Ed Bagley. He was

out of surgery and was expected to live. He might be paralyzed because the bullet came very

close to the spine. They would not know until he woke up and they ran some tests.

With that the three friends went back to the emergency room to wait to hear from the

doctor and Hamilton and Tragg headed back to their offices to fill out the many forms

that were needed anytime they witnessed a shooting.

Paul and Dave had stepped outside to have a smoke when Della spotted Perrys mother

and father. She went over to them and tried to tell them what she knew. "He is still in

surgery, but he should be out within an hour. The man that shot him is out of the operating

room but might never walk again. He will be up for trial though, I am sure." she told them.

Perrys mother took a look at Della the woman that she knew had stolen her sons heart.

She was nice looking and had a kind look about her. She knew that Della cared for Perry

very much so she gave her a hug. They had met several times Perry had brought her to their

house on the fourth of July just a few short moths ago. She had been charming and polite. For a

moment she thought that they were going to both break down in tears, but the doctor came into

the room then.

Paul and Dave had just came in when the doctor arrived and walked over to Della and

Perry and Daves parents. Daves mother grabbed her son and gave him a tight hug. She

could not believe what had happened. Irene Mason had never thought that her son was in

any danger. He was a lawyer not a police officer.

"Perry is out of surgery and is in critical condition. He is a smoker and so his lungs are

weak. But he is young and strong and I think that he has a good chance that he will be able

to recover. The next few hours will tell the story." the doctor told them.

Perrys mother asked "Can we see him?"

"Yes, you can see him in a few minutes. He will not wake up yet, though. He is not out

of danger yet, I am afraid." he told her.

The rest of the night was a blur to Della. She was not going to leave the hospital until he

woke up no matter what people said. Perry was her best friend and she was going to wait for

him to wake up. Paul had finally talked Perrys parents into going to Perrys house and going

to sleep. He left the number for the hospital to call them on if anything happened. No matter

what he said he could not get Della to leave. She just sat there in the chair next to his bed

and stared at her friend.. He could tell that she was praying, so he decided to call Lori and let

her know what had happened.

Della sat next to the bed all night long. The nurses came in and out and gave him medicine

and changed his iv bags but Perry did not move. It was about five that morning when Della

heard the beeps on the monitor change. She stood up and looked at Perry, his eyes were

open. Because of the tubes and the machine he could not speak. But, when Della asked him

to squeeze her hand he did.

Della then ran to the nurses station and told them that Perry was awake. The nurse smiled

and went right into the room. He was awake indeed, that was good news. She went back to

her desk and called the doctor. The doctor was in the hospital getting ready to start his rounds

so he told her that he would be right up.

The same man that had told Della that the next few hours were critical walked into the

room and smiled. He told Perry "You gave us quite a scare Mr. Mason but I think that you

are going to be ok. I am going to leave the machine on for another few hours just to let

your heart take a rest. This nice young lady has stayed by your side the whole night. I would

keep her if I were you. I will be back in about three hours and if everything still looks good

I will take the machines off and you will be able to speak." and with that he went out the door.

Della needed to make a few calls to let people know the good news. So, her first call was

placed to Perrys mother and father and brother Dave. They had been very worried and she was

sure that they were waiting by the phone even as they slept. Her next call was to Paul Drake.

He was Perrys best friend and Della was sure that he had not slept much that night either. When

she called Paul picked the phone up on the first ring. He would be over sometime a little later.

He knew that Perry needed his rest , but she needed to get some rest too.

Della knew that Paul was right. It was going to be another three hours before Perry would

be able to talk and the doctor had told her that what he needed now was rest. She would go

home and take a shower. She would be back before noon she thought. She smiled at Perry and

promised him that she would be back. "You need your rest Perry. Your mother and father came

to the hospital last night and they will be in to see you. I am going to go home and change my

clothes. Take care and do not worry, things are going to be ok. She leaned over and kissed him

once again on the forehead and then took his hand. His hand was strangely cold but he gave

her hand a squeeze and she smiled at him. She then left for her home.

When Della got home she found Lori asleep on the couch with the phone next to her. She

tried to be quiet but Lori jumped up when she saw her sister standing there. "How is Perry?

Is he all right? I have been waiting here by the phone all night. I have been so worried." she

told her.

"He is awake and if everything goes well the doctor will remove some of the tubes sometime

this afternoon. I have come home to change my clothes and shower." she told her and broke

completely in her sisters arms." It seemed silly Perry was going to be ok so now she cries? She

really did care for him very much.

Della asked Lori to wake her u at eleven and she did. Della got dressed quickly and went

out to the kitchen. Lori had made her a sandwich and Della ate all of it. She had not been

hungry until then but she was very hungry now.

The ride to the hospital was not a long one and Della arrived in Perrys room at twelve thirty/

She was surprised to see him sitting up in the bed. He did not look as though he felt

very good but he was alive. He had an oxygen mask on but he could talk to her.

"Hi Della. If you are not a sight for sore eyes. You should have gone home this morning

and come back now. My mother told me that you spent the night here in my room. But

thank you. I appreciate you spending the time here." he told her.

"Oh Perry" she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She wanted to just hold him

in her arms. She could have lost him that night. But instead she pulled a chair up next

to him and smiled. "You gave me quite a scare. We need to be more careful when dealing

with dangerous clients. I do not want this to happen again." she told him and then watched

for the expression on his face.

"That is the problem with this business. There is always danger, but I have learned my

lesson this time and it will not happen again" He took her hand and kissed it. "It is times

like this that you realize just how precious life is and that things can change in an instant.

Della smiled at him and knew that everything was going to be ok. Perry would see to it

that Ed Bagley paid for his crimes.

Hamilton Burger and LtTragg had been busy themselves. They now had Bagley under

arrest even though he was in the hospital. He was going to be there for a long time as the

doctor was going to send him to a nursing home for rehab.. He had gotten word that Dora

Clemmons was ready to get released from the hospital and he and Tragg had gone over in

person to remove her ankle bradelet. She was now a free and very wealthy young lady. When

they had called her aunt, her aunt had come right over. She thanked them and the two of them

had left the hospital very happy..

When he had completed his work he thought of his friend Perry and he and Tragg headed out
to the hospital to see him. He had been called that morning with the news tha Mason was awake

and that he would be all right. Tragg blamed himself for what had happened, if he had been just

a couple of seconds sooner this would have never happened.

When they arrived in the room they found Mason sitting up in the bed with Della and Perry
sitting next to him. They relayed all the information to Perry and his friends and apologized for

what happened on the day before.

Perry looked around at all of his friends and smiled. "I am lucky to be alive and very lucky

to have so many good friends." They were all happy that everything worked out for the better.

It wss a good way to end an investigation.