Perry Mason and the Case of the Innocemt Dressmaker

by susan cousineau

This is the ongoing story of Mike and Lori's wedding and the dressmaker that gets charged with murder.

Carrie Lenois had been a busy woman for the last few years. She had worked hard to make a good name in

the business of making dresses for people. Most of her clients were wealthy and they used her shop to have

their dresses taken in or altered and sometimes handmade. She was mostly known for her wonderful bridal

gowns and today she was going to be fitting one of LA's finest.

The wedding was going to be the wedding of the year and she had been honored when she had received the

call from the famous Della Street asking her to make her wedding gown. Della was marrying her partner

the famous attorney Perry Mason in August. Della had found a dress that she had liked and had brought it

in for Carrie to see and let her know what she had wanted her wedding gown to look like.

Della had good taste and had a nice figure. She was going to look very nice and exquisite in the gown

that she had chosen. It had a long sequined train and was sleeveless with an empire design. There would

be a ribbon around her waist that would be seen in the front but not from the back. She wanted the

train to be detachable as she only wanted to wear the train as she walked down the aisle. Carrie was glad

to hear that there would not be many changes between what Della had seen in the magazine and what

she wanted to have her gown look like.

Della was a size four and was five feet six inches tall. Today Carrie was going to take some more measure-

ments and make sure that everything was all right.

Promptly at two as had been arranged Della and her sister Lori showed up at the dress shop. Lori was

younger than her sister and much more out spoken, but Carrie had liked both women the moment that

she had met them.

Della had chosen Carrie's bridal shop to make her dress because of the location and the reputation. Carrie was

a very friendly lady in her early forties who listened to everything Della had to say. She had never kept her

waiting and as she looked around the shop, she could see that it was a busy place.

Carrie had asked Della for permission to display her gown and Della had asked her not to until after the wedding.

She would be more than willing to let Carrie put up pictures of her in the gown, but she did not want to take a

chance that Perry might see it. She wanted him to be wowed by her when she walked up the aisle. Carrie had

agreed to the terms and had been extremely helpful with the designing of her dress. This was to be her and

Perry's wedding and Della wanted everything to be perfect.

As she went out back to put the gown on one more time she smiled to herself. Della had never been a girl that

the guys went after. She had been a quiet studious student through high school and then college. When she

had gotten the job at Perry's office she had thought she was the luckiest woman on earth. Perry was kind gentle

and generous. He had always treated her well and their love for each other had been slow and steady. They were

like two ships who had met quite by accident while way out at sea. Every day she grew to love her man more and

more. As she walked out to be fitted Carrie and Lori both applauded. "You look beautiful Della. The dress is perfect

for you and you will be the bride of the year." Lori told her with a smile

It had been nice of Lori to come with her sister on this day. For at ten that morning she and Della had been at

Lori's bridal salon getting her last fitting before Lori and Mike's big day. They were getting married in eight days

and time was getting real short for all of them.

Tomorrow was Friday and the finalization of the sale of Della's house to Lori and Mike would be happening. Perry

would bring the information over to the Registry of Deeds and the home would no longer be hers. She was going

to miss her old home, but knew that she would be coming back. After all, her sister Lori was buying it.

Lori and Della had always been close and the two weddings being just three and a half months apart had made

them even closer. Lori was marrying a nice man named Mike Platt who worked at the same computer company

that she worked at. He had asked Perry to be his best man and Della was to be the maid of honor, as Lori was

going to be the matron of honor at her wedding. Mike was to be an usher, as Perry's brother Dave was going to

be Perry's best man.

Dave was going to be the type of best man who would be throwing Perry a big bachelor party. Perry had been

planning the bachelor party for Mike for weeks. Della had not had time to find out much about it, but she had

seen a bill for a few items come through the office. She knew whatever Perry was going to do for Mike it would

be nice, so she let the men do their thing. They were allowing her and Lori to do their own thing after all.

Carrie took a look at Della in the gown and loved how it was starting to look. Of course the dress was still in

the early stages, but she was going to be a beautiful bride. Carrie was sure that Della would be in many newspapers

and magazines and her dress would be seen all over the country. This one sale could make or break her and she

knew it. For the next hour Carrie pinned and measured as Della stood there and turned when asked. Della had

great poise and did not move at all. The fitting went well and Carrie told her that she would call her within the next

month. The wedding was in August and she would have to make quick the work that she needed to do to make sure

that the dress was ready in plenty of time for the wedding.

Della and Lori headed back out to their house once more. They had both taken the much needed day off to make

the preparations for Lori's upcoming wedding. Perry thought that was what Della would be doing all day long and

did not know that Della was at the dress makers herself.

But meanwhile Perry had taken advantage of his time from Della. He had things that he needed to do to get ready

for their wedding also. He had to make plans for their honeymoon. He and Della had discussed where they wanted

to go and what they wanted to do, but it was up to him to make the plans. Della had told him that it was the groom's

job to plan the honeymoon. He knew that she had enough to do without worrying about the honeymoon too. He

pulled out the many brochures that he had picked up at a travel agency and began to look through them. He heard

the knock on the back door and hoped that it was Paul. But, just in case it was Della and she had forgotten her key

or something he hastily picked up the brochures and put them in the drawer of his desk.

But it was his friend Paul Drake. Paul took a seat and smiled at his friend. Perry took out the brochures and

showed Paul what he had been looking at. There were several beautiful cruises and Della had said that she would

like to go on a cruise to Hawaii. There was a twenty-one day cruise with many off the ship things to do. But the

ship was getting booked and it would be leaving the day after the wedding. "What do you think Paul? We would

have to leave by nine in the morning the day after the wedding to get to the ship on time. Of course we could

take a limo if we want then neither one of us would have to worry about parking." he asked his friend.

Paul looked at the brochure and the things that the cruise had to offer. It was twenty-one days long and stopped

in Hawaii and basically stayed there for four days and then cruised all of the Hawaii Islands. It was beautiful and

they had one more suite available for that trip. "I would take this cruise. It has everything that Della and you want

and as you said you can both take a limo and not worry about an airplane ride or worry about parking. It looks fine

to me." Paul told him.

"All right so it is the twenty-one day cruise ." Perry picked up the phone and made the reservations. He also then

called the same limo company that he would be using for the wedding and made a reservation for him and Della to

be picked up at nine am in the morning the day after the wedding.

"What about the bachelor party? Is everything all set?" Paul asked.

"Oh well between you and me and Steve I think everything will be all set. Mike thinks that this is just a regular

Saturday night at the mason's lodge. Steve is going to bring him. All the guys from the lodge and your brother

Dave will be there. Nearly all of the men who are coming to the party including his brother in law Tom will be

there. The lady in the cake is taken care of and she will do a strip tease for Mike also. To tell you the truth I

cannot wait." Paul told him.

"Well the girls are taking Lori out for a girl's night. I think that they are going out to the nightclub that Lori and

Mike are always going to. They will be out very late, I am sure." Perry told him with a smile.

"Well, everything looks all right from here. There should be no surprises and no one can get into the lodge before

going in front of Dan and you know how he is. If you don't belong there you don't get in. Hopefully, Mike will

be genuinely surprised, although he must be expecting some kind of party soon. After all the wedding is next

Saturday." Paul told him with a smile. "But at least for one more party you my man will be a bachelor, and as for

me I can pretend that I am single for a night." Paul told his friend with a devilish grin.

It was now five o'clock and it was time for Perry to head back to his home. Paul, also went home and Perry then

picked up his phone and called Della. He missed hearing her voice that day and was glad when she picked her

cell phone up right away.

"Hi. How was your day?" he asked her.

"Tiring, but Lori and I finished most of everything that has to be done before next Saturday. Her wedding gown

will be ready to be picked up on Tuesday. I have missed you and Lori just left with Mike. If you would like I would

love some company." Della offered him.

"I am on my way. We can go out and get something to eat." Perry told her.

"Oh Perry I have been going all day long. I would like it if you and I had a quiet evening together if that is all right

with you." Della asked.

"Sounds good to me. It has been quite boring without you in the office. But on the other hand Gerty is like a blast

of air and always makes so much out of so little. Sometimes, I swear she makes me tired just watching her as she

comes and goes." he said with a laugh.

"Believe me I know exactly what you mean. I'll see you in a few." and with that Della took out some steaks for

Perry and her dinner.

Della was glad to see Perry. It seemed silly to her but she had missed him in just the few hours that they had been

apart. But, when two people are together everyday eight hours a day when you are apart there is a void in your

space. This was now especially true since they had told each other their true feelings and they were to be married

in just a matter of a few months.

Perry had stopped at the liquor store and had bought a bottle of wine for dinner. He had thought that Della would

probably be making steak that night. When he walked in the door he was greeted by Della who put her arms around

his neck and then she gave him a sweet kiss. He had returned the kiss passionately and then held her in his arms

for a few moments.

Perry sniffed the air and he had been right. "Oh I smell the steaks and they smell wonderful. Here is a bottle of wine

for the dinner. It is a good night to spend our time together there was a baseball game that would start at seven

just in time for them to have dinner and relax for the game. Perry would gladly help Della clean up the kitchen

after the meal, it was part of their equality in their future marriage.

As Della and Perry sat down to eat Della decided to approach a subject that neither one of them had ever discussed,

it was the subject of birth control or the lack of it. She wanted to have a child and he had said that he too wanted

to have children. But the question was when. She had looked into all kinds of different ways to prevent a pregnancy

but she would need to have a physical soon for some of the methods to be effective by their wedding day.

"Perry I need to know something about our marriage and how your and my plans are the same or different." she

cleared her throat, as for the first time in a long time she was a little embarrassed to talk to Perry about something

"I want to know about when you want children. You see if I need to be put on some kind of birth control I should

start looking into what kind is best for me soon. Some of the types take a couple of months to work."

Perry looked at his steak that all of a sudden did not look as good to him as it had just a moment before. He also

cleared his throat. Yes, he had thought about it, but Della was right, they needed to talk about the subject soon,

after all they were to be married in just ninety-two days. "I would like to have children as soon as possible,

perhaps." and with that he looked to Della.

Della herself had thought about it also. She was a virgin, oh she knew that she was a rare commodity but she had

never had a need for any type of birth control. The only man she had ever considered sleeping with since she was

an adult had been Perry and they were waiting for their wedding day. Perry had made that clear to her and she was

glad that she had saved herself for him.

Perry was watching Della with interest. He did not know if she was a virgin or not, but of all the men in the world,

he was. He had thought about having sex before, but had never gone all the way with a woman.

Della looked at him and took both of his hands in hers "I love you and can hardly wait for our wedding day. But,

once we are married I see no reason to stop any pregnancies that might happen." she told him.

Perry smiled, he was the luckiest man in the world. "I would be proud to be the father of any of your children and

like you just said what will be will be. Whenever the child is conceived he or she will know that they are loved of that

I am sure." he told her.

In the meantime Carrie had closed her dress shop and was getting ready to head out when there was a knock on

the door. She looked out the glass of the window on the door and saw that it was her ex husband. James had

been an abusive drunk to both her and her two children Lee and Bruce. She had divorced him two years ago and

had a restraining order against him. But the police were slow to respond to domestic issues and had no sympathy

for a victim of spousal abuse

"I am calling the police right now. Leave my property." Carrie yelled at him.

But he laughed and said "They aren't coming you and I know that. The police think of you as a pain in the neck and

the last time you called them they threatened you with arrest."

He was correct about that James had broken into her shop and was threatening to beat her up so she had told the

police that she was being robbed hoping that they would come quicker. When the police had arrived and they found

that it was just a domestic assault, they had threatened to arrest her for calling in a false report. James kept banging

on the door and yelling and still no police.

Finally ten minutes later and after several calls two police officers showed up and told James to move along. The

restraining order that she had in her hand was ignored as long as he left the property right away. Carrie knew what

that meant. It meant that he would be waiting for her at the house and she and her children would be in danger,

extreme danger possibly.

Carrie dialed her children right away and warned them to leave the house. They both knew where they should go

and headed out to the school where there was a basketball game playing. There they knew that their father was

no longer allowed to go and they would be safe. When things were safe at home their mother would come and get

them.

Lee was the oldest and he was protective of his younger brother. He had seen what his father was capable of and

knew that his mother was in danger. This day he was going to not let anything happen so he made his brother stay

at the gym while he went over to his house. He went there and waited and waited for his father to come but he

did not show up. He saw his mom come home and watch out of the window for his father but he did not come. After

an hour his mother left and Lee called to her letting her know that he had been watching for his father. Neither one

of them had seen him and now it was time for them to get Bruce his younger brother.

Carrie went home and fixed her two sons dinner. It was now seven in the evening and she was a nervous wreck.

Even thought her ex had not shown up she never knew when he would. Like a fool she had stopped by his apartment

to confront him, but he had not answered his door. That was normal for him, though, he would raise hell with his

family and then go off and ignore them. It was one of those nights that she had gotten used to.

James was supposed to be watching the baseball game that night with his friend Fred, but when Fred had knocked

on his apartment door there had been no answer. He had gone back to his own apartment and settled for watching

the game on his small screen television. He had looked forward to watching the game on James's brand new

forty-two inch television but for some reason he did not come to the door. He had checked the door and the apartment

door was locked.

Meanwhile Della had put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and then put it in a bowl. She and Perry took a seat

on their favorite couch and settled down to watch the game. Della had never been much of a sports fan, but anytime

she and Perry could be alone together doing anything was fine with her. She knew that the next day the both of

them would be busy Perry with the bachelor party and Della with Lori's get together. Della did not look forward to

another day at a nightclub, but it was Lori's time and she would be gracious. She knew that Perry felt the same way

about the bachelor party but he was the best man and it was his duty to throw a party for Mike.

Della sat back and Perry put his arm around her shoulders. It was nice and quiet that night and she was looking

forward to the night of peace and quiet. That is all the peace and quiet that a baseball game could bring. The

game was long and Della had to get up a couple of times and stretch. She poured herself another glass of wine

and leaned against Perry once again. When the game was over Perry leaned over and gave Della a nice kiss.

Finally it was time to get up and stretch and enjoy the spring air. The air was finally warming up and Della

thought to herself that it was going to be nice for the wedding. She hoped that it would not be too hot for their

wedding. The month of August could be very hot in LA.

The rest of the evening went well and Della and Perry spent more time looking at homes. They had been

discussing what kind of home that they were both looking for and the price range. They were looking for a

home with a minimum of three bedrooms a study a dining room a common room and then a kitchen and a

living room. They both needed a three to four car garage with ample parking for their four cars. Della wanted

to have the laundry room on the first floor near the kitchen if possible and would like a large pantry. Perry

wanted a study on the first floor and wanted it to be away from the noise of the rest of the house, and if it was

possible he wanted many bookcases for his many law books. He would like to have a pool but it needed to be

fenced in because of the danger to the children they both wanted.

The two of them both found a few houses, that met what they wanted and actually two of the homes had all

of the things that they wanted. He would call the realtor in the morning and see when he and Della could

go and see the homes. The realtor was sending him many homes on line, and he wanted to get going on

the purchase. As of Monday the house that Della was living in was going to be Lori and Mike's home and

they needed to find something soon. He could sell his penthouse and have the closing date at the beginning

to the middle of August so that he could live at the penthouse as long as possible. If he and Della owned

the home before then he could move in and have Della wait to move in until they were married. He was

a little nervous about that part of the deal, but he could live with it as long as Della could stay at the house

with Lori.

"If the realtor is interested in showing us the house tomorrow, could you go?" he asked her. He knew that

she had plans for the evening, but maybe they could do something earlier in the day he thought.

"Yes I can do it but I want to be back here by three. I want to get ready for a night with the girls and all

of her bridesmaids are coming. " Della told him with a light kiss on the cheek.

Perry knew what she was saying even though she did not say it. The bridesmaids were a little loud ( very

loud actually) and the night would be very tiring for her. As for him, he was looking forward to some of

the things that were going to happen the following night, but not all of them. He was sure that everyone

was going to have a good time. He had made sure that there would be plenty of liquor and food. The

stripper coming out of the cake was just part of the game. He told Della "All right I will call you as soon

as I hear back from the realtor.

Fred had been sitting there in his living room watching the game and had thought that there must be something

strange going on. He had knocked on his friend James' s door several times and had not gotten an answer.

His car was in the yard but the game was not on and he had not heard any sounds at all. Fred was well

aware of the fact that James and Carrie were having problems and when he had seen Carrie knocking on James's

door he had been surprised. He had seen her leave, but had not seen her go inside.

It was then that Fred decided to go back and knock on the door again. When he got no answer he stopped at

apartment three E and knocked on the door of the management office. It was now nine o'clock and he knew that

the lady in apartment three did not want anyone coming to her unless it was an emergency after nine. He knocked

and Lisa answered the door. Fred told her that James would not answer the door and he was worried. Lisa looked

at James and did not want to go to James' s apartment, but she knew that he would come back again and again

if she did not go to James''. James was a horrible man that thought that women were there just to serve a man

and never had a nice word to say to her.

Lisa went over to his apartment and knocked. She also got no answer so she used her pass key to get in. At

first everything looked normal. but then she saw James' s legs that were lying on the floor. Fred and Lisa went

over to the body and saw that he had been hit over the head with something and when Fred leaned over to check

for a pulse they found out that he was dead.

Fred could not believe it. His friend was dead. He picked up his cell phone and called 911. The police were there

within a few minutes and Lisa let them into apartment 3C James Lenois's apartment. The paramedics arrived

just before the police and verified that James had died. They called over the walkie talkie that this was definately

a suspicious death and the police came right in. The apartment was blocked off with yellow tape and the homicide

branch of the police department were called in. That is when Fred and Lisa were introduced to Lt Tragg . The

man was very thorough and took both their statements. Fred told him how he had seen James's ex wife there

and as far as he knew that was the only person that had been at James's apartment that evening, since he had

gotten home from work.

Carrie had been busy getting the boys school work done and had just gotten dressed for bed when there was a

knock on the door. She thought that it was going to be James and she did not want to answer it. But then she

heard the knock again and this time the knock was accompanied by a male voice announcing that it was the

police. She peered around her kitchen curtain and saw that it was indeed the police who were knocking at her

door at this ungodly hour.

Lee had stepped out of his bedroom. The knocking on the door had been loud and he had thought that his father

had decided to once more come and bother them. He was as surprised as his mother was to see a police officer

introducing himself as Lt Tragg knocking on the door. When Lt Tragg told them that he was from homicide Lee

and his mother were shocked.

As Carrie listened to the man she knew that she needed to call an attorney. She answered as curtly but honestly

as she could the man's questions. He had been told that she had been seen outside of her ex husband's apartment

shortly before he was murdered. James had been seen entering the building around six that evening and was

not seen or heard from afterward. Did she talk to him?

"When I got there he would not answer the door. It was common for him not to answer the door for her because

he had been banging on my shop door earlier." she told him

"Why would you not answer the door?" he asked her.

"I have a restraining order against him and he was not supposed to be there. I called the police but they would

not arrest him and they just sent him home." Carrie told him.

"We will be in contact with you" was all they said.

Carrie looked at her clock and knowing that it was Friday she might have to wait until Monday to call a lawyer.

She thought about Della Street and the man she was marrying Perry Mason. It was said that if you ever got

into trouble he was the man to have on your side. If the police came again over the weekend she would call

Della. She felt so sorry for her son Lee. His father had always been trouble, but no kid wants to hear that

their father has been murdered. She put her arm around him and he cried in her arms like a baby. She

thought about telling her younger son Bruce but thought that she would wait until the morning to tell him

about his father.

Lori and Mike were out on the town having a good time. This was to be their last weekend of being single.

Something told them that tomorrow night there was something going on. Perry had been quiet about what

was happening and Della had just said "Really?" to everything that Lori asked her. She was beginning to drive

Lori crazy. Mike and Lori stayed out until everything closed and then came home. Lori was surprised to see

no car in the driveway. She thought that Perry would still be there, but when she went into the house she

could see that Della had gone to bed.

That night Mike went home because he had promised Steve that he would help him with his car. He was having

some problems with his car and sometimes it would not start. They both thought that something was loose under

the hood and they would have to work on it in the morning. He felt that Della would like the privacy also. She

was always a lady around him and sometimes he felt a little uncomfortable when he spent the night. But that

would all stop come the next Saturday when Lori becomes his wife.

The next morning Carrie got up to a phone call from her ex mother in law. Her mother in law was very upset

and wanted to know whether or not Carrie knew anything about what happened to her son. When Carrie told

her she only knew what the police had told her his mother became indignant. "You wanted him dead, I know

that. Did you kill him?" and with that Carrie hung up the phone.

That was when Bruce walked into the kitchen and asked her "Who was that on the phone?"

She looked at her son. He was now thirteen and was growing into quite a young man. "Bruce take a seat I want

to talk to you." she told him as he sat down at his chair at the table. "There was a terrible event that happened

last night. I am afraid that your father died last night."

Bruce looked up at his mother with tears in his eyes "How did he die? What happened?" he asked her.

"I am sorry the police were here and they said that someone murdered him." she told him as tenderly as she could.

It was several seconds before he answered her. "Murdered, couldn't it have been an accident? What happened to

him?" Bruce asked her.

"They say that he was hit over the head by some object and that he died." she told him.

Bruce looked as though his world had just crashed in. His mother got up from her seat and took him in her arms.

She let him cry it out and then he told her he wanted to be alone for a while and went into his room.

Della woke up early that morning. She looked out the window and was pleasantly surprised to see that Mike had

not spent the night. Steve, Mike's roommate was supposed to keep him busy that day fixing his car and then

he would take him to the party. He still thought that it was just a meeting at the lodge.

As for Lori Jeannie and Gretchen were taking her to the mall to get some things for the reception and keep Lori

busy until it was time for them to go out. Della was just sipping her coffee when Perry called. The realtor just

called and we could meet at one of the houses at ten. The other home would not be available until after twelve

if that was all right with her. Della smiled "Yes that is fine. What time will you come and get me?" she asked

him.

"Well I am not yet dressed but I could come over around nine and we could fool around for a half an hour if

you want." he told her with a laugh.

"All right but don't mess up my hair. I want to look good when I look at the house." Della told him with a laugh.

True to his word Perry showed up at Della's house at nine that morning. He looked good. He was dressed a

little casual but you could tell by his clothes that he was a man of means and he had brought the town car, so

her hair wouldn't get messed up.

Della smiled as he walked into the living room. He walked over to her and gave her a good morning kiss. "Well

madam this is a big day in our life. Perhaps we will buy a house for us and our children." he told her.

"I hope that we find something that we like. I want to live in a nice house, but I want it to be a friendly neighborhood

like this one where everyone knows each other. I don't want to live where you don't even know your next door

neighbor." she told him.

"That is what I want. I want my kids to have plenty of friends who feel comfortable to come over at anytime. Don't

worry the house for us is out there someplace." he told her as he gently kissed her on the top of the head and took

her hands in his.

It was then that the two of them heard a noise and when they turned they saw Lori standing there with a big smile

on her face. "This is even early for you two. What's up?" she asked.

"We are going to look at two houses today." Della told her with a smile. "I was going to tell you last night but I fell

asleep before you came home. Do you want some coffee?" she asked the two of them.

"Della it is already nine twenty and we are supposed to meet the realtor at ten. I have time for a quick cup of

coffee that's all. The house is about twenty minutes away and I would like to look at the house without anyone

seeing me first." Perry told her.

"Coming right up kind sir." she told him with a smile and she poured the two of them some fresh coffee.

It was just a few minutes past nine thirty when Perry and Della left her house. As Della drove by their office she

thought about how strange it was that they were not stopping by. Perry saw her and pulled her closer to him.

As they pulled up to the street Della noted the trees that lined the street and the children on the street playing.

This part was something that she approved of and as she looked up at Perry she saw that he too was smiling

at the children.

When they pulled up to the house Della could not believe that this was the house that she and Perry were looking

at. It was huge and there were two garages. One of the garages was full right now with a large boat. This was

just what they needed as they now had four cars. It had a long circular driveway that went right to the front door.

The front door was double paneled and the glass went nearly from the top of the doors to the bottom.

As they approached the front door their realtor welcomed them in. The inside was even more magnificent. The

ceiling to the foyer was at least fifteen feet high with a chandelier hanging from it. There was a large closet to

the left and a long wide hallway that ran beside the stairs leading to the second floor. To the left the French doors

opened to a large living room. The living room was nearly as big as the entire house that Della now lived in.

When you walked through the living room there was a large study with bookcases that went all the way to the

ceiling. There was a moving ladder in there so that you could go from shelve to shelve easily. The deep Persian

rugs that were on the solid cherry floors gave the room a nice look. As they stepped out of the study to the right

was a large dining room that had a table with ten chairs. There was even room for more and a buffet if they wished.

Off of the dining room was a double sliding French door that went out to the patio. Della could see the large pool

and backyard. The pool was completely fenced in with a see through chain link fence. To the left was a tennis

court and in between the two was a large pool house. The pool house could be used as a guest home also as it had

a bedroom and a living room and kitchen combination and two bathrooms. Della noted the large enclosed yard and

the blossomed trees that lined the fence. As they stepped back into the house they went straight out of the door

and entered a large family room. The family room looked off into the back yard and also had a deck with sliders

going out into the yard. To the right was a large kitchen with a center island and a huge pantry to the left with

a washer and dryer hook up. There was a full bath to the side. As you came around towards the foyer there was

a small half bath to the right. As they went upstairs Della could not believe how that looked. To the right was a

large bedroom with a huge closet and between that room and the next was a bathroom with double sinks and a

huge soaking bathtub. Straight ahead was the master bedroom. It was huge with a cathedral ceiling two walk

in closets and a private bathroom with double sinks and a separate shower and bath. The toilet was actually

enclosed. Then to the left was another room. This was smaller but very nice and could be used as a nursery.

The third floor was an attic and could be expanded if they needed the space. Della was in tears it was everything

that she had ever dreamed of. She watched Perry for any signs of his thoughts and saw nothing. He could keep

a straight serious face when he wanted she thought.

After they had gone through the entire house Perry confirmed that the asking price was one point eight million

and the realtor said yes. "Are they willing to negotiate on the price? When will this house be ready for us to

move into?" he asked.

"The house will be ready for occupancy on July 1st. That is the closing date that they are asking for. They are

building a new home in Malibu and the house is not quite ready." he told them.

"Thank you and we will meet you at the next house at one." Perry told him and Della and Perry left for a quiet

lunch together. It was already eleven it had taken a long time to go over the property. It was huge.

As Della got into the car she breathed a sigh of relief. The house had everything on their list and more. But,

Della was now worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with such a large house. After all it had five baths

to take care of. Never mind the four bedrooms and the bonus room. It was beautiful and then they would have

a place for company to stay if they needed to. The pool house was small but very nice. She liked the neighborhood

too.

Perry smiled at Della and said "Well what do you think?"

Della laughed "Omg it is beautiful but it is an awful lot of house. When he said that we could add to it by building extra

rooms in the attic I thought I would die. How many children did he think we are going to have?"

"That is the reason I love you Della. It was nice though and it has the pool the huge pantry that you want and

a five car garage. We could live there for a very long time. The schools in the area are some of the best and there

were children right out on the street playing.

Della just put herself closer to him and thought. The house was just ten minutes from the office and only about

a mile from Paul and Sue's. It was a nice neighborhood but they needed to look at some other houses, before

we jump into the first one we see she thought to herself.

The lunch was good but Della could not eat. She had the party tonight and they had just looked at a house that

would take anyone's breath away. It was the most beautiful home that she had ever seen. It was what she would

have called a mansion. She wanted a home that was more like a nicer normal home, a little smaller, but she knew

that Perry deserved the best.

At one o'clock Perry and Della came to the second house. This street was another home where there were lots of

families and each house had a manicured lawn. Della noted that most of the houses had landscape people doing

their yard work. That was probably what they would need. The yard looked huge and she knew that she and

Perry would not have the time to keep their yard up.

As Della and Perry pulled up the first thing that they noticed was that this house had a three car garage. But, when

they looked inside the bays were long enough so that you could park two cars inside each bay. So it actually was

a six car garage. They walked into the home through the large breezeway that was between the garage and the

house. As they entered the house they walked directly into the large open kitchen. The kitchen was a gourmet

kitchen with a large hood and a six burner gas stove. The refrigerator was large with three doors and you looked

right into the open dining room. The dining room was large and elegant with French doors that took you to the

large back yard. The yard had a fenced in pool that had an alarm on it if anyone tried to open the gate that did

not have the combination. Della opened the door in the kitchen and was amazed once more by the large pantry

with shelves and a place to plug some things into. There was a laundry right next to it and past that was a full

bathroom. The washer and dryer was off the kitchen but the third door to the bathroom was off of the dining

room. As they turned the corner around the dining area was a large family room. From the family room was

another set of French doors going out to the huge backyard. As Della and Perry stepped out into the backyard

they were both pleased by what they saw. The gardens that were next to the fence gave off a fragrance that

would fill the home later on in the season they were sure of. The pool was large and was well fenced in. There

was a smaller pool house than the other house. But it did have a living room kitchen bedroom combination with

a large bath. It would be fine for someone to stay in while they were here on a visit. Della thought of her parents

and Perry's brother Dave who would be coming out. It was a nice shaded yard. They went in to the home and

turned right out of the family room . Straight ahead was a large study with lined bookcases. There was a large

desk sitting in the middle of the room and you just knew that this home belonged either to a lawyer or a judge.

To the left of the study was the large formal living room. It was a very nice living room and looked to Della

as though it would be a favorite place for her and Perry if they bought this house. As they walked out of the living

room they walked into the foyer. The foyer was large and high ceilinged like the other house. The door was

large and welcoming and as Della opened the door and looked out a neighbor waved to her. She waved back

and smiled at Perry. That was when they went up the stairs to the bedrooms. There were three bedrooms on

the second floor. The first two bedrooms were on either side of the stairway. Each room was large and had

huge closets. Straight ahead was a bathroom with double sinks and a view of the backyard. To the left of the

bathroom was the master bedroom. This bedroom was large not as large as the other one but plenty large

enough for her and Perry. It measured twenty-five by sixteen and had a large walk in closet. But when she

went into the bathroom Della fell in love. It was marble and had a working gas fireplace. It had double sinks

and a separate shower and bath. She peeked down at the large yard and nodded her approval.

As Perry and Della went down to talk about the house Perry asked the questions once more. "You said that the

asking price for this house is one million dollars correct?"

With that the realtor nodded.

"When would this home be ready for occupancy?" Perry asked him.

"This house will be ready in three weeks. The people have already moved to their new home, but as you can see

they still have a few things to take out of here and they are on vacation. They will be back on June twenty-fifth.

I would think that they could do the signing after the fourth of July." the realtor told him.

"Thank you and of course you will continue sending us pictures of other houses, while we make our decisions?" Perry

asked him.

"I have two more houses that you could look at tomorrow if you are interested." he told them.

Perry looked at Della he knew that they needed to get going on this house buying thing, and with any luck he

might be able to be home by two am tonight. "What do you think Della?" he asked her with a smile.

"I think that I would like to see a couple of more houses. but please make it in the afternoon. I have plans for

this evening and I will be out rather late." she told the realtor.

"That is fine what if we meet at two? Here is the address of one of the homes. They are both only about ten

minutes from your office." he told them.

With that Della and Perry headed back to Della's house so that they could get ready for their parties that evening.

"Why don't you try to not think about the houses right now? Just relax and I will come over in the morning and

we can talk about them then. I need to get going I have to be at the lodge in two hours." Perry told her as he

gave her a long lingering kiss that made neither one of them to separate. But he needed to go and they both

knew it, so Della said good-bye to him.

Meanwhile Carrie Lenois was not having a good day at all. Her ex husband's murder was all over the news and

that depressed her and the boys even more. She had not heard from the police since they had come that night

and she wondered what they were thinking. Perhaps they had an idea who the murderer was. She had gone

to his house, that was true but she had not been able to get in because the door had been locked. All of the

apartments at James's house had doors that automatically locked once you were inside. You either needed

a key or he would have to let you in.

Lee had called his grandmother and straightened things out between the two women. She knew that the two

of them had acted like children. James's mother knew that Carrie could not kill anyone and that someone else

had done the crime. But who? James was not a nice man and he did have some enemies, but which one

of them would dislike him so much that they would kill him she wondered.

Perry arrived at the lodge about an hour before Steve was supposed to be bringing Mike with him. Paul and

Perry were getting things ready with other members of the club. They were expecting about sixty people

to come that night and Perry had it catered so there was a lot of good food and drink for everyone to eat.

There would be fun if he had his way and with the help of Paul and Steve things looked good from his

end.

Sure enough just as the eight o'clock bell rang Steve pulled up to the lodge and he and Mike got out. It

was a good thing because the food was good and Perry wanted everyone to have some time before

the stripper arrived at nine thirty. Mike was very pleasantly surprised when he found out that the meeting

was for him and his party. The food and the drinks flowed easily and soon he was having a great time at

his bachelor party.

Jeannie and Gretchen came home with Lori about six and told her that they were going to take her out for a night

on the town. "One more last girl's night before you take the plunge." Gretchen laughed.

Lori smiled and ran into her room to get ready. All four of her bridesmaids and Della were going to take her to

her favorite nightclub and pay for everything, even the tips. So at eight the five of them left together. Perry

had left them the town car so that they could ride in comfort and off they went to the nightclub.

By now the bouncer at the door knew them all well and as they went right in for just a moment Della felt sorry

for the people who were standing outside waiting to come in. Some would never be allowed in and she knew

it but for tonight it was Lori's turn to shine. Della told the doorman that it was a good-bye to the single life for

Lori and he found them a table near the dance floor.

Although they were near the dance floor the smoke and the noise was still terrible and it was all that Della could

do to hear what the waiter was asking her. It was nice though and they had not been seated for long when a

young man came over and asked her for a dance. Della did not know what to say, but thought to herself, 'oh

what the heck I'm still single and it's only a dance.' With that he took her out to the dance floor and started to

dance a dance that she did not know. She did her best to fake that she knew the dance but she was sure that

he knew that she did not.

Lori laughed at her sister as Della tried to let her hair down a little and was surprised when a young man asked

her for a dance. She thought that if it was all right for Della to dance it must be all right for her. For the next

several hours all five of the young women danced many times all with different partners. Even though Della

had been asked to dance more than once by the same man she had said no thank you. She felt that more

than one dance would not be appropriate, so she had a good time with several different partners.

Lori did the same thing as her sister but the rest of her friends were all single and they ended up sitting at the

table with three new men that they had met that night. They were polite and laughed about Lori and Della

getting ready to take the big plunge. "Not me. I am going to be single until I am forty." one of them had told

them. The night was a big success and the five of them left together when the nightclub closed.

Perry Mike Steve Paul and the rest of the party were having a good time at the bachelor party. The girl had

indeed jumped out of the cake with nothing on but a very scantly clad outfit. She came over to Mike and gave

him a big kiss and hug. She then danced sexually and tried to get him to join her. But it turned out that Mike

was like Perry. It was fun to laugh and enjoy themselves being the watchers, but when it came to actually

doing something that was not what he wanted. He wanted Lori and could not wait until they got married just

a week from today.

The bachelor party ended at three that day and by the time Perry and his friends cleaned the are up it was

nearly four in the morning. Perry went home and fell asleep in his clothes. He was too tired to get into

his night clothes. When he woke up the next morning he was a little disoriented and looked at his watch. It

was ten o'clock and he was supposed to be going over to Della's house to talk about the houses that they had

seen the day before. He leaned over and looked at his cell phone. No she had not tried to call him thank god

he thought to himself.

He called Della and was surprised to find that Della had slept very late herself and was just getting out of

the shower. "I am sorry Della the party went longer than I thought and by the time we picked up the mess

and I got home it was almost five in the morning. I am going to shower and I will be right over."

"What a waste of water that we need to take separate showers." Della told her with a laugh. 'omg what a thing

to say Miss Street' she scolded herself.

Perry almost could not believe what she had said but he said "Only for a short time now my love. We will be

able to do anything we want when we want with few exceptions soon." he laughed. "I will see you within

the hour.

Lori had not meant to overhear her sister on the phone and had almost dropped her coffee when she heard what

she said. She turned quickly so that she would not be seen but Della saw her and smiled. She didn't care if

Lori heard what she said or not.

It was almost noon before Perry arrived at Della's house. Della had made them some sandwiches and chips.

He was a little tired and to his shame had just a little too much to drink the night before. He had always been

proud of himself in the fact that he never drank heavily, but last night he had drank one or two drinks that

were not needed. Dave and him had taken a cab home. Neither one of them belonged behind the wheel

of a car and he knew it. Sue had come and gotten Paul.

Della looked at Perry and laughed to herself. She believed that he might have a slight headache. "And how

was the party last night?" she smiled innocently.

"Too much celebration for this old man Della. Those young studs can surely drink and party. They probably were

up early this morning. I had to take a cab over to the club to get my car. Dave and I should not have been driving."

he told her.

"You could have called me, you know." Della offered.

"No thank you. I was embarrassed by myself. It will not happen again I promise you." he told her.

"You are human you know." Della told him and gave him a big kiss.

"What do you think of the houses that we looked at yesterday?" Perry asked her.

"I loved them both. But, the second house was the one that I liked the best. It was smaller and felt much more

like a home. It was right down the street from a school and the stores are within walking distance." Della offered

him.

"I liked the second one better also. It was plenty big enough for us and the study was a little more to the side

than at the other house. It also was not so large. You are right we would not be able to find each other without

yelling. I want it to be our home. The breezeway was a nice addition. We could use that year round here in

LA." he smiled.

Lori came in and Della and Perry told her about the houses. "Wow they both sound wonderful, but the first house

did seem like it would be a never ending job to keep the house up. You would need to have at least three servants

to run a place like that. The other house was a home and could easily be kept up with little help from the outside

which is what I know the both of you want." Lori told them.

"Well we are going out and looking at two more today. We would like to find a home soon, since we are probably

going to want to make some changes to the home and we are going to need to buy some new furnishings also. We

don't have enough furniture to fill even the second house." Della told her..

"I want to thank the both of you for the great night that Mike and I had last night. I was just talking to Mike and

he told me about his bachelor party. I am now starting my last week as a single woman and he is starting his

last week as a single man. I cannot wait for Saturday" she said as she walked back to her room.

Della and Perry left the house at about one fifteen and headed to the first home that they were to look at on that

day. As they pulled into the street they were met by a guard who would check everyone who came in and out

of the neighborhood. That was hardly the homey feeling that they were looking for, but they headed towards

the home that they were to look at. It was a large brick home with three floors and a large wrap around

porch. As you walked into the porch you could see that the windows could be opened out to allow for the fresh

air. When you walked in you walked into a small entryway with a place to hang up your coats. You then walked

through another set of doors. There you were in a huge foyer with a living room to the right. It was beautiful

and to the left was the study. Straight ahead was the formal dining room. All the rooms were made of wood

paneling and although beautiful they were made of dark wood. To the left of the study was another hallway with

a bench seat. To the left was a bathroom and a pantry and then one of the largest kitchens that Della had ever

seen. It was gorgeous with everything that they could ever need. It had a lot of counter space and a large

stove . It even had a walk in freezer. On the other side of the kitchen was a large family room that overlooked

beautiful gardens that someone tended to everyday it looked to Della like. The stairs were circular and at the

top of the stairs was a large landing with two bedrooms to the right and in between was a shared bathroom.

On the other side was the same thing. It was a beautiful home and had been decorated tastefully. But it

had no pool and there was a stone wall surrounding the home instead of a fence. Della knew that a child

could easily get out and the road was a little busy.

Della and Perry had just gotten into their car when Della got a call. She checked her phone and was surprised

to see that it was her dressmaker Carrie . Della did not want to answer her because she was with Perry but

she thought that she might be able to talk for a few moments to her. She said hello and Carrie told her

"The police are here at my house and they have a warrant for my arrest. They have accused me of killing

my ex husband James Lenois. Della took Perry's arm to stop him from backing out of the driveway. "Hold

on just a moment Carrie ." she told her. She put the phone on mute and told Perry that the lady on the phone

was a lady that she knew and that she was being arrested for the murder of her ex husband. She needed a

lawyer. Perry told her "Don't worry Della we will go looking for a house on another day. Tell your friend not

to say anything and that I am on my way to the police station."

Della told her what he said and she thanked her like a hundred times.

After Della had hung up the phone. He asked her "Could you please tell me the young ladies name?" and then

he smiled. Della looked like she was in a panic. "What's wrong Della? he asked her.

"I wanted to keep it a surprise. She is the lady that is making my wedding gown. Her name is Carrie Lenois

and her husband is that man that they have had on the news about his murder. They think that she is the

murderer but I don't think she did anything. Would you please just talk to her?" she asked.

Perry leaned over and gave her a kiss. "I will help her and I won't even ask to see her work." when he saw

the worried look on her face he leaned over and gave her a kiss and whispered "Don't worry I will take care of her

for you."

Perry walked into the police station and said hello to the men and women there as he walked the familiar corridors

to Lt Tragg and smiled. "Hello Tragg. I am here to meet with Carrie Lenois. " he told him with a smile.

"Hello Perry. She told us that you were on your way." and with that he led him into a dimly lit room with a lady

sitting at a table. It looked as though she had been crying. "Hello my name is Perry Mason." and with that

he waved the officer out of the room.

" I need to know your story. Why do the police think that you killed your ex husband?" Perry asked her.

"We have been at ends ever since our divorce. I have had a restraining order out on him for the last two years

and he ignores them. The night that he was murdered he had come to my shop and was demanding that I give

him some money. I called the police, but instead of arresting him they sent him on his way. I really thought

that he was going to go back to my house, but I followed him and he went home. I sat outside in my car

for about five minutes and then went upstairs and knocked on the door. I know that he was alive because

I could hear him inside, he just would not open the door for me because I had just called the police on him. I

went home and had my two sons go to a basketball game at the school where they would be safe from their

abusive father. But he never came I waited for over an hour and then started over to the school. My

son Lee had been outside watching for his father trying to protect me. I did not know that he had been out

there until he told me. My two boys have been terrorized by their father their whole lives." she told him.

Perry listened intently and asked her "Did you see anyone coming or going from your husbands building

when you were there?"

"No. But a neighbor and a friend of James saw me. His name is Fred and he lives in apartment 3d just about

right across from James." Carrie told him.

"All right the police are going to question you. Don't say anything unless I tell you it is all right to answer their

questions. Who is watching your two sons?"

"My sons are seventeen and thirteen. They are all right." Carrie told him.

"Well I am afraid that you will be held in this jail until we can arrange bail for you until tomorrow. Is there a

neighbor or anyone that we can call?" he asked her.

"Yes my mother lives just two blocks away." Carrie told him.

"All right I will get you a phone and you can call her." Perry told her with a smile. "Don't worry I will find out who

the murderer is."

It was another long day at the jail and Perry called Della finally at seven. Della already knew that poor Carrie would

have to spend the night in jail. She also knew that there were several documents that needed to be filled out and

she had already gotten them out and had filled out Carrie's name and address on all of the forms that she could

think of that would be needed for tomorrow.

As Perry pulled into the driveway he was really exhausted and knew that he was going to need to get a little rest

soon. He was glad to see that Della had already started working on the papers that needed to be filled out

before they appeared before the judge. He sat down on the couch to sign some of the papers and the next

thing he knew it was an hour later. Della had been at her computer working when she had heard what sounded

to her like snoring and had turned around. Perry was sound asleep still holding onto the pen that she had

given him to hold. She decided to let the poor man sleep. If it got too late, she would wake him but it was

only eight o'clock right now. So she concentrated on her work and sure enough at nine thirty she heard Perry

disturbing and she turned and smiled. He looked a little confused but very embarrassed. "How long have I been

asleep Della?" he asked.

"Oh just about an hour, but I have more papers ready for you to sign. You have been working too hard and now

we are in the middle of another murder investigation. I had hoped that things would be quiet until after Lori

and Mike's wedding but that was not meant to be I guess." she told him with a smile.

"Della call Paul and let him know what is going on. I need him to look into this guy James Lenois and find out

what kind of man he was and what if any enemies he had." Perry told her.

"I already called Paul and he is at work on the problem already. I have also been looking a little more closely at

the newspaper stories and have learned a few things about James Lenois. The papers say that he had just lost

his job due to downsizing and that he had been one of the protesters at his plant." Della offered him.

Perry smiled at Della and at the work that she had done while he was sleeping "I guess that I know you were

a good choice for a partner. You have done most of the work for me already. All I have to do is sign the papers

and we will be ready for tomorrow." Perry got up and thanked her with a kiss.

"Carrie seems like such a nice person. She would have no reason to kill her husband. She has a very successful

dress shop and her husband was a very abusive man. I heard that from other people when I had told them that

she was doing my dressmaking." Della told him.

"Well I am glad to hear that Paul is looking into things fro us. She seems like a very nice lady but a neighbor

saw her at James's door and that was a violation of the restraining order." he told her. "I know that the police

just sent him on his way and that he could have gone right to her house, but he did not. She should have

gone home."

"She could not get the police to take her situation seriously and what was she to do? He could show up at

her house anytime. When the police came they were of no help to her at all. If he had shown up at her

house they would have sent him home. They did not care that he might come right back. The attitude

of the police needs to change too. Carrie was in a desperate situation." Della told her with a serious look

on her face.

"You are right but now they think that Carrie went over to his house and lost his temper. The murder does

not look like it was planned. He may have fallen and hit his head. I am going to have to wait for the report

from the coroner. " Perry told Della.

"Then it wasn't murder? It could have been an accident? Why did they arrest her?" Della asked.

"Because when the murderer left the scene James was unconscious and might have lived if they had called

911. It makes it not first degree murder and it could be brought down to a manslaughter charge, but

it is still going to carry a heavy penalty for the person that did it because they left the scene." Perry told

her with a sigh.

Della went in and made another pot of coffee for Perry and her to drink. It had been a very long weekend

and she wanted to make sure that Perry was awake and good for driving home. If he was not he could

spend the night on the couch. She had spent the night at his house many times because of all the late

night work that she and Perry had done before.

Perry took the coffee and smiled "Just what the doctor ordered" he told her as he took a big sip of it.

They finished the work and Perry left about ten that evening. Della had watched him a little worried. He

was still very tired and they would see each other at court the next morning at ten o'clock. She went to

her room and went right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning when Della arrived at the courthouse she was glad to see Perry on the stairs talking to

Paul. He looked as though he had a good nights rest and was ready for a long day in court. As Della

walked up the stairs the two men stopped talking and smiled at her. They both said good morning and

she said good morning back. She listened to Paul as he told them about what he had found out about this

man James Lenois. James was a heavy gambler and was known to abuse women both physically and mentally.

He had been married before and had abused his first wife also. He had lost his job due to downsizing and had

threatened some of his coworkers just two days ago. Most of them considered him just a hot head but a couple

of the people that worked there were nervous. James had been violent with other people and the men and

women that he worked with knew it. The place that he lived at was in poor condition and was not in the best

part of town either. He had told his friend Fred that he had just bought one of the new big screen televisions

because he knew something was going to happen to him so he might as well spend all of his money then." Paul

watched Perry and Della as he told them the story and smiled.

Perry looked at his friend and told him "I want you to keep digging. If you can find a list of people who he worked

with that might have been afraid of him and just might have had a fight with him, let me know. There is a chance

that whoever murdered him thought that James was dead and he wasn't. Or they thought that he would wake

up after a while and have nothing but a bad headache. Whatever the reason is we need to find out who that

person is." Perry told him with a frown.

"All right I am on way. I will get back to you as soon as I can." Paul promised as he walked down the stairs to

once again investigate a murder for his friend Perry Mason.

Della looked up at Perry and smiled. He would help her dressmaking friend and between the three of them she

was sure that they would be able to help Carrie out.

As Perry and Della walked into the courtroom they were greeted by both Hamilton Burger and Lt Tragg. The three

men shook hands and then took their seats at their perspective tables. A guard from the jail brought in Carrie. Carrie

looked tired but she was all right. Della and Perry smiled at her and she seemed to relax a little. When the judge came

in they stood up and it was off to another long day in the courthouse.

The district attorney presented his case and asked that no bail be offered. The state felt that the murderer had left

the man to die when a simple call to an ambulance could have saved his life. She was a cruel and dangerous murderer

who needed to be kept under the watchful eye of the jail.

But due to Perry Mason's skill she was allowed to go home after posting just one hundred thousand dollars up front

for her bail. She was ordered to have any contact with the members of James's family and she was to stay in town

but that was all the restrictions that she had. It was sad that she could not attend his funeral with her two sons

but they would go to the funeral with her mother and father and they would protect both Lee and Bruce from

anything cruel that anyone had to say about the murder.

By that afternoon Carrie was out of the jail and she was back home with her two sons. Lee and Bruce had been

out of their mind with worry and no matter what they had said their grandmother had not allowed them go to

court that morning and given their mother any moral support. Both boys loved their father, but they knew that

he was much more dangerous towards them than their mother ever could be against him. It was not fair that

their mother was even thought to be the murderer.

After court Perry and Della went back to the office. Perry was going to be looking over all the legal avenues that

he had to work with and Della spent the day looking up any information that she could find out about James

and Carrie Lenois. The couple were not in the news very often and the information on line was limited. James

had a facebook page and she had been reading it, but so far had found nothing.

It was way after five and Della had been reading another article when the familiar knock came on the back door

of the office. Della got up and answered it. Sure enough there in the doorway was their friend and coworker

Paul Drake. Paul came in and took a seat in his favorite chair. "I have been looking into things for you today and

have some more information for you". He reached into his pocket and took out his notebook. It seems that James

thought that he did not have much time left on this good earth because he owed some of the big boys for some

loans to support his gambling habit. Fred, he is another gem of a person. He has spent time in the penitentiary

and just got released some six months ago. Two of the workers at his office that were upset about what he had

said to them were Larry Jones and Martin Williams. The two of them are also trouble and have spent some time

in jail for minor offenses themselves" he told the two of them and then closed his notebook.

Perry thought for a moment and told him "I want you to look into those men and anyone that might have been around

the apartment building that night. He was only about a mile from Carrie's house. How far is it from the high school

also?" he asked.

"Oh the high school is right down the street from where he was murdered. Why?" Paul asked.

"I was just wondering. " Carrie said that she had taken her sons to the basketball game that was being played that

night at the high school. See if anyone saw someone leaving in the middle of the game that might have known

James." Perry told him.

"I am on my way once again." and with that Paul left the office.

The next morning Lori went to see her local bridal shop and picked up her wedding gown for the wedding that was

going to be happening on this coming Saturday. She knew that the men in the wedding party and her father and

Mike's father were going to be getting their tuxedos the next day. It was now getting very exciting and people

were going to be starting to arrive in town for the wedding Thursday. Della and her parents would be there the

next day and Mike's parents would be there on Thursday. They would be staying at Mike's house and her parents

were going to be staying at their house. She would have to behave and not sleep with Mike for the rest of the week.

They would have to wait until their wedding night. They would see each other at the rehearsal dinner and then not

again until the next day for the wedding. It was now just four days away and she just had to stop biting her nails.

She was a nervous wreck.

Della knew that everyone was going to start coming the next day and the realtor had called to ask them when they

would like to look at the other house. She and Perry just had to make the time to go and see the house on the next

day sometime during the day. She knew that it was hard for them to get the time, but if they did not do it today

it would be another week before they would get another chance.

So it was off to see another house that day at four in the afternoon. As they rode down the street to see the new

house Della was impressed with the clean and well kept homes that were on the street with the large front lawns

and the many trees. There also was a bike trail nearby and sidewalks for people to walk on. As they approached

the house that they were going to look at Della smiled. It was a large home, but not as overwhelming as the

other homes had been that she looked at. As they walked up the walkway to the home, she smiled as they

stepped right into the living room. It was a large airy room with a big bow window. In the corner was a large

working gas fireplace. Straight ahead was a large room that was being used as a study. It had bookshelves that

filled all four walls up and there was a desk in the middle of the room. To the right of the living room was a large

formal dining room. Behind the living room was a large eat in kitchen with sliding doors that went out into a

large yard with a big fenced in pool. The yard had been taken care of with careful attention and the yard was

flat and large. The home had one and half acres of land. When they went inside Della opened the two doors that

were off to the side of the kitchen and was pleased to find a large pantry and a bath through the other door. As she

and Perry went upstairs they were pleased to find three more bedrooms with a large master bedroom with a bath and

walk in closet. There was another bathroom that went with the other two bedrooms. Each bath had double sinks and

were nicely done. The floors were all hardwood throughout and off of the master bedroom was a balcony where Perry

and Della could enjoy a breakfast coffee together. Om the cellar there had been a family room added. Perry thought

that he might use that room as his study and the study could become their family room. but he would talk to Della

later. Della had found her new home. It had everything that she and Perry wanted and it was smaller and more

manageable. There was only a two car garage so they would need to add another garage so she asked about it.

" I see that this house has only garages for two cars. How much trouble woul0it be to add another two car garage

on to the property?" she asked the realtor.

"A garage would cost about twenty thousand dollars when all is said and done. But that would be a good garage

with electricity and a foundation. You could go cheaper but it would not be good for resale." the realtor told him.

" You said the price on this home is seven hundred thousand dollars?" Perry asked.

"Yes it is and it is available now for occupancy. The people have moved to Denver. The father got transferred

and put the house on the market." the realtor told them.

Perry smiled and said "Della and I have a lot to talk about and we will get back to you. In the meantime keep us

posted on anything new that comes to the market. " and with that he got into the car and started back to the

office.

"Perry I loved that house. The only thing I want is to have the laundry room put upstairs so I don't have to keep

on going up and down the stairs and worrying that the kids could follow me and fall down them." Della told

him 'our kids' what a thought.

"I will have to check into zoning rules and everything about the garage, but if everything looks good we can start

negotiating by the end of the week. I loved the house too. It was plenty big and had three bathrooms and

three bedrooms and my study. It had everything that we need." Perry told her with a smile. He was driving

and thought about pulling over and giving her a kiss but he just headed to the office.

Lee was looking in the mirror at his reflection. He hated to admit to himself but everyday he seemed to look

more and more like his father. He had his dark hair and complexion, he even sounded like him when he talked.

But today he was going to go to his father's funeral. His grandmother from his mother side and his grandfather

from his mother's side was going to take him and Bruce. His mother had been right, he needed to attend his

father's funeral no matter what. It was stupid that his mother was not allowed to attend she had not murdered

him and he knew it. She had spent the whole time that he was out in the yard watching out the window terrified

that his father was going to come over and beat her up as he had many times before. It was not right that his

mother was being punished for something that she had not done. He had heard her on the phone talking to

some of her customers who were not going to use her anymore because of what had happened. Then his

brother Bruce the poor kid had to be left alone at the basketball game so that he could keep an eye on things

at the house. He was sad that he was thinking this way but his family was finally going to be at peace as long

as this lawyer Mason can find out who the real murderer is. He had heard that Mr. Mason was the best lawyer

in the whole city perhaps the whole country.

Carrie sat in her bedroom and thought of her husband and how he had been when they had first gotten married. He

had been wonderful and kind and then things had started to change. One day he got mad at her about something

that was really stupid and had slapped her across the face. He had apologized and had not touched her in almost

six months when the next time he hit her so hard that he broke her cheek bone. But he had apologized and she

had taken him back. Then it had just gone downhill from then on. He had beaten her and the boys sometimes

keeping them prisoners in the home. He would come to her shop and break things for no reason and sometimes

her boys would have to go to school with dirty clothes because they were not allowed to wash their bodies or

clothes before school. It had been a terrible life for them and she had finally gotten away from him. But he had

followed her everywhere and had beaten her several times. Finally she had gone and gotten a restraining order

but it meant nothing to him and he used to laugh at how the police would just tell him to leave. She was sad

that she could not attend James's funeral but it was for the best of that she was sure. His mother was now

convinced that she had killed him and so wasn't most of his family. She knew that if she had gone to the

funeral one of his friends or his brother would have beaten her up. She did not want that to happen she had

been the victim of the violence too many times already.. So when she heard the knock on the door she

wiped her eyes and told her boys to come on in. She straightened their ties and told them "Don't worry

and don't listen to anyone who tries to talk about the murder. They do not know anything more than you do

they will be just trying to get more information from you." she hugged them both and walked out to the

door with her parents and boys.

Paul had been working on what the police had on the two men who had been around James and were in trouble

along with him and had no luck. Neither one of them had been anywhere near James's house when the murder

had been committed. One was with his probation officer and the other had been at a baseball game and several

people remember seeing him there.

That was when Paul had gone back to the apartment building and had questioned everyone there. No one had

seen any strangers there that day and they had not heard any noise. But he did find out that only a few people

had a spare key to James' apartment and one of those people were Carrie . He would have to tell Perry about

that little tidbit.

Fred was trouble and had been in trouble but he was mostly known for his talent at paperhanging. He had never

been violent and he did not have a key either. Paul was busy looking into a bookie who kept his office in a

less than desirable neighborhood. He went into the poolroom where the man was known to hang around

and asked for him. Two men came up to him threateningly and Paul just raised up his hands. I am not

looking for trouble I am looking to get some information on James Lenois. One of the men left and when

he came back there was a man that Paul knew must have been the lender Lenny. "Are you a cop?" he

asked menacingly. "No my name is Paul Drake and I work for a man named Perry Mason who is handling

James Lenois's widow in his murder."

Lenny walked over to Paul and gave him the look over. "I don't know anything about any murder, but I do

know that James was into me for some money and had called to say that he would pay me soon. The next

evening he was found murdered. I had nothing to do with it." he told him with a menacing face.

"Do you have information on the murder that might help my client?" Paul asked.

Lenny looked at Paul and said " the word on the street is that it was not the mother but perhaps you should

look into some of the other family members." and with that Lenny turned around and walked out the door..

Paul sighed a breath of relief when he left the pool hall that evening. 'So the word on the street was that it

was another member of the family that had committed the murder. Paul had not thought about that angle

and he thought that perhaps it would be a good idea if he would. He would start on that part of it as soon

as he went home and got something to eat. He would tell Perry about what he was told and what he had

heard also.

As he drove towards home he called Perry . Perry was at home with Della busy at work and was glad to

hear from Paul. After he was filled in with the information Perry told him "Good job and let me know

what you find out about possible family involvement. The rest of the evening Perry and Della worked

on the case and at ten Della went home. Della would have liked to spend some time with her parents

but Carrie needed her help. It had been near to impossible for her to work at home with all of the

company that they had. The wedding was now just three days away and the house was like a zoo. Everyone

was running around trying to get things done in time and it was utter chaos. She had taken the next

few days off to help her sister and hoped that she could help out from her home when she was needed

if not she would have to come into the office. She was Perry's partner now.

As Della arrived at home, her mother was in tears. The florist had called and they had not been able

to get the type of corsage that she had wanted. They offered her a different one but she had wanted

everything to be perfect. Della looked at the corsages that had been offered and saw that her mother

was just tired. The corsages that they were being offered would be fine.

Lori was nervous as she was trying to make sure that she did not gain any weight. The dress had

been a little snug when she had tried it on and she was afraid that she would not be able to zip it

on Saturday if she wasn't careful.

Finally when midnight came Della and Lori were able to go to bed. Even though Della did not have to

work the next day it was Thursday and she was going to be busy. She needed to talk to the florist

and tell them that the corsage was all right. She would negotiate the price down because of the

problem but she was sure that everything would work out all right. She wanted to go and talk

to the people at the country club and recheck with the horse drawn carriage. All of the men in the

wedding party had picked up their tuxedos yesterday and they had all fit. Lori and Mike had

an appointment that afternoon to speak to their minister. Everything was coming together fine.

Meanwhile Perry had been sitting in the office going over everything that he knew about the murder

and did not like what he was seeing. The word on the street was that it was a member of the family that

had done the murder and he was afraid that he knew who the guilty party was. It was a sad day that he

was going to have to over and talk to Carrie ..

He called Della and asked if he could come over and talk to her. He wanted her to go with him to Carey's

house and she had to be told the truth. When Perry called Della knew that something was terribly wrong and

she told him to come right over.

Perry hung up the phone and looked at his watch. He needed to call Paul. If Paul was in bed he would let

the phone take a message, but he was out still investigating, he would need a call so that he could go home.

Perry knew who the murderer was and he and Della would take care of it. He had been driving home when

he realized the truth. It was going to be a hard pill to swallow for everyone involved.

When Perry came over he wanted to tell her what he had found out in private and in her home at that time that

was an impossible task. The last place he wanted to go was her bedroom, but that was the only place in the

house where they could have some privacy. As he led Della to her room Della's mother glared with a look of

disapproval but they went there anyways and Perry shut the door.

Perry looked around the room and the only chair in the room was by Della's vanity and he didn't think that the

little chair would hold his weight. So he took a seat on her bed. Della took a seat next to him and took his hand.

"It is Bruce, isn't it." she told him.

It was then that Perry shook his head yes. Della had surprised him. He didn't think that she had any idea of who

the murderer was. He looked at her and asked her "How did you know?"

"Well when Paul said that awful man at the pool hall had said that word on the street was that it was a family

member, I remembered how Carrie had said that she had left her sons at the basketball game. Then she found

Lee hiding out in the front yard watching for his father to come to the house. When Paul said that the school

was just a short walk to James' house I was pretty sure." Della told him. "But, when you called me and said

that we needed to and talk to Carrie I knew it. Oh Perry he is just thirteen years and old and has been the

victim of his father since he was born. He probably ran out of the room thinking that his father was going to

beat him again. I am sure that he had no idea that his father needed an ambulance."

"I will see to it that he is treated fairly. I think that he is a more the victim than the assailant. But Carey needs

to know the truth and Bruce needs to go to the police." Perry told her.

Della's mother was beside herself and Lori had moved her from Della's door. "There is nothing going on in

there mother, I promise you. And if there was it is none of our business. They will be married soon, remember

that" she told her.

Just then Della and Perry walked out of the bedroom arm in arm. "We have to leave for a while. I am sorry

mom, but don't hold supper. I will grab something with Perry. We could be out very late, don't wait up for

us." and with that Della gave her mother a kiss and they left.

Perry and Della had called Carrie and asked her if it was all right if they came over. Carrie told them that Bruce

and Lee were home and doing some homework. Perry and Della arrived in twenty minutes and asked the two

boys to take a seat.

Perry looked at Bruce and saw that what had happened was tearing him apart. He was too young to carry such

a heavy load, so it was then that he looked directly at him and asked him. "Bruce you need to tell me what

happened the night your father died."

Bruce fidgeted and said "I don't know what you are talking about."

Carrie started to say something and Della took her hand and shook her head to her.

"Bruce if I know the police will find out and it is much better if you tell me first." Perry told him firmly but kindly.

After a few minutes Bruce started to tell them what had happened. "My mom was so scared of my dad. He was

always beating her up and he had tried to get into her shop again. I was sick and tired of hiding someplace

whenever my father decided to go after my mother. So when Lee left to keep an eye on the house I decided

to go to his house and talk to him. I did not mean to kill him. I knocked on the door and he let me in. I begged

him to stop picking on us and he laughed. He said that he would do what he wanted to do when he wanted to

do it and there was nothing I could do about it. He went to grab me and I pulled away from him. He was coming

at me again and I threw the ashtray at him. It hit him in the head and he went down. He was just knocked out

and he was breathing because I could hear him moaning. I was sure that he was going to come to our house and

really give me a beating. I didn't know that he was dead until the police came that night. I am so sorry." he cried

to them.

Once again Carrie's life had come to a complete stop. Her son was going to be facing possible murder charges on a man

who had beaten him since he was just a baby. All the poor boy had done was throw an ashtray at his father. He

was guilty of doing nothing. "Mr. Mason can you help him? He was only trying to get away from the man who had

abused him his whole life. Please don't let the system lose him in the red tape. He did nothing but throw something

to protect himself. If he had not done that he might have been the one that I would have burying. I knew that

one day James was going to kill one or all of us." Carrie begged him.

"I will see to it that he is treated fairly and will work hard on getting the court to let him go. It was an accident

at most manslaughter. He is a juvenile also and the news won's be able to publish any information about the

case either. But Bruce you need to come with me. We need to go to the police station. Carrie you can come

with us. Lee you should stay here. It will take a long time." Perry told them.

Lee wanted to go but agreed to stay with his grandmother and it was then that Della and Perry took Bruce and

his mother to the jail. When the three of them showed up at homicide Lt Tragg at first was surprised. But

as Bruce told him the story he knew that the young man was telling him the truth. "I am sorry Bruce but

you will need to spend the night in juvenile hall and you will get your day in court for bail just like your

mother did tomorrow morning. Perry smiled at the young man and said "Della and I will be there for you

in the morning and everything will be all right. I promise you."

It was one of the hardest thing that Carrie had ever had to do. That was to leave her son Bruce at the police

station until the next day. She was now free for herself but now she had to worry about her son. It was

so unfair. But she now knew what Della saw in this wonderful man Perry Mason, he was a good kind man

and he would fix things for her, of that she was sure.

As Perry dropped Della off she looked at him with a tear. "This is just the worst thing that could happen to

any mother. She had to leave him in the juvenile jail and he could end up facing some time there. It was

an accident Perry." she told him.

"I know but I will work on Burger and get some kind of deal for him. It was not a murder it was an accident

and for a boy of thirteen I am sure that he thought his father might get up and beat him. No I will not let

the young man spend one more day in jail." and with that he gave her a kiss. "Go get some sleep, and

I will meet you in the conference room at the courthouse at seven and we will get the paperwork ready."

he told her.

As Della went into the house her mother was waiting for her. "Is everything all right?"" she asked her.

"Yes mother it is just part of working for a lawyer." Della told her.

"You don't want to talk about it?" her mother asked.

"It is our clients confidentiality I cannot talk about it. But everything is all right I promise you. Get some sleep

like I am going to. We have a wedding in two days." Della told her as she walked into her room and got dressed

for bed. As she looked at the bed she could see where she and Perry had sat a few hours before. The imprint

on the bed made her smile.

Hamilton Burger had been at home working on the Lenois murder case. The coroner report had come back and

it had been a probable accident that had killed the man. It was true that the murderer should have called 911

and an ambulance for the man, but this was clearly manslaughter and he knew that Perry Mason would never

stand for anything other than that charge. He was just resting his eyes when the phone rang and Lt Tragg

told him about the confession of the thirteen year old son and Hamilton knew that he was now in a no win

situation. He had the report there where it had been an accident and what the young boy had said fit what

had been his findings. He would not be charging this young man with any crime. He was the victim of

this horrible man and his father had died as a result of an accident. He would tell Perry in the morning of

his decision. But then Burger realized that the boy was being held in juvenile hall. so he called Tragg and

had him release the teenager from juvenile. Tragg could call the mother and she could come and get her son.

He was to go home like he belonged.

Della had just climbed under the covers when her phone rang. She thought that it might be Perry so she took

a look at the number that was calling and saw that it was Carrie . She answered the phone and was surprised

to hear Carrie telling her that she had gotten a call from Lt Tragg. He had told her to go over to the juvenile

hall and pick up her son. They were not going to charge him with anything.

Della smiled and told her to go ahead and get him. She would call Perry and if there was any problem at all

let them know. After Della hung up the phone she called Perry . Perry was surprised to see that Della was

calling her. He had not left her house that long ago and it was late. He answered the phone and was glad

to hear the news. He thought that he might have been successful with the argument, but he did not think

that Burger would decline to prosecute. "Della that is the best news that I could have received. I will sleep

good tonight. Tomorrow morning we will go with Carrie and get the charges dropped by the court and she

can get the bail money that she put up back . With any luck we will be out of court in time for you to help Lori

get ready for her big day. See you in the morning at court, say ten o'clock?" he asked.

"That sounds great to me Perry. I will call Carrie and let her know about court and then I will go right to bed I

promise you." she told him.

Della knew that Carrie was still awake because she had not even had the time to get to juvenile hall, so she

gave her a call and told her to meet her and Perry at the courthouse tomorrow morning at ten and that

her nightmare would soon be over. Of all the things that she did for Perry this was the best part of the job.

That evening Della finally crawled into bed at two am.

The next morning came early and Della dragged herself out of bed at eight thirty. When she came into the

kitchen her parents and sister were all sitting at the kitchen table. They all said their good mornings and

she poured herself a cup of coffee. As she sat down she smiled at her sister. This was Friday and it was

the day before her sister's wedding. She would be home as soon as possible from court and Della would

be there to help most of the afternoon. Everything was just about ready and they were all going to be

meeting at the nail salon at two that afternoon. After that at three thirty all the women had an appointment

to get their hair done. Tonight was the rehearsal dinner and there were a few simple things to do before

everything this morning. Della needed to go to court.

Della left for the courthouse at nine thirty for court. When she got to the courthouse steps her two best

friends were waiting for her at the top. Perry gave Della a little kiss on the top of her head and Paul smiled

at her. Perry could see that Della looked tired and wanted to get court done with. Della was supposed to have

the day off but had insisted on being at court that day. He knew as she did that this was one of the most

important parts of their job and the best. They smiled as they saw Carrie walking up the steps to meet them.

Within the hour she would be a free woman and the district attorney was not going to seek charges against

her son. It was a wonderful day indeed.

As the group headed into the courthouse they were met by Hamilton Burger. Carrie thanked him for his kindness

and they all shook hands. Perry and Hamilton Burger went back many years and although Burger was a very

hard pushing district attorney he knew that by bringing charges against the young man nothing good would have

come of it. The young man's life would have been ruined and at most he would have been facing six months

in juvenile to simple probation. Burger knew that he had been a victim long enough and it was time for the

teenager and his family to mend. The young man would have to live the rest of his life with the knowledge that

he could have saved his fathers life if he had called 911.

The judge was surprised to hear that Burger would not be charging the young man with the crime. But he

agreed to the decision and released Carrie from the bond. At twelve noon that day Carrie Lenois walked out

of the courtroom a totally free woman. There were the thank you and the hugs and a promise for the best

dress ever to Della. Perry had never spoken of the dress and kept his mouth shut this morning also, he

wanted the dress to be a surprise.

But it was a day that he had planned to spend with Mike and Steve and the rest of the bride grooms there

were many things left to do. Paul Jr. was to be the ring bearer and he was so excited every time the men

got together that tonight he was invited to the rehearsal dinner. Steve's niece was to be the flower girl.

The two of them looked so cute together and they were both six years old. They were going to be meeting

at the country club at five that evening and so he had to get going. Perry kissed Della good-bye and the

two went on their way preparing for the wedding on the next day.

The day went without well and everyone at the Street home was ready on time for the dinner and rehearsal.

They pulled into the country club and smiled as they were met by the men of the party. They had gotten

there a few minutes early and were dressed nicely. They were not wearing the tuxedos but they were all

in black suits with blue suits. Della walked up to Perry and smiled. As Lori walked up to the men everyone

turned their heads. Lori was beautiful and her hair was wonderful. Her hair would be redone again in the

morning before the wedding but for this evening she looked wonderful.

The country club had been a good choice as it sat on top of a hill and from any of the many windows that

surrounded the windows all round were the hills and valleys . They were seated at a large table with the

best view there. There was a total twenty people there for the rehearsal and the conversation was light

and happy.

After they had eaten their dinner it was time for the rehearsal. They went through each and every step that

was to be taken and repeated the process four times. Everything went well and by nine o'clock that night

and everyone headed back to their homes to get some rest for the big day.

When Della got up the next morning she heard a lot of noise in the kitchen. Her mother and father were

trying to get some breakfast going and Lori was running around looking for her cell phone. Of all days

she could not find it. Della thought that it might be a good day to go to bed, but she told her don't panic

and she went to Loir's jacket , there in the pocket was the cell phone. The girls were to be there at eight

to help with the make up and the hair and to make sure that everyone was ready. All four of the ladies

showed up on time and they all went to work. Everyone's hair and make up was done and they all put on

their wedding and bridesmaids outfits. The limo arrived on time as did the large bouquet of flowers that

Mike had sent Lori.

They each got into one of the limos and headed to the church. Della looked and saw the men arriving in

their limos also. It was a perfect time just one hour before the ceremony. The limo took the ladies

around the back so that Lori would not see Mike before the wedding and Della led her nervous and excited

sister to the room at the back of the church were they would make their final preparation for the wedding

ceremony itself. Lori was ready almost and all that needed to be done was to attach her train and put

on her veil.

Everyone was coming into the church and the music was playing. Della took a peek and saw Mike and

Perry over in the corner talking. She nearly slammed the door in Lori's face who nearly saw Mike when

she tried to peer out of the room herself. But the wedding was now ready to start and Della led Lori

down the hall to the back of the church. Della watched as Mike's father and mother were taken to their

seats and then the music began. The ceremony was wonderful and everything went on without a hitch.

As everyone left the church for the reception the white horse with the buggy was awaiting the newlywed

couple Mike and Lori Platt.

The reception was just two miles away and as everyone got into the limo to take the ride up to the

country club Della found herself with a tear in her eyes. She had just lost her sister to a wonderful man

but had gained a new brother. Perry came up to her and kissed her hair softly. He whispered "that will

be us in a few months." and then he opened the door for the women. It was a good day indeed.