Why, oh why did Della Street not travel to wonderful Paris with Perry Mason and Ken Malansky in TCOT Desperate Deception? I can't agree with the common explanation that she was afraid of flying.

Something else must have been going on.

OldEnglishD found time to beta this in her extraordinary ways. Thank you, D.!

Prologue

All alone now, Kenneth Malansky sat still, looking at his hands laying on the table, palms up, as if there was a book in them and he was reading it. But there was no book.

There was a story. Definitely. But there was no book, only four words he had just taken in, four words uttered by a very low, deep voice, igniting a story in his tired brain, a little hazy from the red wine he and the august man had been drinking together.

Della Street had handed Ken this bottle of red wine, just before he had left to travel to Denver Airport. Her eyes had glistened a little, urging him to do what she told him to, while her voice sounded unconvincingly crisp and clean. " Share this with him, Ken, one night, when you both need it. "

He hadn't exactly understood what she said, hadn't really paid attention to be honest, just still being amazed that she didn't come and travel to Paris with them.

And wasn't bringing a bottle of wine into Paris the same as carrying water to the sea ?

Those were Perry Mason's exact words, before he took the bottle out of Ken Malansky's hands, and read the label, just a few hours ago. Before he had told Ken a story, consisting of just four words, basically.

As astounded as Ken had been at the remarkable admission, he had tried to hide it and had tried not to let Perry know that he hadn't known. Hadn't known about the marriage, and therefore, hadn't known about the divorce.

And so, we divorced.

Four words.

These four words had immediately changed Kenneth Malansky's perspective on the man and the woman he had worked closest with for almost two years now. That man and woman knowing about his worst fears and doubts, his abilities, his clumsiness, his dreams. And now, he strongly felt he also knew about theirs.

And so, we divorced.

The reason why the only lady in the life of the larger than life Perry Mason wasn't here. She was on the other side of this earth, still trying to come to terms with something she couldn't grasp.

A lot of the last day's occurrences fell into place.

Instigated by the wine maybe, or not, the lawyer that he was started to ask questions automatically. How long had they been married, was it a secret marriage, and were they married now, again?

And what if they weren't?

Disconcerted as a child in a department store without his parents, he looked around and decided to say the words out loud, to see, feel, hear, if they made sense that way. " And so, we divorced. " His voice made the sentence sound hollow and flat, emotionless, yet it bounced against the wall of the large hotel suite, and hit him upon return. The meaning of the words caught his breath, a second before he felt a heavy despair. If, of all people, Perry Mason, Perry Mason and Della Street couldn't make it work, then how the Hell would he ever be able to have a married life and succeed ?

Kenneth Malansky swallowed hard, while he shook the bottle to make the last drops fall into the wine glass. Perry had told him that the special round form of this glass was supposed to facilitate the extravagant aroma of this special wine and accomodate its taste. To Ken, it was just a glass, a practical device to be able to dispatch alcohol. Maybe someday he'd learn to appreciate life's fringe benefits. But not now.

And so, we divorced.

He stood up. He was sure he was going to hear the echo of these words in court tomorrow. So far the onerous sessions of the Berman case were unusually emotional because of both acknowledged as well as unacknowledged links with the abhorrences of World War II.

Stumbling while on his way towards his own hotel room, he heard Perry's low rumbling voice, softly speaking to no one in his room. By the intonation Ken could tell Perry was on the telephone with a lady who was at eight hours distance from here.

Ken stood still, listening.

Perry laughed.

Ken dared to smile at the reassuring sensation that was caused by this familair conversational sound. Maybe things weren't that bad after all. He brushed his fingers against the closed door to Perry's room as if the gesture could bring him closer to the two people he had come to admire in the past two years.

He had trouble deciding whether he admired them more or less now that he knew about this particular piece of their past.

He knew he didn't have enough facts to thoroughly form a proper opinion.

But he also knew he'd never think the same about marriage again.

- TBC -

AN: This story is the result of a challenge I've taken up (a nice enough one, considering I'm even posting this with two other stories 'going on' ). It might come out slightly different than my other ones.