I'm borrowing some of the characters from ESG's TCOT Murdered Madam in my first FF story for Perry Mason followers.

Prologue

"Call your next witness for the defense Mr. Mason," Judge Prescott directed. Perry Mason stood up and said, "The defense calls Della Street."

Perry questioned his Confidential Secretary, Della Street, on the stand. The strategy was for Della to provide background information as a character witness for Tony Domenico. Many years ago in Tony's childhood, Della was a babysitter for Tony's family. Their families were close, having been neighbors in the 1930's and early 1940's in Illinois. Della's younger brother Mark and Tony were the same age and best friends growing up. The boys would usually get into mischief but Della would always find a way to keep them out of big trouble.

Now Tony was in Court charged with the murder of his wife. Anything Della could offer as far as Tony's good character could only help in Tony's defense. The strategy looked like it was working until District Attorney Michael Reston did his cross-examination.

"And is it true Miss Street, that you were so close to the Domenico family that you were once engaged to be married to Tony's uncle, Michael Domenico?"

"Yes, we were engaged to be married, but I was very young and..."

"That's all Miss Street, you answered the question, you were at one time going to marry a man who is now considered an unsavory character, with confirmed ties to the mob in Chicago. Nothing further for this witness your Honor."

"But like I said, I was only 18 and..."

Judge Prescott interrupted her explanation and told Della to step down. She left the witness stand and saw the shocked and disappointed look on Perry's face. He looked very hurt. Perry quickly looked down at paperwork on the table in front of him to avoid looking at Della. Della never thought she would need to explain her prior marriage proposal to him and she never expected her private life from 1940 to be brought up in a murder trial in 1987.

Della walked back to the defense table and laid a hand on Perry's shoulder as a sign of reassurance. "Perry, that was a long time ago..."

Chapter One

In June 1942 Della Street came to Los Angeles at age 20. She and her friends Marilyn and Kate took the long train ride to Los Angeles after finishing their 2-year business clerical school courses. They sought adventure in the land of palm trees and sunshine with new work opportunities for clerical school graduates. Della recalled the conversation the girls had when they contemplated their futures after graduation.

"It doesn't look like this war is going to end any time soon," sighed Della as the girls met for lunch in Chicago.

"Well like I told you before, here's the ad I cut out of that jobs magazine – the Department of Defense – especially in California – is hiring clerical staff like mad!" stated Marilyn.

"I'm ready to go today," declared Kate. "What about you two?"

Della pondered the thought of moving away from Illinois. She remembered back when her life at the end of high school had been a whirlwind of change. Feeling all grown up, her steady boyfriend Michael Domenico proposed marriage when she turned 18. Michael was already a college sophomore and his time away from Della made him long for her more every day. His studies suffered and he was barely making passing grades. He checked up on Della constantly, wanting to know what she was doing and who she was with. Della was excited for his calls at first, then she started getting bad feelings. Her gut instinct told her that she was too young to get married. They hadn't figured out a wedding date yet. How could she just try to settle down with a man who's in college? Could they wait until he finished school? Would he get a job that could support them? Would he be part of his family's business? Before you know it the world was in turmoil. Then Michael chucked it all and enlisted in the Army. They discussed their future.

"If you want to put our engagement on hold, Della, I'll understand," reasoned Michael. "I don't want you worrying about me in case America gets caught up in the War in Europe."

"I don't want to seem uncaring, Michael, but the world is changing and we're inexperienced at living in it. We might find other interests," added Della.

Their break up was mutual and they decided to remain friends. Della suddenly felt a great relief. So she enrolled in business school since she thought that if she had any future with Michael, and maybe eventually his family business, she should learn how to run an office.

She looked at her friends and with her thoughts now back to the present, Della said, "I don't know about you two, but I've got my train fare and I'm ready for adventure!"

With the United States now fully involved in World War II, civilians were in big demand for filling support roles with government jobs. Della, Marilyn and Kate quickly found clerical positions at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard near Los Angeles.

"A girl could easily get lost in the building I'm working in," sighed Kate. "There must be 40 of us in my small office area. It's so loud with phones ringing, chatter, and typewriters clacking. How did you manage to land a job in such a quiet area, Della?"

Marilyn interrupted right away. "What kind of question is that Kate? Did you forget that Della was Homecoming Queen in high school? With her looks and her professional office attire, she could be an administrative assistant to an Admiral instead of just lead secretary to Navy JAG Officers!"

"First of all, my attire for each job interview was the same second-hand suit with different blouses," Della defended herself. "And I think that I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time for my job offer... The man that became my boss came out into the waiting area in a panicked state and asked if I could quickly help him type up a legal paper. I tried explaining that I was just early for my job interview, but in the absence of his secretary who took an untimely lunch break, I gladly pitched in. You both would have done the same thing."

The girls giggled a bit then got back to the next task of finding an apartment to rent. They needed to get out of their temporary quarters at the YWCA which was too far from their new jobs. They scanned the classified ad section of the LA Times and Della organized some notes of rental units she spotted on a bulletin board in her office building. Their first weekend of employment in the Los Angeles area was going to be spent searching for housing which was quite sparse.

"This might be a good one," offered Della. "It's nearby and the former tenants were relocated to camps because they were Japanese. Remember that newspaper headline from back in February? Air raid! All the hysteria about LA being attacked by war planes turned out to be false but it sure caused a night of panic!" The girls always kept that news headline in the back of their minds and did not want to experience anything like that!

"That reminds me," added Kate. "We need to write home soon to let our families know we're OK."

"Well my Aunt Mae took care of that for me," replied Della. "When she moved back up here from San Diego she reassured my family that I would be fine. They find it comforting to know that Aunt Mae will be keeping an eye on me!"

The girls settled into their jobs and a no-frills apartment as the war raged on. By May 1943, 21-year-old Della Street and her friends soon found themselves volunteering at local USO Canteens that were popping up near military installations. These Canteens catered to many military men thousands of miles away from their homes who were gearing up for combat.

DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO

Perry Mason was a 25-year-old law school student when he received his draft notice in June 1942. He received a commission in the Navy and by September 1942 he was sent to California to work in Military Intelligence at Terminal Island adjacent to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The Terminal Island area was home to many Japanese fisherman before America was attacked by Japan. Now, because of the Naval Operations and fuel depot, the US Military feared sabotage by these fishermen. Before the Japanese were all sent to relocation camps, Military Intelligence forces were very busy at Terminal Island.

"Hey Lt. Mason! You're always working! Don't you ever relax?", exclaimed Lt. Bridges. "Will you be burning the midnight oil again tonight?"

A quiet Lt. Perry Mason responded, "Well Lt. Bridges, I guess I just think it's important to have thorough and reliable information in these reports to pass on to the Commander. I don't want any disasters happening on my watch!"

"You need a break once in a while, pal! I haven't seen you out on the town yet – and you've been here 8 months! I think a night out on the town will do you some good," retorted Lt. Bridges. "A few of the boys and me are heading to the Canteen tonight. I hear it's a live band tonight – no jukebox music for dancing with all them beautiful dames this time! C'mon along with us – it can't hurt!"

The Officers Quarters were fine and fairly quiet, but Lt. Mason was getting a little stir crazy. Today he turned another year older and maybe he should unwind a little. Lt. Mason thought about the offer, smiled, then suddenly tossed his final report into the night watch incoming file basket. "I think I do need a night out, Lt. Bridges. But don't keep me out too late! I've got a great law book I want to read over on my day off tomorrow!"

With that, then men tidied up their uniforms, put on their caps, and headed out the door for a night at the Canteen.

DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO

Friday night the 21st of May, Della and Kate found themselves back at the Canteen without Marilyn along this time. Marilyn had a date with a sailor she met two weeks ago and it looked like she was getting serious with that man. Della found herself very attracted to different men in uniform, but she feared any serious relationship would end in heartache when the soldier or sailor would deploy into combat. She guarded her feelings and stayed very pleasant but let many men down gently. She loved dancing with them and even loved helping some of them write letters back home. With her good looks and delightful personality, she was able to lift their spirits.

"Looks like another great crowd tonight, Della," Kate smiled. "I've had my eye on that Marine from Illinois the last few times he's been here. He's a terrific dancer! I hope he shows up tonight!"

"Well if you find him and leave for any reason, let me know so I can find a cab back home with one of the other girls," replied Della. "I probably won't stay too late tonight. I've had a long week and I'm looking forward to a relaxing day off tomorrow on the beach."

The girls made their way to the coat room to sign in for their volunteer shift and put up their purses and sweaters. Tonight's live band was wonderful and the girls were led around the dance floor by many handsome men almost nonstop. The band took another break and Della made a dash for a refreshment at the bar.

The bar was crowded as usual while the band stopped playing. Della tried to squeeze her way up to the bar when she bumped into a Navy man who was turning away from the bar with a drink.

"Oh! Pardon me," Della said. "It's always a mad race to the bar when the band..." She suddenly paused and studied the man in front of her. Tall, husky, broad shoulders, and the deepest, beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. Her heart skipped a beat as the gentleman cleared a path to the bar for her.

"Please... let me help you move in here," Lt. Mason replied. He caught a whiff of her perfume as he moved to the side so she could lean against the bar. "May I buy you a drink young lady?" Under the spell of her scent, he looked her over and couldn't recall ever seeing a more beautiful woman. Her hazel eyes blinked up at him as he gazed at her curly brown hair.

"Thanks but there's no need to buy me a drink," she said quietly. "We get free beverages as volunteers here." Oh what was she thinking? This handsome Navy Lieutenant with a smooth baritone voice was offering her a drink and all she can say is that she drinks for free? Think, Della, think! She gave her order to the bartender and leaned into the bar with her elbows on the counter top, afraid to look back into his eyes.

Not wanting this beauty to walk away from him, Lt. Mason shot back, "Perhaps you'll find a place on your dance card for me then." He moved aside a bit, placing his hand on her shoulder as she lifted her drink off the bar and turned away from the bar to face him.

"My dance card has plenty of room on it for you," she smiled as she took a sip of her drink and stole another glance up at his face. His charming smile was soon covered by his drink which he quickly gulped down.

A moment later, the percussionist did a drum roll and the band members took their places. Lt. Mason took Della's drink from her hand, placed it on the bar, and escorted her to the dance floor. The song was "Moonlight Serenade" and Lt. Mason took Della into his arms and slowly swayed with her across the dance floor. Della's heart beat faster and she could barely breathe. Her knees were weak and there was magic in this moment. She began blushing but confidently stepped with him as they glided across the floor. Was she dancing or floating? Lt. Mason felt butterflies in his belly as he held her close and brushed his cheek against her ear.

No words were spoken as they danced across the floor. Four slow songs later, the band picked up the tempo and Lt. Mason finally spoke. "Why don't we go outside for a breath of fresh air?"

"That's a great idea, Lieutenant," smiled Della. "I think it's getting a bit late for me – I could use some nice night air before I start for home. Why don't I go sign out, gather my purse and sweater and meet you at the door?"

Lt. Mason smiled back at her, gently squeezed her hand and said, "Don't be too long. I'll be by the door."

Della made her way towards the coat room and searched the area for any sign of Kate. She spoke with the coat check volunteer who told her that Kate was just outside the door. Della signed out and began walking towards the door.

Suddenly the Canteen erupted into chaos as the band stopped and an announcement came over the loud speaker. "Ladies and gentleman, the air raid siren has sounded! Repeat, there is an air raid! Get out of here as orderly as you can! Military personnel report to your duty stations immediately!" Della could now clearly hear the air raid siren as she was swept up in the crowd leaving the Canteen. She made it outside and frantically searched for the Lieutenant or Kate.

Lt. Mason had been standing near the exit after lighting a cigarette when the air raid siren sounded. As everyone scrambled out the door, he was pushed further and further into the parking lot. Men were running for their cars and taxis making their way back to their duty stations. He tried to keep an eye on the door watching for the woman who stole his heart on the dance floor. Lt. Bridges ran up to Lt. Mason and shouted over the noise, "Mason! We've got a Jeep! Follow me and jump in! Let's go!" Lt. Mason took one last look around and reluctantly got in the Jeep. His heart sank. He never got that woman's name or phone number!

Della found Kate in the parking lot. Della looked over every Navy man she could catch a glimpse of as they ran from the club. She didn't find the Lieutenant and she felt a knot in her belly when she realized that she didn't even get his name!

TBC