Perry Mason and the Case Bewildered Clock Maker

by susan cousineau

This is the story of a man named Jerry Diamond who is a local clock maker. He is charged with murder and Perry Mason defends him

Perry Mason sat in his large office behind his large oak desk and looked around. All was quiet, too quiet

he looked over and saw that his handmade antique clock was no longer working. This clock meant a lot to him,

because it was given to him when his grandfather had passed away over twenty years ago. It had sat

on the mantel at his grandparents house for he did not know how long, and it had been on his grand-

mothers parents mantel prior to that. It was a banjo style Chelsea clock that rang ships bells. It had

gold embossing and was absolutely beautiful.

Perry walked over to the clock and checked to see if it needed winding. It did not in fact it was wound

tight. It was not wound too tight though, because only he did the winding and he was always a very

careful man about that clock. It was very well secured by him to make sure that it did not fall.

Perry had always had the same man do the work and upkeep on the clock. He was a man in his sixties

now who had been fixing clocks for years. He always said that he was a third generation clock repair

man. Perry gave him a call and made an appointment for the man to come out and take a look at the

clock in the morning.

It was a Friday and most law offices were closed here in LA but Perry Mason always came in for the

morning hours in case one of his clients could not miss work during the week. He was glad that

his clock repair man worked weekends too.

Today was Dellas sister Lori's birthday party and he was expected to be there by six thirty. He had

been looking forward to the party as he had just finished the case with Lori's boyfriend Mike. He also

knew that Mike had plans to ask Lori to marry him. Mike had not decided whether or not he was going

to ask her in front of everyone or make the announcement at the party. Della and Mike had been

busy getting ready for the party and so Della had taken the afternoon off. Without her in the office

he had found the place very dull. But now it was time for a party so off he went.

As Perry entered the Kavanough Restaurant where the party was going to be held in a private room,

he spotted Della busy getting things ready. The room looked great and he was pleased to see Dellas

mother helping her with the decorations. Della's father sat in the corner rolling napkins and looked

as though he could use a hand. So Perry walked over to Della and her mother and said hello then

headed to help Della's father out.

Perry walked over to Gregg Street and they shook hands. They both started making some little deco-

rations that Della and her mother Marion had given them to do and got busy. Everything was almost

done and Perry saw Mike's parents come in. He and Della introduced them to the Streets when Perry's

brother Dave and Steve Januk came in. It was going to be a nice quiet party.

The dinner was delicious as always and the group got to enjoy the three hundred and sixty degree view

of the city that the restaurant offered. It turned slowly so that you could not feel it and it gave you

a full view every ninety minutes of the city. Mike had already popped the question and Lori showed off

her ring with a big smile. Everyone kissed and hugged her the congratulations came from everyone also.

It was a great night.

Once the dinner was over everyone went out to dance on the large dance floor. Perry saw that there was

a man for every girl, because two of Lori's friends had shown up and once again Dave spent the time

dancing with Lori's friend Donna. She was the same one that he had danced with the last time that he

and Della had gone out with Lori and Mike.

Perry and Della danced most of the dances, but they did switch partners and danced with Lori and Mike

respectfully. Della's mother and father were both good dancers, and Perry could tell where Della had

gotten her talent.

As the night went by Della's mother and father and Mike and Lori wanted to take an engagement photo

of all of them so Perry offered to take the picture. He was thinking about how someday he would hope

that Della would be willing to say yes to him when he asked her to marry him. The time never seemed

to be the right time. There was always a reason why he did not ask her. They were busy on a case, her

sister was getting married, always something.

Della's mother and father would not be staying at Della and Lori's house. They enjoyed getting a motel

room and coming over for a visit. 'It gave them both privacy Lori Della and them' Della's father told

him. He had even offered to let them stay at his penthouse. They were people of class and Perry

accepted this.

When the party was over, it was decided that they would go back to Della and Lori's house. It was already

eleven and Della's parents thanked them for the invite but thought that it would be good for them to go

back to their hotel. They would come over sometime the next morning.

Perry stayed behind to help Della pick up the things from the party. It gave them a chance to be alone

and he knew that she would not leave without cleaning. She had ridden to the party with Mike and would

not listen to Lori telling her that she would help clean up.

Once everyone had left Della got busy cleaning and throwing away some of the decorations while Perry

worked on those darn little napkin things that had been made into different shapes. It was just as hard

to get them back to normal shape as it had been to make the shapes. He was working on about the tenth

one when Perry saw a hand reach over and take one of them. It was Della, she knew how to do them the

easy way and had all of the napkins the way they should be in about ten minutes. 'If I had been left alone

I would have still been working on these things at Lori's next party.' Perry thought to himself.

Both Perry and Della knew that Della's house was going to be noisy and full of fun with Lori and her wild

bunch as they are called. They loved the group but it could be loud. Perry smiled at her "Miss Street

shall we go to your house now, or my house?"

Della wanted to go to his house but this was Lori's birthday and she thought that it might be considered rude

if she did not go right home that night. The room was clean and there was no excuse for them staying at

the restaurant any longer. "I will take a rain check on the invite to your home, but for now we better go to

my house. I am sure that Lori and Mike are waiting for us." Della told him.

Della had just bent down to give Perry a kiss when the door to the room opened. She turned and saw her

mother standing there. "Excuse me. I think I might have lost one of my earrings here. Gregg and I looked

everywhere in the car." she told them.

Gregg had gone to the manager of the restaurant to ask if someone had turned the earring in. They had not

turned it in, so all four of them looked over the room. The earring was nowhere to be found. Della felt sorry

for her mother. Her mother had received these earrings for her thirtieth wedding anniversary. But the troublle

was the earring could have been lost anywhere and it was a simple post style diamond.

The manager of the restaurant promised that if anyone found the earring he would call them, and with that

they gave both their phone number and Della's. "Della your father and I were thinking about taking you and

Lori and Mike out for breakfast tomorrow morning. Of course, you are invited Perry."

"Thank you so much for offering but the office is open on Saturday until noon. I would love to go with you to

a brunch if you could." Della offered.

"Then it is all set. I trust that you and Lori have someplace that you know of where the food is good." Marion

asked her daughter. "Perry, will you be coming too?"

"It would be my pleasure. I will go with Della when the office closes." Perry told him. He knew that Jerry from

the clock shop would be there at nine and if he could not fix his clock there, he would have to take the clock to

his shop so lunch would be fine with him. He liked Della's parents, and hoped that they liked him too.

Jerry Diamond was busy at his shop working a little later than usual when his son in law came in one store

once again. "Dad I have told you that you should be at home resting not here at the shop working. What

am I to do with you?" he asked.

This is my shop and I like working here. It keeps me busy. When I get home there is no one there to greet

me anymore. Not since my Flo passed away.

"But the developer will offer you a huge profit. You can retire and work out of your house. You have a good

amount of customers who will use you at home or at your shop." Jason offered again.

"I told you no. I do not want to move and I do not care what the developers offer me." Jerry told him for about

the tenth time that month.

'You know that Kathy and I are only interested in you and your well being." he told him.

"No you want me to give up on my business and have no reason to live. That's what I think." Jerry told him . He

was sorry that he had to say that but he felt that it was the truth. Jerry and his daughter had been trying to convince

him to sell the shop ever since he had heard from the developers. All the two of them did was think about the

money that would be made not the loss to him.

Tomorrow morning he would see Perry Mason and tell him what was going on with his business. It was not only

his son in law that was bothering him. He was now starting to get phone calls and they were getting to be quite

annoying. He wanted to know what his rights were.

As Perry and Della pulled into her driveway, they could see that what they had thought would be was. There was

every light on in the house and they could hear the music from the driveway. It was now midnight and Della

was going to have to quiet the party down. Perry smiled at her and took her by the arm and walked into the

house.

Everyone from the party was there except for Della's parents. Mike's parents had come by for another toast to

the newly engaged couple, and had been waiting for Perry and Della to arrive. Della was so happy for Lori,

she deserved the best and she had the best with Mike of that Della was sure.

Perry reached over and turned down the music just a little. Della smiled and said "I am sorry but we have

neighbors and it is after midnight. We can celebrate all we want but we have to keep it low all right?"

People milled around for about another hour and finally started to leave. Della and Lori were happy when the

only ones left at the house were Mike and Perry. Now they could be their natural selves and relax.

Perry took a seat on the couch next to Della and Mike and Lori sat on the love seat next to the couch. They

sat back and sipped a little more champagne and then they all knew it was time for the men to leave. It

was now way after two and Della and Perry had work in the morning. Perry gave Della a long passionate kiss

and then left. Mike left at the same time and the house was quiet.

Seven am came early at the Street house that day. Della had just had about four hours sleep and her face

showed it. Good god she was going to be twenty-nine this year, nearly thirty. She could not keep up with

the young crowd much anymore 'You are approaching middle age' she thought to herself.

When Della came into the office she was surprised to find Perry there. He had spent the night on the couch

in the office rather go home and drive back. He always had a change of clothes there an a fully stocked

bathroom. The couch wasn't the best place to sleep but he had made it work more than once.

Della leaned over and gave her man a kiss. He opened his eyes immediately and put both of his arms

around her neck. It was not often that he got to wake up to her. As a matter of fact he had never been

woken by her kiss and he liked it.

Unfortunately while the two of them were kissing they did not hear the outer office door open and Jerry coming in to fix

the clock. Jerry smiled as he saw the two people on the couch kissing and cleared his throat to let them know that he

was there. Della looked up at him and blushed crimson red. How stupid of her not to shut the door tight when she

came in. She stood up and smiled "Good morning Jerry."

"Could you please excuse me for a moment? The clock is where it always is." Perry told him as he headed to the

bathroom to get ready for a morning of work.

Jerry knew his work and had the clock up and running like a brand new clock within one half an hour. It had just

gotten out of adjustment from the small quake that LA had suffered the day before. It was only a 3.2 earthquake

but because the clock was so sensitive it got knocked out of line.

Perry was getting ready to write him a check when Jerry asked him how much he would charge for an office

visit.

"No charge my friend for something simple "What is wrong Jerry?" Perry asked.

"Well I am having some problems at my store. It seems that about two months ago some developers came to me

and offered me a very high price for the building where I have my store. It has been there for almost eighty

years and my apartment is above it. I have lived there my entire life. My son in law Jason has been trying to get

me to sell and I keep telling him no. But now I have been getting calls that have been threatening in nature. The

one that I got this morning was that I had better keep a good eye on my back." he told them.

Perry thought for a moment "I will have Paul my private investigator look into this and get back to you. In the

meantime I would let the police know what is going on. There is word on the street that some of the new devel-

opers in the city do use strong arms. Be careful." Perry told him. He started to write out a check to the man

and he held his hand up "No charge today. It is an honor working on such a wonderful clock".

Della looked at Perry. She knew as well as he did that sometimes when a developer wanted a certain piece

of property they could be difficult to deal with. With Jerry in his sixties, he would make a good profit.

"Della get Paul on the phone and ask him to come and see us if he is in the building. If he is not I will talk to

him on the phone." Perry asked her.

The rest of the morning was spent waiting on different clients and going over some briefs for a court hearing

that was scheduled for the next Wednesday. At noon the office closed and as promised Perry and Della

closed the office at noon and went to Della's house to meet her parents. When they got to her house they

found her parents there and glad to see them.

The dinner was lively and Perry and Della were glad to see Mike and his parents there too. The two families

were going to be one soon and they should get to know each other. Mike and Lori talked about the wedding

that they wanted. They wanted it all, a big wedding a church and a ride through the park with a horse and

buggy. It sounded great and expensive to Della, but she thought it sounded like fun.

Gregg Street loved his children, but Lori was always the playful one. Della had been studious and a straight

a student from grade school. He wanted the best for the both of them and would somehow come up with

the money to marry the both of them. He was pleased with Lori's choice and he had heard about Della

and Perry from Marion.

After the brunch, Perry went home so that Della and Lori could spend time with her parents. He knew that

they did not get to see each other often and that Della missed them.

Della was happy to have the day with her mom and dad. They lived just one hundred miles away, but she

did not get to see them enough. The day was spent with memories and her father and Mike watched the

football game together.

Marion could not help but notice the two dozen roses that were on the stand next to the television. She

had assumed that they came from Mike. She smiled at Della and said "Lori has found a fine man , he

even sent her these flowers. They are beautiful." she told her.

Lori came in and smiled "What do you think of the flowers Perry sent Della?"

Marion smiled at Della and said "Oh they are nice. Congratulations."

"He gave them to her just for being her." that's what the card said.

"Lori." Della scolded. He is just a nice man."

"That you love very much." Lori teased.

"Now girls stop picking on each other" Marion laughed.

The day was fun and Della and Lori were sad when their parents left for home. But they knew that the drive

was going to take at least two and a half hours. If there was traffic it could take longer . Their dad and mom

wanted Sunday to rest as they both had to be at work on Monday morning.

Jerry had a bad weekend his son in law called him three times and another man called him once again. He

should sell before there was nothing left for him to sell. That is what the man on the phone said to him this

time he answered.

When he was in the shower Sunday morning he heard a noise downstairs. He was sure that someone was

down there so he snuck down the back stairs. There in the middle of the floor was a man with a mask over

his face smashing some of his cases. When he yelled the man ran out of the store. But the damage had

been done and by the time the police were there the man was long gone. He would have to call Mr. Mason

in the morning.

But then he got a call from his son is law Jason. Jason wanted to talk to him once again about selling the

building. How many times did he have to tell his son in law that he was not interested in selling the store

or the building to anyone. There were six other tenants that lived in the building and three of them had

been there over twenty years. He knew if a developer bought the building that his friends and tenants

would be homeless and the new owner would not care.

So with reluctance he went over to see his son in law Jerry. He knew that his daughter Kathy was gone for the

weekend with friends. As Jerry came up the driveway he saw no cars, on the road there had been one

or two cars but he did not take note of them.

Jerry walked up to the house and noticed the open front door. He knocked and got no answer, so he pushed

the door open and walked on in. He was calling for his son in law but go answer and then he entered into

the kitchen. On the floor lay his son in law Jerry in a pool of blood. He reached down and checked for a

pulse that he was sure was not there and then panicked. He left the scene and went back home.

Two hours later he got a call from his daughter Kathy telling him that her husband had been killed. She was

so upset and he asked her to come over and stay with him while the police were there.

Kathy accepted her father's invitation and was glad that he was there for support. But how could he look

his daughter in the eye? He had seen her husband lying on the floor and did nothing. He had gone home

and hid like the coward he was.

When the police came to his home and shop that Sunday he knew that someone had seen him. So he

did not deny being there, but claimed that he had been alive. Lt Tragg of homicide did not believe him,

of that he was sure. He did not know what to do. He would have to talk to Perry Mason again.

Monday morning came and life at the Perry Mason office was as it normally was. Della and Perry were

at work for about an hour when Paul came in. "Trouble at the clock shop Perry. Jason Fielding was

murdered, and your clock making friend's fingerprints are all over the place."

Perry knew that Jerry would be a suspect. He wanted to call Jerry right away but to his surprise Jerry cane

into the office. He was there to tell the truth. He needed advice on what to do. Paul Della and Perry all

took a seat and listened to his story. It was clear that he needed to go to the police with his story, but

Paul would look into it right away. No matter what someone had murdered Jason Diamond and he was the

most likely suspect now.

"Take it easy and go back to work at the shop I will keep in touch. Paul Drake will start looking into things

today and perhaps we will have an answer for you soon." Perry promised him.

After Jerry had left Perry turned to Paul "Paul I need you to check into who might have wanted this man

dead , who is with the developer and what kind of man this Jason Fielding was."

"On my way." Paul told him and left.

"Della I need you to see what is going on in the neighborhood too. Ask around see if anyone else has been

contacted or threatened by the developer."

Perry had to work on his other case that was going to court as of Wednesday. He had affidavits and different

types of forms to have filled out and he was going to have to go to the clerk of courts for more paperwork.

Everything was going well, and Perry thought that things were going to be ok until he got a call from the

jail . It was Jerry Diamond. He had been arrested for the murder of his son in law Jason Fielding. Perry went

right out to the jail and met with Jerry. He talked to him again about what had happened. The hearing about

the bail would be in the morning. Perry Mason would be ready for him. It would mean that the lights would

burn late at the office, but the three friends Perry Paul and Della were used to it.

Perry was busy filling out the motions and the paperwork, more and more of it for the next day. He wanted

to have the information ready for the morning. He knew that Jerry was not wealthy and the bail money

was going to come hard.

Paul had been speaking to the tenants in the building. He wanted to know what they had heard and if any

of them had been contacted by the developer. Everyone of them had been contacted and offered a

substantial amount if they could convince Jerry to sell the building. Some of the people had been there

for a long time and there were two apartments that had only been rented for about a year. He wanted

to look into each of them and see what kind of people they were.

Word on the street was that a developer under the name of Thompson Industries was offering very

large sums of cash for certain land in the area. Thompson Industries was a large condominium builder

and had wanted to change some of the older buildings in the area from walk up apartments to condos.

Most of the buildings in the area were poor in condition and they would buy them dirt cheap and then

sell the newly done over buildings at a huge profit. The block that the clock shop was in was one of

the only buildings left that had not been converted. Most of the owners had given up their property

when they were offered a large sum of money. Those that did not go willingly had found themselves

facing all kinds of charges, court litigation and board of health issues. There was thought that someone

who worked for the city was taking some kick back. Paul was looking it into further.

Perry looked up at the clock and saw that it was past ten in the night and Della had fallen asleep on

the couch. He had hoped that he would hear from Paul and he knew if there was anything to tell he

would get a call. Paul was probably busy and not in the mood for a foolish phone call.

Perry looked at Della sleeping on the couch and smiled. He thought of how wonderful it had been when

she had woken him up on Saturday morning and thought that he would do that to her. He bent over

and kissed her. Della opened her eyes and smiled. "hello Perry." and then she put her arms around

his neck and kissed him tenderly. The two of them took a seat on the couch and just held each other

tight for a few minutes. It was then that they remembered that neither one of them had eaten since

lunch.

Perry took Della by the hand and led her out through the back door down the hallway and to the elevator

as they had done a thousand times before. When the reached their cars they kissed good night and

headed back to their homes. It had been another long day at the office.

The next day Della went straight to the courthouse and met Perry on the steps. She was glad to see him

standing there. He was so handsome and she thought that she could eat him up just like candy, before

court but she kept her dignity and smiled a good morning to him.

Perry watched as Della walked up the stairs toward him and smiled. No matter what the time was day or

night she always looked good. She had a way of holding herself that demanded respect and that was one

of the things that he loved about her.

This was going to be a tough day in court. His client Jerry had lied to the police at first and had left the

scene of a murder. His son in law had been trying to get him to sell the business and times had been

hard between them. It seemed odd that the day that Jerry decided to go to his daughter's house was

a day when his daughter was not there. Because of the family problem, he had not been over to her house

in over six months.

Hamilton Burger looked up to see Perry Mason and Della Street walk into the courtroom. He had heard that

Perry would be defending the man and looked forward to another battle of the minds. This client had been

seen at the murder scene, had left fingerprints everywhere and had been in a long standing battle with his

son in law about selling the building that he owned. He was guilty of that Burger was sure.

After exchanging friendly hello's the two lawyers went right to work. Burger did not want for Jerry Diamond

to be offered bail at all. He had killed that man without sorrow and could easily leave the country with

the amount of money that he had in the bank."

Perry argued that Jerry Diamond had lived in the same home his whole life and he owned his own business

he would not leave town. The reason his son and law and he were at odds was because he wanted to stay

at his home and not move. It did not make any sense that he would want to leave town now.

Bail was set at two hundred thousand dollars, and with that Jerry Diamond would be released later on that

afternoon. Perry did not see Jerry's car in the courtroom and saw the look of disappointment on his face

as Jerry looked around the room. Perry was going to go with Della and talk to Kathy. He had met her a

few times and thought she was a nice lady. He would bring Della with him, sometimes women talked to

each other better than they did to a man.

Della was picking up the things off the courtroom desk when Paul came in. He had some news for Perry,

but Perry had just left. "He will meet us at the office in an hour. Can it wait?"

"Yes. But it is pretty good." He took Della by the arm and as they walked out of the courtroom he let her

in on what he knew 'It seems that this developer Thomason Industries has been calling everyone. They try

the legal avenues, but if that does not work, they have been known to be strong armed. When they were

in Chicago a few years ago, they were one of the most dangerous firms to deal with. Once they had made

their money and had gotten all that they could they came here.

The owner of the business is a man named Dean Kirk. He started as one of those house flippers and got

bigger and bigger as time went by. He started this business and had made millions of dollars over the

years. He had ties to the bad part of town and was a man that you had to careful when you were around

him or you might find yourself wearing cement galoshes..

There has never been any proof that this company has actually committed a murder, but they have been

known to strong arm many a man that does not want to do what they want him to do. There has been

instances of buildings burning down and vandalized." he told her.

"I will tell him as soon as I see him. You go ahead and look even deeper." Della told him.

Della arrived back at the office just after one. She was pleased to find Perry sitting at his desk. She told

him what Paul had told her, and he smiled. "I have been waiting for you my dear. I would like to go and

see Kathy Diamond. She might be more open to another woman if you don't mind"

"I am ready. Kathy is a lovely girl. I have met her several times when I go to put a new battery in my

watch or something she is always smiling and helpful." Della told him.

The couple walked out the back door of the office once again and headed over to see Kathy. When they

pulled up in front Kathy came out to welcome them in. "Hi Perry Della, I wish this was under better

circumstances." she offered them a seat in the living room . The house was clean and neat but in

need of repair. Della and Perry could see that the paint on the ceiling was actually pealing, something

that would take years to happen.

"Kathy, I know that it is hard to listen to this but your father did not kill your husband. We need to try

to find out who did. Did anyone ever call and make any threats to him that you know of?" Della

asked her.

"I know that he has been really worried about the things for the last couple of months. He wanted my

father to sell his business because he was afraid of what would happen if he did not sell. Three

months ago a man called from Thompson Industries and he has been a basket case ever since." She

started to tear up but held herself together. "I think that they had given him some money to talk my

father into selling his building and he needed my father to sell, but he just would not sell."

"I am sorry to say this, but this house is in desperate need of repair. What makes you think that he

received money from them?" Perry asked.

Kathy looked down and thought for a minute. "My husband was not perfect. He had a bad habit

of gambling. He had quit for almost five years, but I think that he had started once again. We were

getting lots of calls and when I answered them they would hang up on me. When Jason answered

he went into another room so that I could not hear what was being said.

"I am sorry about what happened but your father is innocent. I know that and you know that deep

in your heart too. He needs your support now. Please go and see him." Della asked her. "He is

lonely and worried."

Kathy thought for a minute and told them that she would call him that night. "I love my dad, I

just do not understand why he left the house and left my husband lying there in the kitchen

where I was going to find him. He could have called me at least." she told them.

As Perry pulled away he looked at Della. He wanted to spend some quiet time with just her and

him. It was nice to be with others, but sometimes it was even nicer to spend some time with each

other alone. He could feel her body as it pressed against his as they rode down the street and said

"How about getting some dinner? We still have some more work to do but we need to eat." he told

her with a smile.

"I am starved. There is a cute little café around the corner, if you are interested." she told him

"Yes I know of the place. We will eat and then go to work once more." Perry told her.

He held her arm as they walked into the café and enjoyed a quiet meal at a quiet table away from

the bustling crowd of the city. They both wanted some privacy and were seated at a table in the

back. Perry held both of Della's hands across the table. "I miss you sometimes when I even

am close to you, but we cannot touch. Silly of me."

Della squeezed both his hands and said, "It is something that is hard to explain, but your words

describe my feeling exactly.

The two of them ate dinner in a quiet happy silence. It was time for them to enjoy the time with just

them and they were happy. Once they got back to the office it was back to work for the two of them

once more.

There was so much work to do and so many laws to read to help Jerry get freed and the correct

person get time in prison. There would be actions counter actions affidavits and more in the coming

days and tomorrow he had another case that was going to be heard about insurance fraud. A good

attorney is never lonely, he had told Della many times. 'When the people are not knocking on the

door, that is the time to really worry.'

The two of them worked once more way into the night. At about ten thirty Perry decided to call it a

night. They had not heard anything more from Paul and hoped that he would have luck in the morning

or sometime soon.

The next day the case went well for the clients of Mr. Mason as they usually did and by Friday the

jury had come in with a positive decision. Della was so proud of Perry. He helped so many people

and usually won his case. When the jury came in it was only four thirty and for once it was a Friday

and Della and Perry would be going home at a normal time.

Della smiled at Perry and laughed as he took her by the arm and walked together out of the court-

house. "How would you like to go with me somewhere? I do not care where, anyplace you name

it." Perry offered her.

"I would like to go to the carnival that is in my neighborhood? " she asked him .

"All right Miss Street. We will go to a carnival. I will go home and get dressed and then I will come to

pick you up. I am sure that you want to change clothes too." Perry told her with a smile.

When Perry came to get Della that evening, she was wearing pants. It was not often that he saw her

in pants. She was dressed with taste as always, but she had sneakers on and he had never noticed

how much shorter than him she was really. Without her heals she was only five foot five and when

he stood up he was over six feet. She didn't seem to mind though and smiled as they walked to his

car together.

That night they ate a big ball of cotton candy and played every game that they had to offer and Perry

won her a big stuffed animal. They laughed and enjoyed themselves as though they were both ten

years younger. They hugged and rode a couple of rides. When they got home the two of them were

exhausted when they returned to Della's house.

Della and Perry enjoyed themselves so much that they swore that they would both go to another

carnival together. Lori could not believe that her stuffed shirt sister and her boyfriend a famous

lawyer had spent the night at a carnival and had such a good time. "You two look like two young

people who went out and had some fun. I think that is just what the doctor ordered. You should

try to do that again." she told them.

Mike smiled as he watched the two of them laughing and talking about the stuffed animal that Perry

had won Della. "Next time we should go together maybe." Mike told them.

Just as Perry was getting ready to go home, his phone rang. It was Paul, he finally had some news

for them. Would it be all right if he came over?" Paul asked.

Within fifteen minutes the doorbell rang and they let Paul in. Mike had left when he heard that Paul

was coming over and Lori had gone to her room. They both knew that Perry and Della would want to

speak to Paul alone. Paul took a seat in the living room and gladly accepted the cup of coffee that

Della offered him.

"I have some news for you. Jason Fielding was deeply in debt. He owed to the big guys, the ones that

like to break bones and was worried sick. He was contacted by Dean Kirk and in exchange for getting

the building that belonged to Jerry Diamond. He was trying his best to get Jerry to sell and as Jerry

refused Dean and his goons was pressuring Jason everyday.. On the day that Jason was murdered he

had been contacted via threats by this group. I believe it was Jason that actually went to Jerry's store

and vandalized it. When the police investigated they found an outfit that described what the man had been

wearing that day and Jason's weight and height matched that of the man who had vandalized the store

that morning.. But when going over the tenants that live upstairs there is one couple who have lived there

for only six months. The couple's name is Brown and Mr. Glenn Brown works for Dean Kirk. He was a

plant that had been placed at the building to try to help force Jerry to sell." he then took a breath and

leaned back on the chair.

Jerry had been looking into the murder himself. He had never had any real arguments with anyone before

this corporation had tried to take over his building. His tenants were like family to him and he wanted to

know who would have murdered the son in law. He knew that Jason had at one time had a gambling problem

but he had not gambled in a long time. He was never happier when Kathy came to see him.

"Dad, I know that you did not do the murder, but why did you just leave him on the floor for me to find him?

It was the worst thing that you could ever imagine, finding your spouse dead on the floor murdered. You should

have stayed and reported that to the police." Kathy told him.

"I was scared. Jason and I had been fighting and I knew that the police would think that it was me that had

murdered him. I just panicked please forgive me." Jerry told his daughter.

Kathy looked at her father and felt sorry for him. He was all she had left in the world as family and she could not

lose him. She gave him a big hug and asked him: "Do you have any ideas who would be interested or motivated

to murder him?" she asked her father.

"I have been thinking that it had something to do with his gambling debt. I know that he had started to gamble

once again and you can get into trouble real fast with some bad people. But, things were getting very bad around

here too. Someone broke into my store and the calls that I was getting were getting more and more threatening."

Jerry told his daughter.

"Dad, have the calls stopped?" Kathy asked him.

Jerry had not realized it, but the calls had stopped . He had not received any calls or visitors since Jason was

murdered." He thought that he didn't want to think this way, but was it Jason that had been calling him and

harassing him?

Kathy knew what her father was thinking and was beginning to worry about that too. She knew that he had received

a large sum of money some weeks before because he had been very calm and her threatening phone calls had stopped

completely. 'Did he get money to force her father to move?' she just did not know what to do.

"i know that a company by the name of Thompson Industries was the company that was trying to buy the building

and that I had seen some of the workers outside of the store. But they never came in, they just took many

pictures."Jerry told his daughter. "I think that they were trying to show that my building was in need of repair and

should be condemned. I am not sure." Jerry said.

"What surprised me is that even though the vandals went right into the store, none of the clocks were destroyed

just the cases. It was almost as though someone was trying to scare you, not really harm the merchandise. If

it had been someone from Thompson Industries I don't think that they would have left the merchandise untouched.

They would be there to put you out of business." Kathy told him in a worried tone. She did not want to worry and

think it, but the vandal could have been her husband Jason. She just did not know. She turned around and gave

her father a big hug "Don't worry dad they will find out what happened. Perry Mason and Paul Drake are said to be

the best in the business."

"I will try not to worry. Please call me in the morning." Jerry told his daughter.

Paul had been busy looking more into Glenn Brown and where he had been the day of the murder. He knocked on

his door and he opened the door. "My name is Paul Drake and I work as a private investigator for the office of

Perry Mason. I would like to ask you a few questions." The man started to shut the door in his face until Paul told

him "We can talk now or in court. It is your choice.

Glenn Brown opened the door and let Paul in. The apartment was a neat little place and he took a seat on the

couch. Paul looked the man and his wife in the eyes and told them "I know that you work for the developer

Thompson Industries and that you were put here to spy on Jason Diamond. I want to know what happened on

the day that Jason Fielding was murdered. Where you both were and what your thoughts are on why someone

might have wanted Jason Fielding dead." he told them.

Sue Brown was the first to speak. "We were offered to have a place to live while Glenn worked here at the

developers . All we were supposed to do was report on what Jerry did during the day, be friendly to him find

out what he liked and find out the best way to convince him to sell. Originally we were told that it should not

take more than six months, but Jerry would not move. Also, is such a nice man and he treats us like we were his

family. Neither one of us wanted to do anything bad to him." she told Paul.

Glenn was a little more fidgety but he opened up "I have worked for Thompson Industries for the past five years,

my wife and I move into buildings and secretly spy on the owners. Some of the owners are not very nice and are

easy to spy on, but Jerry he is a gem. He is a genuinely kind man and if he wants to stay here I think that we

should let him. I have been working with my foreman to convince Dean Kirk that it would be better to let the

building stay there with the old clock shop. It might help give the place character. I am not sure that I will be

able to work it out, but I am working on it. The day of the murder I was at work." Glenn told Paul.

Something about the two of them told Paul that they were telling the truth. That had been one of the tactics that

Thompson Industries had used in the past. "Thank you for your time." Paul told them and left for home.

The next morning shortly after Perry entered his office the familiar knock came on the door. It was Paul and he

was there to tell them of his conversation with the Brown's "I think that they are telling the truth Perry. It is a

tactic that has been used with success in the past by that company. Glenn showed me his time card and he was

on the time clock at six am that morning. He did not stop work until after four that day. I am going to go over

there this morning and check with some of the other workers, but it looked like a normal day of work for him.

According to the time card that he showed me those are his normal hours five days a week.

"Let me know anything that you find out. I have a feeling that the murderer is right in front of us and we have

just overlooked him or her." Perry told him and with that Paul left the office once again.

Perry and Della worked all day going over the records that were public on Thompson Industries. So far they

owned eighty percent of the buildings in the neighborhood. There was one other building that had not been

sold to them. It was a smaller building but the tenants had refused to leave also. Dean Kirk had offered nearly

twice it's value and had been turned down. But, nothing had happened to the tenants except for the board of

health coming and a building inspector had shown up. Nothing had come of it so far. Perry was starting to think

that the murder might not have anything to do with the developer at all.

Perry was deep in thought. If the murderer had nothing to do with the developer, who else would profit from

Jason's murder? How much life insurance did he carry? Who was the benefactor? Was it his wife or someone

else? Perry was going to have to find out that information.

It was time for Della and Perry to go and watch what was going on at Jason's brothers house. He had not been

a suspect at first but when Della had done a cross check his name and had come up as an investor. His name

was Doug Fielding. At one time Doug had expressed interest in working on the old clocks. Perry thought that

he was worth watching for one night anyways.

Perry leaned over Della's shoulder and kissed her hair softly "It is time for us to leave. It is late once again he

said to her sweetly. "Would you like to go with me to a stake out?" he murmured in her hair.

Della could no longer resist Perry when he touched her. "I think it sounds like fun to me . But first I need to

eat dinner. Can you stand my company?" Della turned and looked up into his eyes.

"Dinner is on me my dear." Perry told her With that he took her in his arms and gave her a passionate kiss until

they had to come up for air. "Maybe we can neck while we are out on the stake out." he laughed.

"As long as we are together I don't care. But if someone goes by we can put on a good act. But maybe it won't

be an act." haha she told him

Perry called Paul to let him know where he and Della were going to be and then the two of them headed out

to dinner and then the long stake out. Perry pulled his car up just three houses down from Doug Fielding's

house. Perry and Della sat down and relaxed for a long boring night, but at least they were together and could

enjoy each others company.

As the time went by the two of them were getting very bored. Della could tell that Perry was in full work

mode as he sat intently watching the house. Twice people had gone by and they had kissed but that

was it. They had been outside of the house for three hours when finally something happened. They w

watched as Dean Kirk walked up the walkway and was let in by Doug Fielding. He stayed there about fifteen

minutes and then left. The two sat there until after midnight and decided to call it a night. "Come on Della

let's go home." Perry told her.

"Your house or mine." she said. She did not know why she said it, but she was tired.

Perry turned and looked at Della and wanted them to go to his house for some privacy. But it was way too

late for that and Della needed to go home and get some sleep. "Maybe someday our house." is all he could

say to her.

Della laid back and smiled this was what she wanted to hear. Someday was fine with her.

When they arrived back at Della's house Perry walked her to the door. "Would you like to come in?" Della

asked him.

"Of course, but it is very late and we both have a lot of work to do tomorrow." he looked at her and could

see that she wanted him to come in as much as he wanted her to. "All right for a few minutes that would

be all right." he told her.

As Della felt for the light Perry took her in his arms and kissed her very tenderly, but passionately and then

cupped her chin in his hand. "Della we can't keep doing this. We are being bad you know."

"I do not care Mr. Mason, I am in love." Della told him and threw her arms around his neck. Perry then

nestled his mouth into her neck and softly kissed her ear. Della melted into his arms and before either

one of them knew it they were on the couch making out. Neither one of them wanted to stop and were

quite into the scene when Lori and Mike walked into the home. Lori and Mike had done their normal thing

making enough noise to wake the dead but Della and Perry had not heard them on this night. Neither one

of them were indecent but Perry had loosened his tie and his shirt was partially unbuttoned. As for Della

her hair and clothes were a disaster.

Lori smiled and looked away. it was good that her sister was human. She and Mike had slept together

several times now and she had been afraid to let her sister know. She and Perry were always so prim and

proper about their relationship. As she and Mike walked by they smiled and Lori told them "Don't mind

us we didn't see too much." and she and Mike giggled as they went into the kitchen.

The spell was broken and Della and Perry straightened themselves out before going into the kitchen. Della

was so embarrassed Lori was her younger sister and it was her job to set a good example for her. To be

caught on a couch making out the way she and Perry had been making out was meant for a more private

time not for other people to see. They would have to be more careful.

Della and Perry came into the kitchen and found Lori and Mike having a glass of ice cold lemonade. It had

been oppressively hot that night and the lemonade looked good to them. Della walked over to the refriger-

ator and got out some lemonade for her and Perry. The four of them sat down at the kitchen table and

smiled.

"So how is the newly engaged couple doing?" Perry asked them with a smile.

"We are fine and have started to look at places where we could have our wedding and reception. One of

our favorite places is at the Glendale Country Club. We could get married at my church and then take a

carriage up to the country club. It sounds like the kind of place that we both would like to get married

at. They have facilities that can hold up to two hundred and fifty people." Lori told them.

"How many people do you think that you would like to have come to your wedding?" Della asked.

"We are thinking somewhere around two hundred. We probably will invite about two hundred and fifty but

we know that not all of the people invited will come." Lori told them.

"My family is small but they will all be there. I have a sister and she has a husband and two children and

then I have an aunt and uncle and their boy. That is all that I have other than my mother and father. The

rest will be all family and friends of ours and then the Street family.

"That sounds so good. I wish the both of you the best." Perry told them with a smile. "I need to go home

now, work comes early and Della and I are hoping to solve this murder case soon."

Della walked out to the front door and kissed Perry good-bye. It had been a good night after all, and she

knew that there would be more of them to come.

Perry got up early that next day and as he stood at his window that overlooked the city he was heavy in

thought Doug Fielding was involved somehow. He was dealing with Dean Kirk and perhaps the two of them

had more to do with the murder than he had originally thought. He would have Paul look into him more

deeply, perhaps that was the answer to the question "Who killed Jason Fielding?"

When Perry got to the office, he met Della who was sitting in her private office working on some of the

information that they had accumulated on the Thompson Industries. He waved for her to come into the office

and she went willingly in.

"I have been pondering the thought of Dean Kirk and Doug Fielding perhaps having something to do with

this murder. I think that they are both more involved than was originally thought. Get hold of Paul and

tell him to look into the relationship between Dean Kirk and Doug Fielding. Something did not seem right

when he went over last night. You see when I came to work this morning I decided to go by Doug Fielding's

house and found that Dean Kirk's car was in the driveway and the engine was cold." Perry told Della.

Dean Kirk sat at his desk in his private office and pondered some of his thoughts. This new development

had been trouble since the start. He had to put up too much money and he had met roadblocks on every

corner. Nothing had gone right and now the police had questioned him about the murder of a man

that he had never met by the name of Jason Fielding. He had not put the old man and Doug Fielding

together until the police came. He had heard of the murder of course, but knew nothing about it. But now

he was in the middle of a real mess. What to do. He was going to have to think about this one. Perhaps

he should just be happy with the way the project was and cut his losses.

Dean kept walking back and forth across the floor. He did not like not being in control. This was not the

type of man that he was. He had started his career as a flipper of a house, for crying out loud. He now

owned one of the biggest developing companies in the city of LA. Nothing was going to take away his hard

work, he needed to find out who had murdered that man.

"Max I want to see you right away." Dean called over the walkie talkie. Within a few minutes Max Stratton

came into the office. "I want you and your men to look into the murder of Jason Fielding. If you can I

want you to find out who is the murderer. I do not want you going anywhere near Jerry Diamond, he has

the lawyer Perry Mason working with him and I do not want to tangle with him now, not yet. Just see what

you can find out about the murder. Be careful and do not do anything illegal this guy Mason is no one to

play around with." Dean warned him.

"Ok boss. I will get back to you as soon as I find something out." Max told him. Max liked working for Dean

he was hard nosed and once he had something in his mind, he could be impossible. But he was mostly an

honest man, but he could use a person's weaknesses to get his wishes.

Back at the Mason office Della had found out something that was in the back of a magazine, however, it

drew her attention. There was a mention that perhaps Dean Kirk was a member of the gay community.

She had nothing against that and was for gay rights, but some people did not feel as she did and she

knew that some gay people would go to very extreme ends to protect their secret. But what if that was

true who was Dean seeing behind his wife's back? Could he have murdered Jason because he had found

out their secret? She was going to have to dig into that a little deeper.

Perry had been busy going through his legal books and reading up on similar murder cases hoping that

he would find a clue as to who the murderer was. He knew that Paul and Della were very good at finding

out facts about people and he had the legal knowledge. Usually between the three of them they could

solve a murder case within a week, and this case had already taken two weeks. There was going to be

a pre trial meeting the next week and Perry hoped that he would have the answer to the question of

who the murderer was by that time. But for now, he had no idea at all.

Della and Perry worked the entire day and when it was seven they called it a day. To be quite truthful

Della had not found anything else in all of the articles that she had looked at except for the reference to

Dean Kirk being a closet gay.

Della and Perry walked out to their cars and this time Perry asked Della to come to his apartment. He did

not want what had happened the night before to happen again. He wanted them to have some supper and

then continue with the investigation into the murder. Paul was still out working on the case too. He could

come up and talk to him at the penthouse.

Della and Perry stopped at the deli that was downstairs in his building and got a couple of sandwiches

to hold them over for a long tiring night of that they were both sure. There was something that they

were missing and they both knew it. It was going to be a night of work, not a night of fun. But for

a few minutes they would relax and have their supper.

As they sat at the table and ate their sandwiches, the two of them were deep in thought. They both were

worried about the case and the fact that there was going to be a pretrial hearing that week and they had

no information to bring into court they were both worried. They also knew that Tragg and Burger were

both working hard and probably had information that they had not found as of yet.

Della decided that tonight she would work on the information from the computer. She had her laptop

and sat down and went to work. Perry also was working very hard when the doorbell rang. It was

Paul, and Perry told him to come on up.

Paul had worked all day and most of the night following around Doug Fielding. He had to be one of the

most boring people he had ever met. When he finally went outside he just went to work and then went

home. He had another man watching him at the moment, but to say that his life was dull, was a stretch

Doug Fielding's life was a ho hum . Paul could not find anything about him, except that he was friends

with Dean Kirk. Other than that nothing, he was working on it and was hoping to have more information

by tomorrow.

Della spoke up then and on a hunch she asked him "Have you heard any rumors that he might be a

gay man?"

Paul raised his eyebrow and asked her "Why do you ask that question?"

Della then told Paul and Perry of the rumors that she had read about Dean Kirk being gay. "I have been

working on that angle, perhaps some kind of triangle?" she said with a questioning look.

Perry jumped up and told her "That is why we keep you around Della. You are right I had read about

that in a magazine a long time ago, we should look into that possibility. We are desperate." Perry

told the two of them.

"I will check that out and should have an answer sometime tomorrow guys. Right now I am headed

home to see Paul Jr and Sue before they forget who I am." Paul told them and walked out the door to

the elevator and home.

Perry leaned over and looked at Della's computer . Keep looking into your idea Della people have been

murdered for less reasons. I want you to keep looking up information on Dean and his wife Tara. Find

out what you can about their marriage also.

Perry and Della continued to work for the next two hours and then Della had to get up and stretch. She

looked over at Perry who as still working on his law books. He looked tired too and it was time for her

to go home and she knew it.

Della walked over to Perry and put her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them. "You are

very tight counselor." she whispered into his hair. HIs beautiful black curly hair. He still head a full

head of thick hair that smelled so good, she could almost taste it.

Perry stopped and took her hands. "It is time for us to call it a night Della. We still have a lot to find

out but we are getting closer to the truth I can feel it. Come on I will walk you to your car." and with

that he gently kissed her.

It had been a good day and as they said their goodnights they both knew that they would be seeing

each other once again in about ten hours. The morning was going to come quick and Della was

very tired she needed her sleep.

The next morning Della was surprised to find Paul in the office helping himself to a cup of coffee. It

was not often that Paul was there before she or Perry was. "This is a pleasant surprise Paul. What

brings you here so early in the morning?" she asked.

"I found myself thinking about your thoughts on the murder and got to looking into the private

lives of the three people that you thought might be involved a little deeper. It seems that Dean

and his wife have been not getting along for a long time. He sleeps in another room, and she

goes on vacations without him. As far as our man Doug Fielding, he has been seen going to some

of the local gay bars, but he keeps this a secret. He is dating a lady named Brenda Gold. She is

a little rough around the corners, but I don't think she is that bad." Paul told her. "I wanted Perry

to have that information before I left for another day of investigating." he told her with a smile. "You

can tell him for me? Thanks" and with that Paul headed out.

About one half an hour later Perry came in and Della told him what he had found out. "He thinks that

the murderer is one of them. He thinks that someone got jealous of the triangle. I was thinking that

maybe Jason had tried to black mail one of them and that is what got them killed. Personally I think

that it was a woman that killed him. It was with a gun and a woman can handle that weapon just

as good as a man. If she caught Jason by surprise he would not have been a match against a gun

woman or man holding on to the trigger." Della told him.

Perry agreed that it was a possibility. "Did you find out anything else about the two women?"

"No I am working on that right now and so isn't Paul." Della told him.

"You go ahead with your research I think that it might be going in the right direction." Perry told her.

"I need to go to court with more papers, and will be back in time for lunch. Wait for me Miss Street,

all right?" and with that he kissed her on the top of the head and headed out to the courthouse one

more time.

Della spent the day working on any information she could find out about either Brenda Gold or

Dean's wife Tara. There were many articles in the society page about Tara Kirk, but she could

not find anything about Brenda Gold. She apparently was not a society woman, but with

some digging she found her facebook page. There Della found out a lot of information about

Brenda. Brenda was a supporter of the lesbian community and was shown at many of their

rallies. It was in one of her pictures that Della found out what she had been looking for. There

in one of the photos was Brenda and Tara Kirk, and they looked very chubby. Della could not

wait to show Perry the picture.

Perry came back from court looking tired and hungry. He had been at the courthouse for over

three hours working with Burger and going over the briefs. Hamilton Burger had wanted his

client Jerry Diamond to take a plea. He had to talk to Jerry and tell him of the offer. He did

not want him to take it and he was going to recommend against it, but his client had the right

to know of the offer that had been made.

Della smiled as Perry came in. He smiled at her and asked her if she was still hungry. "i am

starved it's already after two you know." she told him with a smile. "But I do have something

that I would like you to see. I found a picture on line that might catch your eye." Della opened

the facebook page up and enlarged the photo that had caught her eye earlier that morning. "Take

a look at the picture right here. It is a gay rights demonstration and I recognize the two women

hugging together."

Perry took a look and indeed it was the illusive Brenda Gold and Tara Kirk. So there was something

going on there that he had not seen before, now he had to figure out which one of them was the

guilty person. He was sure that one of the four was the murderer. He would wait to hear from

Paul but for now he and Della needed to eat lunch. The two walked together down the hallway

to the elevator hand in hand once again.

The two of them went to eat at the local café that was just a few feet from the office. There they

could enjoy their dinner and be left alone. Paula the waitress knew the famous Perry Mason and

his secretary well and knew that they wanted their privacy. They usually had just a sandwich

and a cup of coffee for their lunch and Mr. Mason was a wonderful tipper. Perry took Della's hands

and held them across the table once again. He wished that he had the nerve to sit next to her

in the booth but then they would be crowded and so he would just hold her beautiful slender hands

and smile. 'What a fool I am. I have been with her for five years and we are not married yet.' That

day might come he would have to think about it. How could he ask someone to marry him? He

was always chasing murderers and working all hours of the night, it was no way for a lady like Della

to live. What was he thinking ? That was how her life was now. He was such a lucky man, how

did he ever find her, or did she find him? There was no doubt about it Perry Mason you have managed

to fall in love heads over heals.' he thought to himself.

That afternoon Della had to do some catching up of the other paperwork that had to be done in a busy

attorney's office and so she did not have much time to look up more information on the two women

that had caught her interest. She thought to herself that she was going to look at the facebook page

once again, and see if there was any other information on there. "Social media, people put their most

personal information on it. Della knew that if they were secret lovers she could find more information on

line she just had to look a little deeper.

That night Perry closed the office at seven and this time Della insisted that he come to her home and have

a good home cooked meal. She had made a meatloaf that morning and it would be ready in about one

half an hour. She would cut up some potatoes and cook him some corn on the cob. It had been very

hot the last few days and they said that the temperature had reached over one hundred degrees that

day. They needed the time together to relax, so she poured him a large glass of lemonade.

Perry was very fond of Della's meatloaf and the lemonade tasted great. He was sitting at the table when

Lori and Mike came in. "This is a pleasant surprise. We have not seen either one of you in days it seems.

This must be some kind of case." Lori smiled as she hugged her sister and Perry.

"Always busy, but dinner will be done soon. Go ahead and wash up the meatloaf will be done in about

fifteen minutes. I have made potatoes and corn on the cob too." Della told them with a smile.

"Oh Della you are spoiling me . I think that between you and Lori I have gained about ten pounds." Mike

laughed.

The dinner was good and as they were eating Lori smiled at her sister. "We chose the Country Club to

have our wedding at. We will be getting married in six months from today exactly." she smiled at Mike

who was beaming ear to hear.

"Well congratulations" Della and Perry cried out to their friends and sister.

Mike turned to Perry and asked him. " I know that Lori wants Della to be her maid of honor, but I would

like to ask you to be my best man."

Perry smiled "I would be honored Mike. The country club will be a wonderful place and the ride through the

park in the carriage is a great idea too. Della and I wish the two of you the best and with that Perry stood

up and reached over to Lori and gave her a hug.

It had been a great day after all now they had the date and Della was to be the maid of honor and Perry

the best man. It was going to be a wonderful wedding Della was going to make sure of it. She wanted

nothing but the best for her sister. That night the four played a game of cards and then watched a game

on the television and ate popcorn. For once the four of them had a normal night with nothing to do with

work interfering with the fun. Every time that Della started thinking about work she thought of Perry,

thinking of him made her forget everything.

Perry and Mike left together that night just after the game was over and for once Della and Lori got to

go to bed at a normal time eleven thirty. Della looked at her flowers as she got into bed, they were dying

she was afraid. She was going to have to throw them away either tomorrow or the next day of that she

was sure.

Paul had been working all day trying to get information on any of the four suspects. He was sure as was

Della and Perry that one of them had committed the murder and he wanted to find out which one it

was.

He thought about how Brenda and Tara had probably gotten angry or jealous about their boyfriend's and

husband's affair. It was probably more of a worry to Tara that would be the most upset, because of her

standing in the community, she would want to protect that standing of that he was sure.

Paul had spent the day watching Brenda. She had now gone to a hotel in the less desirable part of town

and he was waiting there in the shadows to see who she was going to meet here. He had not been sitting

outside for long when a car pulled up, a big blue Cadillac. Tara Kirk got out of the car and went right to

the room that Brenda Gold had just gone into.

Paul then went around the back to see if he could hear what was being said. He peeked through the

slightly parted dirty old curtain and looked. The two women were busy making love to each other

and with that Paul left. 'So Della had been right, they were having a gay affair. She wondered if

Dean knew about it. That was when he spotted a man that he had seen one other time, hanging

around Brenda Gold's house. He did not have the appearance of a police officer, he looked like a

private eye or something. Then he remembered where he had seen him before. He worked for

Dean Kirk. The man saw him but made no move toward him. 'He must be looking into what is going

on as I am. Dean Kirk is probably very mad , but was he capable of murder? Paul knew that he now

needed to call Perry.'

When Paul called Perry he could tell that for once he had woken him up. Perry was always waking him

up and it was a welcome change to Paul that he now had the chance to do the same thing to his friend,

the attorney that was known to keep all night stake outs. Paul told Perry what he had seen and heard

and Perry told him to meet him in the office early in the morning.

Della was pleasantly surprised once more to see Perry there before she was at the office that morning.

He had not slept there, she could tell. There was no sign that he had slept on the couch and he looked

as if he had a good night's sleep. "Good morning Perry. What brings you to the office so early in the

morning?" she smiled at him as she opened her laptop.

"I got a call from Paul last night, your hunch was right Brenda Gold and Tara Kirk are lovers. Paul found

them at a motel just outside of town in a compromising position. I just now have to figure out why

they murdered Jason and who the true murderer was." he told her.

Perry had been thinking about this since he had gotten up and he needed to know about each of their

personalities, and which one of them stood to lose the most should this secret get out. When Paul

came in he would have Paul do some more checking.

Paul showed up almost exactly at nine looking refreshed. It seemed that once he had found out that

the two women were having an affair he had been able to go to sleep and had almost seven hours

of sleep that night. It was a rare time that he got that much sleep all at once. "Well how can I

be of assistance to the two of you today?' he asked.

"I definitely know that Jason Fielding had received a large sum of money a few months back. Now I

had always assumed that he received that as a pay off to make sure that Jerry sold the building

to Kirk. But, what if he received some of the money through blackmail? I want to have you look

into any money that might have come out or into any of the four suspects bank accounts in the

last few months. Can you do that for me today?" Perry asked him.

"I am right on it and should have your answer by this evening." he told him and with a bow to Della

he walked out the back door once again.

Perry was very worried about what was happening and another weekend was coming up. He needed

to see Jerry Diamond and tell him about the offer that the district attorney had made him. So off

Perry headed to the clock shop after promising Della he would be back in the earlier part of the

afternoon. "You had better get your own lunch Della. I will probably still be with Jerry." and with that

he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and left for Jerry's clock shop.

As Perry opened the door to the clock shop he heard the familiar sound of a bell to let Jerry know that

a customer had entered the shop. Jerry was glad to see Perry Mason. He was hoping that his lawyer

had information on the case. Perhaps he had solved the case and he was here to tell him that. Mr.

Mason smiled at him and asked him to take a seat. "I was in the courthouse and spoke to the district

attorney about your case. The district attorney would like to make a plea deal with you. He would

like you to agree to just twenty years in prison for a manslaughter charge." Perry watched Jerry's face

and knew that the man was not going to accept such a plea. It was an insult to an innocent man and

Perry knew that too well.

"Mr. Mason I did not hurt anyone. Do you think that I should accept this offer?" Jerry asked him.

"No I do not . But because it has been offered to you I had to let you know of your options. We are

very close to finding out who the real murderer is hold tight. Everything is going to be all right." Perry

promised him. They shook hands and Perry left the shop.

Sometimes it takes something very simple to let you see the truth. Perry was walking down the street

in deep thought, when he finally knew who the murderer was. He wanted to check things out once again

so he went to Kathy Fielding's house. He had a couple of questions for her first.

Perry had to go to the courthouse and talk to Burger and file some more motions and he decided to walk

that day. The clock shop was only a mile from the courthouse and by the time he parked his car and walked

he would have walked the mile anyways. So he walked through the busy bustling street where the Thompson

Industries were building the new condos.

Perry looked up and saw the other building in the area that had not been sold. It was a building that now

contained four apartments and two store fronts. As he started to walk by he saw a lady in one of the shops

and decided to stop by and talk to her. She was a pretty lady in her forties, she was selling some nicely

laid out antiques. Perry looked over some of the things and she came up to him "Can I help you?" she

asked him.

"I am looking. You have some lovely things and I am looking for a wedding present for a couple of friends

of mine." he told her. " I see that there is a lot of new construction here. What is going on?" Perry asked.

"One of those big out of town contractors came in and bought nearly every building in the block. Now they

are making them all look new and polished. But in the meantime they are destroying the history of the

city. Most of these buildings were built at the beginning of the century and have character. When Thompson

Industries are done they will be squeaky clean but sterile." she told him.

"I noticed that you are the other building over there with the clock shop in it are about all of the buildings

that are left as they were. I think that they should keep the character also. My name is Mason and I am

looking into why Thompson Industries is doing this and also am investigating a murder." he told the lady

with a serious face.

"My name is Becky Nelson and I am glad to meet you. Jerry Diamond did not murder that man. He is a gentle

soul, and even though Jason wanted him to sell the property why would he kill him? The building belongs to

him not his daughter and son in law. His son was truly thinking of his father in law when Jason was trying

to get Jerry to sell the building. He loved his wife very much. I feel very sorry for Kathy. They had a tough go

of it for a while and Jerry did gamble, but they loved each other very much." she told him.

Perry had found an antique vest that would work perfectly for a wedding or a shower gift and paid for his purchase.

The lady was right, they had found nothing to indicate any problems with Jason and Kathy. The murder was

about blackmail he was sure of it now. Jason was desperate for money and somehow found out about the

affair the four of them were having and blackmailed them.

After Perry stopped by the courthouse and talked to Burger, he headed back to his car. It was a shame what

the developer was doing to the area, but that was what they called progress. Perry had noticed a man watching

him, he thought. But he had just seen him in the reflection of the window and he was now sure that the man

was trailing him. He walked around the corner and waited, sure enough the man came down the sidewalk and

started to make the turn practically walking right into Perry.

"Excuse me." he told Perry obviously embarrassed.

Perry turned and said "Young man you have been following me, why may I ask?"

No. I work for Thompson Industries and apparently we just have the same destination. That is all. I had to go

to court about a speeding ticket and now I am headed back to work." he told him.

"Well you made a wrong turn Thompson industries is across the street. Now, what do you really want of me?" Perry

asked with a threatening tone.

"All right I was trying to find out information on the murder of Jason Fielding. My boss wanted to know if I could

find out anything about the murder and I have been looking into it." he told him. "My name is Max.

"Thank you for your time. I cannot help you because I do not know who the murderer is myself. But the murderer

will get caught of that I am positive." and with that the two men parted.

When Perry got back to the office he found Della busy at work at her desk. She was still looking over the news

for information on any of the four suspects. He waved her into his office and smiled at her. "I know who the

murderer is Della. There can be only one unless Paul has a surprise for me when he comes back with the financial

information on the two ladies Brenda Gold and Tara Kirk."

"And do you want to enlighten me?" she asked with a smile.

Perry looked up from his papers and started to answer her when the familiar knock came on the door. Della got

up and answered it to find Paul there with a smile on his face. He took a seat in his favorite chair and opened up

his notebook.

"I have finished my investigation of the money situation with all four of the suspects. Thompson Industries and

Tara and Dean Kirk is doing very well. This project has cost them some but the money is starting to flow back

into the bank and they will both be financially sound soon. But the money that started the business was Tara's

money. She keeps a separate account and that is what took me so long. Someone has been taking her for a

ride a long ride. She has paid out at least fifty thousand dollars to someone. The last payment was taken out

on the day that Jason was murdered in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars. The problem was that there

was no trail of money until I looked into a separate account that Kathy Fielding has. She has been the one

who has been depositing the money, not Jason."

Perry and Della had been listening intently to Paul and they both knew that with the black mail, there was a good

chance that Jason was involved. "Is there anything else for me?" he asked.

"Not right now but I am looking into it and will let you know as soon as I hear something. I promise." Paul told

them. With that Paul was on his way back out to work.

Perry looked at Della and said "I think that we need to go see Kathy again. She has some explaining to do, and

we better go right now. If we can find out this information so can the police." and with that Della and Perry left

the office once more to talk to Kathy.

Della called the house and Kathy answered. She would be at home and so when Perry and Della came she was

waiting at the front door for them. This time Kathy was worried. She had a feeling that they may have found

out the truth and she realized it was time for her to admit it.

Della and Perry were welcomed into the home and they took a seat on the couch. Perry looked at Kathy with his

big kind eyes and asked her "Do you have something that you want to tell us?"

Kathy looked down and then at the two people who had never been anything but kind to her and started to tell

them the entire truth. She took a deep breath and spoke "About a year ago Jason started gambling again, I

knew it because of the phone calls and the threatening messages. I talked to Jason and he began to go to

gambler anonymous, but he was in debt very deep with some bad characters. I did not have the money and

had borrowed from my father over and over. I just did not know what to do, so I got a job as a maid part time

at a local hotel. At the hotel I saw Mrs. Kirk and another lady that I got to know as Brenda Gold frequenting

the hotel. I do not care if they are gay, that was not it, Tara was married to the man who was trying to destroy

my father's life and I knew that she would pay for me not to tell her husband what was going on. We never met

Mr. Mason, I just sent her photos and the money would be put in my account. It worked well until Jason got

killed. Poor Jason had no idea what I was doing and he might have been killed because of this." Kathy started

to cry and Della felt sincerely sorry for her.

Perry looked at her in amazement. 'Did she really think that nothing was going to happen when you take someone

for fifty thousand dollars? Of course they were going to come looking for who was doing the blackmail and put a

stop to it if they could. Perry had seen many people murdered for less money than that. He asked her "What do

you know of Brenda Gold?"

"I never really have gotten to know her or Tara. Because I did not want them to notice me. I would clean their

room and leave. But I did notice that Brenda seemed to be from money also. She drove an expensive car and

more than once when she left she was wearing a fur coat." Kathy told him.

"I do not know if I can keep your black mail out of the courtroom, because I will do anything to save your father

from prison. Do you understand why?" he asked her.

"Yes I understand and know that what I was doing was illegal, but I was desperate for money. I will not let my

father go to prison either, and I certainly did not think that my husband would be murdered because of the black-

mail either. I am so sorry." Kathy told them as they left the house.

Della got into the car quietly. "What a terrible thing that had happened and she could not believe that Kathy would

do something so terrible as blackmailing someone. I am sure that Kathy thought that nothing would happen to

her or husband and now she will have to live with that for the rest of her life." she shook her head and looked

up at Perry with very sad eyes.

"After being in this business for so long Della, I am sorry to say that not too much surprises me anymore. I do hope

that Kathy tells her father the truth before he learns it from another source. Her father has been through a lot

because of this murder and deserves to hear the truth from her."

Even though they were driving he put his arm around her. She was his rock and Perry could feel comfort knowing

that Della would never do anything like that to anyone. Perry had not noticed until now but he was getting hungry

so he glanced at the car clock. It was almost two oclock and he knew that Della and him were in for one of those

very late nights. "I am starting to get hungry Della. How about you?" he gave her a twinkle of his eyes and Della's

heart melted.

"I am getting hungry too. When I am at work I have to grab a bite whenever there is time." she smiled up at him and

pointed to an Italian restaurant on the corner. The food smelled delicious as they walked in the door. Neither one

of them had ever been there and they were pleased by their little discovery. Perry took his customary seat across

from Della and smiled. "I find it hard to concentrate on eating while you are across the table from me."

Della blushed and gave him a little laugh " Oh Perry."

As Perry went to sit down he was reminded of the gift that he had bought at the antique store that morning. He could

feel the box in his coat pocket, and took it out. "I have a surprise for you. Today when I went to see Jerry I stopped

at an antique store nearby and found something for Lori and Mike's wedding." He handed her the box.

Della took the box carefully and unwrapped a vase. It was a beautiful vase with little dolphins on the top. It must

have been expensive as it was very old. "It's beautiful Perry. I know that they will both love it." She wanted to kiss

him but they were across the table from each other so just smiled at him.

"I wanted something to decorate their home after they get married. When I saw the dolphins on it, I knew that

I had to get it for them." Perry told her. The waiter brought the check and they were off to work once again. Never

much time when they were on a case.

The office was busy as usual and Perry waited impatiently to hear from Paul. Della was still working on some

information on both of the women now, Tara and Brenda. As she looked through the many pages on Brenda's

facebook page. She found that she had attended San Francisco Bay College, so she thought that she would

look at some of the pages and see if there was anything. Della had been looking for hours when she finally

saw something that caught her eye. She found a picture of Brenda, but her name was not Brenda Gold, it was

under her maiden name of Gladstone. Della knew that she had heard the name Gladstone, so she googled

the name. There under the name Gladstone was the name Dennis Gladstone. He was a large shipping magnet

and was by most accounts a multi millionaire. Under his information was his daughter Brenda. There with

his wife and family was Brenda Gold.

Della got up and went right to Perry with the information. This was very intriguing, because something had

just come to his mind. Gladstone had been getting into real estate he thought. Perhaps he was a developer?

He needed to call Paul right away. Paul picked the phone up on the second ring and said that he was at home

grabbing something to eat. "Paul I need you to find out all of the information that you can about a man named

Dennis Gladstone. He is a shipping magnet from San Francisco and he is Brenda Gold's father.

"All right I have a good man that works in San Francisco I should be able to get back to you by tomorrow

morning on it. I will call him right away." and with that Paul hung up.

"Della we are very close to this murder mystery. It is now almost six o'clock and it is going to be a long night.

If you want we could go to my apartment or stay here?" he asked her.

Now this was a dilemma to Della, she wanted to work yes, they were way to close to solving the murder, but

sometimes it was not all work and play at the apartment. But she smiled and said "Let's go to your apartment

but first let's pick up something to eat. I know that I am going to be starved before I go home." she told

him with a smile.

"That is a dear young lady. I am getting tired of looking at these four walls and I need a change of scenery.

How about a dinner with a big steak before we go to work one more time?" he smiled and the two of them

walked out of the office one more time.

Dinner was delicious and Della enjoyed the steak. The last few days had been so busy that she and Perry

had been eating nothing but sandwiches and hamburgers. Just one time had she found the time to make

them a home made meal of meatloaf. The restaurant was one of their favorites and the owner took care

of them personally.

By the time Perry and Della got to his apartment it was after eight. Della was going to look a little deeper

into Dennis Gladstone and his daughter. She was sure that he could have been financing the blackmail,

if Brenda was the person who was funding the money, he was still waiting to make sure of that. The

money did come from Tara Kirk's bank account, but she might have been getting the money from her lover.

She wanted to check it out very carefully. This was a murder.

Perry and Della worked until after eleven and Perry had gotten up to have a smoke and relax his eyes.

Although he would smoke in the apartment when he was alone when Della was there he would step outside

through his sliding doors to think and smoke.

Della looked up at the man that she loved and smiled. Perry never put himself first, even in his own home,

he was the gentleman. She walked up to the doors and stepped outside into the warm dry air. The view

was fantastic and she took his arm and put her head on his shoulder. He smiled at her and looked out over

the city with her. They must have stood there for over ten minutes just looking and listening to the cars

when they heard the sound of the bell indicating that someone was on their way up to the penthouse.

Perry was surprised, because of the hour and looked at the security camera. It was Paul, and he knew that

Paul must have found out something important or he would have waited until the morning.

When Paul knocked on the door Perry opened it and invited him in. Paul was surprised to find Della there

at such a late hour, but saw her laptop and the pile of papers at Perry's desk and knew that they had been

very busy that evening. But so had he and he had wanted to tell Perry what he had learned.

"I heard from my man in San Francisco and he had some interesting things to say about Dennis Gladstone

About two years ago he started a real estate development firm and he and Thompson Industries are bitter

competitors. It seems that he knew of his daughter's love for Tara Kirk and had tried to influence her to

help him with a corporate takeover. But, Brenda would not go along and she went and told Tara what was

happening. When he found out that Brenda was here in LA and seeing Tara again, he came down and tried

to force Brenda to come back to San Francisco with him. Brenda still refused, but the word is on the street

that she told him that she was being blackmailed and that her father took care of the problem for good." and

with that Paul sat back and waited for Perry's take on it.

"Ok Paul tomorrow I want you to go back to Jason Fielding's neighborhood once again and show pictures of

Dennis Gladstone. I want to know if anyone has seen him or not sometime around the murder. He had

the motive and the opportunity."

"I will be glad to. Do you have anything for me?" Paul asked.

"All I have found is that Tara Kirk and Brenda have been lovers for a long time. Brenda was married for a very

short time at her parents insistence and during that time Tara married Dean Kirk. Her parents wanted her to

marry also. I think that it is sad situation all around. No one is happy and when Dean finds out he will not

be happy either. I think that Doug Fielding is nothing more to Dean Kirk than a spy for Jerry. The night

that his car had stayed at his house all night, it was because it had broken down and it was towed in the

morning. Dean had Tara pick him up and there. That was the reason why the care was there. No other

reasons." Della told Paul.

Perry had been quiet thinking about what he had heard. He was sure that the murderer was right in front

of him and another day had gone by. "I think that the answer will be with Mr. Gladstone, either him or

one of his workers must have done the murder. But, we need to prove that he was in the area. What

I am going to get is a court order for all the information on his credit cards. If he was here he used one

of them for sure. Perhaps he bought gas or something near the neighborhood of the Fielding home. We

need something concrete." he told them.

It was time for Della to go to bed now, it was nearly midnight and they had a long night ahead. Paul

saw the look on Perry's face. "Hey beautiful, did you bring your car with you? If not my car awaits

you. I need to clean out the front seat of all my papers so you can come down in about ten minutes,

ok?" and he smiled at them as he left.

Della turned to Perry and put her arms around his neck. They kissed a pleasant kiss good-night and after

holding each other in their arms Della head out to her car.

The next morning came early once again and Della arrived at the office to a large group of the secretaries

talking about something. Usually Della paid them no heed but this time they called her over to come and

see the engagement ring that Gerty had just gotten the night before. It was beautiful and Della knew that

she had been going out with the same man for over two years. He seemed like a nice young man and she

was happy to hear about it and see the ring. Thee would be a lot of chatter in the office for the next few

days she thought.

Perry came in at the regular time this morning and smiled at Della as she handed him his coffee. He was

sure that the case would be finished that day and finally he could take Della on the long weekend trip

that they had not been able to go on for the past three months. Summer would be over and they would

still be waiting to go down to San Diego. He had promised Della that as soon as things settled down they

would go and it looked as though they might have a couple of days soon.

That morning Paul had started out early in the Fielding neighborhood showing everyone that was at home

the picture of Dennis Gladstone. He had been working for about an hour when he met a man walking his

dog. He showed the man the picture and he said that yes he had seen the man. The picture looked to

be the same man he had seen the morning of the murder walking down the sidewalk. He had said hello

and the man had acknowledged him, but he was surprised not to have known him. He had lived in the

neighborhood since it was built and knew everyone.

Paul took his name and thanked him for the information. His name was Peter Lambert and he would be

more than willing to testify. He had known Jason for years and felt terrible about what had happened

to him right in his neighborhood in broad daylight. A shame a darn shame.

Paul continued to knock on doors and leave a note at a house if there was no one there. He would leave

a copy of the picture next to the door if he could. Finally just one block over he came across a lady

who had seen the man in the photo. The day of the murder, a man that resembled Dennis Gladstone

had gotten out of a car in the front of the house and walked through her yard. She remembered him

because she had yelled at him and he gave her the bird.

Paul had the proof and he now knew that Dennis Gladstone had definitely been in the neighborhood on the

day of the murder. He had two good witnesses placing him in the area that day.

When Della heard the knock on the door she opened it to find Paul. "Hi beautiful" he said with a big smile.

Paul took a seat in his favorite chair and smiled at both of his friends. "I hit pay dirt today. I have two

witnesses that are willing to testify that they saw Gladstone on the day of the murder."

"Good job" Perry told him and he clapped his hands together. Now I have to wait for the messenger to come

and deliver the Gladstone's credit card statements corporate and personal. The messenger should be coming

shortly. We will have our answers soon." Perry told them. "You might as well wait Paul because once the

messenger comes and I have the proof, I will move for dismissal of the charges against Jerry Diamond." Perry

told him and Paul decided to take a break and wait with his two friends.

The three friends had not had time for much visiting and the chat in the office was light and friendly. Paul Jr

was now on the little league team and had hit a home run at the last game. His wife was still the love of his

life and Paul was tired. He was glad to hear of the upcoming marriage of both Gertie and Lori and Mike. He

could hear the girls in the front room giggling from time to time.

They had been sitting there in the office about an hour when the messenger came with the package and bank

statements and credit card statements for the past six months. Perry handed a couple of sheets of the papers

to Della and Paul and the three of them went to work. When Della got to the gas card for the business she

found a purchase of gas at a station just down the street from Jason Fielding. The time stamp was ten am.

The coroner had estimated the time of death to be at around nine fifteen. That was more proof. She handed

the statement to Perry and Perry handed it to Paul. "We need to look for anything else too. The more proof

the merrier. I do have to bring this to Hamilton remember." he told his two friends and they continued to

look over the statements. One of the most important finds was a transaction that was made in person at

Mr. Gladstone's bank he had withdrawn ten thousand dollars and within a matter of less than one half an

hour ten thousand dollars was deposited into an account belonging to Tara Kirk. The time of the transaction

eleven forty-five the morning of the murder.

Perry stood up and told them that he was sure that they now had enough proof to bring it to Hamilton Burger.

He placed a call to his office and his secretary told him that Burger was at court. Perry decided that he

would head over to him and see if they could end the case right then and there. Perry started to leave the

office and then told his two friends "Come on if it was not for you Jerry could be on his way to jail he told

them with a smile." and the three friends headed over to the courthouse.

When the three friends arrived at the courthouse they found out that Hamilton Burger was in court, but was

due to be out within fifteen minutes. "Please ask him to come here to the private offices for lawyers and

their clients. We will be waiting for him."

As Hamilton Burger completed the trial, he was informed of Mr. Mason waiting to talk to him. He was intrigued

and showed the note to Lt Tragg who was there for the trial. The two men walked to the private room and

opened the door. They were not surprised to see the three friends sitting there. Things had not been going

good with the investigation on their end. It was starting to appear that there was a possibility that Jerry

Diamond did not murder his son in law Jason Fielding.

All of the people in the room shook hands and greeted each other cordially. Tragg and Burger took a seat.

"I have information that proves that the murderer of Jason Fielding was Dennis Gladstone. I have two

separate witnesses that place him in the neighborhood on the day of the murder, and right here is a credit

card bill for gas purchased just around the corner from the Fielding home.

In this statement I have a copy of a transaction for a transfer of funds of ten thousand dollars to an account

belonging to Tara Kirk from Dennis Gladstone. The time stamp is the day of the murder at eleven thirty

in the morning, not two hours after the murder. Here is a copy of the rent a car that he rented and a copy

of a ticket that was issued to that car on the morning of the murder on the street adjacent to the Fielding

home. The lady that recognized a photo of Dennis Gladstone said that he had cut through her yard that day

and she remembered it well because the man had given her the finger. This car would have been parked

almost directly across from her house." Perry told them.

Hamilton read the papers and agreed with Perry. "We need to appear before the judge and make a motion

for dismissal. Then we are going to ask the judge for an arrest warrant for Dennis Gladstone." Hamilton

told him.

It turned out that luck was with them and the judge was still there and he agreed to meet the two men in

his chambers. The judge concurred and dismissed all of the charges against Jerry Diamond and a warrant

was issued for the arrest of Dennis Gladstone. Jerry Diamond was a free man. Perry and Burger walked

out of the judge's chambers and shook hands. "That was a good job Mason and I am sure that Della and

Paul were of help to you, so good job to the two of you too." Burger told them and he and Tragg shook

their hands and they then parted company.

Della Perry and Paul shook hands and hugged, that is Della and left the courthouse as good friends should.

When they arrived back at the office, Gerti could not wait to thank Mr. Mason for the large bouquet of

flowers that he had given her as a congratulatory gift. She hugged and thanked him over and over. She

was so excited, but she had stayed late to thank Mr. Mason.

Paul wanted to go home and spend some time with his family, so once again Perry and Della found them-

selves alone. It was a Friday and the office could live without Perry the next morning. Right now Perry

and Della needed to go over to see Jerry Diamond and tell him the good news.

When Perry and Della arrived at the clock shop Jerry saw them and asked if they had good news. "We have

the best news for you. We found the murderer and you are now a free man. You and I will go to court and

officially get you dismissed but this paper is signed by a judge and you can do whatever you want." Perry

told him.

Kathy had been in the back and had come out front and thanked them. "Who is the murderer? Who murdered

my husband?"

It is a man named Dennis Gladstone. He is Brenda Gold's father. There is a warrant out for his arrest right

now. Perry got a ping on his phone and smiled. "He has been arrested. All is well."

"Thank you. How can we ever thank you?" Jerry asked them.

"Just have a good life and keep the clock shop." Perry told him with a smile.

With that Della and Perry walked out the door and headed back to Della's house. When they arrived Della

was greeted by five dozen red roses. She smiled and thanked Perry for them. She put her arms around

his neck and gave him a big and passionate kiss. There was no one there but this time they were going

to be careful. After just a few moments they let themselves go.

Perry asked her "Did you read the card, maybe the flowers aren't from me." he laughed.

Della opened the card and in the card was enclosed keys to a hotel room in San Diego. The writing said

"To Della the light and life of my life. Please say yes to a weekend in San Diego." She smiled and told

him "Yes. Definitely."

"I have my bags packed. How long will it take you?" he asked her with a grin.

"Just a few minutes, I have been packed for weeks. I will write Lori a note and let her know where I am

going and we will be off to San Diego in two shakes of a lambs tail." and with that she went to her room

and grabbed her half packed suitcase. She put in a couple of extra outfits and she was ready. As she

turned she saw Perry standing in the doorway. He smiled at her and grabbed her suitcase for her. "I am

sorry. That is the only room that I have never seen and I had to take a peak." and then the two of them

were off for their long awaited trip. They had been waiting to go to San Diego since the day that Mike

had been charged with murder, well over three months ago.

"