The Case of the Angry Mountain
Chapter 04
4.1
"How's the chief's mood these days?" Perry asked Duffy.
"I couldn't say. I don't spend that much time around him, Mr. Mason. He doesn't seem any different to me. If you really want an answer to that question, Eve, Ed and Mark are the ones to ask. They spend more time with him than anyone," Duffy replied.
Perry made small talk with the officer until they pulled into the police garage. Perry glanced over to the parking spot marked 'Ironside'. It was empty. He turned his head toward Della. "Bob is not back yet."
"I wonder if he was able to talk the man out of the bank. If not, he could still be in there," Della said.
Duffy pulled the police cruiser into the spot next to Ironside's spot. He got out of the car, opened the trunk and pulled the baggage out. Perry joined him, picked up two of the suitcases and he and Della followed Duffy to the elevator that would take them to Ironside's floor.
When they arrived at the office, Della opened the door for Perry and Duffy. They carried the suitcases in and set them down to the other side of the ramp. Della headed directly to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. "Perry, I think I will start dinner so that Mark doesn't have to."
"I think that Bob plans on going out to dinner. You better wait until he gets back. But I could use a cup of coffee."
"Coming up in a minute," Della said.
The phone rang. Perry walked over to it and answered, "Chief Ironside's office."
"This is Commissioner Randall. Is that you, Perry?"
"Commissioner, it is good to hear from you. How have you been?"
"Fine, how about you and Della?" he asked.
"We're both fine. Do you have any idea when Bob is going to be back, Commissioner?" Perry asked.
"Actually, I thought he would have been back by now."
"He is alright, isn't he?" Perry asked with alarm.
"Oh yes, he is fine. It did not take long for him to talk Johnny Billings out of the bank. You have not heard from him?" Randall asked.
"No, I have not," Perry answered.
"Well, tell him to call my office, will you please?"
"I'll tell him."
"You and Bob are leaving in the morning?"
"Yes, we are. Why don't you join us for dinner tonight, Commissioner?"
"Thanks, Perry, but I have one of those crime prevention meetings tonight that Bob so slickly got out of. Maybe we can get together when you get back."
"Sounds good. I'll give you a call when I get back," Perry told him.
"And tell Bob to call me in the morning before he leaves if he does not call me tonight."
"Will do. Goodbye, Commissioner." Perry hung up the phone just as the door opened. Ironside wheeled in and came down the ramp. He was followed into the office by Ed, Eve, Mark and Victoria Ironside. "Hello, Robert," Della said with a smile.
"Della! You are more beautiful each time I see you," Ironside said as he took Della's hand and kissed it. He looked at his younger brother and grinned. "Time sure has not made you any prettier."
"It hasn't helped you much either." Perry grinned back. He put out his hand and he and Ironside shook hands. Perry and Della then greeted Ironside's staff.
The chief took Victoria Ironside by the hand and said, "There is at least one person in the room that would disagree with you. I would like you to meet my Aunt Victoria."
Perry kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "So you are the famous Victoria Ironside that solved the child kidnappings and black-marketing of those kids. I have heard so much about you."
"Not all good, I bet. Robert was not very happy about my part in that case."
"It is a pleasure to finally get to meet you," Della added.
"He is just jealous that you solved the case before he did," Perry said, flashing another smile.
"You are very charming, Mr. Mason, I wish some of that would rub off on Robert," Victoria said. Everyone laughed as Ironside frowned at his aunt.
"So what was going on at the bank?"
"The young man was just trying to get the chief's attention," Eve said.
"His girlfriend has gone missing. He wants the chief to help find her," Ed added.
"Why don't we go to dinner?" Ironside suggested. "I am starving."
"Robert, if it is alright with you, Perry and I are rather tired, can we stay in for dinner? Mark doesn't have to cook. We can order out," Della requested.
"Are you sure? I was going to spring for dinner."
Ed curled his lip. "When the chief springs for dinner it usually means hamburgers. Let's eat here."
Della laughed. "Mark, I would be happy to assist you in the kitchen. Anything we can prepare will certainly be better than ordering out."
"Della, you are a guest," Ironside said. "Mark can take care of dinner."
"I don't mind. Perry and I take turns doing the cooking," she responded.
As Mark and Della headed for the kitchen, everyone else sat down at the main table. Eve noticed that the chief's mood had changed completely. His brother really seemed to be able to lift his spirits.
"Tell me about Milt Stein," Perry said to his brother.
Victoria stood up. "I think I'll go help Mark and Della."
"Milt was a good cop who was only months away from retirement," Ironside began. "His daughter, Barbara, went to a party where she had been smoking marijuana. She got into a serious accident on the way home. The doctor at the hospital informed Milt that she was under the influence of the drug at the time of the accident.
"Milt became obsessed with finding the man who had provided the marijuana. He planted evidence in the man's apartment. Upon investigating, I discovered the truth. His daughter came to see me. She tried to talk me into looking the other way." Ironside sat thinking back to that time.
"But you could not do it," Perry said.
"No, I could not," Ironside confirmed.
"Then he was forced to resign," Perry surmised.
"Yes," Ironside told them. "He lost his pension as well."
"That must have been hard for you," Perry said quietly.
"It was but I had no choice," Ironside said.
"And Stein still keeps in touch with you?" Perry inquired.
"Milt was a professional. He understood. Never held it against me. Barbara, on the other hand, did and still does."
"How did he come to own the cabins that he is renting?" Perry asked.
"Milt had quite a bit of money put away. He was looking to purchase something that would allow him to make a living. I put him onto the cabins in the Sawtooth Mountains. A friend of mine was retiring and wanted to sell them."
"Well, quite frankly I am looking forward to this vacation," Perry grinned.
"So am I," Ironside said. "So am I."
The door burst opened and Dunlap entered the office with Otto. He let go of the dog as Otto let out a yelp, leaped over the railing that separated the two different levels of the chief's office/ residence and deposited his front quarters into Ironside's lap.
Della and Mark joined them as they all watched Ironside greet his dog. Neither Perry nor Della could resist smiling at the scene in front of them.
Dunlap set some papers down on the table. "Here are his health papers for flying. I left a crate in the hall to transport him. It is airline approved. "
Ironside continued to wrestle with the dog that was wagging his tail wildly. "Sit down and join us for dinner."
"Thanks, Chief, but I have to meet with some military personnel. They are interested in some dogs we have been training. But I will take a rain check."
"You are on," Ironside said. "Thanks for bringing Otto to me."
Dunlap slapped Ironside on the shoulder and said, "No problem, Chief. Enjoy your vacation." Dunlap nodded at everyone and left the office.
Ironside noticed that everybody was staring at him. "Well, we are not going to spend every waking minute together," Ironside said. "I thought Otto could keep me company while you two are busy."
Perry thought about what Della had arranged. He was not going to need the dog to keep him company. Della had seen to that.
Della and Eve looked at each other. "That's a good idea, Chief," said Eve. She and Della shared a knowing smile.
"Well then, what about dinner?" Ironside barked.
"Come on, Mark," said Della. "We better feed him before he gets grumpy."
"It's too late for that," Victoria called out from the kitchen.
Della laughed and headed for the kitchen as Mark followed. It was time to put dinner on the table.
4.2
Katherine DeNureve put another log in the fire. She wrapped a small blanket around her. She thought about Robert Ironside. He would be here tomorrow. She was excited and apprehensive at the same time. She hoped that Della Street and Eve Whitfield were right. She certainly did not want to upset Robert.
She thought this was an ideal place to spend some time with him. The Sawtooth Mountains were beautiful this time of year. In fact they were beautiful anytime of the year. It was a perfect time of the year to spend time with Robert... if he decided to spend time with her.
Katherine felt the heat of the fire warm her face and her body. She could get used to this. She had always loved the wilderness.
There was a noise outside the door of her cabin...or had she imagined it? No, there it was again. Katherine walked toward the door. Someone or something was outside her door. She put her ear to the door. Yes, there was something out there.
Katherine walked back toward the bedroom. There was a phone on the bedside table. She thought about calling the main cabin but she feared they might laugh at her discomfort of what was probably a raccoon or a squirrel. She was being silly. It was the wilderness after all. She had visited areas like this before.
Katherine walked back into the main room of the cabin. There was the noise again on the other side of the door. Only this time it was louder. Something slammed into the door. Katherine jumped back from the door. Something was out there.
Something slammed against the door again. Katherine jumped back again. She headed back into the bedroom. She picked up the phone. Katherine dialed the main cabin and put the phone to her ear. Nothing. The phone returned no sound at all. Using her finger, she tapped the phone cradle several times and checked for a dial tone. There was nothing.
Katherine was beginning to feel uneasy. She went back to the door and checked to make sure the door was locked. It was. The noise on the other side of the door had stopped. Katherine again put her ear to the door. She could not hear anything. She listened for a moment longer. Katherine still could not hear anything. She would have to go to the main cabin and let them know her phone was out. She might be on vacation but she still had to keep in touch with the vineyards.
Katherine unlocked the door. Turning the knob, she opened the door. Standing on the porch was the largest wolf she had ever seen. With teeth bared and snarling, the wolf lowered its head and took a step forward.
As scared as she was, Katherine knew she had to keep her wits. She slowly moved backwards. If she could backup to the door and reach the knob, she might be able to close the door.
Katherine shuffled her feet backwards. Just as she was about to reach for the door, the wolf pounced toward her.
Suddenly shots were fired from behind the wolf. It looked at Katherine and then darted away. Milt Stein came running toward the cabin. When he arrived, he asked her, "Are you alright?"
Relief flooded through her. "Yes, I am alright. Thank you. I shudder to think what would happen if you had not come along. You did not tell me there was a wolf problem here."
"There isn't. We know there are wolves up here but you never see them. They never come into this area. They stay away from people."
Katherine put her hand to her mouth when she noticed the door. It was covered with blood. There were the remains of an animal hanging on a nail on the door. Milt went over to the door. "Someone had to have hung that animal on your door. The wolf must have smelled it."
"Who would do that?" Katherine asked.
"I don't know." He looked at Katherine. Milt thought she was pretty calm for what she had just gone through. "The wolf would have had to be jumping against that door trying to reach the animal."
"Yes, I believe it was," Katherine confirmed. "It looked like a wolf to me."
"Why did you not just call the front desk?" Milt asked her.
"I tried. The phone was dead," she answered.
Milt walked into the bedroom. Katherine followed him in. He went to the bedside table and picked up the phone. The dial tone sounded immediately. "There is nothing wrong with the phone," he said as he held it out to her.
Katherine took it from him. She listened. It had a dial tone just as he said. "Mr. Stein, I swear, that phone was not working. It was dead, I tell you."
"First of all, my name is Milt and secondly, I believe you. Someone had to put that animal on that door. They must not have wanted you to call for help. Do you know of anyone that would want harm you?"
"Heavens, no! I cannot think of a soul." Katherine did not like where this was going.
"Do you carry a cell phone?"
"Yes, of course but it is not getting a signal up here."
"Most can't. Just thought I would check."
"Mr. Stein, you must believe me, I..."
"Milt," he corrected.
"Milt, that phone was not working," Katherine told him.
"I believe you. I am worried about why and why it is working now," he told her.
"What do you think it means?" she asked.
"I don't know but I want you to promise me you will not venture outside alone until Bob and Perry Mason get here. Once they get here, whoever did it will not bother you with those two around you. I am going to do some checking to see what I can find out."
"Don't you think you should call the police or the sheriff, that is?" Katherine asked.
He smiled. "Like I told you I am an ex- cop. I will check and see if there is a reason to call the police. I will set up an intercom so that if the phone goes out again you will still be able to reach me." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry. I won't let any harm come to you. Now let me get this mess cleaned up."
Barbara walked into the cabin. "What in the heavens happened here?"
"Barbara, get a pail of water and some rags. Bring them here so I can clean up the mess. I'll need a garbage bag as well."
Barbara did as her father asked. She left the cabin and headed back to the main office.
Milt looked around. He did not like this. It had been deliberate. That he was sure of.
4.3
Dylan Demaris watched the scene on the porch from a distance. He was sure that the wolf would have shaken up the woman in that cabin. If Stein would not sell his property, then Dylan would make sure he had no customers.
He had lived in the Sawtooth Mountains for years. He knew this land better than anyone. He had no trouble finding the wolf even though most people rarely saw wolves in this area. There was an abundance of them but they kept themselves hidden from humans. They could not, however, keep themselves hidden from Dylan. He knew how to find them. He used a tranquilizer dart to sedate the wolf. He had been careful not to allow anyone to see him place the wounded animal on the door. He then placed the wolf on the porch as it was waking from its slumber. The wolf did the rest.
Demaris had not given it a second thought that the woman might have been harmed or even killed. If there had to be casualties to reach his goal, then so be it. He just considered it unfortunate that these people had chosen this area to vacation. Demaris turned and quietly left the scene. He would set up his next event for later tonight.
4.4
Milt climbed the telephone pole. When he had bought the cabins, they did not have telephones. Milt had to argue with the local telephone company to have them installed. There was no way he felt he could run a business without telephones. The telephone company finally relented and put in all the proper equipment. It had cost him a lot of money to have it done but it was worth it. He could not take the chance of being sued if somebody got hurt and he was unable to contact medical authorities in time.
When he arrived at the top of the pole, he opened the box. There he saw a wire had been spliced into. Milt knew that somebody had tampered with the wires thereby cutting off the use of Katherine's phone temporarily. What was he going to do about it? Should he call the local authorities? Or should he just wait until Bob Ironside arrived? He decided to wait for the San Francisco detective. He knew that Bob was bringing his brother, the famed lawyer, Perry Mason. There were not two more brilliant minds anywhere in the country. Between the two of them and himself, they would get to the bottom of it. In the meantime he would keep an eye on Katherine to be sure no harm became of her.
Milt climbed down from the pole. He worried about his daughter. If whoever who was doing this was actually after him, then his daughter was in danger as well. Controlling his strong-willed daughter would not be easy. But what bothered him most was who could be doing this and why?
He would have to let this go for now. He had work to do. Milt headed back in the direction of the cabins.
4.5
The sun began to shine in the bedroom that Perry and Della had slept in. Della untangled herself from Perry's arms. She wanted to get into the bathroom before anyone awoke. It would allow both Perry and Robert ample time to get ready. She looked back upon last night with fondness. Robert had not been in the mood that his staff had described to both her and Perry. Della smiled when she thought about the effect that Perry had on Robert. Eve had stated that it was a complete transformation.
She was so looking forward to this vacation. Both she and Perry needed it desperately. And there was no question that Robert needed to get away as well. She only hoped that Perry would not spend all of his time trying to find the girl. She knew he had promised Guy Smith that he would look for her and Perry would keep this promise. She hoped that he and Robert would not become immersed in another case.
When arriving at the bathroom door, she found it closed. Della knocked on the door. It opened and Robert Ironside wheeled out of the bathroom. "I decided to get into the bathroom first this morning. I seem to recall that Perry takes forever." Ironside smiled at Della.
"I thought I would do the same. I should have known I would never be able to get up before you. You certainly are an early riser."
Ironside grunted. "Much to Mark's dismay."
Della laughed as she entered the bathroom. "Perry should be up shortly."
"I better go roll Mark out of bed. I have no intentions of eating any airline food. Even Mark's cooking is better than that." Ironside wheeled away toward his aide's room.
Perry awoke to the chirping birds outside the window. He reached for Della. She was gone. It amazed him how she was able to slip out of his arms without waking him. He got up and put on a robe. He slipped on a pair of slippers and headed into the main room of Ironside's office/residence.
His brother was sitting at the table reading the newspaper when Perry joined him. "You're already dressed?"
"I figured I'd better get up and shower before you did. Otherwise we would never get out of here," his brother said gruffly.
"I don't take any more time in the bathroom than you do," Perry argued.
That drew a grunt out of Ironside. "Help yourself to some coffee. Don't expect me to wait on you," growled Ironside.
Perry smiled. "You don't wait on your guests?"
"You're not a guest. You are family."
Mark had been standing behind them listening. "Are you two at it again? I'll get you a cup of coffee, Perry."
Perry grinned and winked at Mark.
"Mark, you better get Otto outside."
"I will, Chief. Just as soon as I get Perry's coffee." Mark went into the kitchen. He poured a cup of coffee and brought it to the table. After setting it down in front of Perry, he went and got Otto. He and the German Shepherd disappeared out the door.
Perry picked up the newspaper that Ironside had discarded. There on the front page was a picture of Ironside bringing Johnny Billings out of the bank.
"Looks like you got your picture on the front page again. Exactly who is this kid looking for?"
"His girlfriend."
"I know that," said Mason. "Who is she?"
"Her name is Gail Smith," Ironside answered.
Perry looked like he had just been hit by a bolt of lightning. Ironside noticed the look on his face and said, "What's wrong, Perry?"
"Tell me, is this Gail Smith a student at Boise State University?" Perry asked.
Ironside looked stunned. "How did you know that?"
"Because her father showed up in my office yesterday insisting that I find her."
"It can't be a coincidence," Ironside said. "Did you get a picture of her?"
Mason reached for his briefcase and pulled out a picture. Ironside wheeled over to his desk and grabbed a file. He put it beside his right leg and wheeled back to the table. Reaching into the file he too pulled out a picture. He and Mason set them side by side. There was no doubt both pictures were of the same woman.
"I think we better compare notes," Perry suggested.
"I think you are right," Ironside responded. He reached into his file and pulled out notes that he had taken after talking to Johnny Billings.
"Gail's father, a man by the name of Guy Smith, said she had a cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains. Did Billings mention it?" Perry asked his brother.
Ironside rifled through his paperwork. "Here it is. Yes. It is near Redfish Lake. That is where Milt's cabins are located."
"Did Billings ever mention being at the cabin?" Perry asked.
"In fact, he did. He said he had been there many times. Something bothers me though. He said the last time he was there, it was no longer owned by Gail."
Perry frowned. "She sold it, then."
"Not according to Johnny. He said she would never sell. She loved the place and went there as often as her schedule would allow."
"Is this kid sure it has been sold?"
Ironside looked through more of his papers. "He said the last time he was up there a man by the name of Dylan Demaris was there. He told Jimmy that she had sold the place to him. He threw him off the property."
"Did he provide Billings any proof that he owned the property?" Perry asked.
"No. Johnny said it was a little difficult demanding it since Demaris was holding a rifle on him. It was that discovery that brought Johnny to me."
Both men were silent for a moment when Ironside said, "Does Della know about this?"
"Of course. Della knows as much about my practice as I do," Perry reasoned.
"Probably more," Ironside grunted.
Mason smiled. "I won't argue with that." He looked down at the two cases that had just become one. "We are supposed to be going on a vacation."
"Yes, we are," Ironside said. "And we will...after..."
"We find out what is going on," Perry finished for him. "Shall I call in Paul or do you want to bring Ed and Eve with us?"
"Neither, for now. Milt Stein was an outstanding police detective. If I ask him, he will help us."
"Okay, Bob. What do you say we head for the Sawtooth Mountains?"
"For a little R and R," Ironside said.
"Bob, I have a feeling we won't be getting much of that," Perry said.
"So what's new?" Ironside asked.