Thanks to Molly for being my beta and adviser! You rock, girl!

TCOT Seductive Defendant

Chapter 10 - Los Angeles, 1990

Perry and Ken left the car and went to Eileen Turner's house. After her father's death she had stayed in the family mansion. She had never married and wasn't exactly known for her social life. Aside from some small charity organizations, she wasn't involved in anything citizens from Los Angeles would call interesting.

Once, the house had been a lively place where the Grants had hosted numerous parties, but that had changed after Sebastian Turner, Edna and Eileen's father, had become ill. Eileen had been young when first her sister and later her father had passed away and she hadn't seemed to recover from her losses and had become a recluse.

"The house looks odd," Ken remarked, after he had rung the doorbell.

"It's a house," Perry said smilingly.

"I mean the place looks scary. Like stuck in another time."

Perry looked up the flawless face of the old house and the tidy garden and he remembered the sight as the same of 40 years ago. He had been in the house just once, to question Sebastian and Eileen and both hadn't been eager to talk to him. As with many other interviews in this case it had been a dead end.

"Maybe it is stuck in its own world," Perry replied lowly.

A maid, a grey-haired woman, opened the door.

"Yes, please?"

"My name is Mason. This is Mr. Malansky. I think Miss Turner is expecting us. I called her this morning."

"Yes, Sir. Come in, please."

The maid stepped back, allowing them to enter the house. She offered to take their coats, but both men declined. The house was cold and the hallway dark. They knew they wouldn't stay longer than necessary as they followed the maid, while she led them down the hallway. Music reached their ears and became louder when they approached the door at the end of the corridor. A woman's high soprano echoed through the house and her sad tirade about the cruelty of death added its part to the dark atmosphere of the mansion.

The maid knocked and a hushed "Yes!" was the answer. She opened the door that led into a half-darkened room. The curtains were closed and a few candles on the mantlepiece of the fireplace illuminated the scene. A fire had heated the room to an extent that made it hard to breath. Everything was tidy and exquisitely furnished, the walls were covered with bookshelves and framed pictures. Perry heard how Ken held his breath, obviously unwilling to enter. Eileen Turner sat in an armchair, her eyes fixed on the dancing flames. The music in the background was reaching a painful crescendo.

"Miss Turner." Perry passed Ken and strode towards her.

"Mr. Mason," Eileen greeted him. "How nice to see you again." Her voice sounded friendly, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I think I saw you in court yesterday."

"That's true."

"I can imagine you aren't happy about the latest developments," she said, somehow careless.

"I'm curious, Miss Turner."

"Who is the young man you brought with you?" Eileen asked, as she eyed Ken.

"Mr. Malansky is my partner. We want to talk to you about the trial."

"Why don't you come in young man? Have a seat. You look pale."

Ken did as ordered and entered the living room. He sank on the couch, his eyes vividly roaming his environment, and sighed in relief when the music finally faded and the room became silent. He hated opera, especially because he couldn't understand a word of what they were singing.

"You enjoy opera?" Perry asked curiously.

"Yes, opera is the only civilized way music people invented and Puccini was a master of his profession," Eileen answered. "So what is it you want?"

"As I said, I'm curious. Why are you now,after all these years, interested in suing your brother-in-law?"

"But isn't that obvious?"

"What do you mean?"

"The diary... It took the investigators about 10 years to find this piece of evidence. You can't imagine how long it took to find and talk to all the people who knew my sister and her husband back then. People move, they die, or they simply can't remember a thing, but I've always known that sooner or later we would find evidence to prove what he did to my sister."

"You really believe he killed her?" Perry asked.

Eileen nodded, "Absolutely. First he married her for her money, then he cheated on her with some cheap whore, and then he killed her. And you made it possible for him to get away with it." The soft tone of her voice couldn't compensate for the harsh words. Ken watched Perry as he tensed, but did his best to stay in control of himself.

"I just proved there was doubt about his guilt. It was the court's decision to set him free."

"Maybe, but this time there won't be a doubt about his guilt. I'm going to find the woman Mrs. Carpenter described in her diary."

"If she's still alive," Perry remarked coolly.

"If she's alive," Eileen admitted.

"How can you be so sure she's involved in this. How can you even be sure Mrs. Carpenter wrote the truth into her diary?"

Eileen smiled, "The diary is no fake. After his wife had died Mr. Carpenter moved to Florida. Mr. Carpenter found it after my investigator questioned him. The man hardly remembered the case and did his best to regain his memory. He searched for his late wife's diaries among her possessions, hoping she had mentioned Edna's murder. She did."

"I see, but still, why are you so sure the woman Mrs. Carpenter saw had been Mr. Grant's mistress all along?"

Eileen's smiled widened. She rose and went to the mantelpiece. Next to a chandelier stood a small wooden box which she opened.

"It's hardly substantial evidence, but I found this on the floor when I met Thomas several weeks after the trial had ended." She produced an earring from the box and showed it to Perry. It was a simple pearl, framed with gold. Perry swallowed, thinking he knew the earring.

"You went to see him in his apartment?"

Eileen shrugged, "Yes. I noticed it while talking to him and picked it up when he turned his back on me. So he was seeing a woman and I doubt he had only been seeing her after the trial." Eileen smiled deviously, her eyes glittering. "Picture it, Mr. Mason... Mrs. Carpenter saw him with the woman shortly after the trial had ended... he must have been really quick to meet a woman after he had left jail... Thomas is attractive, but how many women throw themselves at someone who has been released because of lack of evidence and go with him to the house where his wife was killed? I assume it was someone either stupid, because she wasn't afraid of a potential killer, or very much in love... but who falls so quickly? So I think he knew her before..."

"But you have no further proof for your suspect?" Perry asked, his eyes focused on the earring.

Eileen shook her head, "No."


Ten minutes later, Perry and Ken sat again in the car. Perry was lost in his thoughts while Ken watched him worriedly.

"And now?" Ken asked.

"No idea... maybe we should talk to this investigator," Perry mused.

"Why is it so important, anyway?" Ken asked. "You just did your job. Didn't you tell me you weren't sure yourself if Grant was innocent or not? Maybe he's getting what he deserves."

"Maybe you're right, but you always have to consider that a killer is never on his own. There are always people around him who get hurt in the process of revealing."

"Did that ever stop you when you wanted to know the truth?" Ken asked, his voice filled with doubt.


The telephone rang and Eileen placed the earring carefully in the box and closed it again. She took the call, ready for the message the person on the other end of the line had to provide. A smile crossed her face, as she took a pencil and made some notes. She ended the call without thanking the caller.


"You're bringing me into an impossible situation!" Della hissed. Her anger rose by the second, because she had no idea what to do now. "I have no intention of talking to you."

"You're already talking to me," he reminded her calmly. "Please, Della, we need to talk. You know it."

She thought for a short moment and then she made a decision, "Tell your driver to take you away from here. Let it look as if you just went to the wrong house. You can approach the house from the backyard, there's a small gate in the fence. If we're lucky, nobody will see you entering from there."

He raised his hands in defense, "Alright. Your place, not mine."

She shut the door, still hoping he wouldn't come back. Of course, she was wrong. He returned about 10 minutes later, knocking at the french door that lead to her small garden.

"I sneaked from one tree to the next, but I forgot to use my invisibly cloak. Besides, I feel like as if I'm having an affair with a married woman!"

"This isn't funny!" she said angrily.

He entered her house and looked around. "Your place is lovely," he remarked, now much more serious.

"Why didn't you tell me on the phone that, Eileen Turner found a diary they used against you in court?" Della asked without wasting her time on pleasantries.

"I was sure Mason would tell you everything about it. I'm sure he keeps you informed about every single detail of my case."

"I think you wanted to make sure I would agree to see you and you kept the information under the rug, because you feared I would back off if I knew they were searching for me." She had crossed her arms over her chest, awaiting his answer.

"Yes, that's the other side of the coin," he admitted. "Did he question you about the evening in the house?"

"Of course he did. It makes me wonder if your neighbor was the only person who ever saw us together and how many witnesses they could dig up."

"I don't know... but I certainly do hope Millie Carpenter was the only one. But don't worry, I hired someone to check this out."

"Did it ever occur to you, you could be under surveillance now as well right now?"

"Yes, that's why I hired someone else to make sure, no one is following me," he gave her a reassuring smile. "Believe me, whatever Eileen is trying to prove won't work. I won't let her destroy you or me."

She believed him, but she wasn't convinced. She had been working for a lawyer long enough to know that things went never as smooth as they should.

"You still could have told me this on the phone, Tom. There was no need for you to show up here."

For a second he looked down to his shoes, contemplating his answer. When he looked up again, the color of his eyes had changed. They glittered with darkness and melancholy.

"I know, but I wanted to see you... the meeting on the cruise ship got me thinking... or let's say the way you ran away from me."

"I did not run away!" she insisted. "Perry sent me a message..."

"I know you had a new case," Thomas interrupted her. "I read about it in the newspapers, but you can't tell me Mason's call was not convenient. You ran away from me. Why? And what would have been your excuse, if Mason hadn't asked for your assistance?"

She didn't answer. Thomas had hit a nerve. She had been searching for the answer to this question herself for weeks now and hadn't found any. His eyes stared demandingly at her, but she preferred to change the subject. Trying to focus on the facts of the case, instead of her emotions, she said: "Well, at least it's pretty clear you are not here to ask me to testify for you. But probably no one would believe me anyway."

"Probably not... not that we did anything forbidden, but there's nothing the public loves more than a scandal, no mater how untrue the 'facts' are. But you're right, that's not why I'm here. My visit is absolutely private."

"That's obvious."

"Please, Della, I'm aware of your relationship with Mason – he did his best to mark his territory when he came to see me yesterday. The only thing we agreed on was that neither of us wants you to get involved in this."

Actually, Perry hadn't mentioned this part of his conversation with Thomas, but she wasn't surprised by their deal. She shrugged, a bit annoyed, because they were talking in circles.

"He thinks he has to protect me and my reputation."

"And I wonder why he isn't protecting his wife's reputation," Thomas scoffed.

"Don't go there!" she warned him sternly. "That's none of your business."

"You left me for him. I think I deserve to know why he didn't bother to make it legal by now. 40 years is a long time for courtship."

Realizing he wouldn't give up before she had answered his question, she gave in, "Alright. It was my decision not to marry. Actually, I didn't want to become anyone's wife."

"Afraid to lose your independence or afraid to lose the man to another secretary who shared his obsession with crime?"

"You don't know us," she said after a long moment of tormenting silence.

"But maybe I know enough to tell you I wanted something better for you. I've missed you, Della. I wished you would have given us a chance."

She had no idea what to reply. First of all, she wasn't accustomed to a situation like this. After she had come to the conclusion that Perry Mason was the one man in her life, she had stopped dating other men. It was out of the question for her to look for someone else and she had even declined invitations for dinner when she had met someone she really liked.

Actually, Thomas Grant had been the only man she had slept with after she had met Perry and that was the problem. Grant was different from other men and, though she wasn't in love with him, she still felt connected to him.

"We had our chance and we messed it up. Leave it alone, Tom."

He took a step forward and toward her. The scent of his after shave reached her nose and she withdrew, uncomfortable with the way his visit had developed.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, when he noticed her avoiding him.

"No, I just don't like what is happening here. I wish you hadn't come here and I wish you wouldn't have brought me into this position."

He watched her as she stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, as if she needed to protect herself from him or whatever lay in the air that made her nervous. Taking forward, he closed the distance between them and placed himself right in front of her. He smiled gently at her and said: "I guess I deserve this... treatment."

"You're quite audacious."

"When you want something you have to go and get it, but of course, that's no justification for being brazen."

"True."

Their eyes met for a while and then she startled when she felt him touching her cheek. "Don't," she mumbled and pulled back, avoiding his hand. He removed his hand and sighed, "Look, there's just one thing left I wanted to ask of you. Grant my wish and I'll leave and never come back."

"What could that be?" she asked suspiciously.

"You never kissed me goodbye."

Her jaw dropped. "You can't be serious," she said, breathlessly.

"I am serious. You should know I hardly joke about something as serious as a kiss."

He smiled at her, caressed her cheek with his thumb, while his unoccupied arms closed around her waist. Catching her completely off guard, he pressed her body against his and kissed her.

~tbc~~

And now I'm off - hiding in a place where you won't find me. LOL But on the other hand you know nothing and no one can separate D & P!