The Case of the Set Up Cop
Chapter 14
14.1
Time was almost up. Lieutenant Andy Anderson had just about exhausted all of the places he thought that Arthur Tragg might go. No one in the entire Los Angeles police department had seen or heard from him in several hours now. Andy had to head back to the court room. Perry Mason was not going to be happy.
He walked upstairs to the courthouse. At the top was a smiling Sergeant Holcomb. "Seems like you have lost the defendant, Lieutenant."
Anderson was in no mood to put up with Holcomb. He tried to step around him but the sergeant slid sideways and blocked his path. "Why don't you just admit that Tragg is guilty?"
"Why don't you just admit the only reason you want him to be guilty is that you hate Perry Mason. You would rather see an innocent man get the death penalty then see Mason win another case."
"You are wrong, Anderson. I want justice. Look at the evidence. Forget emotion and be objective. Tragg just lost it. You know how he has been acting since Gibson was killed. He became obsessed with Victor Luciana. He followed Devino around everywhere. Somehow he got it in his mind that Devino is guilty of Jack's murder. For Christ sake, Anderson, he threatened him right there in his office. You heard. He was kneeling over the dead body. The murder weapon is his own service revolver."
"I don't need a rundown on this case," Anderson snarled. "I know how bad it looks. But I know Arthur Tragg. He is not guilty of murder and we intend to prove it."
Holcomb smiled. "You seem to be forgetting that you work for the Los Angeles police department. Our job is not too clear suspects. Our job is to secure the evidence so that the prosecution can convict them. Hamilton Burger had the good sense to recuse himself. You should stay out of it."
"The hell I will," Anderson snarled at the junior officer. I will not help send an innocent man to his death."
Holcomb shook his head. "Have It your way, Lieutenant. It won't prevent the conviction. Tragg lost it and killed Devino. That is a fact. Even the shyster, Perry Mason is not going to get him off."
Andy pushed his way past Holcomb and headed into the courthouse. He hurried down the aisle and went directly to the awaiting defense attorney. Mason and Della Street both stood up as he approached them.
"Any luck?" Perry asked. The worry in his voice was obvious.
"Sorry, Perry. We have not been able to find him anywhere. I have the entire police force searching for him. No one saw him last night. He has not been seen since he left the court room yesterday."
Mason frowned. "This is not like Tragg. I am worried, Andy. The only reason he would not be here is that someone is preventing him from doing so."
"I agree. I think I will start with Victor Luciana. I am sure he would like to see Arthur sit the rest of the trial out in jail. It would prevent him from doing any investigating."
"Keep in touch," Mason told the LA police detective.
"I will." Anderson turned and left the court room as Judge Peter Borden entered it from his chambers.
The bailiff called out, "All rise!"
Mason and Street faced the bench. The look on the lawyer's face could not have been more grim.
"Be seated," Judge Borden ordered. He looked out over the court room. There was not an empty seat anywhere in the back of the court room was packed with reporters. He had expected there would be more than usual since the disappearance of Arthur Tragg would have spread like wildfire throughout the media.
He glanced at the defense table to see that Lieutenant Tragg still had not reported to court. "Mr. Mason?"
"I am sorry, Your Honor, we have been unable to locate the defendant. If the court please..."
Deputy Prosecutor, Gary Trent stood immediately. "Your Honor, the people ask that bail be revoked and an arrest warrant be issued for the defendant."
"Just a minute, Mr. Prosecutor," Mason said. "We don't even know what happened to Lieutenant Tragg. You are assuming that he deliberately did not show up in court today, when in fact, he may not be able."
"Your Honor, this is ridiculous. Mason is just stalling until Paul Drake can find Tragg and convince him not to run!" Trent said, angrily.
"I am doing no such thing. My concern is for my client's safety and well-being," Mason countered.
As Trent was about to argue further, Judge Borden banged the gavel to silence both attorneys.
"Mr. Mason, do you have any reasonable indication that your client is injured and cannot come to court because of it?"
"Only that my client has an impeccable record and tremendous respect for the law. I must contend that he is not here because he can't, not because he doesn't want to be."
Borden was silent for a moment and then said, "What are you proposing, Mr. Mason?"
"A twenty-four hour continuance to give me time to ascertain why my client was unable to make it to court today."
Trent shot forward towards the bench. "I object! What Mr. Mason is suggesting is that we give his client a twenty-four hour head start to disappear."
Borden again put his hand up to stop the lawyers from further arguing. "I am sorry, Mr. Mason, but unless you can provide this court with something substantial that supports the defendant was unable to attend today's court sessions, I am inclined to agree with the district attorney. Can you provide anything to support your claim?"
"No, Your Honor," Mason replied.
"In that case, bail is revoked and a warrant will be issued for the arrest of the defendant. He is to be picked up and remanded to the custody of the county sheriff. This trial will resume when the defendant is returned to this court room." He bang the gavel and returned to the judge's chambers.
Trent looked over at Mason with a smirk that could only represent triumphed at beating the attorney... at least on this one point. He packed up his briefcase and walked towards the aisle. Stopping briefly at the defense table, he said to Mason, "He never should have been granted bail in the first place. I knew there was high probability that he would run."
Expressionless, Perry Mason looked at Trent but said nothing. The Deputy District Attorney smiled before walking away.
Perry placed the remaining paperwork from the table into his briefcase. "I was hoping the judge would have given us at least until tomorrow morning."
"What are you going to do now?" Della asked him.
"Find Tragg," he replied.
"And just where are you going to start?"
"I haven't the faintest notion," Mason said.
14.2
Paul Drake had been a detective so long he knew when something smelled and Jamien Tyler's disappearance smelled to high heaven.
He had known Jamien for a number of years. They had been occasional drinking buddies, that is when he wasn't working for Perry or spending time with him and Della outside the job.
He worried that his friend might have met with foul play. He had been fighting Luciana's muscle men and resisting paying his so-called protection money. He just could not believe that he would up and take off. No, something had happened to his friend. He probably did not even know that his market had burned to the ground.
He had gotten Perry a break in the case by finding Bernie Piper. His testimony would help but the lawyer was correct in saying it would not clear Arthur Tragg of the murder of Angelo Devino.
Paul was not even sure that finding Jamien would do that. Perry had said that Tyler had not been very cooperative when he and Della had gone to see him. Paul could not understand that. He seemed hellbent on fighting Luciana. Why then would he be unwilling to cooperate with the lawyer? He should have realized that Mason and the work of the Drake detective agency might just be what he needed to finally stop Luciana. Their investigation might very well eventually prove that Luciana had Jack Gibson murdered because he had proof of his illegal activities. Paul did not see how Perry could clear Tragg without solving both the Gibson and Devino murders.
Someone did a hell of a job framing Tragg . The evidence seemed ironclad, as the veteran Lieutenant himself would say. So far they had not come up with anything to counter the evidence against him.
Drake entered the circle of markets. He went to the burned-out rubble that once was Jamien Tyler's market. Standing in the middle of it, he surveyed the complete destruction. Why had his market been burned especially, right now?
If Luciana was responsible, then why would he take the chance at this particular time with Tragg on trial and the defense's strategy on the Mob's involvement of Gibson's death? Why would Luciana bring attention to himself? Maybe he figured the prosecutor was so giddy about a conviction that he just would not give the activities of Luciana a second thought.
Paul's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone come up behind him. He pulled his gun and swerved around.
Lieutenant Andy Anderson put up his hands. "You are just a bit jumpy, aren't you, Paul?"
The private eye showed visible relief on his face. "This case is enough to make anyone jumpy." He shouldered his weapon and said, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Arthur, "Anderson responded.
Paul looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Then you should be looking at the Los Angeles courthouse. There is a trial going on or have you not heard?"
From the look on Anderson's face, Drake could tell something was very wrong. "Okay, out with it, Andy. What's the problem?"
"Tragg is missing. He did not show up to court this morning." He went on to tell him what had transpired.
"A warrant? You would think the judge could have given Perry a lousy twenty-four hours to find him. Any leads?"
"Nothing. No one knows what he was doing last night or where he went. I thought he might have returned here for clues as to why Tyler's market was set on fire."
"Then you don't think Luciana had it burned down?" Paul asked.
"Do you? Why now? If he did, the man is crazy besides being ruthless and a cold-blooded murderer."
"That is exactly what I have been thinking," Paul agreed.
"Have you found anything?" Andy asked him.
"Nothing. I just got here. I thought I would look around for anything that would give me a clue as to where Jamien went."
"Or where he is buried," Andy said. When he noticed the look on Drake's face, he softened his voice and said, "Sorry, Paul. I know the guy was a friend of yours. Well, I better get going. The longer it takes us to find Tragg, the worse it looks for him. I'll talk to you later."
Drake watched as Andy headed back to his car. Another car pulled up in front of the market and Jake Rutherford got out, nodded at Andy and walked toward Paul Drake. He noticed a small boy behind the detective had picked up a metal box and was running away from the scene.
Jake picked up his speed and ran towards Drake. When he reached him, Drake smiled and said, "What's the hurry? Have you got something for me?"
Drake's operative pointed in the direction of the boy. "Some kid just ran off with a metal box." He pointed behind him.
"We better find him. There might be something in it that could answer some questions for Perry."
The two men took off on a dead run in the direction the boy had gone. Since there was no sign of him, they split up to look for him so that they could cover more ground.
14.3
Perry Mason unlock the door to his apartment. He opened it, hobbled inside and keyed the code into the alarm to shut it off. Della Street pulled his arm around her shoulder in hope that he would take some weight off his injured knee. She helped him over to the couch where he sat down heavily.
They had spent the day trying to locate Arthur Tragg to no avail. They had been unable to find out where he had been the night before. None of his friends on the police force had seen or talk to him. Della had checked with Hamilton Burger, Tragg's closest friend. Burger was just as worried about his friend as they were. He had not seen or talked to him either.
Della went into the kitchen to fix them something to eat. She decided on something light. Reaching into the refrigerator, she pulled out some lunch meat, cheese and mayonnaise. As she was reaching for the breadbox, she heard Perry yell from the living room.
"I am not hungry Della!"
She walked over to the archway separating the kitchen and the living room. "Perry, you have to eat. You did not have any lunch. I know you are worried but you have to eat something."
"I don't want anything right now. Maybe later."
She returned to the living room and sat down beside him. She could see the worry etched into his face. Gently, she ran her finger down the side of his dimpled cheek. "You can't blame yourself. Arthur is not the type to sit around letting someone do all the investigating and finding the answers."
"All the more reason I should have kept a closer eye on him. Now who knows where he is or what has happened to him."
"One thing is for certain. He did not flee the courts," Della said. "Sometimes, I think the deputy prosecutors are so blinded by the possibility of beating you in court, they lose all objectivity."
"Unfortunately, I doubt that I will be able to convince the judge that he didn't flee. He is going to want concrete proof he could not make it to court because something or someone stopped him."
"Maybe Arthur will be able to provide it."
"If he is still alive," Mason mumbled loud enough for Della to hear him.
"You think that Luciana is responsible for his disappearance?" Della asked.
"Right now, Della, all I know is that Arthur Tragg did not flee. He simply wouldn't do it. He has to much respect for the law and I have no doubt he would stay in face a death penalty before fleeing the courts."
"I don't know what else we can do. Andy has the entire police force looking for him. We know they are efficient. Give them time to find him."
"I have no doubt they will find him. I do doubt, however, the shape he might be in."
The doorbell rang. "We better answer that, Della. It might be news on Tragg's whereabouts."
As Della got up to answer the door, Perry grabbed her wrist. "Make sure you take the gun with you. I know Andy's boys are watching the apartment building but Luciana's men could get past them."
Mason then changed his mind. "On second thought, I am going with you."
As he stumbled to his feet, Della said, "Perry, please stay off that knee. I am capable of answering the door. I will take the gun with me."
Her plea fell upon deaf ears. Mason was already on his feet and moving towards the door. He grabbed the gun from the stand next to the door. "Who is it?"
"Lieutenant Tragg."
Perry and Della exchanged a glance before Mason unlocked the door and jerked it open. Arthur Tragg walked into the apartment. "I thought I better come directly to you."
"Where in the devil have you been?" Mason asked him.
"Vincent Longo, he hit me over the head and held me in the basement of Luciana's office building. He caught me in Luciana's office."
"And just what do you think you were doing there?" Perry demanded.
"Trying to get a line I'm Luciana's involvement in Jack's murder. Perry, I found something. It's not much, but at least it is something," Tragg said.
"Gentlemen, we need to sit down. Perry needs to get off that knee." Della led the two men to the comfort of the living room. Tragg sat down in a chair across from Perry who sat down on the couch.
"Alright, start from the beginning. Right from the time you left Della and me in court."
Tragg told him about following Vincent Longo to Luciana's office building. He told him about entering his office and searching his desk; about being caught by Longo and being taken to the basement. "He wanted me to miss court. He figured that my bail would be revoked and a warrant would be issued for my arrest."
"Well, he figured right. That is exactly what has happened. I tried to convince the judge to give me twenty-four hours to locate you but he didn't go for it. Lieutenant, you have to turn yourself in."
"I know that. That is why I am here. But I wanted to talk to you before I did that. I found Jack's work schedule in Luciana's desk. He would have known exactly when Jack was working and what he was assigned to. As a result, he would have known exactly where to find him."
"You do realize that I cannot use that in court since it was obtained illegally?" Perry said sternly. "Dammit, Tragg. You know better!"
"Yes, I do, but you get away with it all the time. I just thought I would try it. Obviously, you have had much more practice than I have," the lieutenant said sarcastically.
Della could not help but smile. "The fact remains that he has found the first concrete piece of evidence that Luciana may have been involved in Jack Gibson's murder."
"For which we have no proof," Mason said.
"Alright, I was wrong. I am sorry, Perry."
"I don't think that I am going to be able to get the judge to reinstate your bail and allow you out of jail. You are probably going to have to spend the rest of the trial sitting in the cell."
"But Luciana stopped me from getting to court!"
"And how am I going to prove that? You know fully well he is going to have an alibi. Luciana is going to claim that he was with him all evening and I will not be able to prove otherwise."
Tragg rubbed the bump on his head. "I have a nice big lump on the back of my head to prove that he hit me."
"Come on, Tragg. You know fully well that doesn't prove a thing. You could've fallen down and hit your head. This is your word against Longo. Not to mention, Luciana. I will not be able to prove that Longo was not with him."
"I guess I really made a mess of things."
Mason's demeanor softened a bit. "Forget it. We just have to go from here. Paul is out looking for Jamien Tyler. We did have one development that you don't know about. Paul was able to fine Bernie Piper. He is going to testify for you. We have him under police protection. Andy took care of it."
"That is the first bit of good news I have heard since this whole mess started."
"It's not much, Arthur." Mason frowned.
"It's a start. It's more than we had this morning. Besides, I have confidence in you. You are the attorney that never loses."
Mason grunted. "And I don't want to start now." He reached for the phone and dialed police headquarters.
14.4
Della was asleep in Perry's arms. The lawyer was wide-awake. He had had his back against the wall before but this time was different. He knew that Arthur Tragg was not guilty of murder. Yet, all the evidence pointed at him.
Damn this knee! He needed to be out there helping Paul investigate. He had been hoping that Tragg would be of some help as well. Unfortunately, that would no longer be the case. How could he blame him. It was his life at stake and he was a detective after all. Perry wished that he had not gone into Luciana's office building. He should have known better. But then again, It wasn't anything that Perry hadn't chanced himself in the past.
Della stirred in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked into the blue ones of her attorney. "You didn't eat lunch or dinner and now you're not sleeping?"
Mason bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Can't sleep."
"Have you even tried?" She smiled up at him and reached out to caress his cheek.
"No, I guess not."
"Well then, if you are not going to sleep, I can think of better things to do than to just lie there awake."
Mason smiled and rolled over on top of her. Della reached up, placed both hands behind his neck and pulled him down to her. She knew that afterwords, he would sleep like a baby. He always did.
TBC...