CHAPTER ONE
I'LL BE THERE
This is a short story to honour the 104th birthday of the wonderful Raymond Burr.
CHAPTER ONE: The Accident
The Present:
Paul Drake hurried into the courtroom of Superior Court at the Los Angeles Courthouse. Perry Mason was huddled with Hamilton Burger and Judge Rhodes about lowering the charges on his client. There was no way he could interrupt. So, he paced back and forth.
Finally, the bailiff came over and asked what was wrong.
"Mr. Mason's wife has been hurt and he needs to get to the hospital."
"Wait a minute I'll see where they are in negotiations."
He was only gone a couple minutes and came out of the judge's chambers and said, "They are wrapping it up right now. I told Mr. Mason you were here."
Two Weeks Ago:
The Flu was running rampant in the Mason Law Offices. Della had been trying to cover for all the staff that was out sick. Of course, they were exceptionally busy.
Perry who normally caught colds easily seemed immune to everything this flu season. Even when she was feeling bad Della went on working until the day she could not get out of bed.
She told Perry, "my head hurts so badly my eyes hurt."
A week later there was no way anyone was going to tell her about the chaos at the office or she would crawl on her hands and knees to come back and straighten things out. Perry said she was driving him crazy to get back to work.
The Present:
Perry Mason and the District Attorney, Hamilton Burger came out the judge's chambers and shook hands. As he turned to leave, he was surprised to see Paul standing at the back of the courtroom signalling to him frantically.
"Paul, what is going on?"
Taking a deep breath, the detective said, "I want you to remain calm. It's about Della. She has had an accident."
He had to run to catch up with the lawyer as he raced down the stairs not waiting for an elevator.
"Where is she?" he threw over his shoulder."
"They took her to Mount Sinai,"
Drake almost didn't get into the taxi that the lawyer had sprinted toward.
"What happened?"
"She fell down the back deck steps."
"How bad is it?"
"Andrea said she cut her head and may have broken her arm."
Paul barely got one answer out before Perry asked the next one. "what time did it happen?"
"No one knows for sure. Andrea was supposed to meet Della for lunch, and she wanted to change the time. She called the office about 10:30 and Gertie said that she hadn't come in yet this morning. She said she tried calling the house and there was no answer and she figured maybe she was caught in traffic. Andrea tried calling again and there was still no answer at the house. She waited half an hour and called back to the office and Della still hadn't shown up. Andrea decided to drive out there and that's how she found her laying on the steps in the back."
"Did she tell Andrea what happened to her?"
His best friend put his hand on Mason's arm and said, "take it easy now Perry. When Andrea got there, she was unconscious and she still was not awake when the ambulance came and took her away. Andrea is at the hospital now waiting for us."
"Damn it Paul why didn't you break in that session in the court room and tell me what was going on? Della is worth more than any legal wrangling that we might have been doing. "
"I tried they wouldn't let me even when I told him it was an emergency."
Perry was furious. "I'm going to talk to the judge and Burger about this that when something like this happens with a family member we need to be notified immediately no matter what's going on. "
Finally settling back in the taxi seat a little Drake said, "well I wish you good luck with that."
"Well you know that Burger may not be my best friend but every one of them is crazy about Della. Driver can't you go any faster I'll pay for the speeding tickets just get me to the hospital."
"You sound like a nervous prospective father to me," the taxi driver said over his shoulder. Just take it easy buddy I'll will get you there in time."
The lawyer continued to grumble under his breath until they made it to the emergency room entrance of Mount Sinai Hospital. He sprinted out of the car into the waiting room leaving his briefcase behind. Paul Drake picked it up and followed him in knowing that there would be a little wait before he could get into see Della. He wasn't going to like that, and he was going to let them know it.
He felt sorry for the receptionist at the desk.
"Mr. Mason I am checking on Miss Street's condition sit down and I'll see if they will let you in since you are not a relative."
Paul thought the attorney would blow a gasket as he proclaimed, "She is my wife!"
The poor girl at the desk looked like she wanted to faint. "I'll check with the nurse, ugh…Mr. Mason."
Perry paced back and forth until a woman came through the door to the emergency room.
"Mr. Mason, I am Dr. Leslie Simpson. I am taking care of your wife."
"How is she?
"Come sit here for a moment. She is in x-ray right now. There is damage to her left arm and cuts and abrasions. It is not life threatening but she will have a while to recover. Her friend is with her, but you can go back if you like."
Turning to Paul he asked if he wanted to come along. It was probably a foolish question since the detective always treated Della like his sister. Having recently married her best friend they were even more like family.
The orderlies were just bringing Della back to her cubicle as the two men arrived there. She was still not awake.
Andrea hurried over to talk to them. "She is in and out of consciousness. The doctor thinks she has a concussion too."
"What happened?"
"I don't know Perry she isn't making a lot of sense. When I couldn't get hold of her, I headed to the house. The door was open, and I went in and she wasn't in the house. I thought maybe she was on the deck and found her on the steps."
"Did she talk to you at all?" he wanted to know.
"Not really. I called an ambulance and went and sat with her. She moaned a few times and mumbled but it was unintelligible. Since we got to the hospital, she was awake enough to know I was here. She did call your name."
Mason looked around as in a fog and finally said, "there is no place to pace here. We were supposed to be starting a vacation up at Carmel today after I got through at court. She was looking forward to your lunch and doing a little shopping. I should have had her with me."
Paul told him, "you can't beat yourself up Perry. Della is tough, she will be okay."
The lawyer looked at his friend as if he was surprised to see him. She had to be alright she meant everything to him. Before anything else could be said the two orderlies came out and told them she was settled in the bed and they could see her.
He stood there swallowing hard. Her chestnut hair had been shaved at the side to suture the cut on her hairline. Her skin was deathly pale which accentuated the swollen black eye and bruises on her nose and cheek. Her left arm was covered in bandages, and her hand was swollen to twice its size."
Andrea came and took his arm. "I know it looks bad, but the doctor assured me that she should be just fine."
He squeezed her arm and told her, "thanks for taking such good care of her."
She smiled, "she would do the same for me. Over the years we've been in plenty of scrapes, and they've all come out fine. Oh, by the way I have her rings her hands were so swollen they had to cut them off. She loved those rings and I know she's going to be really upset."
Paul came and put his arm around his wife. "What do you want us to do Perry? We can stay with you."
Perry frowned. "You two go ahead and leave, I'll be here with Della. I would appreciate it if you would stop in and see Gertie. Tell her what happened and to cancel my afternoon appointments and close the office. I'll call her tonight."
"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Andrea asked.
"No, but I thank you for all you did today. I'll give you a call later too."
He watched them leave and turned back and entered his wife's room. She was still unconscious, and he pulled up a chair next to the bed. He took hold of her right hand and kissed it.
Nurses were in and out checking her vitals and giving him words of encouragement. They said the doctor would be back in to talk to them after she was out of surgery. Perry was pacing the small room by the time Della started to moan. He called for a nurse immediately.
"She seems to be coming out of the medication we gave her." A redheaded nurse named Becky said.
"Can't you give her something more?" He wanted to know.
Picking up Della's chart she said, "In about half an hour we need to have her awake so we can assess her injuries."
After she left, he sat next to her and said softly, "Della, I'm here. Wake up sweetheart."
Her eyelids fluttered. She smiled at him. "Perry," she said softly.
Perry swallowed hard as he told her, "you rest and just know I am not going anywhere."
For the next hour Della was in and out of consciousness. The doctor had come in and told him that they would be casting her wrist and hand but not until the swelling would go down. She had a concussion, and they would be keeping her overnight.
Mason had let them know he was not going anywhere. It was very important that she know he was there. That he wanted her in a private room.
They were waking her up every hour to make sure she wasn't going into a coma. They moved her to a private room and a ordered portable bed for Mason. As the day went by, she was more and more alert.
The nurses who were in and out were amazed that the tall man with the broad shoulders was either holding the patient's hand and talking to her or pacing the room.
The lawyer was waiting impatiently to find out from his wife how this accident had happened. Della was not a careless person. He hoped she had not become dizzy and there was some other problem they were facing.
It was early evening before she was able to stay awake for any period of time.
"Hi Sleepy," he said with a grin on his face.
She tried to smile but he noticed it did not reach her eyes.
He kissed her forehead and asked, "How are you feeling Sweetheart?"
"Groggy," she told him slightly slurring her words.
It hurt him to see her injured and now he was beginning to understand how she felt when he was hurt in any way.
"Go back to sleep, it is the best thing for you or so my wife has told me. I love you and will be right here when you wake up again."
Della squeezed his hand with her good hand and drifted off to sleep once more.
An hour later Perry was startled to hear her moaning and he immediately called for a nurse. Oh Lord he thought when the nurse who had taken care of him when he had his shoulder surgery came through the door.
She had a grin on her face, and he knew she remembered him. "Mr. Mason," she said gleefully, "I hope your wife is a better patient then you.
"She is," he assured her. "I called because she seemed to be groaning."
Picking up her chart Nurse Amelia Nelson said, "she is due for more pain medicine."
Moving over to her patient she explained, "Mrs. Mason, I am going to put pain medicine in your IV. It should be easing the discomfort in a few minutes."
Della opened her eyes and nodded slightly as the nurse said, "Mr. Mason, she will be like this for most of the night. You might want to go home, and we will call you if anything changes.
The lawyer shook his head. "I promised her I would be here any time she woke."
"I'll tell you what I'll check on that roll away bed for you and a tray since I'm sure you haven't eaten anything."
He looked surprised. "You are being very nice and accommodating."
As she walked out the door she smirked. "I figure if she has put up with you, she must be a very nice lady."
The nurse had been right Della had slept most of the time. They had brought him a portable bed and some food and a pot of coffee. He had put calls in to Gertie telling her to cancel the rest of the week's appointments, finish up the Thompson brief, and take care of the office. Then he called Paul and Andrea with updates on Della's condition.
Around midnight he fell asleep and the nurse checking on the patient smiled indulgently at the big man asleep at her side holding tightly to her hand.