Tunnel of Love?

Paul Drake was leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk, reading through a report on a cheating husband from one of his operatives. The report seemed pretty straightforward. Most husbands were very careless in thinking their wives had no idea. He scribbled a quick note to his secretary to send the report to the wife's lawyer and tossed it in his out box.

Paul lit a cigarette, blowing a stream of smoke toward the ceiling. He figured with Perry and Della gone on a long weekend, he'd have plenty of time to get caught up on the cases that were backlogged.

He really felt sorry for Della. There were a lot of "non-natives", as Paul liked to think of them, who couldn't deal with the quakes. Perry had talked with Paul several times about Della's fear. Hopefully getting her out of the city to the beach would help.

When the phone rang he dropped his feet to the floor, grabbing the receiver. "Paul Drake."

The woman's voice on the other end of the line sounded as if she had been crying. "Mr. Drake, this is Mae Kirby, Della Street's aunt."

Paul smiled. "Of course Mrs. Kirby. What can I do for you?"

Mae tried to keep her voice from shaking. "Mr. Drake have you talked to Della or Mr. Mason?"

Now Paul was concerned. Mae Kirby was always calm, no matter what the situation. That she seemed to be struggling not to cry, Paul knew whatever was wrong could not be good. And worse yet, it seemed it involved Perry and Della. He tried to keep his voice neutral. "No I haven't. I believe they are on their way to see you. They should be there shortly, unless Della got hungry. You know how she is when..."

Now Mae's voice took on a very serious note. "Mr. Drake it's been all over the news. The McClure Tunnel has collapsed. I sure Mr. Mason was taking that route to enjoy the ocean view and..."

Paul's heart leaped into his throat. "Oh no! Listen Mrs. Kirby. You stay by your phone. I promise I will call you the minute I know something."

"Okay...but what if...". But Paul had already hung up and was racing out the door.

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Paul made the short trip to police headquarters in record time. Almost running down the hallway and without waiting for permission, he barged into Lt. Tragg's office, banging the door back against the wall.

"Drake! What's the meaning of this?!" The older man came halfway out of his chair.

"What do you know about the McClure Tunnel collapse?"

Tragg eased back down in his chair. Seeing the usually unflappable Paul Drake in this excited state gave him a very bad feeling. But being a cop, Tragg needed the facts first.

"Calm down Drake and tell me what this is about."

But Paul was in no mood for police tactics. "Damn it Tragg! This is no time to..."

"Drake!" The lieutenants sharp voice seemed to calm Paul down a bit. He sank into the chair in front of Tragg's desk and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with shaking hands. Now Tragg knew something very bad had happened.

Paul took a long pull on the cigarette and stared at the older man. "Arthur, Perry was driving Della to her aunt's house in Bolero Beach and they are overdue. Mae was sure they took the Pacific Coast Highway and if they were going through..."

Tragg immediately understood...the tunnel. He'd been hearing about the collapse and had been sending some of his men there to help with traffic control. He grabbed his phone and started barking orders, one being to have his car brought up.

When he hung up, he stood and grabbed his hat. "C'mon Drake. We're headed out to the site."

Paul was right on his heels, sending up a silent plea, to whatever god might be listening, that his two best friends were okay.

PDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPD

Sergeant Brice, at the wheel of Tragg's car, kept the siren going full on as he weaved in and out of the LA traffic. Tragg and Paul sat in back, actually hanging on for dear life.

"Okay Drake. Let's have the particulars."

Paul lit a cigarette, trying to keep his balance as the sergeant executed a sharp turn to avoid a bus.

"Della's been having a really hard time with all these aftershocks. You know, small town Midwest girl and all. Anyway, Perry decided to take a long weekend and get her away from the city. Mae Kirby called and said they were overdue."

Tragg looked at the shaken man. "Are you sure they were taking..."

"Mrs. Kirby said Perry planned on going that way to give Della some ocean views. I know they took Perry's caddy, which is a good sturdy car. But still..."

Tragg only nodded. "We should be at the site shortly. All we can do is wait and see what the situation is and if..."

Paul sighed. "Yeah...if."