Enough

Perry sat at his desk, his head in his hands. The ashtray on his desk was overflowing and there was a coffee stain on some papers where he had accidentally overturned his cup.

The conference table was strewn with open law books and papers. There were several other books stacked on the floor and on the chairs.

When Paul's coded knock sounded, Perry could barely muster the energy to say 'Come in'.

Paul entered and let out a low whistle. "Man, she's only been away one day and this place is a disaster area."

Perry slammed his hands down on the desk. "If you value your job and your life, you'll shut up right now."

Paul walked over and slouched in his usual chair. "Perry, snap out of it pal. We'll figure this out."

Perry shook his head. "That's just it Paul. I've got nothing. Even Della doesn't know what happened. She's as much in the dark as we are."

Paul lit a cigarette and took his notebook out. "Well, maybe I can help some."

Perry turned bloodshot eyes to his friend. "What have you got?"

Paul sat forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "Okay. You said Laura was scared when she came to you. I finally got through to her father. As you can imagine, he's pretty upset and blaming you and Della."

Perry lit a cigarette and let out a mirthless chuckle. "Yeah, he would."

Paul went on. "Seems Laura was engaged to one of the partners, a Glen Robertson. But things were not going well on that front. This Robertson chap was on to Laura's true nature and getting ready to call off the engagement."

"Smart man." Perry smiled at Paul. "Saved himself a pile of trouble."

"There was also someone else in the picture but I haven't found anything else on that front."

Perry pushed back from his desk. "What about Burger?"

Paul shook his head. "He's going for self defense. With the condition of the apartment, it's obvious there was a fight. He's going to say Laura started a fight and Della stabbed her to protect herself."

"Paul, you and I both know that didn't happen. Besides, even if they do find in her favor, it still means she'll be considered a murderer. Della will never agree to that."

Paul was about to answer when Perry's phone rang. Picking it up, his voice was a low growl. "Mason. Yes Tragg. Okay. Okay I'll be right there. Thanks."

As he replaced the receiver, he stood and looked at Paul. "C'mon Paul. They're going to release Della on bail. Burger pulled some strings."

Paul followed as Perry headed out of the office. "I bet that's gonna cost you a big favor with old Hamilton."

"I don't care. Now let's go get my girl."

Paul was about to comment on Perry's obvious slip of the tongue but decided he valued his job...and his jaw.

PDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPD

When Della walked into the visitors room of the county jail to see Perry standing there, the tears started falling. She hadn't meant to cry in front of him, but relief at being released just allowed all of her pent up emotions to flow.

Perry thought that even in the drab grey dress she had been forced to wear, she was still absolutely beautiful. He saw the tears, but he wasn't sure what to do.

For a moment they simply stood across the room staring at each other, then they both moved at once, Perry wrapping his arms around her, Della burying her face against his chest, huge sobs wracking her body and tearing at Perry's heart.

"Shhh Della. It's alright now. Everything's fine." He stroked her back trying his best to calm her. He laid his head against hers, breathing in her unique scent.

"Oh Perry. It was so awful. Even though Lieutenant Tragg had me placed in a cell by myself, it was just so...". The sobs started again.

"Come on Della, let's get you out of here." He wrapped his coat around her shoulders and gently led her out the door.

When they approached the car, Paul straightened up from where he had been lounging against the door and hurried over to them.

"Hello Beautiful! I've missed you." Even with Perry's arm around her, Paul managed to give her a hug.

Della actually smiled for the first time since being released. "Nonsense Paul. You just missed my coffee."

Paul looked at Perry over Della's head, seeing the worried look on the lawyer's face.

Walking in between her two favorite men, Della felt relief flood over her. "Perry could you just take me home, please. I want a hot shower and some sleep."

When neither of the men said anything, she stopped, looking up at Perry.

"What's wrong?"

Keeping his arm around her shoulders, Perry looked into her hazel eyes, seeing the fear. He wanted to do everything he could to take that look from her eyes.

"Della, you can't go back to your apartment right now. It's still a crime scene."

He actually felt her flinch at his words. "But where..."

Perry smiled. "Well unless you have some strong objection, you'll be staying at my apartment. I had Gertie go to your place and bring whatever she thought you'd need. If she forgot anything, I'll have Paul go back."

"But Perry, I can't stay with you. It wouldn't be right. You're my boss and your reputation would be..."

Perry actually laughed at her. "My dear Miss Street. With everything that's going on right now and you're worried about MY reputation."

Della just stared at him, wondering if he was serious. "I'll go to a hotel or back to Mae's. I'll be okay."

At seeing Della's obvious concern, Perry smiled at her. "Della you can't go to Mae's. You are out on bail, which means you can't leave the city. And in a hotel you won't be protected, especially from nosy reporters looking for a story."

Still seeing doubt in her mind, he continued. "You will be in the bedroom and I have a cot set up in my den. Everything will be very innocent. No one will even know you're there."

Paul who had been watching the entire exchange now turned away to hide a smile.

Yeah, nobody will know she's there except, himself, Tragg, Burger and...Perry.