Working for the Enemy 8
Della had located Paul in his office, his secretary Margot had already left for the day. On entering immediately Della had been unable to control the flow of words that poured from her mouth. After spilling the whole tale of the last 24 hours to Paul, he had knelt before where she sat in his clients chair, held her hands and then pulled her in close for a hug as she fought to control the tears threatening to spill all over his crisp white shirt.
'It's alright Beautiful,' he soothed. 'I'm here for you. Let it all go if you need to.'
Della pulled away shaking her head. 'No Paul, I'll be fine, I just needed someone to talk to. I know you've been pushed out as well.'
Paul stood and turned his back to her. He fought for control of his own emotions. Perry and Burger had only just brought him in on the whole sorry affair but suddenly he found himself between a rock and a hard place. It was evident Perry didn't quite want Della to know what had been going on just yet but for the life of him he couldn't fathom why. He understood clearly that in the beginning it had been to protect her. Knowing Della like he did, if Perry had let her in on the threats, she would have batted them off and most likely wanted to help with the investigation Perry was carrying out. With Laura in the frame that would most certainly have dealt a deathly blow to the beautiful secretary and her reputation. Now even though Paul was in on the secret, he had to decide what and how much he told Della this evening to calm her fears. Under his breath he cursed the name of Perry Mason for letting Della be hurt in the way she had.
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Perry Mason paced his office. Paul had gone off to start digging for information on the Sampson case. He wasn't sure what, if anything further could be found, but he was hopeful for anything right at that moment. A misplaced secret communication would be helpful, a payoff even better, a direct link to one or more of the individuals he knew were circling the area would be the icing on the cake. In short he had been very patient because circumstance dictated it, but he needed to get his life back on track and his office back in order. The life back on track he would have to look to dealing with himself but his office, there was only one person who could restore order to his chaotic life but right at that moment he was pretty certain she loathed him for allowing her to be fired from the job he knew she loved.
Sitting back in his chair, Perry pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired and had a headache forming across his sinus region. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily when an image of Della looking up at him when they were dancing the previous evening flashed through his mind. When the hell did my life become so complicated and more to the point how on earth after all this am I going to convince Della to come back to me, that's if she will even entertain the notion, he thought to himself. That thought alone made his head pound harder and his chest tighten. The ringing phone on his desk brought him from his self pitying mood.
'Mason!' he barked before the receiver had even reached his ear. 'Paul what have you found out?...What? When?...She's with you in your office, is she alright?...Good…..Paul I told you at lunch, I need to keep her out of this as much as possible until the last second…..Alright, bring her to my office when she's got herself together. Tell her you need to drop in with some urgent information on your way out to dinner if she refuses to come anywhere near the office….It sounds like Laura and Leopold are getting edgy as sentencing approaches…..Sure, I'll see you in a few minutes.'
Perry dropped the receiver back into the cradle and allowed himself a little smile. Della had continued to play detective but had turned up some information. Only she could do that, he contemplated before his thoughts became dark again. What in damnation was she doing snooping on those two though, she could have gotten herself into some serious trouble. His emotions began a silent, titanic battle. When Della appeared very shortly in his office, he knew he had to conquer his desire both to berate her for placing herself in danger and the over whelming need to pull her into a fierce embrace and hold on to her forever.
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'OK, we'll be there shortly.' Paul replaced the phone and parked himself on the corner of his desk as Della came back into the room.
'Where are we going to be shortly?' she asked, now much calmer than she had been on first entering Paul's office.
'To dinner.' Paul announced.
'Liar.' Della countered looking him straight in the eye.
'We are going to dinner,' Paul protested plastering his most angelic look across his face. Then he hesitated. 'But first, you need to repat what you heard between Laura and the ADA to Perry. That was him on the line. He asked us drop in on the way out.'
Della groaned. 'No Paul,' she protested. 'Haven't you listened to a thing I've said to you? Perry might be in on this conspiracy, he's engaged to Laura, I heard what she said about payoffs and the Perry Mason I worked for would never allow someone to be convicted of a crime without a fight. How do I know I can trust him? He's changed!' Della bit back the fury starting to rise and rung her hands in despair.
'Hey Beautiful,' Paul hopped from the desk and took a step into her. He took her hands in his. With they way she was rubbing them, he decided to still them before she started a fire. 'Look, just tell him what you heard, he'll listen.'
'So he can go to his friends and tell them!'
'No Paul I can't.' Della shook her head furiously. Paul placed a gentle knuckle under her chin and made her look at him.
'Yes you can. Della, I can't tell you everything because I don't know everything, but what I can tell you, is that you can trust Perry. You need to tell him what you heard. It could make or break a case he's working on right now.'
Alright.' Della lightly pushed Paul's hand away from her face. 'Alright I'll speak with him for a few minutes. But, Paul,'
'Yeah?'
'I hope I haven't been wrong trusting you.'
TBC