Working for the Enemy 13

'What in the blazes were you thinking to let her come up with a hairbrained scheme like that!' Paul was ranting now. He was pacing Perry's office lighting cigarette after cigarette only to crush them out after a couple of draws.

'I know Paul,' Perry sat in his chair attempting to relax. 'What can I say? She has her ways of getting around me.'

Paul stopped in his tracks and glared. After opening and closing his mouth a couple of times he bit out 'And what ways would that be Mr Mason?' He pointed an accusing finger at the lawyer. 'She hated your guts up until yesterday morning. What changed?'

'We talked.'

'Is that it?'

'Pretty much.'

'Stop holding out on the details. I've just about had enough of you doing that on this case. If you don't trust me, then I'll go work for someone else.' Paul was desperately trying to keep a lid on his emotions. Never before had they run so high on a case but neither had Perry Mason been so secretive. 'Look,' Paul took a deep breath. 'I don't want to know if you two were sweating up the sheets last night, that's none of my business, but what happened yesterday to go from you meeting Burger then suddenly whisking Della away to somewhere even I never knew existed to allowing her back into the lion's den today?….but if you were getting to know each other better….well it's about damn time!'

'Paul take a seat.' Perry indicated the over stuffed clients chair. Paul hesitated a moment, threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender the assumed his half folded position in the chair, dangling one leg lazily over an arm whilst slouching into the back of it. Once the lanky detective stopped squirming into position, Perry continued. 'Yesterday at lunch with Burger, we told you everything up to that point. I didn't really explain why I did what I did to you and Della in great depth. I was going to but since then things have started moving pretty quickly, but now is as good a time as any to say a few things in the hope you understand.' He went silent for a moment gathering the moral courage to explain what he wanted to say. He reached for a cigarette and lighting it, drew in then exhaled a large puff of smoke. 'Paul, I deal with facts, you know that, you've known me a long time. You've seen me at my best, usually on a case, but you've also seen my behaviour at it's worst, mainly when I've been out with some of the women you know I've had. Anyway, I consider you my best friend and keeper of my secrets, personally and professionally. There were situations at play that could threaten you and your licence and I couldn't let that happen on this occasion. Anything I've asked you to do in the past, I knew I could get you out of any jam. This one, I wasn't so sure, so I kept you at arms length. I simply didn't want you getting hurt. It was the same with Della.'

'Perry,' Paul lit another cigarette for himself. 'I'm happy you consider me your best buddy and yes, I will keep any secret you want me to and take it gladly to my grave because I know you'd do the same for me, but, I'm more than a little peeved you didn't want me on this case with you at first. I'm more than annoyed you let me believe you wanted to marry that boa constrictor and had set Della aside when I knew the truth about how you feel about her. You made me angrier than hornet that you didn't trust me.'

'I do trust you Paul. I trust you with my life. I'm not very good at articulating my personal feelings so I'm going to say this just once and hope it sinks in, but I love you like a brother and I would hate it if anything ever happened to you because of something I did and could have kept you out of.'

Paul crushed out the cigarette again after only a couple of puffs. He leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. 'I love you like a brother too Perry and I hope that has registered in that big brain of yours because I'm never going to say that out loud again until my dying breath.' He pushed himself to his feet unsmiling. 'I want you to know that I love Della like a sister and that if you ever hurt her again the way you have in all this, as your non related but equally important big brother I'm going to have to beat the living daylights out of you.' Paul walked to the sliding doors of the office balcony. Perry chuckled to himself.

'Paul if I ever hurt Della in that way again, I'll let you at least throw the first punch. Deal?' Paul spun his head grinning,

'Deal. Now we're all loved up again, back to my original question. How have we ended up here and what in damnation happened between you two yesterday?'

Perry smiled but hesitated. 'I told you, Della and I talked. I mean really talked.'

'About?'

'The case, my relationship with Laura, how I felt about her, everything.'

Paul raised an eyebrow in silent question.

'Paul you told me in the diner the other night I had let the best thing that had ever happened to me walk away, and you were right. I didn't want her to walk away from me then and I certainly don't want it to happen in the future. I explained everything to Della, why I'd taken the course of action I did, why I let her be fired and in the end how I honestly felt about her.'

'And how did she respond to all that?' Paul came and stood by the desk looking down at him with a smirk.

'Well she wanted to help with the case and like you, was really mad at me for not cluing you both in from the start but with everything that is now happening, she came around. Look at the plan she came up with.' He grinned.

'Ok, we'll circle back to that disaster in a moment. Laura?'

'Well she didn't get that part so much I think. I'm no saint and she accepts that, even if she doesn't like it. I have assured her, there's no more bedroom trysts there.'

'And you two?'

'I laid my soul bare like I have done with you. I told her I loved her.'

Paul gave a low whistle. 'And how did she respond to that?'

'She kissed me.' A smug smile of self satisfaction broke across Perry's face, but then a frown appeared which Paul read.

'But she didn't say it back did she?'

Reluctantly Perry shook his head. 'No she didn't. I don't blame her, she's going through a lot and I haven't exactly made her feelings and emotions about me easy to understand these past two months, but the kisses gave me hope.'

'Kisses in the plural?'

'Yeah, plural.' He tugged at his earlobe, a sure sign that he was uncomfortable.

Paul decided to put him out of his misery and brought the conversation back around. 'So tell me again how this genius plan of yours and Della's works then.'

TBC