TCOT Loveless Lothario Chapter 3

By the time Perry and Della arrived at the offices of B & S Publishing, police cars surrounded the building.

"Ohhhhhh," Della drawled out as she moved away from Perry and tried to get a better look from the passenger side of the car. "This is not good at all, Perry. And… listen."

In the distance, the faint sounds of an ambulance siren could be heard as it sped towards their direction.

"I hope Paul's man was able to get to Gertie before she did something too foolish," Perry stated as he parked across the street so as not to draw attention to their arrival. "Let's sit here a few minutes and see if we can spot Paul's operative lurking around."

"Or, at least, to see if we can get some sense of what's going on," Della added in agreement.

Quietly, Perry and Della observed as police moved in and out of the building, stopping to talk to one another and then direct emergency personnel through the doors.

Touching Perry's arm to get his attention, Della pointed towards several cars pulling into the building's parking lot. "Look…reporters are starting to arrive."

"They were probably listening to the police scanners and hightailed it over here. Good to know they're not much different here than what we deal with in Los Angeles," Perry grumbled.

"Perry, do you hear that? Another ambulance is approaching." Perry and Della both looked around the windows trying to ascertain the direction from which the next emergency vehicle would arrive. Out of the blue, their attention was diverted back to the front doors of the building as two men, with a stretcher, rushed out…one pushing the stretcher while the other steadying an I.V. bag of some unknown fluid.

"Hand me the copy of that file picture of Andrew Buffalo, Della."

She reached into the folder and quickly retrieved the photo…handing it to Perry, then leaning slightly over his shoulder to inspect it with him.

"Wavy salt and pepper hair, tan, medium height and build…that certainly looks like this man," Perry motioned across the street to the man being loaded into the back of the ambulance.

"Perry…I know Agnes said Gertie wished he were dead, but she wouldn't hurt a fly. We've known her for years. I just simply won't believe that," motioning towards the ambulance, which was pulling away from the building, "was caused by our Gertie."

Perry turned his head and looked into her determined eyes. With a light brush of his thumb, he captured her chin and tilted her head down for a soft kiss. A knock on the window startled both of them.

It was Paul Drake.

"Heck of place to go parking, Perry," Paul winked at Della, but his playful attempt at levity couldn't hide the worry in his eyes. "Hi, Beautiful."

"Paul Drake! Good grief! What do you mean sneaking up on us like that?" Della scolded.

Drake hopped into the backseat. "Sorry, Doll. You'd seen me if you and the counselor here hadn't been so cozied up." He winked at her and she playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You talk to your man yet, Paul," Perry asked while placing the photo of Andrew Buffalo back in the case file.

"I sure did, Perry, and it's not good news."

"What happened?" Perry asked, glancing at Della briefly then back to Paul.

"Buffalo's been shot. The janitor heard gunshots and came running towards the goon's office. When they got there, they found Buffalo passed out...bleeding profusely from several gunshot wounds, and Gertie knocked out on the floor ...pinned under him."

"Pinned under him?" Della asked, unable to mask her shock and dismay. "Did she have a gun on her? Did she shoot him and he fell on top of her while lunging at her or was he shot by someone else and fell into Gertie?"

"Definitely shot from behind. No gun was found at the scene but police think it's a small caliber. They also think, based upon his body in relation to Gertie's, that he was possibly struggling with her or moving towards her when he was shot. All entry wounds are to the back. Somehow, he grabbed Gertie first and was shot or grabbed her and took her down with him after he was shot. He's lost a lot of blood and she has a pretty good sized knot on her head. Looks like she hit her head on the way down and the force of that plus his weight landing on her knocked her unconscious."

"Where is she now, Paul?" Perry asked.

"The second ambulance is for her. They should be bringing her out any minute. But, Perry...there's something…." Before Paul could finish what he was saying, the glass doors of the office building swung open and out came the stretcher carrying Gertie.

"Oh my goodness!" Della exclaimed as she jumped out of Perry's car and ran across the street towards the ambulance.

"Della!" Perry shouted after her, but it was too late. He hopped out of his vehicle and took off after her.

"Perry, wait!" Paul Drake shouted as he, too, jumped out of the car and proceeded to chase after Perry. Grabbing him by the arm before he crossed the street, Paul exclaimed, "There's something else you need to know."

Della quickly made her way to the stretcher just as the attendants were getting ready to load Gertie into the back.

"Oh, Sir...please wait a moment," Della pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Do you know her? Are you family?" The man asked Della as he motioned for the other man to put his end of the stretcher back down.

"Not family, really, but we are friends and co-workers in Los Angeles. She doesn't have family here in California. Has she spoken at all? Were you able to talk to her?" Della motioned towards Perry and Paul, who were just crossing the street, to come to her by the stretcher. 'Why is that look on their faces?' she thought, worry taking a firmer grip on her being as she furrowed a questioning brow at Perry.

"All I can tell you is she has a fairly good lump on the back of her head...some cuts and bruises from a struggle and, like I showed the police, defensive wounds on her hands," the attendant replied causing Della to divert her attention off Perry and back to him.

"Oh, my dear, " Della whispered as she leaned over and smoothed Gertie's hair back off her face. Taking her hand and being mindful of the cuts, Della teared up again as she spoke to her. "Gertie? It's Della...don't you worry about a thing. Mr. Mason and I are here now. We'll be here for you every step of the way."

Della felt a small squeeze to her hand...whether it was an involuntary reflex or Gertie acknowledging her presence, she wasn't sure, but it made her feel better as she watched the two emergency workers load Gertie into the back of the ambulance.

She felt Perry wrap his arms around her from behind and place a soft kiss on her tousled curls. She turned around, hugged him, and gave him a worried smile. As he placed his arm around her and started to lead her back in the direction of their parked car, he heard Paul Drake let out a deep sigh. Then, an unfamiliar and unwelcome voice from behind cut like a jagged knife across the noise and chaos filling the air around them.

"Perry? Is that you, Darling?"

Della inwardly cringed as she and Perry turned and came face to face with … Laura.

"Well," Della sighed as Perry pulled his black sedan into the parking lot of the local hospital where both Andrew Buffalo and Gertie had been brought for treatment. The drive over had been made in complete silence. As a matter of fact, Della hadn't said a word since their brief exchange with Laura fifteen minutes earlier. Within moments of Laura calling out to them, Della exchanged forced pleasantries with her then hurriedly walked away with Paul ...leaving Perry alone with his old lover. When he made it back to the car, he noticed she hadn't scooted over towards the middle of the seat to resume her position cuddled up next to him like she had after leaving the highway overlook hours earlier. He said nothing. He knew Laura would always be a raw nerve for Della.

Perry leaned his head back against the seat, rubbed his eyes, and looked over at her. She was staring out the window towards the ambulance bay of the hospital. It was going to be a long night and, likely, many hours before they would be granted access to their young, receptionist and friend, Gertie.

"I certainly didn't see that one coming," Della stated flatly.

"That's the understatement of the year," Perry replied...raising an eyebrow and casting a sidelong glance at her.

Without warning, she laughed and rubbed her hands across her face and under her eyes. "What was I saying earlier in the evening about having a feeling of foreboding?"

Perry held out his hand to her and she took it...allowing him to reel her into an embrace. As she scooted over next to him and rested her head against his chest, he kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent that was uniquely Della Street.

"I'm sorry, Della. Paul warned me as I was trying to catch up with you. You should have seen my face. I mean...of all the places or times for her to pop up and completely by coincidence too? What are the odds that Andrew Buffalo would be approached by her law firm over an author or that she would have an appointment with him this evening … with all of us converging here together tonight under these circumstances?" Perry asked.

"My vote is astronomical." Della replied, snuggling into him while she enjoyed the fading scent of his cologne.

"After you were able to see Gertie and reassure her we would be at the hospital for her, I had hoped to steer us back to the car without being seen but…."

"...Laura saw us first." Della completed his sentence. She looked up at him then softly kissed his neck.

"Laura saw us first," Perry repeated, looking down into her eyes.

"So, what now?" Della asked quietly.

"We wait. Paul is running interference for us on the inside and gathering information. I told him we would wait in the car a while rather than the hospital once I heard Laura ask the police officer the location of the hospital." Letting out a slow, measured breath, he added, " I've had all of Laura's small talk I can take for one night. "

"One lifetime," Della added flatly.

"Indeed." Perry replied as he rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. Something about Laura's story just didn't add up but only time and more information would give him the answers which eluded him.