TCOT Loveless Lothario Chapter 6
"Where the devil is she, Paul?" Perry Mason asked exasperatedly as he paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. " Twenty minutes ...I told her twenty minutes." Paul was reading over some reports brought to him by one of his field agents.
"Twenty minutes in man time does not translate to twenty minutes in the female vocabulary, Pal. With your experience with women, I know I don't have to explain that little nugget to you." Paul yawned and made a mark with his pen on one of the papers.
"We're not talking about taking too long to get ready for a date on a Saturday night, Paul. We're on a case." Perry grimaced. "Twenty minutes means twenty minutes."
"I'm sure she has a good reason." Paul answered as he continued to work.
As Perry paced back and forth, his mind wandered back to his conversation with Laura...the conversation after Della had walked away with Paul towards the car...specifically the parts he had not told Della as they waited together in the hospital parking lot. Della was right. He had been unusually quiet when he returned to the car and it certainly had nothing to do Laura's ramblings about how she planned to ink some of Andy Buffalo's authors to a new publishing deal even if he died as a result of these injuries. Perry sat down in a chair across from Paul and closed his eyes as he replayed the rest of the conversation.
"I've been following your cases," Laura cooed. "I miss you so much sometimes and reading about your adventures helps to fill the void."
"Laura...this is not the time or the place for this discussion. It has been over between us a long time. I thought you would have moved on by now," Perry stated dispassionately.
"I can't...I don't think I ever will... Perry...just seeing you here...even though the circumstances are dreadful...I want you now just as much as I did then." Laura stepped in closer to him.
"No...you wanted money and power back then ...and a husband who fit into that mold… someone just as focused on wealth, privilege, and social status as you. You didn't see me being able to fulfill that role as a trial attorney so you tried to push me into corporate law. You only want me now because I have achieved everything you wanted back then."
"Perry...how can you say these things to me when you know I love you desperately. I don't deny wanting all those things you just mentioned but I am in love with you as you were then and as you are now. Come by my hotel after you get Paul and Della settled in somewhere. Stay with me." Laura took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips.
He pulled his hand away ...looking around to make sure no reporters, or worse, Della, had seen her soft kiss. "I'm sorry. We are heading straight to the hospital."
"Then, I will come too and wait with you...maybe also talk to Mrs. Buffalo about what she wants to do with her husband's contracts should he, God forbid, pass away."
"Well, you better make sure you use the phrase, "God forbid," when talking to her because I can not think of anything more selfish or crass than the idea of you trying to seal a business deal while her husband's life is on the line while simultaneously trying to break up my relationship with Della." Perry shook his head in utter contempt as he spoke...unsure as to how he had ever loved the woman before him.
"Your relationship with Della? You're seeing Della?" Laura took a step back from him and placed her hand across her chest in an unconvincing attempt to feign shock and surprise.
Perry challengingly raised his eyebrow. "You can't be doing a very good job following my more recent cases if you don't know that."
"Well, of course, I'd heard the rumors but I didn't believe them. I mean, my Perry, to stoop so low as to …." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she caught herself.
"Stoop so low as to do what, Laura?" Perry interrupted angrily. "Stoop so low as to date a secretary? Is that what you were going to say?"
"Perry … please...I'm sorry. Della is lovely. That's not what I meant." Laura tried to reach out to him.
"Isn't it?" Perry held her gaze for a moment...his dark blue eyes penetrating hers until she looked away. "Goodbye, Laura."
Perry stood up abruptly and stretched. Paul, pretending to work, shuffled some papers into a folder then gave Perry a side glance. Something was definitely bothering the seasoned lawyer but Paul was not sure what it was...exactly. After Della left them to check on Gertie, Perry certainly had not been happy to learn Laura had hired a P.I. to follow Buffalo and that the P.I. had also been checking up on Gertie. This was a sordid mash of mixed up puzzle pieces and who knew how they would ultimately fit together.
Hearing a ping from the direction of the elevator, Perry turned and looked in the direction of the sound. When the elevator doors opened, he saw Della hurriedly walk out and begin scanning the waiting room. As their eyes met, he walked towards her.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked, trying to keep his frustration with her in check."
"I'm sorry, Perry. I got held up. Are you and Paul ready to go? Where is he?" Della looked around in time to see Paul wave at her. He stood up and started straightening the files spread out around him into a stack.
"Twenty minutes, Della." Perry raised his eyebrows. "What on earth could have kept you for so long? I called up to the nurse's station and they said you had been gone from Gertie's room for quite some time."
Della did not answer the question. "Can we leave, please? I'm hungry and tired and it's already tomorrow morning so let's just go to a 24 hour diner, grab a bite to eat and crash somewhere for a few hours."
"Food sounds good to me," Paul chimed in as he joined them with files in tow. "I can fill Della in on all the information my men dug up. It'll beat everything you've ever read in one of those gossip rags Gertie loves so much." Paul smiled softly and winked at her... hoping to bring some levity to the situation.
Just then, the elevator doors opened again and Laura, visibly flushed, stormed out...the clicking of her heels echoing across the otherwise silent waiting room. She approached the trio ...throwing Della a hateful glare that was not lost on Paul or Perry. Thinking round two of their previous confrontation was about to take place, Della straightened her posture and met her gaze with an equally hateful one. Stopping in front of them, Laura smiled stiffly.
"It is my understanding that Mr. Buffalo is expected to pull through but will have to stay in a medically induced coma in the hospital for, at least, the next week. Mrs. Buffalo has, "Power of Attorney," over his business affairs and has agreed to sell out the authors' contracts that my client wants for a cash price. Seems the circumstances which landed her husband here tonight didn't set well with her so she's going to, "take the money and run," as the phrase goes ...being a woman scorned and all."
Stepping closer to Perry, she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I wish you'd reconsider my offer from earlier, Perry Love. It would be so wonderful to catch up, especially when I have to leave tomorrow morning as soon as Mrs. Buffalo signs that paperwork."
"No, Laura. As I told you before, that will not be possible. We are here for Gertie and we plan to head back to Los Angeles as soon as she is released tomorrow."
He held out his hand and gestured for Della to join him. She obliged and Paul struggled to contain his smirk as Perry put his arm around her and said, "We really must be going now. Have a nice night and safe trip back to Denver, Laura."
"Well, as I said, I will be here in the morning to meet with Mrs. Buffalo if you change your mind and would like to get coffee instead? Good night, Perry." Coldly, she looked over to Paul. "Good night, Paul. Della, it was a pleasure to see you again and to see how well you're taking care of our Perry."
With that, Laura turned and quickly walked through the doors of the emergency room.
As Perry watched the doors close behind her, he asked quietly, "You wanna tell me what happened?"
"About as much as you wanna tell me the rest of your conversation with her," Della responded.
After all these years together working side by side, she knew when he was holding back or hiding something from her. "Okay, Miss Street, let's see if we can find that all night diner before Paul passes out from hunger."
"Now you're talking, Buddy. I'm getting more famished by the second!" Paul exclaimed.
"Of course you are, Dear," Della chuckled.
Quietly, the couple walked out the doors of the hospital ...the answer to the attempted murder possibly nestled within the lines of the many reports Paul carried under his arm as he shuffled out behind them.
An hour later, the trio sat in a booth while sipping coffee and finishing off slices of the house speciality: caramel apple pie. The diner was almost completely deserted except for a few truckers who had wandered off the highway and sat at the front counter awaiting to go orders.
"This is crazy, Perry." Paul flipped through his notebook. "There is no way we are going to find out who shot Buffalo and caused Gertie to get hurt without more information. The suspect pool is just too large. I say we get her safely home and let the local PD cast an eyeball on the rest."
"Maybe," Perry responded.
"Listen, Perry. We have the suicide victim, Maral, in Florida. She was well liked by those who knew her, according to interviews, and we haven't tracked down any family members or close friends yet to check alibis. Same with this Agnes dame in Texas. How do we know she didn't come here to confront him or he was confronted by a disgruntled family member? Jeeves reports are excellent but he only covered information on Buffalo's trysts for Gertie...I mean look at this…" Paul held out a file. "My men found over a dozen more ads taken out by Buffalo over the past three years in magazines around the nation that Jeeves did not locate while he was digging around this past week. There's no telling how many suspects we are looking at, Perry. The jerk is not dead. Gertie hasn't been charged with anything so why are we moving on this?"
"And, if you throw in three ex-wives, there is no telling who else might have decided to grind an axe with Buffalo," Della added...taking another sip of coffee.
"I understand that but it's all too pat. These people have all had plenty of time to confront Buffalo or get even with him. You're telling me it's merely coincidental that he gets shot the same night that Gertie shows up... unannounced, mind you... and confronts him with Jeeves report? I don't buy it. We're missing something. I wanna know Gertie isn't in danger of being attacked again by a jealous woman somewhere down the road. " Perry tapped the end of his cigarette into the ashtray.
"Alright, Perry. So, who else was around and had access and motive?" Della asked.
"My vote is the wife," Paul offered. "Maybe she showed up and overheard the arguing between Buffalo and Gertie and lost her temper."
"And she just happened to have a gun on her?" Della asked. "Besides, did you see her when she arrived at the hospital?"
"She was dressed in her nurse's uniform," Perry added. We watched her run from the parking lot and through the doors while we waited in the car."
"And her expression, Paul. She looked frantic. So, she's either innocent or an award winning actress." Della looked down at her pie. Pushing it away, she added, "I am stuffed."
"Eyes bigger than your stomach, Beautiful?" Paul teased. " Well, I saw her, too. Should be easy enough to check to see if she was at work when she got the police call or was getting off work and has an alibi. I'm just saying, in my experience, these types of crimes are crimes of passion and he was cheating on her and she knew it." Paul put out his cigarette.
"He was cheating on them all," Perry added sardonically.
"Wait, she knew he was cheating on her?" Della asked Paul.
"She sure did, Doll. Learned that while you were upstairs with Gertie. Mrs. Buffalo was having her husband followed."
"Okay...so Gertie was having him followed ...and his wife was having him followed … ('So that's what Laura meant back at the hospital,' Della thought quietly) ...good grief … crimes of passion …." Della's voice trailed off as she began quickly thumbing through file folders. "Paul? Statistically, when you investigate men whose wives think they are cheating on them and it turns out to be true, who are they having the affair with?"
"Well, I don't usually get hired by your typical, everyday housewife to investigate such things. Usually, it's a socialite wife of someone in power or a wealthy businessman and the little woman is wanting to check up on his whereabouts and who he's with when he's not at home with her."
"And… when he's cheating...who is he usually with?" Della raised an eyebrow at him.
Very cooly, Paul lit another cigarette and smiled. "The secretary." He took a slow drag and let it out.
"And where was she again during all of this mess?" Perry asked.
"She was interviewed on the scene by the police. She rolled up in a sweet little ride, too. A very mint 1950 Jaguar XK120. Told police Gertie stormed past her in the receptionist's office to find Buffalo and that she was yelling at him...calling him all sorts of names. She said he told her to leave and lock up...that he would handle it so she did...she only turned her car around and returned because she remembered he had a late night, last minute meeting with some fancy lawyer and she thought he might need her there."
"How loyal of her." Della replied.
"A 1950 Jaguar XK120, you say? " Perry added, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"And then there's, Laura," Dellas added flatly. Perry cast a worried glance at her.
"Well… I told you I had some juicy information, Doll. Seems my men learned Laura was having Buffalo and Gertie followed in the weeks leading up to the shooting," Paul grabbed Della's leftover pie and took a heaping bite.
"Yeah...she told me all about her P.I. She admitted to me she knew Buffalo was married and that Gertie was seeing a married man but she did nothing about it." Della added flatly. Paul's mouth dropped open and his eyes met Perry's briefly. Della had not mentioned that little tidbit when they first started going over his files at the diner.
Perry turned and looked at Della with concern. "She told you that? Any idea what she hoped to get out of all of this?"
Della looked reluctantly at Paul then dropped her eyes. "She told me she wanted to let it all play out so she could get to you, Perry. She felt it was an opportunity to reconnect with you by saving an old friend. She doesn't care about Gertie or Buffalo or the authors she is supposed to secure. She only wants you."
Paul let out a slow whistle and raised his eyebrows at Perry.
"Crimes of passion," Della continued quietly, "And I am your secretary."
"But we weren't seeing each other when I ended things with Laura. She and I weren't married." Perry looked befuddled. "I can only imagine how she thought letting Gertie stay involved with Buffalo would lead her back into my love life."
"But I was interested...back then… and, whether we acted on it or not, she will always see our relationship as nothing more than you having a fling with your secretary and that I broke up your relationship with her. You bought me expensive gifts back then for my birthday...Christmas...the anniversary of my coming to work for you. Look at this report from Paul's men. Buffalo's girl Friday not only drives an expensive car that is way above her pay grade, she also lives in a swanky, downtown loft in the Gas Light DIstrict. What if ..." Della looked at him...waiting for a response.
Perry rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. " What if she didn't really leave when Buffalo told her to and she overheard everything between he and Gertie?"
"Does that sound crazy?" Della asked.
No...especially not when we throw Laura into the mix." Perry squeezed Della's hand.
"Okay, Paul ...let's have your men double check Laura's timeline on when she got into town. Also, go to the hospital and check out the wife's story and let's see what else we can dig up on this secretary...what's her name again?"
Della handed him a file photo. "Jillian...Jillian Meurtriere."
