Chapter 9 - Love never dies a Natural Death

"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings." ~ Anais Nin

Los Angeles, 20th August 1977

Loaded with more shopping bags than she could handle, Laura Mason unlocked the door to the small apartment in Hollywood. She had anticipated the upcoming meeting for over a week and the tingling in her spine was increasing with every passing heartbeat. Soon, very soon, her life would change for the better. The last couple of years had been rough on her. Nothing had developed the way she had wanted. Her plans, her well laid plans had been destroyed by things she couldn't have foreseen. But she was a trooper. A survivor. She survived. Always. She was watching out for herself and life was rewarding her for her efforts.

She smiled as the door fell shut behind her. The place seemed empty, but she called out his name nevertheless.

"Are you here?"

No one answered. She went inside the living room, where a strange smell welcomed her and intensified as she moved towards the bedroom door. She startled and waited. Listened. Nothing moved. Nothing happened. Slowly the realization that something was very wrong settled in. Her eyes roamed the walls and the exquisite furniture and came to rest on the beige carpet. The small dark stains hadn't been there the least time she had visited. The sight made her shiver. The spots led the way to the closed bedroom door. Laura swallowed and wished she weren't such a coward.

Should she open the door? Just to make sure her imagination was getting the better of her? To make sure this wasn't anybody's blood on the carpet?

Or should she wipe off her prints of the door handle and run for the hills?

######

Somewhere near the Interstate

Andy sighed when he hung up his car phone. His mood was sinking with every passing minute. The whole thing was a bloody mess. The only good thing was that Della and her son were alive and almost unharmed, but the death of the kidnapper left him without a witness or a lead. He cursed and looked at Perry who was pacing up and down near the car, his eyes fixed on the ambulance that prepared to leave to take Della and Ruben to the hospital. On the other side of the car park Della's wrecked car as well as the van were carted away.

Andy couldn't remember a time when he had seen Mason this tense and agitated.

"My men arrested Loretta. They'll take her to our office in Sacramento. Let's hope nothing happens to her. I hate it when the wicked die before they can spill the beans."

"I want to talk to her," Perry barked, ignoring the offhand remark. The eagerness with which the lawyer moved worried Andy.

"Dream on, Counselor. She's our suspect, not yours."

Mason was about to return with a snappy remark when Andy raised his hand. "Before you eat me, I'll see what I can do, but I promise nothing. I'm going back to the hospital now to see what Carlisle has to say to all of this."

"Why is he in the hospital anyway?" Mason asked. The question had been bothering him since the night before. Aside from his obvious handicaps Carlisle seemed unharmed after the accident. Why did he stay in the hospital in the first place? Any safe house would have been as good as the hospital and easier to protect.

Andy shrugged. "I'm not sure. The Doctors were rather hushed about his condition. I figured it must have something to do with his spine."

Mason groaned unsatisfied. He hated vague answers. "Will you give me a lift?"

"I thought you would never ask," Andy joked. "Be my guest, Perry."

######

Sacramento

One hour later Andy, Martha, and Perry were gathered in Richard's hospital room. Della was still with Ruben who had to endure some procedures to examine his broken wrist.

"I just had a call from our office," Andy said. "Apparently your housekeeper is ready to talk. Seems she's an old acquaintance of Rebecca Powell. We also checked her finances and it seems she's received some very substantial sums over the last three months and we're not talking about her salary here."

"Paul was killed in May," Mason recalled and looked at Richard. "So she started working for you just after he was killed."

Carlisle sighed. "Della hired her when our old housekeeper died in an accident. She was run over by a car."

"How fitting," Andy remarked sourly. "So we can assume she was brought into your house to spy on you."

"So the timing of the kidnapping was well chosen and not just a coincidence," Richard said. "Damn it!"

"Did you never notice anything strange about her?" Martha asked, glaring at her son.

"What was there to notice? She was our housekeeper!" Carlisle snapped back at his mother. "We never found her searching our cupboards and drawers, if that's what you mean."

Mason only half-listened to the little quarrel between mother and son. His brain was occupied with another theory. There was the idea of an explanation that had lured in the back of his brain for the last twenty-four hours, but it was only now that the small pieces of the puzzle became a picture - one that worried him deeply.

He cleared his throat. "Let's think this through…. Loretta never found the documents Hardcastle was after. That means she didn't have access to them and she didn't know where to look either, but the kidnapper didn't just demand your documents, Richard, he also demanded the file I had with me in Carmel... Doesn't that sound odd to you?" He looked up to Andy. "I may be wrong, but I think the kidnapping was a shortsighted attempt to find out how much we really knew about Rebecca's death."

Andy contemplated Perry's theory and nodded slowly. "Well, Loretta also made a mistake when she tried to eliminate Della's message for you. I guess she wasn't prepared for Della not to play along. The more I think about it the more the kidnapping looks improvised instead of carefully planned."

"In other words, you think whoever did this is desperate," Richard summed up, his forehead wrinkled.

Perry agreed. "Yes. Something must have triggered the kidnapping. What happened before you left for Los Angeles? Did you talk to someone about the case? Anything or anyone that seemed strange? Did you receive any threats?"

Richard thought for a moment and then he shook his head. "Not that I remember."

Andy looked at his watch. "I have to go. I'll have a little chat with Loretta. Maybe she's ready to talk. I'll keep you all posted."

"Just a moment, Andy..." Feeling the need to share the theory that was forming in his head, Mason followed Andy outside. "I think I have an idea."

"Shoot!"

"It's just a hunch… and I can't prove anything."

Andy grinned. "You certainly know how to make this interesting."

"There's one thing that bothers me… no one beside Della and me knew I had a file with information concerning Paul Drake's murder. I told no one where I was going – not even my office and I'm pretty sure no one followed me up to Carmel."

Andy wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Well, Della was there…. For what reason ever," he added with an uneasy gesture.

Mason ignored the implication. "Yes, but Della only found me, because Laura told her I was in Carmel. Something she couldn't have known, because I didn't tell her or anyone else… "

Now Andy was visibly puzzled. "Laura? Your wife?"

"Yes."

"Perry, what are you saying?"

Perry continued, more and more convinced of his idea. "She told Della she had the info from my office, but my secretary couldn't have known anything about it. Why should she make up such an unnecessary lie?"

"You think she knew you were in Carmel and sent Della after you on purpose? Why?"

"To lure her away from Sacramento," Perry answered. "I think someone followed Della to find me. Think about it... Following Della was easier than locating me. I stayed in Carmel and used a false name, I barely went out. Sending Della and being on her heels to find me sounds just like a pretty good idea to me."

"And when they realized you'd collected a lot of evidence they decided to kidnap Carlisle and the boy to use them as ransom." Andy concluded. "That's quite an accusation. Why should your own wife set you up like this? What could be her motive?"

"I don't have an answer to any of these questions, but I will attempt to find out if she's responsible."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not yet, Andy." Perry gave Andy a pat on the shoulder. "I'll let you know when I know it myself."

########

In Richard Carlisle's hospital room Martha sat next to her son's bed and looked at him with growing concern. His face was white as the sheet he was lying in and his mood was at its worst. She could tell it wasn't just the worry about Ruben who had just come out of surgery. As far as she could tell Richard and Della hadn't exchanged a single word since she had arrived in the hospital. Della's disappearance and her single-handed actions to save her son had scared the hell out of Richard and yet the couple hadn't spent one minute alone since their rescue. Something was very off between them.

"What will happen next?" She asked.

"With Hardcastle and Norton? They will be taken care of," Richard said. "As soon as I get out of here." He shifted in his bed, apparently uncomfortable.

"I was talking about Della," Martha clarified. "What will happen if she leaves you?"

Richard shrugged. "You know what happens when couples separate. You talk to lawyers and in the end you're just a number on a file and life goes on."

Martha huffed. "How can you be so... unfeeling about this? She's walking out on you and you do nothing about it! And what about your career?"

"Well, my career is over one way or the other and I can't force her to stay, if she doesn't want to. I asked her to, but I never got a real answer and now she's avoiding me."

"She has a responsibility towards you and your son. She can't run off with that attorney!" Upset by the mere idea Martha rose and paced the room. "I told you from the very beginning this wouldn't last! With baggage like hers and..."

"Stop it, Mother!" Worn out Richard ran his hand across his face. "This is between Della and me."

Martha sighed. "I can't understand you. Everything you've worked for is at stake. How can you sit in your bed and think it all will work out?"

"Because it will work out," Richard answered. "I know what I'm doing. I won't accomplish anything, if I don't give her the space to find out what she wants. Pressuring her will only result in losing in what is left of her love for me."

"Do you actually think she ever loved you? You've always been a second choice for her!"

Richard groaned unhappily. "Yes, I do think she loved me. Not as much as I've loved her, but it was enough for me. I freely admit though that neither of us didn't do enough to nurture this love. I don't know when we've started to become careless, but we did."

Martha wasn't impressed. She scoffed. "In other words, you're still defending her."

Richard shook his head. "I love her and I want what's best for her. Even you should understand that."

"Well, I don't."

"Then start trying. Why don't you search for Della and ask her to go home for today? It was a long day." It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order, but Martha wasn't ready to obey.

"Do you want to get rid of me?"

Richard smirked. "Yes. I want to get some sleep - as you should."

Reluctant to accept the order, she shifted from one foot onto the other until she decided that it was useless to fight her son on this. With a last angry look she did as told. He waited until his mother had left the room until he felt safe enough to allow the pain in his back to overwhelm him.

######

Exhausted Della leaned back in the armchair next to Ruben's bed and checked her watch. It was after eight o'clock in the evening. Ruben was asleep after a surgery on his wrist during the afternoon. The fracture was more complicated than it had appeared at first. For a moment she contemplated going to Richard, but as far as she knew Martha was still there and for a reason she was too tired to figure out, she didn't want to talk to either of them right now. All she wanted was to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Resting against the backrest she closed her eyes, but she couldn't block the muffled, never ending noises from the busy hospital floor outside. At least she was on her own now. The endless crowd of people, doctors, law enforcement and not to mention Martha had become too overwhelming. Now that her son was finally asleep and no one else bothered her anymore, the tears she had tried to suppress finally found their way to the surface. She drew a deep breath and allowed her tears born from fear and adrenaline to flow. It was relieving to let go off all the emotions she had tried to keep in check for so long.

Ever since Laura had appeared on her doorstep three days ago that her life had been turned upside down. The search for Perry, their passion filled encounter in the cabin, and finally the abduction of Ruben had wrecked her whole existence.

What would happen next? What would happen to her marriage? How was Richard involved in Paul's death? What did that mean for her son? She really didn't want to know at this point.

Then the door opened and there were steps that approached her. Under different circumstances she would have jumped up to see who was disturbing them, but she sensed Perry's presence before she opened her eyes.

"Shouldn't you go home to get some sleep?" He asked quietly and gave her his handkerchief. "It's your second night without sleep. You need rest."

She looked up to him and tried to smile. "Actually it's my third night without sleep," she said, recalling her sleepless night in his bed, as his scent in the pillows had kept her awake and left her tossing and turning, wondering what happened if she woke him up to make love to him, despite him being drunk and angry with the world. That had been two days ago, but it felt like an eternity had passed since then.

She blew her nose and then she said, "I don't want to leave Ruben alone. I actually don't trust the security arrangements in hospitals," she added with a sour smirk. He understood her concern. The last time she had been in hospital a lunatic had tried to kill her and almost succeeded. As long as Hardcastle and whoever else was responsible for her son's kidnapping she didn't want to leave his side.

"He's safe here," Perry said, as he bent down. He wrapped his arm around her and glad, he was there, she leaned against him. The simple, loving gesture of trust warmed his heart.

"I promise to stay here until you're back," Perry said. "Go home, have some sleep, take a bath. You'll feel better."

She chuckled. "And I thought you would give me one of your lectures for being reckless and stupid..."

"Oh, I will," he replied. "But I'd prefer to discuss this another time." It was becoming quite a list, he thought to himself.

She placed a soft kiss on Perry's cheek. "Are you sure you don't want to get some sleep yourself?"

"I'll be fine," he replied softly. She leaned into him and they met in a soft kiss.

"Never, ever do something like this without me!" He said rawley when they parted again. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Now you know what it feels, Counselor," she replied in amusement and rose. "Are you really sure you want to spend the night here?"

"I'm positive," he answered and settled down in the chair she formerly occupied. "Go, get some rest. Tomorrow will be another long day."

"Thank you." She bent down again and gave him another kiss before she kissed her sleeping son goodbye. "Good night, Counselor."

With slow steps and her mind occupied with Ruben and Perry, Della made her way down the corridor where she met Martha in front of Richard's room. With her usual gruff the older woman demanded a lift home.

"Unless you have other plans," she finished her request.

"No, I don't. I'll just tell Richard we're leaving," Della said and went inside Richard's room.

###tbc###