Chapter 13 - Take care, my heart's desire. Now I must let you go…

Perry watched Richard's limousine as it left the parking lot and cursed inwardly. His worst fears were confirmed. Della had been kidnapped by Norton and the only way to get her way was to allow him to get away scot free. Truly sick of losing people and the constant fear for them, he drew a deep breath. He had promised to follow Della's husband to their bungalow to collect the evidence. Norton had given Richard six hours to deliver the incriminating files otherwise he would kill Della - and Laura. Mason rubbed his tired face. How and why was Laura involved in all of this? It made no sense. Was it some link from the past he had missed? Or was kidnapping Laura just another way to maximize the pressure on him? That sounded too easy to be true. Laura was once more right in the center of this scheme, he just didn't know in what capacity. He was sure Laura had set up Della to find him, after she couldn't do it herself. Why should she go through all this trouble? Their marriage wasn't worth saving and Laura knew that just as good as he did.

He shut the door behind him and headed to his rented car.

"Perry!" He stopped and looked up. A woman was calling him, but he couldn't locate her. Then he saw a blonde rushing towards him across the parking lot. It took him a few seconds to recognize her, because she was someone he expected to see here the least.

"Irene!" With his eyes narrowed he met her near his car. How did she find him? What could she want?

"I'm so sorry, Perry!" she gasped for air. "But when I couldn't reach Della at home, I had to find you. Her mother-in-law told me you were here!"

Della? The alarm bells in his head started to ring - once again. "What is it?"

"Did she talk to you?"

"Della? No, I haven't seen her…"

Irene blushed. "I see… look, I'm not sure, if I had the right to…"

"Irene!" He snapped, which caused Irene to freeze instantly. She became pale, then she blushed.

"Della's been kidnapped, so if this isn't important, it has to wait!"

Her jaw dropped and she swallowed. "Was it Norton?" she asked breathless.

He narrowed his eyebrows, stunned about her question. "How do you know Norton?"

"I don't know him. I only know of him." She swallowed once more, cleared her throat, and said. "Yesterday morning I met Della at her house. I gave her a file I found in Paul's secret safe. It contains material about Norton - and your wife."

"Laura?" he asked. He grabbed for her elbow, pulled her towards him.

"Where's the file now? I need it!"

"As I said, I gave it to Della."

"Why her and not me?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you... I thought Della would make a better messenger than I."

"What's in the file?"

Irene freed herself from his grip and shrugged. "Data… names, dates, police reports, medical files."

Mason swallowed. "Go on."

"Paul found out that Laura had been admitted to a hospital about several weeks before your engagement to her. He looked into it and also found an old police report. She had been assaulted… raped and filed charges against Norton - nothing came of it, but some weeks later she was your wife and then she had this accident, where she lost a baby. Paul has drawn his own conclusions and so have I."

Mason didn't know what to say. His brain was processing the information and threw him into a loop.

"Look, I…"

"Come with me!" He took her elbow once more and forced her into the passenger's seat of his car.

"And where are we going?"

"Della's house and on the way there you tell me everything else I need to know!"

#########

When Della returned to the room where she had spent the night, Laura was still sitting in the same corner as before. The day light wasn't kind to her. Unlike Della she hadn't been allowed to use the bathroom to freshen up and it showed. Where her face was bruised, it was pale and she was trembling all over her body.

Della who had only touched a cup of coffee and refused the offered food returned to her place near the window. She was still uncertain what to make of her conversation with Norton. The man was as irrittating as he was dangerous and so far he had always been one step ahead of them and she wondered what Perry and the others would do next. Would they agree to Norton's deal? She doubted it and the thought scared her. She didn't want any more bloodshed. Too many people had died already and she hoped Perry and Richard would find a way to prevent more senseless killing.

"Care to share your experience with Norton?" Laura asked and Della noticed the raw snarl in her voice.

"It wasn't a fruitful conversation," Della answered. "Aside from the fact that I now understand you a whole lot better."

"I doubt that."

"I always thought you were so damn sure of everything you do. I thought you were the kind of woman who's a trooper. The one who knows what she wants and gets it. Well, I was wrong." Della shrugged and took off one shoe to rub her throbbing foot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura set up and she glared at Della who pretended not to notice her penetrating gaze.

"You're scared. Your whole motivation, your manipulation of others, especially men, it's all rooted in fear. You've always been running away, but you were clever enough to sell it to all of us as you moving forward."

Laura didn't react, she was paralysed, even her tremor had stopped.

"Norton was the father of your child, wasn't he? You ran to Perry, because you knew he could protect you from him. That's the thing about a man like Perry. You feel safe with him and that's what you needed."

"You have no right to judge me."

"I'm not judging you. I'm pointing out the facts."

"What do you know about facts?" Laura coughed. "You damn well know how to ignore them when it comes to your own husband."

"Don't change the subject. This isn't about Richard, this is about you and if you hadn't become involved with the wrong people none of us would be in this situation. Why did you help Norton to find me? Did he blackmail you? Did he threaten you?"

Laura simply ignored Della's questions and blurted out, "You feel comfortable blaming me for everything that went wrong with your life, don't you? But the truth is Perry wouldn't have fallen for me, if there had been nothing wrong with your relationship!"

Della swallowed. There was some truth in Laura's claim, one she had always denied even to herself. The months before Perry's involvement with Laura had been rough between them. Caught between the wish to live and work the way they had always done and the realization that they were heading nowhere, their relationship had become stale. Della remembered the sleepless nights when she had wondered, if she were ever going to be a mother, perfectly knowing that a child wouldn't fit into their world. The fear of losing Perry, because she sat at home, nursing a child while he was chasing the wicked with someone else, had bothered her. But the alternative was to change nothing and wonder what could have been. That's when Laura had crashed into their lives, claiming she was about to have the baby Della was craving for. So was that the truth behind it all? Laura had stolen nothing that hadn't been hers in the first place?

"Tell me one thing," Della demanded. "Was it really an accident or did you plan to lose the baby?"

"You're the one who says she has all the answers," Laura replied sourly. "Think what you want!"

#######

"There's no way, you will march into Norton's home without backup!" Andy shouted from the top of his lungs. He was standing in front of Richard's desk in their bungalow and didn't believe his ears. Richard Carlisle's face was made of stone and his blue eyes glittered cold and without compassion. His wheelchair stood near the fireplace and his hands clenched the wheels, his knuckled white, his jaw tightened. The man was on the warpath and Andy wasn't having it. His obvious handicap aside, Carlisle had no experience with hostage situations and he had a bad temper. He was angry and frustrated and Andy feared for Della's life in case Carlisle lost it and did something stupid like killing Norton or one of his henchmen. He was the worst possible candidate for a mission like this.

On the empty desk stood a paper weight that looked like an elephant. Andy took it into his hands and wished he could throw it - preferably against Carlisle's pighead.

"It wasn't a question," Richard snarled. "Why don't you go home and do what you've been doing the whole time and twiddle your thumbs?"

"Since I know you're going through right now, I will pretend I didn't hear this," Andy replied coolly. He put the paper weight aside. It was too dangerous to have something this heavy in his hands when he was arguing with the most stubborn man after Perry Mason. "But it won't save your wife, if you go on a rampage right now."

"I won't. I will simply do what Norton asks of me. I'll go there and bring him the files he's asked for. End of story."

"You won't go alone."

"What are you suggesting? Do you want to wire me? Send one of your agents with me? Norton expects me alone. He will smell the rat from afar if I don't show up on my own."

Andy had to admit that Carlisle was having a point, but his proposal was still a mad idea. A mistake of gigantic proportions.

"I can do you a favour though," Carlisle suddenly said. "In exchange for letting me go."

Andy was instantly interested - and suspicious. "And what could that be?"

"Aside from the documents Della saved when Ruben was kidnapped, I have a file about him. I never trusted Norton and I've spent the last couple of years looking over his shoulder."

Andy didn't believe what he heard. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Carlisle shrugged. "You never asked. But if you care to read it, I've hid the file in my secret cabinet."

He pointed at the hidden door behind his desk. Andy, greedy to get his hands on anything that would incriminate Norton, circled the desk, bent down to open the small door. Inside was a revolver and a file. He pushed the gun aside and Carlisle acted quickly. He wheeled forward, grabbed the bronze elephant from his desk, and smashed it on the back of Andy's head. Once, twice, and one more time until Andy groaned and dropped onto the floor, motionless.

"Sorry, my friend, but where I go, I can't take you with me." Richard said after he had put the paper weight back on the desk. "Take care."

######

Perry stopped the car in front of Della's house. It had to be a hundred degrees by now and he felt the sweat running down his spine. Irene was sitting next to him, but she had fallen silent after he had stopped questioning her. Mason was grateful for her silence. His brain was overworking and his soul was overwhelmed. Laura, Della, a lifetime of misery, and all of it because of Congressman Norton.

"I think it's best if you go home now," he said. "I'll call you a taxi."

"I can call it myself," Irene said.

"It's the least I can do," Perry said. He had already asked twice why she hadn't talked to him when she had discovered the file, but he hadn't received a sufficient answer yet and perhaps there wasn't one. Paul hadn't talked to him either and neither had Della. Perhaps that was something to had to think about later. Once when this was over. Once when Norton was in jail - or dead.

"Keep me posted, will you?" Irene asked. "I need to know if Della's safe."

She opened the door, ready to climb out and Perry just said, "I will."

"Take care of yourself."

"You too, Irene. You too."

######

To his surprise the front door wasn't locked. When he stepped inside the house seemed empty, which was odd enough. He had an agreement with Richard to meet with him and Andy and Andy's car stood in front of the house.

"Richard? Andy?"

No one answered. Nervously he started searching the rooms. The house was empty. He knew that Martha was in the hospital to take care of Ruben so her absence was no surprise, but where was Richard? He had the rising feeling that Richard had outsmarted him and was going after Norton all by himself.

He finally reached the study in the back of the house. It seemed as empty as the other rooms, but as he turned around he heard a suppressed moan and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Who is it?" he asked loudly and the answer was another, this time more insisting, rasping sound.

Behind the desk he found Andy who was struggling to rise from the floor. There was a wound at the back of his head that was bleeding heavily. Perry quickly grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"What happened?" he asked once he had maneuvered Andy into a chair.

"Carlisle. That's who happened. He tricked me! That goddamn son of a…."

"Where did he go?"

Andy touched the back of his head and groaned when he saw the blood on his fingers. "Take a wild guess… Norton!"

"Did he say anything?" Perry pressed a handkerchief on the head wound, but Andy waved him away and shook his head. "No, but look into the cabinet. There was a gun inside. I bet he took it."

Perry did as asked and confirmed Andy's suspicion. "No gun, no nothing."

"Damn it!" Andy pushed himself up. "We have to go to Norton, before Carlisle does something stupid and gets himself and Della killed!"

"But where is Carlisle?" Perry asked. "You said your men didn't find anyone in his house in the city."

"No, but I know he owns some weekend house outside Sacramento. My men discreetly checked his tax records and he bought the place several years ago. I'm sure he brought Della and Laura there - or at least there's a chance he did."

"I'll bring you to a doctor first," Perry said. The wound didn't stop bleeding and needed medical attention.

"We don't have time for this," Della decided swiftly. "I'm sure Della has some kind of medical kit somewhere. Get it and I'll take care of myself."

"I guess I missed the moment when you became an expert on medical opinions," Perry said dryly.

"You've missed a lot of stuff during the last couple of years," Andy snarled. "And now get a move on!"

######

Della had fallen asleep. Finally, after a restless night, the weird breakfast experience with Norton, and the grueling discussion with Laura, her body had given in. A restless dream filled with blood and tears was haunting her, claws were reaching for her and when undefinable noises reached her ear, she struggled to open her eyes.

Laura was shaking her. Her voice cut through her fading nightmare like a knife cut through butter. "Wake up for heaven's sake!"

"Stop it!" Barely awake, she pushed Laura backwards, but then she quickly realized why Laura was upset. She heard people shouting and numerous gunshots. The noises were muffled and it was unclear whether it happened inside the house or not. With trembling legs she rose from her uncomfortable position, ignored the pain in her knees and looked outside the window. The garden was empty. The relentless sun burned the lawn and if it weren't for the violent echoes around the house, everything looked like a peaceful summer day. Another gunshot roared through the house, this time much closer, than before.

"What do we do?!" Laura yelled.

"Well, we can't jump out of the window," Della answered. The only door leading outside was locked and the noises came closer. A man was yelling, then another burst of gunfire reached their ears. Laura covered her ears and screamed and Della came close to do the same. They were sitting in a trap and they didn't know whether the fighting within the house was because Perry and the others were coming for them. The room they were in offered no place to hide, there was nothing they could use to defend themselves.

"In the corner behind the door!" Della said.

Laura looked up to Della, panic written all over her face, but she did as told. Della followed her, but as she reached the door, it flew open. Della froze, when she saw the last of Norton's accomplices standing in the door. His gun pointed at her, but he seemed paralysed. Della held her breath and stayed where she was. Sure, he was going to shoot her, she thought of her son, her husband, and of course Perry. A kaleidoscope of memories flashed through her mind, reminded her of the things, she cherished, and of those who were coloured by regret.

Suddenly the man collapsed in front of her. He fell over, landed on his face, and when she saw the blood soaking his shirt she gasped. With her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming she carefully stepped over the body and looked along the corridor.

"Richard!" She sobbed when she saw him. His wheelchair was thrown over and he lay on the floor. Ignoring the possibility of another attacker she ran to him. Carefully she turned her husband on his back. There was blood on the floor underneath him, but she had no idea where he was injured. He groaned with pain and his face was white as a sheet.

"What happened, what were you doing?" she asked, exasperated. "Where's Andy?"

"Not here," he answered. "Norton's dead." He coughed and blood was spilling down his chin. Her sobs turned into a flood of tears. Her hands were shaking as she caressed his face.

"I'll call an ambulance!"

He shook his head, his breath was rattling as the blood spilled slowly over her hands. "That's not necessary… not anymore. You're safe now. So's Ruben."

"You shouldn't have done this."

"It's all… all right. It's all right now."

He closed his eyes. Finally she was able to scream. She was screaming so loud that she didn't hear Laura sneaking up behind her. She didn't notice Perry's wife passing her without stopping by. Consumed by terror she missed the arriving police force with its siren's wailing. She missed someone calling out her name and another wave of gun fire downstairs.

####tbc####

So, who lives and who dies? You can place your bets now...