The Case of the Mystery Writer
Chapter 8
1
Nick Perino was scared. He'd be writing murder mysteries for some time now. Never, in his wildest dreams, did he ever envision himself accused of a murder. How could that police detective ever think he would kill Leo Dobbs? If he were to kill a person, didn't he think he would do it in such a way he couldn't be caught? After all, Nick created murder scenes for years. He certainly wouldn't have led the police directly to him.
He realized he actually had no one to blame but himself. Why did he take that gun to Leo's place with the idea of threatening him with it? How could he be so careless… so stupid? He must have dropped the gun when he tripped on Leo's steps. Now, look at the mess he was in. Someone picked up the gun and killed him with it. This looked bad and he knew it.
At least he listened to Perry Mason and didn't talk to Tragg. How could he? He couldn't tell him he took a loaded gun to Leo's home, threatened him with it, but had no intention of using it on him. Good grief! Not even he would believe it. So, he did as Mason said and simply repeated he would not speak without his lawyer present every time Tragg asked a question. He would have to trust Mason to get him out of this mess. After Tragg gave up, he left Nick handcuffed to a heavy duty ring in the center of the table. He couldn't do anything but wait.
Finally, the door opened and Perry Mason entered the room. He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite the writer. He could see the terrified look on Perino's face. He sat there for a minute before saying anything. When he did, he asked the question he needed answered. "Did you kill that man?"
"No, Mr Mason, I swear I didn't kill him," Perino looked the lawyer in the eye. He had to convince him of his innocence.
"Your gun was found at the scene. How did it get there?"
Nick felt ashamed. How could he allow his judgment to be so clouded as to take a loaded gun to threaten the man with. An unloaded gun would have served the purpose. God, what a mess! "I took it with me. I wanted Leo to stop blackmailing me, but I swear, Mr Mason, I had no intention of killing him. I only wanted to make him think I would so he would leave me alone. I didn't kill him. You have to believe me."
"So, you threatened him with it, then what?"
Perino shook his head. "No, I didn't threaten him with it. When I got there, he wasn't home. He didn't answer the door."
"Then you never saw him at all?" Mason asked.
"No, I didn't."
"Then why was the gun found at the scene? It was the murder weapon."
"I don't know. All I know is when I went to threaten Alicia, I discovered I didn't have the gun. All I could figure was it fell out of my pocket when I stumbled on Leo's stairs. I almost fell down. It must have fallen from my pocket then. I checked my car, thinking it had to have fallen inside, but it wasn't there."
"Who is Alicia?" Mason demanded.
"Alicia Clay. She is someone Leo knows. She is a writer."
"Did you threaten her as well?"
Perino looked down. He couldn't meet Mason's eyes. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she was blackmailing me too."
"Was it for the same reason Dobbs was blackmailing you?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
Perino sat there. "I was going to tell you when I came to your office, but now I am not sure I should. It can't become public, or I will be ruined."
"Now you listen to me, you have a bigger problem than the blackmail becoming public. You are going to be indicted for murder in the first degree. Let me lay it out for you. You were being blackmailed. The murdered man was killed with your gun. You were seen at the scene around the time the murder was committed, and another witness, Alicia Clay, has come forward who will testify you threaten to kill her. And believe me, she will describe it as anything but blackmail. Do you really want to sit there and tell me you should keep it to yourself? I told you I would help you under the condition that you tell me the truth."
"I am telling you the truth," he insisted.
"And I will not be blindsided in court, so tell me why they were blackmailing you?" Mason demanded.
Perino sat there. He didn't want the information to become public, and he was afraid if he told Mason, that is exactly what would happen. "Please, Mr Mason, it can't become public. Even if I get out of this mess, it will ruin me. No one would ever buy my books again."
"Whether or not anybody will buy your books isn't going to matter if you get the death penalty for a murder you claim you didn't commit," Mason said.
"What do you mean, claim? I told you I did not kill Leo Dobbs. He wasn't home when I got there. If you don't believe me, then how am I going to convince a jury?"
Mason softened his tone. "Listen to me, Nick. The blackmail is going to come out. You cannot stop it. It is the motive which the district attorney is going to use against you in the trial. I can't be blindsided in court. I have to know exactly why you were being blackmailed. It is the only way I will be able to try to minimize the damage. You cannot keep it secret any longer. So, tell me why you were being blackmailed."
"Isn't there any other way that…"
"No, there is no other way. You either be completely truthful and straight with me, or you find yourself another lawyer."
"All right, I don't want another lawyer. I want you. I'll tell you. I have already told you what happened when I was in high school. You know that I wrote for a sleazy online magazine before I became a novelist. When I obtained Leo Dobbs as my agent, he introduced me to Alicia Clay. He told me she would be editing my books before they went to press. After I gave them my first novel, Leo told me that it would never sell. He said that Alicia would be able to alter it so it would be marketable. It was given to her, and she rewrote it."
"In other words, it really wasn't your work."
"Not exactly. Leo told me that she changed most of it. The same thing happened with my second book. After that, Leo was pleased with my third one. None of the rest of my books were altered by Alicia."
"So basically what you are telling me is that you didn't write your first two books, Alicia Clay wrote them."
"Yes."
"How much has she been blackmailing you for?"
"I was writing her a check for $25,000 every month. I have been doing it ever since then."
"Why did you go to her house to confront her? What exactly transpired?" Mason asked.
"I told her I wasn't going to pay the money monthly anymore. I gave her one month to come up with a reasonable sum of money that would make her go away for good."
"And what did she say?"
"At first she refused. After I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her up against the wall, it convinced her that I just might kill her. She agreed and asked for some time to come up with the figure. I told her I would give her one month to come up with the figure, and that it would be the final monthly payment. I wouldn't pay her any more money after that except the settlement."
"Is this the same thing Leo Dobbs was blackmailing you for?"
"Yes. He got into my safety deposit box. He found my bank statements and carbon copies of the checks. He used that against me in order to prove that Alicia wrote the two novels."
"Has it occurred to you that the two of them set this up from the very beginning?"
"I guess I haven't thought about it. It looks really bad, doesn't it, Mr Mason?"
"I am not going to lie to you. It certainly doesn't look good."
"Will you help me, Mr Mason?"
"Yes, I'll help you. But, I am warning you, do not keep anything from me. You tell me the truth. The only way I can help you is if I know everything. I don't want the district attorney to blindside me with information that you have kept to yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir. Perfectly clear."
"All right then. You sit tight. Paul Drake has already been investigating this case. We will intensify the investigation. You will be arraigned in court tomorrow on a charge of first-degree murder. All you will do is appear there. I'll do all the talking. From now on, you say absolutely nothing to anyone. If the police ask you any questions at all, you tell them you will only answer questions in my presence. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly clear. That detective tried to get me to answer questions, but I refused."
"And you keep on refusing. You don't talk to the police unless I'm there."
"Yes sir."
"Now, is there anything you need? Anything I can bring to you?"
"If possible, I would like my laptop so I can continue writing."
Mason didn't believe the police would allow it, but he told Perino he would see what he could do. He left the holding room to look for Paul Drake.
As soon as Drake spotted him, he went directly to Mason. "From everything I have been able to gather, this looks really bad, Perry."
"You don't know the half of it. Leo Dobbs was not the only one blackmailing Nick Perino. Our mysterious Alicia is Alicia Clay. She will testify that she wrote the first two novels Nick Perino presented as his."
"Oh boy! That's the motive for murder that Hamilton Burger will use."
"It's worse than that, Paul. The murder weapon is registered to Nick Perino. Furthermore, he admits to going to his house with the gun for the purpose of threatening him. He claims he didn't really intend to go ahead and shoot him."
"Good luck convincing a jury of that."
"That is why we have to end this in the preliminary hearing."
Drake pulled a package of cigarettes from his inside suit coat pocket. He offered one to Mason. The lawyer waved it off. "So what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to find out about Alicia Clay for one thing. If she did write his first two novels, why isn't she writing novels herself? Both those novels sold extremely well. I find it hard to believe that she would write two novels that were huge successes, and then never attempt to write a novel in her own name. Something is fishy there. I want you to check into it."
Drake pulled a small notebook and pen out of his pocket. He began scribbling down instructions. "Anything else?"
"I still want Deana Jarrett thoroughly investigated. I want to know where she fits into all of this. She wouldn't have run if she had nothing to do with Perino since he was in high school. She's involved in this somehow, and I want to know what it is."
"All right, Perry. I'll get back to you as soon as I have something." Drake left and headed for his sports car.
As Mason continued down the hall, he saw Lieutenant Tragg headed in his direction. He slowed his pace as the veteran detective blocked his path.
"So, Perry, are you going to take his case?" Tragg asked.
"There was never any doubt about that. He's my client."
Looking up at the taller lawyer, the detective suggested, "Plead the case, Perry. Don't take this one to trial. You'll lose. This is definitely the slam-dunk winner Hamilton Burger has been looking for. You know I have an obligation to provide him with the evidence to convict your client. You can't win this one. The man is guilty."
"Lieutenant, do you really think that a man who has written murder mysteries, created many ways to commit murder in his books, would actually do one in such a sloppy manner?"
"That's fiction. Since he is a writer and not a professional killer, he would be incapable of committing the perfect murder. These people were going to reveal that he is a fraud. If they did that, he would be finished as a writer."
"Even if he was, and I don't believe that in this day and age, he's a multi-millionaire. He wouldn't have to make another dime for the rest of his life."
"Oh, come on, counselor. Most writers don't write for the money once they are millionaires. It's their ego. You know that. He wouldn't allow someone to take that away from him. That is why he killed Leo Dobbs, and probably would have killed Alicia Clay if he had gotten the chance."
Rather than argue with the lieutenant, Mason just smiled and walked out around him. "He didn't kill him, and I intend to prove it."
"The only one who is going to be doing any proving is Hamilton Burger. He has his case, Mason. Don't waste your time with this one. Plead it down."
Mason said nothing further. He walked out of police headquarters and headed to his car. He always tried to remember that every murder case looked bleak in the beginning. It was the intense investigation that turned things around. With Paul's help, he would prove the innocence of Nick Perino.
2
Hamilton Burger never questioned a witness for the prosecution without knowing exactly what they were going to say. Therefore, he requested that Alicia Clay come into his office. Checking his watch, she was 15 minutes late. He stood up from his desk, walked over to the door, and asked his secretary, "Has Miss Clay called as to why she is late?"
"No, Mr Burger. I haven't heard from her. I made it clear what time she was to meet with you."
"Try getting a hold of her please. This is one witness I don't want to lose."
At that moment, Alicia Clay walked into the office. "Sorry I am late. Traffic was absolutely horrible. I got held up. I guess I should have given myself more time to reach your office."
Burger gestured toward his office door. "Please come in, Miss Clay."
She followed him into his office, and Burger shut the door. "Please be seated. Can I get you anything, a cup of coffee or a soft drink perhaps?"
"No, thank you. Can we get this over with? I have a hair appointment."
Burger couldn't help but feel disgust. A man had been murdered, and she was worried about her hair. He had a feeling he would have to completely control the narrative with this woman. He couldn't have a loose cannon on the stand. This time he had a case where he knew he was going to beat Perry Mason. "Your hair appointment will have to wait. This is far too important to rush through."
She sighed in disgust. "This is just ridiculous. I already told the police everything I know. Why in God's name do I have to repeat it?"
Burger pulled out a chair. "Sit down, Miss Clay."
She did so, but not without displaying how unhappy she was about being there.
"It is my understanding that you wrote the first two novels for Nick Perino. Is that correct?"
"Yeah, that's right. You should have seen those books. They were a mess. Leo asked me to rewrite them, which I did."
"My investigators have found out that Perino was paying you $25,000 a month. Were you blackmailing him?"
"Oh heavens no! My understanding is Leo was the one who was blackmailing him."
Burger didn't care for her uppity attitude. He would have to find a way to temper it when she was on the stand, or Mason would take advantage of it. "If you weren't blackmailing him, what was the money for?"
She knew this question was going to be asked so she rehearsed her answer in front of the mirror at home. "It was payment for having rewritten his novels. He paid me that amount of money every month because he collected a lot of money for those books. Nick knew he hadn't written them, so he agreed to pay me for writing them."
"That's a lot of money for two books. And now, ten years later he is still paying you the money?"
"Do you have any idea how much money those books made him? He was supposed to pay me $25,000 a month for ten years. The payments were coming to an end."
"Did you write him receipts for the payments?"
Clay answered indignantly. "No, we had an agreement, and he paid me. That's it."
"Was the agreement in writing?"
"No, we trusted each other. He never missed a payment."
Burger went on to question her about what happened when Nick Perino came to her home. When she finished, he told her, "These are the questions that I will be asking you on the stand. I expect you to give the same truthful answers. I also warn you that Perry Mason is very good at tripping people up on the stand. Stick to what you have told me, and you should be all right."
As soon as Alicia Clay left his office, his intercom buzzed. Burger pressed the button. "Yes, what is it?"
"Bill Harrison is here to see you per your request," his secretary told him.
"Send him in." Burger told her. He would question Harrison to make sure he knew what he would be saying on the stand. He felt good about the way the case was going. This time, Perry Mason was defending the guilty client. Burger would see to it that he didn't get off.
3
After leaving Hamilton Burger's office, Alicia Clay drove directly to the motel that Deana Jarrett was staying at. She parked her car, walked over to room 111, and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Alicia, Deana, open the door." She heard her unlatch the door and it opened.
"Hurry up, come inside. We should not be seen together."
Moving swiftly into the room, Alicia Clay sat down in a chair. "I just left Hamilton Burger's office. I am going to be forced to testify."
"Don't panic. Just tell it like it happened when Nick showed up at your house. As I told you, he can't prove the money he paid you was blackmail."
Alicia acknowledged the fact that she told Burger the money was for writing the two books.
"It is important that you don't panic. Just stick to that story, and we will be alright. They don't need to know that you and I have been working together from the beginning. We will act like we don't even know each other. It will protect you, and me as well."
"I'm worried, Deana. I've heard too much about Perry Mason's reputation. He digs until he finds the truth. If it all comes out, you and I will go to jail."
"Just calm down, neither of us is going to jail. They have no way to prove you were blackmailing Nick. On the other hand, they will be able to prove that Leo was blackmailing him. The district attorney has the motive. From what I have heard from my source at the police department, Nick went to Leo's, and apparently lost his gun there. He was seen by the next door neighbor. Perry Mason or not, he will be convicted of the murder of Leo Dobbs. We have nothing to worry about as long as we remain calm. As far as Mason is concerned, just keep your composure when you are on the stand. He has no way of proving that the money you received from Nick was anything but payment for those two books, just as you told Hamilton Burger. Did you receive one last payment from Nick?"
"I got a payment the other day. I put your half in your account. I don't know what I am going to do. We won't receive any more payments, you can bet on that. Perry Mason will put a stop to it." Alicia began to cry. "I should have put away more money. With the job that I have, I don't know how I am going to afford the taxes on the house, let alone anything else. My job barely feeds me. I depended upon the money Nick sent every month."
"Don't worry about it, when this is all over, we'll figure something out. Nick Perino is going to continue to pay us every month. He just doesn't know it yet." Jarrett walked over to the door. She opened it, indicating the conversation was over. "Remember, remain calm. I have kept the money flowing in for 10 years. I will continue to do so. Just sit back, and let me handle it. Don't come here again. Go somewhere you can use a phone that will not be traced back to you. Call me, and we will arrange to meet."
After Alicia Clay left her motel room, Jarrett was concerned she wasn't going to be able to hold it together. She would have no choice but to make sure she couldn't be connected to Clay in any way. Then, it would be her word against Clays.
3
Roy Foster received the word that Manuel Sanchez wanted to see him. Foster had been a bookie for many years. Although he had many brushes with the law, they were never able to prove he did anything illegal. Of course, his entire bookie operation was illegal. He was able to hide it behind a legitimate Check and Go business. That business was one that allowed people to borrow money at exorbitant rates, and pay them back with penalties that were just as exorbitant if they were late. It had become what was literally a legal loan sharking business.
Foster took each day as it came. He figured Congress would eventually put a stop to these types of businesses. After all, once the business got its hooks into an individual, they never recovered. It really wasn't where he made most of his money. It simply was a cover for his real business which was as a bookie. Now that's where he made the real money.
Manuel Sanchez walked into the Check and Go. He was wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. Sanchez walked to the back of the room where Roy Foster was standing. "We need to talk, but not out here."
Foster nodded and led him into a back room. "What's up?"
"Haven't you heard the news?" Sanchez asked.
"What news? What are you talking about?"
"Leo Dobbs."
"What about him?"
"Come on, Roy, don't tell me you don't know he's dead."
"Dead! No, I didn't know. You had him taken out for the money he owed you, didn't you?" Foster said.
"The hell I did! He owed you a hell of a lot more money than he owed me. Don't deny it, you had him whacked, didn't you?"
"Let's go on the assumption that neither one of us had him whacked. How did he die?"
Sanchez pointed an index finger to the middle of his forehead. "Not that you don't know, but he was shot right between the eyes."
"I told you I didn't do it," Foster said, a bit testy. "You had just as much reason to kill him as I did. He owed me a lot of money. Why would I kill him? He can't pay it back if he's dead."
"Okay, okay. If neither of us did it, then who did?"
Foster looked out through the window over his employees. They were standing around talking and laughing. "The help these days. These people are totally useless."
"You didn't answer my question. If we didn't do it, who did?"
"Now just how in the hell am I supposed to know that? Do you have any idea how much money I am now out because of him? If he was stiffing you and me, you can bet he was stiffing somebody else as well."
Sanchez studied him for a moment. He wondered if he was telling him the truth. At the same time, Foster wondered if he was telling him the truth. Both men knew that either one of them could have done it. "Well regardless, we both are going to have the police sniffing around us when they find out how much money he owed us. I can't afford it, Roy. If they find out I have been betting against myself, I will get kicked out of horse racing for life."
"Well, I would say that is your problem, don't make it mine."
"It is your problem. Because if I get banned from racing, I'll tell them everything I know about you. So, you and I are going to stick together. Like two peas in a pod."
Who did this idiot think he was? Foster wasn't about to allow him to expose his business. If it came down to it, he would kill the little weasel. Foster had no problem taking people out. No one threatened him. Grabbing Sanchez by his collar, Foster slammed him up against the wall. "You get one thing straight, Sanchez. Don't threaten me. I could kill you just as soon as look at you. If you think I'm bluffing, try me. Furthermore, since it was you that had Leo Dobbs making bets with me, you are now inheriting his debt. You will be expected to pay it back in full."
"Are you crazy? I'm not paying his debt. You're not the only one that has lost money."
Foster slammed him up against the wall a couple more times. "Oh, but you are going to pay back his debt. Your first payment is next week. If I don't receive it, I'll send the boys to collect. I don't care how you do it. Go ahead and keep betting on horses and throwing races. But you will pay me back. Now, get the hell out of my store."
Foster turned him around and shoved him as hard as he could. The jockey fell to the floor. He stood up, brushed himself off, and left.
As Foster watched him leave, he had a feeling he was going to have no choice but to take out the jockey. He couldn't have him interfering with his bookie business.
4
The next morning, Della Street woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. She reached over Mason and shut it off. As always, she went into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day, leaving the sleeping lawyer to get a few extra winks.
Later after both of them were ready for work, they sat at the kitchen table eating the bacon and eggs Della had prepared. The doorbell rang, and Della headed to answer it. When she opened the door, a smiling Paul Drake was standing there.
"Is that bacon and eggs I smell?" Drake asked.
She chuckled and invited him in. "Come into the kitchen, Paul, and I'll cook you some eggs if you're hungry."
"Are you kidding? I'm always hungry. That's because your boss never allows me to eat a decent meal. It's always soggy hamburgers and soft drinks."
Mason looked up from the table as Drake entered. Della went back to the stove to cook bacon and eggs for the private detective.
"This is not a restaurant, you know," Mason said with a smile.
"Look on the bright side, Perry. This is one meal that won't appear on my bill."
"I'll make sure Della deducts it from the check," Mason quipped. "What do you have for me?"
"I assigned one of my operatives to follow Deana Jarrett. She is living in a motel now. She had a visitor last night whom I think you might be interested in." Drake handed Mason a picture of a tall blonde.
"And just who might this be?" Mason asked him.
"She's quite a looker, don't you think?" Drake said with a grin.
Mason glanced over at Della before responding. "I'd say she's about average."
Della walked over to the table, took the picture out of Mason's hand and said, "She's much better than average."
Mason winked at Paul and turned his attention back to Della. "I hadn't noticed."
"Ah huh," she said, knowing better.
"Who is she, Paul?"
"That gorgeous doll is the mysterious Alicia Clay."
"You told me Deana Jarrett said she didn't know anybody by the name of Alicia Clay," Mason pointed out.
"She did. Obviously, she lied. At least she wasn't lying when she said she never used the name."
"Have you been able to find out the connection between them?"
"Not yet. I'll keep a man on her and see what we can find out. Do you want me to put someone on Alicia Clay as well?" Drake asked.
Mason didn't have to consider it for more than a second. "Yes, Paul. Have her shadowed. Let's see if we can find out how these two are connected. Since Alicia Clay was blackmailing Perino, there's a good chance that Deana Jarrett help provide information to make it possible. We need to find out her connection with Leo Dobbs as well. There might be a possible motive for her to kill Dobbs."
They discussed the case throughout breakfast. When they were done eating, Della put the dishes in the sink.
"Perry, you need to get to court. The arraignment is in less than an hour. I'll take my own car to work."
Mason stood up. After giving Della a quick kiss, he and Drake left the apartment.
The lawyer arrived at the courthouse and headed directly to the arraignment. When he walked in, Nick Perino was already sitting at the table. Hamilton Burger, along with Lieutenant Arthur Tragg were seated at the opposite table.
"Mr Mason, what is going to happen?"
"We will enter a plea, and then I will try to get you released on bail. Bail isn't usually allowed in the case of a murder charge, but I think the judge might make an exception in this case."
Judge Jack Riley entered the courtroom and took his place on the bench. He looked over the paperwork in front of him and then looked up at the opposing attorneys. "Mr Burger?"
"Yes, Your Honor. The people versus Nicholas Perino on a charge of murder in the first degree of Leo Dobbs."
Judge Riley looked at Nick Perino. "Mr Perino, do you understand the charge against you?"
Perino looked at his attorney who nodded. "I do."
"How do you plead?"
Mason informed the judge, "The defendant pleads not guilty."
Judge Riley checked his calendar. "The trial will begin one week from today. Is that satisfactory for both attorneys?"
"It is Your Honor," Burger agreed.
"Mr Mason?"
"Yes, it is. Your Honor, I would like to bring up the question of bail."
"Just a minute," Burger objected. "I would encourage Your Honor to refuse bail to the defendant. He is an extremely wealthy man with the ability to flee jurisdiction."
"Mr Perino is an established member of the community," Mason stated. "He has no intention of fleeing jurisdiction. He is a successful writer, his home is here, and is looking forward to his day in court. I encourage Your Honor to make an exception and release him on his own recognizance."
Judge Riley was one of the tougher judges in Los Angeles. He didn't believe in releasing accused murderers back into society. "Mr Perino may be a member of this community. However, as Mr Burger has stated, he is extremely wealthy with the ability to flee jurisdiction. Therefore, I am denying bail. The defendant will remain in custody during the preliminary hearing as well as the trial, if there is one. We will see you both in court in one week." The judge banged his gavel and left the courtroom.
"Does that mean I am going to have to remain in jail until this is all over?" Perino asked his lawyer.
"I am afraid so. Judge Riley rarely ever grants bail. It was a long shot to begin with. I will keep you up to date on the investigation." Mason shook hands with Perino, and the bailiff led him away.
Hamilton Burger walked over to Mason's table. "Perry, I was surprised to see you plead the defendant not guilty. I sent you the discovery. I am sure you have read it and realize the evidence is overwhelming. I am willing to reduce the sentence to second degree murder."
"Hamilton, you know me better than that. I will not plead a client guilty whom I believe is innocent."
"Come on, Perry. You've seen the evidence. I'm trying to give you a break here."
"I realize that, Hamilton, but I cannot accept any kind of guilty plea."
"You realize when Perino is convicted, I will ask for the death penalty."
"Don't you mean if he is found guilty? Unless things have changed, I believe he is innocent until proven guilty. I appreciate the plea offer, but I must turn it down."
"All right, suit yourself." Burger turned and walked away.
Mason collected his briefcase and left the courtroom.
