Attorney Davis was just out of law school. He had been one of the top members of his class, but had decided to dedicate his work to the less fortunate and the poor of the city. He knew that he would never be as financially set as many of his other colleagues, but he thought that there would be a deep satisfaction with what he could accomplish.
This lady Mary had him very worried. He had studied capital murder cases in law school, of course, but this lady was facing a real long prison term if he could not help her. There were things that just did not add up to her being the real murderer. But, he had failed her when he had asked for bond. Because of his inexperience the prosecutor had walked all over him and Mary had missed her own husband's funeral. This was unacceptable and Larry Davis had made up his mind then and there that he was going to get her acquitted.
It was late and he was at his desk going over law after law when his phone had rung. He was surprised that it rang so late at night. He had not gotten very many calls since he had opened his office. In fact of the ten calls that he had received two had been a wrong number.
As he answered the phone he was shocked to hear the voice of Perry Mason on the other end of the line. Mr. Mason had taught a few classes at his school when he had attended and he had a very distinguished voice.
Mr. Mason was offering to help him with the case against Mary. Larry had read the whole story. The two men had kidnapped the little girl that Perry Mason and his wife had just adopted. The men were found murdered in the cabin where they had kept the little girl captive. Perry Mason was asking him if he could come over to the office and talk about the case. "I would be honored to have you assist me on any case. I am here at my office now."
Perry smiled as he hung up the phone. Attorney Davis was an eager man and would wait for him to come. This was a sign that he had the ability to be a good lawyer one day. He thought of his first few days. There he sat in an office with all these books and the desire to change the world and no one called. He had sat there in his office with no one but his mother there to keep him company for weeks. But then he had hired Della and the cases started come in. That was a long time ago, and now he was married with a family and very happy with his life.
As Perry hit the button that would take him up to Attorney Davis' office, he thought of the young man who had asked so many questions as a student at one of his lectures. Larry had been a bright student and Perry had liked him right there on the spot. Larry Davis met Perry at his office door and the two men sat down for a long discussion.
Perry looked around at the office and saw what a shambles it was in. There were papers and books everywhere. It looked to him like Larry needed someone like his Della to take care of the office. "I have heard that you have taken the case of the woman who has been charged in the murders of the two men who kidnapped my daughter. I was wondering if you have any plans on how you want to defend her."
Larry looked into the man's eyes and knew that he could somehow tell what Larry was thinking even if he had said nothing. I have not been able to build up much of a defense, but I do have some serious questions about the police take on the murder. That is where I planned to start." Larry told Perry.
"What kind of problems do you see with this case?" Perry asked him intently.
"is this discussion going to be just between you and me and confidential?" Larry asked him.
"Yes this discussion will go no further than this room if that is the way you want it to be." Perry promised him.
Larry took a seat behind his desk and said " I would like to look more into this man that says he saw Mary driving her car up to the cabin. In one statement he needs to see a picture of her to identify her. Yet my client says that she has known him and Mary's own family since he was a young child. He should have said that is Mary and that should have been the end of it. When I talked to the man at the local gas station today he said that he hadn't seen Mary in the town since his friend Nora and her husband had been killed in the accident." Larry studied the man's eyes and could see that Mr. Mason was thinking about what had just been said.
"Who told you that Larry knew Mary?" Perry asked Larry.
"Bob Martin his father told me that the two families had been friends for years. Once In a while their son Barry would watch Sally for a short time. They used to go up there for barb-q and things." Larry told them.
"Larry , this case has been one of the hardest or the hardest case that I have ever worked on. My first rule has always been don't get involved. But when these two men Larry and Steve kidnapped my daughter I became emotionally involved and should have stepped down. You are right and I no longer think that Mary is guilty of doing anything. I have a man named Paul Drake up by the cabin right now. I think that he should look into Barry Martin and who he has been hanging around with. I don't think that he is telling the truth about who he saw driving up to the cabin that day" Perry watched as the young man tried to take everything in.
"So you think that Mary is innocent? Will you help me find out who the real murderer is?" Larry asked him.
"Yes Larry I can help you. But, this is still your case. I will just assist you with it. I am too involved." Please come to my office first thing in the morning and we will begin the process of having another hearing."
As Perry left the office that evening, he knew that he had not done the best he could. He should have realized by himself that Mary was not the murderer. She was a at a PTA meeting that night at seven and had worked until a few minutes after five. The ride was an hour each way from LA to the cabin and at first she had been ruled out as a suspect. Now once more Perry needed to once more find the real murderer.
