Chapter 7

Thursday

Della made a point of arriving early the next morning but found Claudia Allison waiting for her. Putting her purse and gloves away, she accepted the cup of coffee Claudia had ready.

"I appreciate it, but Mr. Hays won't. Never get him coffee before he arrives. He dislikes the idea of being considered predictable - but that's only because he is. He takes it black with one sugar in the morning, two sugars after lunch and always let him tell you that."

"I think Mr. Hays and I can iron out the minor details, but while he's not here, why don't you tell me the stuff you're not supposed to tell me."

Della admired the forthright request and responded in kind. "Protect yourself. I know what it's like in the secretarial pool. It's easy to talk to the other girls and commiserate about your bosses, but your reputation reflects on him even more than his reflects on you. Treat him like a client and don't discuss his business with anyone else. There may be gossip about him but you never want to run the risk of it being traced back to you. Lawyers bring money into the firm, secretaries don't. That's why they fire secretaries and not lawyers."

Claudia nodded her understanding. "What about the man himself?"

"You know his reputation, it's hard not to. He'll try something, but once he knows you won't put up with it - and won't embarrass him - he'll leave you alone. Think you can handle it?"

"Yes," Claudia said then added slyly, "but I think I need to have my boyfriend pick me up every day next week."

"Why?"

"He went to UCLA on a football scholarship. Defensive lineman... and a two time All American."

"Ah." Della liked the subtle visual message. "Oh, and make sure he meets Mrs. Hays. She'll still make your life miserable because she enjoys it but at least you'll have tried to show her your romantic attentions lie elsewhere."

"Okay, what's next?"

"We're standing in the middle of what's next. The desk set up is a bit awkward, but it's the only way to arrange the room so that you can see both doors. It limits the possibilities of Mr. Hays sneaking up on you. Never file from the front of a drawer; you can see more of the room if you stand to one side. Never leave your desk," the outer office door opened admitting Martin Hays but Della continued never missing a beat, "without a pad and a sharp pencil. A written note is always better than relying on your memory. Good morning, Mr. Hays. This is Claudia Allison. She'll be replacing me."

The man muttered something under his breath and stalked into his office, scarcely acknowledging the introduction.

Claudia didn't wait for direction from Della. She stepped just inside the open door and asked, "Would you care for coffee this morning, Mr. Hays?"

"Black, one sugar, and make sure it's fresh," he snarled. Opening his briefcase, he took a slip of paper from one of the folders inside. "Here," he said holding it out, "have Miss Street get these citations for me."

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged, closing the door behind her as she left.

Martin Hays stared at the door for a long moment then picked up the phone.

~P&D~

The personnel director reached to answer his ringing phone. "Burton Jefferies. Yes, I was... but, Mr. Hays, don't you... that's not... yes, sir, I understand. Yes, sir, I'll take care of it." He hung up, swearing softly.

His sudden, overwhelming need for coffee was a delaying tactic, but he didn't care. The conversation he was going to be having was one of the few parts of his job he disliked.

~P&D~

Jefferies stopped just in time to keep from colliding with the two women coming down the corridor. So much for coffee.

"Ah, Miss Street, I was going to call you. May I see you in my office for a moment?" Burton asked quietly.

Jefferies' attempt at discretion was unnecessary. Della and Claudia both could easily guess what was coming.

"I'll get Mr. Hays' coffee, then start on those citations, if you'd like?" Claudia offered.

Della gave her the slip of paper. "I'll meet you in the law library as soon as I'm finished."

~P&D~

Della sat calmly in her seat watching Burton Jefferies pace.

"Miss Street, you have been a valued employee here at Murphy and Young and as much as it pains me to say this..."

"You don't have to sugarcoat it for me. Mr. Hays called and he wants me out when? Today?" Della guessed.

Deflated - and relieved at her composed reaction - Burton slumped into his own chair. "Tomorrow. I'm sorry, I know how much two weeks' pay can mean."

"It's not a problem. Mr. Ma-" she caught herself, "uh, my new employer has said I can start anytime, so I guess Monday's it."

"Will you be able to give Claudia sufficient training in so short a time?"

"It will be a crash course, but she's good; that's why I chose her." She started to rise but sat back down. "There is one thing. Mr. Hays has two, no three, important appointments tomorrow but due to our newly abbreviated timeframe, Claudia and I will need to spend most of the day at the courthouse. Could you arrange for Mrs. Denton to cover the office while we're gone?

Burton didn't bother to suppress his amusement. A no nonsense widow who had been compelled to go back to work when her husband died, Mrs. Denton was the very antithesis of Martin Hayes' visual preference for a secretary. The request was a perfect response to the man's pettiness.

~P&D~

Claudia commandeered two seats at the lunch counter in the corner drugstore while Della went to make a phone call.

"Perry Mason's office." Professional, but pleasant, just the right first impression.

"Hi, Gertie, it's Della Street."

"Oh, Miss Street, I'm so glad you called," the receptionist chirped brightly. "I want to thank you for recommending me to Mr. Mason. This is just my first day, and I already know I'll like it here."

"I'm glad you were available, Gertie, and please call me Della." There was a silent 'thank you' prayer in her sigh of relief.

"All right; so what can I do for you, Della?"

"Would Mr. Mason have a minute to speak with me?"

"He's not here at the moment, although I expect him any time now."

Glancing through the narrow window of the phone booth, Della saw Claudia giving their order to the waitress. "Well, then would you please let him know that circumstances have changed, and I will be starting on Monday instead of in two weeks?"

"Is that good news, or bad news? I mean I know it's good that you'll be here sooner, but -"

Della smoothly cut into the other woman's concerned babble. "Yes, Gertie, it's very good news."

"I'm glad... for you and for us. Oh, hold on a minute."

Muffled voices came over the wire and Della assumed the deeper one belonged to her new employer.

Gertie came back on the line "Della? Mr. Mason just came in and wants to talk with you."

"All right."

It took only a few seconds for the call to be transferred and for him to pick up.

"Miss Street?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mason." She didn't say any more, letting him take the lead.

"Gertie tells me you're starting on Monday. Are they giving you a bad time over there?"

"Not really. You don't have to worry about any irate calls. Even though it will be common knowledge soon enough, I'm not telling anyone where I'm going."

"I can handle any irate calls," he assured her, "but why aren't you telling them you're coming to work for me?"

"Being a confidential secretary doesn't just mean I don't talk about your clients."

"No one knows?" The idea that she could keep the whole thing secret amazed him.

"No one at Murphy and Young. Of course, you heard me tell Adele Cooper," she conceded, "but that was so she would know my request for a receptionist was valid. Other than that, I've only told one person."

"And you're so certain that person won't say anything?"

Her reply was swift and unhesitating. "Absolutely. We grew up together. A new job is nothing compared to the other secrets she keeps for me."

"Secrets plural, hmm? Now, she sounds like someone I should talk to."

"You have a way with witnesses, counselor, but when it comes to protecting me, my money's on Elaine Nelson every time."

He knew the name but it took a moment to click. "Elaine Nelson? Judge Helton's secretary?" Suddenly he had a context for the fleeting familiarity he had sensed yesterday. "That's where I saw you. A week or so ago, as I was coming out of his chambers."

"Yes." She was surprised the encounter had even registered with him much less that he remembered it... or her.

"I nearly ran you down." The low, throaty laugh that came over the wire conjured an instant image of brandy and soft lights and he struggled to concentrate on her reply.

"No, you simply opened the door before I could. Trust me, I've been run down at that door before." The amusement was clear in her voice. "I'm sorry I have to make this call so short, but I'm giving a two week training course in two days and that means a working lunch."

"Now you know the sort of training you'll get here. I'll see you on Monday."

"Goodbye, Mr. Mason."

~P&D~

Hanging up the phone, Perry thought for a moment before reaching into the desk drawer to pull out a sheet of stationery. He penned a quick note then placed it along with a key in a plain envelope. He sealed the missive and went back to the reception area.

"Gertie," he held out the envelope, "this needs to be delivered to Miss Street today. You'll find the name and number of the messenger service we use in the files. Instruct them that it must be signed for by Miss Street and no one else."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. Things happened fast around here. "Yes, Mr. Mason."

"I'm going down to Clay's for a quick bite. When I get back, you can turn the phones over to the service while you're at lunch."

"Yes, sir." Gertie was pleased by his conscientiousness in making sure she ate. It might not last, but she would enjoy it for now.

~P&D~

Della was explaining to Claudia the note she was making in Mrs. Jenkins' file about the need for a more specific description of the brooch she wanted to leave to her daughter-in-law when she was interrupted by the ringing phone.

"Mr. Hays' office."

"Della, there's a delivery for you," Sally said from the reception desk.

"Thanks, I'll pick it up in a few minutes."

"You need to come get it now."

"Why? Who's it from?"

"I don't know. It's just an envelope with your name on it marked personal and confidential."

"Well, I wasn't expecting anything so it will have to wait just a bit."

Sally was getting impatient with Della's lack of interest in the mysterious envelope. "The messenger says I can't sign for it; it has to be you."

Her mind still on all the information she needed to cover with Claudia, Della reluctantly conceded to the summons. "I'm on my way." Hanging up, she handed the file to her replacement. "Read through this and I'll be right back."

~P&D~

Della took the clipboard, signed in the designated place and noted the sender's address - the Brent Building. The feminine handwriting on the envelope must be Gertie's.

While it was already all over the firm that she was leaving, the fact that she wouldn't say where she was going had spawned a great deal of speculation. An unusual delivery like this would add fuel to the flames of speculation because Sally noticed everything and kept quiet about nothing. Della was suddenly, irrationally terrified that Mr. Mason had changed his mind about hiring her. Her thank you to the messenger as she hurried from the reception area was an insincere rote response she would be ashamed of later.

Stopping in the ladies' lounge, Della paused only long enough to determine the room was empty before taking a deep breath and sliding her finger under the sealed flap to open the envelope. She took out the folded sheet and felt something hard inside. The something fell out, bouncing on the floor with a clang. Picking up the key, she wrapped warm fingers around the cool metal before turning her attention to the accompanying message. Bold concise script, very different from that on the envelope, flowed across the page.

Miss Street,

Enclosed is a key to the office, and there will be a list of current cases on your desk. Miss Lade takes the phones from the service at 8:00 and I'll be in around 9:00. I look forward to working with you.

Perry Mason

Relief flooded Della's system, leaving her light-headed as she sank slowly on to a small bench.

She read the note two more times before realizing that it didn't say when she was expected. If this was some sort of test, she had no intention of failing. 'Earlier is better,' she decided firmly. '7:00 a.m. Monday morning sounds like a good time to start a whole new life.'

Returning the note and the key to the envelope, she tucked it into the pocket of her suit jacket. She left the lounge trying not to gloat as she headed back to her office to tie up the last loose ends of her old life.

~P&D~

After she ate dinner and did the dishes, Della curled into her favorite chair and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" came the familiar voice from the other end.

"Elaine, it's me."

"Hi, kid. What's new?"

"Do you have plans for Saturday? Aside from attending Elliot's gig?" Elliot's group was good and they worked more regularly than most so Della's supposition that they were booked somewhere this weekend was liable to be more right than wrong.

"Not really," Elaine said. "Why?"

"I thought we could get together with some of the girls for lunch and then shopping."

"Sounds good, but what brought this on?"

"I may not get to see any of you for awhile. I start working for Perry Mason on Monday."

Della's bombshell received the response it deserved.

"Monday! What happened to your two weeks' notice?"

"Mr. Hays decided he didn't want me around that long. I think he might have heard me telling Claudia about pencils. I turned it into an instruction about taking notes instead of trying to remember everything - which is true enough - but he knew what I was really talking about. He called Mr. Jefferies and that was it."

Elaine thought it was a good thing though she didn't say it. Now Della had two jerks out of her life. "So you've let Mr. Mason know you're coming earlier than expected?"

"I called at lunch and he had a key to the office sent over by messenger less than an hour later. The note that came with it said Gertie starts at eight and he'll be there by nine but nothing about my schedule."

"So you'll be going in at seven, right?"

Della sighed. "Am I that predictable?"

"Only because I've known you all your life," Elaine reminded her. "What I find interesting is that Mr. Mason already seems to know you well enough to believe you don't need instructions on every little detail."

"Or he's testing me to see if I show up at 10:00."

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes, but then I've had butterflies ever since I set up the interview on Monday."

They talked on for a bit longer, dividing up the job of calling their other friends to set up the excursion for Saturday.

TBC