Chapter 8

Friday

Sitting in the quiet courthouse cafeteria that would soon be filling up, Della couldn't help but recall how the chain of events that changed her life over the last two weeks had started right here. 'Well, actually it started in the ladies' room,' she corrected herself with a smothered grin. 'If I hadn't overheard Carol Fremont, none of this would have happened.'

She was under no illusions about her new boss. He was hard charging and demanding and he was going to expect her to keep up with him from the very start.

Della also suspected the attorney had a very large, very soft heart. No one could be as vehement about exacting justice for the innocent and be an ogre.

Claudia arrived with lunch - her treat for having been chosen as Della's replacement - turning Della's thoughts back to list of small details they needed to go over.

~P&D~

Saturday

Perry was unlocking his private door when he heard his name called. Paul's easy stride covered the distance quickly, and they entered the office together.

"I got the Waterston report -" the detective broke off as Perry waved him to silence, pointing at the door to the center office that stood slightly ajar.

Crossing the room, they heard someone moving around. Perry pulled on the door just enough to get it moving.

Della Street knelt in front of the row of file cabinets, returning files to the bottom drawer of the last cabinet. "Good morning, Mr. Mason, Mr. Drake," she said without looking up as the door behind her swung open. "I left the door ajar so I could hear if you came in."

Paul grinned. "She may be too smart for us, Perry."

Mason didn't admit he had reached the same conclusion during the interview. "What are you doing here on Saturday?"

"I would ask you the same question, but from what I understand, it isn't an uncommon occurrence for you and won't be for me." She flashed a smile at them over her shoulder. "As for today, I wanted to take a couple of hours to familiarize myself with the layout of the office. I prefer to spend my first morning learning the job, not walking into closets or looking for the coffee pot." Her fingers skimmed quickly over the file tabs, found the right spot, made a space and replaced another file. Lifting the folder was awkward with her left hand, but she seemed to have found a workable system.

"What if I need one of those?" He wasn't sure which cases were in those particular files, but it seemed like a reasonable possibility.

"It's easier to find something in a file cabinet than it is to hunt for it in a stack. Besides, they're not on the list of current cases. Those are in the bottom, right hand drawer of my desk. It's locked but," she pointed to a small object on the edge of the desk, "I found an extra key for you to keep handy in case I'm not here." She closed the drawer and moved to stand.

Rounding the desk, Perry put a hand under her left elbow to help her up - and get a closer look at the bruises he had noticed on her forearm.

"Are these mostly your fault, too?" he asked, watching her face intently. Perry didn't like men who hurt women, and he didn't understand women who protected those men. He also didn't understand the twist in his gut at the thought of any man hurting Della Street, a woman he had met only three days ago and talked to for little more than an hour. He rationalized it away as concern for a new employee.

She pushed the lock closed on the file cabinet then looked him in the eye and replied, "No, they're entirely his fault," her cheeks flushing lightly as she pulled down the sleeve of her soft yellow sweater, "and one of the lesser reasons I don't like him very much anymore."

He didn't press the matter so Della pretended not to see the glance he exchanged with Paul.

"I spoke with Avery, the weekend building supervisor, this morning. There seems to have been some sort of miscommunication about cleaning services." Della didn't share her suspicion that Carol Fremont had canceled the services in a fit of pique for being let go a week early. "He'll have a crew up here tonight. I put away all the files and books but I left instructions that nothing was to be thrown out unless it was a coffee cup. They're not to move or restack anything, just dust around whatever they find. At least the ashtrays and trash cans will get emptied."

Perry hadn't noticed how cluttered the office had gotten but the results of her efforts were obvious. With the files and books gone, the place just looked... filthy. It was a good thing there hadn't been many clients in the office this week.

"I want to thank you for finding Gertie Lade for me." The woman was a bit of a chatterbox, but she was professional and had settled into the job with a minimum of instruction. "I spoke with Adele Cooper yesterday to make it permanent."

"I'm glad she was available and wanted a change. Quite a few people are going to be annoyed when they learn Gertie is off the market. It's possible, Mr. Mason, that you have just scored the hiring coup of the year."

"I believe I've scored two."

She blushed and changed the subject. "Did you ever hear from your errant receptionist?"

"Miss Gentry called late yesterday to tell me where to send her check."

"I hope she didn't ask for a reference."

"Her boyfriend proposed over lunch." He shrugged. It didn't seem very romantic to him - not that he had any practical experience in the matter. Still, women usually expected more effort with that sort of thing. "She's going to be spending the next several months making wedding plans, so a reference won't be an issue. Speaking of lunch, would you care to join us?"

"Thank you for the offer, gentlemen, but I already have plans with some girlfriends. I thought it might be awhile before I got out of here early enough - or had energy enough if I did - to get to see them." She double checked the desk then picked up her purse and gloves. "I'll see you Monday morning. If you need me for anything before then, you have my number, Mr. Mason."

"I believe in formality when the situation calls for it. That's not in this office and not between the two of us. You're Della, I'm Perry."

"And I'm Paul," the detective chimed in with a boyish grin.

"May I be granted a grace period to get used to that?"

He had been an associate at a large firm before he opened his own practice and knew the formality that most required. It could be a hard habit to break. "Fair enough. I'll see you Monday, Della. Enjoy the afternoon with your friends."

As the door clicked shut behind her, Perry turned. "Paul, I want you to check into that 'minor car accident' of hers. She said it happened Tuesday night."

"You think there's an ex-boyfriend who could be trouble?"

"She doesn't seem frightened of him, but I want to know more. Just because she thinks it's over doesn't mean he does."

"I'll get on it right after lunch. You want that Waterston report now?"

Perry clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's go down to Clay's, and you can tell me about it then."

~P&D~

Stepping off the bus, Della was glad to find Elaine standing alone outside the store.

"Hey, kid." She saw the slight panic in Della's eyes. "What is it? What's happened?"

"Listen, I probably don't have much time before the others get here. Mr. Mason saw the bruises on my arm."

Elaine frowned in confusion. "How? When?"

"I went to the office this morning." Della's nose wrinkled in distaste at the memory. "The place was a mess when I was there on Wednesday, and it was even worse this morning. I had to turn right around and find the building super to get a cleaning crew in there. I swear Mr. Mason never actually poured out the old coffee, just made more on top of it. You could probably waterproof a pair of boots with the sludge I scraped out of that pot. I put away files on at least forty cases and I have no idea why they were out since he left a list of only twelve current cases. Carol's been gone a week. How could things get that bad in a week?"

"The bruises, Della," Elaine prompted, getting her friend back on track, "how did he see the bruises?"

"I had my sleeves pushed up out of the way so I wouldn't snag my sweater while I was filing. He came in with Mr. Drake, and I just didn't think about it. He saw the bruises and now I know he's going to have Mr. Drake investigate the accident."

"Is there something more to it that you didn't tell me?"

"No, I told you everything that happened."

"Then don't worry about it." She had worked with plenty of private detectives when Judge Helton was a lawyer trying cases. "Since he knows it was a car accident, he'll look for a police report, probably talk to the officer. Depending on what he learns there, my guess is he'll see what the doctor has to say. He'll find out about those stitches for certain."

"I don't care about that. Do you think he'll talk to Stephen?"

"He might."

"Who knows what he'll say! I've already left Murphy and Young," Della groaned, "I can't lose this job."

"Umm, did you read the paper this morning?" It felt like rubbing salt in the wound but the question needed to be asked.

"Yes, and I saw the engagement announcement." Della could admit they made a nice couple but she also thought Alicia Mead looked as though she would be smarter than to fall for - what had Elaine called him the other night? - ah, a weasel - like Stephen. Then again, Della herself hadn't seen him as a weasel until four days ago.

"There's a good chance that Mr. Mason or Mr. Drake or both saw it, too."

Della buried her face in her hands. "He's going to think he's hired a disaster in the making."

"He'll think no such thing," Elaine soothed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You've already made it clear you won't be seeing Stephen again and after the announcement in the paper, he'll know part of the reason why."

"But what if Mr. Mason thinks I got mad because Stephen is marrying someone else, not me."

"Listen, Della, right now you're working yourself up over what could be nothing. Mr. Drake can do his investigation and report to Mr. Mason. If he's got a problem with any of it, let him bring it up. You just learn the job; prove yourself with your work."

"I'm not worried about the job," Della said, relaxing under the steadying influence of her best friend. "The hard part is going to be calling my boss by his first name."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because he told me to."

"Why would he do that?"

"He said he doesn't believe in formality in the office."

Elaine snickered. "Yeah, well, Carol Freemont would say he didn't believe in enough familiarity in the office to suit her."

They were still laughing when their other friends arrived and asked what was so funny.

~P&D~

Perry Mason pored over law books, making notes for a brief that would be the first order of business Monday morning, oblivious to the fact that night had settled over the city. He had just located the last citation he needed when the phone rang.

"Mason."

"Well, Perry," Paul drawled from the other end, "you've found yourself one heck of a secretary."

In a split second, Mason's thoughts shifted from the brief to the assignment he had given the detective that afternoon... and the reason for it. "Is that good or bad?"

"Better than good." Drake's tone changed from casual to all business. "The car accident story is legit. Car was owned and driven by a Stephen Raines. He's your garden variety associate at Benson-Mead; handles low level corporate cases. They have been dating, though not exclusively, about six months."

"Stephen Raines? Seems I've read that name somewhere recently."

"You have. An engagement announcement in the paper today. Stephen Raines to Alicia Mead, only daughter of Alton and Charisse Mead. Probably won't remain a garden variety associate much longer. That announcement is the reason I didn't speak to Raines directly."

"If the engagement was in the paper today, what was Raines doing with Della on Tuesday?"

"Driving his car into a telephone pole. A prowl car showed up just after it happened. I talked to the cop, a Mark Donovan. He was reluctant to talk to me until I assured him you were concerned for her welfare and her job wasn't in jeopardy. He didn't believe Raines' story of swerving to miss a dog from the minute he heard it. He can't prove it, but he's sure the accident was intentional though not intended to be severe."

"Possibly to conceal the already existing injuries to Della?"

"That's where it gets more interesting. She was bleeding from a small head wound and had that banged up right hand; Donovan says the injuries appeared consistent with the accident. The broken nose Raines was sporting didn't. He's too tall to hit his nose on the steering wheel as he claimed; should have lost a couple of teeth instead. Plus there was no fresh blood on him, his clothes or the steering wheel and there were already bruises under his eyes. When Raines didn't want to go to the hospital, Della suddenly felt faint."

"She was trying to get away from him." Perry's gaze was drawn through the open door to the next office. He felt the same twist in his gut he had felt upon seeing the bruises marring Della's porcelain skin.

Paul heard the edge in Perry's voice and offered information he hoped would calm his friend. "Donovan saw it the same way, and he said the same thing you said earlier - she didn't seem to be afraid of Raines. He put them both in the prowl car, took them to the hospital and made sure Della got treated first. She told the doctor she was thrown sideways hitting her head and arm on the car door. She's got three stitches in her forehead under that pretty, dark hair of hers. Dr. Adam Milburn at the Mercy Hospital emergency room agrees with Donovan that the head injury occurred in the accident and so did the wrist but there were a couple of minor scrapes on her hand that look more like she had thrown a punch. He didn't see any bruises on her other arm but said those could have surfaced later."

"You're saying the doctor thinks Della could have been responsible for breaking Raines' nose?" Perry's regard for the petite brunette was growing with every revelation.

"A distinct possibility. It backs up Donovan's supposition about Raines putting the car into the telephone pole deliberately. He could have been trying to come up with an alternate story for his broken nose."

"I can see how it would be awkward for him to tell his fiancée that his ex-girlfriend punched him."

"Well, Donovan saw the announcement in the paper, too; recognized Raines' picture and name. He has no proof, of course, but in hindsight his theory is that Raines broke up with Della by telling her about his engagement."

"Even if she didn't love him it couldn't have been pleasant to find out he had been seeing someone else, but what made it turn physical? How did it end up with her arm bruised and his nose broken?"

"We've both seen how vehement people can be when they're trying to justify their actions, particularly when they've already been told they're in the wrong. Maybe she was smart enough not to want to stick around listening to his, he grabbed her -"

"- and Della reacted." The evidence was circumstantial but instinct told Perry that the scenario Paul had pieced together was the most likely one.

"You only told me to check out the accident, but I know a couple of girls at Murphy and Young so I asked a few questions. Word is Della was less pleased about having to work for Martin Hays himself than with his legal specialty. There's a lot of speculation about how she got him to keep his hands to himself but no confirmable details. As I said, you've got yourself one heck of a secretary."

"Yes, Paul, I believe I do. Thanks." Dropping the receiver in the cradle, Perry rose, stretched and ambled over to the open slider.

When his gaze returned to his desk, the books spread out there caught his attention. He flipped each one closed, stacked them up and gathered them in a single armload to carry into the law library. He was sliding the last one into place on the shelf when he realized that his new secretary hadn't even started working yet and she already had him cleaning up after himself.

Della Street was going to be an interesting addition to his office.

The End