Chapter 1

The slamming of the outer door startled Perry Mason. He listened to the hesitating footsteps, smiled, and scanned his desk for the pile that was needed by the person who was about to step into his office. He pretended not to notice the agitated look on Ken Malansky's face, when he barged in, and nearly tripped over the coffeetable.

" You're still here? " Malansky asked as he searched Perry's office frantically with his eyes. " Is there a new case or somethin' ? "

" No, I just came back here after dinner because I had some unfinished business to attend to. And I thought to do it now, so I won't have to do it tomorrowmorning. And why are you here, at eight thirty p.m.? "

" I forgot to take my homework...must have left it here somewhere..." Ken's eyes searched the office again. " Have you seen it maybe? It was a pile of papers, I… "

" That must be this pile Della left here for you…she decided to sort the papers a bit and put some folders around them. Might make it easier for you to get through them. " Mason pointed at the neatly stacked pile of folders Della had left there earlier.

" Wow. " A deep sigh sounded when Ken took them. " Thanks. "

" Had a rough dinnerdate? " Mason questioned without looking up from his documents.

" Yeah…"

" Amy? "

" Yeah…"

" Want some coffee? "

" Yeah…"

" Can you say something else than 'yeah' ? "

" Yeah…" Ken smiled a small smile and rubbed his neck before falling down on the big couch in front of Perry. " I'm sorry…it's just… I don't really know what to do with her. " He threw his homework next to him on the couch.

" Do you want to talk about it? " Mason poured coffee out of the thermoscan on his desk and handed a cup to his protege.

" Thanks. Talk to you about it? "

" Ye-ah…" Mason imitated Ken, which made the young man smile.

" Well, thanks, Perry, but no, I don't think so. This whole thing actually started because of you."

" What? Why? "

" Remember you said Amy could be my Della Street ? "

" So? "

" So? Amy is not stupid, Perry. She knows what Della Street means to you personally. Now I have to talk about my future. She wants to know what I want from her. If I want to be married, if I want children, if I want my own practice, and if she could be an associate. Or just an assistant. Whatever. Everything you can think of. " Ken held his head in his two hands, and sighed again. " I don't even know what I want myself. "

" Ow, yes, now that's scary, isn't it? Talking about your future? " Mason turned his eyes to Ken. " I am sorry about that remark by the way, Ken. The one and only Della Street herself told me it was a very stupid thing to say to you two. "

" Yeah. Well, that's a little too late now... "

Perry shrugged. " So what about your future, Ken? "

" I don't know. What I do know is that I want to be a lawyer and I want to be as good as you are. "

" So you have to practise, as I told you before. " And you do need a damn good secretary like Della Street, he thought, but he didn't add that.

" Yeah, speaking about that, Perry. "

" What? "

" You know I have these classes I attend, about debating and interrogating? "

" Yes, they're nice, aren't they? I used to enjoy them very much as I recall. They're very useful. "

" Now I have to practise my interrogating skills, and I was planning to do that with Amy tonight, but she doesn't want to do that now that we're uhm…, she doesn't want it anymore. "

" So? "

" Well, I thought, since you're the reason for her not wanting to be a guinea-pig, I thought I'd practise on you. "

" Sure. A guinea-pig..." Perry leaned back in his chair in amusement. " Now? "

" Yes, now. If that's okay with you. "

" Fine. " Perry closed the folder he was reading. " Okay. Interrogate. What is it about? What am I ? A suspect of murder? Shoplifting ? "

" No, they told me to give myself a difficult case, so I had to chose a subject my respondent doesn't like to talk about to others. "

" Something I don't like to talk about? Is there a subject I don't like to talk about to you? "

" Yeah, and I want to question you as if you are on the stand. "

" Go ahead."

" Are you sure? "

" Ye-ah…"

" All right, Mr. Mason. You are here to tell the court about the nature of your relationship with Della Street. "

Startled by this move, Mason smiled at the young lawyer with narrowed eyes, rubbed his beard, and quickly deliberated with himself how to act. He decided to go along for as long as he felt comfortable. And he decided to be a very difficult respondent.

" For what purpose, counselor? "

" To find out the nature of the relationship. "

" Yeah…" Mason snorted softly. " Right. "

" Can you tell the court…"

" No. Don't start with : ' Can you…' because the answer to a question starting with 'Can you' in itself is either 'Yes' or 'No'. " Perry Mason fully enjoyed the start of his lecture.

" Proper questioning and proper use of words and their meaning save you time, and make you master of the process. " He put on his glasses and continued. " You have to order the witness to answer your question. So you say 'Tell the court...'. This way of ordering, indirectly tells the witness, the jury and the judge that you have investigated your case thoroughly and that you know there is something to tell. It also suggests you know exactly what there is to tell. "

" Tell the court when you first met..."

" No. Be specific. Ask me the specific date… conduct me into the details. If I know the specific date, I probably know more details, and you can find out more, you can explore what else I know that is of use to your case. And, before you start questioning you should have found out as much as possible yourself. Be prepared. "

" Tell the court the exact date you first met her? "

" Who? Be specific. "

" Della Street. "

" The twelfth of December 1947. "

" Where was this and why did you meet Della Street there? "

" I interviewed her for a job as my secretary, in my office in L.A.. Details, Ken, details. "

" Details… What was she wearing at december the 12th 1947? "

Without hesitation, Perry answered. " A chocolate brown jacket, ditto pencil skirt, a white blouse, and brown high heels, her coat and gloves were white. "

" You still know that? " Ken raised his brows.

" Never show your surprise, Ken, never show any emotion. At least, not when it's not useful. "

" When did you first start dating her? "

" What do you mean? "

" What was the date you first dated her? " Ken shook his head. " I'll have to refrase that. That sounds stupid…"

" What is it you want to know exactly, counselor? And define 'date' for me, please? "

" On what date did you meet Della Street on a not job related basis? " Ken shook his head again, this still didn't sound right.

" U-uh. Nice. " Yet his boss approved of this businesslike question. " The thirteenth of December 1947. "

" One day after? Really? " Ken raised his brows again.

Perry sighed and raised his voice. " Don't frown, counselor. Again, don't show your emotions, unless it's useful. I can read your face and posture like a book, Ken, it's not good. You have to act better. Practise on a pokerface."

" You're giving me a hard time, Perry. On purpose. "

" Of course I am. I'm answering questions about me and Della. Noone has ever made me do that. And you know that, Ken. Now ask me a question you know I would never answer. "

" On what date did you first kiss Della Street? "

" Objection. Relevancy. "

" So you order me to ask you a question I knew you weren't going to answer…"

" And you did. And I didn't answer. So you see what a direct order does to you..." Mason chuckled. " You thought this was going to be easy, didn't you? "

" Right… Do you love Della Street? "

" Yes. "

Ken Malansky threw up his hands. " Now, why did you answer that question? It's about as intimate as the other one... "

" Yes. But what is the difference between this one and the one I didn't answer? "

" I don't know. "

" Think. I'm not taking 'I don't know' for an answer. Think about the exact reason why you're questioning me."

Ken chewed on his pencil. " The one you answered related to the objective of my questioning, right?…"

" Very good. Now, proceed. "

" Why did you not get married? "

Mason snorted. " How do you know I didn't? Refrase the question. And mind your objective. "

" Uhm, yeah. I don't know if you didn't marry. " Malansky sighed. " Did you get married? "

" That still is not the right question, Ken. What if I married, and divorced three weeks later? I'd say yes, which would be the truth, and you wouldn't know that I am not married now. "

Malansky sighed wearily, and Mason turned his chair around to hide his laughter. " All right, Perry, I'll refrase again: are you married to Della Street now? "

Mason smirked. He would get there.

" No. "

" Why not? "

" Objection. Relevancy. "

" I'd like the record to show the nature of the relationship of Mr. Mason and his private secretary. Reasons why they are or are not married could reveal the basis of their relationship and the reasons why they are so succesful together. Marriage could be one of the reasons they are, as well as them not being married could be. " Ken checked out Perry's reaction from under his lashes. He registered a gaze he thought could be of aprroval and continued in a low and loud voice. " Objection overruled. Please, answer the question, Mr. Mason. "

Perry laughed out loud.

" All right, Your Honor. We are not married because Della and I both think for us it's not necessary to marry to be able to spend our lives together in the way we want. Daily life brings us together as it is, and we don't need it confirmed in any other way than in our own. And some cases over the years have shown us bad things come from marriage too... "

" And you do the things married people do anyway, don't you? "

" Don't go there, Ken. " Perry grunted.

" No, that's not what I meant. "

" Then, what did you mean? Be specific, mind your objective. And don't be suggestive if you don't mean to be suggestive."

" Oh, forget it..." Ken shook his head again. " When did you decide on having a relationship? "

" We didn't. It happened. It grew. We started working together, sometimes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I liked being around her, she liked being around me, we noticed we both liked it that way. We got to know eachother and we fell seriously in love along the way. "

" So, I take it you just didn't bother to get married? "

" Objection. Leading question. " Perry leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

" Did you ever think about the nature of what you two have? "

" Sometimes. But is it necessary to do so? Isn't it far more important to enjoy what you have? We respect everybody to live life in their own chosen way, and want other people to do the same for us. That's it. "

" So you started working together, and then fell in love. When did your relationship become intimate? "

" Don't go there. " Perry opened one eye to Ken, and raised a brow.

This was enough for Malansky to throw his hands in the air and sigh deeply. " I give up. " He sank down on the couch again and watched his teacher. " This wasn't just about you and Della was it? "

" Maybe. "

" It was also about me and Amy, and how we should look at things according to you, right? "

" Maybe. "

" Can you say anything else than 'maybe' ? "

Mason chuckled. " Maybe. "

" So was there any truth in your answers? "

" You'll never know, will you, Ken? " Mason lifted his broad body from his chair to stand up and straighten his back.

" Why not? " Ken brought his hands up again.

" You didn't have me swear the oath. " Perry shrugged.

" You're kidding, right? "

" No. " Perry's low voice held an accusation.

" The oath, yeah well, but I was practising here…"

" So? The oath is not just a detail, Ken. Amongst others, it provides you with legitimate means to sue someone for perjury. "

" I know. It's just…"

" No, it's not just… Everything matters in the courtroom, every little detail can be important. Even the details that don't seem relevant at the time. You have to remember everything you say, everything that is said to you. You even check out your audience. Who is in it, and why? " Mason tapped the notepad Ken was using to write down his remarks. " That's one of the things I meant when I said, you need a Della Street. You need a second pair of eyes and ears. You need someone to take notes. You need assistance like that. Especially when you are in court. "

" Well, but that's just it, isn't it? Della Street is not just your second pair of eyes and ears. And Amy knows that. "

" We're talking about your job here, Ken. You have to decide if she can be your second pair of eyes and ears. She could be your secretary, assistant, co-worker, associate, whatever. If that's what she wants. And if that's what you want. "

" And the relationship is private, right? "

" I'm lucky I never had to think about that like you have now. I have been lucky that Della became more to me than my secretary, and that the feelings were mutual. " Perry's voice became softer, as he added " I don't just love her, Ken. She is my muse, she's my better half. Someone once told me she is the closest I'll ever be to heaven. "

" Someone? "

" Drake senior. " Mason chuckled as he pointed at the photo of his best friend on the coffeetable in front of Ken. " She probably was the closest he'd ever been to heaven too. Before he met junior's mother anyway..."

" Yeah…"

" Maybe now it's time for you to go back to Amy? "

" Maybe…" Ken stacked his folders.

" Take some time to think about it. Give her a chance, Ken. I think she's fun to be with. And it's not just your or her decision whether or not you'll work together. You both have to agree and talk about it. "

" I can't believe I'm actually talking to you about this. "

" Ye-ah…"

" I'm gone now. Goodnight, Perry. I'll see you tomorrow. "

" Goodnight, Ken. Lock the outer door on your way out, please. "

Mason watched his young apprentice walk out of his office, and went to his desk. He bent down over the intercom. " Did you get all that, Miss Street? "

He smiled as a loud chuckle came to him from the intercom as well as from the other side of the door.