The case of the Deadly Toy Extended Chapter 5
The chill of the room woke him. As he opened his eyes and tried to focus, he heard the voices of the men talking. Fighting his way to full consciousness, he looked at his surroundings. The room was dark, illuminated by only a single hanging lamp in the center. There was a chair in one corner and the only other piece of furniture was the bed on which he now lay. The window, covered by a shade, was high off the ground, built into the cinderblock wall and the floor was bare cement.
As he became more aware, he realized that the two men from the elevator had attacked him and he was probably in some basement. He could hear voices, but they were muffled. His head felt as though it was in a vice and waves of nausea kept rolling back and forth in his stomach.
Mike looked at his watch. His eyes were still blurry but he tried to see the time. He thought it said 9:30 "That's impossible," he thought, "it was just about 4:00 when I left Perry's office. I was on my way home."
"Home!! …..Jill!!......The baby!!" He remembered Perry's advice to go home and talk to Jill. "My God," he thought, "she must be frantic." He would always call if he were going to be late.
"Oh Jill darling, I'm sorry…Please forgive me…" He began to worry. Were they alright? Were they safe? He knew that she had probably called the office… probably Ted's house as well. Would she have called Della and Perry? Knowing her, he knew that she would. Did they go to her? Were they safe?
"Damn. I was foolish enough to think I could handle this myself. If that's not stupid, then I don't know what is. I put everyone I care about in danger. If only………"
He heard the door open and footsteps on the stairs. When the man reached the bottom, Mike could see he was carrying a gun. His face was covered with the kind of pullover mask that only has openings for the eyes and nose. The man came to him, grabbed him roughly by the arm and said, "Alright Carter, let's go….The boss wants to talk to you."
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Della came back to the office a little after 4:30. She had some packages with her and she looked more like herself. She was still worried though and she was anxious to find out what had happened with Mike. She knew Perry was through seeing clients for the day. She hoped they could finish up whatever work they had left… there would be no emergency and they could leave at a decent hour.
Perry heard her come in and went into her office to greet her. When he saw her with the bags, he laughed. "Well Miss Street, it looks as though you've been a busy girl."
"Yes Mr. Mason, I have… and I must say I think you're going to like what is in here" she said as she dangled one of the bags at him and flashed a flirtatious smile. "I might even have a surprise for you".
Even though they were in the office, Perry couldn't resist her. He pulled her close for a quick hug. When he released her, he looked at her and smiled. "Della, Della, Della…you are the only surprise I will ever need. Now, I want to know one thing…..Did you have fun?"
"Why yes counselor, I did. Since it was raining so hard, I thought I would just look in some of the shops in the lobby. Now, I want to know one thing…actually two things: Is there even a slight possibility that we can get out of here at a decent hour tonight and…what happened with Mike?"
Perry smiled at her. "In answer to your first question, I was thinking the same thing. I want to go home with you and have a nice quiet evening….dinner, soft music, cuddling by the fire…..just the two of us, away from everything and everyone. Maybe we'll even take the phone off the hook so we won't be disturbed."
Della looked at Perry… her eyes glistening with happiness and love.
"That's the best offer I've had all day," she said smiling back at him. "However, I still want to hear about Mike."
Perry took her by the hand and led her into his office.
"Sit down Della, Have I got a story for you………"
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Della walked out of her bedroom… her hair still damp from the shower. She was dressed in a soft lilac silk robe tied at the waist. The wide sleeves and the lapels of the collar, as well as the sash, were just a slightly darker shade. She had on just a touch of light makeup and she was wearing the perfume Perry had given her for her birthday. Around her neck, she had placed the beautiful, but simple diamond heart necklace Perry had given her a week after their first night together.
It was still raining and damp outside. Perry had lit a fire. The glow and the warmth of the flames, mixed with the wonderful aromas emanating from the kitchen, gave Della a feeling of peace and tranquility. The romantic strands of a Sinatra song were playing softly on the stereo.
She went into the kitchen to find Perry putting the finishing touches on the Cesar salad. He had already poured two glasses of wine. The steaks and potatoes had been started when they first arrived home and now were being kept warm in the oven.
As Perry heard her come in, he glanced up to ask a question, but no sound came from him. So struck was he by her beauty, he completely lost the ability to speak or breath. All he could do was stare at her.
Della walked over to him, put her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. She touched his lips with soft brushes and then began to kiss him with more hunger. Perry responded…drawing her in…the kiss growing deeper and deeper. Della felt her knees weaken and her pulse begin to race. As Perry pressed himself to her and felt her beneath the thin silk robe, his whole body shuddered. When at last they parted, he lightly kissed her forehead and looked down at her.
"Della…sweetheart….Oh my God….what are you doing to me?"
"I told you my that I had a surprise for you my love," Della said breathlessly .
Perry let out a long, slow breath. "You weren't kidding," he said smiling. "Look at you, look at how beautiful you are."
"I'm glad you approve counselor."
"Yeah. Now that I had my appetizer, I'm starved for dinner."
"Me too, but you promised me the other kind of dinner and cuddling by the fire and I mean to collect."
"Well, I see I have no choice here. Alright, Miss Street you win…..again. Dinner is ready."
They carried the food to the table. Perry held out the chair for Della. When she sat down, he bent over and tenderly kissed her on the lips.
As they ate, they quietly talked about the day's events and returned again to the conversation Perry had with Mike.
"I can't believe what Mike is going through" Della said. "Do you think you and Paul will be able to help him?"
"I'm going to try, darling. After Mike left, I called Paul. He's going to try to get as much information as he can, so we'll have it ready when we meet with them tomorrow. I'm even thinking about calling Tragg and Burger."
Perry suddenly realized that Della had a far away look on her face.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Perry" Della's voice was very soft. "I'm…..I'm sorry about yesterday, you know, my falling apart and everything."
"You have nothing to apologize for Angel. After all, what we saw was pretty incriminating. I also know that in front of me is the most beautiful, most wonderful, most amazing woman in the world, and who, along with all her other qualities, is very loyal and caring—especially to her friends. Your first concern and rightly so was Jill and how the situation would affect her."
Della's beautiful eyes filled with tears. "How do you always know what to say?"
Perry covered Della's small graceful hands with his large ones. Looking deep into her eyes, he said "That's easy. I happen to love you very, very much. Now, if I remember correctly, I promised you some time by the fire."
Perry stood up, took Della by the hand and led her into the living room. He sat down on the sofa and gently pulled her onto his lap. He encircled her in his arms and she lay her head on his broad chest, running her fingers through his thick curly hair.
Perry began to stroke the back of Della's neck, nuzzling her behind her ear. He put soft kisses on her neck and throat, while letting his hands roam over her body. When he untied the sash of the robe, he slipped his hands underneath and lightly caressed her bare skin. Della felt shivers run through her and,as she responded to his touch, she brought her arms down from around his neck and began to rub her hands across his chest and stomach.
As their hunger for each other became stronger, Perry gently moved Della off his lap and led her into the bedroom. Without speaking, but gazing deeply into each other's eyes, they slowly and sensually began to remove the other's clothing.
Kissing and caressing, they moved onto the bed. Fueled by their passion and desire for one another, they came together with an all consuming intensity, matched only by the heat of the fire, slowly burning in the other room.
Much later, Perry lay in the bed, holding Della in his arms, stroking her hair. Her breathing was soft and steady and he thought she was asleep.
"Perry"……. she said drowsily as she moved a little closer.
"I thought you were sleeping Baby."
"Hmm hmm---I want to tell you something."
"Oh… and what would that be?" Perry asked, leaving tiny kisses on her shoulders.
"You are so wonderful and so amazing and I've never been happier. I feel so safe with you…so protected. Thank you for always taking such good care of me."
Perry was taken aback momentarily by her admission. He knew she was happy in their relationship, but he wondered if her saying all this now, had something to do with what was happening with Mike.
"Oh Sweetheart," he said tenderly as he pulled her to him, "I'm so glad you feel that way. You know I'll always take care of you. I would do anything for you. The most important thing to me is your happiness and well being…and Miss Street," he said smiling, as he playfully tweaked her nose, "for your information, I've never been happier either."
Della looked up at him, her beautiful eyes threatening to tear. "Perry, one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Will you stay with me tonight?"
"Of course I will. I was planning on it. Let me lock up and make sure the fire is out. I'll be right back."
As he bent over to kiss her, the ringing of the telephone startled them.
"You were supposed to take it off the hook, remember counselor? Must be the service."
She picked it up but didn't have a chance to say hello. On the other end of the wire was Jill Carter -----crying----and begging for help!!!!