The Case of the Deadly Toy Extended Chapter 6

Perry Mason and Della Street pulled into the driveway of the Carter home. They both got out of the car at the same time, Della not waiting for Perry to open her door. They hurried to the front door and as Perry began to knock, the door flew open. Jill stood there, pale and shaking. No sooner did they step into the small foyer, she collapsed, crying in Perry's arms.

He led her into the living room and helped her over to the sofa. He sat across from her on the lounge chair, waiting until she could speak.

Della had gone past them, directly up to the nursery to check on Elizabeth. Finding her sleeping peacefully and everything else in order, she came back downstairs and sat on the sofa next to her friend.

In a few minutes, Jill became coherent enough to speak. She looked at Perry and Della and with her voice trembling said "Thank you both so much for coming. I didn't mean to call so late… and bother you…. It's just…just that I didn't know what …what to do….I'm really worried. I think something terrible has happened to…." She couldn't finish the thought and began to cry again.

Della put her arm around Jill and Perry, moving closer, took her hand. They waited for the crying to stop. Finally, she took a deep breath.

Perry began to speak. His voice was calm and reassuring. "Jill, can you please start at the beginning again? I'm sorry but we had a hard time understanding you when you called. Take your time and try to remember everything…everything you did…the time and all." He noticed that Della had pulled a pad and pencil from her purse.

"Alright Perry… It was about 5:00 and I hadn't heard from Mike. He always calls if he is going to be late. The baby was fussy, you know with teething and all. I fed her, changed her and put her in her playpen. Then I started dinner. Before I knew it , the time had flown by and it was past 6:30. I was really starting to get concerned so I called the office. There was no answer. Then I called Ted. He told me that he hadn't seen or heard from Mike since early afternoon. They had gone to a lunch meeting downtown and Mike told him that he had some things to take care of. He said he wasn't coming back to the office and he would see him tomorrow."

"I was going to call you but I wanted to give Elizabeth her bath and put her to bed. After her bath, I dressed her , gave her a bottle and rocked her. When I put her down she started to cry. I tried everything to calm her so she would go to sleep. She would have no part of it. I thought if I took her into my bed and just lay with her a little, she would fall asleep, then I could put her back in her crib." I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was dark. The baby's night light was on in her room and I guess I had left the hall light on, but that was about it. I put Elizabeth in her crib. Then I called you. I think that was around 10-10:30 I'm sorry, I can't really remember any more."

Perry patted her hand and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "That's alright he said, giving her an encouraging smile. "You were great honey."

"I just know something horrible has happened. Mike would never do anything like this…he's never done anything like…"Jill stopped speaking, unable to continue.

Perry and Della's eyes met. Della said, "Jill, I checked on the baby. She's fine. She's sleeping like a little lamb. I'm going to make some coffee. You also need to eat something."

Della went into the kitchen, leaving Perry and Jill to talk.

"Jill," Perry said calmly, "Mike came to see me today"

Jill looked at Perry, surprised. "Why?, what did he want to see you about?"

"He told me some things and I advised him to go home and talk to you. I still think he should be the one to tell you. I can't vouch for his whereabouts tonight, but when I saw him this afternoon, he was perfectly fine. I'm not going to pretend that this isn't serious, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. I'm going to make a few phone calls…I'll make them from the study if that's ok."

"Of course Perry, and Perry….thank you…thank you and Della for being here….thank you for everything."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else. Now I'm going to make those calls. You and Della can stay out here and talk.

At that moment, Della came in with a tray filed with coffee, sandwiches and fruit.

"Bless her" thought Perry. It never failed to amaze him that she knew exactly what was needed and what to do. She could read him like a book. He thanked her with a wink and the smile he kept only for her.

Before he left to use the phone, Perry walked over to Jill and took her hand. Feigning confidence he didn't have he said "try not to worry dear….everything will be fine."

He walked into the study, closed the door behind him and sat down at Mike's desk. He put his hand over his face and took a deep breath. Picking up the phone he started to make the calls…to Paul….Tragg….the hospitals….and the morgue.

Perry sat in the kitchen smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee. It was just starting to get light. The house was quiet for the moment, something for which he was thankful for. Around 2 in the morning, he and Della had finally persuaded Jill to go to bed. She said she would, only after insisting that they both stay in the guest room. Perry said he would be fine on the couch, but Jill was adamant. Not wanting to upset her any further and the thought of a comfortable bed, they agreed.

He had spent a good deal of the night making calls. Paul reported back but had nothing more to tell him, other than he had some of his best men on the case. He promised Perry he would call immediately with any news and he would be over later that morning. Tragg, also, said he would let Perry know if anything had happened. The calls to the hospitals and the morgue were uneventful as well. No one fitting Mike's description had been admitted, a fact that had brought Perry great relief.

Della too, had been up for most of the night. Ever so often, she would check on Jill to see if she needed anything or just wanted to talk. Jill had finally fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Della had also been in and out of the nursery a few times. The baby had pretty much slept through the night, athough she woke up once. Della had changed her, then sat and rocked her back to sleep. As she held the sleeping child and softly sang a lullaby, an overwhelming feeling of love came over her. "Oh my God," thought Della, this is what it would be like to have my own child….Perry's child. She thought back to the conversation she had with Perry. They had talked about marriage and children. Perry had been very convincing. She had to laugh. He had used his best courtroom tactics, although he had been tender and loving and his voice had been soft and gentle. Still, she couldn't give him the answer she knew he wanted. All she could do was kiss him, tell him that she loved him, and said she would think about it. She could sense that Perry was disappointed, but he said he understood. He had taken her in his arms and held her, told her he loved her and they would talk about it another time.

"What is the matter with me?" Della asked herself. "Why can't I tell Perry I'll marry him? What's stopping me? What am I afraid of?" Della wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "Alright Miss Street, get hold of yourself. Now is not the time for this. You're here to help Jill and Mike….and Perry"

Della stood up with Elizabeth still in her arms. She walked over to the crib, kissed the baby , put her down and covered her. "Sleep tight sweet pea", she whispered. "Maybe one day, you'll have a playmate." Then she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Perry heard Della come down the stairs. He went to her and encircled her in his arms, breathing in her scent.

She hugged him tightly around his waist and looked up at him with concern. "Something tells me that you haven't slept all night, Mr. Mason"

"For your information Miss Street, I did catch a couple of hours. How about you? I vaguely remember an empty space in the bed. I missed you" he said, with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"That must have been when I was with the baby. I wanted to make sure she had a peaceful night. I also wanted Jill to get as much rest that she could….and I missed you too. You look so tired Perry.

" You look beautiful"

"Oh Perry, I love you.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He kissed her softly on her forehead, her eyelids and finally her lips, then pulled back to look at her. "When this mess is all over, I'm going to take you somewhere very romantic.

"Hmmm….that sounds wonderful. Now, why don't you go take a shower and try to get some rest. Then . if you like, I'll even make breakfast."

"I think I just might take you up on that offer. Is Jill asleep?

"I think so. When I walked past her room, it was very quiet. Have you heard anything?"

"No and I don't know whether to be glad about that or not. In a little while I'm going to call Paul. He said he would be over this morning and I want to ask him………"

Suddenly there was a crashing noise and a loud thump coming from the porch. Perry motioned to Della to stay where she was. He quickly and quietly walked to the door, hesitated for a split second, then opened it. On the other side, bleeding, bruised, and filthy….was Mike!!!!!