TCOT Defenseless Prosecutor

Chapter 4

Perry hung up the phone for the third time that day. Hamilton Burger was not answering his office phone or his cell phone. No one in the office seemed to know where he was or what he was doing. Perry did not know what to think. Hamilton had always been a levelheaded man. Perry had never seen this side of him before. Exactly what was he up to? His behavior had been extremely strange.

Della opened the door and walked into her boss's office. He was so deep in thought he did not even notice her enter. She placed a cup of coffee down in front of the lawyer. When he did not react she said, "Perry, you have not signed any of those briefs I typed up. They have to be ready this afternoon."

"I am sorry Della." Mason signed all three of the briefs and attempted to hand them back to her.

Della did not accept the briefs. "Don't you want to look them over? I thought that was the purpose of giving them to you after they are typed."

Perry looked at Della and dropped the briefs back down on the desk. "You are right. Give me a few minutes Della and I will read them over."

"What is the matter? You might as well go home for all the attention you are giving the job and that is not like you at all."

"I guess I am just worried about Hamilton. I have called both his cell phone and his office phone several times. He is not answering either one. No one at the office seems to have any idea where he is or what he is doing," he answered.

Della walked around the desk. She sat down on the edge of it beside the famous lawyer. "Perry, I am just as concerned as you are but Hamilton is a very responsible individual. He is not going to do anything rash," Della assured him.

"Not in so many words but that is what Bob said just before Dennis Randall was arrested for murder," Perry reminded her.

Della had no answer for that. "So what are you going to do about it counselor?"

"What makes you think I am going to do anything at all?"

She crossed her arms, lowered her chin, and raised one eyebrow. "Who knows you better than I do?"

Perry smiled. "No one," he conceded.

"Then check those briefs for errors. I will juggle your appointments and you go do whatever it is you think you have to do," she told him.

Perry stood up. He kissed Della lightly on the lips and said, "Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?"

She looked into his blue eyes and replied in a low sultry voice, "Not lately, counselor."

As he tried to put his arms around her, she slipped away from him and off the desk. "The office door is not closed. Gertie will not come through a closed door but she will an opened one. Besides we agreed not to do this during office hours." She smiled and headed out of his office.

"You agreed," He called after her. Perry smiled, sat back down and began reading the briefs.

xxxxx

Officer Eve Whitfield read the file on Daniel Moorey. The chief was not going to like this. The record would however confirm his earlier suspicions of Moorey possibly having something on the Fox CEO.

The door to the office opened. Commissioner Dennis Randall walked in and came down the ramp. He looked around and said, "Hello Eve. Where's your boss?"

Eve smiled. "Hello commissioner. The chief went over to Fox Technology to speak with…."

"Bret Bradford," Randall interrupted. Yes, I know. Bret called me as soon as Bob left his office. Do you know when he will be back?"

"No sir, he did not say when he would be back."

"Well did he have anywhere else he had to stop?"

"He didn't mention that either," Eve said. "Would you like to wait for him? I would be happy to get you a cup of coffee."

"No, I have better things to do with my time than wait until Bob decides to return to the nest. Tell him I want to see him right away when he gets in." Randall got up and headed for the door.

Eve watched him leave. That did not take long, she thought. The chief left Bradford's office and he was on the phone right away. If the man knew the chief at all, he would not have made that call. It will only serve to make the chief more determine to find out about what Bradford is hiding.

The door opened again. Mark pushed Ironside through the door and let go. The chief wheeled down the ramp and up to the table. Mark and Ed followed him in.

"You just missed the commissioner. In fact I am surprised you did not run into him on the way up," Eve said.

Ironside, Ed and Mark exchanged a glance. "Well that sure did not take long," Mark said.

"He did not seem very happy," Eve said.

"The commissioner is rarely ever very happy," Ironside said.

"Bradford must have called him as soon as we left," Ed grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

Ironside stared at Ed with an intense glare.

After a moment, Ed noticed his boss was staring at him and said, "What?"

"You might consider that you are not the only one who drinks coffee in this office," Ironside pointed out.

Ed shrugged, got up and went into the kitchen. He poured another cup of coffee and walked back to the table. Ironside was drinking the coffee that Ed had placed on the table for himself. "Help yourself chief. I'll just get myself another cup of coffee."

Eve smiled. "I have some information on Daniel Moorey I think you will be very interested in." She paused.

"Well?" Ironside said in a raised voice.

"Daniel Moorey made a habit of stealing information from the companies he worked for. He has been fired from six companies. Two of them are here in San Francisco. Two are in Los Angeles and the other of course is Fox Technology."

"I don't suppose you talked to anyone at any of those companies," Ironside asked.

"I tried the two that are here in San Francisco but….."

"No one would talk to you," Ironside finished for her.

"That is correct," Eve confirmed.

"Eve, what are the two companies in Los Angeles?"

"Stimson Corporation and Tennison Technology," Eve answered.

Ironside reached for the phone and dialed. He waited for an answer.

xxxxx

"Perry Mason's office," Gertie answered. After listening, she said, "One moment Chief. I will check to see if Mr. Mason is available. Gertie put Ironside on hold. She stepped into the outer office where Della sat at her desk. "Miss Street, Chief Ironside is on the phone for Mr. Mason."

"I'll take care of it, Gertie," Della told her. Gertie turned and headed back to her desk. Della got up, walked to Perry's office door. She knocked and entered.

Perry stood up. "I think that about does it. I will file the lawsuit in court tomorrow. Miss Street will call you with a court date. Mason shook his client's hand and Della escorted him out of the office.

Della returned. "Perry, Robert is on line one."

Mason picked up the phone. "Hello Bob, what can I do for you?"

"Perry, we have been checking out a man named Daniel Moorey. He was fired from Fox Technology here in San Francisco for selling information. The CEO is a man by the name of Bret Bradford. He refuses to cooperate but I had Eve do some checking. He was also fired from two other corporations here in San Francisco. Eve found out the same happened at two more companies there in Los Angeles."

"What companies?" Perry asked.

"Tennison and Stimson," Ironside told him. "I think Lt. Tragg might want to find out if Connor Wolff worked at either of those companies. It might be worthwhile to see if the two know each other. I have a hunch Moorey was selling information to Wolff's employers. I am going to put pressure on Bradford to get Moorey's records. He will be throwing up an obstacle in front of me. He knows the commissioner. Randall was in my office directly after I went to see Bradford. I am going to see him later today."

"Ok Bob. We will check it out. In the meantime, what about the other two companies there in San Francisco?"

"I'll have Ed. check out one and Eve can check out the other. I will let you know what we come up with." Ironside hung up the phone.

xxxxx

Hamilton Burger followed Connor Wolff into Eddy's Bar and Grill. Staying out of sight, he chose a table where he could keep an eye on Wolff. He had been following Wolff all day but unfortunately, he had not learned much more than he already knew. Wolff had met with William Morrison of the Harris Cooperation. They obviously were agitated with one another. That did not prove much of anything at all nor did his trip into the Johnson Tech building. After all, he still offically worked there. How was he going to prove Wolff was blackmailing both of these men?

Hamilton knew he was out of his league. He was not a police detective. He was a lawyer. He should leave this to Lt. Tragg. But Tragg was was not here. Nor had he been keeping an eye on Wolff all day.

He suspected Connor Wolff was blackmailing the CEOs of both the Harris and Johnson Companies. The question was why? What did he have on each one of them?

How did Perry find these things out? Hamilton knew he had Paul Drake but it was Perry that directed Drake. It was Perry who ultimately broke those cases wide open. If he could do it than Hamilton figured, he could as well. He just had to decide where to start.

Burger had been so deep in thought he did not hear or see Connor Wolff approach his table.

"What a suprise that you would come to the same establisment as I have, Mr. Burger. You would not be following me would you?" Wolff smirked.

Burger jumped at the sound of Wolff's voice. Using all the control he could muster he said "Mr. Wolff."

"You looked pretty upset when the verdict was read," Wolff grinned.

"I am never happy when an ignornant jury turns a murderer loose to kill again," Burger said.

"I enjoyed killing them, Mr. Burger. Especially your goddaughter," Wolff boldly told Burger.

The rage in Hamilton rose to a dangerous level. "YOU BASTARD. I WILL STOP YOU. YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH MURDER. I WILL STOP YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL," Hamilton thundered.

Burger felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, Perry Mason was standing there. "Calm down Hamilton."

Perry looked at Wolff. "I suggest you leave now Mr. Wolff unless you would like me to file a harrassment charge against you."

"Against me?" Wolff questioned.

"That's right, Mr. Wolff. Who approached whom?" Perry said as he looked directly into Wolff's eyes rising to his full height.

Wolff was a tall man but Mason was just plain big. He decided he did not want to mess with the famous lawyer. He took one last look at Burger, turned on his heals and left.

Before Perry could say anything Hamilton looked at him and raised a hand in surrender. "I know, I know."

Perry pulled out a chair, put his hand on Hamilton's shoulder and forcably pushed him down on the chair. "Just what in the hell do you think you are doing, Hamilton," Perry said.

"Look, Perry….." Hamilton began.

"No, you look. I understand you are upset about the verdict. But do you really think that threatening Wolff is going to change that verdict?" Perry sat down beside Hamilton.

"Oh come on Perry, I did not threaten him. I just promised him I would stop him. I'll do that by putting him behind bars. You know that."

"I know that but do all the people who overheard you know it?" Perry asked sternly.

Burger looked down. "It doesn't matter to me what they think."

Perry softened his voice. "Hamilton, I am your friend but right now I am talking to you a lawyer. You cannot follow Wolff around. He will have you charged with stalking. That lawyer of his would like nothing better than to bring you down. You are playing right into their hands."

"He admitted to killing those people, Perry," Hamilton said in a near whisper. "He said he enjoyed killing them, especially my goddaughter."

"We will get this man. Look, Bob Ironside has uncovered something that might be related to Wolff. It is possible he has been getting a man by the name of Daniel Moorey to steal information and then sell it to the companies Wolff has been working for. We are in the process of checking those companies. I talked to Lt. Tragg just before I came looking for you. There are two corporations here in Los Angeles that could be involved. Lt. Tragg is going to have them checked out. There are three in San Francisco. Bob is checking into those."

"He belongs in jail for murder." Hamilton insisted.

"That is not possible now and you of all people know it. The best we can do is find out what he is involved in and make it stick this time. You do want him in jail, don't you?" Perry asked.

"Of course I do," Burger said.

"Then stop what you are doing. It is not helping. Stay out of this one. Let Lt. Tragg handle it. Between him and Bob, they will nail Wolff. They are two of the best police detectives either of us has ever worked with."

"Alright Perry. I'll back off as long as Lt. Tragg doesn't let this go," Burger said.

"He never had any intention of letting it go. You have worked with him for years. You should know that," Perry scolded.

"Yes, I suppose I should. Perry, if Wolff decides to give me trouble over…."

"Don't worry about it, I will represent you. I think we can give him enough trouble to get him to back off. Now go home and get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Perry squeezed Hamilton's arm.

Burger got up, shook Perry's hand and left.

xxxxx

"Eve, what is the name of those two corporations?" Ironside asked.

"Actually, chief. I found out it is really only one corporation, two divisions. The name of the corporation is Conway Technology. The CEO is a man named," Eve leafed through her paperwork, "Glen Conway. He has been running the company for ten years."

"I want you and Ed to check out both divisions tomorrow," Ironside said.

"Chief, we are probably going to just be stonewalled," Ed said.

"Probably but if they do we take the next step," Ironside said.

The office door opened. Commissioner Randall came in followed by Mayor Patrick Simpson. Both men came down the ramp and headed directly to Chief Ironside. "Bob, we need to talk," Randall said.

"Do I need to excuse my staff?" Ironside asked.

"No, of course not. This concerns them as well," Randall replied.

"Please don't tell me this is about those ridiculous police brutality charges," Ironside groused.

"Bob, you need to take this more seriously," Randall lectured his detective.

"Take what seriously, Dennis?" I will tell you what I take seriously. I take a professional military killer seriously….especially one that is trying to kill me and by extension, my brother. I take a cabin surrounded by explosives, animal traps and automatic weapons set up remotely, seriously. I take a cabin stripped of heat, electricity and anything that might possibly be considered a weapon very seriously."

Mayor Simpson intervened. "Chief Ironside. We are completely on your side on this. We are just trying to find a way to defuse this situation with the minimum of publicity."

"Pat, I will not subject my staff to a public circus. Facts lead them to believe Perry and I were in trouble. With what they came upon, they took no chances. There was not any police brutality involved. They protected my brother and me. Tony Castle was killed in the process. That is all there is to it. Tell those misfits the facts," Ironside barked.

"Chief, if you don't want to have your staff at the city council meeting, I not only understand but will agree. If you would just come to the meeting and answer questions it would satisfy the…misfits and show that none of us condone police brutality," Mayor Simpson suggested.

Ironside's explosive temper was about to blow when Eve stepped in. "Chief, I think Mayor Simpson has a good idea."

"YOU WHAT?" Ironside shouted.

"You have an uncanny ability to defuse political situations. You could explain what happened. After you are finished, there would be no question that the action of the police was justified. When you want to you are very good at handling these types of people," Eve said. "It will give the mayor and the city council cover. After all chief, they stood behind us and gave us all the room we needed to clear the commissioner."

Ironside frowned. The mayor did indeed give him all the room he needed regardless of the pressure that he and the city council had received. Ironside could not deny that. He looked at Commissioner Randall and Mayor Simpson. Finally he said, "Alright Pat, I will come to your city council meeting under one condition."

"What condition, chief?"

"That you and the city council state for the record that you support the actions of my staff and that you in no way will consider any action against them. That I am only there to help them with the facts," Ironside said.

"I can agree with that since I had every intention of doing that anyway." Mayor Simpson reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a paper. "Here chief. This is a copy of what I intend to say."

Ironside took the paper and read it. It was statement of support of Ironside's staff. It contained a brief summary of what they had accomplished in the past. Simpson also had his version of what happened at Commissioner Randall's cabin. Included with it were statements of Lt. Tragg and Captain Darwin Winsel of the local police department. Each statement backed up Chief Ironside and his people. Ironside look at the mayor.

"You really didn't think we would leave you out to dry, did you chief?" Mayor Simpson asked.

"Alright, Pat. I'll do it," Ironside said.

Randall breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Bob."

"I have to go. My wife is waiting dinner on me," Mayor Simpson said. He shook hands with Ironside and left.

"Bob, we have another matter to discuss. He is threatening to sue the city," Randall said.

"If you are talking about Bret Bradford, Dennis I suggest you stay out of it," Ironside said gruffly.

"Bradford is extremely upset. He doesn't want you reopening what he considers private company business. I would like to know what you are investigating," Randall asked.

"Daniel Moorey may be involved with selling information to more than one Los Angeles company. Bradford accused him of it at Fox and then dropped the charges. Dennis, we have to know why. It could have a bearing on the other cases. We believe it is all connected to Connor Wolff. "What does this have to do with San Francisco?" Randall was skeptical. "There is also another company, Conway Technology. That one is here in San Francisco," Ironside said.

"Why are you investigating this? I would think it should be done by Lt. Tragg."

"Tragg is investigating it. You might say it is a joint effort," Ironside said.

"This could not have to do with Hamilton Burger losing the Wolff case, could it? Could it be that Perry is trying to help Burger? I do not like it Bob. You have plenty to do without investigating this. I want you to drop it."

"Drop it Dennis? Why? Because a friend of yours doesn't want us knowing he was probably blackmailed into dropping the charges against Daniel Moorey. Are you that worried he will sue the city? Is that the problem? Well he won't." Ironside said. "That would open the very can of worms he is trying to keep a lid on."

"Bob, drop it. That's an order," Randall said.

"No, Dennis. I will not drop it unless of course you want to pick up the phone and tell Lt. Tragg the San Francisco police will not cooperate in one of their investigation that include two San Francisco companies. After all you don't owe him anything since he didn't do THAT much to help with clearing you of murder," Ironside challenged his boss.

Randall showed signs of squirming. "Bob….."

"Dennis, I have a job to do and I intend to do it."

Randall sighed. "Alright Bob. But get it done fast and try not to cause me too much trouble, will you?"

"No more than I have to, Dennis. Now I don't mean to be inhospitable but we do have work to do."

"I glad I don't work for you. It is nearly eleven o'clock and you are still working these people?"

Ironside pursed his lips. When the criminals start respecting office hours so will I."

xxxxx

Hamilton Burger drove his car toward home. He could not resist driving by Johnson Technology. Burger slowed his vehicle. He looked at the building as he passed. Once he passed the building, he glanced in the rear view mirror. He noticed a door was open at the side. Burger backed his car up beside the door. He got out and went over to the door. Instincts told him not to go in but he did so anyway. He would find a phone and call the police.

Hamilton went down the dark hall and spotted an open office door. He thought he heard someone in the open room. He stopped and listened. It must have been his imagination. Burger continued toward the open door. When he reached the door, he stopped. It was completely dark in the room except for the light coming through the window from a streetlight. He could make out papers lying on the floor. Continuing into the room, he searched for a light switch on the wall. He could not find one. Burger reached down to see if he could feel a desk where there might be a light. He did indeed touch a desk. He began feeling the desk for a light. He could feel what felt like a file and continued on….something that felt like a flash drive….then he touched what he knew was a knife.

Suddenly he heard a noise. Someone was in the room. Instinctively, he picked up the knife. Hamilton stood perfectly still. He waited. Behind him at the door flashlights shined into the room. The lights came on. Lt. Tragg stood there with three uniformed police officers. All had guns drawn.

Tragg stepped into the room. "Hamilton, what are you doing here?"

"I was driving by when I saw a door ajar and I came in to investigate," Burger answered. Then he noticed the look on Tragg's face. Hamilton realized he still had the knife in his hand that he picked up. He looked down at the knife…..which was covered in blood.

xxxxx