Beyond The Velvet Claws Chapter 6
Della Street stepped out of the shower, amidst a cloud of steam and scented bath oil. Drying herself off with a thick, soft, royal blue towel, she then shrugged herself into her terry robe and tied the sash. Removing another towel of the same color and texture from the shelf, she brought it up to forehead and began drying her luxurious, curly chestnut brown hair. She heard the door open and close and felt strong hands place themselves gently over hers. Della smiled and closed her eyes as one hand wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her back and the other tenderly and sensuously finishing the task she had begun. Her face continued to hold that serene look as a soft voice whispered in her ear. "Good morning gorgeous, breakfast is ready."
Della opened her eyes and turned inward into the person who the voice belonged to. Looking up into Perry Masons deep blue eyes, she smiled as she let herself be held in his wonderful, strong embrace. The handsome attorney leaned down and left a sweet lingering kiss on her lips. Then breaking away, he pushed a few still damp curls from her face and asked lovingly, "how did you sleep baby?"
"Very well, Counselor, thank you very much. Although I am a bit confused."
Perry grinned his boyish grin. "Oh, and why is that?"
"Because, Mr. Mason, the last thing I remember was falling asleep on the couch…in your arms and that was last night. The next thing I know, I wake up in your bed and its morning….and you were nowhere to be found. Care to explain what happened?"
"Well if you must know Miss Street, yes, you did fall asleep on the couch last night…in my arms. I tried to wake you but you didn't budge. So I picked you up and put you in bed…..our bed, slipped one of my shirts on you, covered you and then took care of a few things. When I finally came to bed myself, you'd somehow managed to throw the covers off and were laying all curled up, hugging your pillow…actually it was my pillow, but whatever I have is yours anyway so it doesn't matter. Anyway, I got into bed, fixed the covers, pulled you as close to me as I could and fell asleep. I woke up about an hour ago, showered and dressed and made breakfast. I also went over some paperwork. Now, why don't we eat, then you can get dressed and we can leave for the office, alright?" Perry turned to open the door, paused, then turned his attention back to Della. As an afterthought, he placed his hand on her face and in a soft voice quietly said, "you are so beautiful. I mean you're always beautiful but there's something about you….when it's early in the morning like this and you've just woken and your hair is all tousled on the pillow and you have that drowsy, serene look on your face…..or like right now, when you've just showered and you aren't wearing any make up…it's times like this or last night when all I want to do is lock the door and stay like this forever."
Della turned her head, face to his palm and kissed his hand softly.
"You spoil me, Perry. You should be furious with me for getting you into this situation, but instead..." her voice caught.
"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, his voice slightly gruff. He drew his fingers down her jaw line, lost in her eyes as he did so. After a moment, he smiled and gestured towards the table. "Let's eat. We'll need the stamina." At the sight of her raised eyebrow, he winked at her, then continued, "for work!"
Arm in arm, the couple walked through the apartment to the kitchen. Perry pulled out the chair and as Della sat, he kissed her softly on the neck, then took his own seat. As Della poured their coffee, she glanced across the table at Perry. He looked tired…..and worried. Della was filled with guilt. So many times she had seen him this way over a tough case or a client. She would be the one who was always there to help him with the cases….and the clients, to make him laugh, to make sure he ate….make sure he rested….to take away his cares….to love him. Now she was the client and he was tired and worried because of her. Putting the coffee pot down, she reached over and took his hand. He looked up from his eggs and smiled.
"What ?"
"I was just wondering about something."
"You have my undivided attention my dear. Tell me what is going on in that beautiful mind of yours."
"You said you read over some paperwork. By any chance did it have anything to do with….the case?"
Perry gave Della's hand a gentle squeeze. His voice took on serious tone. "Yes, yes, it did."
"Mind if I ask what it said?"
It's pretty much your basic report….standard stuff….you know, date, time of death, place, victim, type of weapon etc. etc."
"What exactly are you looking for?"
"Something…anything that would give us a clue. As soon as we get to the office, I'm calling Paul. I want him to put as many guys as he needs on this and start to investigate right away. Then later today or early this evening we can meet with him to see what he came up with. It's a good thing we don't have to be in court. I really want to concentrate on getting to the bottom of this mess. The sooner we find the killer, the sooner we'll be able to put it all behind us."
Perry stopped speaking for a moment, took a sip of his coffee, then continued. "By the way, not to belabor the issue but….you my girl, were talking in your sleep last night."
"I was what?"
"You were talking in your sleep."
Della was slightly embarrassed. A warm blush came over her face. She looked at Perry and asked quietly, "what did I say?"
"You were very sweet. You said I was always your hero, that I always protect you and take care of you…..you said how much you loved me and then….." Perry stopped. He wasn't sure he wanted to go on. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear Della's answer.
"And then what….what did I say."
"It wasn't important darling, it didn't mean anything. Come on, let's finish and then you can get dressed."
Della wasn't going to let this go. She persisted in her questioning. "Perry, what was it…..What else did I say?
Perry knew he had to tell her. Whether he wanted to hear her answer or not, he had to tell her. He took a deep breath and spoke softly. You said…you said you had to do it….you would do it again….you had to stop her."
Della's face paled. Her voice was quiet and she lowered her eyes. Well I guess it's good that I only said it in my sleep and that you were the only one that heard it. Can you imagine the police or Burger hearing me say that? That would really be all we'd need. I probably was just saying what I was thinking. After all I did go over there to stop her. I wanted her to stop all her craziness. It was the only thing I could think of and yes….I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I would do anything to protect you."
"I know you would darling and I love you for it, but….."
"But what?"
Perry's gaze met Della's. His look was intense and when he spoke his voice was low but it definitely held his professional tone.
"Della, I'm only going to ask you this one more time. Then we'll let it go and get on with the business of solving this case. Are you positive and I mean absolutely certain that you've told me everything…..you've remembered everything? There isn't something you're leaving out because you've forgotten it….or you're afraid to tell me because you think I'll be angry or upset?"
Della lowered her head for a moment then raised it again and looked at Perry. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "No Perry, I haven't left anything out. I've told you everything." Della shuddered a little and took a deep breath. She raised her hand and said quietly but seriously, "I am so so sorry for my stupidity….for not being completely honest with you right from the start. I of all people should know better. I don't know what I was thinking. All I did was make things harder for you. I swear I will never ever do anything like this again. If you want, I'll even swear on a stack of bibles….as soon as we can get our hands on some."
Perry released Della's hand. He got up out of his chair, went around to her and brought her up into his embrace. Gently holding her face between his hands, he bent down and met warm lips. Della returned the kiss, her body instinctively pressing closer to Perry's. His arms went around her holding her tighter as he deepened the kiss.
Della felt her knees go weak and her hands clutched his shirt. She felt dizzy and hot, and for a moment forgetting everything but being held by the man who she loved more than anything else in the world and who, she knew, loved her just as much.
Perry was first to break their hold. Breathless and fighting for control, he pulled back and gazed into Della's eyes. His voice was slightly husky. "I hate to do this but we have to stop….while we can. Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't make it out of this apartment and while nothing would make me happier, I don't think that would be a good idea, especially not today."
Della, breathless herself, kept her hands on Perry's chest. Meeting his gaze, her voice was soft, her smile warm and beautiful. "I think Counselor, you are right as always. So now I will somehow leave these wonderful arms of yours and go get dressed. I will be ready in just a little while." With that, Della reached up, left a quick kiss on Perry's lips and extricated herself out of his embrace. As Perry watched her walk away, then turned and began to clear the dishes, he had a fleeting thought…..A thought which left him shaken to the core. What if, someone was trying to blackmail him or Della and the murder of Eva Belter was the best way to do it.
Paul Drake's coded knock could be heard on the door of Perry's private entrance. Della, graceful as ever walked over and opened it, allowing the handsome detective to enter. Greeting her with his urbane smile and his pet name for her, he bent down and lightly kissed her cheek.
"Hello beautiful, don't you look gorgeous. Where's that slave driver boss of yours?"
"Hello yourself Mr. Drake and thank you for the complement. My…"
"Her slave driver boss is right here," said Perry, walking into the room from the law library.
"Hi ya Perry. Man, this rain is really something. I don't remember it being this bad in a long time. It's pouring, traffic is awful, it's cold and I'm tired. If it weren't for this Belter murder thing, I could be on a nice warm tropical island." Paul slid his long frame into the comfortable chair next to Perry's desk and dropped his legs languidly over the side as he normally did.
Perry laughed and said, "If I recall, you just came back from a nice warm tropical island…..and both you and Josie have the tans to prove it."
"Yeah, well I knew we should have stayed another week. On second thought, we wouldn't have been able to do that. You would have wired me to get on the first flight home."
Perry continued the banter, good nature ally teasing his friend. "In that case, I'm glad you decided not to take that extra week. I wouldn't have wanted to be the cause that ruined your vacation."
"You're off the hook this time pal. We had to come home early anyway. Now, I have some information that I think you're going to be very interested in hearing about."
Perry walked around his desk and took a seat in his chair. Della went over to Paul, handed him a steaming mug of coffee then did the same for Perry. As he took the cup from his secretary, the attorney met her gaze. His hands covered hers and he momentarily kept them there, silently conveying his feelings.
Della poured a cup of coffee for herself and took her customary place on the corner of Perry's desk, With a serious voice he turned to Paul and said, "go ahead Paul. Tell us what you found out."
As Paul began to speak, the phone on Perry's desk rang. Della picked up the receiver and listened for a moment, nodding her head. Then she asked quizzically,"are you sure Gertie?" Pausing a minute to hear the receptionists answer, she said quietly, alright, I'll be right out." Hanging up and sliding off the desk she turned to both men. "I'll be right back. Apparently, there's someone from a delivery service waiting in the outer office who has an envelope or packet for us. He said we have to sigh for it." Della shrugged, turned up the palm of her hands and walked out of Perry's office, closing the door behind her.
Perry watched Della leave and rubbed his hand over his face. Paul, noticing this offered concern. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Della but you look like you've really had it buddy. I know you're worried and that worry has mostly to do with that beautiful woman who just walked out of here. Anything you liked to tell me before she comes back?"
"Perry looked directly at his friend. He let out a deep breath. I knew all that noise you were making about the weather and your vacation was for her sake. "You're right Paul. I am tired…and worried. This is one big mess. Della feels terrible about not being completely honest with me right from the beginning. Even though we got everything straightened out I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak. I'm worried that if the police don't find the killer, they'll come back to her. I know there's something missing…something we're just not seeing. I just want to find the killer so this will end once and for all and we can put it behind us."
Paul was about to answer when the door opened and Della came back, carrying a large manila envelope. She handed it to Perry then silently reclaimed her place on the corner of the desk.
Mason gave the packet a cursory glance, then returned his attention to Della and Paul.
"Alright Paul, I'll look at this in a few minutes. First, I want to hear what you found out.
The P.I. reached into the pocket on the front of his jacket and pulled out his note pad. He flipped the pages until he came to the part he was searching for. Scanning it over for a minute, he then looked at his friends and began relating the information.
"Alright, here's the scoop. You remember last year and the murder and all that went with it?"
Della interrupted the detective. There was a caustic edge to her voice, unusual for her. "How could we forget? You both knew how I felt about her. She not only caused us trouble then, she's causing trouble for us now…a whole lot of trouble…and now it's from beyond the grave." Momentarily, Della turned her attention to Perry. She sighed deeply and said "I told you I had a feeling something bad was going to happen and now it looks like its true."
Perry looked up at his secretary. If the situation wasn't so serious he would have laughed. 'That's my girl,' he thought to himself. 'She has no problem saying what is on her mind….gets right to the heart of the matter.' Out loud, he said, "Della, I don't think you're prediction has anything to do with this. I just think it's a matter of timing….bad timing but nothing more than that." He smiled, trying to lighten the moment, "Now please, let the man finish." The attorney turned his attention back to the investigator. "Go on Paul, tell us the rest of it."
Paul continued with his explanation. "Anyway, remember we found out about all that Georgia business? You know, there was that murder in Savannah and they tried to convict Cecil Dawson and how that Linton dame changed her testimony and it ended up being a hung jury. Then, he ran away and no one could find him?"
"Yeah and he came here and changed his name to Frank Locke. We know all that Paul. We just couldn't get enough evidence to send him back. "
"Well, what you don't know because I just found this out today, is that there was something going on between Locke and the little lady herself. There was some kind of business deal or something"
"You don't say…..and if I can ask Mr. Drake, where did you get your information?"
"I do say. I still have some things to check out but this information came from a very reliable source. As soon as I get what I need, I'll let you know. What's your next move Perry?
As soon as you leave, I'm going to call Tragg and see if I can go and talk to him.
"OK…..now what do you have up your sleeve?"
"I want to know why he didn't question Locke or if he did what Locke told him."
"Do you really think he's going to tell you? I mean, isn't that privileged information?
Looking annoyed, Perry rose out of his chair. His voice spoke of his feelings of irritation. "It is but considering he had no problem taking Della downtown for questioning and putting her through hell not to mention scaring her half to death, I'd say he owes us."
"You have a point there pal. Listen, I'll be on my way and get on the rest of this. Like I said, as soon as I know, you'll know."
"Thanks Paul, as usual, you're right on top of things." Perry walked over to his friend and gave him a hearty slap on the back.
"Paul laughed. As usual, you want everything yesterday….and your welcome. He walked over to Della and gave her a gentle hug. Breaking away, he said, "bye beautiful, bye Perry, see ya later."
Della's voice was soft…..caring. "Bye Paul, take care, we'll see you later."
As he opened the door, leaving the way he came, Paul Drake had a determined look on his face and more questions on his mind. He was just as unwavering in extracting the desired information he sought his way, as his best friend was in his….especially when it came to the welfare of that best friend and the woman he loved.
No sooner did Paul leave his office, then Perry was on the phone, procuring an appointment with Lieutenant Tragg. The deputy agreed and told him he would see him in an hour. Perry thanked him, hung up the phone and walked into Della's office. She was already busy finishing the day's work and looked up at him, flashing him a brilliant smile as he leaned against her desk.
"Well Counselor, all I can say is I don't know what we would do without Paul. Besides being your best friend, he's like a brother to you….not to mention he's the best at what he does…..just like you."
Perry leaned over and held gently nestled Della's chin in his hand. Returning the smile, his eyes held warmth and love and that irrepressible twinkle. His voice was quiet. "I don't know what we'd do without him either sweetheart….and in case you need a reminder, I don't know what I would ever do without you."
Della gently removed Perry's hand from under her chin and brought it up to her lips. Leaving a kiss, she gazed up at him and said lovingly, "I don't need a reminder Mr. Mason and just so you know, the feeling is mutual.
Lips met and kissed leaving the lawyer and his stunning assistant just a little warm. Breaking away, Della spoke first, her voice definitely letting Perry know her needs.
Well handsome, you need to go and see Tragg and I need to finish my work. Sooooo, how about when you are through at headquarters, you come back here and pick me up. I want to go home, cook dinner and then curl up in your arms in front of the fire and listen to those raindrops …..and then…"
"….and then I'll take care of desert. You know, I never thought I'd be so happy to see rain for almost a solid week." My beautiful girl, you have yourself a date. Perry leaned over, kissed Della softly on the lips and then whispered in her ear.
Then saying nothing more, the lawyer stood, put on his coat and walked out of the office, leaving his secretary, breathless and trembling.