Not long after Della began working for Perry, a big case came up: There was some nasty business about a dead man (Howard Rance) with four sons, all of whom were results of four different affairs, a step daughter, two children he had had with his wife (who was now dead), and the inheritance was a messy deal, and there were a lot of complications. In the midst of it, one of the sons went missing, and another was murdered, and all of the witnesses had different testimonies, but they all claimed that Perry's client (Jerome Rance) was guilty. Perry was beyond frazzled.

"Mr. Mason," Della knocked on his door, "Elna Rance, Howard Rance's step daughter, is on the phone. She wants you to go out to their place and meet her."

"Did she say what she was wrong?"

"She did not want to say it over the phone."

Perry closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he pushed his chair back and stood up, "I hate to have to ask you, Miss Street, but would you please come along? Elna Rance is known for being...difficult round men," Perry searched carefully for the words.

"Let me get my purse," she said.

"If we win this case, Della, I will take you to the fanciest restaurant around and you may have whatever you wish!"

"I'll look forward to that," she smiled.

Perry drove an hour and a half to the Rance estate.

"Are they home?" Della wondered, looking at the dark house.

"I don't think so. Are you sure we were supposed to come here?"

"The woman said to come to the Rance estate."

"I'll knock on the door," Perry got out of the car and went up the front walk.

He knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked louder this time.

"A light went on upstairs," Della told him, getting out of the vehicle and joining him.

A minute later, a man in a robe answered the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"We are here to see Miss Elna Rance," Perry Mason explained.

"She is not home. She was going first to the library, then to her friends house. She told me she would not be back tonight," the butler said.

"Do you have an address for her friend?"

"No, sir. Perhaps she is staying with Miss Murray, who lives right next to the library."

"Thank you. Sorry we had to bother you."

"It was no trouble, sir. Good night, Miss," the butler bowed slightly to Della, then closed the door.

Perry drove them first to the library, which ended up being closed. A name on a mailbox directed them to the Murray home. A middle aged woman answered their knock, only to inform them that their daughter was out with a date, and Elna Rance had not been to visit for several days. Setting his mouth in a firm line, Perry took a gentle hold on Della's elbow and gently lead her back to his car.

"I'm sure I took down Elna's message very clearly-" Della began.

"It is not your fault, Della," he called her by her first name instead of her last name, she noticed "I think Miss Rance is leading us around in circles. I can drive you straight to your place, if you'd like, since it is nearly ten o' clock."

"I'm afraid I left my keys at the office, Mr. Mason."

Perry nodded and drove them back to the office building. They were surprised to see Paul Drake waiting for them, impatiently.

"What's up, Paul?"

"My men have been watching Carlo Pierce's place for the past week. He has not really had any visitors, until tonight: Elna Rance," Paul said.

"Elna Rance claimed she never knew any of her step father's other sons."

"She was visiting this one."

"Is she still there?"

"No, but one of my detectives followed her to a motel, where she appears to be spending the night. He is keeping an eye in her now."

"Let's go out and talk to her," Perry and Paul left, leaving Della alone in the office.

~~~~~~~PM~~~~~~~

It was another wild goose chase. Elna Rance had bolted out the back way when Paul and Perry knocked on her door. She drove away before they could go after her. Perry was getting angry.

"I'm done for the night," he told the detective, "It is going to be midnight by the time we get back to the office. If she wants to run all over the country, I hope her feet sure hurt tomorrow and she'll be forced to stay in one place to rest."

"Did you leave the light on?" Paul asked as they pulled up in front of the building.

"Della might have," Perry got out of the car, "See you tomorrow."

"Yep," Paul sighed, then drove away.

Perry went up to his office and found the door still unlocked. He made a mental note to speak to his secretary about locking up in the morning. He went through the rooms, turning off the lights. When he got to his office, he stopped short. There, curled up on the sofa, sound asleep, was Della Street. Perry squatted down by the arm of the sofa and gently shook her arm.

"Hey, wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he said softly.

Della jumped up, startled. She gave him a startled look.

"You should be home!" he told her gently.

"You-you never told me I could leave," she stood and tried to shake the sleepiness from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Perry said, never realizing she would wait for his permission, "That was careless on my part. You go home now, and get a good night's rest. You do not have to be in until ten tomorrow morning!" he tried to make it up to her.

"Are you sure...?"

"Yes, go on now!"

Della grabbed her purse and began to leave. Had Mr. Mason really called her Sleeping Beauty?

~~~~~~~PM~~~~~~~

Despite being told she could arrive later, Della arrived at the office at seven the following morning. She wanted to make sure the office was in order before her boss arrived. She began making coffee.

"Hey, you!" a big burly man burst into Della's office without knocking.

"Can I help you?" she asked, coming around the corner of her desk, startled, trying to get safely to her seat.

"Is Perry Mason in?" the man stormed.

"No, I'm afraid he is busy, can I take a message?" she could not get past him.

"Do you work for him?"

"Yes, -"

Before she knew what was happening, the man swung out and punched her hard in the face! He shoved her hard against her desk and she fell to the floor, crying out. The man dashed from the office and Della heard the elevator door ding.

She stood slowly, rubbing her side where she had hit the desk. She decided to back home and come back in at ten. She went out to get a taxi, her side hurting with every step.

At ten on the dot, Della slowly made her way into the office. Almost immediately, Perry buzzed her over the intercom. She opened the door to office, trying to stay out of the light as much as possible. Perry waved her towards her chair, indicating that he had dictation for her. She stepped forward, wincing a little.

"Della Street!" Perry cried, jumping to his feet.

Della's eye had swollen and turned black the fist to her face. When she had gone back to her apartment, she had managed to bring the swelling down some, but the horrid black bruise remained. She had not had time to try to cover it with makeup. The taxi driver had looked at her with concern, and had asked her if she needed him to call the police for her. The doorman asked if she needed someone beat up, and now Perry looked like he was going to kill whoever did this to her.

"I'm feeling much better," Della smiled wanly.

"What happened?" Perry demanded, coming around the corner of his desk and pulling up a chair for her.

"A guy hit me," she looked down at the pencil she was toying with.

"A guy hit you? What guy?" Perry persisted.

"I don't know who he was, he just barged in and-and hit me!"

"He broke into your house?" Perry was trying to understand what she was saying.

"No. I came into the office earlier this morning. He came in then."

"You aren't telling me something. Why did he hit you?"

"He was looking for you and you weren't here. He asked if I worked for you, then he hit me," Della explained.

"He's not going to get away with this!" Perry's hands curled into fists.

Please tell me what you think so far! I started posting this story on my Tumblr, but I never finished it.

I can tell you that this man is going to have to deal with the wrath of Perry and Paul, and there will be a surprise visit from someone soon too. Thank you for reading! Reviews always appreciated!