Three days later:

"If she doesn't press charges, then I will find a way to sue him," Perry Mason said uncompromisingly as he looked at his fiancée, who was standing by the window and gazing absentmindedly out of it. "I am sure that I do not understand her hesitation!"

In the room with them were Hamilton Burger, Paul Drake, and Lieutenants Tragg and Anderson. The latter had finally been introduced to Della Street. The past three days had been a whirlwind of happiness. Perry had taken his sweetheart jewelry shopping on Tuesday, and within hours the two lovebirds had settled on a large, elegant, and expensive ring which now adorned Della's hand. Not wishing to spend one more night apart from her than absolutely necessary, the attorney had also already booked the soonest wedding date that Father John would allow. The press had been informed that Perry Mason's secretary still lived and was soon to become Mrs. Mason, and after much begging, had finally been satisfied by a series of interviews with Hamilton Burger, Perry, and of course, with the lady herself. Arthur Tragg had been petitioned by the bride-to-be herself to be the person who would walk her down the aisle, and he had agreed with alacrity.

But now it was Friday afternoon, and the wedding preparations had temporarily been put on hold when the District Attorney appeared at the office with some paperwork. He had explained to the engaged couple that, since he had been forced to drop the murder charge against Nathan White, he needed Della to press new charges against him in order for him to remain incarcerated. When he pulled out the piece of paper and handed her a pen, however, the young woman had glanced over the document, and laying down the pen without signing, had wandered off towards the window, where she remained.

"I…I don't mean to be difficult, Mr. Burger," she finally said, glancing down at her hands. "It is just that I feel…conflicted…about pressing further charges."

Softening, Perry stood up and walked to her. Putting a loving hand on her arm, he gently turned her to face himself.

"What is it, my darling?" he asked tenderly. "What is troubling you?"

Della took a half-step toward him, relishing the comfort of his presence.

"Perhaps I am being too lenient, considering the fact that I was the person who suffered the least because of his schemes. All I did was fall asleep, and when I woke up, the man of my dreams was kneeling besides me and begging for my hand in marriage." She looked up at Perry. "But on one hand, I am angry at him, for what he put you through as well as the way that he violated my trust with half-truths and ulterior motives. But on the other, I feel that I was partially to blame for the whole situation. You see, I always knew that he was an odd man with strange ideas, and yet, I decided to make him my special project and to make him more social; I almost forced my friendship on him, you could say. I took great pride, just a week ago, in being the one human being with whom he conversed on a regular basis. And he has been misunderstood and excluded from so much throughout his life. It seems very cold and cruel to suddenly turn on him in this manner."

"My poor dear," the defense attorney said, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her to his heart, "the charges Hamilton wants you to press are not about revenge. I can understand why you are disposed to be forgiving towards Mr. White, but the legal system exists to protect as well as to punish. From what I understand, he is a man who is so infatuated with and confident in his chemistry experiments that he has trouble comprehending that he may be putting people in danger with them. If we let him walk free without any repercussions, he will likely try to administer his concoction to someone else. What if the next person does not wake up? What if they are buried alive? We need to prevent that!"

"Indeed," Lieutenant Tragg put in, "I've even apologized to the man for how I berated him the first evening we met. This is not meant to be a punitive, but corrective, action."

"I see your point," Della replied quietly.

"If it will make you feel better," Hamilton Burger added, "I will recommend a sentence of probation. It will allow us to monitor the way that he uses his laboratory, but he will not be cooped up in a jail cell. And I will let him know that it was thanks to your intercession that his sentence was reduced. That should help preserve your acquaintance!"

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Burger!" Della exclaimed. "Yes, please do that!"

Perry steered her towards his desk, where the document still lay. The girl picked up the pen and signed. Hamilton Burger collected it, and was standing to go when Della asked,

"How did Mr. White hold up in prison?"

"All things considered, rather well. I think he read Macbeth four times from cover to cover in the last several days."

Della shook her head.

"It may sound strange to say, but I feel sorry for him. He has nothing in life but his chemical experiments and obsession with Shakespearean tragedies."

"He seems to have at least one friend in his life," Lieutenant Tragg murmured.

Perry, who had been looking carefully at Della's worried and sad face, suddenly turned to his bookshelf, took out a book, and handed it to the District Attorney.

"Make that two friends, Lieutenant. Hamilton, when you inform Mr. White of the new charges, please give him this. To soften the blow."

"What is it?" Hamilton asked curiously as he peered at the cover.

"A vintage compilation of Shakespeare's comedies," the defense attorney replied, slipping his arm around his fiancée's shoulders, "If he is going to continue being an acquaintance of Della and occasionally visiting with us, then he better get used to happy endings!"

"But during such gatherings, I am going to be the one brewing any tea we drink!" his future wife murmured as she stood on her tiptoes, and gratefully pecked his cheek.

THE END