Hamilton Burger stared at the cup of tea he held in his hands, concentrating on its warmth and the feeling of his wife's gentle hand on his shoulder. It was now two o'clock in the morning, and the two of them were sitting in front of a fireplace filled with glowing embers.
"My dear, are you going to be alright?" Lydia softly asked.
Her husband sighed.
"Yes, I will. Although tonight is one of those times when I wish that I had chosen a less gruesome career."
"It is so hard to think of Della Street being gone," his wife said. "I only met her twice, but each time she was so cheerful and vivacious."
"She was a fixture in the Los Angeles legal system, that is for sure," Hamilton answered. "It is the first time that my office will be prosecuting a case where I actually knew the decedent well, and not just as a casual acquaintance. But life is strange, isn't it? She interacted with so many unsavory characters as part of her job, and none of them did her any harm. Instead, she met her untimely, senseless end in her neighbor's apartment." He sighed again. "Lydia, I am absolutely dreading what must be done in the morning. Perry may be my nemesis in the courtroom, but outside of it he has always been a good friend. And I shudder to imagine what I would feel if someone knocked on my door and brought me the news that you were suddenly gone!"
"Is…is there any hope that you might be mistaken? Maybe he only thought of her as his secretary, after all."
"I might be. I hope I am. But something tells me that I am not…there were times when his poker face would disappear, and he would look at her with intense devotion and admiration."
"Should you not also be worried about Paul Drake? From what you used to tell me, it sounded like he also was very fond of Miss Street."
Hamilton gave a short, mirthless laugh.
"He will take it hard, but I highly doubt that Drake ever felt anything beyond a brotherly affection for her. He is one of those fellows who wears his heart on his sleeve. I don't think that he ever passed a pretty girl on the sidewalk without openly admiring her and trying to ask her out on a date. If he were in love with Della he would have proposed marriage to her years ago. Perry, on the other hand, always kept his cards close to his chest. I doubt anyone but the Almighty fully understands how that mind of his works."
"Perry Mason was always a strong, resolute man who has weathered many a storm. Why should this be any different?"
"I suppose you are right," he conceded, but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice.
Lydia's eyes studied him carefully.
"What else is bothering you, Hamilton?"
He gave a wry smile.
"Again, my dear, you know me too well." He took a deep breath. "To be perfectly honest, I am worried that I will not be able to secure a conviction in this case. I cannot tell even you the classified specifics, but the suspect said some things that make me think that he was trying to lay the foundation in order to later enter a plea of 'not guilty by reason of insanity'."
Lydia laid her head on his shoulder.
"You will think of something. I believe in your abilities, Hamilton. I always have."
"I know that, Mrs. Burger," the District Attorney said, putting his arms around her and holding her close. "I know that perfectly well."
"Let's go to bed. You need at least a few hours of sleep."
Hamilton nodded, clinging to her. There was nothing like an unexpected loss in one's social circle to make someone doubly grateful for one's own family.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of stories which have everyone (Paul, Perry, Mr. Burger, and Lieutenant Tragg) in love with Della, so I made Hamilton Burger happily married in this story. Plus the poor prosecutor needed to have someone in his corner to keep his morale up – he's always losing to Perry!