Tightrope (Burning Cove #3)(79)
There was a quiet chorus of yeses.
The four of them had sworn an oath, Amalie thought. For now, Calloway’s notebook was their secret.
Chapter 54
Irene Ward’s story about the arrest of Lorraine Pierce and the recovery of a top secret cipher machine was splashed across the front page of the morning edition of the Herald. Amalie and Matthias were drinking coffee with Hazel and Willa in the kitchen of the Hidden Beach Inn when the paper was delivered.
Willa read the headlines aloud. “Famed Gossip Columnist Arrested for Murder of Robot Inventor. Top Secret Invention Recovered.”
An entire paragraph was devoted to glowing praise of the brave, professional work of Detective Brandon and the officers of the Burning Cove Police Department.
Matthias picked up his coffee mug. “A special agent from the FBI is probably yelling at Brandon and the chief of police at this very moment, but there’s no putting the cat back in the bag, and everyone knows it. The only thing the Feds can do is go along with Irene’s version of events and pretend to be grateful to the Burning Cove Police Department.”
Hazel got an anxious look. “Do you think the FBI might arrest Irene Ward because she ran the story?”
“The Bureau will be annoyed with Irene but there’s nothing they can do about her, either,” Matthias said. “It’s not as if she released classified information. She’s just a reporter who covered a red-hot story about a Hollywood gossip columnist and a stolen invention. They’ll play along. After all, they got the Ares and they’ve taken a suspected killer and gunrunner into custody. It will be interesting to see if they can hang on to both.”
Chapter 55
The editor saved the other big story of the day for the afternoon edition of the Herald. Amalie was at the front desk when it arrived. She read it immediately, searching for mention of the Hidden Beach Inn.
ACTOR VINCENT HYDE ATTACKED BY CHAUFFEUR
Early this morning a dramatic encounter took place in the Paradise Club. Events began to unfold shortly after closing when Mr. Vincent Hyde, the well-known actor who played the lead in the Mad Doctor X films, was brutally attacked and left unconscious by his chauffeur, Mr. Jasper Calloway.
Following the assault on his employer, Calloway took a local innkeeper, Miss Amalie Vaughn, proprietor of the Hidden Beach Inn, hostage inside the nightclub. He threatened to release poison gas into the atmosphere, killing everyone in the club.
The tense standoff inside ended when Mr. Luther Pell and a business associate, Mr. Matthias Jones, succeeded in overcoming the crazed killer. Jasper Calloway died in a hail of bullets. According to those on the scene the nature of his demands was never made clear. Mr. Hyde described the chauffeur as “clearly mad.”
Readers will recall seeing Mr. Hyde’s chauffeur around town. Jasper Calloway made a decidedly chilling sight with his shaved head, tattoos, metal earring, and leather attire.
Calloway’s hostage, Miss Amalie Vaughn, is a former trapeze artist who was able to escape from Calloway’s clutches by employing the daring skills she learned while working in a circus. Witnesses told this reporter that she literally flew over a balcony railing to escape the clutches of Mr. Calloway. Miss Vaughn landed in the arms of Mr. Jones.
Dubbed the “Psychic Curse Mansion” due to a string of mysterious events connected to it, the Hidden Beach Inn has appeared frequently in the press. Miss Vaughn noted that henceforth the popular tours of the Psychic Curse Mansion will include a view of Calloway’s room at the inn.
Mr. Vincent Hyde, the star of the Mad Doctor X films, is currently a guest at the inn. He told this reporter that he was shocked by the chauffeur’s attack. “I gave Calloway a job when he was down on his luck,” Mr. Hyde said. “He repaid me by attempting to murder me. Clearly, Calloway was unstable, a human monster. I should have known that he would turn on me one day.”
Matthias walked through the front door, a copy of the Herald under one arm.
“Irene Ward did a good job with the piece,” he said, sounding satisfied.
“Mr. Hyde will be pleased because he got the final quote.” Amalie folded her copy of the paper. “And Irene very kindly slipped in a note about the new addition to the tours here at the Hidden Beach. I expect the phone will start ringing soon.”
“You know, at the rate you’re going, you won’t have any rooms left to rent to actual guests,” Matthias said. “They’re all going to be featured attractions on the tour.”
Amalie shuddered. “Don’t say that. Funny you should mention marketing, though. I’ve decided that there is something to that old saying about any publicity being good publicity. We’ve had several reservations this morning. Some were for the tours, of course, but people are starting to book rooms. Two bookings specified Madam Zolanda’s suite. The others wanted Vincent Hyde’s. I had to explain that Hyde was still in residence. That just made people all the more eager to reserve his room as soon as it became available. I had to start a waiting list.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to advertise my room to people who want to sleep where a notorious mobster once slept.”
“I hadn’t thought about it, but now that you mention it . . .”
She had been teasing but Matthias did not look amused. His jaw hardened and he got the icy look that, back at the beginning of their relationship, had sent unnerving little frissons across her senses. She was somewhat surprised to discover that the chill factor still had the power to put her nerves on edge.