Tightrope (Burning Cove #3)(86)

“At that point Calloway’s initial plan was on the rocks,” Matthias said. “Things had gotten complicated. Looks like he decided to keep Fenwick in reserve to be used as a distraction or a fall guy if needed. But once Calloway was dead, there was no one left to control Fenwick. Giggles reverted to his original scheme to kill you.”

“Do you think Eugene Fenwick was the sequel that Calloway promised with his dying breath?” Amalie asked.

“Maybe,” Matthias said. “It’s a possibility.”

“Why would Calloway want Fenwick to murder me?” Amalie asked. “What good would it have done?”

“Calloway probably figured your murder would create a distraction that would send the Pickwell investigation in an entirely different direction,” Matthias said. “That possibility would have looked like an even better idea after the news of the escaped robot hit the papers.”

“That means Jasper Calloway was actually in Burning Cove the night before he showed up driving Vincent Hyde’s limo,” Amalie said.

“He was in town before that,” Matthias said. “I talked to Hyde. He confirmed that Calloway had asked for a few days off to take care of some personal business. The time off corresponds with the night the robot shot Pickwell and the night Fenwick broke into your inn.”

“How did Calloway persuade Vincent Hyde to drive to Burning Cove so quickly?” Amalie asked. “He and Calloway arrived the day after the break-in.”

“Calloway didn’t have to do any persuading. He simply placed a call to Lorraine Pierce in his role as her number one client and gave her instructions. She was already in Burning Cove because she had come here to murder Pickwell and collect the Ares machine. The morning after the break-in, Hyde received a call from Pierce telling him that she saw a golden opportunity to get some terrific publicity in Burning Cove but he had to move fast. She told him that to get his name in the papers he had to book a room at the Hidden Beach Inn.”

“What about Ray Thorpe, the studio security guard who Lorraine shot?”

“He was just a useful tool Calloway intended to get rid of when he was no longer needed. Thorpe is the one who stole both the robot costume and the empty aluminum version from the studio. Pickwell filled the shell with a lot of serious-looking wiring and mechanical equipment so that the reporters would have a realistic looking robot to examine and photograph before and after the performance. Pickwell assumed that his assistant would wear the costume onstage. Instead, Hubbard let Lorraine Pierce into the back of the theater and helped her into the costume. She went out onstage, shot Pickwell, and then disappeared behind the curtain. Hubbard probably helped her get out of the costume and then she slipped out a side door. Hubbard took off with the suitcase containing the Ares machine.”

“Why didn’t Lorraine take the suitcase at that point?”

“The machine is heavy. It would have slowed her down and there was a real risk that she would have been seen carrying it out of the theater or trying to stuff the suitcase into the trunk of her car.”

“She’s a famous gossip columnist,” Amalie said. “People would have noticed her.”

“People did notice her. Detective Brandon said that a couple of witnesses mentioned that they had seen her get into a car parked on a side street that night but they thought nothing of it at the time. No one else did, either.”

“Just one more famous face on the streets of Burning Cove.”

“And don’t forget, Pierce knew that others, possibly even government agents, were after the Ares machine. She did not want to be caught with it in the vicinity of a murder scene. All in all, it made sense to let Hubbard take the risk of getting the machine out of the theater. No one would have paid any attention to him.”

“So, that’s it, then? It’s over?”

Matthias’s fingers closed around her hand. “Some things are finished. The rogue spy code-named Smith is no longer a problem. The case of the killer robot has been solved. The bastard who followed you here to Burning Cove has been arrested for attempted murder and is talking as fast as he can about the Death Catcher killings in hopes of avoiding the new gas chamber at San Quentin. But there are other things that have come up in the past few days. Things I would like to talk about.”

“Such as?”

His fingers tightened around hers. “Our future.”

She allowed herself to breathe again. “Is there a rush to do that?”

He turned her so that she was facing him. Everything about him was intense, focused, determined. His eyes heated. Energy whispered in the atmosphere around him.

“As far as I’m concerned there is a rush,” he said. “But it all depends on how you feel about a future that involves marrying an engineer who may have mob connections.”

She caught her breath. “We’re talking marriage?”

“I’m talking marriage. I hope you’re willing to discuss it, too, because I love you, Amalie.”

“I feel I should point out that we’ve only known each other a very short time.”

“If you need time, you can have as much as you want. I’m not going anywhere. Burning Cove is my home now.”

“What about your career as a freelance consultant?”

Matthias smiled. “There is one other bit of news that I haven’t told you. I’ve decided to take your advice and set up in business. I’m planning to do that here in Burning Cove. How does M. S. Jones Communications, Incorporated, sound to you?”