La Fleur Rouge The Red Flower (26 page)

The phone in New York rang only once, and Greg answered.

“Greg?” Zack asked in a surprised voice.

“Yes. Who is this?”

Zack caught his breath. A nagging doubt gnawed at his insides. Somehow the fact that Greg was there didn’t satisfy him. “This is Zack,” he told Greg. “I’m calling from Paris.”

“Yes, Zack. What’s on your mind?”

Zack hesitated. “Hildy is missing. You haven’t seen her, have you?”

Greg sounded innocent as he answered Zack’s question. “Where would I see her? She’s there - I’m here. This is the first I’ve heard about it. Are you sure she’s missing?”

“Her bed wasn’t slept in last night,” Zack told him. He was careful how he phrased his next question. “How long have you been back in the States?”

“I flew in a couple of days ago. I’ve been in Boston,” he lied. “I just arrived in New York tonight.” He paused. “Have you thought of the possibility that perhaps Hildy disappeared because she’s too ashamed to face you after what she did?”

Zack was silent for a moment. “Just what is it she’s supposed to have done, Greg?”

“It’s about time you knew what’s been going on,” he said. “Did you know that Hildy Swenson is Hilary Simone, the one I was engaged to two years ago back in Boston? She tried to steal ‘The Pepper Pot’ from me! And she did manage to steal ‘La Fleur Rouge!’ People like her are so ambitious they’ll do anything to break into the business!”

Zack did his best to hide his anger. “Let me speak to Jay, please,” he said in a tone that Greg didn’t dare contradict.

Jay’s voice came over the wire. “What’s going on, Zack? Is Hildy all right?”

“I don’t know,” Zack replied. “She’s disappeared.” He paused for a moment, thinking. Should I say this or not? He decided to come right out with it. “Jay, I know what happened between you and Hildy. Greg brainwashed you. If you want to believe his lies that’s your business, but I thought you’d want to know she’s missing. So is Roger Fielding. Their beds weren’t slept in last night.”

“Hildy? Missing?” Jay’s voice was fraught with anxiety. “Who is Roger Fielding?”

“He’s a writer-composer who’s been traveling with us for the past week.”

“What does this have to do with Greg?” Jay asked.

Zack could no longer hide his impatience with Jay’s naivete. “Jay, Hildy and Roger are missing, and I’m positive Greg is to blame!”

“What makes you think that?” Jay asked.

Zack was exasperated. “Jay, it’s time you woke up to what’s going on! I don’t know how, but I think Greg has finally done it!”

“Done what, Zack?” Jay asked.

“You really don’t know, do you?” Zack didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him, or just plain disgusted. “I’m sure Greg is at the bottom of their disappearance! It’s about time you realized what kind of person Greg is. He’s a plagiarist! Three people so far have come to Peter and accused Greg of stealing their musicals. God only knows how many more he’s stolen. ‘Sunny Days’ was not written by Greg. Roger Fielding wrote it under the name of ‘The Happy Heart,’ and he can prove it!”

Jay’s voice broke. “Zack, I want more than anything to believe in Hildy’s innocence. But you heard what Greg said. He told you who Hildy really is. She tried to make me believe two years ago that she wrote ‘The Pepper Pot.’ And now Greg tells me she stole his musical that Peter is filming - ‘La Fleur Rouge.’ He showed me his script in Paris before we left, only he called it ‘The Red Flower.’ It has his logo on it. What else am I to think? Stealing someone’s work is a terrible thing to do! It’s against the law!”

“You bet it is!” Zack snorted. “Peter’s copy of the script was missing for a whole day. There’s no doubt that Greg stole it and copied it! I don’t know how he managed it, but he did. We have every reason to believe that Greg has never written a musical in his life. He’s stolen them all from people who came to him for help!”

Jay still wasn’t convinced. There were too many unanswered questions. “Zack, Hildy has had you believing that her life is in danger. But Greg just proved to me that the only danger she’s in is being found out for what she’s done.” His voice broke as he continued. “I don’t want to believe this, but I think Greg is right. Hildy only married me to further her career.”

“Really? He told you that, did he? I might have known!” Zack snorted. “She doesn’t need anyone’s help with her career - she has her talent for that! She doesn’t use people! You should know she’s not like that! I found her wig and glasses by the River Seine where she went for a walk last night. I also found a chloroform soaked handkerchief with the initials ‘G.W.’ on it - and blood spattered all over the place. They may both be dead! What more proof do you need?” By this time he was thoroughly fed up. “There’s no point in talking to you,” he said. “I don’t have time for this nonsense! I have to find Hildy and Roger.”

He hung up.

CHAPTER XXXIX
 

Jay sat holding the now silent phone in his hand. He was shocked! The thought that Hildy might be dead cut through him like a knife. What if Hildy was telling the truth two years ago back in Boston? He realized then just how much he still loved her. He looked accusingly at Greg.

Greg laughed. “Jay! You’re not going to believe those lies, are you? Hildy may have convinced Peter, but don’t let her fool you, too.”

“Something is very wrong,” Jay said, shaking his head. “Zack found her wig and glasses and a handkerchief soaked with chloroform by the Seine River where she took a walk last night. There was blood - - “ His voice broke, and he had to wait a minute before he continued. He pulled himself together and looked directly at Greg. “The handkerchief had the initials ‘G.W.’ on it.”

Greg looked frightened as his startled eyes darted around the room.

Jay waited, more suspicious by the minute.

“Oh!” Greg said as though he just remembered. “I lent a handkerchief to Hildy one day. She never returned it. They probably staged this whole thing to make it look like foul play. They must have a guilty conscience, and decided to disappear and frame me for the whole thing!”

Jay didn’t know what to believe. Greg suddenly seemed like a stranger to him. He rubbed his eyes in confusion. “I’m too tired to continue this tonight,” he told Greg. “Maybe things will seem clearer in the morning.”

He went to his room, but couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t get Zack’s call and accusations out of his mind. What if he’s right? I never gave Hildy a chance to explain.

When he thought Greg was asleep he went back into the living room and called Zack in Paris.

“Zack,” he said, “please keep me posted on Hildy’s disappearance. I’ve got to know she’s all right, regardless of what she may have done.”

Zack sighed. “You still don’t believe her, do you, Jay?”

“If she’s so innocent, why didn’t she tell me who she was? I’m her husband. I have a right to know.”

“What would you have done if she had?” Zack asked him.

“I would have confronted Greg and demanded to know the truth!”

“Exactly!” Zack exclaimed. “Then Greg would have known who she was and denied everything. You would probably have believed him, and then he’d have gone after her. Hildy couldn’t take that chance! Her life was in danger. If he put a bomb on her plane when she flew to Paris, who knows what fiendish plan he’ll come up with next!”

Jay couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Greg put a bomb on her plane?! What makes you think that?”

“Well, somebody did, and he certainly had the motive. He wanted her out of the way so she wouldn’t expose him for the fraud that he is. She wrote ‘The Pepper Pot’ under the name of ‘The Ginger Jar,’ and she has proof!”

For the first time since Jay got back from Paris, he felt a glimmer of hope. Oh, dear God, could it be that Hildy really was telling me the truth?

“The French police are working on their disappearance,” Zack continued, “but so far they’ve come up with nothing. They’ve looked everywhere, and they’ve run out of leads.”

“Keep trying, Zack, and keep me posted,” Jay said. He hung up abruptly. Greg had come into the room.

“I thought I heard voices,” Greg said. “Isn’t it a little late to be calling anyone?”

“There was something I wanted to run by the stage director,”

Jay replied.

Greg looked at his watch. “At this time of night?”

Jay was becoming annoyed. “He was expecting my call,” he answered, trying to stay calm.

“Oh,” Greg said. “I thought I heard Zack’s name.”

Jay did his best not to explode. “The director’s name is Zachary,” he reminded Greg.

Greg’s whole attitude changed to one of relief. He nodded, apparently satisfied with Jay’s explanation. “See you in the morning,” he said, and returned to his room.

CHAPTER XL
 

Four days had gone by since Zack informed Jay of Hildy’s disappearance. He could hardly eat or sleep. He thought that by now they would have found her. He kept in touch with Zack every day, but still no news, and every day the grave doubts about Greg piled up. The handkerchief with “G.W.” on it haunted him. It was too much of a coincidence to be ignored. He knew it was useless to question Greg. He would probably deny everything, just as Zack said.

Greg had returned to Boston for “some kind of appointment,”
he said. “I may have another musical for you soon,” he told Jay.

His absence gave Jay a chance to think more clearly, and he wondered if Greg had returned to “help” someone else with a new musical - or, rather, to help himself to someone else’s new musical.

He decided to call Zack again. It was eight o’clock in the evening in New York, which made it two the next morning in Paris, but Jay couldn’t wait any longer. He had to know if they had made any progress in finding Hildy.

Zack answered immediately when the call came through. “Hildy and Roger haven’t shown up yet,” he told Jay. “The gendarmes have no further clues. They’ve exhausted the possibilities. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

“Please,” Jay begged, “keep me posted. I’m very worried. If anything happens to her - - “ He broke off. “Someone’s at the door. I’ll talk to you later.”

When he opened the door, a messenger handed him a small package postmarked from Paris. Jay tipped him and went inside to open it.

In the package were Hildy’s engagement and wedding rings. No note. Just the rings.

Tears came to his eyes as he thought of the happy day he gave them to her. It seemed like years ago. So much had happened since then, and the return of the rings made everything seem so terribly final.

The script for “La Fleur Rouge” lay on the table beside his coffee cup. He was so upset that when he reached for the script his hands shook and he accidentally hit the cup, knocking it over. The hot coffee spilled over the title page.

He grabbed a paper towel to wipe up the mess when suddenly something caught his eye. The corners of the stickers with Greg’s name and the title, “The Red Flower,” had started to lift up. Jay put his thumb and forefinger on the edges and gently pulled them back.

He sat in stunned silence! Underneath the stickers, neatly typed, was the title, “La Fleur Rouge,” with Hildy’s name as author and composer! For a moment he couldn’t move as the truth dawned on him. Then he sprung into action.

He dashed over to his files and pulled out the scripts to “The Pepper Pot” and “Sunny Days.” He carefully dampened the stickers and inserted his thumbnail under what had become known as Greg’s logo. The titles, “The Ginger Jar,” and “The Happy Heart,” were finally uncovered with Hildy’s and Roger’s names on them. Here was the proof of what Peter had tried to tell him!

Jay was overcome with remorse and fear. How could he have been so naive as to be taken in by Greg’s lies? Has he really done something to harm Hildy? She’s been missing now for almost a week. Where could she be? As he sat there thinking, something nudged at his memory. What was it? Then he remembered!

He picked up the phone and called Parisian Airlines. “Please book me on the next flight to Paris, “ he said when the ticket agent came on the line. “I have to get there ASAP! This is Jay Stuart.” He waited while she checked. When she came back on the line he looked at his watch. “Nine-thirty? Yes. First Class is fine. I’ll be there.”

He hung up and dialed the stage director at his home. “I have to go back to Paris tonight,” he told him. “I can be reached at La Grande Veue Hotel if you need me. Hold up production on ‘Sunny Days’ until you hear from me again. I can’t explain now, but don’t under any circumstances tell Greg where I’ve gone. This is very important! If he asks, tell him I went out of town on business. You don’t know where. I’ll call you when I get back.”

Next, he dialed La Grande Veue Hotel again in Paris. “Zack Davis, please,” he told the operator. “It’s urgent!” He waited a moment. It took only two rings. “Zack,” Jay said, “I’m coming back to Paris. I have a hunch where Hildy and Roger might be. I know now that what you’ve been telling me about Greg is true. I’m sure he’s at the bottom of this. I have something very interesting to show you. My plane gets in at four-thirty in the morning, Paris time. I’ll take a cab to the hotel.”