La Fleur Rouge The Red Flower (29 page)

Hildy was apologetic as she looked at Zack. “I thought it was safe to go out alone as long as Greg was in New York. I should have known better.” She told the gendarme in graphic detail everything that happened. “Greg insisted he had to kidnap us. He said it was the only way to keep us from ruining his reputation. He bragged about planting that bomb on my plane. He said he was sorry it didn’t work, and I wasn’t dead.”

The gendarme finished scribbling his notes, and handed the pad of paper to Hildy. “Sign this written statement, s’il vous plait. I will file the report here, and you may take a copy back with you to the United States.”

Hildy thanked him and handed him the signed document.

“If there is any question,” he told her, “have them contact us from the States and we will corroborate the report.” He turned to Peter. “Monsieur, you said something about a briefcase? A script and a gun that were stolen from it? I understand the script was returned, but the gun is still missing?”

Peter nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“When you return to the States, have the police check for fingerprints on the case, the bottle of Scotch, and the script, s’il vous plait. I am sure they have a record of Monsieur Wilcox’s prints back there. If they’re found on any of these, that will be proof.”

“I certainly will!” Peter told the gendarme. “Thank you for your help!”

The gendarme nodded and left.

“We’d better let Hildy get some rest,” Zack said as he prepared to leave.

“Say ‘hi’ to Roger,” she said sleepily. “See you in the morning.”

CHAPTER XLIII
 

Hildy and Roger gained strength rapidly during the following week, spurred on by their determination to get home and take Greg to court.

Jay stayed in Paris for a week until Peter told him Hildy and Roger would be released from the hospital that day. He was on his way out of the hotel when he ran into Peter and Zack. “I’m going back to New York,” he told them. “My plane leaves in two hours.”

“We’re on our way to pick up Hildy and Roger at the hospital,” Zack said. “Jay, I think it’s best to let Greg think that Hildy and Roger are dead. We’re flying home tomorrow. If Greg hears that they’re still alive, he might try to hurt them again. Or he might try to escape. Let Hildy handle this in her own way. She’ll bring the police report back with her.”

Jay looked thin and worn. He hadn’t slept or eaten much in the past two weeks. “I’ll do my best,” he replied, “but it won’t be easy. I’m not at all sure I can be civil to him after what he’s done. Let’s hope he decides to stay in Boston for a while. We’ll continue as usual with rehearsals and let him think everything’s okay, as you say. It won’t be a problem later to remove his name and replace it with Roger’s. If there’s anything I can do to help when the hearing comes up, please let me know. I owe that to Hildy.”

Zack and Peter shook his hand warmly. “I think you’re forgetting that you saved their lives,” Peter reminded him.

Jay smiled wryly. “If I had listened to Hildy in the first place none of this would have happened. Please keep me posted on her progress with the pregnancy. There’s no point in trying to talk to her. She’s made up her mind to shut me out. Tell her I love her.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Peter told him. “You’ve worked with Greg for a long time. You trusted your friend.”

“What kind of friend would try to kill his friend’s wife just to save his own reputation? I should have trusted Hildy. Keep in touch,” he said, and left.

When he arrived at the airport he went in to the shop to buy a magazine. The headlines of a French newspaper caught his eye. It read: “Film Notable and Friend Missing.” No report of their rescue was printed, thanks to the promise of the French police to keep it out of the tabloids until Hildy could give the signed affidavit on Greg to the police in Boston.

This newspaper headline could come in handy to keep Greg from knowing anything about their rescue until the time is right, he figured. He bought it to take back with him, just in case.

Jay couldn’t stop blaming himself. He vowed to do anything he could to help. Hildy’s pregnancy made him all the more determined. He was part of it whether she wanted it or not, and he vowed to support her in any way he could. He only hoped that after the baby was born she would be able to forgive him for not trusting her.

When he entered his apartment in New York, his phone was ringing. For one wild moment he hoped it might be Hildy saying she had forgiven him. He rushed to answer it.

It was Greg. “Where have you been?” he asked Jay. “I’ve been trying for days to reach you.”

Jay did his best to hide his outrage. “I was called out of town on a business matter.”

Greg sounded suspicious. “Why did you tell the stage director to hold up on rehearsals?”

Jay had his answer ready. “No big deal,” he told him. “I just wanted to be sure I was here in case they ran into another snag. Rehearsals resume tomorrow.”

Greg sounded relieved. “I’m going to stay in Boston for a while unless you need me in New York. I’m working on a new musical.”

Jay was glad. Now he wouldn’t have to face him with a cordiality he didn’t feel.

CHAPTER XLIV
 

Hildy and Roger were fully recovered by now, eager to make the trip home. They decided to fly straight through to Boston so Hildy could take the report on Greg to the police immediately.

Jenny and Peter would continue on to California and pick up Hildy’s common-law copyright of “The Ginger Jar,” which she had left at Jenny’s home. They planned to return to Boston on the red eye and join them the next day.

Peter left his briefcase with Zack so he could take it to the police to check for fingerprints. All bases were covered.

Zack kept a careful eye on Hildy and Roger as they slept on the plane. Especially Hildy. Knowing she was pregnant made him all the more cautious.

When the plane landed at Logan Airport, the chauffeur was waiting with the limousine. Forty-five minutes later they drove down a long, winding driveway and pulled up in front of Roger’s palatial, waterfront home in the posh town of Marblehead, one of the wealthier suburbs of Boston.

“Welcome to my home!” Roger said. “It’s a far cry from the cold French Alps!”

The butler came out the front door and took their luggage inside. Roger led them into the marble floored hall. They followed him up the winding staircase, and the butler deposited Hildy’s suitcase in the first bedroom.

“Hildy,” Roger said, “this will be your room. And Zack, that one will be yours right next to Hildy’s. I have two other guest rooms, one for Jenny and one for Peter when they return from California. My room is down the hall. Each bedroom has its own bath, so you’ll have plenty of privacy.”

Hildy was overwhelmed. To think that only a week ago she and Roger were prisoners in a lonely, desolate lodge in the French Alps facing what looked like sure death, and now here they were in this gracious home! What an unexpected but welcome turn of events!

Zack hung his coat in the closet and joined Hildy and Roger in the hallway. “Five o’clock here in Boston,” he said, looking at his watch. “That makes it eleven in the evening in Paris. We’ve had a long trip. Better get some sleep. Do you have a security system?” he asked Roger.

“I’ll have the butler set it right away,” Roger replied.

“We’ll go to the police first thing in the morning,” Zack promised. “Right now we need our rest.”

The next morning Zack was already up and dressed when Hildy and Roger joined him in the breakfast room. He had just finished eating and was studying the police report as he sipped his coffee. They were all surprisingly rested after their long journey and ordeal, spurred on by their desire to put a stop to Greg’s criminal activities.

“Good morning,” the butler greeted them. “What would you like for breakfast?” he asked as he poured their coffee. “Cook has some pancakes ready to go if you’d like them.”

Hildy raised her head and sniffed. After nothing but premixed omelets for the time she and Roger spent in the lodge, she was more than ready for this. All nausea had vanished, and a voracious appetite had replaced it. “Is that bacon I smell?” she asked.

The butler smiled at her enthusiasm. “Indeed it is,” he replied. “Would you like some with your pancakes?”

“Sounds wonderful!” she exclaimed.

“And you, Sir?” he asked, turning to Roger.

“I’ll have the same,” Roger told him.

“Very good,” he said, and went back to the kitchen.

Hildy looked out the French doors that led to the patio. What a beautiful home! she thought. Flowering plants in gay profusion bordered the lawn, and beyond this lay the Atlantic Ocean. She could hear the white crested waves as they crashed against the rocks. Sea gulls flying overhead chatted to each other as the wind carried their graceful gray and white bodies up over the sea.

This was music to her ears after the lonely, silent sound of the falling snow that had imprisoned them in the French Alps. She leaned back in her chair, thoroughly enjoying the peace.

The pancakes, bacon, and coffee were delicious, and warmed them to their toes. Hildy would have loved to linger over this a while longer, but Zack had made a ten o’clock appointment with the police department in Boston, and she and Roger were just as anxious as he was to get the wheels of justice rolling.

Hildy hadn’t been back to Boston since she broke her engagement to Greg two years ago. As they drove through the familiar streets toward the police station, horrible memories washed over her and flooded her consciousness, much like the overflowing banks of contaminated waters from a swollen, muddy river bed.

First her disillusionment about Greg when she found out what a thief he was; his cruelty; the fact that he didn’t love her, but was intent only on stealing her ideas to perpetuate his life style; and now her disillusionment about Jay.

But that’s different, she reasoned. Greg is an out-and-out criminal. Jay made a simple mistake, but a costly one, and they had lost each other. And she almost lost her life and the baby. She shuddered.

But things had changed. Greg was no longer in control. Now she was in the driver’s seat!

She was trying hard to forget about Jay, but he was in her thoughts more than ever. She wondered if perhaps she was being unfair to him. She searched her thinking to see if hidden in her mind somewhere she wasn’t harboring a sense of revenge for his lack of trust in her. After all, he did save my life. Roger’s, too. And there’s no way of knowing whether or not we would have been spared the ordeal in the Alps, even if Jay had believed me. A smart lawyer would probably have gotten the plagiarism charge against Greg dropped, and he might have kidnapped Roger and me, anyway.

But now he’ll be brought up on charges not only of plagiarism, but attempted murder, theft of a firearm, and kidnapping as well. Oh, yes, this was a whole other ball game! Perhaps this has all been a blessing in disguise, she thought ruefully. But it sure seemed like anything but a blessing while it was going on!

Jay popped into her mind again. You’ve got to stop thinking about him, she chided herself. She was sure he must feel as disillusioned as she had when he found out the truth about Greg, and she felt sorry about that.

But now there was the baby to think about. She didn’t doubt for a minute that he wanted to be with her, but she was grateful he hadn’t pressured her when he found out she was pregnant with his child. She had no intention of depriving him of the baby once she or he was born, but she couldn’t see any way they could get back together again. It was a little late, she felt. He never gave me a chance. How can I forget that?

She shook off these thoughts. It’s over, and the sooner I accept it, the better off I’ll be.

Zack’s concerned voice cut into her thoughts. “Hildy? Are you okay?”

Hildy came to with a start and forced a smile. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “I just want to get this report filed and get on with my life.”

Roger drove his Mercedes into the parking lot at the police station. Zack jumped out carrying Peter’s briefcase and the handkerchief with Greg’s initials. He opened the door for Hildy, and the three of them entered the building together. Hildy had the police report from Paris safely tucked away in her purse. They were about to bring Greg’s thievery to a screeching halt. And who knew how many others they might be saving from the heartbreak and danger they had suffered at the hands of Gregory Wilcox?

Because of the urgency of the accusations against Greg, the tests were rushed through. In less than an hour they had an exact identification on the briefcase, the bottle of Scotch, the script, and the handkerchief. Just as they had suspected, Greg’s fingerprints and identification were all over them.

The police told them the district attorney would be turning the case over to the Superior Court in order to speed up the date of the hearing. They had all the proof they needed now to arrest Greg.

CHAPTER XLV
 

Greg was alone in his town house poring over a script from another newcomer who had come to him for help. One look at the music was enough for him to decide that after “La Fleur Rouge,” under the name of “The Red Flower,” this would be his next big hit. Two more lined up! he gloated. He felt quite relaxed now with Hildy and Roger out of the way. As for the others he had stolen from - well, he would take care of them if and when they tried to make trouble for him. Things were going quite smoothly, he felt. He was glorying in his success when his doorbell rang.