La Fleur Rouge The Red Flower (30 page)

Two policemen were standing there wearing badges.

“Yes,” he smiled, “what can I do for you?”

“Are you Gregory Wilcox?” one of them asked him.

Greg drew himself up to his full stature. They probably want my autograph for their wives. “Yes, I am,” he answered proudly.

The officer’s face remained expressionless. “Sir, you’re under arrest for plagiarism, theft of a firearm, kidnapping, and attempted murder.”

Greg was stunned. “Is this a joke? Who’s making these ridiculous charges?”

“You’ll find out when we arrive at the police station. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to handcuff you. We have a search warrant, and a warrant for your arrest,” the officer continued calmly. “You have the right to remain silent. If you forfeit this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“How dare you! Have you forgotten who I am?”

“Sir, I’d advise you not to resist arrest. It will only be that much harder on you.”

“I want to call my lawyer!” Greg demanded.

“You’ll have a chance to do that at the station,” the other officer informed him.

After handcuffing him they began their search, but half an hour later they had found no gun.

Greg smirked. They’ll never find it, he mused. He watched as they scoured the room. Not a nook or cranny was overlooked. Little do they know it’s in a safe behind a secret panel, he silently crowed - a panel that defies detection by the most experienced eye. No matter how much they push on the panels trying to find the right one, it takes a remote to open it. And even if they should find the remote, I’m the only one who knows the code. He smiled as he saw them walk right over the area on the carpet where the remote was hidden underneath in a recessed area of the floor.

He felt no fear - only anger. Zack and Peter must be at the bottom of this! The officers said “attempted” murder. He was sure they hadn’t found Hildy and Roger, and without their testimony, where was the proof? They have only the word of Zack and Peter. I’ll be cleared so fast their heads will spin! I’ll sue them for false arrest! What great publicity!

Greg was quickly released on bail, thanks to a very smart lawyer who claimed that someone was framing him, trying to get publicity and a free ride on Greg’s successful coat tails.

Wonder which one this is? One thing is sure! It’s not Hildy or Roger. They’re both dead!

CHAPTER XLVI
 

The following weeks seemed to pass slowly. Particularly for Hildy and Roger. Proper recognition of their work was long overdue. The call finally came from the court that the trial had been pushed through for the first of the week.

When the day arrived, Hildy and Roger were ushered into a small room outside the courtroom where the hearing was to take place. Jenny, Peter, and Zack joined them. The plan was for them not to show themselves until the judge read the charges.

When Peter called Jay and asked him to appear as a witness for Hildy and Roger, he was only too eager to come. He entered the back of the courtroom quietly, hoping Greg wouldn’t notice.

But Greg, who was there with his lawyer, turned around and saw him. “Jay!” he greeted him. “I’m glad you’re here to support me. Someone is accusing me of stealing a musical. Can you imagine? Me! Gregory Wilcox! And that’s not all! They say I stole a gun! And they’re accusing me of kidnapping and murder! Have you ever heard of anything so bizarre? They’ll never get away with it!”

Jay wanted to hit him. How could I ever have trusted this bastard? What a phony, two-faced liar he is! He quickly reminded himself to be careful not to arouse Greg’s suspicions. He managed a smile as he tucked the French newspaper under one arm so Greg could see the headlines.

“What a shame,” Greg remarked. “I guess they never found them. Well, it just proves that crime doesn’t pay. They should never have tried to steal my musicals.”

Jay turned away. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep up this charade.

The judge entered the room and the proceedings began.

“Court is now in session,” the bailiff announced.

“Hilary Simone and Roger Fielding versus Gregory Wilcox,” the judge read from the desk. “The plaintives claim that the defendant plagiarized their musicals - namely, ‘The Ginger Jar,’ now known as ‘The Pepper Pot’; ‘The Happy Heart,’ currently under production as ‘Sunny Days’; and ‘La Fleur Rouge,’ just filmed in Paris, France, which Gregory Wilcox claims to have written under the name of ‘The Red Flower.’” He removed his glasses and looked directly at Greg. “There are also charges of kidnapping, theft of a firearm, and attempted murder,” he continued. “How does the defendant plead?”

Greg snorted in disgust and turned to Jay. “How can they bring charges if Hildy and Roger are missing?”

“Maybe they’ve been found since this newspaper came out,” Jay suggested.

“No! That’s impossible!” Immediately Greg hastened to correct himself. “I mean it - it would have been in the papers. I didn’t see it, did you?”

Jay’s face remained expressionless as he answered him. “No,” he replied, “I haven’t seen it in any of the papers.”

The judge banged his gavel. “How do you plead?” he asked Greg a second time.

Greg’s lawyer answered for him. “My client pleads not guilty, your Honor.”

Greg addressed the judge. “Your Honor, I have a very close friend and co-worker here who will vouch for me.”

The judge peered at him over his glasses. “What is his name?”

Jay let Greg answer, knowing he was only digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself.

“Jay Stuart,” Greg replied. “We’ve worked together for years. He knows I would never do the things I’m being falsely accused of.”

“I see.” The judge looked at a sheet of paper on his desk. “Hm, that’s strange. Jay Stuart is listed here as a witness for the plaintive. How do you explain that?”

Just then the door to the small room opened, and Hildy and Roger walked out, followed by Zack, Jenny, and Peter.

Greg’s mouth fell open in astonishment. He looked as though he had seen a ghost! No, two ghosts! He turned and looked at Jay, unable to speak.

“I guess you didn’t expect this, did you, Greg?” Jay asked him coldly. “How could you have done this? All these years I’ve trusted you. You’ve had me completely fooled. You never wrote a single musical, did you? You stole them all. How could you kidnap Hildy and Roger, and leave them in that lodge to die?”

Greg laughed nervously. “Jay, you’re not going to believe those lies, are you? We’ve been friends and colleagues for years. You know me better than that.”

“I thought I did, but I was wrong,” Jay said as he turned away in disgust.

Greg looked around for a way to escape, but there were guards at every door. Hildy and Roger had the envelopes containing their common-law copyrights in their hands; Peter was holding the scripts that Jay had given to him with the phony stickers; and the courtroom was filled with others that Greg had stolen from, ready to testify against him.

Greg looked at Hildy with violent hatred. “You bitch!” he yelled. “How dare you do this to me? You’ve ruined everything!” Before anyone knew what he was doing he reached into his pocket and pulled out Peter’s gun. He aimed it straight at her.

“Hildy!” Jay yelled his warning. Moving faster than he ever had in his life, he threw himself in front of her, and crumpled to the floor as his body took the bullet intended for her.

Hildy screamed. Another shot rang out. This time it was a policeman’s gun that fired the fatal shot, and Gregory Wilcox was dead, sprawled on the courtroom floor in a pool of blood.

It all happened so fast, it seemed like a dream, with everyone moving in slow motion.

“Call the paramedics!” Zack shouted, taking full command.

Hildy dropped to the floor beside Jay and held his unconscious, wounded body in her arms. “Jay! Jay!” she moaned over and over. “I’m so sorry! Please don’t leave me! I love you so much!”

Zack moved over by Hildy. “The paramedics will be here soon,” he said, trying to soothe her.

Jenny and Peter stood in shock, holding each other, unable to believe what had just happened.

The judge ordered the policeman to bring the gun to him. “Is this your gun?” he asked Peter.

Peter approached the bench and examined it. “Yes, Your Honor, it is.”

“We’ll have to hold this for evidence,” the judge explained.

The paramedics arrived in a very short time, although to Hildy it seemed like an eternity. They carried Jay out on a stretcher. Hildy joined him in the ambulance, trying to fight back the tears and the fears. “Jay, I love you! Please don’t leave me!” she pleaded.

They reached the hospital and rushed Jay, still unconscious, into the operating room. The doors closed, and now it was Hildy’s turn to wait and pray.

After about an hour one of the doctors came out.

“The bullet just missed his heart,” he told them. “We expect him to make it. He’s a very lucky man.”

Hildy walked beside the gurney as they wheeled Jay to his room.

“He won’t regain consciousness for a while,” the nurse told her. “Why don’t you get a cup of coffee? I’ll call you when he wakes up.”

“No!” she answered vehemently. “He’s my husband. I want to be the first one he sees when he comes to.”

The nurse nodded, and patted her shoulder.

Hildy sat holding Jay’s hand. A half hour passed, and Zack came in to see if he could help.

“Oh, Zack,” she sobbed, “I’m so ashamed of the way I acted. The last thing he heard me say was that I didn’t want to see him.”

Zack tried to reassure her. “He’ll make it. I know he will.” He looked at her and smiled. “He saved your life again, Hildy. He jumped right in front of you when he saw Greg point that gun at you.”

“I know. He must love me a lot. But not any more than I love him. Oh, Zack, I love him so much!”

Jay stirred and opened his eyes. He blinked and stared at Hildy. “What happened? Where am I?”

“Shh,” she told him. “You’re in a hospital. Greg shot you, but you’re going to be okay.” She bent down and kissed him. “You jumped in front of me and took the bullet that Greg meant for me,” she sobbed.

Jay smiled weakly. “I guess the courts won’t have any trouble convicting him now.”

Hildy hesitated and looked at Zack, wondering if the shock of Greg’s death would be too much for Jay in his weakened condition.

But Zack nodded assent.

"Greg is dead," she told Jay.

"Dead? Greg? How - "

"One of the policemen shot him," Zack said. "He would have killed us all if he hadn't."

The nurse, who had been patiently waiting in a corner, came over and shooed them out. "You'd better go now," she told them. "He needs his rest."

Hildy leaned over and kissed Jay. "I'll be back tomorrow," she promised, and left.

Early the next day she returned, bringing a newspaper. The headlines read, "Gregory Wilcox Shot To Death Under Mysterious Circumstances."

Because the hospital staff had forbidden the reporters to enter Jay's room, he hadn't been interviewed by the press. But he was so anxious to set the record straight and tell the whole world the truth, that he insisted on seeing them.

He told them the whole story - how Greg stole every musical that had been produced under his name; how he put a bomb on Hildy's plane; how he kidnapped her and Roger and left them to die in the cold French Alps; their rescue; and the unfortunate shooting that occurred in the courtroom yesterday.

The story appeared in newspapers all over the world. The publicity that Greg had so eagerly looked forward to turned out to be quite different from what he had anticipated. Now the whole world knew what a fraud he was.

Jay, happy that he and Hildy had reconciled, made a rapid recovery. In a week's time he was ready to leave the hospital. Hildy visited him every day. They planned to renew their wedding vows as soon as possible, this time with their friends attending.

Wonderful things lay ahead. And now there was the baby to look forward to.

Jay's parents, Lord John and Lady Margaret Stuart, flew in from Scotland when they heard that Jay had been shot. They were delighted to hear about the baby.

Two weeks after Jay left the hospital, he and Hildy renewed their vows. The ceremony took place on the back lawn of Roger's beautiful home in Marblehead overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Hildy looked like an angel in her beautiful, white gown covered with pearls, her blond hair giving the appearance of a halo around her head, and Jay never looked more handsome dressed in his white tux.

Zack couldn't have been more pleased when Hildy asked him to give her away. Jay asked Peter to be his best man, and Jenny was the maid of honor.

The people that Greg had stolen musicals from attended, as well as theatrical friends of Jay's. They were anxious to congratulate Hildy on her new musical, "La Fleur Rouge," soon to be released, and "The Pepper Pot," whose title was now back to its original name of "The Ginger Jar," with her name on it.