Flanagan had called Dern. He asked the detective to keep his survival a secret. He
didn’t have an idea of what to do next, but he told the detective everything except the
fact that he had accidentally created a masked identity and that masked identity had
helped out when he needed it.
He also told the detective that he had left Courtland in the trunk of the stolen car in
a public lot. He didn’t know if the front man would give up Rydell, but maybe they
could question him before cutting him loose.
He needed to do something about clothes and money. He couldn’t expect Miss Rich
to cover their hotel rooms until this mess was over. And his armor was something he
couldn’t parade around the city in.
It had done the job. He had been hit during the escape from Rydell’s mansion. None
of the slugs had punched through his shield, or tunic. He couldn’t see a crack in the
fabric.
“I called Mr. Westwood like you asked,” said Miss Rich. She wore a new dress from
room service. “He is going to cover the rooms for us. He wants to know what our next
move is.”
“I have no idea,” said Flanagan. He had changed his armor for a suit. Room service
had brought him a duffel to store his protective gear while he was in hiding. He
couldn’t wear it all the time.
“So Rydell wins,” said Miss Rich.
“Only if he can get the rest of the board to sell their stock,” said Flanagan. “There is
a meeting called for the day after tomorrow. He probably told everyone I was dead.”
“If you aren’t dead, there’s nothing anyone can do,” said Miss Rich. “You hold the
controlling interest.”
“If I died, you’d be in charge,” said Flanagan.
“That just means he would try to kill me too,” said Miss Rich. She sat down in one
of the padded chairs that came with the room.
“I think we should be at that meeting,” said Flanagan. “We should invite Dern along
to see what he thinks of everything.”
“He can’t do anything since we can’t prove anything,” said Miss Rich.
“We can prove that Courtland works for him and he plans to take over the company
and force everyone else out,” said Flanagan. “That might be enough to put him off the
board for a new member.”
“I want him to go to jail,” said Miss Rich.
“So do I,” said Flanagan. “The problem is I broke in and saved you. There’s no
evidence that you were at his place that couldn’t be refuted in some way. We could
call Westwood back and ask if any of his people saw you being moved to the big
house before I broke in. Maybe that would be enough for a kidnaping charge to be
leveled.”
“Is that possible?,” asked Miss Rich.
“If someone saw you getting out of that car, that’s something that would have to be
fought,” said Flanagan.
“I liked it better when people weren’t trying to kill me for control of a business,” said
Miss Rich.
“So did I,” said Flanagan. “I think we can get Coutri to figure out where and when
this meeting will take place. Then I think we should be there to refute whatever is
said.”
“Will Dern go along with that?,” asked Miss Rich.
“I don’t see why not,” said Flanagan. “He wants someone to go down for the factory
bombing. Adding on charges just makes his job easier.”
“Attempted murder would be good if we could prove Rydell had ordered it,” said
Miss Rich.
“That won’t happen unless some of his people break under Dern’s questioning,” said
Flanagan. “I don’t see that happening.”
“So the meeting is the only chance we have to prove anything,” said Miss Rich. “I
don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” said Flanagan. “Call Coutri and see if he can find out when this
meeting is going to happen. We can expect that Rydell had more than one copy of the
paperwork he was going to present for the board.”
“That thing you were wearing took Rydell by surprise,” said Miss Rich. “He probably
thinks that masked man is someone just meddling.”
“No,” said Flanagan. “He’s smarter than that. A masked man shows up to stop the hit
on his rival, and then the same masked man shows up to save you. He won’t know if
it’s me for sure, but he’s probably guessed that I’m behind both events.”
“So as soon as he’s knows you’re alive, he will try to kill you again,” said Miss Rich.
“Possibly,” said Flanagan. He went to the window and looked out from behind the
curtains. “This meeting might be our only chance to break him.”
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“I’ll call Mr. Coutri,” said Miss Rich. “If he can find out the things we need, it’ll put
us ahead for once.”
“Don’t let him know I’m alive,” said Flanagan. “The fewer who know, the better in
my opinion.”
Miss Rich used the phone to call Mr. Coutri’s office. The lawyer wasn’t in. She gave
his secretary the message and hung up. She sat back down and closed her eyes.
“All we can do is wait,” said Miss Rich.
“Maybe Westwood or Dern will turn something up,” said Flanagan. “There’s not a
lot of evidence floating about, but maybe they can put some of it together without any
more interference from me.”
“I’d feel better if we weren’t waiting for someone to try to kill us while we’re waiting
for something to happen,” said Miss Rich.
“It’s not like we can harass the thugs sent to do me in, or any of Rydell’s personal
guard,” said Flanagan.
“Why not?,” said Miss Rich.
“Because Westwood is following them around to see where they lead him,” said
Flanagan.
“So what do we do then?,” asked Miss Rich.
“Do you know how to play Rummy?,” asked Flanagan. “That’s about all we can do
until something pops.”
“I don’t like it,” said Miss Rich. “I might be in trouble with my landlord. And Mr.
Westwood’s man got shot trying to protect me. I don’t want to give the next move to
Rydell.”
“There’s not much we can do,” said Flanagan. “And we can’t expect to fool him
about me being dead if I burst into his office and give him a punch to the face.”
“I know,” said Miss Rich. “It would feel so much better if we could do that.”
“If we can show Rydell the door, that would be good enough for me,” said Flanagan.
“We don’t need a traitor working to undermine us.”
“I would like to see him in jail,” said Miss Rich.
“It depends on if we can get him to confess to something,” said Flanagan. “We can’t
count on Westwood’s men to testify, and I can’t because of what I did to Courtland
to find out where you were. The best we can hope for is that we force him out of the
company and wreck his reputation enough no one will deal with him from now on.”
“I’d like that,” said Miss Rich.
“It’s the best we can do at the moment,” said Flanagan. “Somewhere down the line
we might be able to prove Rydell broke the law somewhere. That might be enough
to put him away. Until then, we have to act like we don’t know who the purple man
is, and how he got mixed up in this.”
“I don’t know how that will work,” said Miss Rich. “Anyone watching this from the
outside will be able to connect that armor to the company.”
“I want to prevent them from connecting the armor to me,” said Flanagan. “I’m proud
that it took some heavy blows without cracking. It might be something we can use for
our troops. I just don’t know what the upper limit is. I haven’t been able to test it so
far.”
“Let’s get through this,” said Miss Rich. “You might have to use that armor if we
can’t get Rydell to back off legally.”
“I know,” said Flanagan. “I’m hoping we can keep everything under a shroud. All we
need is one reporter getting a picture. The next thing you know we’ll have a flock of
them following us around.”
“You won’t be able to do any more acts of daring do if that happens,” said Miss Rich.
She smiled.
“I can do without being a vigilante,” said Flanagan. “It cuts into my work time.”
“I bet,” said Miss Rich. “So all we can do is wait?”
“For the moment,” said Flanagan. “The problem is I am bored and want something
to do, and we can’t show our faces until we’re ready to go.”
“I know what you mean,” said Miss Rich. “I should be at the office, or taking care of
errands. At least Rydell thinks you’re dead. As soon as he sees me, I’m back in the
soup.”
“We can go out if we disguise ourselves somehow,” said Flanagan. “Do you think
that’s too dangerous?”
“It’s a little risky,” said Miss Rich. “Rydell has those thugs looking for us.”
“We can still take in a movie as long as we don’t go anywhere we would usually go,”
said Flanagan.
“I suppose that would be okay,” said Miss Rich. “Dinner?”
“I don’t see why not,” said Flanagan. “I’ll have to get some money from the
townhouse.”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” said Miss Rich. “They might be looking for you to come
back if they aren’t fooled by the police report.”
“I might have some money in my duffel bag,” said Flanagan. “We can use that for a
night on the town.”
“We don’t want any place expensive,” said Miss Rich.
“It’ll be the cheapest dive I know,” said Flanagan. “Call Coutri, and I’ll call
Westwood. That way they’ll know we’re going to be out and about until we call them
back.”
“Mr. Westwood won’t like it,” said Miss Rich.
“He’s keeping an eye on Rydell’s people for us,” said Flanagan. “We have to know
if there is some kind of movement on that front. If they are just waiting for the
meeting, no one will be worried if you are still alive, or not. You’re a lowly
secretary.”
“Then why kidnap me in the first place?,” asked Miss Rich.
“The first obvious thing is because if they missed me, you’re my right hand and could
be used as insurance,” said Flanagan. He searched in his bag until he found a wallet.
He put that in his pocket. “The second thing is Rydell might know what my will
says.”
“And what does your will say?,” asked Miss Rich.
“You get my stock in the company if I die,” said Flanagan. “Everything I own
becomes yours.”
“Why would you do that?,” asked Miss Rich.
“You’re the only one I trust, and if I die without a will, the controlling interest goes
to the state, or becomes nonexistent,” said Flanagan. “I couldn’t let that happen. Too
many people are counting on me.”
“What do you want me to do if you do die?,” said Miss Rich.
“I want you to keep the company running and protect it against people like Rydell,”
said Flanagan. “I’m sure this move is because of the government contracts we landed.
They’re potential long term money makers.”
“That’s enough to sabotage the factory, and try to have you killed, and kidnap me and
shoot my bodyguard?,” said Miss Rich.
“We’re talking about a ton of money with more on the way if we go to war like
everyone thinks we will,” said Flanagan. “Roosevelt is helping the Brits as much as
he can. Eventually someone is going to try and stop him. When that happens, we’ll
be in the thick of it.”
“And whomever owns the company will be able to rake in money off the top without
worry,” said Miss Rich. “We’ll never be able to prove any of this.”
“The best we can do is make sure Rydell doesn’t see a dime of that proposed money,”
said Flanagan. “Go ahead and make your call. I’ll call Westwood and we’ll see a
show and have dinner like we talked about.”
“All right,” said Miss Rich. “I don’t think I can carry the company if you aren’t
around.”
“You’ll run it better than I am,” said Flanagan. He waved a hand to shoo her out of
the room.
He picked up the earpiece for the room’s phone and dialed Westwood’s number. He
waited for someone to pick up and talk to him.
He left a message to say they were going out for a bit and would call back when they
were back at the hotel.
He hung up the phone before Westwood could protest and try to convince him to stay
in.