Page 91 of Tightrope

“Yes, it’s all very logical. Unfortunately, Luther and Matthias don’t believe that he was the man they’ve been hunting.”

Amalie caught her breath. “Thorpe is dead and Lorraine Pierce is not only alive, she was in possession of the Ares machine. Maybe she’s Smith?”

“Luther said that’s how it looks at the moment. But he and Matthias are on their way to Pierce’s villa now. Detective Brandon and his men are with them. They’re going to see if they can find some more evidence before they call in the FBI.”

“Huh.”

Raina narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“I was once in a situation that was very similar to what Lorraine Pierce is describing,” Amalie said. “Someone tried to kill me. I lived. He died instead. Afterward a lot of people did not believe my story.”

Raina absorbed that in silence for a moment.

“You’re right,” she said at last. “We can’t rule out Lorraine Pierce’s claim of self-defense.”

“She’s got one thing going for her,” Amalie said. “She’s a well-known celebrity. Her column is syndicated in papers all over the country. If she sticks with her story, and if Luther and Matthias don’t find some hard evidence to use against her, it will be hard to convince a jury that she’s a cold-blooded assassin who has been dealing weapons to international thugs for years.”

Raina’s brows rose. “She just might walk.”

“What about the cipher machine?” Amalie asked.

“Matthias and Luther are making sure that the Burning Cove police take all the credit for recovering the machine, but they are not going to be able to rest until they figure out if Ray Thorpe or Lorraine Pierce was the rogue agent they’ve been chasing. I got the impression they have some serious doubts about both possibilities.”

“That would mean that there’s someone else involved in this thing.”

“Probably someone who is hiding in plain sight, according to Luther,” Raina said.

Amalie looked out over the tiered seats on the nightclub floor. She saw a familiar figure sitting alone in one of the star booths. As she watched, Vincent Hyde lit a cigarette, glanced at his watch, and thengraciously signed a napkin for a fan who had stopped by his table. When the autograph-seeker moved off, Hyde checked the time again.

Raina followed Amalie’s gaze. “I wonder how long it will take Hyde to realize that Lorraine Pierce won’t be joining him tonight.”

“Once he figures out that he’s been stood up, he’ll leave,” Amalie said. “It’s not good for a star to be seen sitting alone in a posh nightclub. Stars need people around them to reflect their radiance.”

“Vincent Hyde probably believed that he was using Pierce to get some badly needed press,” Raina mused. “But maybe Lorraine Pierce was using him as cover. Writing those stories about the Psychic Curse Mansion gave her an excellent excuse for spending time here in Burning Cove.”

Chapter 50

The theatrical trunk containing the robot costume was in the master bedroom closet of Lorraine Pierce’s rented villa. There was also a wooden box in the trunk. When Matthias opened it he discovered two small grenades inside.

Lorraine Pierce, standing at the entrance of the bedroom, an officer on either side, shrieked in rage.

“Thatbastard,” she said.

Matthias noted that, for the first time that night, there was no dissonance in her voice. Her reaction held the clear ring of truth.

At the sight of the grenades, Brandon took several hasty steps back.

“Be careful with those things, Jones,” he said. “They don’t look like movie props.”

Luther, busy with the costume, glanced at the contents of the box. “They’re real. Not leftovers from the war, though. They look like a whole new generation of explosive devices.”

“That does it,” Brandon announced. “We’ve got all the evidence weneed.” He angled his head at the officers standing near Lorraine Pierce. “Cuff her and put her in the car.”

“You idiot,” Lorraine hissed. “Can’t you see he set me up?”

“Who set you up?” Brandon asked.

There was a weary, resigned note in his voice. Matthias knew he had heard similar claims countless times before. He no longer took them seriously.

---