Transylvania's Most Wanted (9 page)

“I hope to see you at the ball tonight
Inspector Flynn,” Count Vasili said as he glanced at the
letter.

“I don’t know,” Tom said. “I don’t own a
tuxedo.”

“You could borrow one of mine,” the count
said. “I would be honored if you and your bride would come.”

“He’ll be there,” Red said shaking hands
with Count Vasili and then the count shook hands with Chief Rogers.
Then he smiled at Tom before sweeping out of the room. His valet,
waiting in the hallway, placed his overcoat over him, as he walked
past him.

“
How was this letter
delivered?” Red asked turning to Chief Rogers.

“My secretary found it on her desk. She
stepped away for a moment and when she came back, it was lying
there.”

“Any envelope with it?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Pandora could be behind it,” Tom said.

“There was close to a hundred creatures that
got thrown out of there twenty two years ago,” Chief Rogers said.
“That realm is full of disgruntled creatures. They should lock ‘em
up in one city like we do here. From what I’ve heard they are on
the brink of civil war there. Imagine that, war being fought in
what’s supposed to be a higher realm. I guess when you consider the
circumstances new arrivals there just come from and mix in a bunch
of malcontent vampires and then some trouble making witches, that’s
what you can expect,” Chief Rogers said. “But I don’t want any such
trouble here,” he said bringing a finger down hard on his desk. “I
want Pandora found and arrested and I want The Triumph sealed up
like King Tut’s tomb,” he said as he threw his coat on like he was
trying to smother a fire with it. “Gates and I got a meeting with
the mayor, he wants an explanation of what the hell has been going
on around here the last couple of days,” he said looking at
Commander Gates and then Red before heading out his office. “When
you actually come up with something useful - let me know.”

Tom followed Red out the office, and as Red
stopped to hand the secretary the note back, Tom looked out the
window to see Count Vasili and his valet hurrying to get out of the
sunlight and inside their car. The car looked expensive and well
cared-for. It had dark windows, a well-polished bat emblem on the
hood and was parked just in front of the building.

“Imagine looking like that when you’re three
hundred years old,” Captain Clarke remarked as Count Vasili’s
driver opened the door for the count and he ducked into the back
seat. “Got some information for you,” he told Red when Red joined
them by the window.

“From the firemen you sent down into the
cave?”

“That’s right,” Captain Clarke said. “The
first rope lead to a second rope and finally to two more until they
had made their way deep into the bowels of that cave. The last rope
dead-ended in a small chamber.”

“Did they find anything there?’

“They said it was evident some small chest
or something had been removed from there. They could see where it
had left an imprint on a ledge there.”

“Interesting,” Red said rubbing his
mustache.

“That’s not all,” Captain Clarke said. “They
said there were hundreds of garlic cloves there. I guess the damp
and cold preserved them.”

“Garlic cloves? Like would attract a
werewolf?”

“Exactly. I guess there were some werewolf
prints there and some big shoe prints that must belong to a golem
or troll. They claimed they were pretty fresh prints.”

Red nodded at Captain Clarke. “Thank
you.”

“What do you think could have been in the
chest?”

“Probably some items a witch would want to
throw in her caldron,” Red answered. “I’ve got the feeling
Halloween will be especially interesting this year.”

“For both of us,” Captain Clarke said. “I’m
sure we’ll have plenty of gremlin fires to put out starting in just
a few hours.”

“Let’s go buy you a tuxedo,” Red told Tom as
Captain Clarke took his leave. “Oh, and you’d better call up
Rebecca and let her know she’s attending the Halloween Ball at the
Triumph Hotel tonight. It’s the swankest shin-dig in town.”

Chapter 8

Back at the station, Red handed Tom a couple
of tickets for the ball and then a voucher to go buy a tuxedo. Tom
went and bought one and then headed over to the library. Rebecca
was by the main counter.

“What have you got there?” she asked.

“A tuxedo.”

“What’s if for?”

He pulled the tickets out and showed her
them. In fancy gold-leaf lettering the tickets read;

Triumph Hotel

Halloween Ball

Rebecca eyes opened wide as she snatched
them from his hand. “How did you get these, they are by invitation
only.”

“Well, actually I’m part of the security
detail for the prince and princess, but we’ll be there. That is if
you want to after I tell you something.”

“What?”

Tom leaned over the counter and whispered
that the prince had received a threat on his life. “It may not be
safe there,” he told Rebecca.

“For the prince anyway, but if you are going
to be there, then I would like to be too.”

“All right.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I just got handed this assignment an hour
ago.”

“This means I will get to meet the princess
and Count Vasili,” Rebecca said excitedly.

“I just met him,” Tom said. “Wasn’t any big
deal.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rebecca asked.
“He’s very charming.”

“He seemed a little fake to me.”

Rebecca looked shocked then, but it wasn’t
because of what Tom had said. “What am I going to wear?” she asked
desperately.

Chapter 9

Tom walked home from the library and changed
into his tuxedo and then, a few minutes before five, Red swung by
and picked him up. Inspector McElroy was in the car too and the
three of them drove to the Triumph.

Already the party had begun. The lobby was
full of people playing cards and having drinks. The bar was
standing room only, the billiards’ rooms were crowed and many bets
had been placed on the games there. Everyone was dressed sharply,
but a few wore comical looking hats or masks. In the middle of the
lobby were the stairs that led to the grand ballroom and a velvet
rope was strung across the bottom, blocking anyone from going up
there until later. A couple of constables were stationed there, and
as Red approached them he gestured for them to remove the rope so
that they could head upstairs.

“Here are your armbands,” Red said handing
Inspector McElroy and Tom them. “Go ahead and put them on.”

Tom slipped his on as they climbed the
stairs, at the top of which stood a couple of Colonel Popov’s men
with white silk handkerchiefs, with red stars, placed in their
breast pockets. Red flashed them his badge and they waved them by.
A couple of TCPD constables stood guard by the elevator doors and
then right by the entrance to the ballroom was another group of
Colonel Popov’s men. Red nodded at them as he went in the
ballroom.

The ballroom was as long as soccer field,
but not quite as wide. Large, elegant chandeliers hung from the
ceiling and the tables, were covered with white linen. Right then
waiters were setting out the silverware and jack o’ lanterns as
centerpieces. The tables surrounded a dance floor and Sergeant
Hightower stood in the middle of the floor watching a team of about
eight constables look under every table and chair. A couple more
constables stood on the balcony that was accessed from the ballroom
through one of three, large French doors. Inspectors Jones and
Dunne were out there, dressed in street clothes as they were not
assigned to be at the ball, but would be in the hotel.

“How’s it going sergeant?” Red asked
Sergeant Hightower.

“Nothing unusual to report chief
inspector.”

“Tell me how this is going to work.”

“After the men are done sweeping this entire
floor, I’ll have them set up a table in the area out there,” he
said pointing back toward the top of the stairs. “The musicians
will start arriving soon and well check every piece of equipment
before they are let in here.”

“Good,” Red said. “What about the
waiters?”

“Same with them, we’ll pat them down and if
any of them leave this floor and return they’ll be patted down
again. Same with the servers coming up with food. We’ll lift up
every dish and take a look at it. Even stick a spoon in every soup
pot and feel around in there.”

“Excellent, what about the bathrooms?”

“Every inch of them has already been checked
and there are no windows for anyone to gain access that way.”

“Sounds like you got this floor wrapped up
tighter than a drum. No way could a weapon be brought in here.”

“Thank you sir.”

“What about one of these dinner knives? Some
of these U.R.R.K. vampires are quite skilled at throwing knives.
Someone might grab one off a table and throw in right in the
prince’s eyeball.”

Sergeant Hightower walked over and picked up
a knife off a table. “These don’t make for very good throwing
knives,” he said balancing one in the palm of his hand. He poked
the palm of his hand with it then. “They aren’t very sharp either,”
he said. “And it would take quite a throw as that area there is to
be blocked off from the rest of the guests,” Sergeant Hightower
said pointing at the far end of the ball room where a long table,
set on a raised platform, awaited the prince, princess, the
U.R.R.K. delegation and some dignitaries of Transylvania City. “If
anyone unauthorized person approaches there, they will be stopped
by Colonel Popov’s men.”

“Good,” Red told him, “What about a rifle
from outside?”

“That is a real possibility,” Sergeant
Hightower said turning around to look out through one of the French
doors, out onto the view of the city from there, “but if that last
set of doors is kept closed and the drapes are pulled,” he said
pointing at them. “No one would be able to see in here from
outside, at least the end of the room where the prince will be
sitting.”

“Excellent,” Red said just as Inspectors
Dunne and Jones came in from the balcony.

“Boy don’t you fellas look sharp,” Dunne
said admiring Tom’s tuxedo. “Why can’t I pull such an easy
assignment?”

“Maybe when you learn to eat your lunch
without leaving a stain,” Red joked, pointing at a small stain on
Dunne’s shirt. “How’d it go out in Draculia? You two turn up
anything on Stone?”

“No,” Dunne said shaking his head. “We hit
all the hangouts out that way and didn’t turn up any sign of
him.”

“All right,” Red said. “Why don’t you two go
get some dinner and then come back here and hang out in the lobby
tonight? Just keep your eyes open.”

“Okay chief,” Dunne said starting away.

“And no drinking,” Red shouted after him.
“Let’s just have us a walk around the hotel,” Red told Tom and
Inspector McElroy. “Mac you go check out the lobby and restaurants,
while Flynn and I take a walk outside.”

Red and Tom went out the front of the hotel.
The Triumph has a large circular driveway which surrounds a
fountain and in the middle of the fountain is a twenty foot tall
marble statue of Perseus. Red went and stood by the fountain and
looked up from there toward the ballroom.

“I don’t see how anyone could climb up
there,” he said. “It’s pretty far off the ground and I don’t see
any easy way to scale it, but I’ll make sure more than one
constable is stationed out front here keeping an eye on
things.”

They walked back into the hotel then,
through the lobby and into the kitchen where a pair of constables
were just generally keeping an eye on things. Red checked in with
them and seemed satisfied with the orders they’d been given and
then he and Tom went out back of the hotel.

The hotel grounds in back offered the guests
an Olympic-size pool and Red went and stood by the diving board and
looked up at the second floor.

“I don’t see any way someone could access
the second floor. No windows they could climb through,” he said,
“That’s good.”

Tom looked up at the five story hotel. It is
a magnificent stone building with colonnades. The top three stories
were guest rooms and jutting out from the third floor was a
balcony. Right then, some hotel guests were standing there enjoying
the view of the Black River. Just the other side of the river was
River Road, then some farms and orchards, and then further out was
a stretch of deep, dark woods and finally the cliffs that surround
the entire valley.

A boardwalk led from the hotel toward the
river and Red and Tom started down it. At the end was a pier where
a few small boats were tied up. A few young couples in row boats
floated down the river as people were out enjoying Halloween
already.

Red went and stood on the pier. He nodded as
he stood there looking back at the hotel. “I think everything has
been thought of,” he said.

“We still don’t know Pandora’s whereabouts,”
Tom said.

“I don’t see what she could have against the
prince. I mean the king is her brother-in-law and the prince and
princess were her husband’s blood nephew and niece right?”

“There must have been some reason she left
there.”

“True,” Red said. “And she sure wanted that
chest all of a sudden, but I think we’ve done all we can at this
point to protect the prince.”

Chapter 10

Pawn to King’s
Four

He was to meet Krakov across from the Hotel
Triumph at 7:40pm. It was 6:45 now and Mr. Slang had a few more
items to arrange before then as he entered the Hotel Triumph and
walked up to the front desk.

“My name is Browning,” he told the clerk
“I’m in room 324, may I have my key?”

While the clerk turned to retrieve the key,
Mr. Slang looked around the lobby. Everywhere people moved about,
some in costume even, every leather chair and couch in the grand
lobby was occupied and many waiters were busy delivering drinks to
guests playing cards or waiting to be called to have dinner in one
of the fancy restaurants inside the hotel. There was much laughter,
conversation and music as a band was playing inside the tavern. Mr.
Slang’s eyes moved to the pair of uniformed constables at the
bottom of the staircase.