Chase The Rabbit: Gretch Bayonne Action Adventure Series Book #1 (18 page)

              “Bay,” a mix of voices whispered to me, “you are in great danger.”

              It was my Mother. And Patricia. Jean Harlow. Even the maid, Yioko faded in and out. It was multiple voices overlapping all at once but saying the same thing over and over. And they were all women. 

              “What should I do then?” I asked. The voices did not answer. I could hear them, but try as I might, they apparently could not hear me. 

              “You should confess it,” a male voice said.

              “What?” I asked. “Confess what?”

              “Bay!” the man said. “Get up and get dressed now!”

              My eyes opened but the subject was very blurry. The figure of Bela Lugosi came into view as I woke.

              “What are you talking about confessing?” he asked.

              “I was having a dream,” I said. “I am sorry.”

              “Those men from the government,” he said, “the B.O.I you were telling me about, are on their way here. You must get up and get dressed now!”

              Bela helped me down the hallway into a bathroom. I took a long, hot shower and contemplated what I should do next. Hearst had warned me about these men and what might happen if I told them the truth about what really happened to the Graf. As the hot water poured onto my face, I recounted my conversation with William Randolph Hearst, and it all started to make sense to me. 

              “You weren’t even supposed to be on the Graf,” he had said.

              “All the stars, and even I, thought you were a stowaway.”

              “That is what happened,” I’d told Hearst. “What else can I say?”

              “Nothing,” Hearst had answered.

              Did he mean I shouldn’t say anything? Could I be made out to be a mad man and a scape goat?

              “Shut up and sit down, Bay,” Hearst had said.

              As I shut off the hot water in the shower another voice called out to me. It was Mr. Pebbles from my childhood.

              “William Randolph Hearst himself will want you to work for his papers, but Bay, do not do it! And never stop chasing the rabbit.”

              I got dressed and headed down the hall to the living room. Lugosi introduced me to two men.

              “These are Inspectors Gray and Williams,” Lugosi said.

              We shook hands and I sat on the couch. The two men took seats in chairs across from me as Bela exited the room.

              “Mr. Hearst told us that you know what happened to the Graf,” Williams said. They both took out notebooks and stared at me.

              I told my story, trying not to leave out any details.  When I was finished, they had a few questions.

“So you left Alvon tied up and went down to exit the ship, only telling the one man Klaus, what had happened?” Gray asked.

              “That’s correct,” I answered. I knew this can of worms was about to get big.

              “And why didn’t you alert anyone else?” Williams asked.

              “There wasn’t time,” I answered. “We had to leave the ship. I was the last to leave, along with Jean Harlow.”

              “Let’s go back to the flashbulbs,” Gray said. “You believe this is what caused the fire that ultimately engulfed the aircraft.”

              “I know it was,” I said. 

              “But camera flashbulbs,” Gray continued, “they are ignited by an electrical charge, not an impact.”

              “Under normal circumstances, yes,” I said. “But obviously these weren’t normal circumstances.”

              “I happen to know a little bit about photography,” Gray went on. “And if you throw a flashbulb on the ground, or say, drop a bowling ball on it, it will of course shatter, but not cause a spark or ignite.”

              “So you have tried it?” I asked defiantly. 

              “Well, no, but…”

              “I can tell you from experience,” I said, “it does ignite.  You should try it.”

              “What type of flashbulbs were these?” Williams asked.

              It went on and on. They had me retell the entire story several times, all the while taking notes and asking questions.

              “Gentlemen,” I finally said. “It is getting late and I am very tired. I have told you everything that happened. So if you don’t mind…”

              “Of course,” Gray said as we stood. “We will leave you for now. If we have anymore questions, we will contact you.”

              “I am sure you will,” I said.

              Bela suddenly entered the room and walked immediately to the front door, opening it. The two investigators said their goodbyes and stepped outside.  They took about three steps when Bela called to them.

              “Gentlemen!” he yelled. They turned around facing us.

              “Do you know what this is?” Bela asked, holding a flashbulb between his thumb and index finger.

              “Yes,” one of them said, nodding. 

              Lugosi hurled the bulb viciously to the concrete sidewalk just two feet in front of where the men stood. The bulb popped loudly, igniting brightly, nearly blinding them.

They stood there for several seconds, dumbfounded. Lugosi turned, walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him. Bela and I burst into laughter, nearly falling over each other onto the floor.

              “That was brilliant!” I said. “So you must have heard what they were saying!”

              “Every word!” Lugosi replied. “I was just around the corner, listening in.”

              “Oh,” Bela added. “And when the flashbulb went off, I gave them the Dracula eyes!”

              We were both howling hysterically. I followed Bela down the hallway to his library as we continued laughing like school boys.

              “But Bela,” I asked. “When you threw that flashbulb down, how did you know it was going to work? That it would go off?”

              He smiled broadly and said, “Well, I didn’t. But sometimes you just have to drive the Packard into the river!”

Chapter Fifteen

D
espite the tragedy, the bizarre experiences I’d just been through, and the uncertain future that lay ahead of me, I hadn’t laughed that hard since I was a child back at the home for boys.

              “So you remember me saying that about the Packard?” I asked.

              “You have said it on several occasions through the years,” Bela answered. “It is a memorable line. And speaking of lines…
.
”

              “Yes?” I asked.

              “You must be ready to retire by now,” Lugosi said. “I will show you to your room.”

              “Actually, I am wide awake,” I answered. “I just got a surge of adrenalin, thanks to your flashbulb trick!”

              “Then, please,” he asked, “would you mind going over some lines with me?”

              “What lines?” I asked.

              “
White Zombie
,” he replied. “My next movie.”

              He handed me a thick stack of papers. “Go to page 56,” he said. “Scene 203. You read the part of Charles Beaumont.”

              I found the page and glanced over the lines.

              “Sure,” I said. “I’ll give it a shot.”

              I delivered my first line and Bela did his. We went back and forth, then suddenly Bela stopped and dropped his script on his desk.

              “Bay?” he said. “That was amazing!”

              “What?” I asked.

              “You didn’t tell me you were an actor!”

              “You know I am not an actor,” I said. “I am just doing the lines with you.”

              “Oh, but you are!” he said. “It is very good! You are acting! Let’s do the scene again, but with movement. Play it out. Not just the voice, but the body!”

              We repeated the same scene again, only this time, we did it as if it were being filmed. We didn’t even hold the scripts. 

              “This is very helpful my friend!” Bela said. “You should be an actor!”

              I was flattered by his comments, and I knew he was serious. Bela wasn’t one to blow smoke. That boosted my confidence, and I was having a great deal of fun with it. So much so, that we went on to the next scene. And the one after that. This went on for two hours before Bela himself finally sat down for a break. He began rubbing his face, and I knew it was time for us to retire for the evening.

              “I guess we should go to sleep now,” I said. “I have to start looking for this man as soon as possible, starting tomorrow. But I don’t even know where to begin looking.”

              “I’ll make a deal with you then,” Bela said, looking up at me. “You work with me here tomorrow, on these scenes, and on Monday, I will take you with me on the set.”

              “On the set?” I asked.

              “Yes, to the first day of filming of my new movie,” he answered. “We can find out when any extras will be scheduled.”

              “I don’t have a clue about making movies or where to go to find these people they use as extras,” I answered. “So I guess it is as good a place as any to start.”

              “Hollywood is not so big,” Bela said. “But there are thousands of people. You help me tomorrow, and I will do everything I can to put you in contact with people so you can find your man. And you can stay here for as long as it takes.”

              I couldn’t have asked for a better bargain. The next morning I was awoken by the smell of bacon. I had slept quite soundly, and had no dreams or nightmares that I could remember. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Bela and a woman sitting at the table chatting friendly. 

              “Oh, Bay!” Lugosi said. “Come join us! This is Lisa Mattingly, my agent. Lisa, Mr. Bay. He is a famous writer.”

              “Nice to meet you,” I said, as I sat down.

              “The phone has not stopped ringing since we arrived!” Bela said.

              “I have been battling the radio and newsmen all night,” Lisa said. “I was just telling Mr. Lugosi that you all should have stayed in the Hearst mansion as he suggested....”

              “Yes, yes, yes!” Bela interrupted. “I could not get any work done there! We have been over this a million times!”

              “All the major studios have cancelled their shooting schedules for tomorrow, and the next day,” she continued.

              “We are talking about the Halperin Brothers,” Bela said. “They are independents, and of all of these messages you have brought me, not one is from the Halperins.”

              “I haven’t heard anything from Victor Halperin or his brother,” Lisa said. “But I am sure…
.
”

              “Then as far as I am concerned, the terms of my contract with them remain the same. Which means I am due on the set of
White Zombie
at six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

              “What time?” I finally interjected.

              “Six o’clock,” Bela said. “In the morning.”

              I chewed on a piece of bacon as the two of them went back and forth about what Bela should do. I blocked them out for a few minutes and enjoyed my breakfast. The orange juice was damned good!

              “Where did you get this?” I asked Bela, completely interrupting them.

              “Get what?” he asked.

              “This orange juice! It is fantastic!”

              “It is good, isn’t it?” he replied. “It is fresh squeezed.”

              “My god, man!” I said. “I’ve never had anything like this!”

              “Well,” Lisa said. “This is California.”

              “Yes,” I said. “Yes, it is. And they grow oranges in California, right?” I asked her.