The Mystery of the Rogues' Reunion - Marc Brandel [17]
As fast as he could, Jupe squeezed his stocky body through the pipe and pushed his way up through a trap door into the trailer.
He scooped up the phone. “Jupiter Jones speaking.”
“This is Luther Lomax. I hope you don’t mind my calling you.”
It was strange, Jupe thought, how Luther Lomax’s voice changed from one moment to the next. Last night on the sound stage when he had accused Jupe and his friends of stealing those silver cups, Lomax’s voice had had all the authority and command that Jupe remembered from his days as Baby Fatso. Then a few minutes later when Lomax was talking about being replaced as the director on Hector Sebastian’s movie, Dark Legacy, Lomax had sounded tired and defeated. He sounded a little that way now.
“Not at all,” Jupe said. “I’m glad to hear from you, Mr. Lomax. I was wondering if you had found out who did steal those silver cups.’’
“No. Not yet. At least, not exactly. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.’’ A little of the authority was coming back into the director’s voice. “It’s too complicated to go into over the phone, and I was wondering if you could come to the television station early so we could sit down and discuss it.”
“Sure,” Jupe said. “What time would you like me to be there?”
“Come at eleven. Eleven sharp. Just ask for me at the reception desk.” He paused briefly. “Are your two friends with you?”
“No, I’m afraid I’ll have to come alone,” Jupe told him.
It was too bad, he thought as he hung up, that he couldn’t get the other two Investigators to come with him this early. He knew they were spending the morning on the beach. They had asked him to go too, but he hadn’t felt like a long bike ride and a strenuous swim in the surf. He had wanted to be as rested as possible for the quiz show.
He called Bob’s mother and told her of his change of plan, promising to send the limo back to pick up Bob and Pete so that they could get to the television station in time for the taping.
When Jupe called the limousine company, Gordon Harker answered the phone himself. He agreed to meet Jupe at the salvage yard in thirty minutes.
Jupe changed into a dark suit with a white shirt and a tie and was waiting at the gate when the chauffeur drew up. They drove into Hollywood in silence. But when they reached the big television network office building and the chauffeur opened the car door for him, Jupe could see from the hesitation in Gordon Harker’s face that there was something on his mind. Something he wanted to ask Jupe. The First Investigator waited, standing on the pavement. “I’ve never seen a quiz show,” Harker began. “They have live audiences, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Jupe said. “I guess there’ll be a couple of hundred people watching this one.”
“It should be interesting.” The chauffeur shifted his feet in an embarrassed way. “Do you happen to have a spare ticket?” he asked.
Jupe did. Milton Glass had given him four tickets in case he wanted to invite his family to the show. Aunt Mathilda and Uncle Titus had politely declined. Bob and Pete had two of the tickets. And Jupe still had the others in his pocket. He offered one of them to Gordon Harker.
“Thanks.” The chauffeur took it eagerly. “Thanks a lot. I’ll pick up your two friends later and then come and watch the quiz. And … well, good luck.”
As Jupe entered the office building, he was frowning thoughtfully. Gordon Harker was more and more of a puzzle to him. Why should an intelligent man like Harker want to come and watch a bunch of ex-child actors answer a lot of stupid questions. And why had he seemed so shy about it? Maybe the man was spellbound by the supposed glamour of show business, Jupe decided. That happened to a lot of otherwise sensible people.
The receptionist sent Jupe straight up to Luther Lomax’s office. GUEST DIRECTORS, it said on the door. The elderly director seemed glad to see him. Jupe sat down facing him across the desk.
“When I was talking to Hector Sebastian last night,