by Mark Walker
Boss Stilton had pressed a switch, and one of the sconces flanking the bar slid up to reveal a polished stainless steel safe in the wall. He began removing wads of banknotes and cash. “You interfered with the robbery in the first place, and that could have queered the whole deal. Then you attacked Minnie in broad daylight.”
“I couldn’t stand to see her wearing my Blood Star. Mine! She always wanted everything I wanted, all I ever wanted…”
“Oh, but that wasn’t enough, so you had to finish her off! I sent Tex to get her out of the hospital, get her away to safety, knowing what you were capable of, but he was too late, and she was already dead.”
“Well, you were still seeing her.”
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Suddenly, the thought that had been nagging Riggs since he first read the file came to his mind. An onslaught of dates, clippings, and connections flashed in succession. The transposed D.O.B.’s—Date of Births. The light suddenly dawned on Kelly Riggs.
He spoke up quickly. “Yes, Stilton, don’t you know about sibling rivalry? Why, the world’s first murder was brother killing brother, Cain and Abel. They call it fratricide. But the instances of sister killing sister are extremely rare … Oh. Didn’t you know?”
There was an electric silence, save for the dull…
Tick … Tick … Tick …
“Ah, I see you didn’t. I believe they call it sororicide.”
Stilton and Ginger Vitis were both gaping at him. He continued, “Miss Vitis and our late lamented Miss Chillglass were, in life, sisters. So who’s keeping secrets now, eh? Yes, Stilton, I reckon this one here came out of nowhere and swept you off your feet, right in the middle of your engagement. I’m not sure even her own sister recognized her at first, it had been so many years. How many years was it? And then what did you do, Miss Vitis, blackmail your sister into silence?”
Boss Stilton was rocked, and Ginger Vitis was supporting herself on the desk, momentarily speechless.
Kelly Riggs pushed on. “Yes, sister killing sister is extremely rare. But what’s even more rare are murders by twins.”
Boss Stilton had to sit down in the red leather chair.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Ginger Vitis drew herself up as proudly as she could, her dark eyes slits, and thundered at Riggs, “Well, aren’t we the little snooper. No one knew!” She poured another cocktail. “When we were little, she was always the pretty one, the smart one, the one who always got what she desired. I was the plain one, the ugly duckling.”
Riggs chimed in, “The ugly duckling who became a swan? A black swan, anyway, or make that a black widow.”
“Much as you prefer, Inshpector Riggs. We were separated at age ten, though sometimes I think we were sheparated at birth.” (She was beginning to slur.) “I ended up in France, and finishing school became modeling school, and suddenly one day—I was the swan, and life’s been good! I got the breaks and she didn’t! She was already on the way down when they got engaged. Yeesh, I broke up their little engagement,” she laughed a velvety, haughty laugh. Ginger Vitis looked down at Boss Stilton. “Dahling, that’s why I couldn’t let her keep the Blood Star one more day. That’s what made me so angry when I saw her wearing it.
“She was so shocked when she saw it was I. And when she didn’t die right away, I jus’ had to take care of her. I know how you feel ’bout tying up loose ends. I jus’ couldn’t let her shtand in the way of my dreams—of, of our dreams, dahling.”
Boss Stilton was mumbling, “Minnie…”
Tick … Tick … Tick …
“She was nothing—a shpinster, an old hag. My sister, who lorded it over me when she got engaged. That was when I came back. And you’re right, Inshpector, she didn’t recognize me. Not for quite a long while, anyway.”
“So you stole your own twin sister’s fiancé, then you murdered her?” asked Brendalynn Welles incredulously. “Why, that’s the most horrid thing I’ve ever heard!”
Riggs joined in, “Oh, my dear, but this is a horrid woman, incapable of caring for anything or anyone but herself. Why, she’ll do away with anyone who gets in her way. And with that fiery, carrot-topped temper of hers…”
He got the desired reaction to the redhead jibe. She exploded, “She used to call me carrot-top!”
So he continued, “Carrot-top and Tip Top, why, they’re the perfect couple! But no matter what, they haven’t a chance, either one, and they’ll never get away with this. If not today, if not tomorrow, they’ll be at each other’s throats eventually. The curse of the Blood Stars will be upon them, and they’re doomed!”
“Thach it!” Ginger Vitis was trembling with rage, her face flushed with alcohol and fury.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
She saw a bowl of gobstoppers, those round, hard candies that vary in size, on a table. She picked the two largest ones, each about the size of a golf ball, and swayed toward Riggs and Brendalynn. “Open wide, honey,” she said mockingly.
Riggs protested, as Brendalynn twisted and tried to pull away, but Ginger Vitis had hold of her hair and neck, and roughly forced the gobstopper into her mouth. Then it was Riggs’s turn, which he took with dignity, mainly hoping to keep it from sticking solid. Unfortunately, it did, and all he and Brendalynn could do was produce garbled noises and a sound something like ahjarh. All the while, Riggs continued to work the hairpin in the lock of the handcuffs. He prayed he would be in time. Sweat poured off his brow.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Boss Stilton stood and announced, “Come on, Babe, let’s have that last drink and get out of here.”
Ginger Vitis turned back to the bar for the cocktail shaker and poured another glass. Riggs watched her slip her hand into a hitherto invisible pocket in the black gown. It looked as though she was putting something into the cocktail glass.
Her eyes met Riggs’s in the bar mirror, and she smiled devilishly. Riggs looked at Brendalynn, who acknowledged that she had seen it, too. Ginger Vitis presented the blood red glass to Boss Stilton, who was latching the Gladstone bag.
Riggs tried desperately to form a word and shout a warning to Boss Stilton, but all he could manage was the garbled ahjarh. Soon he was joined by Brendalynn, and the two of them made their ineffectual and noisy protests to no avail.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Boss Stilton and Ginger Vitis raised their glasses, and Boss Stilton raised his voice. “Well, this is it—the big send-up! The final crasheroo-bomber! It’s been a grand ride, all the same. I’ve turned the tables on everyone. I’ve always come out on top, always the best at the game: Tip Top. In my game there are no rules, and the only victor is me. The best of the worst, and the rest can go to blazes.”
“Ahjarh!”
“You know, I could grow to like you, Inspector. Even now, with death staring you in the face, you’re still at it, still going on, trying to convince me, but I’ll never turn back. Try as you must. So, here’s to you, too. And you, Babe. Here’s to you!”
“Ahjarh!”
Boss Stilton drank the whole cocktail down. He set the glass on the desk, reaching for the bag with his other hand. He shook his head. “Whew,” he whistled, “that one was mighty strong. Perfect for the last drink here.” Then a tiny automatic appeared in his right hand.
“And perfect for our last drink together, Babe. You see, you have become another problem that needs solving.”
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Ginger Vitis faced him across the desk, eyes glittering, breathing deeply, almost aroused.
He continued, but there was a change in his voice. “I just can’t trust you anymore, and I’m sure you’ll do anything to keep those bloody Blood Stars, and I need them … gone. I…” He cleared his throat, and a quizzical expression appeared across his face. “Yeah, that last one was mighty strong… Whewww.”
His cheeks puffed out, his eyelids fluttered, and the whew was the last breath leaving his body, as he pitched heavily across the desk. His gun h
and sprawled forward toward Ginger Vitis.
She shrank back as the arm jumped and twitched, the gun pointing toward her. Then slowly it settled and lay still. Her shoulders heaved as she let out a vicious laugh.
Brendalynn turned her head away, half-frantic at what might befall them. Riggs felt helpless, too, his biggest concern being the possibility of the small automatic pistol ending up in the hands of the tippled redhead.
For a few moments, the only sound was the deadly…
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Ginger Vitis surveyed her handiwork, still smiling thinly. “He had it coming.” She looked at Riggs. “It wush him or me—you saw him. I was jus’ quicker thatch all.”
“Ahjarh!”
She went to the desk, where the body of Boss Stilton lay, reached toward his pocket, but hesitated, trembling. At first Riggs thought it was remorse. But there was no remorse in Ginger Vitis. It was only the thought of touching the dead body that troubled her. She said to the body, “Ha! Thought you could get away with what’s mine. Well, nobody puts one over on me. You thought you were the top. Well, I’m the one on top now!”
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Then she retrieved her prizes and held the Blood Stars high, her dark eyes glittering. “The mos’ beautiful jewels in the whole wide world, and they’re all mine.” She downed the last of her Cosmo and dragged the Gladstone bag from beneath Boss Stilton’s body.
She dropped the Blood Stars in the bag and turned to the captives, a bit too fast, for she had to steady herself on the desk. “So it’s goodbye to yoo, Inshpector Riggs. Sho shorry we couldn’t get better ’cquainted.” She sounded out the syllables with some difficulty. “At leash you’ll have company, but thish Babe” (she pointed to herself) “will have t’ find herself shomeone new.” She tilted around and announced, “I’m leaving now.”
Riggs and Brendalynn tried frantically to get her attention, making their awful noises.
“Shtop your yammering! Shtop it, I say!”
“Ahjarh!” Riggs struggled to get his hands free of the cuffs in time.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
She went over to the bookshelves and paneling, where the secret lift was. The red light was still on, but Ginger Vitis failed to see it.
She pressed the button, looking back at them fuzzily as the panel slid open. The empty shaft gaped wide.
“Ahjarh!”
She swayed in the doorway. “You needn’t shcream, either of you, I’m not going to help you, an’ thersh nothing you can doo. I have all I need. I’m rish, I’m beeyootifull, and I have my Blood Shtars back!”
Then the Babe and a Half, well attired and horrible, turned and stepped into black space, falling silently thirteen stories to her death.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Not a moment too soon, Riggs felt the hairpin depress and click, and finally the cuffs came loose. He snatched the gobstopper from his mouth and tossed it away. Carefully, he removed Brendalynn’s gobstopper before untying her hands as she gasped for air. As he did, he said, “We haven’t a moment to lose. I don’t have a clue how to defuse the bomb—there’s not enough time. We’ll make for the other lift over there. It will take us down to the kitchen.”
He ran for the desk and brushed aside Boss Stilton’s coat. He quickly found the button and heard the faint whine of the machinery, even as he registered the dull ticking coming from their abandoned chairs across the room. There was a click from the corner and the door to the lift door opened, spilling light into the darkened room. They ran for the open door and entered the tiny cage, just big enough for two, and found themselves in each other’s arms.
As the door closed, Riggs said, “They really were star-crossed lovers.”
In the kitchen, an officer on duty had heard the whine of the lift and the cage ascending. He passed the word, so Bellows, Blaney, Girard, and a couple of reporters and a photographer were waiting when the cage descended. The detectives stood at the ready, guns drawn.
Nothing happened.
Bellows cautiously reached for the knob and opened the door.
Riggs and Brendalynn were embracing, and just as they turned in surprise, the photographer snapped their picture.
“Great Galloping Gollywhoppers!” exclaimed Sergeant Bellows.
A low rumbling boom imperceptibly shook the building. Small bits of dust and plaster fell on them. Although some pieces of glass fell on the street below, luckily no one was injured, for the penthouse windows were bulletproof and, mostly, shatterproof.
High above it all on the roof, the wheel had stopped revolving due to the explosion, and the great cocktail glass stood, crooked and cracked, amidst torrents of smoke, water, and stabbing searchlights.
That was the last of the Tip Top Club. The last of Boss Stilton’s kingdom and the Black and Blue Hand. They, like the giant glass, were smashed for good.
Epilogue
NO ONE WAS INJURED BY Boss Stilton’s bomb, and the bits of fire were quickly extinguished. The police finally overran the club and the ruins of the penthouse.
There they found little remaining of Bruno Stilton. Hearing a crash from the lift shaft, Tex had gone up to the club to investigate and was nabbed. He didn’t realize that the woman who had enticed and blackmailed him lay dead on top of the cage, only a couple of feet over his head. The body of Ginger Vitis (former Babe and a Half) was eventually pulled from the shaft and the Gladstone bag recovered. It contained a large fortune in cash and banknotes, the gang’s secret papers, and, of course, the great prize of all, the Blood Stars.
The “St James’s Case” became the case of the “Blood Red Stars”—the sensation of all England and the international press. All efforts were made to protect the children and other witnesses from any undue interference, and also from any Hand members who might have escaped Scotland Yard’s dragnet.
Upon his return from abroad, Mr. Prescott was startled to discover what the children had been up to. Briefly, he was even inclined to place all the blame on Brendalynn Welles, but Inspector Riggs quickly smoothed over the situation. And though she would miss the children, after her experience in the St James’s Case, Brendalynn decided it was time to leave the Prescotts’ employ to pursue her law career. The children had several new minders and nannies whilst a permanent replacement was sought. Their favorite was a young musician named Kendra Danes. Jen especially liked her, as she longed to play violin and this was Miss Danes’s specialty.
Kitt Sparrow and Trilby Warbler were in work for years, owing to the surprising and spectacular success of Hamlet: The Musical. Perhaps we’ll meet them again in the future. Toby Knockknees continued to work backstage, but was keen on making plans to study how to be a detective, and we shall be checking in with him from time to time. Johnny Glams spent three months in jail, buoyed by two letters from Mandy and a monthly visit by Riggs himself. On his release, he seemed ready to go straight. In later chapters in the saga of Kelly Riggs, perhaps we shall see what happens to him.
Of the gang, Tex drew the harshest sentence owing to his participation in the robbery, his assault on Riggs, and the kidnapping of Jen; he landed a very long stint in Dartmoor. Marley Slade was next for his assault on Constable Dickens (who recovered and returned to duty). The rest of the gang were also sent to the clink for many a year.
The forensic evidence in the case, as Brendalynn Welles was fond of pointing out, was overwhelming. Minerva Chillglass had gone from fiancée to long-time mistress and paymaster for the Black and Blue Hand, and had kept meticulous records. The shelves of the London Library were found to have numerous hidden stashes of cash, and secret compartments were discovered in hollowed-out books on the highest shelves. She and Ginger Vitis had been non-identical twins; Ginger Vitis had been divorced after an earlier marriage, hence her different surname. The footprint matched one of Ginger Vitis’s shoes, the makeup on the chain came from Tex’s makeup kit, and Black Widow costumes were found in both her and Tex’s wardrobe. Both she and Tex were at the
Criterion the day of the robbery at the Academy, and they were also there on the day of the St James’s attack. Ginger Vitis, Tex, and Minerva Chillglass were the three smash-and-grab widows at the Royal Academy. Riveting eyewitness testimony was leaked to the press, and they had a field day in their papers and on their GDRs for months.
To break the curse, the notorious Blood Stars were kept separated, both during and after the criminal investigation. When all were brought to justice at the Old Bailey and the case closed, it was decided that one Star be kept by the British Museum and the other would go back to India. Each as beautiful as the other, they lie benign to this day, the curse broken by time and separation.
Inspector Riggs finally found some time off to spend getting to know Brendalynn Welles, and even managed to teach her a few chess moves. Sometimes they might be seen out for a brief stroll in the park near Brendalynn’s new position as a law clerk in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, or taking lunch at a smart restaurant close to where their adventures had occurred in Piccadilly. One day, a tall, elegantly attired blonde woman stopped by their table, and a handkerchief fell at the feet of Kelly Riggs.
He bent, picked it up, and handed it back to the woman, who said in a French accent, “Didn’t we meet once in Monte Carlo?” Kelly Riggs’s eyes grew a little wider, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks, and his ears burned, as he awkwardly smiled his lopsided smile.
Michael, Mandy, and Jen continued to act like most siblings: Michael staring out the window instead of studying, Mandy wondering if he would ever grow up, and Jen still shy and silly, all longing for more exciting adventures with Kelly Riggs … which, as you might expect, will happen in short order in … Edge of the Indigo.
Further Investigations
Part of detection is making connections.
A Brief Glossary
BOLO: Police abbreviation for “Be on the Lookout”
Buskers: Street performers
Dinkies: Toy cars
