XIX
AROUND THE CIRCLE
"I'd like to have another talk with Millard about that Fortune Featuresaffair," remarked Kennedy.
It was the third morning after the death of Stella Lamar, and I foundhim half through breakfast when I rose. About him were piled movingpicture and theatrical publications, daily, weekly, and monthly. At themoment I caught him he had spread wide open the inner page of the DailyMetropolitan, a sheet devoted almost exclusively to sports and theamusement fields.
I went around to glance over his shoulder. He pointed to a small itemunder a heading of recent plans and changes.
FORTUNE FEATURES
It is hinted to the Metropolitan Man-about-Broadway, by those in a position to know but who cannot yet be quoted, that Fortune Features is about to absorb a number of the largest competing companies. Rumors of great changes in the picture world have been current for some weeks, and this is the first reliable information to be given out. It is premature to give details of the new combination, or to mention names, but Fortune's strong backing in Wall Street will, we are assured, have a stabilizing influence at a critical time in the industry.
"Seems to be a lot of hot air," I said. "There isn't a name mentioned.Everything is 'by those in a position to know' and 'rumors of and 'itis premature to give details... or mention names'--Bah!"
Kennedy turned to places he had marked in several of the otherperiodicals and papers and I read them. Each was substantially to theeffect of the note in the Metropolitan, although worded differently andgenerally printed as a news item.
"It's a feeler," Kennedy stated. "There's something back of it. When Icaught the reference to Fortune Features in the Metropolitan, whichI've been reading the past two days, I sent the boy out for every moviepublication he could find. Result: half a dozen repetitions of the hintthat Fortune is expanding. That means that it is deliberate publicity."
"You think this has something to do with the case?"
"I don't see the name of Manton mentioned once. Manton is a man whoseeks the front page on every opportunity. You remember, of course,what Millard told us. Somehow I smell a rat. If nothing else developsfor this morning, I want to find Millard and talk to him again. Ibelieve Manton is up to something."
The sharp sound of our buzzer interrupted us. Because I was on my feetI went to the door. To my amazement I found it was Phelps who was ourvery early visitor.
"I hope you'll excuse this intrusion," he apologized to Kennedy,pushing by me with the rudeness which seemed inherent in the man. Thenhe recognized the sheet still spread out on the table. "I see you, too,have been reading the Metropolitan."
"Yes," Kennedy admitted, languidly. "There is nothing about MantonPictures, though."
"Manton Pictures, hell!" In an instant Phelps exploded and the thinveneer of politeness was gone. With a shaking finger he pointed to theitem which we had just been reading and discussing. "Did you read that!Did you see the reference to stabilizing the industry? STABILIZING! Itought to be spelled stable-izing, for they lead all the donkeys intostalls and tie them up and let them kick." He stopped momentarily forsheer inability to continue.
"I suppose you don't know Manton is behind this Fortune Features?"
"We were aware of the fact," Kennedy told him, quietly.
Phelps looked from one to the other of us keenly, as if he had thoughtto surprise us and had been disappointed. Nervously he began to pacethe floor.
"Perhaps you know also that things haven't been going just right withManton Pictures?"
Kennedy straightened. "When I asked you at Tarrytown, just two morningsago, whether there was any trouble between Manton and yourself, youanswered that there was not."
Phelps flushed. "I didn't want to air my financial difficulties withManton. My--my answer was truthful, the way you meant your question.Manton and I have had no words, no quarrel, no disagreement of apersonal nature."
"What is the trouble with Manton Pictures?"
"They are wasting money--throwing it right and left. That pay roll oftheirs is preposterous. The waste itself is beyond belief--sometimesfour and five cameras on a scene, retakes upon the slightestprovocation, even sets rebuilt because some minor detail fails to suitthe artistic eye of the director. Werner, supposed to watch all thecompanies, doesn't half know his business. In the making of a five-reelfilm they will overtake sometimes as much as eighty or a hundredthousand feet of negative in each of two cameras, when twenty thousandis enough overtake for anyone. That alone is five to ten thousanddollars for negative stock, almost fifteen with the sample print anddeveloping. And the cost of stock, Mr. Kennedy, is the smallest item.All the extra length is long additional weeks of pay roll and overheadexpense. I put an auditor and a film expert on the accounts of StellaLamar's last picture. By their figures just sixty-three thousanddollars was absolutely thrown away."
Kennedy rose, folding the newspaper carefully while he collected histhoughts. "My dear Mr. Phelps," he stated, finally, "that is simplyinefficiency. I doubt if it is anything criminal; certainly there is noconnection with the death of Stella Lamar, my only interest in MantonPictures."
Phelps was very grave. "There is every connection with the death ofStella Lamar!"
"What do you mean?"
"Mr. Kennedy, what I'm going to say to you I cannot substantiate in anycourt of law. Furthermore I'm laying myself open to action for libel,so I must not be quoted. But I want you to understand that Stella wasinescapably wound up with all of Manton's financial schemes. His moneymaneuvers determined her social life, her friends--everything. She wasthen, as Enid Faye will be now, his come-on, his decoy. Manton has noscruples of any sort whatsoever. He is dishonest, tricky, a liar, and acheat. If I could prove it I would tell him so, but he's too clever forme. I do know, however, that he pulled the strings which controlledevery move Stella Lamar ever made. When she went to dinner with me itwas because Manton wished her to do so. She was his right hand, hisears, almost his mouth. I have no doubt but that her death is thedirect result of some business deal of his--something directly to dowith his financial necessities."
Kennedy did not glance up. "Those are very serious assertions."
"It is a very serious matter. To show how unscrupulous Manton is, I candemonstrate that he is wrecking Manton Pictures deliberately. I've toldyou of the waste. Only the other day I came into the studio. Werner wasputting up a great ballroom set. You saw it? No, that isn't the one Imean. I mean the first one. He had it all up; then some little thingdidn't suit him. The next day I came in again. Allstruck--sloughed--every bit of it--and a new one started. 'Lloyd,' Isaid, 'just think a minute--that's my money!' What good did it do? Heeven began to alter the new set! He would only go on, encouragingWerner and the other directors to change their sets, to lose time intrying for foolish effects, anything at all to pad the expense.
"You think I am romancing, but you don't understand the film world,"Phelps hurried on angrily. "Do you know that Enid Faye's contract isnot with Manton Pictures but with Manton himself? That means he cantake her away from me after he has made her a star with my money, at myexpense. Why should he wreck Manton Pictures, you ask? Do you knowthat, bit by bit, on the pretext that he needed the funds for thisthat, or the other thing, Manton has sold out his entire interest inthe company to me? It is all mine now. I tell you," complained Phelps,bitterly, "he couldn't seem to wreck the company fast enough. Why? Doyou realize that there isn't room both for this older company and thenew Fortune Features? Can you see that if Manton Pictures fails theFortune company will be able to pick up the studio and all theequipment for a song? I'm the fall guy!
"And yet, Kennedy, all the efforts to wreck Manton Pictures would havefailed, because 'The Black Terror' was too sure a success. In spite ofall the expense, in spite of every effort to wreck it, that picturewould have made half a million dollars. Stella's acting and Millard'sstory and script would have put it over. But now Millard's contract hasexpired and Manton has signed him
for Fortune Features. Enid Faye willbe made a star by 'The Black Terror,' but she is not now the drawingpower to put it over big, as Stella would have done. I tell you,Kennedy, the death of Stella Lamar has completed the wreck of MantonPictures!"
Kennedy jumped to his feet. There was a hard light in his eyes I hadnever seen before.
"Do I understand you, Phelps?" he snapped. "Are you accusing Manton ofthe cold-blooded murder of Stella Lamar to further various financialschemes?"
"Hardly!" Phelps blanched a bit, and I thought that a shudder sweptover him. "I don't mean anything like that at all. What I mean is thatManton, in encouraging various sorts of dissension to wreck thecompany, inadvertently fanned the flames of passion of those about her,and it resulted in her death."
"Who killed her?"
"I don't know!" Grudgingly I admitted that this seemed open and frank.
"At Tarrytown," Kennedy went on, "I asked you if Stella Lamar wasmaking any trouble, had threatened to quit Manton Pictures, and yousaid no. Is that still your answer?"
"For several months she had been up-stage. That was not because shewanted to make trouble, but because she had fallen in love. Mantonfound he couldn't handle her as he had previously."
"Do you suspect Manton of killing her himself?"
"I don't suspect anyone. That is an honest answer, Mr. Kennedy."
"What do you know about Fortune Features?"
The banker's eye fell on the newspaper again. "I know who this new WallStreet fellow is. I've got my scouts out working for me. It'sLeigh--that's who it is. And I'm sore; I have a right to be."
Phelps was getting more and more heated, by the moment. "I tell you,"he almost shouted, "this fake movie business is the modern gold-brickgame, all right. Never again!"
I was amazed at the Machiavellian cleverness of Manton. Here he was, onone hand openly working with, yet secretly ruining, the MantonPictures, while on the other hand he was covertly building up thecompeting Fortune Features.
Kennedy paced out into the little hall of our suite and back. He facedour visitor once more.
"Why did you come to see me this morning? At our last encounter, youmay recall you said you wished you could throw me down the steps."
Phelps smiled ruefully. "That was a mistake. It was the way I felt,but--I'm sorry."
"Now--?"
Again the black clouds overshadowed the features of the financier. "NowI want you to bring out and prove the things I've told you." The maliceshowed in his voice plainly, for the first time. "I want it proved incourt that Manton is a cheap crook. When you uncover the murderer ofStella Lamar you will find that the moral responsibility for her deathtraces right back to Lloyd Manton. I want him driven out of thebusiness."
Kennedy's attitude changed. As he escorted Phelps to the door his toneswere self-controlled. "Anything of the sort is beyond my province. Mytask is simply to find the person who killed the girl."
When the financier was gone I turned to Kennedy eagerly. "What do youthink?" I asked.
"I think, more than ever, that we should investigate Fortune Features.Let's have a look at the telephone book."
There was no studio of the new corporation in New York, but we did findone listed in New Jersey, just across the river, at Fort Lee. We walkedfrom the university down the hill and over to the ferry. On the otherside a ten minutes' street-car ride took us to our destination.
Facing us was a huge barn-like structure set down in the midst of alittle park. Inquiry for Manton brought no response whatever; rather,surprise that we should be asking for him here. However, I reflectedthat that was exactly what we ought to expect if Manton was workingunder cover. The girl at the telephone switchboard, smiling at Kennedy,had a suggestion.
"They're taking a storm exterior down in the meadow," she explained."Perhaps he's down there, among the visitors--or perhaps there'ssomeone who will be able to give you some information."
I glanced outdoors at the brightly shining sun. "A storm?" I repeated,incredulously.
"Yes," she smiled. "It might interest you to see it."
Following her directions, we started across country, leaving the studiobuilding some distance behind and entering a broad expanse of meadowbeyond a thin clump of trees. At the farther end we could see a largegroup of people and paraphernalia which, at the distance, we could notmake out.
However, it was not long after we emerged from the trees that weperceived they were photographing squarely in our direction. Severalbegan waving their arms wildly at us and shouting. Kennedy and I,understanding, turned and advanced, keeping well out of the cameralines, along the edge of the field.
"Hello!" a voice greeted us as we approached the group standing backand watching the action.
To my surprise it was Millard, with the spectators. I looked about forManton but did not see him, nor anyone else we knew.
"It's a storm and cyclone," said Millard, his attention rather on whatwas going on than on us.
For the moment we said nothing.
The scene before us was indeed interesting. Half a dozen aeroplaneengines and propellers had been set up outside the picture, andanchored securely in place. The wind from them was actually enough toknock a man down. Rain was furnished by hose playing water into thewhirling blades, sending it driving into the scene with the fury of atropical storm. Back of the propellers half a dozen men werefrantically at work shoveling into them sand and dirt, creating anamazingly realistic cyclone.
We arrived in the midst of the cyclone scene, as the dust storm wasending and the torrential rain succeeded. For the storm, a miniaturevillage had been constructed in break-away fashion, partially sawedthrough and tricked for the proper moment. Many objects were controlledby invisible wires, including an actual horse and buggy which seemed tobe lifted bodily and carried away. Roofs flew off, walls crashed in,actors and actresses were knocked flat as some few of them failed togain their cyclone cellars. Altogether, it was a storm of suchefficiency as Nature herself could scarcely have furnished, and allstaged with the streaming sunlight which made photography possible.
Pandemonium reigned. Cameras were grinding, directors were bawlingthrough megaphones, all was calculated chaos. Yet it took only a glanceto see that some marvelous effects were being caught here.
At the conclusion I recognized suddenly the little leading lady, It wasthe girl we had seen with Manton at Jacques' cabaret.
"That's the way to take a picture," exclaimed Millard. "Everythingright--no expense spared. I came over to see it done. It's wonderful."
"Yes," was Kennedy's answer, "but it must be very costly."
"It is all of that," said Millard. "But what of it if the film makes abig clean-up? I wouldn't have missed this for anything. Werner neverstaged a spectacle like this in his life. Fortune Features are going toset a new mark in pictures."
"But can they keep it up? Have they the money?"
Millard shrugged his shoulders. "Manton Pictures can't--that's a cinch.Phelps has reached the end of his rope, I guess. I'm afraid the troublewith him was that he was thinking of too many things besides pictures."
There was no mistaking the meaning of the remark. Millard was still cutby Stella's desertion of him for the broker. I caught Kennedy's glance,but neither of us cared to refer to her.
"Where can I find Manton now?" Kennedy asked.
"Did you try his office at seven hundred and twenty-nine?" wasMillard's suggestion.
"No; I wanted to see this place first."
"Well, you'll most likely find him there. I've got to go back to thecity myself-some scenes of 'The Black Terror' to rewrite to fit Enidbetter. I'll motor you across the ferry and to the Subway."
At the Subway station, Millard left us and we proceeded to Manton'sexecutive offices in a Seventh Avenue skyscraper, built for and devotedexclusively to the film business.
Manton's business suite was lavishly furnished, but not quite as ornateand garish as his apartment. The promoter himself welcomed us, for nomatter how busy he was at any hour, he al
ways seemed to have time tostop and chat.
"Well, how goes it?" He pushed over a box of expensive cigars. "Haveyou found out anything yet?"
"Had a visit from Phelps this morning." Kennedy plunged directly intothe subject, watching the effect.
Manton did not betray anything except a quiet smile. "Poor old Phelps,"he said. "I guess he's pretty uneasy. You know he has been speculatingrather heavily in the market lately. There was a time when I thoughtPhelps had a bank roll in reserve. But it seems he has been playing thegame on a shoestring, after all."
Manton casually flicked the ashes from his cigar into a highly polishedcuspidor as he leaned over. "I happen to have learned that, to make hisbluff good, he has been taking money from his brokerage business"--herehe nodded sagely--"his customers' accounts you know. Leigh knows theinside of everybody's affairs in Wall Street. They say a quarter of amillion is short, at least. To tell you the truth, poor Stella took agood deal of Phelps's money. Certainly his Manton Pictures holdingswouldn't leave him in the hole as deep as all that."
I reflected that this was quite the way of the world--first framing upsomething on a boob, then deprecating the ease with which he wastrimmed.
Was it blackmail Stella had levied on Phelps, I wondered? Was shetaking from him to give to Gordon? Had Stella broken him? Was she thereal cause of the tangle in his affairs? And had Phelps in insanepassion revenged himself on her?
In the conversation with Manton there was certainly no hint of answerto my queries. With all his ease, Manton was the true picture promoter.Seldom was he betrayed into a positive statement of his own. Always,when necessary, he gave as authority the name of some one else. But theeffect was the same.
A hurried call of some sort took Manton away from us. Kennedy turned tome with a whimsical expression.
"Let's go!" he remarked.
"What do you make of it, offhand?" I asked, outside.
"We're going about in a circle," he remarked. "Strange group of people.Each apparently suspects the other."
"And, to cover himself, talks of the other fellow," I added.
Kennedy nodded, and we made our way toward the laboratory.
"I'll bet something happens before the day is over," I hazarded, for noreason in particular.
Kennedy shrugged.
As we went, I cast up in my mind the facts we had learned. Theinformation from Manton was disconcerting, coming on top of what hadalready been revealed about the inner workings of his game. If Phelpshad secretly "borrowed" from the trust accounts in his charge a quarterof a million or so, I saw that his situation must indeed be desperate.To what lengths he might go it was difficult to determine.