The Golden Room

Chief of Police O'Neill stood silently, contemplating what he had heard.

Suddenly the telephone on the desk rang. The chief seemed to rouse himself out of a state of shock. He stepped towards the desk to take up the telephone.

'Officer Sorenson at the County Hospital,' a voice a

The chief said, 'This is O'Neill. What about Dr Holmes? Is he still alive or did he die?'

'He's alive, sir. A skull fracture. They can fix him up.'

'They'd better,' said the chief of police. 'I want him in good shape when he's tried and sentenced to the gallows.'

His narrowed eyes lingered on Cathleen and Karen. Then they shifted to Bruce and Alan.

His gaze holding on the two young men, the chief said loudly and distinctly, 'We'll put Holmes on trial as soon as he's well enough. I'll send in our forensic experts to identify the remains.' He paused, and gri

Bruce drove Mi

While Alan helped Cathleen out of the car, Bruce assisted Karen to the sidewalk. Together they hurried up the steps leading into the Everleigh Club.

As they hastened through the Club's entrance, they saw rainbows of flowers reflected in gleaming mirrors. Cathleen, Karen, Alan, and Bruce were met by Mi

The moment that Mi

She rushed forward to fling her arms around Cathleen, and then around Karen.

'You're alive, you're safe!' Mi

'They're alive,' Bruce said, 'but it was close, very close, I can tell you that.'

'What happened?' Aida wanted to know. 'Did Dr Holmes make advances to you?'

'Yes, he made advances to Karen and me,' answered Cathleen, 'and when we rejected him, he was ready to kill us. We were rescued at the last minute by Alan and Bruce. Tell my aunts about it, Alan.'

Alan gestured to Bruce. 'I'm still too shaky to be very articulate. I think Bruce can do a better job of it.'

'It was pretty awful, and it was nip and tuck with the girls' lives. I'll make it brief. Here is what happened.'

Quickly, Bruce recounted what had taken place at Holmes's Castle, from the time he and Alan had come calling to the terrible moments when they had prevented Holmes from gassing Cathleen and Karen.

'We knocked him unconscious,' concluded Bruce, 'and after we pulled the girls out of that death chamber of his, we carried him into it, sealed it, and held him there until Chief of Police O'Neill and Pinkerton arrived. The chief was concerned that Alan and I had taken the law into our own hands without proof – actual proof – that Dr Holmes had ever done harm to anyone.'

'But then the police found proof, in the basement, that Dr Holmes was a lunatic killer,' added Alan.

Bruce was nodding his head. 'Aunt Mi

Aida covered her face. 'Twenty-seven bodies,' she said, shuddering.

Mi

Bruce sighed. 'I'm afraid so, Aunt Mi

'How gruesome,' said Mi

When Edmund was gone, Mi

'I owe this young man a story. I wouldn't permit him to write about the Everleigh Club when he first came here. We were in trouble then. Now I should make it up to him. Bruce, I want you to repeat to him everything you told us about Dr Holmes. What you saw and what you learned from Mr Pinkerton.'

When Edmund reappeared with a puzzled Foley, Mi

Enthusiastically, Foley located the ever-present notebook in his pocket, took out a pencil, and waited.

Concisely, but without loss of detail, Bruce recounted their adventure with Dr Herman Holmes and what Pinkerton and the police had learned about him.

'Twenty-seven bodies,' Foley noted on paper, wagging his head. 'It's the most awful thing I've ever heard. But what a great story. Thank you, Bruce. I'd better call it in for the next edition. Mi

'Make yourself at home,' said Mi

Leaving last, Mi

Mi

Hastening ahead, Mi

Once inside, Mi

The room was crowded. Surrounding the prince of Prussia, who had arrived an hour earlier, were members of his entourage – braid and medals everywhere – and at least a dozen of the Everleigh Club's most attractive girls. The majority of them surrounded Prince Henry, resplendent in his uniform with its elegant high-collared jacket, relaxing on a gold sofa with women on either side of him and at his feet. The sighing, teasing, and flattery of the girls was mixed with the sounds of toasts and music from the five-piece orchestra playing in a distant corner.

Deftly, Mi

When she reached Prince Henry, Mi

Prince Henry rose to his feet at once.

'… I want you to meet another guest who is being honoured here tonight,' Mi

'I am honoured, most honoured,' said Prince Henry, bending slightly to kiss the top of Cathleen's outstretched hand.

'Your Highness,' Mi

'I am absolutely delighted,' said Prince Henry. 'This long-desired visit to the Everleigh Club – how exquisite it is, how magnificent its occupants – is the climax of my tour of your country.'

Mi

Turning away, Mi