McNally's Chance (33 page)

“Of course I know who Henry Peavey is,” Arnie said. “Doesn’t everyone?”

Tell us,” Mrs. Pettibone begged. Tell us who he is.”

Mr. Pettibone paused in the midst of shaking a dry Manhattan, his hands frozen in midair. Priscilla pretended not to see a diner beckoning for her. Mrs. Pettibone put down her tray of shrimp. Al, Binky, Connie, Bianca, and I all circled around Arnie as he dramatically expounded:

“On the morning of February 2,1922, the Los Angeles police were summoned to 404 Alvarado Street, Bungalow B. There, they found two executives of Paramount Pictures burning papers in the fireplace, the film star Mabel Normand frantically searching through drawers, unidentified men simply milling around, one of whom had come with a case of bootleg gin and Hollywood’s most popular and talented director, William Desmond Taylor, dead on the living room floor with a bullet hole in his back.

“In the kitchen, Taylor’s valet, Henry Peavey, was washing dishes.”

To be continued … Tin

Lawrence Sanders, one of the world’s most popular novelists, wrote twenty-five international bestsellers including the Deadly Sin and Commandment series and seven Archy McNally novels.

Vincent Lardo is the author of The Hampton Affair and The Hampton Connection. He has written two Archy McNally bestsellers: McNally’s’

Folly ^ and McNally’s Dilemma.

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