Echoes of Titanic by Mindy Starns Clark Read Free Book Online

in a low voice. “Carole told me you did an excellent job of calming everyone down and wrapping things up. I knew you would.”
    Kelsey glanced at the PR woman and then back at Walter. “Thanks, but I don’t know what good it did. All the media people had already left by then.”
    â€œThey didn’t go far,” Ephraim said, gesturing toward a bank of security screens. The image on the left was coming from one of the lobby cameras, and Kelsey could see that the space was packed wall-to-wall with people. No big surprise there. They had gotten a whiff of a big story and weren’t going to go away until they knew who this man was and what it was he’d been trying to say.
    The next screen over showed the lobby at a different angle, near the doors to the auditorium. Moving closer, Kelsey could see several members of her investment research team, along with her EA, Sharon. They were huddled together talking, and when Sharon glanced up toward the camera, the worry on her face was clear.
    â€œSo what’s the plan here?” Kelsey whispered, looking apprehensively toward the pair at the other end of the room. Now that she was getting a closer look at them, she could see that the man was in his mid-sixties with messy gray hair, thick glasses, and cheap, ill-fitting clothes. The woman looked to be a few years younger than he was, though that might have been because of her more youthful orange hair color—obviously from a bottle—and the spiky style she wore it in. How had these two possibly slipped past security and into the ceremony?
    â€œThe plan,” Walter said, “is to get this man out of this building and then out of New York City before any reporters can get their hooks into him.”
    â€œWhere does he live?”
    â€œFlorida, but that’s not where we want him to go just yet. Too easy for the reporters to track him there. Instead, I offered him a limo to Vermont, a week at my sister’s bed-and-breakfast near Burlington, and five hundreddollars spending money for while he’s there if he’ll keep his mouth shut. He’s not having any of it, but the woman with him is trying to talk him into it.”
    Kelsey’s eyes widened. Walter was trying to pay off this lunatic? That was absurd! The man had come here, made libelous accusations about her great-grandmother in public, and disrupted a big corporate event in the process. Now he was getting rewarded for it? Before Kelsey could voice her objections, Lou muttered, “Excuse us, Walter,” took her by the arm, and pulled her out of the room and around the corner.
    â€œDon’t blow your stack here, kiddo,” he whispered. “I don’t always see eye to eye with Walter Hallerman, as you know, but I think in this case it’s the right move. This kook’s done enough damage already. Let him get shuttled out of here and tucked away till the dust settles. You can follow up more privately later.”
    Kelsey wanted to scream, but she knew Lou was right. She fully intended to question the man now, before he left, but otherwise the only real move they had was to get him as far away as possible from that crowd of reporters in the lobby.
    â€œFine.” Though she agreed to the plan, she still wasn’t happy as they returned to the other room.
    â€œI suppose I’d better get back out there,” Ephraim said in his deep voice, still eyeing the milling crowd on the screen. Looking at Walter, he added, “Are you sure you don’t want us to call the police?”
    â€œNope. We’ll handle things in here ourselves. But thanks anyway.”
    Nodding, Ephraim headed to the main security door that led to reception. As soon as he swung it open, the noise of the crowd came rushing in.
    â€œSounds like the vultures are circling,” Lou said as the door fell closed behind him. “I don’t get it. Why is this turning into such a big deal? Adele’s been dead for