INGRID DOWS - AN ALTERNATE STORY PART 2 - THE JET AGE by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital

When Hedy and Katharine were allowed in Ingrid’s hospital room by the two FBI agents guarding its door, they found their friend awake but looking tired. Still, Ingrid was able to paint a genuine smile on her face at their entrance, with Katharine then speaking first.

10 FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigations. The U.S. law enforcement agency in charge of combatting kidnappings, interstate crimes, terrorism and foreign espionage threats.

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‘’How are you this morning, Ingrid?’

‘’I’ve felt worse before but I also felt better. I told my doctor to cut to the minimum the doses of painkil ers he is administering to me: I hate losing control of my mind.’

‘’And what is the prognostic for your arm, Ingrid?’’ asked in turn Hedy.

‘’That no permanent damage was done and that I should be able to pilot again in two or three months. However, I believe that I will be able to recuperate much faster than that. Doctor Shapiro told me that I should be able to leave the hospital, once my stitches will have been removed.’

‘’And then what? Someone tried twice to kil you already. Security at Howard’s mansion will have to be seriously reinforced. The FBI may even insist on providing you with bodyguards.’

‘’I proved already that I can defend myself, Hedy. I will just need to be more cautious from now on. But enough about me. What is happening with Howard’s body?’

‘’It is presently being autopsied at the LAPD medico-legal department but I don’t expect them to find anything more than what is already obvious.’

Ingrid’s face then turned most sober and she was silent for a moment before speaking in a sad voice.

‘’Poor Howard. He was such an exceptional man. What will happen now to his companies? He had thousands of people working for him, our Air Fifinella personnel among them.’

‘’He had already made me the assistant to his CEO, Noah Dietrich, three months ago.’ answered Hedy. ‘’I will thus continue to help managing his affairs until further notice, while you certainly could continue building and organizing our Air Fifinella network. Howard would have wanted that.’

‘’Indeed! But what about the legal aspects of his businesses? Quite a few people would be ready to do about anything to grab control of his assets and money.’

‘’Well, good luck to those leeches, Ingrid. I know that Howard rewrote his last will recently and I called his personal notary this morning to have it read in front of us, along with a legal assessment of how solid it would prove in front of a court and of what challenges could possibly be made against it. However, with no living close relatives, I doubt that anyone will have a leg to stand on to dispute Howard’s last will. His notary is due to come here tomorrow morning, with us present, to read to us Howard’s testament.

Oh, one last thing: here is the morning copy of the Los Angeles Times. Not too surprisingly, the attack against us made the front page. We also bought a copy of one of

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the more popular rag sheets in L.A., which published photos taken by those photographers last night.’

Taking first the copy of the Los Angeles Times, Ingrid read the front-page article talking about the attack at the Chinese Theatre, which featured a large picture showing Ingrid on the ground and bleeding but also firing her pistol, with part of Howard’s inert body also visible. There were as well smaller pictures showing the assassins’ burning car and one showing Ingrid, sitting on a bench while holding a blood-soaked handkerchief over her wounded arm. As for the article itself, it mostly covered the various speculations about the motives and possible perpetrators of the attack.

‘’Well, this wil definitely stay on the front pages for a day or two, especially if the medias learn about the second attack against me here at the hospital. At least, the L.A.

Times didn’t go into ghoulish details or innuendos.’’

‘’Wait til you look at the copy of the Daily News.’ replied Katharine, who then handed her a copy of the tabloid newspaper to Ingrid, who was immediately incensed by the multiple pictures splashed on its front page, accompanied by a shocking title in bold letters.

‘’Howard Hughes vs the Mafia? Where did they get such bullshit? And they didn’t have the decency to cover Howard’s dead face in that big picture. We should sue them!’

‘’I definitely have that in mind, Ingrid.’’ replied Hedy. ‘’I hate to think of what that rag will publish once the second attack against you will become public knowledge. I know that the F.B.I. wants to keep that particular story confidential but someone in this hospital is bound to be ready to sell that news to the highest bidder.’

‘’I am afraid that you are correct about that, Hedy. I do have a favor to ask you at this time. Could you find out if the policeman who was killed at the Chinese Theatre last night had a family? If he had, I would like to give a donation to his family to help it go over his loss.’’

Both Hedy and Katharine nodded their heads in approval at her request, with Hedy answering Ingrid.

‘’We certainly can do that, Ingrid. How much would you like to donate?’

‘’Twenty thousand dol ars, taken from my personal bank account. If that cop had young kids, then I would like to see them be able to attend college.’’

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Both Hedy and Katharine were stunned by that figure: it easily represented over six times the average annual salary of an American family, which stood at 3,200 dollars in 1948. Hedy then got close to Ingrid’s bed and bent over her to kiss her on the forehead.

‘’Ingrid, I like the fact that you are a generous girl, on top of everything else you are. I will find out about that dead police officer and will bring to you your checking booklet tomorrow, when we will visit you with Howard’s notary. In the meantime, rest as much as you want: with two F.B.I. agents watching your door, you should be able to sleep in peace.’

‘’I hope so! See you again tomorrow then, girls.’

While Hedy then kissed again Ingrid on the forehead, Katharine kissed her on the lips before the two of them left the hospital room.

10:09 (California Time)

Monday, September 27, 1948 ‘C’

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles

When Hedy and Katharine returned to visit Ingrid at the hospital, they were accompanied by two mature men in their fifties, each carrying a briefcase, attracting cautious looks from the two F.B.I. agents guarding the door of Ingrid’s room. Katharine raised both hands to appease the federal agents.

‘’Don’t worry, guys: these are Howard Hughes’ notary and his top accountant.

They are going to brief us on Howard’s last will. Uh, may I ask a question to you, guys?

Why don’t you use at least one female agent to guard Ingrid’s room? It would be more appropriate when Ingrid would go to, say, the bathroom, no?’’

‘’Logically, you are right, Miss Hepburn,’’ answered the senior agent, ‘’however Director Hoover fired all our female agents the moment he became the head of the F.B.I.

We stil don’t have any women agents in our force.’’

That answer obviously didn’t please much Katharine, who exchanged a look with Hedy.

‘’That Hoover sounds like a fine asshole to me, Hedy.’

‘’Indeed! But let’s forget about him: I am anxious to hear what is in Howard’s last will. Guys, we will need at least half an hour of quiet and intimacy. If a doctor or nurse show up, ask then to come back later, please.’’

‘’Wil do, miss!’

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The senior agent then opened the door to let the group enter, then closed it back behind them and took back his position to the right of the door. His partner, a junior agent with only a few years of service, then whispered to him.

‘’It sounded like those girls didn’t know yet what is in Hughes’ last will, Jack.

Whoever benefits, it will be a huge chunk of money for that person or persons. Some people were kil ed for much less in the past.’

‘’True! You can be certain that, when the rag sheets will learn about the content of that last will, you will then hear the craziest conspiracies and assumptions you can think of.’

Inside the room, the four visitors found Ingrid half-sitting in her bed and listening to soft classical music from a radio on her bed stand. Hedy went to her and kissed her gently on the cheek before speaking.

‘’Ingrid, we brought with us Mister Robert Balmer, Howard’s notary, and Mister Samuel Strauss, Howard’s top accountant and financial expert. Are you ready to hear what is in Howard’s last wil ?’

‘’Hell yes! Uh, don’t you know already what is in it, Hedy?’’

‘’Me and Katharine insisted to Mister Balmer that we would learn together, the three of us, at the same time. It was Mister Balmer who suggested that Mister Strauss come with us.’

‘’Alright! Let’s hear it!’ replied Ingrid, who already expecting what was to come due to Balmer’s wish to bring Strauss with him. ‘’I will go stand next to the window, so that Mister Balmer can use my bed to spread his documents on it. And thank you for coming, Mister Balmer and Mister Strauss. Thousands of employees working for Hughes Enterprises must be anxious to learn what wil happen to Howard’s companies.’

‘’They indeed are, Miss Dows.’ replied Balmer before opening his briefcase and taking out of it a few documents, putting some on the bed while giving one document each to Ingrid, Hedy and Katharine.

‘’The document you now have in your hands is a copy of the original will recently modified by Mister Hughes, which I will read aloud to you. I will ask you to wait until I finish its reading before you ask any question, ladies. First off, when Mister Hughes asked me to modify his last will two months ago, he said to me that there were no other persons than you three whom he admired, loved and respected more than you. At least

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as importantly, he also said that he trusted you completely and considered you three to be both completely honest persons with great empathy and respect for others.’’

‘’Wow! I feel quite humble on hearing that.’ said Hedy, making Balmer nod his head.

‘’But he truly believed what he said about you three, misses. Wel , here we go: while I wil skip the legalese, I wil read the main points of Howard Hughes’ last will. As he had no living close family relatives and was not married, with no children claimed to be from him, Mister Hughes didn’t have any obvious person as a beneficiary in his earlier version of his last will. Instead, he was ready to have his industrial assets continue on under the management of his then board of directors, while much of his money held in bank accounts would have gone to various charity organizations. Then, he met you three in the past few months and decided that you were worthy of continuing his dreams about the future of aviation in the United States. Now, here is the crucial point of this new last will: he is giving to the three of you, in equal parts, all of his assets, properties, shares and the content of his bank accounts. He further specifies that he is giving you full control of his companies and properties, under one condition: that you ensure the continued existence of the Hughes Enterprises. Specifically, he wants Miss Dows to become the head of the Hughes Aircraft Company, while he wants Miss Hepburn to become the head of his new helicopter division and of the newly formed Air Fifinella Company. As for Miss Lamarr, he is naming her as overall owner and manager of his industrial and financial empire. Ladies, each of you is now a billionaire.’

Ingrid, Hedy and Katharine were understandably left stunned by this but kept quiet as Balmer then invited Samuel Strauss to brief them on the financial situation of Howard’s empire. The head accountant looked soberly at the three young women as he handed to each of them a thick file.

‘’What I am giving you now is a copy of the last official financial statement listing Mister Hughes assets, properties, market shares and bank accounts, along with their performances and market values. I will not read what you have in your copies of that financial statement but will simply resume its content in a few statistics. In terms of the market value of the various companies operating under Hughes Enterprises, they are presently worth 2.3 billion dollars in physical assets and financial market shares. Added to that are a total of 528 million dol ars’ worth of properties and land holdings, plus the content of a number of bank accounts presently totaling 691 million dollars. Those bank accounts were used by Mister Hughes to provide funds for paying his employees, pay

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his taxes, procure new resources and equipment and also to benefit regularly a selected list of charity organizations. All in all, you now control a fortune worth three billion, five hundred and nineteen million, ladies. When people said that Howard Hughes was the richest man in American, they were right, ladies.’’

The three young women exchanged bemused looks for a moment, having a hard time believing their luck, before Hedy Lamarr asked one question to Strauss.

‘’Did Howard have any outstanding debts, Mister Strauss, either officially or unofficially?’’

Strauss immediately understood what she was alluding to and answered her in a reassuring tone of voice.

‘’Mister Hughes always paid his suppliers and employees on time and didn’t have any back taxes owed. He also never let organized crime figures push him around and was incorruptible in that aspect. While he was quite a womanizer, there are presently no women but you three who have any legal right to claims to his fortune.’’

‘’What about inheritance taxes?’ asked Katharine Hepburn. ‘’Should we fear to see a good part of his assets cut in order to pay local, state or federal inheritance taxes?’

‘’A good question, actual y, Miss Hepburn. Be reassured, though: his industrial assets are safe in this aspect. As for his properties and land holdings, there will be a small percentage of their values to be paid as succession, while the content of his bank accounts will also be hit by succession fees. Overall, you may end up paying around 300 million dollars to various local, state and federal governments. I can help you in reducing that amount to a minimum, legally of course, by using a few rules and regulations in your favor.’

‘’And when could the content of this last wil be implemented and translated into transfers of assets, money and financial control, Mister Strauss?’’

‘’That can all be done this week, miss. Me and Mister Balmer will start producing the necessary documents this afternoon and will call you when time will come to sign them.’

Ingrid then looked at Hedy to ask her a question.

‘’What did you find about that police officer kil ed at the Chinese Theatre, Hedy?’’

‘’Officer John Reed was married and had two small children, aged respectively three and five. You still want to make a donation to his widow and kids?

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‘’Yes, I do, and I stil want to take 20,000 dol ars from my personal bank account for that purpose. Mister Strauss, how fast could you cut a cheque for 100,000 dollars out of Howard’s bank account, to be given to the family of the police officer kil ed while defending us?’

‘’How about right away, miss? As Mister Hughes’ trusted financial advisor, I have signing authority for sums of up to a quarter million dollars. He signed himself for bigger sums. I have to commend your compassion and generosity, Miss Dows. Did you have some specific arrangement in mind in order to help that widow and her two kids?’

‘’Yes, Mister Strauss! I wanted to use part of my 20,000-dollar donation to be put into a scholarship fund for her two kids, so that they could eventually go to college. Now that we have access to more money, I will use my own money for that scholarship fund and will use 100,000 dollars from my portion of Hughes’ accounts to establish a lifelong savings account to help Agent Reed’s widow to support her family.’

Both Balmer and Strauss looked at her with renewed respect, with Strauss nodding his head.

‘’I wil be happy to arrange this for you, Miss Dows. I see that your reputation of honesty and compassion is fully earned. I will be most honored to continue serving under you and your two friends.’’

Ingrid then looked at Robert Balmer, her expression most serious now.

‘’I believe that all three of us will need your continued services, Mister Balmer, especially in my case: the way I am pursued by assassins, I may be in a hurry to remake my own last will, just in case they eventual y succeed.’

15:11 (California Time)

Friday, October 15, 1948 ‘C’

Hollywood Forever Cemetery