Tramp

U.S. Marshall and Wyoming social register refugee Lilly Bennett takes a behind-the-scenes look at the world of regional theater in her third romp, after Curtsey. Multimillionaire theater patron Cyrus Vaile, a nonagenarian, privately tells Lilly he suspects that $20 million of the funds behind his pet project, the Roundup Repertory Company, have been displaced. In front of the assembled company, he announces that Lilly's the newest member of the board of directors. Then he drops dead. Suspicious about his death, Lilly requests an autopsy. While acquainting herself with the company's personnel at the annual meeting, she hears from the pathologist that Cyrus may have been poisoned. Almost immediately, she is trapped in a fire in a theater office. Lilly juggles her investigations into Cyrus's death and the arson with her god-daughter's wedding and her own tumultuous love life--wondering, as more company members die, if someone is seeking revenge or hopes to close the company. Kellogg backs up Lilly's outspoken manner and spontaneous good will with the comparable delights of her supporting cast and, setting them all in the highly structured social milieu of wealthy cowboy country, offers swift, satisfying entertainment. (Sept.)