Stagestruck

13

‘Talc, pure talc, and nothing else.’

‘That’s a pain. I thought we were getting somewhere.’

Diamond, Halliwell and Leaman had returned from their liquid lunch to find DC Paul Gilbert waiting in the CID room to report on the contents of Denise’s box of powder. It wasn’t the result anyone wanted to hear.

‘I could have had my feet up watching a film last night instead of standing in a car park kidding myself we’d found solid evidence.’

Young Gilbert hung his head as if he was personally res ponsible. ‘But we can use this,’ Diamond said, more in charity to the young cop than real confidence.

Gilbert looked up. ‘Can we?’

‘If Denise’s talc was harmless, how did Clarion come into contact with the caustic soda?’

‘It can’t have been accidental,’ Halliwell said, picking up the point. ‘We’re talking about a dangerous substance with all kinds of warnings on the container. Someone was hell-bent on damaging Clarion’s face. If Denise didn’t do it, who did?’

‘I can name some people with an interest in stopping Clarion.’ From across the room, Ingeborg said, ‘We’ve been over this, guv, and we got nowhere.’

‘Yes, but since we spoke I’ve met some of these characters.’

‘The understudy?’ Ingeborg said without enthusiasm.

‘Only four days into the run and already behaving like the prima donna. Clarion’s misfortune is Gisella’s big break. Very little sympathy there and huge ambition. For some reason,

though, she hasn’t moved into the star dressing room.’

‘Feels safer where she is?’ Halliwell said.

‘Could be as simple as that.’

‘Now she’s got the part, she doesn’t want to get unpopular with the rest of the cast, lording it over them?’

‘I can believe that, too. I pointed out that she’s the only person to benefit from Clarion’s exit from the play.’

‘What did she say to that?’

‘Basically, that actors ride their luck and take any chance they get.’

‘Doesn’t she understand she’s a prime suspect?’

‘She rules out foul play. They all do.’

‘That’s actors for you,’ Halliwell said. ‘Turn their backs on real life and put on a show.’

Diamond didn’t comment. He’d started on this update and he meant to complete it. If Ingeborg showed signs of disenchantment, the entire team needed firing up. ‘I also met the male lead, Preston Barnes, after he punched the theatre director on the nose.’

‘Punched him? What for?’ Ingeborg said, all interest again.

‘For allowing John Leaman to search his room this morning. Barnes had things to hide. Turns out he’s a junkie.’

‘Really? What’s he on?’

‘Methadone, he says. He needs a fix before each performance.’

‘But is he also a suspect? Why would he want to hurt Clarion?’

‘Maybe like me she saw the state of his arms and worked out what he’s doing to himself. He’s fearful of anyone in the theatre finding out.’

‘But where’s the logic in damaging her face?’

‘To be shot of her. She’s not going to give any more thought to his drug habit. She’s out of it now.’

‘I suppose.’ She didn’t seem wholly convinced.

Undaunted, Diamond moved on. ‘Another one in the mix is Hedley Shearman, him of the bloody nose, who incidentally is quite a goer. I opened a door and saw him having it away with Kate, the wardrobe mistress.’

‘Before or after the punch-up?’ Leaman asked.

‘The night before, during the play.’

‘A lot of it goes on behind the scenes,’ Ingeborg said, speaking as the ex-journo.

Even so, her inside knowledge prompted a few smiles.

‘Did they know you saw them at it, guv?’ Halliwell asked.

‘No.’

‘What did you do, shut the door?’

‘Not immediately. I had to make sure it was consensual, didn’t I? And it was. They’re still good friends. Kate patched him up this morning after he was hit. But I was speaking of motives. Shearman claims he was railroaded into having Clarion in the play. He was sure she’d flop and he’d take the blame.’

‘Who railroaded him?’

‘Francis Melmot, chairman of the board of trustees. Melmot is a Clarion fan. He came up with the idea of using her in a play and got the board on side. Met Clarion for lunch and invited her to stay at Melmot Hall.’

‘Get away,’ Halliwell said with relish. ‘Did she go?’

‘She did, for a couple of days, he said.’

‘Couple of nights.’ Halliwell got a laugh for that.

‘I wouldn’t count on that,’ Diamond said. ‘There’s a domineering mother living there.’

‘He’s a mummy’s boy at his age?’

‘Mummy is quite the duchess. I wouldn’t care to cross her.’

‘Then she wouldn’t be troubled by bourgeois values,’ Ingeborg said. ‘Upper-crust mothers positively encourage their sons to get laid.’

‘Is Melmot seriously in the frame?’ Halliwell asked.

‘He must be,’ Diamond said.

‘He’s a fan, you said. What’s his motive?’

‘It became obvious in rehearsal that Clarion was going to screw up. She was no Sally Bowles. His own reputation was on the line. He had to find a way of stopping her.’

‘By scarring her?’ Ingeborg said with disbelief. ‘What sort of fan is that?’

‘Might I venture an opinion?’ a voice said from close to Diamond, reminding him of things he’d been trying to forget. Sergeant Dawkins in his leather jacket and jeans had blended with the team.

‘Go ahead.’

‘Regarding the fun and games.’

‘I don’t think I mentioned fun or games.’

‘Rightly so,’ Dawkins said, and nodded as if that ended the exchange.

‘Fred, if there’s something you want to say, out with it.’

‘There are ladies present.’

There was a sharp intake of breath from Ingeborg.

‘“Fun and games”,’ Dawkins said, ‘is a euphemism.’

‘For fuck’s sake, Fred,’ Ingeborg said. All the good will he’d earned with her had just drained away. ‘Do you mean sex?’

‘In a word, yes.’

‘Say it, then.’

Dawkins tugged the leather jacket more tightly across his front. ‘What if those nights in Melmot Hall didn’t turn out as Mr Melmot hoped? If the’ – he paused – ‘sex was unsatisfactory, or a disaster, he may have panicked that Clarion would tell everyone and he’d be a laughing-stock.’

No question: this new man brought fresh thinking to the team.

‘Good point, Fred,’ Diamond said. ‘It’s true she didn’t stay long.’

‘Perhaps he didn’t.’

‘Didn’t what?’

‘Stay long.’

‘What?’

Halliwell said, ‘It’s a joke, guv.’

‘Is it? Oh, I get you.’ Not many in CID had caught on.

Leaman said, ‘Those are our suspects, then?’

‘For my money, yes,’ Diamond said.

‘What about the gay guy?’

‘Titus?’

‘He knows his way around the theatre.’

‘He would. He’s the dramaturge. Advises on the scripts, or something like that. Yes, he goes backstage. He’s toured me round a couple of times. What are you driving at, John? You think Titus had a motive?’

‘I don’t know about a motive. He had the opportunity for sure if he can come and go without anyone asking what he’s up to.’

‘Agreed, but I can’t see why he’d want to damage Clarion’s face.’

Leaman backed down. ‘Just me thinking aloud, guv.’

‘No harm in that. I doubt if Titus has it in him to do anything like this. He’s full of stories about spooks, but when he saw a dead butterfly he passed out.’

Now Ingeborg thought it was worth pursuing. ‘As someone who cares about the theatre, he could have decided to stop her.’

‘But not like that.’

‘You don’t think he’s capable of it?’

‘Don’t get me wrong, any of you,’ Diamond said, ‘but I have some respect for Titus.’

No one in the room had any doubts about the big man’s sexuality and no one sniggered. Yet there was a moment of awkwardness that lasted until Dawkins cleared his throat.

Diamond turned to him. ‘You want to say something else?’

‘It popped into my head… guv.’

‘What did?’

‘A thought.’

Everyone waited. They were getting used to the slower delivery of this new man. He sometimes made sense, given a hearing.

‘The box of talcum powder in Denise’s bag was harmless.’

Diamond nodded.

‘But the fact remains that Clarion’s face was damaged by caustic soda.’

‘Correct.’

Ingeborg drummed her fingers on the desk in impatience.

Dawkins was not to be put off. He was into his stride now.

‘What if there was a second box?’ Diamond frowned. ‘There wasn’t, not in her bag.’ ‘A box she used for last-minute powdering, when Clarion was waiting to go on, one she kept in the wings on some ledge where she could reach for it when needed? It could still be there.’

‘Possible, I suppose,’ Diamond said, weighing the suggestion. He and Ingeborg had watched the young girl Belinda brushing the actors’ faces and she’d said Denise had been there the first night. ‘Yes, definitely worth checking. Inge, you can take this on.’

‘Now?’ Ingeborg asked.

‘Sooner the better. And take Fred with you.’

Her eyes doubled in size. Insubordination threatened. She’d already done more than her share of mothering Dawkins.

But the man himself was ecstatic. ‘You’re sending me?’

‘Yes, but keep a low profile. Leave the talking to Ingeborg. Any problem with that, Inge?’

She said with an effort at control, ‘No, guv.’

Galvanized, Dawkins was already making for the door.

After they’d left, Halliwell said, ‘He’s keen.’

‘Keen to get out of here, anyway,’ Diamond said. ‘Well, people. How has it been? Busy this morning?’

One of the civilian staff spoke up. ‘A number of phone calls. Sergeant Dawkins handled them.’

‘In his inimitable style, no doubt.’

‘There was one message from the Assistant Chief Constable.’

‘Georgina? He didn’t say.’

‘It’s logged.’

‘What do you mean – logged?’ He had a mental picture of felled trees.

‘Stored in the system. I believe the ACC wants to speak to you.’

‘Why didn’t someone tell me before this?’

‘If you look at your in-box, sir, you’ll find Sergeant Dawkins marked it as priority.’

‘My in-box? He’s got a tongue in his head. He was here until a few minutes ago.’

‘I think he may be shy.’

‘Have you seen the suits he wears? Shy he is not.’

The blood pressure soared to a dangerous level. It was a good thing Dawkins had left the building.

In her eyrie on the top floor, Georgina was in a benign mood when Diamond entered and muttered an apology about not responding sooner.

‘It isn’t urgent, as I thought I made clear to Horatio.’

He was thrown by the name. He had to dig deep to recall who Horatio was and when it came back to him, he wasn’t thrilled. How was it that the so-called shy man, Dawkins, was on first-name terms with the Assistant Chief Constable?

Georgina was thinking of other things. ‘All the trouble at the theatre – did you get to the bottom of it?’

‘Not yet, ma’am,’ he said. ‘It’s more complex than I first thought.’

‘The suicide?’

‘I’m not a hundred per cent sure it was a suicide.’

Her eyebrows lifted like level-crossing gates.

‘She left no note,’ Diamond said.

‘I expect she was too distressed. People with suicide in mind aren’t always so organised.’

‘And we haven’t been able to prove a definite connection with the caustic soda incident. We’re still working on it. Denise Pearsall doesn’t seem to have had any grudge against Clarion.’

‘I’m not sure I’m following you,’ Georgina said. ‘Are you suggesting she died by accident?’

‘I’m wondering if she jumped at all.’

‘Now you’ve lost me altogether.’

‘She may have been pushed.’

Georgina blinked. ‘I can’t think how.’

‘Neither could I until this morning when I had another look backstage. Foolishly I’d assumed she climbed a ladder to get up to the loading bridge. Today I learned there’s a way onto it from the second floor.’

‘Is that significant?’

‘It is if someone wanted to murder her. Much simpler than climbing a vertical iron ladder.’

‘Murder? Peter, are you serious?’

‘There’s a dressing room up there, just the one, not in use in the present play. I found clear evidence somebody was in there recently. It would make a useful base for anyone intending to ambush her.’

Georgina let him know she would need a lot more convincing. ‘It’s far more likely she went in there herself prior to taking her own life.’

‘Even so, I’m having the room checked by a scene of crime team.’

‘You’re reading a lot into this.’

‘I want to know who was in there and why.’

‘What would be the point of killing Denise? She was a nice woman, from all I heard, respected by people in the theatre.’

‘I know.’

‘And she’d struggle with an attacker, surely. There would be marks on her body that would be obvious in the post-mortem. Was anything mentioned by the pathologist?’

‘No, but there was alcohol in her system.’

‘She may have taken a drink to get her courage up.’

‘Or someone gave her a cocktail of drink and drugs.’

‘Drugs were present as well?’

He cleared his throat. ‘That’s speculation on my part. We won’t know until the blood is tested.’

‘And if, as I suspect, the results are negative?’

‘I’ll look at the possibility of more than one killer being involved.’

Georgina clicked her tongue. ‘This is in danger of becoming an obsession, Peter.’

‘If you remember, ma’am, you got me started on this.’

‘Only because I could see the theatre being closed down. That seems less likely now, even if Clarion sues.’

‘Do I sense that you’d like to call off the hounds?’

She looked away, out of the window. ‘No, you can finish the job. I’m more confident than I was.’ She turned to face him, eyes shining more brightly than her silver buttons. ‘I was chosen last night for Sweeney Todd.’

‘Nice work, ma’am.’ He couldn’t resist asking, ‘What part are you playing?’

‘Not one of the principals. I have the voice, but as a newcomer to the BLOGs, I can’t expect a major role this year. I’ll be strengthening the company.’

In the chorus, in other words. ‘And it’s to run at the theatre?’

‘The third week in September. Rehearsals have been under way for some time. I’m joining late.’

‘Where do you rehearse? Not in the theatre?’

‘No, we don’t have the use of it yet. Our rehearsal room is a church hall.’ But she took his enquiry as a pledge of interest. ‘Do you sing, Peter?’

He laughed. ‘Like a corncrake.’

‘Well, if you wanted – if you were looking for a way to get involved – you could be an ancillary.’

‘What’s that?’

‘One of our back-up people, using whatever talents you possess, designing the programme, making props, painting scenery. There are jobs galore.’

‘Theatre isn’t my thing.’

‘Fair enough. I only mentioned it in passing. Living alone, as you do, you might want to join something outside the police.’

If I do, he thought, it won’t be anything you belong to.

‘Horatio doesn’t do any singing,’ Georgina added, ‘but we couldn’t stage a production like Sweeney without him.’

There was a pause for thought.

‘Dawkins?’ he said, feeling the blood flushing his face. ‘Sergeant Dawkins is in the BLOGs?’

‘Hasn’t he told you? He’s our movement director. All the action sequences are co-ordinated by him. Dances, fights, stunts, swordplay.’

‘Movement director?’ His head reeling, Diamond was reduced to echoing her words.

‘He’s a trained dancer, you know.’

‘He told me that much. How long has he been doing this?’

‘Before I joined.’

Now it was revealed why Fred Dawkins had been plucked from the uniformed ranks and foisted on CID. He’d got to know Georgina through the BLOGs and worked his ticket. What a shaft.

‘I know exactly what’s going through your head,’ Georgina said, ‘and I have to tell you I moved him into CID on merit. He impressed me long before I joined the BLOGs. In fact, I’m surprised you hadn’t spotted him.’

‘I knew him,’ Diamond said. ‘He stood out.’

‘He’s a rising star.’

‘Risen.’

‘Don’t mistake his slow speech for woolly thinking. He’s got a quick brain. You need to be sharp to choreograph an entire show like Sweeney.’

‘He’s sharp, all right.’

She was missing all the irony. ‘You can safely send him off the building on an operation. I gather he’s frustrated being confined to barracks.’

‘Has he been complaining to you, ma’am?’

She backtracked a little. ‘It may have been mentioned in passing. He’s too gifted to be on the end of a phone all day long. Let him off the leash and I predict he’ll not let you down.’

‘He’s off the leash right now, making another search of the theatre with Ingeborg Smith.’

‘Splendid. If anyone can get results for you, Horatio will.’

He’d heard as much of this as he could take. ‘Is there anything else?’

On his way downstairs he forced some perspective into his thinking. Nothing fundamental had changed. He was still stuck with Dawkins and he’d have to give the man a chance. Everyone works the system and there were infinite ways of doing it. Fred hadn’t joined the BLOGs to cosy up to Georgina. He was already installed there. He’d got lucky and cashed in. Who wouldn’t have?