plan his murder?”
“I didn’t plan anything. You’re out of your senses.” Nora turned in her seat to call to the policemen. “You, you’re officers of the law. Protect me from this lunatic.”
“You made someone steal the gun for you.” Thalia carefully omitted Anton’s name. She was grateful for his help in particular and the Ostrova family in general. Anything she could do to protect him from the interest of the police, she would. “You knew how the rifle worked because Von Faber made you take care of his, along with all his other props. You cleaned it. You kept it in working order.”
“That’s true,” said Officer Kelly. “The stagehands told us that.”
“Was it hard to sabotage?” Thalia persisted.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave me alone,” Nora snarled.
Thalia pressed on. “Was it hard to squeeze that trigger?”
“I don’t have to listen to this.” Nora sprang to her feet. “I’m leaving.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. You’re guilty of murder.”
“You’re guilty of slander,” Nora retorted. “You’d say anything to clear that creepy Sylvestri friend of yours.”
Thalia took a position that focused the spotlights and the attention of the audience on her face as she revealed the jeweler’s file she’d stowed in her sleeve for just this moment. “This is the tool you used, isn’t it? I found it in your makeup box.” Thalia did her best to let the light catch the drab object. “Small. Easy to hide. I knew it would be. I knew just what to look for. That made it easy for me to find.”
As Thalia had sent Freddie Ostrova out to purchase a new file for this performance, it didn’t surprise her when Nora sneered. “No! That’s not the—”
What did surprise her was that Nora Uberti blushed as she bit off her retort, a blush so powerful that she looked as if she’d been scalded.
“That’s not the one you used?” Thalia inquired mildly, still pretending to admire the little file. “Perhaps you’d better sit down again. I think the policemen want to talk to you.”
Indeed, there were policemen on either side of the young woman now. While the unspoken end of her sentence could have been anything at all, even the dullest pair of ears in the audience had caught something false in Nora’s tone. Even the least interested pair of eyes in the audience had seen that blush. A response that strong could not fail to suggest shame or guilt.
“She’s lying. This is slander.” Nora Uberti kept her head. “It’s a trick! Let me go. I want a lawyer.” Nothing in her words admitted guilt. Everything in her manner did.
Thalia watched the police officers take Nora Uberti into formal custody. She wondered if the young woman would ever confess to her crime. That was up to the policemen and the lawyers now. Thalia was no dime-novel detective. She hadn’t accumulated circumstantial evidence proving Nora’s guilt. She’d only assembled props and told a lot of lies. It was just a performance.
Every performance requires a grand finale. Thalia took her position in front of the mirror box and clapped her hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention, please? As the mystic powers have revealed the truth about Von Faber’s death, David Nutall has been cleared of all suspicion. Thus I shall restore him to you,” lied Thalia.
The policemen began the process of removing their new suspect. As they moved her toward the exit, Nora Uberti raged at them, but tears of anger shook her words into sobs.
Thalia carried on with her act. By now, Nutall would be well away. Thalia had done what she could to clear him of the murder charge. The authorities wouldn’t pursue him, although his Sylvestri kin would demand she bring him back. Aiding and abetting Nutall’s escape would put Thalia on the spot, no question. But she owed it to Nutall to do all she could to help him, no matter the cost to her.
With a flourish, Thalia opened the front panel of the mirror box: empty. She spun the box on its axis to bring the back panel around and release it. The view through the empty mirror box impressed no one. Thalia stood tall just the same. Time to face the Sylvestri music. “Alas, even I cannot always command the mystic powers. I regret—” Thalia faltered, distracted by a familiar figure ensconced in the last seat on the left in the back row.
Nutall sat there smiling at her as if nothing at all were amiss. Thalia knew that smile.