Theater of the Crime (Alan Stewart and Vera Deward Murder Mysteries Book 6) by

Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Tigress Publishing
Published: 2015-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

14

Behind the Paramount Theater Ben unlatched the police padlock on the rear stage door and held it wide for Vera and Alan to enter. They’d brought their own flashlights but didn’t need them at the moment. The chain and lock St. Laurent had bolted the door with on the inside lay in a pile near the door, apparently removed by the fire department when securing the scene. The trio climbed the flight to the back of the stage and dressing rooms.

“Let’s start with the props and we’ll walk you through what we saw the last time we were here,” said Ben to Vera.

Ben switched his flashlight on and pointed it at the open casket. Alan caught himself checking for the body, although he knew the coroner had removed it the day of its discovery. Ben pointed out the release mechanisms for the coffin’s escape door.

Vera shook her head but then nodded, working something out internally. “I don’t think that there’s any way that two guys could lift a dead body and stuff it inside the coffin post mortem, which obviously means the Champ and I must have witnessed the murder, which isn’t exactly a first for us, but let’s not go there.”

“That’s how I figure it,” said Ben.

Vera glanced around the stage, at the second coffin on the floor in which Yvette had been trapped, shoved against a wall. “Has anything been moved or removed from the scene since you were here last?” she asked.

Alan shrugged and checked with Ben, who did the same. “Not so we’ve noticed,” he said, “but I don’t think we can be sure.”

“I can’t figure out the need for the magician to have Yvette hide in another coffin after she escaped the first one,” said Vera. “What purpose did that serve?”

“Other than to keep her from watching the rest of the act... ” said Alan.

“Possibly, but that’s about all I can get out of it,” said Vera. “And then I suppose if you want to have her die in the fire, you push the box against the wall.”

“Makes me wonder if she knows something the killer didn’t want her sharing with us,” said Alan.

“That or he wanted to tie up his loose ends,” said Ben, “or throw us off track.”

“So what’s this Otis Elevator device look like?” asked Ben.

Vera shook her head. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one, but I’m not seeing anything that looks familiar.”

Alan put a lone finger up in front of his mouth, giving the quiet sign. “Did you hear something?”

Ben and Vera shook their heads. “Like what?” she asked.

“Animal sounds and movement.”

“If it’s rats,” said Vera, “I hate goddamn rats!”

“Vera?” said Alan, still holding the quiet sign while he softly crossed the stage.

Vera picked up a sword from near the coffin and felt the blade’s edge. “This is as dull as a Herbert Hoover speech, but I can club rats to death with it,” she whispered.

Alan stopped in front of a collapsible stand with a black cloth draped over it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.