Equally, Clarion’s killing required special knowledge, the news that the injured star was secretly visiting the theatre. Really only three people knew in advance. Others may have worked it out for themselves after the “ghost” was sighted, but the killing didn’t have the feel of a last-minute decision. The murderer had come prepared with the airtight killing bag and chosen the short span during the interval when the curtain was lowered and most of the audience were outside. A muffled cry of distress from the box hadn’t been noticed. He or she had left unseen, probably by the rear door. It was hard to imagine one of the actors having committed the murder on the spur of the moment and then going back on stage for the second half.
Realistically, Shearman, Melmot and Binns were the prime suspects. Binns wasn’t on the staff, but it was his job to patrol the building and he knew the security codes and could come and go at will.
Reassured that he’d drawn the net as tightly as he could, Diamond looked into the CID room again. ‘Anything I should be told?’
‘Keith just called from the theatre a minute ago,’ Ingeborg said. ‘He said to tell you about a fourth suspect.’
Telepathy seemed to have been at work here. Galvanised, he said, ‘Who’s that?’
‘Kate, the wardrobe lady. Like the others, she knew Clarion was on her way to the theatre the evening she was killed.’
‘She didn’t.’
‘Talk to Keith, guv.’
‘Has he been talking to her?’
‘No. To Hedley Shearman. They’re close, those two.’
‘I’ve seen how close. Did he say any more?’
‘It sounded as if he was still with Shearman when he was speaking. He couldn’t talk freely.’
‘I’d better get down there.’
‘Would you like someone else to go?’ Ingeborg asked in a tone that was almost motherly.
He felt a rush of blood. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘In case you’re needed here.’
They both knew what she was on about. She was the sharpest observer on the squad.
He told himself by now he was over the paranoia or whatever it was that afflicted him each time he visited that theatre. Familiarity breeds confidence. Peter Diamond, detective superintendent, head of CID, scourge of the luvvies, would show them how to make an entrance.
‘I’m needed there and I’ll go,’ he said.
He took his car, left it on the double yellow line outside, took a deep breath, crossed the pavement and… felt the first wave of nausea. Nothing had altered. If anything, it was worse. He stopped like a beast smelling blood at the slaughterhouse door.
Ridiculous.
Another gulp of air and he forced himself to go in.
There was a notice saying all performances had been cancelled until next week. The foyer was empty, the box office closed. He could turn round and leave. No one would know.
Instead he gritted his teeth, took the security card from his pocket and pressed the keys that admitted him to the royal circle. Inside it was darker than usual. Only a few side lights were on. He heard voices from the bar and one was Halliwell’s. Thank God he wouldn’t need to look into the auditorium.
Keith was in there seated across a table from Shearman. ‘Are you okay, guv? You look pale.’
‘Bit breathless. Out of condition, I expect.’
‘Why don’t you sit down?’
He pulled up a chair. ‘You left a message, something about Kate.’
Shearman twitched and looked away.
‘That’s right,’ Halliwell said. ‘Talking to Mr Shearman I discovered that she knew Clarion was in the theatre last evening.’
‘How is that?’ Diamond said, turning to Shearman. ‘You told her?’
The little manager scraped his fingers down the side of his face, leaving white marks. ‘I’m sorry. It was stupid of me.’
‘You tipped her off about Clarion’s visit?’
‘I wouldn’t put it like that.’
‘When? When did you tell her?’
‘During the first half.’
Halliwell said, ‘Kate and Mr Shearman were at it in the wardrobe room.’
‘Shagging?’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Does this happen every night and twice on matinee days?’
‘It’s not like that,’ Shearman said, blushing. ‘She’s been through a hugely difficult time and so have I. There’s no law against it.’
‘What exactly was said?’
‘I said I couldn’t stay long with her because I’d need to go up to the box during the interval. First of all I said it was a VIP I was taking care of, but of course she wanted to know who, and in the end I weakened and told her.’ He paused, and then emphasised each word with his forefinger. ‘She had nothing to do with Clarion’s death.’
‘Where is she now? Here in the theatre?’
He shook his head. ‘She left earlier, after your man finished his search of wardrobe. She has nothing to keep her here.’
‘Tidying up would be good. Wardrobe was a mess when I saw it.’
‘Her heart isn’t in it anymore.’
Diamond leaned closer to him. ‘So why did you lie?’
‘To protect her. It’s no secret now that she and I are close friends. I didn’t want her treated as a suspect, put through the mill, as some of us have been. She’s no murderer.’
‘Do you know where she’s gone?’
‘Home, I expect. She lives in Warminster, but I hope you’re not going to trouble her there. You’d be wasting your time. I’m sure she’s innocent.’
Diamond turned to Halliwell. ‘Didn’t we ask everyone to stay in contact?’
He nodded.
‘We have a phone number. Try it.’
Halliwell took out his mobile and dialled. ‘Nothing. She’s switched off.’
Diamond cast his thoughts back to the interview he’d had with Kate shortly after Denise had been found dead, the obvious coolness, if not open hostility. She’d used the phrase ‘tough as old boots’ about her colleague and said she was ‘calm as a lake in heaven’ when going off to attend to Clarion’s make-up. He’d questioned how anyone could be calm if they were about to smear caustic soda on another woman’s face and Kate had said he’d have to work that out for himself.
He said to Shearman, ‘I picked up some tension between Kate and Denise.’
‘Did you?’ he said, as if it didn’t surprise him. ‘I wouldn’t make too much of that if I were you. Denise came under Kate’s supervision in the wardrobe department, but she’d worked here for six years, rather more than Kate had. There was bound to be some professional awkwardness.’
‘Kate didn’t seem too cut up about Denise’s death.’
‘I expect she was putting a brave face on it. A terrible thing like that takes people in different ways.’
‘Maybe. Just now I commented that wardrobe was a mess and you said her heart wasn’t in it. What did you mean by that?’
Shearman hesitated. ‘Oh, I was talking about the dreadful things that have happened. It’s enough to sap anyone’s morale.’
Smart answer, but not convincing, Diamond thought. ‘Going by the state of the place, it didn’t get like that in a couple of days.’
‘I’m sure the disorder is more apparent than real. She knows where everything is – or she did until your search party turned the lot upside down.’
Diamond hadn’t been swayed by the manager’s defence. Kate was definitely in the frame now. Her strong dislike of Denise had been obvious all along. She’d portrayed her as tough, calm and so indifferent to Clarion’s scarring that she could well have inflicted it. Coming from a colleague, that was quite a character assassination. It wasn’t beyond her to have lured Denise upstairs, slipped her the drug and pushed her to her death to fake the suicide. Working so closely with Denise, she would be familiar with her signature and well able to forge the note. Up to that point everything seemed to be going to plan. Then she’d found out that Clarion was making this secret visit to the theatre. Did alarm bells go off in her head – that Clarion had worked out the truth and was coming to confront her or even expose her as the killer? How simple to have picked up one of the many plastic bags in wardrobe and gone to the box and suffocated Clarion.