I barely had time to register this when I was set upon by my friends.
“Molly, you scoundrel. How could you keep it from us that you were in the play?” Sid shouted over the tumult. She pretended to shake me.
“We nearly died of shock,” Gus added. “It was all I could do to stop Sid from shouting out your name. You were awfully good.”
“I didn’t have to do anything,” I said. “Just stand there.”
“But you stood there so well.”
“And guess who we found in the audience?” Sid said excitedly, then stepped aside to reveal Ryan O’Hare.
“Molly, my dearest, what can I say?” He stepped forward to kiss my cheek. “If only I’d known that a great thespian lurked beneath that delicate little bosom, I’d have hired you for one of my plays long before now.”
“You and your blarney, Ryan.” I laughed as we moved out of the crush of the crowd.
Flashbulbs were still going off and the smell of sulphur hung heavy in the air while smoke curled around us. I heard one of the girls—Connie, I believe—saying loudly, “And it almost struck me. I was lucky to get away with my life.”
“So I take it you haven’t managed to unmask the ghost yet,” Ryan said. “I must admit that ghostly toppling of the pillar was rather spectacular.”
“Is that why you were there?” Sid asked. “You were hired to find the ghost?”
“Exactly.”
“And do you believe there really is one?” Gus asked. “Have you seen it? Sid and I were dearly hoping to. We’ve always wanted to see a ghost for ourselves, haven’t we, Sid?”
“Absolutely. I must admit it was rather exciting—the pillar crashing down in full view of everyone, just missing Miss Lovejoy! We were agog, weren’t we, Gus?”
“My dears, I was positively terrified,” Ryan said. “Unlike the rest of you I can’t abide ghosts. I grew up in a haunted castle and I hardly slept a wink until I was sent to boarding school. I’d stare at the wall all night to make sure it wasn’t coming through into my room.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry, because I don’t think this is a ghost,” I said. “I believe that someone is out to get Blanche Lovejoy.”
“Who do you think it is?” Sid whispered as she drew me out into the crowded street beyond the alley.
“I have no idea.” I glanced around to see if anyone could overhear us. “Each time it has happened, nobody has been spotted nearby. We’ve been able to account for the movements of practically everyone, except for the producer and the choreographer, but they wouldn’t be backstage during production. And if they were, they’d have been noticed. I’ve now witnessed three of these strange tricks and it’s still a complete mystery to me.”
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Lily getting into a hansom cab with a young man. Then I noticed that the young man was Mr. Roth. I hoped she knew what she was doing. I’d have to ask her all about it tomorrow.
“Come on, Molly, we’re taking you for a late supper at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.” Sid took my arm. “We’re meeting our friend Elizabeth, who is really you-know-who. She was in the audience tonight. I know she’s dying to speak to you again, and to hear what’s happening with the girl in the snowdrift.”
We climbed into a cab and off we went.
It was a merry evening and I came home after midnight to find Mrs. Tucker sound asleep in my armchair. My girl was sleeping equally peacefully upstairs. I didn’t have the heart to send my nursemaid home in the middle of the night so I brought down blankets to cover her, then went to bed. I woke in the morning to the smell of fresh coffee. Mrs. Tucker was up and bustling around my kitchen.
“Comfortable chair you’ve got there,” she said, not looking up from making toast. “I slept like a baby. How’s she doing today?”
“I haven’t looked in on her yet. I came down to see who was making coffee.”
“I’ve got the tray ready to take up to her,” Mrs. Tucker said.
I opened the bedroom door for her then hung back as she went inside. The girl sat up as Mrs. Tucker came in, and then, to my astonishment, she smiled. As Mrs. Tucker had predicted, good old-fashioned loving care was breaking through before science could.
“We’ll have you up and around and talking away nineteen to the dozen, won’t we, my pet?” Mrs. Tucker asked as she sat on the bed beside her.
She had just finished eating and Mrs. Tucker was carrying down the tray where there was a knock at the front door. It was Daniel. He came in, waving a newspaper. Giant headlines proclaimed GHOST STRIKES THEATER STAR WHILE HUNDREDS WATCH IN HORROR.
“I’ve been reading about the near disaster at the theater last night so I came round to see that you are all right.”
“I’m fine, thank you. Come on in and have some coffee,” I said.
“Wonderful. Thank you.” He removed his hat and placed it on the hall table. “I must say I’m relieved to find you unscathed. What a strange business. Presumably you didn’t catch the perpetrator?”
“I rushed backstage as soon as it happened. The stage hands were standing there and they saw nobody.”
“Could it have been one of them?” he asked.
“I don’t see how. They were all standing together. Anyone who pushed a pillar would have been noticed.”
“Unless they were all in it together,” he suggested.
“Why would they want to do it? What motive could they have?”
“Someone was paying them well enough to risk it? Someone wanted your leading lady out of the way—someone who was not connected to the theater, maybe, and wanted to make it seem as if it was a theater vendetta.”
“That’s not a bad thought,” I agreed.
“I was a detective once, you know,” Daniel said.
“I’ll go to see Blanche today and find out if anyone outside of the theater might carry a grudge against her.”
“I thought I might go back to New Haven and talk to the theater people there,” Daniel said. “I believe I’ve covered all bases with your Jewish bachelor.”
“We’ve both covered all bases,” I said, “and another thing I have to do today is to inform the family that hired me that they do not want Mr. Roth marrying their daughter.”
“Why would you say that? What possible reason can you have? The man is a paragon. Do you think she would die of boredom?”
“He’s a paragon who hangs around theater stage doors with a reputation of ‘playing rough,’ as one girl put it. I saw him outside the Casino last night.”
“Good God,” Daniel said. “I’d never have thought it of him. Are you sure it was he?”
“Oh yes, and he went off in a cab with the chorus girl who is most generous with her favors.”
“Well, I never.” Daniel shook his head. “So you’ve concluded one case, at least. Now you just need to find a theater ghost and the whereabouts of JJ Halsted.”
“How are we ever going to do that, Daniel? Presumably the police across the country have been alerted to be on the lookout for him.”
Daniel thought for a minute. “Well, if I were running the case, I’d work outwards from the car. We’ve tried local farmhouses and we’re pretty sure he didn’t hide out there. So where is the nearest station? Did anyone see him getting on a train in the morning? And if he had the loot with him, how did he carry it? Silver isn’t particularly light.”
“Right.” I nodded appreciatively.
“And probably carriers have a regular route up and down that stretch of road. I’d ask if Halsted could have hitched a ride with any stage going into the city. And then it might be worth checking the steamship companies and finding out if anyone matching Halsted’s description booked passage to somewhere like South America.”
“This is all presupposing that he’s guilty,” I said.
“Then give me another explanation.”
“I can’t.”
“Then we have to assume that something drove him to act in a way that was completely uncharacteristic for him—debts or drugs. And assuming he’s guilty, the next step is to see if he has fled the country.”
“You’re hired for the job, Daniel,” I started to say when there was another loud knock at my front door. This time it was Dr. Birnbaum, who came in waving a letter.
“We’ve had our first reply to my second advertisement,” he said. “It looks promising, I think.”
He handed me the letter.
I started to read.
Dear Sirs:
We saw your advertisement regarding a young woman called Annie who might be missing from home. One of our dancers, Annie Parker, failed to turn up at the theater last week and we have had no communication with her since. Her fellow dancers suspect she may have run off with a young man.
H. Goldman
Goldman’s Theater
New Haven, CT
“New Haven, Daniel,” I shouted in glee. “She’s the girl who ran off with Halsted! I told you I suspected it, didn’t I?”
“Let’s go upstairs and see if we can jog her memory,” Daniel said, already heading for the staircase.
Birnbaum held up a warning hand. “This must be done cautiously and correctly. Do you realize that your bursting in and confronting her with her past might push her over the edge into permanent insanity?”
“Very well, Doctor,” Daniel said, turning back to me. “We’ll let you handle it.”
Dr. Birnbaum nodded gravely. “I should like to work more with her today, but I regret that I am expected at a hospital. I just stopped by to give you the news.”
“Thank you for coming, Doctor,” I said.
He gave a curt little bow in reply. “Before we take that next step it might be wise to know that we indeed have the girl from New Haven here, and it is not just a coincidence that the girl’s name is Annie. I suggest you ask the theater owner for a picture of his missing Annie before we attempt any communication with our young woman.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ll write him a note.”
“And I must take my leave.” Dr. Birnbaum headed for the front door.
“I was planning to go up to New Haven myself today,” Daniel said. “I’ll take the letter, if I may, and talk with the theater manager. Do you have time to come with me, Molly?”
I was going through a whole range of emotions. Relief that we might have found out who our Annie really was mingled with less noble feelings of indignation that Daniel seemed to be taking over my case, and suggesting I come along as his assistant.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Let me see. I have to be at the theater by five. I wanted a chance to speak with Blanche Lovejoy before that, and I suppose I should visit the Mendelbaums to let them know what I’ve discovered.”
“The Mendelbaums can wait,” Daniel said airily. “This is the crucial moment in this case. You said you wanted to learn pointers from me about how a detective handles things and one of the rules is to always follow up on the vital clues yourself. I don’t mind going to New Haven alone, but . . .”
He left the rest of the sentence hanging. I was now absurdly out of sorts. In fact I almost considered saying that I had changed my mind and nobody was going to New Haven. It was only the knowledge that Annie was lying upstairs that brought me back to reality and logic. Nothing mattered except getting that girl safely back to where she belonged.
“You’re right,” I said. “The Mendelbaums can wait. It’s not as if the wedding is to take place tomorrow. But I do want to speak with Blanche so I have to be at the theater early. After what happened last night I want to double-check everything before the curtain goes up. And maybe persuade the stage manager to station men at all viewpoints backstage. We’ve got to stop this nonsense.”
“And if it turns out to be a ghost?” Daniel grinned.
“Then I’ll call in the exorcist from the church, and leave them to it,” I said.
“You’d give up the chance to be a star?” Daniel was still teasing and, I suspect, a trifle annoyed that I was currently doing something so frowned upon by polite society.
“If you knew how terrifying it is to go onstage in front of hundreds of people,” I said. “All right, Daniel. I suppose I can fit all this into one day if we leave right away. Can you stay on, dear Mrs. Tucker?”
“I suppose I could,” she said grudgingly. “You certainly can’t leave that precious lamb alone.”
“Then run upstairs and get your hat and coat, Molly. We’ve a train to catch,” Daniel said.