Page 74 of Murder By Misdirection

Shaut hung the garment bag on a rickety standing rack and put his briefcase on the small ledge that was built into the wall below the mirrors. It was obviously to be used for makeup, but instead Shaut opened his case and began to arrange the contents.

The case was sectioned off into little squares, each one containing a different prop or accessory. He had added a sheet of foam on the lid, which kept everything in place and protected the contents in transit.

Pro could see props reminiscent of her own childhood, things she saw Max carry in a small case he’d bring to events. Several different sized red balls made of sponge, a plastic thumb, a flesh colored crescent moon-shaped object with a pencil lead, small enough to fit under one’s thumbnail.

Shaut took things out one at a time, did some simple preparation, and then unzipped the garment bag and extracted his jacket. He began to place objects in the pockets, and a wad of fake fifty-dollar bills into a clip that hung down the back of the suit.

“Mister Shaut, if you don’t mind, I’m going to check the perimeter,” Pro said.

“Hmm?” Shaut said, without looking up as he was focused on his tasks. “Very well, I’ll be right here.”

She stepped out into the hall and looked to her left, where several doorways were emblazoned with different numbers.

Next to the hall were stairs to the stage, and another set of stairs that went up to a second floor. She quickly climbed them and was on a small balcony that had a pair of bathrooms. There was also a hallway with closed doors but no lights on. She looked to see if any light came under the door, but they were all dark. She decided they were extra dressing rooms, if the theater had a show with a large cast.

She returned to the first floor, stepped into Dressing Room Two, and pulled out her papers from the attaché she had brought.

Going through the stack, she pulled out the translated message that had troubled her. It had been from Wednesday of last week, so only two days before the murder of Albert Floss. In pen she had written the number and the words above it. It read:

Deal is close

Trouble

Must keep one ahead

Of TM

It was something about the phrase that kindled something in her memory. Bad enough she had to crack that Houdini code and count out all the words, but now the message had another meaning that she was unsure of.

The door burst open and Sam Lovell came into the room, which made her rise to her feet. He carried a small suitcase and had a garment bag hanging on a strap from his shoulder. He looked up to see Pro, as she stuffed the pages away.

“Oh! Sorry, luv, didn’t know anyone would be ‘ere,” he said.

“Quite all right, Mister Lovell,” Pro said as she gathered her papers. “By the way, my partner checked your alibi for Friday. Your sponsor vouched for you.”

“Just like I said.” He gave a lopsided grin that showed off his crooked teeth.

“By the way, I heard from…someone that you were very close with Mister Mystique.”

The smile vanished. “From ‘ooja ‘ear that?”

Now it was Pro’s turn to smile. “Around. I was just wondering how much truth there was to the rumors.”

“Look, Michael was me friend, that’s all. Anyone says anything else, it’s all lies.”

“I see.” Pro considered her words carefully. “Do you know of any reason someone would want him dead?”

“Look, Mike ‘ad a thing about money. ‘E was right greedy. If ‘e ‘eard there was a score going down, ‘e’d try to muscle in on it. If you ask me, that’s what got ‘im done in.”

”Well, thank you, that’s very helpful. I was just leaving,” Pro said and slipped past the lanky magician to go out the door.

She continued down the dark hall and opened the door to Dressing Room Three to see Adrian Novack, aka Adrianna Gray, in nothing but a bra and panties, trying to curl her hair with a large electric curling iron.

“Oh hey, detective, c’mon in,” Adrian said with a high-spirited voice when Pro tried to back out. “But shut the door. I don’t want the boys to see the goods if they ain’t buying, ya know what I mean?”

Pro, not seeing a way to gracefully escape, stepped into the room and quietly closed the door. The third dressing room was remarkably similar to the previous two. Peeling paint, numerous shelves with discarded relics, and the under mirror ledge, Adrian had spread out equipment and also makeup.

“How are you, Miss Gray?” Pro attempted to sound cordial.

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