‘All of them did their own except Clarion,’ Diamond told them. ‘She isn’t used to stage make-up, so she got help.’
‘Do we know the understudy’s name?’ Halliwell asked.
‘Gisella Watling.’
‘She’ll be one of the cast, as like as not,’ Ingeborg said. ‘Understudies usually have a small part in the play, ready to step in when necessary.’
‘Done some acting, have you?’ Halliwell said.
She gave him a sharp look. ‘No, I was a critic.’
‘A
‘If you’re a journo, as I was, it’s a good way to get complimentary tickets.’
Diamond steered them back on track. ‘There are four women in
‘So there it is,’ Ingeborg said. ‘Our understudy has a dressing room of her own. How about this? Before the show, while Clarion is being made up, this Gisella calls at the number one dressing room to wish her luck and switches the foundation so that Clarion gets a faceful of vitriol.’
‘What’s that?’ Halliwell asked.
‘Sulphuric acid, but I wasn’t speaking literally.’
Halliwell exchanged a look with Diamond. Sometimes Ingeborg was too clever by half. ‘The motive being…?’
‘Ambition,’ Diamond said. ‘Acting brings it out in people. They all want the star role.’
‘It’s a vicious way to get it.’
‘I’m sure the damage was worse than Gisella intended,’ Ingeborg said. ‘She didn’t think it would disfigure Clarion for life.’
‘Before we pin it on the understudy, let’s think who else could be a suspect,’ Diamond said. ‘Do we know anything about Clarion’s personal life?’
‘Don’t look at me, guv,’ Ingeborg said. ‘I’m not a fan and never was.’
‘But you know where to look?’
‘On any newsstand. She’s one of those celebs with a paparazzi following.’ She gave a shrug and a smile. ‘Okay, I should have seen that coming. I’ll do a profile.’
‘Some rival singer could have got to her,’ Halliwell said.
‘Would they bother?’ Diamond said. ‘I get the impression her career was on the skids.’
‘A crazy fan, then?’
‘The problem with these suggestions is that the rival or the fan would have to get backstage before the show. Not impossible, but it’s much more likely it was an inside job – someone who could get past the stage-door keeper without being challenged.’
‘Plenty of people work backstage,’ Ingeborg said. ‘It isn’t just the actors. The director, for one.’
‘Hedley Shearman.’
‘He’s the theatre director. I meant the director of the play. Sandy someone.’
‘Block-Swell. Sandy Block-Swell. He wasn’t even there on the first night. After the dress rehearsal he said he was certain everything would be all right, and he pissed off to Hollywood to direct a film.’
‘Sod you lot, I’m all right.’
‘Apparently he’s like that. But you’re right, Inge. We need to find out who was around on the night it happened.’
‘I sense a job coming my way,’ Halliwell said.
They knew Diamond’s methods, these two. He shook his head. ‘Not a job exactly. We don’t have a case yet.’
‘Call it what you like, guv, it amounts to the same thing.’
‘More like a perk than a job. If you happen to be free this evening I’ll treat you to a theatre visit, the pair of you.’
‘Me and him?’ Ingeborg said, turning pale. Keith Halliwell was at least twenty years her senior, and married. She had an image to keep up.
‘What’s wrong with that?’ Halliwell asked.
She didn’t say. She’d already thought of a get-out. ‘Can we get tickets as late as this?’
‘They won’t be hard to come by, with all the returns,’ Diamond said. ‘Aisle seats at the back if possible, leaving you free to move about.’
‘It isn’t just a chance for her to date me, then?’ Halliwell said, with a superior look at Ingeborg.
‘What do you think?’ Diamond said. ‘Before the show, test the security backstage. See if you can enter by the stage door. Failing that, there’s a way down from the royal circle. I want to know which dressing rooms are in use and where everyone is.’
