‘So do you recall any hostility while you were rehearsing?’ Diamond asked. ‘I’m thinking of others besides the actors. Anyone from the management down to the stage hands?’
‘If there was any bad feeling, I didn’t pick it up.’
‘Let’s talk about Monday evening,’ he said. ‘You arrived at the theatre at what time?’
‘Before five. I went to my dressing room and sat going over my lines until about a quarter to six. Then I changed into my first costume.’
‘Was the dresser there?’
‘Denise? She came later with the clothes. She had to collect them from wardrobe. There are six changes between scenes.’
‘What time did she turn up?’
‘When she said she would. About forty-five minutes before curtain up.’
‘Did anyone else come in?’
‘There were two or three interruptions from call boys delivering bouquets from well-wishers.’
‘Certain flowers can cause allergic reactions, can’t they?’ Diamond said, more to Ingeborg than Clarion.
‘Oh, come on, I didn’t bury my face in them,’ Clarion said. ‘I think I’d know if they were responsible.’
Ingeborg showed by her expression that she, too, thought the flower theory was garbage, so Diamond abandoned it. ‘You’d met Denise before?’
‘Never.’
‘In rehearsal.’
‘I see what you mean.’
‘She made you up for the dress rehearsal the previous day?’
‘Yes.’
‘And did your face react then? Any discomfort?’
‘None whatsoever. And I didn’t notice her doing any different on the opening night. She brought her box of colours and brushes with her. She cleansed my face of day make-up and then put on a thin layer of moisturiser followed by the foundation and the highlights and the liners for the eyes and mouth and so on. I felt no discomfort.’
‘What cleanser did she use?’ Ingeborg asked.
‘Cold cream and astringent, she told me. It all felt normal.’
‘What make was it?’
‘How would I know that, for Christ’s sake? I was thinking about my lines.’
‘Then what? The moisturiser?’
‘Didn’t I just tell you? The stage make-up feels dry without it.’
‘And the foundation? Cream or pancake?’
‘Cream in cake form. She applied it with a sponge. She told me she was experienced and I’m sure she was.’
‘So there was this delay before you felt your face burning,’ Diamond said. ‘How long?’
‘Between twenty minutes and half an hour.’
‘You were all right until you got on stage?’
‘Perfectly.’
‘This is the mystery,’ he said. ‘If we’re right in assuming the make-up damaged your skin, why didn’t it happen in the dressing room when it was being applied?’
‘Slow-acting,’ Clarion said.
‘We’ll get advice on that, but I’ve got my doubts.’
Her glare could have drilled a hole through his head. ‘You can doubt all you want. I’m left with a face like a fire victim and there’s no doubting that. I’m suing for loss of earnings and disfigurement and you won’t stop me.’
7
Glarion hadn’t endeared herself to Diamond. He sympathised with her injury and understood her anger at the probable loss of her looks and career. He also knew no member of the public welcomes being questioned by the police. Even allowing for that, she’d come across as hostile and unappreciative of the need to get to the truth. She obviously thought her lawyers and her private security people were better placed to take care of her interests. Almost every statement she’d made had been barbed with reproach. But it’s impossible to put yourself in the place of someone who’s had such a shock, he told himself, trying to be charitable. Easier to feel sorry for the dead victims he usually dealt with. They weren’t capable of striking attitudes.
‘Back to Bath now?’ Inge said, to jog him out of his silence.
‘Not yet. Call Bristol police and ask them to supply a roundthe-clock guard for her.’
