She said in a more serious voice, ‘If you think I had anything to do with Clarion’s accident, you’re mistaken. Just because I was understudying doesn’t mean I wished her any harm.’
‘Have you noticed how cool it is in here?’ Titus said with a look at Diamond heavy with significance. ‘Unnaturally cool, I mean.’
‘I haven’t complained,’ Gisella said. ‘I like it.’
‘It’s always cool, even in a heatwave,’ Titus said. ‘No one has ever explained why.’
More supernatural hokum, Diamond decided. Ghost-hunters were always going on about drops in temperature.
‘Do you see the handbag?’ Titus said.
‘Where?’ Diamond said, all attention.
‘Behind you on the wall.’
He swung around, and was disappointed. Framed in a glass case were a bag and a pair of gloves.
‘They belonged to one of the most exquisite beauties ever to grace the stage,’ Titus said. ‘Vivien Leigh. The room is named in her honour. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that she is the visitor here.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Gisella said. ‘She died at least forty years ago.’
‘Precisely.’ Titus gave Diamond another piercing glance.
The room’s spectral possibilities didn’t impress Diamond at all. He was more interested in Gisella’s unease at having a policeman in her room. ‘You said you wished Clarion no harm. Was she a friend?’
‘In the sense that we’re all in the same company,’ she said. ‘We got along well. Most people here are friendly, some over-friendly.’
‘A certain theatre director?’ Titus said.
She gave a shrug that seemed to answer the question.
‘He was with you when you spotted Denise’s body,’ Diamond said, wanting to hear her account.
‘Yes, I knew what was going on. He was cosying up to me on the strength of some nice reviews I’d got. Men of his sort aren’t subtle. He offered to show me the theatre mascot, that butterfly in the wings, and I could feel him pressing against me as I looked up. He was taking advantage for sure. The old, old story of a man thinking he has power over a woman.’
‘Has he tried it on since?’
‘Not yet, but I’m sure he will. I watched him trying to hit on Clarion last week when we were in rehearsal. She brushed him off like some ugly little insect. It creased me up.’
‘Did you know Clarion before you were picked for this play?’
‘I knew of her. Doesn’t everyone? But we’d never met.’
‘You must have met her in rehearsals.’
‘Sure. She shared all the director’s notes with me and showed me the moves, as you do with an understudy. And we practised lines together.’
‘Was she nervous?’
‘A bit. Well, a lot, actually, even though she wouldn’t admit it. You see, it was years since she’d done any acting. Our director, Sandy, kept telling her she was marvellous and heading for a huge success, but then he left us all to it after a far-from-smooth dress rehearsal and flew out to Hollywood.’
‘He couldn’t be bothered?’
‘I wasn’t going to say so, but yes.’
‘That was my impression, too,’ Titus said. ‘Sandy came with a reputation for looking after number one.’
‘You’re the beneficiary,’ Diamond said to Gisella. ‘You stepped up, grabbed the opportunity and got rave reviews. Just about everyone else came off worse: Clarion, Denise, the rest of the cast, looking forward to a long run, the management, facing a possible lawsuit.’
‘So I got lucky,’ she said with a defiant stare. ‘In this job, sweetie, you take whatever chance comes your way.’
There was a simmering resolve to this young woman. Four days had turned her from a bit-part actor into a leading lady
– with attitude. ‘Have you heard from Clarion since you took over?’ Dia
mond asked.
‘Clarion has bigger things to worry about than me.’
‘Why don’t you move to the number one dressing room?
It’s better than this.’
‘It was offered, but I still think of that as hers. This is perfectly serviceable.’
‘Cold,’ Titus said.
‘It’s not midwinter. I told you it doesn’t bother me.’
The reason didn’t ring true to Diamond. Here was a deeply ambitious actress turning down the star dressing room. Was there something about this less salubrious room she was reluctant to leave behind? It was furnished for
