“It’s all right, Mrs. Hough. I’ll be here with you,” Logan said. “I promise you I’ll see to your safety and that of your son. So will the officer in the hall. The sheriff has work to do.”
“This man—he’s going to watch all of us?” Jennie asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I’ll be here. With all of you,” Logan assured her.
Sloan tipped his hat to Logan, smiling—and grateful that Jane had called her Krewe and that Logan had come.
“We’ll find the truth.” He met Zoe’s eyes. “I guarantee it.”
“Now, don’t you hurt that boy!” Jennie called as he turned to leave.
“No torture, Jennie. I promise,” Sloan said, making an effort not to smile.
At last he was out the door. He called the office and Scotty, the night desk deputy, picked up.
“I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” Sloan told him.
“Okay,” Scotty said. And then, “Why? What’s up?”
“To interrogate Brian Highsmith. He’s there, right?”
“No. In fact, no one’s here. I came into an empty office, which was pretty surprising, but I chalked it up to the end of Silverfest. There was a note from Betty saying she’d had to run out. But she isn’t here now.”
“Call in our troops. Tell them to start looking for Betty’s patrol car. She left the hospital with Highsmith. Find her car. Find Betty—and Highsmith!” he said. “I’m on it myself—”
He broke off, swearing. He was still about a mile from Main Street in Old Town.
And there was Betty’s car, run off the road.
He pulled his own car to the side and wrenched open the door. There was no sign of Betty in or near the patrol car.
Nor was Brian Highsmith in back.
A trail of blood trickled through the sand. Sloan followed it, his heart pounding, until it disappeared.
15
Silverfest had quieted down. There were still a number of vendors around and Desert Diamonds seemed to be doing a decent business, along with the saloon and the spa. There was a group heading out for a night ride, Jane noticed, but Heidi wasn’t leading it—two young men of about college age seemed to be doing it. The haunted hayride was getting ready to roll, as well.
Jane saw Henri Coque in front of the Gilded Lily, out on the street giving a lecture on the history of the theater in the United States, while Cy Tyburn and Valerie Mystro—dressed in hero and heroine attire—were chatting with people on the street. She didn’t see Alice anywhere...and she wondered if any of them knew that Brian had been arrested.
“Best time ever to sneak in,” Jane told Kelsey.
The bar and restaurant had yet to open. There weren’t even any kitchen workers in the old theater; there was nothing but dead silence when Kelsey and Jane walked in.
It felt strange, almost eerie.
“Want to check out the rooms upstairs while everyone else is outside?” Kelsey asked.
“Sure,” Jane agreed. “If they aren’t all locked.”
“The master key is in Jennie’s room. I found it last night,” Kelsey said. “I’ll grab that.”
“Good find!”
They didn’t need to search the Sage suite, nor Jennie’s room, since Logan and Kelsey had stayed in it. They entered Brian’s. Anything he might have taken—such as the dueling pistols that had disappeared from Jane’s bed—wasn’t there.
But they were equally disappointed as they went through the rest of the rooms. The pistols didn’t turn up, nor did any notes, remnants of gold, hidden gold—or even gold jewelry.
“Let’s try the theater,” Jane suggested.
Downstairs, Kelsey admired the stage. “It’s a remarkable place, really,” she said.
“We should move quickly. The company will be coming in soon,” Jane warned.
“What’s Henri going to do? He’ll be missing a villain tonight,” Kelsey said. She was sorting through the props on the table, then looked at Jane. “Hey, I think I just found your dueling pistols.”
Jane walked over to the prop table. The pistols were there, in plain sight. She picked up one and then the other, handing both to Kelsey.
“Blanks,” she murmured.
Kelsey nodded. “You’re sure there was live ammunition in one of them?” she asked Jane.
“I’m sure—and Sloan still has the live rounds.”
“So, I guess Brian was trying to kill Cy. But...why?”
“Because he’s the hero? Because he gets the girl?” Jane shrugged. “Although, while he admits he set up the skull, he denies wanting to hurt anyone. According to Sloan, Brian was just trying to get out of the room without being seen.”
“Should we check the dressing rooms?” Kelsey asked.
“Let’s go.” She led Kelsey through the various rooms, showing her where Sage McCormick’s body had been found.
As they walked to the next room, Jane saw something on the floor. Bending down, she touched the fresh, wet stain.
She looked up at Kelsey.
“Blood,” she mouthed.
Kelsey drew her gun and Jane did the same. Kelsey counted silently to three, then nodded at Jane. Jane threw the door open.
On the floor, as if he’d fallen while clutching the rack of costumes, lay a man in a pool of blood and fallen fabric.