29
Birgitta Undresses
SOMEONE MUST HAVE lubricated the fan. It was whirring blithely without a sound.
‘The only person the officers in the car saw coming out of the back door was this black executioner figure, is that right?’
McCormack had summoned everyone to his office.
Watkins nodded. ‘It is, sir. We’ll have to wait to hear what the performers and the caretakers saw – they’re being interviewed now. Either the murderer was in the auditorium and got in through the open stage door or he entered by the back door before the police car was in position.’
He sighed.
‘The caretaker says the back door was locked during the performance, so in that case the murderer must have had a key, been let in or have sneaked in unnoticed with the performers and then hidden somewhere. Then he knocked on the dressing-room door after the cat number while Otto was getting ready for the finale. He probably drugged him – the boys in Forensics have found traces of diethyl ether – let’s hope so anyway, either in the dressing room or afterwards in the props room. Whatever, the bloke must be a real cold-hearted bastard. After cutting him up he takes the severed sexual organs, returns to the dressing room and turns on the taps so that anyone trying to get hold of him would hear water and think Otto was having a shower.’
McCormack cleared his throat. ‘What about this guillotine? There are simpler ways to kill a man . . .’
‘Well, sir, I would guess the guillotine was a spontaneous idea. He could hardly have known it would be moved to the props room in the interval.’
‘A very, very sick man,’ Lebie said to his nails.
‘What about the doors? They were all locked, weren’t they? How did they get into the props room?’
‘I spoke to the caretaker,’ Harry said. ‘As troupe leader Otto had a bunch of keys in his room. They’ve gone.’
‘And what about this . . . devil’s costume?’
‘It was in the box next to the guillotine, with the loose head and the wig, sir. The killer put it on after the murder and used it as a disguise. Also very cunning. And hardly likely to have been planned.’
McCormack rested his head in his hands.
‘What was that, Yong?’
Yong had been on the computer while the others were talking.
‘Let’s forget the devil in black clothes for a while,’ he said. ‘Logic tells us that the killer’s someone in the troupe.’
Watkins snorted loudly.
‘Let me finish, sir,’ Yong said. ‘We’re looking for someone who knows the show, so he knew that Otto didn’t have any more to do after the cat number and therefore wouldn’t be needed onstage until the finale, about twenty minutes later. A member of the troupe wouldn’t have had to sneak in, either, which I doubt an outsider would have managed unobserved. Presumably at least one of you would have noticed if he’d used the door at the side of the stage.’
The others could only nod.
‘Anyway, I’ve checked, and discovered that there are three other members of the troupe who were in the Australian Travelling Show Park. Which means that this evening there are three other people who could have been at the crime scenes we discussed on the relevant dates. Maybe Otto was simply an innocent who knew too much? Let’s start looking where we have a chance of finding something. I suggest we kick off with the troupe instead of a phantom of the opera who is probably over the hills and far away already.’
Watkins shook his head. ‘We can’t ignore the obvious – an unknown person who leaves the scene of a crime wearing an outfit stored beside a murder weapon. It’s impossible for him not to have anything to do with the murder.’
Harry agreed. ‘I think we can forget the other actors in the troupe. First of all, nothing’s changed the fact that Otto may have raped and killed all the girls. There can be a whole host of reasons for someone wanting to murder a serial killer. The individual may be involved in some way, for example. Perhaps he knew Otto was going to be arrested by the police and didn’t want to risk a confession and being dragged down in its wake. Second, it’s not certain the murderer knew in advance how much time he had – he may have forced Otto to tell him when he would be onstage again. And third, listen to your feelings!’ He closed his eyes. ‘You can feel it, can’t you? The guy in the bat costume is our man. Narahdarn!’
‘What?’ said Watkins.
McCormack chuckled. ‘Seems as if our Norwegian friend has stepped into the void left by our very own Detective Kensington,’ he said.
‘Narahdarn,’ Yong repeated. ‘The Aboriginal symbol of death, the bat.’