Wanting Sheila Dead(63)

“Do you honestly think they have clips of the murder?” Grace said. “If they had those, they’d have given them to the police.”

“They did,” Ivy said. “At least, Olivia Dahl let the police take something out of the security camera in the study. I saw them. You know, this whole thing could be over in a day. Maybe the camera got a picture of it.”

“The camera doesn’t point that way, does it?” Grace asked. “I thought it was aimed at the door. It wouldn’t see anything that happened in front of the fireplace, would it?”

“It might catch the reflection in the mirror,” Ivy said. “And the mirror’s funny anyway, didn’t you notice?”

“Funny how?” Grace said.

Ivy shrugged. “It’s tilted, I think. I didn’t get much of a chance to really look at it. But it had to be tilted, because I could see the body in it when I was standing at the door, and the only way I could do that is if it was tilted a little ways down. That Gregor Demarkian noticed it, too. I saw him.”

“I think Janice noticed it,” Mary-Louise said. “I think she said something—”

Grace brushed it all aside. “Even if the mirror was tilted, I don’t see what difference it would make. Maybe it just is that way. Things don’t always hang straight. If you leave anything hanging on a wall for long, it’s more likely than not to become messed up one way or the other.”

“I think it’s terrible to think of it,” Mary-Louise said. “That girl. I wonder what she was doing out of jail. I thought they’d arrested her.”

“They did arrest her,” Grace said. “I saw it in the newspaper. They do bring the newspapers in here every day for a reason. You could look at them.”

“Well, if they arrested her, I don’t understand why she was out,” Mary-Louise said. “And I don’t understand why she was here. I mean, how did she even know where the house was? This house, I mean. It’s not like it was a hotel, you know. It’s a private house. Did the show put the address on the Internet or something?”

“I don’t think they’d do that,” Ivy said.

“Exactly,” Mary-Louise said. “So what was she doing here? And how did she get here? And why is she dead, come to think of it. I mean, she shot at Sheila Dunham, that I understand, but today somebody must have shot at her, and none of us even know who she is.”

“It’s like a murder mystery,” Suzanne said. “I hate murder mysteries. Murder, She Wrote and all that kind of thing. They’re really boring.”

Grace got off the bed. “Well, if there really was camera footage, then the police will look at that and know who was in the room. And that will be that. I don’t really care who she was.”

“I heard Olivia Dahl tell the police and Gregor Demarkian that she wasn’t a contestant. A former contestant, I think I mean,” Ivy said. “Anyway, nobody remembers her turning in an audition tape or anything like that.”

“You mean she just came in out of the blue and decided she wanted to kill Sheila Dunham?” Mary-Louise said. “Maybe just from watching her on television? That’s creepy.”

“Things like that happen all the time,” Grace said. “There are stalkers. Anytime anybody is even a little famous, there are always crazy people who follow them around. It can’t be helped.”

“Makes you wonder why you want to be famous,” Mary-Louise said.

“I don’t want to be famous,” Grace said. She went to the closet. She had clothes there for dinner, but she didn’t really feel in the mood for dressing up. She didn’t see why she should have to, either. If you were a superstar, you could do what you wanted. She found a peasant-smocky gold dress with little cornflowers across one shoulder, and chose that.

“Isn’t it a little odd to try out for this thing if you don’t want to be famous?” Ivy said. “I mean, unless you go home the first week, just being in the house will get you a little famous. People do watch this show.”

“I really have to get dressed,” Grace said. “If the rest of you don’t mind.”

Ivy stood up and stretched her legs. “I’m as dressed as I’m going to get. It’s been a long day.”

Mary-Louise got up, too. “I just don’t want to go back to my room and listen to Alida talk about how awful we all are. All of us. And she really hates Andra, and Andra won the challenge. She’s not going to be able to shut up.”

“Come along to my room and I’ll save you from Alida,” Ivy said. “Janice won’t mind. She likes company.”