the last to leave. Every night he escorted Ian Cavanaugh to a waiting limousine that whisked the actor straight home, where another guard was waiting.
âThe problem, of course,â said Sergeant Piperson, âis whether we have one nut loose or two.â
âOr three?â I said dubiously. âLoren Keith.â
âOr three,â he agreed. âIt would be easy to assume one person is responsible for both the attacks on Sylvia Markey and the one aimed at Ian Cavanaugh, but we donât know that to be a fact.â
The precinct station was familiar to me now; Iâd spent hours there on four separate occasions. Iâd told Sergeant Piperson everything I knew about Sylvia and Ianâwhich in the latter case was practically nothing.
âWhy did Sylvia Markey go looking for the cold cream herself? Didnât she have a maid?â the Sergeant asked.
âNot at the moment. Sheâd just fired her last maid.â
âWhy?â
âLord knows,â I said. âShe was always firing her maids, or they were always quitting. Sylviaâs not an easy person to work for.â
âDoes the management provide all the make-up? I thought actors brought their own.â
âAbout half and half. Make-up is supplied, but most actors use some substitutes of their own. Different brands they like better or maybe a different kind of make-up. Sylvia Markey always used her own cold creamâthe cold cream in the make-up cabinet is a regular theatrical brand. Sylvia wouldnât have run out of her own cold cream if sheâd had a maid to keep track of her supplies.â
âWhat do you think about Phil Carter?â
The abrupt change of direction didnât exactly catch me by surprise. Phil Carter, Ian Cavanaughâs understudy, would be acting in Foxfire right now if Sylvia Markey hadnât run out of cold cream.
I shook my head. âToo obvious. Heâs the first one weâd all think of. Besides, Phil is just a normally ambitious actor. I canât see him destroying Ian Cavanaughâs face just to get a role.â
âCanât you?â Piperson said dryly. âCan you see this? Say a second-string actor gets tired of waiting for his big chance. But knocking out the star might direct suspicion toward him, so he tries a couple of red herrings firstâlike vandalizing the leading ladyâs home and killing a cat. Then when the glamour boy gets it, thatâs just one more ugly thing in a string of ugly things thatâve been happening. He might even try something else, something more to cover his trail. Possible?â
âBut not probable. For one thing, heâd have no guarantee heâd get the role if Ian left the play.â
âSylvia Markeyâs understudyâs playing her role, isnât she?â
âYes, because we think Vivian Frank is right for the part. There arenât any rules for these thingsâeach case is decided individually. If anything happened to Ian Cavanaugh, Phil Carter would take over the role for a few performances at least. Until we could figure out what we wanted to do. We might decide to give the role to somebody else.â I thought a moment. âIn fact, weâd probably give it to Hugh Odell.â
âOdell? But he already has a part in the play.â
âThat doesnât make any difference. Hugh is a versatile actor and he knows the playâhe could handle Ianâs role. Heâs got a lot more experience under his belt than Phil Carter, and heâs better known. Weâd probably move Hugh to Ianâs role, and then either hire someone new to replace Hugh or give Phil Carter a crack at that role. Phil was hired to understudy both Ian and Hugh.â
âSo heâd still be getting a part, wouldnât he? Not the lead, but at least heâd no longer be an understudy.â Piperson looked pleased with himself. âBy the way, Abby, whoâs