Now You See It... Part 30

Ca.s.sandra tried deflection.

"Look, does any of this really matter?" she demanded.

"My-husband-murdered-his-agent. Arrest him."

"Please," said Plum, "let me decide what matters and what doesn't matter."

She could only sigh in response. Heavily.

"All right." He looked around. "Where is your husband then? I'd like to talk with him."

"Talk with him?" She looked insulted. "What is there to talk about? He murdered Harry Kendal. Period!"

"Mrs. Delacorte," he said, "these things have to be done in a certain way. I can't just arrest a man because-"

"-some stupid woman tells you that he murdered some- one," she broke in coldly.

Nftw You See ft- 113

"That's not what I was about to say," he told her.

He blew out a cheek-puffing bream. ,

"a.s.suming mat what you say is true-" he began.

"a.s.suming?" she raged.

"-do you have any idea where this agent's body might be?"

he finished strongly.

She was taken aback by the question. So was 1.1 hadn't even thought about it.

"No," Ca.s.sandra told him as though the thought had just occurred to her as well. "I don't. I just-"

She stopped with a scowl. "How could I possibly know?"

she asked, affronted. "I've been unconscious."

"All right," he said. "Is there any place we might begin to search for it? For him," he amended.

Ca.s.sandra was about to answer when she held back, nar- rowing her eyes.

She looked around the room, a curious expression on her face. I wondered what she was doing.

Plum also wondered- "Why are you looking around the room?" he asked.

She didn't reply, her gaze moving slowly around TMR.

"Mrs. Delacorte?"

"I can't believe-" she started.

She twitched at a rumble of thunder.

Now Plum was looking around the room. So was I-as best my eyeb.a.l.l.s could manage; I wasn't a d.a.m.n iguana though, with a hundred-and-eighty-degree vision in each eye.

"What are you thinking?" the Sheriff asked. "That me body's in here?"

He looked at one of me walls.

"Are there secret panels or something?" he asked.

"It wouldn't make sense," Ca.s.sandra murmured to her- self.

114 Richard Matheum

Her eyes focused on Plum. "What?" she inquired. "Secret panels?"

"Yes. I thought maybe-"

The Sheriff's voice broke off as Ca.s.sandra moved abruptly to the wall panel she'd used earlier to get rid of Brian when he was made up as her.

Pressing at a section of molding, she caused the panel to open. (In a way/1 hated mat this stranger should be privy to a secret I'd created in this house almost forty years before.)

Ca.s.sandra had moved through me opening to look in- side. Plum moved to the opening as well and peered in.

He jerked back as Ca.s.sandra came out, looking angry (at herself).

"Of course he wouldn't put Harry in there," she said.

"That would be ridiculous."

"Is this the only secret panel?" asked Plum.

"As far as I know/' she said, dosing the panel.

That surprised me. Had Max made other alterations to this room that I didn't know about? The notion was disturb- ing to me.

"What do you mean, as far as you know?" Plum was ob- viously thinking along the same lines. "Isn't mis your house?"

"My house/ yes. My private study, no. My husband calls it his Magic Room. As far as I know, he could have had it gimmicked in a dozen different ways without my knowing it."

Disturbing, I thought.

"I guess it's time I talked to him, men," Plum said. "Do you know where he might be?"

She looked newly aggravated. "Sheriff," she said. "How many times do I have to tell you? I was unconscious'"

"How do you expect me to arrest him/ then?" he charged.

"If we don't even know where he is!"