Part 04

The detective started back toward the dressing room and wardrobe area behind the stage. “I have a feeling these outfits,” he said, cocking a thumb back at the bodies, “ain’t part of the show. I think he dressed ’em up before he brought them here.” Stegner stripped off his gloves and reached into his pocket and pulled out the roll of antacids that he kept on him at all times.

Jenkins saw him, and shook his head. “Howie, you gotta see a doctor about that heartburn.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. A mother, I don’t need.” He pulled out two of the small tablets and popped them in his mouth. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy, Paul. This is too elaborate and well-planned to be a solitary exhibit. We may have us a professional.”

A quick search of the wardrobe lockers and racks verified his guess; the costumes the bodies had been dressed in were not part of the current show’s finery. It looked like even the ropes that were connected to the wooden controllers and the crossbars themselves, all came from the outside. The stage was just that—a place for staging this scene.

The press is gonna have a field day when this gets out.

This was gonna be a mess alright. Retirement was looking better and better all the time.