Dying to be Famous (9 page)

“Were you the stalker?” asked Graham.

“Of course not!” Hannah looked indignant. She was the picture of wounded innocence and I couldn’t help but believe her.

“No – I think Jason and Tiffany did it,” I said. “I reckon we were right about that. The letters, the chocolates – you did it between you, didn’t you?”

All eyes were on Jason. Tears started to roll down his cheeks. He nodded slowly.

“So… Let me guess who did what,” I said. “I think it was Tiffany’s idea to get you to help. She knew she could only get away with singing if she was miming. So the first thing she needed to do was get rid of Geoff. That’s why she invented the stalker. She made you dress up as the wizard, didn’t she? No wonder I couldn’t tell the difference between when she was acting and when she was being normal – she never
was
normal, was she? Her whole life was one big act!”

Jason looked around at the cast. “There was no stopping Tiffany when she wanted something,” he mumbled sorrowfully. “She was so ambitious! She wouldn’t let anyone or anything stand in her way. She arranged everything. She injected the chocolates with poison. She told me exactly how to kill Cynthia. I couldn’t say no to her. She needed me, you see. How could I refuse? I’ve loved her for years – ever since we were at school together. And she told me she loved me too…” He looked suddenly baffled. “But that was wrong. She must have been lying. She can’t have felt anything for me, or she wouldn’t have…”

His voice trailed away to nothing.

“She was planning to go to Hollywood without you, wasn’t she?” I asked.

“Yes! When the offer came through she said she wanted to go on her own. That a loser like me would only get in her way. I couldn’t let her dump me just like that, not after everything I’d done for her. So I broke her microphone, just to show her how much she needed me. She couldn’t manage alone, you see. I had to remind her.”

“And what happened?” asked Graham. “Wouldn’t she listen? Is that why you killed her?”

“I didn’t kill her! I put a tranquillizer in her tea, that was all. I wanted to calm her down. She was so excited about the film offer, you see. Manic, almost. It was like she couldn’t hear what I was saying. I only did it so she’d listen to me. It was just one pill!”

There was a sceptical sort of rumble from the cast, but I thought Jason was telling the truth. While he’d been talking I’d been revolving helplessly in my harness and my eyes came to rest on Rex. He looked strangely, unaccountably, massively
relieved
. I suddenly remembered that hasty, whispered conversation he’d had with Hannah when I was coming back from the toilets and a question popped out of my mouth.

“How do you and Hannah know each other?”

Rex smiled. Nodded. Stepped forward into the spotlight. “Let me introduce you to a rising star. My beloved daughter, Katie Butler.”

An astonished gasp rippled around the stage.

There was a hushed, expectant pause. Rex took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. “Jason didn’t kill Tiffany Webb. But I rather think I might have done.”

“No!” Hannah was aghast. “Daddy, you couldn’t have! You didn’t! I don’t believe you!”

“I know, my darling, but I’m afraid it might be the truth.” He faced the cast – an actor delivering his big speech to his hushed audience – and cleared his throat. “When I saw that Tiffany had been given the part of Dorothy I dreamt up a devious plot,” he said. “I intended to prevent her performance right from the beginning. When I realized she had stolen my daughter’s voice, I was doubly determined to stop her. Sadly, my grand scheme went a little awry at the end.” He held out his hand to Hannah and she joined him at his side.

“I knew my daughter had star quality from the moment she was born, but until now she hasn’t had quite the amount of luck she deserves – and one needs luck in this business as well as talent.” He looked ruefully at Peregrine. “Sadly some directors like to have TV stars – names the public will recognize – to pull in the punters. Bums on seats, that’s what it’s all about these days. And so I hatched a cunning plan. I thought I’d arrange for Tiffany to have an accident at the eleventh hour – a sprained ankle, say, or a broken arm – something that would render her unfit to perform on opening night. Her understudy, stepping into her ruby slippers, would so dazzle the audience with her pure talent that she would become an overnight sensation. That was the only part of my scheme that actually worked. Darling, you were marvellous,” he said, tenderly kissing Hannah on the cheek. “A triumph. Tonight will have launched your career. There’s no looking back now.”

“But why did you kill her?” I asked. “You didn’t need to do that!”

“I didn’t intend for Tiffany to die,” Rex said with a sigh. “I had no idea the stalker wasn’t genuine. There seemed something rather elegant about copying his methods. So instead of pushing her down the stairs as I’d planned, I elected to use pills. And later I daubed that message on the mirror to confuse the police, for which I now apologize.” He nodded briefly at Inspector Humphries and then turned to Jason. “Murder was never my intention. I, too, simply wanted to put her temporarily out of action. I, too, slipped a pill into her tea. I suspect it was the combination of our actions that proved lethal. I thought I was solely responsible. I must confess I am a little relieved to know that we must share the burden of guilt.”

He finished his speech and, folding his hands over his chest he gave a small, final bow. I almost started clapping.

There’s not much to add, really. Both Rex and Jason were arrested and everyone else went home. Graham and I were left dangling on the empty stage and it took Elizabeth ages to work out how to get us out of the harnesses.

The old article in Hannah’s local newspaper turned out to be right.
The Wizard of Oz
transferred to London after Christmas and she became a star of the West End stage.

Rex was prosecuted but he didn’t get a very heavy prison sentence because he hadn’t meant to kill Tiffany. Jason was dealt with more harshly because not only had he murdered Cynthia, he’d also been an accessory to Geoff’s murder and the attempted poisoning of two children. Our mums weren’t very pleased when they found out we’d kept that bit of information to ourselves.

When the Purple Parrot Theatre Company brought their production of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
to the Theatre Royal, Graham and I were forbidden to even think about auditioning for it. We weren’t exactly bothered about that. There are plenty of things we enjoy doing. But singing and dancing in a musical? We could live without it.

Tanya Landman is the author of many books for children, including
Waking Merlin
and
Merlin’s Apprentice, The World’s Bellybutton
and
The Kraken Snores
, and three stories featuring the characters Flotsam and Jetsam. Of
Dying to be Famous
Tanya says, “I love the contrast between the noise and colour of a musical in full swing and the eerie silence that descends on stage when everyone’s gone home. An empty theatre is an ideal location for a murder mystery.”

Tanya is also the author of two novels for teenagers:
Apache
, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Fiction Prize, and
The Goldsmith’s Daughter
, which was nominated for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Since 1992, Tanya has also been part of Storybox Theatre. She lives with her family in Devon.

You can find out more about Tanya Landman and her books by visiting her website at
www.tanyalandman.com