"Yes?" a lilting voice called out. The door opened a moment later to reveal Olivia in a red satin dressing gown. She sized the two up, then winked at Joe.

Joe shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to having someone else initiate the flirting. But then he put on his most winning smile. "Ms. Moreau, I’m Joe Hardy and this is Vanessa Bender. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions?"

"Of course." Olivia opened the door all the way, and motioned the two inside. The dressing room was fairly large, and decorated in pastel shades of green and blue. There was a large dressing table, and a bookshelf covered with books and photographs. Many of the photos were of Olivia at various performances, and there were quite a few of her and Clancy. Vanessa found that little fact odd, as Olivia and Clancy had broken up.

"This must be about that business with Clancy earlier." Olivia seated herself on a plush green chaise lounge, and motioned Joe and Vanessa to a matching loveseat.

"Yes, ma’am, it is about Mr. Barrett. I’m a detective and Kurt asked me to look into it." Joe ignored the poke in his ribs from Vanessa as he poured on the charm, and conveniently left Frank out of the picture.

Olivia let out a small laugh, which Vanessa thought sounded strained. "Kurt is known to overreact where Clancy is concerned."

Joe smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. Frank often did the same thing, in Joe’s opinion.

"We have reason to believe Kurt is not overreacting this time," Vanessa put in. "Could you tell us what Clancy’s behavior has been like recently?"

Olivia crossed her legs and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Now that you mention it, he has been acting strange." She went on to list the exact things Kurt had.

When she was finished, she looked expectantly at Joe. "Aren’t behavioral changes like that associated with chronic poisoning?"

Joe’s eyes widened, despite his best attempts to stop it. "They can be. What makes you think that?"

Olivia leaned forward. "Your question got me thinking. I’m an Agatha Christie fan." She motioned to a black hardback book on the end table next to the loveseat. Joe glanced at it and noted it to be Secret Adversary. "In that book," Olivia continued, "the victim dies from chronic poisoning. Now that I think about it, Clancy was acting the exact same way!"

Joe’s mind began to whirl. Frank had just read that book while in the hospital, and had talked incessantly about how brilliant the murderer was. "Are you certain?" he asked.

Olivia nodded vigorously, but her eyes showed a hint of worry. "Absolutely. In fact, Clancy is totally hooked on Sprite, and drinks two or three a day. Wouldn’t that be the perfect way to slip something to him?"

Joe and Vanessa exchanged glances. They had means and opportunity, now all the needed was motive and a suspect. "Ms. Moreau, you’ve been a tremendous help." He took Vanessa’s hand and stood to leave.

"This is for real isn’t it? Someone’s tried to kill Clancy?" Olivia stared at Joe, her eyes willing him to say it wasn’t true.

Vanessa reached over and squeezed her hand. "It’s for real. Why don’t you go stay with Kurt? I’m sure he’d appreciate it."

Olivia nodded in agreement, then closed the door behind them.

"She didn’t do it," Vanessa announced as they walked back towards the stage. "She’s still in love with him, no matter what everyone else says."

"I figured that out, babe," Joe said dryly. "Girls who aren’t in love anymore don’t keep the guy’s picture all over the place. And especially not on their dressing table! But now we have to find Frank."

"Whoa there! Where do you get that theory about the pictures?" Vanessa inquired, her eyes twinkling.

"I’ve been around," Joe answered, then he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Vanessa saw a momentary flick of sadness in his eyes, and knew he was thinking of Iola. Vanessa squeezed his hand as the they went back to where the chosen meeting spot was.

They found Frank and Becka already waiting for them. One look at Frank’s face though, and they both knew that this was now a murder investigation.