The Vanishing Virtuoso

It had been several weeks since Arthur and Charlotte had settled into a life of marital bliss, and despite that nothing much has changed, she keeps her routine he keeps his; and they’re perfectly content together. More annoyingly nothing has changed regarding actual work, I ask you readers why be so sceptical? If you have a case, we will solve it and won’t empty your bank account in the process. However, the most exciting thing happened at the theatre last night, no doubt you’ve read about it in the society pages by now about how two actors went missing in the middle of a production. Luckily for them, we happened to be on a work outing to the theatre. The justification for it being a work outing in case you were curious, is because the theatre is a great place to hone observational skills in a discrete sense — something my colleague needs to work on. So, we decided to see Romeo & Juliet as it has many relevant themes for our work. For example, two feuding families whose deep-seated hatred for one another spirals into murder or two lovers whose hidden passion for one another spells disaster for them.

And that is exactly why the theatre is the perfect place to hone our craft and learn why all-consuming passion drives people to steal, fight or even kill.

After all, how many times have such narratives played out in real life far from the light of the stage?

The first thing of note about this case was the cast of the production. As fame is a fickle thing, one way to keep famous is to avoid scandal; however, that’s quite a hard thing to achieve given the public view of actresses and actors.

There are some who despite torrents of scandal, their reputation remains unfazed. One such case is the actor Felix Bellamy, who from what I've been told changes partners as often as productions and possesses quite the penchant for public drinking. And a well-beloved virtuoso opera singer Laurel Grovesnor, who was selling out theatres at 17. The stage having beckoned her once again, much to the public delight with this production being her acting debut.

From the get-go quite an interesting combination to play the two doomed lovers. What secrets surely lie beneath such cultivated facades of perfection? Who are they really behind the curtain? And just how far would someone go to keep their romance alive in a world that would criticise every part of the relationship?

...

“Your first outing as a married couple, how do you feel about such a thing?” Alex asked waiting in the hall having arrived for an early dinner.

“The same as ever, I’m just glad she is content by my side.” Arthur replied with a smile.

“I just read that the director is a Mr Harrison and it is his first foray into the stage, he must be Phillip Harrison, right? A relation of the late Nicholas Harrison?” Charlotte asked, sat on the stair playing with the fabric of her sleeve

Arthur offered her a hand and replied “Quite correct, do not fret as he is a nicer chap than his elder brother. His directorial status is certainly related to his financial situation; his brother did not leave much behind for him aside from rumours after that ball.”

“Right, so are we leaving or not?” I asked stood by the door tapping my foot,

“Yes, you needn’t worry, in fact you both might be interested in the fact that if I remember correctly—once or twice my brother and his friend used to drink with Mr Felix Bellamy who is playing Romeo.” Charlotte smiled standing up.

“Anything else? Your family is most interesting Charlotte; you are well connected are you not? Practically every other week we learn about another acquaintance of your illustrious family.” Alex asked as he passed me to go out the door

“Thank you for such a compliment, but we are not really well connected, daddy didn’t like actors, so we didn’t often go to the theatre, though occasionally we went to see my aunt perform, which was a rarity.” Charlotte explained.

“We can go to the theatre as much you’d like and see whatever productions you wish. You only have to tell me, and I’ll arrange it.” Arthur inquired, to which Charlotte nodded excitedly. 

I shan’t bore you with details of the play, just the exciting parts. The famous deceleration of love “Oh Romeo Oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Juliet exclaimed as the stage suddenly turned dark and a scream reverberated, when the light returned, the understudies were scrambling to replace the now missing leads. What had started as a romance turned sharply into a mystery as the curtain dropped.

“Alex how mysterious, perhaps they might need help, let’s go introduce our self and offer our services.” I exclaimed jumping to my feet as Arthur sighed

“Charlotte dear, why not go acquaint yourself with some of the other ladies? Make some friends, it’s no use for you to stay in the house all day, you should get out more.” Arthur said warmly.

“Must I? You know I’m not fond of social occasions, they’re awfully loud, I’d much rather we went outside to the quiet.” Charlotte answered standing up and looking around the theatre.

“Compromise darling, we go make introductions as you haven’t been in society for years and then we can go outside for a while, get the word out we are together and you are here to stay. Who knows perhaps you may find someone who shares in your interests.” Arthur suggested.

“You really think so? Here’s a compromise then— I try my best for you.” She sighed as they went off together hand in hand.

Backstage was much more boring than I had anticipated, the glamour of the stage served quite a contrast to chaos behind the scenes.

“Excuse me, Mr Harrison, was it? We have met before have we not? Miss Miriam Darlington, my cousin is Arthur Hawthorne if you remember him? Well, this is Mr Alex Moran my associate, and we are here to help you with your mystery.” I announced spotting the director lurking.

“Ah yes how could I forget him, you’re a detective at last, I see Miss Darlington how wonderful for us then. How is Miss Carlisle faring?” Phillip replied, turning round to speak to us.

“Oh, she’s much better, she married Arthur recently, and they’re very happy together.” I answered with a smile.

“He’s a better man than my brother, do tell them I send my regards.” Phillip stated.

“I feel we are a tad distracted from the matter at hand.” Alex muttered looking around.

“You’re quite right Alex, onto business tell us more.” I asked feeling a rush of excitement at our first proper case.

“To put it simply, I cannot find Mr Bellamy or Miss Grovesnor which is a concern, as the understudies are brilliant, just not what I need to drive the plays vision as I intend it.” Phillip explained.

“Are there any arguments we should know of?” Alex asked as I spotted a poster for the play, with one glaring detail: the main stars names had been crossed out.

“Not that I know of. Mr Bellamy is quite a lovely man, a brilliant actor I mean. I do hope nothing bad has befallen him as it would be such a great loss.” Phillip responded.

“We start with the understudies; they have the most to benefit from and they were on the stage just after the mystery. Lovely to speak to you Mr Harrison, you can trust us with this case. We will solve this.” I proclaimed grabbing hold of Alex’s sleeve as otherwise he would get distracted and we would never get anything done. The understudies were a Mr Percy Gibson and a Miss Beatrice Carter. After a short discussion, we decided that I would go question Mr Gibson and Alex would go question Miss Carter. 

Alex could hear muffled sobbing as he walked down the corner “Umm— Miss Carter, are you quite alright?” He asked, politely approaching the open door revealing a sobbing woman sat at a desk.

“Yes, it’ll be fine give me a minute.” Beatrice replied.

“You can tell me why you’re crying if you want, it’ll make it better.” Alex smiled taking a seat by her.

“Whilst I appreciate that sir, the only man I wish to be by my side is absent.” She stated wiping her eyes “I’m Mr Moran, a detective and I’m here to help try find Mr Bellamy and Miss Grovesnor.” Alex said fishing a handkerchief out of his blazer pocket to hand to her. “A detective, how exciting are you like the one from the papers then?” Beatrice sat up her demeanour changing immediately as she sat upright.

“Not quite. We are very different; my friend Miss Darlington is much better detective than I am.” Alex explained.

“Oh, but you’re the true detective, aren’t you? You’re off saving young ladies and she’s uncovering infidelity, so your job is a much more exciting one. Do tell me more, dear detective.” Beatrice smiled leaning forward slightly.

“Perhaps I will in time, but could you firstly tell me what your relationship is with Mr Bellamy? You seemed awfully upset about him.” Alex asked.

“Well, such feelings of sorrow pass quickly, he’s long gone, isn’t he? Off to another woman, another play. And I’m left here in the same role I was before, unable to be the Juliet to his Romeo.” Beatrice sighed.

“I’m sure a lovely lady like yourself will one day meet your Romeo, but, what about Miss Grovesnor? Isn’t that her dress by the door, the one she was wearing as she disappeared?” Alex inquired.

“Oh, she’s simple to understand as despite her parents' money, it can’t buy her any semblance of talent. I don’t understand why everyone was so excited about her, carried herself with such an air of grace, it was insufferable. The dress is probably a spare one we have copies of each for situations like this, but they normally live in the actresses dressing room for changes.” Beatrice stated lounging back in her chair.

“But you’re already wearing the second one, is there any reason then?” Alex asked going over to look at the dress that was bundled on the floor, there was a large tear down the side that ruined the intricate embroidery.

“Simple one could live in hope to be his Juliet, now I need to get ready for when the play starts again so leave me be, if you wish you can come see me after the show but I’m sure so many others will want to. Unless you hurry. Goodbye detective.” She said coldly showing him to the way out before shutting the door on him the moment he was out of the threshold. 

“Mr Gibson, I’m such a huge fan. Does this mean you are Romeo now?” I said, mustering up enthusiasm for a man I’d never heard of before.

“I appreciate your kindness, you’re one of many fans eager for me to take to the spotlight, but I’m sure by the nights end I will have many more.” Percy replied confidently.

“What’s your favourite scene then? As I find that it’s easy to deduce what scenes are actor’s favourites because of the passion they radiate in the moment.” I asked, as pretending to be a fan seemed the best way to get information out of him.

“Something I share with Mr Bellamy is that we both have a fondness for the ending, an ultimate act of love, to sacrifice everything for one another.” Percy smiled.

“Do you know where Mr Bellamy is? Was the stage going dark part of the dramatic effect?” I inquired.

“For both of those questions, the answer is no, but shall we go check his dressing room? As I need to get a different shirt for the next scene.” Percy answered leading the way.

As we passed the door to Miss Grovesnor’s dressing room, I gave the door handle a quick firm turn as I had once watched Arthur do and just like when he did it the door was locked.

“Oh goodness what a surprise!” Percy exclaimed, opening the door to the dressing room, the mirror was shattered and a bottle labelled poison lie on the floor

“He hasn’t poisoned himself as there is no body yet, which means it’s likely a distraction from what’s really going on. It’s as if the last person in here had been in a hurry to leave.” I remarked looking at the scene.

“Who exactly are you? You are different from other young ladies I’ve met.” Percy asked as I looked around.

“A detective. The name is Miss Miriam Darlington, undoubtedly, you’ve heard of me.” I proclaimed, treading carefully around the room.

“Never heard of you, but a female detective— how strange indeed. Does your father approve of such a career?” Percy wondered.

“Does the queen need her father’s approval?” I countered, picking the bottle off the floor.

“You store props in dressing rooms, don’t you?” I asked placing it on the side.

“Yes, we do. Do you mostly investigate men having affairs and the likes? You seem awfully young to be venturing off into the unknown.” Percy stated.

“Your concern is noted, but no, my colleague Alex and I solve serious crimes.” I replied with a sigh.

“Oh, I understand then, I presume this Alex is around then? If I may go speak with him.” Percy said turning to leave.

“Any information you have is equally valuable to me or Alex. So, save us the time and just inform me.” I stated bluntly,

“Well, I have suspicion that Mr Bellamy was working his way around the cast romantically. He had been involved with Miss Carter I believe and he had grown noticeably closer to Miss Grovesnor in the last few weeks.” Percy explained as Alex arrived.

“And you are?” Percy asked. “Oh, this is Mr Alex Moran, my associate.” I replied, glad for an interruption.

“Oh, he’s the real detective—I’m glad, please tell us what you’ve found then detective Moran.” Percy implored.

“Miriam, I think Mr Bellamy was having an affair.” He announced panting slightly. “Mr Gibson was just telling me such a thing actually, so there was no reason for you to have run.” I said watching him catch his breath.

“Well, Miss Carter was awfully upset, and she didn’t really talk about much else but Mr Bellamy.” Alex began.

“Mr Gibson, you’re now Romeo and she’s Juliet. Wouldn’t it be wise for you to talk to her? Ensure sure she is alright, as your fans won’t get to see you on stage if there’s no Juliet.” I interrupted staring at the shattered mirror.

“Quite right young Miss. Hope you find out where they’ve gone detective, best of luck and lovely to meet the two of you.” He commented leaving.

“I can’t believe he doesn’t think I’m the detective.” I muttered.

With his footsteps fading away, we took a seat to discuss our findings. “So, this room is an absolute mess—worse than our office. Miss Carter was initially very upset about Mr Bellamy’s disappearance as they had been close, but suddenly, she was far more interested in our job. Overall, it seems the leads going missing is advantageous for both the understudies in different ways.” Alex recounted.

“Mr Bellamy had been having affairs with other cast members culminating in Miss Grovesnor, if we take it that Miss Carter was in love with Mr Bellamy then by having Miss Grovesnor disappear there would be no other obstacles in her way towards being with her lover on stage, but that doesn’t explain why both of them disappeared. Mr Carter benefits from taking over as he wants to be famous and so being the lead in such a production opposite a beloved opera singer would elevate his status. Anything else you noticed?” I asked.

“Well yes, Miss Grovesnor’s dress was ripped and found in Miss Carter’s dressing room, which is strange, because that was what she was wearing when the stage plunged into darkness.” Alex recalled.

“Her dressing room door seemed locked when I tried to turn the handle, so maybe there’s a clue in there? Perhaps she had quickly changed out of her dress which accounts for the tear?” I wondered.

“I agree but maybe you didn’t turn the door handle enough?” Alex queried.

“Fine you go check then, but I am well aware how a door opens, so it must be locked.” I objected rolling my eyes at him whilst standing up.

“Miriam trust me.” Alex smiled leading the way.

“What do you know of lockpicking?” Alex asked as we stood by the door while he jiggled the handle confirming it was locked.

“It is a skill of criminals and scoundrels.” I replied thinking about stories I had read about such a skill being used in late night robberies.

“Tad harsh judgement there, by your logic; am I a criminal or a scoundrel then?” Alex asked unamused.

“Not in the slightest, I presume you were building up to a point of relevance, so carry on.” I replied.

“Sometimes, evidence proves it to be a very complex skill, my father told me at the great exhibition in 1851, that one of the locks took 51 hours to break but another only 25 minutes. But he also taught me that they only took so long because one of those locks is designed for safes and strong rooms, the other was thought to be unbreakable. But the truth is, most places don’t spend that much on such a secure lock. For example, this is most likely to be a latch and bolt mechanism or something similar as they are cheaper to put in and still offer a small amount of security.” Alex explained.

“Pray tell how is this relevant?” I said growing slightly confused as Alex pulled something out of his pocket.

“Because, this is a Skeleton key, and it can open many types of locks, so do you want to see what’s inside this dressing room?” Alex stated, looking quite proud of himself.

“How do you have one of those?” I asked, intrigued by such an object, how had I not heard of it before?

“It was a present from my father. He thought for reasons unknown to me, that I should have one.” He stated slotting it into the lock and with a swift turn, the door creaked open; revealing a rather pristine dressing room.

“You seldom talk about your father, but from what you have mentioned, he seems quite an interesting man, what else has he taught you? And how did he learn such things?” I asked looking at the room.

“My father was a colonel in the army and as a result, some of the people he keeps associations with have an interesting array of skills.” Alex remarked, putting the key back in his pocket as I noticed a candle slowly burning out on the desk.

“You know that means that it isn’t just Charlotte with interesting connections; one day I must meet your father and some of his friends as if you’ve learnt such useful things from them imagine what I could learn, in terms of the investigation there’s an envelope on here, addressed to the director.” I said picking it up.

“Well, let’s go show Mr Harrison. But seriously, on the subject of my father, he’s an interesting man, although, I wouldn’t hold much hope in meeting with him. We have great differences in opinions, in fact, he is unaware of my career change.” Alex said blowing out the candle. 

“If that is the case, then perhaps you should reconcile with each other and leave the past as it is; because when you tell him about your new career, won’t he be so pleased to know that you are a brilliant detective now? It is still in some way like the police work I’m sure in time we will get an inspector of our own to pair up with, just like Arthur did.” I smiled reassuringly

“If it’ll quieten you on the matter, I will consider it one day— just not soon. The better the detective I become the more pleasant the meeting will be.” Alex sighed closing the door behind us.

“Mr Harrison, we have news.” I announced striding over to the small group of actors who waited anxiously around for some information about the star players.

“Have you found them?” He asked standing up with sweat beading on his forehead “No. We haven’t.” Alex said bluntly.

“Why can’t we just carry on the play? The audience are awaiting; they’ve paid to see a show, and we are well equipped to given them such.” Beatrice sighed overdramatically.

“We did however find a letter in Miss Grovesnor’s dressing room, addressed to you Mr Harrison. Perhaps it may clear up any confusion.” I exclaimed passing it to him.

“I’ll read it out then, let’s hope it’s good news. Dear Phillip, we most sincerely apologise for the chaos we have undoubtedly caused by our departure, but we had to leave. For as the production has gone on, we have found that contrary to the ending of the play— happiness is possible between young lovers. And so, we booked to travel to Verona in order to seek out happiness; as unlike our characters, we cannot be separated and staying in London would mean being subjected to cruel rumours. We would never be able to live peacefully, undoubtedly, scandal would follow and envelop us due to my popularity amongst the young ladies. Laurel is likewise, popular among the men; such renown is suffocating and if we were to publicly marriage it would ruin our careers and the life we would try and build. Percy and Beatrice, you have our upmost faith that you will do Romeo and Juliet justice for the remaining run of the production, and may it bring everyone the same great joy and happiness it has brought us. Kindest regards Felix and Laurel.” Phillip recited.

“So, they ran off to Verona to let their love flourish? Why did he ruin such good career for her? The mysteries of love I suppose. Oh to be struck by Cupid's arrow and have such a feeling cloud his judgment, I truly pity him, but I suppose that is how the world works” Beatrice stated with a hint of bitterness in her voice that he had not run off with her instead.

“It seems to me they wish for a life far from the society pages, and so a new start in a new city is their solution. The only thing I wish is that they forewarned us, then we could have been prepared to take over.” Percy grumbled.

“Well, the show must go on, we will work out how to proceed tomorrow; but let’s go give them a show they won’t forget. And our two detectives, you have our upmost gratitude.” Phillip smiled appreciatively. 

The rest of the show went off without any issue, in fact Mr Gibson and Miss Carter did an outstanding job just as the letter had predicted. After it had finished, Mr Harrison caught up to all of us.

“Mr Harrison, we meet upon happier terms this time, do we not? Congratulations on such a brilliant play, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.” Arthur beamed.

“The actors portrayed the characters so well, it was marvellous, what are you planning to do next?” Charlotte asked.

“Thank you for your kind words, I feel I must congratulate you also Mrs Hawthorne on your choice of husband, the two of you seem perfectly happy together. As for the next play, I am undecided, but I think perhaps one day in the not-so-distant future I shall turn my hand to an original play.” Phillip replied looking much more relaxed than before.

“What will you write about?” Alex asked curiously.

“Well quite simply, I see much potential in you and Miss Darlington, given you worked so incredibly well keep it up and one day I will turn one of your adventures into a play, perhaps in four acts? Who knows. Just keep up the good work, you both complement each other's weaknesses incredibly well.” Phillip proclaimed dramatically. 

Mr Harrison also decided in a stark contrast to many other directors, that due to the chaos in the inaugural performance he would change the scenes of his production of Romeo & Juliet. When the balcony scene reaches its climax, the stage will go dark and the understudies will take over the lead roles before switching back at the crypt scene.

Such an approach will undoubtedly lead to many talents being discovered. As his style is unlike any others, it marks Mr Harrison as one to look out for, but more importantly it led to our first somewhat professional case.