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It felt strange, almost eerie

"Want to check out the rooms upstairs while everyone else is outside?" Kelsey asked

"Sure," Jane agreed "If they aren’t all locked"

"The ht," Kelsey said "I’ll grab that"

"Good find!"

They didn’t need to search the Sage suite, nor Jennie’s rooan and Kelsey had stayed in it They entered Brian’s Anything hepistols that had disappeared from Jane’s bed--wasn’t there

But they were equally disappointed as they went through the rest of the rooms The pistols didn’t turn up, nor did any notes, reold jewelry

"Let’s try the theater," Jane suggested

Downstairs, Kelsey ade "It’s a remarkable place, really," she said

"We shouldin soon," Jane warned

"What’s Henri going to do? He’ll bethrough the props on the table, then looked at Jane "Hey, I think I just found your dueling pistols"

Jane walked over to the prop table The pistols were there, in plain sight She picked up one and then the other, handing both to Kelsey

"Blanks," she murmured

Kelsey nodded "You’re sure there was live ammunition in one of them?" she asked Jane

"I’uess Brian was trying to kill Cy Butwhy?"

"Because he’s the hero? Because he gets the girl?" Jane shrugged "Although, while he ad to hurt anyone According to Sloan, Brian was just trying to get out of the roo rooh the various rooe McCormick’s body had been found

As they walked to the next roo down, she touched the fresh, wet stain

She looked up at Kelsey

"Blood," she un and Jane did the same Kelsey counted silently to three, then nodded at Jane Jane threw the door open

On the floor, as if he’d fallen while clutching the rack of costumes, lay a man in a pool of blood and fallen fabric

Jane quickly fell to her knees at his side and rolled hiers on his throat to check for a pulse It was there but weak "He’s still alive"

As she spoke, Brian’s eyes flew open He stared at Jane but couldn’t seem to focus "She’s deadshe’s dead, too They knewthey knewthey killed her"

His eyes closed

Jane felt for his pulse again "Kelsey, I thinkthe bullet is in his shoulder He nal down here," Kelsey said urgently

"Go out to the street Get an aed "I’ll stay with hi upstairs and out to the street As Jane tried to staunch the flow of blood, she heard so Kelsey had returned

But it wasn’t Kelsey

It was one of the mannequins An old one, from the late 1800s She’d seen it downstairs Jennie had claiured out that it had been Brian, that he’d pushed a clown figure toward her

This cloas un and took aim at Jane

She rolled to a corner of the roo-tablehat she heard, and she realized there was a silencer on the gun

Someone had tracked Brian down Someone had tracked him to this room That someone meant to kill him

And now her

Sloan searched up and down the road, seeking a trail of blood While he walked, he called the office and reported that Betty and her prisoner wereThen he called Newsome and asked for officers to scour the streets in town, the hell with Silverfest

He got into his car and drove slowly, searching the road for any sign of either Betty or Brian Highs

Logan said, "Got a call fro to the theater She and Jane found Brian Highs room at the theater"

"I’m almost there," Sloan told hiot another officer co to the hospital I’ll be there as soon as he shows up"

"Thanks Whatever’s going down seeas

As he reached the outskirts of Lily, he was forced to slon There was so on the road

He left the car on the edge of Main Street and started running in

As he did, he nearly ran by a heap on the ground He recognized what it was--a body--and stopped himself