Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

with two binding posts-which the girls used to signal Jack. Centered on the under

side of the bar was a hundred-and-fifty watt bulb hooked in on its own line separate

from the rheostat. Except for the line to this light all the wires from all the

equipment disappeared into a steel conduit underneath the bar. It was this light

which had dazzled me during the

eleven o’clock show. It seemed excessive; a pear bulb would have been more

appropriate. Apparen Jack liked lots of light.

I explained the controls to Spade, then gave hin dry run. First I switched

the rheostat back to “Hou~ and threw off the bypass switch, leaving the roc brightly

lighted and the Magic Mirror dark. “The tii is five minutes of twelve. Hazel leaves

me to go i. stairs. I shift around to the bar stool just oppos where I am now

standing. At midnight Jack comes and asks me if I’ve heard the buzzer. I say ‘No.’ I

fiddles around a bit, clearing away glasses and t like. Then come two beeps on the

buzzer. He picks the microphone but he doesn’t announce the show a few seconds-he’s

just noticed Hannegan and Fe stein. Hannegan gives him the high sign and he gc

ahead.” Then I picked up the mike myself and spc into it:

“We now present the Magic Mirror!”

I put down the mike and flipped on the turntal

switch. The same platter was on and the juke h

started playing Valse Triste. Hazel looked up at i

sharply, from where she had been resting her head

her arms a few tables away. She looked horrified, a

the reconstruction were too much for her stomacF I turned the rheostat slowly from

“House”

“Stage.” The room darkened and the stage lit r “That’s all there was to it,” I said.

“Hazel sat do~ beside me just as Jack announced the show. As lights came on she

screamed.”

Spade scratched his chin. “You say Joy was star ing in front of you when the

buzzer signal came fr upstairs?”

“Positive.”

“You gave him a motive-the war he was havi with Estelle. But you’ve given

him an alibi too.”

“That’s right. Either Estelle punched that buz:

herself, then lay down and stabbed herself, or she ‘~ murdered and the murderer

punched it to cover i

then ducked out while everybody had their eyes on the Mirror. Either way I had Jack

Joy in sight.”

“It’s an alibi all right,” he conceded. “Unless you were in cahoots with

him,” he said hopefully.

“Prove it,” I answered, grinning. “Not with him. I think he’s a jerk.”

“We’re all jerks, more or less, Eddie my boy. Let’s look around upstairs.”

I switched the bypass on, leaving both stage and house lighted, and followed

him. I pointed out the buzzer to him, after searching for it myself. A conduit came

up through the floor and ended in a junction box on the wall, from which cords ran

to the flood lights. The button was on the junction box. I wondered why it was not

on the “altar,” then saw that the altar was a movable prop. Apparently the girls

punched the button, then fell quickly into their poses. Spade tried the button

meditatively, then wiped print powder off on his trousers. “I can’t hear it,” he

said.

“Naturally not. This stage is almost a soundproof booth.”

He had seen the egg timer but I had not told him until then about seeing the

last of the sand run out. He pursed his lips. “You’re sure?”

“Call it hallucination. I think I saw it. I’ll testify to it.”

He sat down on the altar, avoiding the blood stain, and said nothing for

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quite a long time. Finally he said, “Eddie my boy-”

“Yes?”

“You’ve not only given Jack Joy an alibi, you’ve damn’ near made it

impossible for anyone to have done it.”

“I know it. Could it have been suicide?”

“Could be. Could be. From the mechanics angle but not from the psychological

angle. Would she have started that egg timer for her own suicide? Another thing.

Take a look at that blood. Taste it.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t throw up. Smell it then.”