The Osiris Ritual by George Mann Page A

your desire to bring this matter to a close, but I will not be responsible for allowing you to become one of your suspect’s many victims. Will you desist?”
    Veronica drew a sharp breath and lowered her hand. “I wil .” She broke his gaze and returned her attention to Alfonso, who, whilst Newbury and Veronica had been debating, had chosen a volunteer from the audience and was in the process of helping her onto the stage. Newbury glanced at Veronica once more, unsure of her reaction, and then leaned forward in his chair to observe the goings-on that were taking place at the front of the theatre.
    The volunteer was once again a young woman, this time with raven-dark hair and a lilac dress.
    She seemed more confident than the previous volunteer, and, from what Newbury could gather from her manner, happy for the attention she was receiving. Alfonso stood her in the very centre of the stage. He bade her to remain still. Then he circled her, looking her up and down from al angles, as if studying her careful y, weighing her up with his eyes. He glanced up, catching sight of his stagehand standing off to one side, and beckoned her forward. She hurried over to him, handed him a red silk sheet, and then edged away again, smiling at the audience as she disappeared from view.
    Alfonso turned to the audience. “Watch closely.” He unfurled the large red sheet and then draped it over the woman, spreading the edges out neatly so that they pooled on the floor around her, completely covering her from head to toe. Then, with barely a moment to catch his breath, he snapped his wrist and swept the sheet away again, flicking it up into the air in a bold dramatic flourish.
    The woman was gone.
    The crowd took a moment to react. The woman had completely vanished. There was not a trace of her to be seen. One minute she had been there, clearly evident beneath the thin silk sheet, the next she had entirely disappeared. There had been no sound, no sign of any movement. It was as if she had simply been swept up into the ether like an errant spirit.
    Someone started to clap. Others fol owed. Soon the entire audience was standing, applauding the magician, who lingered just a moment longer on the stage, before offering a sweeping bow, col ecting his hat and then exiting stage left. The audience continued to clap, even after the final curtain was drawn.
    Newbury turned to Veronica. He had to shout to make his voice heard over the clamour of the audience. “Now I’m impressed.”
    Veronica nodded, a knowing look in her eye. “It’s what happens to her next that concerns me.”
    Newbury smiled. “That, Miss Hobbes, is what we are here to find out.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s see if we can make our way around this crowd. I can’t imagine it will be too difficult to find our way backstage.”
    Veronica rose to her feet. She was smiling. “Thank you, Sir Maurice.”
    Newbury grinned as he offered her his arm. “Always a pleasure, Miss Hobbes. Always a pleasure.”

Chapter Five
    As Newbury had anticipated, it was not difficult for the two of them to find their way backstage.
    Newbury was without doubt the best dressed man in the house, and after speaking in hushed tones with the wizened old man who was standing guard — sentry-like — on the artists’ entrance, the two Crown investigators soon found themselves admitted to the private area at the back of the theatre, passing themselves off as wealthy patrons who wanted to congratulate Alfonso on his excellent performance.
    The Archibald Theatre was a small venue, and it was soon clear to Newbury that most of the space had been reserved for the paying guests. The conditions behind the scenes were cramped and dirty, and if the front of the house was dilapidated, the backstage area was ready to be condemned.
    Newbury and Veronica found themselves in a short, narrow corridor, which terminated in an artists’ exit to the street behind the theatre, and contained a number of