Chapter 9

Raja Kahn'shouse was like a puzzle that hadn't quite been put together properly. It was full of ornaments from both east and west. Statues of Indian gods with more arms than an octopus stood alongside props and trinkets from the many productions that had played within the Maharaja Majestic over the years.

Stella stood staring at the statue of a goddess with an elephant's trunk. "Reminds me of Esmeralda down on Elm and Twenty-ninth. The kind of nose you wanna reach out and honk, but by God that woman knows how to blow… if you catch my drift."

Stella laughed.

I wasn't in the mood for jokes.

Raja Kahn walked into the room at that moment and said, "My apologies, I had to take a telephone call. Good news, it seems Serafina has managed to get Errol released from police custody so that he can begin rehearsals with Signora Valentina when she arrives."

"What about Stanley Small?" I asked, curious.

"He's still in jail," Raja replied. "Serafina has her priorities. It's easier to find a replacement stage manager than it is to find a replacement leading man. Please, take a seat."

"Speaking of Serafina," I said as I sat myself down on Raja's sofa, which was covered in silk cushions and Pashmina throws. "Let's talk about the insurance policy she mentioned back at the theater… and again when we interviewed her."

Raja tried to feign laughter. "As I told you before, I don't know what she's talking about. Would you like me to make you some tea? Ceylon's finest. My cousin imports a lot of exotic things into this fine country."

"Well, you'll never replace the leading man," Stella groaned. "That was the worst acting I've ever seen. Come on, Raja, let the cat outta the bag. What's the insurance policy all about?"

Raja sighed and sat in a large armchair opposite the sofa. "It's nothing I'm proud of," he said, his face drawn, his expression one of concern and regret. "I love my theater. I live for the productions we put on, I'm so proud of every single show that has ever graced that stage. It has been my one true passion to own a theater like the Maharaja Majestic, ever since I was a little boy in Delhi dreaming of the bright lights, the adoring audience, the performers in their colorful costumes. However, in business, there are good days… and there are bad days. And so I invested in an insurance policy that some might consider rather… unorthodox."

"Unorthodox… or illegal?" I asked.

"Well," Raja admitted reluctantly. "Both."

I leaned forward. "Who exactly is the broker of this policy?"

Raja took a deep breath and looked around his own living room as though someone might suddenly appear from behind his armchair and stick a knife in his ribs. "Bugsy Brown," he eventually answered. "I can't say any more, except for the fact that Bugsy is the only person in Wilde City who would insure the theater and prevent me from going into bankruptcy… in case the Maharaja Majestic ever loses its appeal."

"Or loses its leading actress!" Stella said accusingly.

For once, I agreed with her. It seemed suspicious that Raja Kahn had a policy from the gangster Bugsy Brown that would ensure he'd never be out of pocket if the theater went down the drain. Perhaps the quickest and easiest way to claim that policy would be to get rid of his own leading actress, Miss Dominique Duprey.

Raja Kahn leaned forward in his armchair. "Please believe me when I say, I would never do anything to jeopardize my theater."

"You can understand that this appears extremely suspicious," I said. "It gives you the greatest motive of them all… Money."

Raja Kahn looked at me curiously. "I beg to differ, Mr. Baxter. I've staged enough tales of pain and passion to know what the greatest motive of them all is."

"And what's that?" I asked.

Raja simply smiled. "Love, Mr. Baxter. The greatest motive of them all… is love."