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Cora agreed, the very picture of innocent outrage. “And this note was pinned to her costume. If I were you, I’d shut down the play.”
    Chief Harper frowned. “Are you really
that
bad?”
    “I was thinking of Becky Baldwin’s safety,” Cora replied with all the dignity she could muster.
    Chief Harper nodded. “Then you take this as a genuine threat?”
    “Don’t be silly, Chief. You gotta take
any
threat as a genuine threat. Because there’s no way to tell. But I don’t know what you’re gonna do about it. Unless you have Dan Finley
marry
Becky Baldwin.”
    “I can sound him out on the subject.”
    “Yeah. So what’s your scheme here? Short of shutting down the show, which is the only move that would be effective.
Death of an Actress. Death of a Leading Lady.
Make Becky stop acting, you thwart the killer’s plan.”

    Chief Harper frowned, considered. “I can’t do that.”
    “Why not?”
    “I still don’t know if this is a threat or a prank. On the one hand, I don’t wanna close the show for a prank. On the other, if this is a genuine threat, will calling off the show really stop it? If there’s a killer out there targeting Becky Baldwin, will canceling the show be effective? Or will it merely tick the killer off? The killer has promised Becky Baldwin’s death. And I would say there is a ninety-nine percent chance the
reason
he wants Becky Baldwin dead is not because she got the lead in the Christmas play. So if you take away the Christmas play, that reason still remains. It screws up his poetry, big deal. Suppose he writes another poem called death of an
ex-
actress, and pins it to her body?”
    “So keep Dan Finley on her.”
    “Indefinitely?” Chief Harper shook his head. “You see the problem here. Once the Christmas pageant goes on, it’s over. Presumably, whatever our little poet intends to do will happen before then. You take away the pageant, the whole thing’s open-ended. There’s no telling when the killer might strike. Assuming he ever does.”
    Cora’s eyes were brilliant with excitement and pleasure. “Oh, you sneaky devil. You and your fancy talk.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “That’s why you won’t call off the pageant! You
want
it to happen. You have no idea who the killer is, and you figure your only way to catch him is if he makes a move on her. That’s why you have Dan Finley on Becky Baldwin. Not to protect her. Becky Baldwin is bait!”
    Chief Harper said nothing.
    “What about opening night?” Cora persisted. “Assuming we get there. You gonna send Dan Finley out onstage with her? In period costume?”
    “I’m sure she’ll be safe enough onstage. And I’m sure she’s safe enough now. I just want to stop this before it goes any further. If it’s kids, I wanna drag them into the principal’s office and let him point out why it isn’t very funny.”
    “Sounds good to me, Chief. Just how do you plan to go about doing that?”
    “Got any suggestions?”
    “Have you traced the first puzzle?”
    “If I had, I’d know where this one came from.”
    “Fair enough. Have you
tried
to trace the first puzzle?”
    “That I have. As much as possible. According to the computer teacher, it wasn’t done on any of the high school machines.”
    “The high school has a teacher to teach computer.” Cora shook her head. “I am way too old.”
    “So no help there. And I got no grounds to start invading private homes.”
    “Would you have grounds if Becky got bumped off?” At Chief Harper’s look, Cora said meekly, “Just asking.” Suddenly, she scowled in disgust. “Oh, hell!”
    From Dan Finley’s boom box wafted the dulcet strains of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

8
    “IT’S A PIECE OF CAKE,” CHARLIE FERRIC, THE ART TEACHER, declared to the gaggle of actors and actresses assembled in the town hall lobby. There were five Josephs, six Marys, and a couple of dozen shepherds and wise men. Two Josephs, two Marys, four shepherds, and six wise men were