"Kit," she said, suddenly, "are those queer detectives going to find out
who killed Gilbert?"

"Oh, I suppose they'll fasten it on Mac. Poor chap, to think of his
being in jail while we're having all this excitement over my play. But I
don't see any other direction for Wise to look. What a funny little
thing that Zizi is."

"Yes, but I like her a lot. And she's nobody's fool! Her black eyes take
in everything, whether she remarks on it or not. You should have seen
her watch you to-night."

"When?"

"At the Cranes', when you were talking about the play."

"She's dramatic herself. She ought to be in the Moving Pictures!"

"Yes, she'd be a film queen at once."

* * * * *

Zizi must have had something of the same idea in her own mind, for the
next day she went to see Shelby at his office and asked him if he could
give her a chance at film work.

"But you're a detective," Shelby said, amusedly, "what would Mr. Wise do
without you?"

"He'd get along all right," Zizi said earnestly. "He's willing I should
have a try at a screen career, if you'll take me on."

"I'm not sure I could use you," Shelby returned, "at least not at
present. If I do another picture I'll try you out in it."

"Oh, you are going to do another, aren't you?"

"Probably, but not until I've exhausted all the different possibilities
of this one."

Zizi showed her disappointment at the failure of her plan, but, after
some further talk on general subjects, she went back to the Cranes'.

"Well, Ziz," Wise said to her, as they discussed the case alone, "we're
not making our usual rapid headway this time. Rather baffling, isn't
it?"

"Everything seems to point to Thorpe, except that I can't think he had
motive enough. That foolish jealousy of the plans and suspicion of
Blair's stealing his ideas isn't enough to make him commit murder."

"I don't think he did do it, but I can't agree with you that it wasn't a
big enough motive. You don't know how the artistic temperament resents
anything like that. Nor how it imagines and exaggerates the least hint
of it. I think his motive is the strongest point against Thorpe. Who
else had any motive at all?"

"That's what we have to find out. And we're going to do it. And, I say,
Penny, I want to go to see that medium person the Cranes are so fond
of."

"Think she'll help you?"

"Yes, though not by her spiritism. But I suspect she's one big fraud,
and I want to be sure.