“Too bad those girls won’t get the show they wanted,” said Sven.

“Don’t gloat, Sven,” said Bess. “Let’s just focus on making sure our performance goes off without a hitch.”

“You’re right, of course, goddess. I wouldn’t want to be associated with such amateurish art. Come, let’s go back to my studio and plan.”

Bess asked George and me if we wanted to join them. Personally, I’d had enough Sven for one day, plus I wasn’t quite ready to leave the scene. George wasn’t keen on spending more time with the obnoxious artist either.

“I’ll meet you back at your house, Nancy,” George said. “I heard Hannah’s making lobster mac and cheese for dinner tonight in honor of Salvador Dalí.”

“Ooh! Yum!” Bess exclaimed. She could never resist Hannah’s cooking. “How do I get an invitation to the feast?”

“Fine, you can both join us,” I said, “but I’d better make sure Hannah has enough for everyone.”

“Don’t worry, Nancy. I’ll call your house. If Hannah needs anything, I can stop at the grocery store on my way over,” George said, blowing us kisses.

I was curious what the River Heights PD would find in the way of clues, if they found anything. I decided to wait outside the gallery in hopes that my detective skills might come in handy. Through the gallery windows, I could see a pair of officers approaching Mona Pearl. The three of them exited the gallery and stood near the door. Mona Pearl was still wearing her mask. I decided I’d try to eavesdrop a little, just to see if there were any leads.

I leaned up against the wall outside the gallery, a little ways down from Mona Pearl and the police, and pretended to check my phone. Most of the audience had climbed into their cars and driven off, but I spotted Mr. Covarrubias in his parked car, talking on the phone, and the tall boy wearing the green cape hanging around at the edge of the parking lot, his gaze trained on the gallery doors.

The shorter of the two officers was a buff woman with a dark ponytail and a badge reading OFFICER GUTIERREZ. I overheard her saying, “So let me get this straight. The statue was stolen this morning from the Strickland mansion, but then it was stolen again?”

“That’s right. I was the one who stole it the first time,” Mona Pearl explained.

“And was your grandmother aware that you were taking the statue?”

“No. I was going to put it back after the performance.”

“Why didn’t you just ask her permission?”

“That’s not important now,” said Mona Pearl, her voice growing frustrated. “Now the statue really is missing.”

“When did you last see it?” asked Officer Gutierrez.

“I carried it onstage before the performance. It must have been taken during the dance.”

The officer made a note in her notebook.

“How do we know you didn’t just steal the statue a second time?” asked the other officer, a sandy-haired man with the build of a college football player and a face like a golden retriever. His badge read OFFICER BURGERMUTT.