“Why didn’t you tell me about your plan?” asked the Duchess.

“I was going to explain the whole thing before you gave away your entire collection. But I had Diana give Rufus the ledger book first, in case you disagreed with my methods.” Zeke turned to address me again. “Grandmother supports Mona Pearl and me as fellow artists. Even if we couldn’t see her own art for what it was.”

“That’s right, Ezekiel,” the Duchess said from her chair. “If I were fifty years younger, I’d start again as a performance artist.”

“I think you’ve always been one, Grandmother,” Zeke replied, resting a hand on hers.

“We should give the Stricklands a little time to talk this out, don’t you think, Nancy?” Bess ventured, gazing shyly at Zeke. I could see she’d already moved on from her last artistic beau. “I’d like to get back to the party.”

“Save me a dance, Bess?” asked Zeke.

“Of course!” She beamed.

“I agree with Bess,” I chimed in. “If none of you took Mona Pearl’s statue, I’d like to find out who did.”

The Duchess pointed to the door to her right. “That one will take you back to the main gallery. I’ll join you shortly, once my grandson sees fit to explain his master plan.”

Mr. Gatewood took Diana’s arm and shooed all of us toward the door.

“Diana can stay,” Zeke said. “She’s basically family, anyway, even if she and Mona Pearl aren’t getting along right now.” Diana smiled.

Mr. Gatewood reluctantly released her arm and sniffed, waiting for my friends and me to leave. “Don’t breathe a word of where you’ve been,” he said. “Please.”

“We’ll keep the Duchess’s secret,” I told him. “For now. Anyway, I still have one more mystery to solve.”

“Thank you, Miss Drew,” said the Duchess. She gave us a regal wave, and Mr. Gatewood ushered Bess, George, and me through the doorway into yet another winding passageway crammed with the Duchess’s unfinished masterpieces.

The passage let us out through a revolving doorway cleverly hidden behind one of the gigantic rose-filled urns that flanked the staircase at the end of the main gallery. We approached the ballroom to find that the party was back in swing. The lights were on, and thankfully, nobody else was dangling from the chandelier. Chief McGinnis was pacifying some disgruntled out-of-towners, but the people I recognized from River Heights were mainly sitting back to enjoy the show. This was probably the most exciting party they’d been to in years!

I cast a glance over my shoulder, at the bare space on the wall where the Shammas portraits used to hang. Sitting on the bench before them was a sad figure with his head in his hands. It was Sven, having changed from his spangly leotard into a somber navy-blue one. Bess hurried past him without a glance, no doubt thinking of her promised dance with Zeke. I caught George’s arm to get her attention.

“Can you guys see if they still have those little tea cakes? I never got to try one,” I said, motioning George on ahead. I had a hunch as to who’d taken Mona Pearl’s statue. Maybe I’d known it all along.