Play@YSDC

Piazza del Scala is accessible via the Galleria, and has as its centerpiece a large statue of Michelangelo. La Scala itself is a bland-looking building from the outside, the famous opera house is merely large. The front doors are locked until opening night. The only way in is through the stage door, to be found at the back of the building.
A burly doorkeeper with a stern look he watches the entrance.

"My, aren't you muscular?" says Felicity with a smile. "I suppose that's why you've got this job. We're friends of Caterina Cavollaro, and she personally invited us to opening night. We'd like to speak to Arturo Toscanini, please."

Using Flattery.

The man is hesitant at first, but then sees the possibility that the director meeting these unknown strangers could increase the chance of figuring out what happened to the missing star. One of the stagehands is asked to accompany the visitors through the backstage area up to the music director's room.

Inside, the group soon lose sight of the stage door as strange sights intervene: a tenfoot high wooden nose against a wall, which will be gone the next time they pass this way. Pharaohs sit smoking cigars and playing cards, a trail of stage blood leads underneath a door. Sounds also echo along these walls: sets being built, singers exercising their throats, instruments being tuned, orders shouted and countermanded... activity is frantic as performance times nears.

The mood of the cast and crew is a mixture of sadness and confusion over the loss of their star, anticipation of great things done, and pre-performance excitement. Groups gather to cry or to sing together, creating oases and vortices of sound that wash and intermingle along the corridors, starting and vanishing as suddenly as a desert stream.

Pictures of Cavollaro are stuck up everywhere, garlanded with roses and ribbons. It is as if the singer stares accusingly from every wall, every door. Members of the cast press their lips to these shrines as they pass, worshiping these icons as fervently as Father Angelico feared. The investigators are continually being run past, or shoved aside, or wailed at by wild-eyed singers as they carry on in the tradition of Italian grand opera.
Far from windows, vents, or outer doors, the atmosphere becomes increasingly surreal. A row of plaster statues are dragged past, tied on a long rope, bumping and scraping. Egyptians sporting horrific battle wounds stroll by, cheerfully singing and chattering in torrents. Then a landslide of severed wooden heads cascades down a dark corridor, and forces the visitors down an even darker passage. In the distance the squeak of wood against plaster sounds like giggling. A group of slaves in foil chains skip past. After a sidelong glance they reveal a baleful eye as big as a dinner table glaring at them between the curtains. The visitors are intruding on a world obsessed by its devotion to artifice and trickery. They are behind the scenes, party to the clockwork demon of art.

The investigators are granted a brief audience with Arturo Toscanini. He has had no contact with the star, and while he regrets the absence, he must open as planned, with a substitute singer in the role. However, he is interested in any news of Caterina. He grants the investigators limited permission to remain and ask questions of the staff, up until the time of the production.

Once he is sure he won't be heard, Archie leans in to Felicity, and whispers "Thank you..." as he follows them into the building.

He goes a little fan boy with Toscanini. "I am truly looking forward to hearing the orchestra tonight. Let me tell you, I purchased several of your La Scala orchestra recordings, and I have never heard Haydn 101 sound better. It was so full of life..."

"And thank you. We will do our best not to abuse the privilege."

"Any time," Felicity whispers back. "Thank you for seeing us, Maestro," she says to Toscanini. "We'll do whatever we can to locate Caterina. How did she act in the time leading up to her disappearance? Was there any change in her behavior, anything unusual she did or said? Was anyone new hanging around her?"

Finding all the pomp and glamour of the opera utterly unintelligible, Andrew is glad when they have a solid witness to question. 'Was Virginia the understudy for Miss Cavollaro? Her voice is uncannily like Caterina's.'

Clarence stares at the giant body parts with a baleful eye and ponders on the upcoming performance. “I’m a little concerned about us all attending the performance.” He mutters as an aside just before being distracted by a trio of chattering dancers in tights.
He stands in the background and listens respectfully to Toscanini.

Toscanini bursts into a sudden cough. He covers his mouth and leans his head towards the floor.
"Sorry. I'm still struggling with the aftereffects of a bad flu."

Turning again to his interlocutors:
"The substitute singer is in fact Virginia, Caterina's sister. In reality she is older than Caterina by a few years. "
He clears his throat.
"Virginia is not exactly as gifted as her sister. No offence, sir, but... you might have mistaken the quality of Virginia´s voice....
But.. althought not brillant, she is a competent singer. And above all ... she has already sung the Aida many times before and she´s what we have to save the night."
"Honestly, I'm not in much mood to conduct the orchestra tonight while we still know nothing about what happened to Caterina.""
He takes on a tone of protest
"However, it's not just me to decide. Our patrons have been clear. The opening night cannot be postponed.
It won't be a particularly brilliant show. But I withdraw from all responsibility."

Responding to Felicity, Toscanini shakes his head with an emphatic gesture.
"I´m sorry. I can't tell you anything about Caterina. I refrain from getting into the private life of actors and singers."

"Maybe the costumery people can tell you some gossip".
He adds with reproach.

"You misunderstand," says Felicity. "It's not gossip I'm after. This information could help us find out what happened to Caterina."

Using Flattery.

That’s a rotten cough, Sir. It’s always hard running the show, so to speak, when you’re under the weather. How long have you been feeling Ill?” Clarence asks him when he has a moment.

"I only see Caterina at singing rehearsals, I don't know anything about her private life."
He sighs.
"I've never noticed anything unusual at rehearsals. But the theater staff know her best. Maybe they know something, but the police have already questioned everyone and came up with nothing."
He shrugs. Replying to Archie.
"I've been sick for two weeks and not just me. The flu has been hitting many people here at the theater lately."

"One of my friends is a doctor," says Felicity. "He might be able to help you."

Archie takes a step forward, and nods. "I would be happy to try to help you. We know enough now about the flu to know that it spreads through the air, so, in a theatre environment where it is not possible for even the lowliest stage hand to take a few days off without letting down a lot of people would definitely provide the ideal environment."

Using Medicine.

The director agrees and Archie can ascertain that the man has in fact the after-effects of a respiratory disease, but should fully recover within a few days.

The director comments.
"It's not just the flu. This place seems to be under a curse. In the last six years, La Scala has not been able to keep a lighting designer for more than three months. Every new person fell ill, and furthermore suffered profound disillusionment with the falsity and façades inherent in the theatrical arts. The illnesses included consumption, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, asthma, appendicitis, and in a few cases a strange dermatitis on the chest. Management has done everything possible, but has never pinpointed the cause of these maladies."

This piques Andrew's interest. 'Any locations particularly affected? Any particular jobs or roles getting these things worse than the others?' He wonder whether they could try and localise the source of this malady and perhaps identify another piece if the Sedefkar Simulacrum.

"We've met a couple of people who may have had this strange dermatitis," says Felicity. "Perhaps this is where they came down with it."

Once Archie is satisfied that the ailment is conventional in nature, he nods and steps back, listening to the rest.

"Have you experienced this dermatitis, Maestro?"

"No, I just had problems with a flu. Very long and more serious than normal. Other things, including dermatitis, affected the rest of the staff, mainly those who work with the costumes and scenery." the diractor replies.

"Thank you," says Felicity. "I think we should speak to them next." If there was something that looked like a piece of a statue, they would surely know about it and be around it.

Clarence nods sagely. It was as he had suspected.
“What about props? Do you have a store for pieces no longer used- but kept just in case, hmm?”

"You need to ask the costumery staff for more information." says Toscanini

Toscanini gives the directions to the costume department: a left, a right, up three levels and you’re there. To get there, the visitors weave their way along narrow corridors lined with anonymous doors, climb rickety flights of stairs, and make choices at intersections neglectfully unmentioned by Toscanini. Nonetheless, the journey to the costume department is a respite from the backstage madness. At least the people here are stationary and quiet. The costumiers’ room is the size of a Pullman carriage, filled with material, pins, designs, and cotton. The costumes are manufactured here but probably stored elsewhere. Six dressmaker’s dummies are adorned with costumes in various states of development. Four women work here. One is young. She smokes and draws at a desk. The others are the three elderly women, ancients dressed in black who busy themselves at the dummies like dwarves dressing magicians and princesses. They are tiny and work nimbly. The young woman is not attractive, but has a friendly and cheerful face with plump cheeks. Her big eyes are lively and intelligent.

Felicity approaches the woman with a smile on her face and greets her in Italian, translating for the others. "Buon Giorno, Signorina," she says. "I'm Felicity Hayward. My friends and I are friends of Caterina Cavollaro, and we're helping to try to locate her. May we ask some questions, please?"

Andrew watches the old women, simultaneously fascinated and disgusted. He tries to get a look at the dressmakers' dummies, to see if any might be made of something unlike the others. And whether the old women show any signs of injury or disease.

Archie nods, both relieved that the Maestro hadn't had that particular symptom and mildly annoyed that he would have to wait.

"Thank you, Maestro," he said. Then, agreeing with Felicity, he asked, "Could you be so kind as to point us in that direction?"

Clarence looks carefully at the dressmakers’ dummies; were any of them other than hessian wrapped horse hair?

The dummies are all made of wood and looks like normal dressmaker dummies. The older women are quite pale and not in good physical shape. They cough every now and then. The young woman seems to be the more vigorous one, she replies promptly to Felicity, with a tone of sadness thought.
"Yes, sure."
"Do you guys have any idea what might have happened to her?"

"We have some ideas," says Felicity, "but no proof yet, and we're not sure where she is right now. We were hoping if you and the others here could answer some questions, that might give us some more leads to follow. How did she act in the time leading up to her disappearance? Was there any change in her behavior, anything unusual she did or said? Was anyone new hanging around her?"

The young woman, named Luisa, she knows Caterina very well. They are close friends.
"I hope nothing serious happened to her, but I suspect she might have purposely escaped from her life for a while. Those past days I´ve been feeling she could breakdown at any moment. You might have found her happy and enthusiastic, but that's just a mask. She suffers the pressure and the expectations of those around her."

She lowers her voice...
"Other than that... well there have been rumors that Caterina was starting again a relationship with Flavio Conti. Before falling ill, Flavio looked quite interested in Caterina. He often appeared during Caterina´s rehearsals. By the way... I heard Flavio was very ill. It is a miracle that he has recovered.
Finally... Catherine had also family issues going on. She had a quarrel with her major sister Virginia lately."

"Thank you," says Felicity. "That fits with what we've discovered about them. Do you know what kind of illness Flavio Conti had? Has it been going around here at La Scala too?"

'And what was her disagreement with her sister about?'

Luisa shrugs, answering Andrew.
"I don't know. Probably something futile... any pretext is always a chance for those two. Catherine and Virginia have always had a troubled relationship. Virginia suffered greatly from being an unwanted firstborn. Her father wanted a boy and so Virginia was not a wanted child. Then, Amedeo was born and lastly Caterina was. Caterina was born after the family got a male child, so her birth was welcome with more benevolence. Apart from that, Virginia is an opera singer too, but she has never been as talented as Caterina. I always had the impression that Virginia is envious, even if she tries to hide it."

Then replying to Felicity, Luisa says:

"Yes, Flavio got sick around the time he started coming to Caterina's rehearsals. He caught a bad tuberculosis."

"Where did you get these dressmakers' dummies?" asks Felicity. "And when?"

Although Archie knows it's his imagination, his arm's tingling gets worse for a moment as Felicity brings up the dressmakers dummies. He knows that they will have a difficult decision to make about whom will pick it up if they find another part of the statue among the pieces.

"And we would love to see them if possible," he adds.

Clarence remembers the corruption around the statue’s arm when they found it; there doesn’t seem to be anything like that here. He wanders casually around the room, smiling at the old bats and looking for… anything untoward.

Luisa remains a little speechless, not understanding the sudden change of the visitors interest from Caterina's disappearance to the dummies.

"Well.. we get them from different sources at different times. Some have been here a long time and we use them over and over again. Every once in a while, when some get old, we replace them... there are a few in the store room and a couple that will be used in a scene in the opera... I think.
But why are you interested, if I may ask?"

"We suspect one of them may be the sources of the illnesses," says Felicity. "We'll want to inspect them all closely."

"By any chance, do you happen to remember whether or not you replaced on around the time the illnesses started?"

Clarence’s ears prick up,
“Some are to be used actually on the stage, you say? I think one of those may be our culprit.” He shakes his head in wonderment.
“Imagine all the audience becoming ill! What a blow to the theatre that would be.”

Luisa has a confused and unconvinced face.
"I see. Well.. I don't know much about infections but I can't imagine a piece of wood on the stage infecting all the theater audience, including the distant rows. Right now, I don't think it's possible for you to inspect the pieces of the stage and the storeroom. The staff are working to assemble the scenery and prepare everything for the premiere which will be by an hour. They are usually rushed and do not want people around. You will be able to inspect the thing as soon as the show ends."

"What do you know about Dr. Arturo Faccio?" asks Felicity. "I hear he attends the opera here."

Luisa sighs and answers in a low voice, almost in a whisper.
"He is one of the patrons. But it is better that you stay away from him. We are living in difficult times and the theater has had financial difficulties. For this La Scala has had to seek funding from unusual patrons."

The woman says nothing more, clearly implying that she doesn't want to get into trouble.

"We know he operated on Conti and Virginia," says Felicity, "and we suspect he had something to do with Caterina's disappearance. Please, if you tell us what you know, you could help us find her."

Using Flattery.

"Please, signora," Archie added. Then moving closer, he surreptitiously slipped a generous number of the bills he had changed into local currency at the hotel.

Luisa ask the group to help her taking one of the mannequins out of the studio, with an excuse. She is unwilling to talk with the other two women nearby. Even when the group is out, she is hesitant. She is tempted to accept the money, but then retracts and asks for more. Eventually the investigators are forced to give up almost everything they have in their pockets. She is visibly scared as she speaks.

"Faccia is a doctor from a wealthy Milanese family, but he´s also the leader of a gang of local criminals. In the last days before Caterina´s disappearance, that Faccia was sticking around here in the theater during rehearsals. He seemed to be up to something. There was another guy with him. Another patron. He looks foreigner. Arabian... maybe Turk... One evening, while I was tidying things up in the storeroom, I heard Faccia talking to someone in the corridor. He said he'll take care of Spinola. Then he left with the other person. I couln´t see who he or she was. But when I read about the unionist in the newspaper, I really felt bad. If you go to the police with this story, I will deny everything and tell them you guys are liars."

Clarence waggles his eyebrows knowingly.
“Please don’t worry; whatever you tell us will go no further.”

At the mention of the Turk, Andrew leans in towards the woman, fixing her with an unflinching gaze. 'Please think very carefully when you answer, this Turk, did he look like...' and Andrew describes Makyrat and his doppelgangers.

Using Interrogation

"Your secret is safe with us," says Felicity. She isn't exactly known for her discretion, but in this case she'll make sure she keeps it quiet. "Where does Dr. Faccia have his practice? And where does he live?"

The woman does not have a very detailed recollection of the foreigner's features
"Moorish skin, thick moustache... yes, it could be him, even if these rude people from Middle East... they all look a bit alike... to my eyes, at least."
Turning to Felicity
"Faccia is one of the senior hospital's chief physicians, although he hasn't operated frequently in recent years. Mostly, he assists and teaches young surgeons. His house is on Via Gesù, a street located in the city center, between via Monte Napoleone and via della Spiga. "
She looks at the wristwatch.
"Anyway, in less than an hour you'll find him here for the premiere. Patrons usually come early for an aperitif before the show."

"Thank you, we'll have to meet him then," says Felicity. "We'll be attending as well. That reminds me, I need to change my clothes for it!"

“We’re going to busy with those aperitifs!” Clarence remarks. He thanks Luisa for her help, setting the mannequin down as per instructions.
“Madame, is it black tie? Should we change before the show?”

"Of course it is black tie, sir."

Scoffing at Clarence, Andrew remarks, 'The question is not whether it is black tie old boy. It's whether it's white tie!'