Previously

The next Fool's Gold Coast entry will contain the final installment of "Critic's Notebook," my serialized story-through-journal-entries about Hedy Weiss getting framed for the murder of Mary Schmich--and Janet Davies's efforts to uncover the truth. For those of you who need some catching-up on the plot so far, I offer this brief synopsis and links to all previous installments.

1. "A Hedy Halloween" (10.30.2010): Theater critic Chris Jones and his wife, theater critic Hedy Weiss, attend the Chicago Tribune's annual Halloween party, dressed, respectively, as Scottish comedian Billy Connolly and the Black Swan from Swan Lake. After some satirical hobnobbing with Hedy's nemesis, Trib columnist Mary Schmich (costumed as Cathy from the comic strip), Hedy slips off to a broom closet to finish a review but manages to lock herself inside for some two hours, until she's rescued by a Serbian cleaning lady. When Hedy finally rejoins the party, Mary is nowhere to be seen.

2. "Chris in Crisis" (11.10.2010): Turns out that Mary went missing during the period of time Hedy was locked in the closet, and that the columnist's strangled corpse was later found in the same broom closet by the same Serbian cleaning lady. Worse, the murder weapon was a length of elastic similar to the sort used in the manufacture of tutus. All of which prompts the police to take Hedy in for questioning.

3. "From the Desk of Tom Williams" (11.18.2010): Internet critic Tom Williams and his peers discuss the case and Hedy's purported motive--professional jealousy over Mary's successful bid to begin writing the dialogue for the Hagar the Horrible comic strip.

4. "Belief System" (12.10.2010): Theater blogger Don Hall opines on the case, finds a way to blame Broadway in Chicago.

5. "The Raven" (1.11.2011): At home alone, lifestyle/entertainment reporter Janet Davies hears a rapping on her back door. It's Hedy, pausing on her way out of town to escape murder charges, to ask Janet to get to the bottom of who's framing her. "Why me?" Janet asks. "Because of all the people with media credentials in this town," Hedy replies, "you’re the last one anybody would ever suspect of doing any actual reporting. My enemy, whoever he is, will never be on to you."

6. "He Said, Zee Said" (2.3.2011): Meanwhile, Chris decides to get on with his life, returning to the set of Janet's show, 190 North, to tape his theater roundup segment, formerly called "He Said, She Said" because it was a joint effort with Hedy. When he arrives, he finds that someone has taken Hedy's place--an eager freelancer who seems to know a lot about the case, asking Chris prying questions about the serving tray used to bonk Mary on the head, the tutu elastic used to strangle her, and Hedy's whereabouts.

7. "The Hedyssey" (2.21.2011): A disguised Hedy makes a long and arduous journey down the center of the country, relying on a variety of conveyances (a train, a big rig, a raft) and meeting several colorful characters (a hobo, a lady truck driver, an 87-year-old bluesman, Disney World refugees) before finally arriving in Cuba, where a friend from Hedy's dancing days says she can stay until the heat dies down.

8. "Tonight on a Very Special 190 North" (3.22.2011): On a special live episode of 190 North broadcast from the Trib's newsroom, Janet Davies looks all set to announce Hedy's "He Said, She Said" fill-in as her permanent replacement. But first, Janet details the freelance critic's previous experience, including a stint as a server for Starving Artists Catering. After establishing the fellow's earlier keen interest in the murder, Janet reveals that his previous remarks about the serving tray used to incapacitate Mary couldn't have been known merely from reading news reports because the police themselves didn't know that detail. Further, the catering company in charge of the Trib's Halloween party where Mary met her end was none other than the freelancer's previous employer, Starving Artists Catering--and, as it happens, the company can't locate one of the servers who was there that night because he gave them a false name. Sensing that the jig is up, the murderous freelancer flees the room, prompting Chris to observe, "Wait a minute, I think he might be involved in Mary's murder somehow!"

Next time: The thrilling conclusion!

ELSEWHERE:
My review of Steppenwolf Theatre Company's The Hot L Baltimore is in this week's Chicago Reader.