The Mystery Megapack

and, opening it, disclosed a set of the most superb diamonds. In the midst a magnificent necklace winked and flashed in the wintry sunlight. The sight took my breath away, and for a time I grovelled in speechless admiration before him.
    “But—but how”—I stammered at last, and stopped, for he was regarding my confusion with evident amusement.
    “I stole them,” said Warlock Bones.

SECURITY BLANKET, by Toni L.P. Kelner
    Living through a science fiction convention is incredibly intense. In less than forty-eight hours, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, you can experience everything in fast-forward: friendship, romance, rivalry, hatred.
    In my case, I went from admiring Pinky, to being embarrassed by him, to disliking him, to mourning him, to solving his murder.
    * * * *
    Naturally Pinky saw the situation before anybody else. He moved to intercept even as he used his walkie-talkie to alert me. “Regina, we have a toucher—repeat, a toucher—moving in on Masters. Older female, blue sweatshirt, white hair.”
    I buzzed the rest of available redshirts, but though we immediately headed in that direction, the room was filled with fans hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. By the time Andi, Donna, Elliot, and I made our way through, Pinky had blocked the toucher’s access to her goal: the guest of honor, William Masters, who’d played the recurring role of Bane, good-guy werewolf on the TV show Werewolf Hunter .
    In a polite-but-firm voice, Pinky said, “I’m sorry, but other fans are talking with Mr. Masters right now. If you’ll show me your ticket, I’ll let you know when you’ll have an opportunity to speak with him.”
    “I just want to give him a quick hug and kiss.” The silver-haired woman looked more like Bane’s grandmother than one of his fans, but you really can’t judge fans by their appearances. “I know he won’t mind.”
    “Mr. Masters himself requested that there be no unauthorized touching,” Pinky replied. “The rules were included in your registration packet.” He reached into his belt pouch. “I’ve got a copy here, as well, if you’ve lost yours.”
    “I don’t need your damned rules,” the woman spat, destroying the illusion of grandmotherhood. “I paid my money, and I came a long way to meet Bane, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
    Pinky said, “You’ll get your chance to meet Mr. Masters when it’s your turn, but there will be no touching. May I see your ticket?”
    “I’ve lost it,” the woman said unconvincingly.
    I’d have bet my favorite Werewolf Hunter t-shirt that the woman had never even seen a ticket, let alone paid the extra fee for a personal meeting with Bane. Still, as head of security, I had to play nice, so I asked, “Is there a problem?”
    Pinky actually kept a straight face as he said, “This lady lost her ticket for her meeting with Mr. Masters.”
    “I’m sure we can take care of that.” The woman’s face brightened, but only until I turned to Andi and said, “Can you take this lady out to registration and see about getting her a replacement ticket?”
    “Sure thing, Regina.” The woman was trying to come up with another lie as Andi escorted her out, but I knew she’d be kept out of the way until the meet-and-greet ended. Fortunately, Bane hadn’t even noticed the uproar and continued speaking to one of the legitimate ticket-holders in that Australian accent fans found so irresistible.
    I let Elliot and Donna go back to working the room and said, “Good catch, Pinky.”
    “I shouldn’t have had to catch anyone,” he retorted. “There should never be a ticketed event in the middle of a meet-and-greet. You can’t do decent crowd control this way.”
    “I know,” I said, annoyed. “Ted said there wasn’t enough in the budget for a separate room.” Ted, the chairman of the convention, had refused most of my requests.
    “If you can’t afford decent security, you shouldn’t put on a convention.”
    Again he was stating the obvious, and I ran my fingers through my bangs in exasperation. “We’ve only got half an hour to go. Maybe we’ll make it through without any more problems.
    “If Shannon pays attention, that is. I saw that toucher a mile away—she should have, too.”
    I turned to look at Shannon, who was serving as Bane’s personal attendant. Rather keeping an eye on the people nearby, she was staring at him in rapt attention. “Star-struck?”
    “Big time.”
    Security crew members, known