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It is finally revealed that two people had been masquerading as the ghost. Granny determines that the finances of the Opera House, which are a complete mess, have been made so intentionally in order to hide the fact that money is being stolen, with the murders being used either as a distraction or to cover the evidence. Andre, another employee, is suspected, but he turns out to be a Cable Street Particular. Agnes unmasks Walter Plinge, the janitor, as the ghost, though as he is seemingly harmless, the others are unconvinced. Having discovered the problems at the Opera House and also having coerced the publisher to pay Nanny richly for her book, the witches investigate the mystery, with Granny posing as a rich patron, Nanny insinuating herself into the opera house staff, and Greebo being transmogrified into human form (as during Witches Abroad) to pose as Granny's companion. After swapping rooms with Christine, Agnes begins receiving late-night training from the Opera Ghost originally intended for Christine. Due to her incredibly powerful, versatile and possibly magical voice, Agnes is asked to sing the parts from the background, unbeknownst to Christine or the audience. The Opera Ghost, who has long haunted the opera house without much incident, begins to commit seemingly random murders staged as "accidents", and also requests that Christine be given lead roles in several upcoming productions. En route, they meet Henry Slugg, an Ankh-Morporkian opera singer who adopted a Brindisian persona of Enrico Basilica to further his career but yearns for Ankh-Morporkian cuisine after years of Brindisian pasta, squid and tomato sauce and Granny makes a deal with Death for him not to claim the fatally-ill son of an innkeeper.Īgnes Nitt is chosen as a member of the chorus, where she meets Christine, a more popular but less talented girl whose father lent Bucket large sums of money to purchase the Opera House. This has the side benefit of distracting Granny from becoming obsessive and self-centered, or so Nanny believes to her great relief. They also hope to recruit Agnes into their coven, to replace Magrat Garlick who left the coven when she became Queen of Lancre (in Lords and Ladies). When Granny Weatherwax realizes Nanny Ogg has written an immensely popular "cookbook" but has not been paid by the publisher (and that the nom de plume of 'A Lancre Witch' may lead people to believe that she rather than Nanny wrote it), the witches leave for Ankh-Morpork to collect the money. The story begins with Agnes Nitt leaving Lancre to seek a career at the Opera House in Ankh-Morpork, recently purchased by Seldom Bucket, formerly a cheesemonger.
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