“This is interesting, Coco,” she said, leaning over the tote and dropping a crumb of croissant in at the same time. “These two seem like an odd duo. I wouldn’t have guessed that they knew each other more than in passing if at all since they work completely different parts of the theatre. But from the looks of things, they know each other well.”
Over the years, Sadie had made an amateur study of the ways people behaved during conversations. Casual acquaintances exhibited different body language and gestures from close friends during intense discussions. She could also tell if people were talking about business or about more personal topics. Penelope and Freda acted like good friends. Sadie imagined they were gossiping based on how they cupped their hands around their mouths and turned away from other customers’ direct view. Even if she’d mastered lip-reading – which she hadn’t, though she always thought it would come in handy – she wouldn’t have been able to pick up the conversation. Still, body language revealed a lot. And Penelope and Freda’s told her something was going on.
“Deep in thought?”
The voice startled Sadie. She looked up to see Roxy standing beside her, a paper bag in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.
“I didn’t see you come in.”
“Dinner,” Roxy said, lifting both arms in the air. “I ordered to go at the counter. Chicken fingers and fries. Not healthy, I know, so guilty as charged. But I don’t have time to sit down to eat. I might get to nibble backstage before it gets busy.”
“Smart,” Sadie said. “I might trade you some chocolate lava cake for a few fries.”
“Deal,” Roxy said, reaching forward with the paper bag so Sadie could reach in. “So, what were you so deep in thought about?”
As she bit into a French fry, she nodded toward Penelope and Freda in the far corner.
“Oh, those two,” Roxy said. “They’re always gossiping about something.”
“They look pretty close. Their friendship seemed strange to me since they work at such different jobs.” Sadie reached into Roxy’s bag and pulled out a few more fries.
“Thick as theatre thieves,” Roxy said. “Freda’s the one who got Penelope the job in the box office. They worked together before, not sure where. Down in L.A., maybe. Or San Diego.”
“I wonder if they know anything about what happened the other night.” Sadie watched the two women, still huddled together in conversation. “Did Detective Higgins question them?”
“No idea,” Roxy said. “He might have. He was at the theatre just after that picnic scene rehearsal, asking questions. Freda was there then.” Roxy offered her paper bag to Sadie one more time and then rolled the top back up. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they knew something. Freda sees everything that goes on backstage, and Penelope sees what goes on up front.”
“So, between the two of them…”
Roxy shrugged. “He might have questioned Freda today, but Penelope wasn’t around. She comes in just before the box office opens.”
“Unless she’s cleaning,” Sadie said. “You said she cleans backstage once or twice a week.”
“Right, she does.”
“Do you know the last time she cleaned?”
Roxy frowned. “That’s a good question. Let me look at the schedule. I know the theatre was cleaned the night before the dress rehearsal, but we have a cleaning service that comes in once each week, as well, to do a more professional job. I don’t know who was on that night.”
“I’d be curious to know,” Sadie said.
“So would I, now that you mention it.” Roxy peeked into the tote bag. “I’ve got to get back. See you and the little star at six.”
“We’ll be there,” Sadie said. She watched Roxy leave and then looked back at the far table. Freda and Penelope were gathering their belongings and standing to leave. The two were now silent, their faces blank, as if gossiping had exhausted all emotion. They left the café without speaking to each other again and turned toward the theatre.
“What do you think, Coco?” Coco yipped as Sadie finished off the croissant. “I agree, something is off with those two.” Taking another sip of iced tea, she glanced at her watch, admiring the black strap with gold musical notes. Yet another favorite from her boutique’s selection of fashion watchbands, this one matched the gold beaded trim of her blouse, as well as dangling gold earrings in the shapes of treble and bass clefs. “Time to go, Coco.”
Sadie headed to the theatre, eyes widening as she passed the box office. A flyer with the words “Special Appearance” and Coco’s picture flanked the regular production poster. Inside the ticket window, Penelope worked at the counter, sorting envelopes that Sadie assumed to be will-call tickets. Roxy had mentioned the phone lines had been swamped with calls from eager theatregoers who hoped to see the show. Penelope looked up at Sadie without a smile, and then immediately went back to work.
Identical flyers had been posted on each side of the theatre entrance, framed in ornate gold-brushed wood, a style reminiscent of museum pieces. Mitchell had certainly pulled some fast action from the local print and frame shops.
Peering through the glass panes inlaid in the heavy doors, Sadie could make out a linen-covered table with a stack of what appeared to be programs on it. The bold sign behind it read “Pawtographs” in a Broadway-type font, black and red ink printing surrounded by stylish paw prints. Impressive, Sadie thought.
Rounding the corner of the theatre, Sadie bustled down the side alley to the stage door, where a frazzled-looking Coop greeted her.
“Roxy needs you backstage as soon as possible.”
Sadie looked at her watch. “We’re not late, right? Roxy said to call at six.”
“To call? Oh, never mind, I get it,” Coop said. “No, you’re not late. Go on back. She’ll meet you in Russell’s dressing room. That is, Coco’s dressing room for tonight. I’ll be in to explain how the speaker in the picnic basket will work.”
“Oh!” Sadie exclaimed. “Wonderful! You got that set up!” She looked down into the tote bag, “Did you hear that, Coco? You have your own speaker now!” Sadie looked back up at Coop as a yip of approval emerged from the tote. “How will she hear me? Will I have a microphone?”
“I hope not,” Sid muttered as he walked by. Sadie frowned at the director’s back.
“Ignore him,” Coop said. “He’s stressed because Higgins has been hanging around. I’ll give you a headset. Don’t worry, it will be easy.”
Sadie thanked Coop and made her way back to the dressing room, where she found Roxy pacing, head down in her prompt book. She appeared almost as frazzled as Coop had seemed when she met him at the stage door.
“Oh, good. I’m glad you’re here.”
“We’re not late, you know.” Sadie sighed, slightly irked at pointing this out again. “The call time was six o’clock.” She mentally patted herself on the back for sounding like a pro. She could get into this theatre thing if she stuck around. She was already getting the lingo down. “You know, Rox, everyone seems tense tonight. Coop looked semi-frantic, and Sid snapped at us for no reason.”
Roxy closed the prompt book and set it on the edge of the dressing table. “It’s just that Higgins is hanging around.”
“That’s what Coop said.”
Roxy sighed. “It wouldn’t be a big deal, but his timing is bad. He’s questioning cast members as they arrive, which shakes people up and takes their focus away from the show.”
“Well, he has a right to question people,” Sadie pointed out. She put the tote bag down and lifted Coco out, setting the Yorkie on the dressing table. Coco proceeded immediately to admire herself in the mirror, licking one paw and patting down a patch of wayward fur behind one ear.
“True,” Roxy sighed. “And he does have a warrant and he bought a ticket to tonight’s show, so we just have to deal with having him here. Sid’s not happy about it, but there’s nothing he can do. Same thing goes for Ernie and Mitchell, who are also peeved.”
“Ah, the big shots are here,
too. Did you hear that, Coco?” Sadie looked at Coco, who was now licking Roxy’s prompt book. Roxy picked up the book and, hesitating briefly, finally shrugged her shoulders and tucked it under her arm.
“Yes, they’re here,” Roxy said. “Much to Higgins’ delight, I might add. He spent a good fifteen minutes grilling Ernie, from what I heard.”
“Ernie?” Sadie said. “That’s interesting. Ernie doesn’t have much to do with the show, at least in terms of hands-on activity.”
“True, but he’s got money behind it, and he didn’t expect Brynn to get the lead, as you know.”
Sadie nodded. “I remember that from overhearing the conversation the first day I was in town. “He wanted Nevada to play the lead, only invested in the show because he thought she would get it.”
“And now she has it,” Roxy pointed out. “Just like he wanted originally.”
“So he had two things to gain from Brynn being out of the way,” Sadie said. She sat down in front of the dressing table and lifted Coco into her lap. “Nevada got the lead part, and he saved himself from a financial disaster, at least from his perspective. He was able to kill two birds with one catwalk.”
Roxy stared at Sadie. “There are so many things wrong with that metaphor that I don’t even know where to start.”
“Well, you know what I meant,” Sadie said, brushing the comment off. “He had motives for killing Brynn.”
“I suppose, but so did other people. And I’m not sure Ernie even knows how to get up to the catwalk. Besides, even with Brynn as the lead instead of Nevada, the play was doing all right financially. And all Ernie really cares about is money. Look, I have to go check with the lighting technicians about the new cue for Coco’s spotlight. Sit tight. Freda will be here soon to dress Coco, and Coop will stop by to explain the picnic basket speaker.”
Both Freda and Coop showed up within minutes. Freda set to work brushing Coco’s fur and attaching the rhinestone collar and sequined bows securely.
Coop brought the picnic basket in and demonstrated how Sadie should use the headset to give Coco her commands. After the practice run went well enough that Coco grabbed the brush from Freda’s hand, hopped off the dressing table, and presented the brush to a crew member in the hallway, Sadie and Coop both stepped outside, leaving Freda and Coco to finish up without any wayward commands disrupting them.
“I see Coco takes her role seriously,” Coop said as he adjusted the headset on Sadie,
“Yes, she does,” Sadie said proudly. “Testing, testing,” she said into her microphone. She beamed at Coop. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Coop laughed. “Between your willingness and Coco’s determination, I’m sure the picnic scene will be in good hands. And paws,” he added.
“It had better be,” Sid said, passing by again. He looked no less disgruntled than before.
“Sheesh,” Sadie said once the director moved on. “He’s in a mood tonight, isn’t he?”
Coop nodded. “Understandably so. His job is on the line. Ernie’s watching him. New critics are in the audience tonight. And apparently he and Russell had an altercation earlier because Sid didn’t want Russell in the show tonight. He’s out of jail.”
“Yes, I know.” Sadie said. “I saw him at The Sea Urchin this afternoon.”
“Figures,” Roxy said, joining the two of them. “That’s where he heads to drown his sorrows. He must have been pretty upset about not being in the show tonight.”
“I’d say he sounded far more upset about being accused of sending Brynn a text. Claims someone else borrowed or stole the phone to frame him.” Sadie did her best to recall the details she’d picked up between Russell’s conversation with the bartender and the server’s gossipy additions.
Freda emerged from the dressing room, leaving the door open, and headed down the hallway, scissors swinging as she went. “She’s all yours,” she called over her shoulder.
“Thanks,” Sadie said. She watched as Roxy and Coop took off to handle other aspects of show preparation, and then retired into the dressing room to sit with Coco. Even with wardrobe out of the way, and directions for the new speaker in the picnic basket, she couldn’t help but feel the evening was going to follow its own, unpredictable course.
CHAPTER TWELVE
From the wings, Sadie could hear an active buzz coming from the theatre, louder than it had been the night before.
“Sounds busy out there,” she said to Roxy, who stood nearby.
“Sold out,” Roxy said, lifting a finger to caution Sadie not to talk while she spoke into her headset. “Is that picnic basket ready? All props inside for Coco to give out?” At the response, she nodded. “Thanks, Coop.” She turned to Sadie. “All set. The basket has one item for each person in that scene. All small enough for Coco to carry.”
“Great!” Sadie said, her energy growing. She stood tall, looking out at the stage as if it were an Academy Awards platform.
She turned when someone tapped her arm. Mitchell stood behind her, a stack of programs in his hands and big smile on his face.
“We have a table set up in the lobby for Coco to sign autographs after the show.”
“I think you mean Pawtographs,” Sadie quipped. After all, it was only fair to get the details right. Besides, she’d already seen the sign.
“Yes, of course,” Mitchell said. He opened the front of a program on top of the stack and pointed to an empty space. “This is where the dog should sign, er...print, er…paw. Whatever. There’s an ink pad there and a blotter.”
Roxy turned toward Mitchell, annoyed. “Do you really have to explain this right now, right here? We’re trying to get ready for the show.”
“Sorry, Roxy,” Mitchell said, his smile tensing. “But you might not be having a show at all if not for this fortunate twist, so just deal with it.”
“It’s fine,” Sadie said, hoping to deescalate the disagreement. “I understand, and I’ll explain it to Coco.”
Somehow Mitchell managed to frown in confusion while maintaining a smile that looked less genuine by the second. “OK. But do me a favor and come out to the lobby during the second act, so I can go over this at the table. Not at intermission. There’ll be people out there having refreshments. Wait until the second act starts.” He turned to walk away, his smile gone before he’d even made a full about face.
Alex hurried toward his dressing room. At the sight of Roxy, he slowed down and attempted to pass quietly behind her.
“You’re late, Alex,” Roxy said without so much as turning her head.
“I’m here now,” Alex retorted. “That’s more than you can say about Nevada. She’s out in the alley arguing with that detective.”
“This is how the two of you act when you get to take over the leads?” Roxy shook her head, exasperated.
“We didn’t have a choice, and like I said, I’m here now.” Alex slung a jacket over his shoulder and disappeared down the hall.
“Wow,” Sadie sighed. “Is everyone anxious because of Detective Higgins?”
Roxy pulled her headset down behind her neck and let it rest above her shoulders. She stretched her head from side to side. “No, though that’s a big part of it. It’s unnerving having police hanging around. But the show’s success is up in the air. If tonight doesn’t go over, the rest of the play’s run could be cancelled.”
“Oh, my,” Sadie said. “I didn’t think of that.”
“There’s always a possibility. Ernie could pull the plug.” Roxy shot off a quick cue reminder to the sound techs.
“But he must want the show to go on,” Sadie said. “He’s thrilled that Nevada has the lead now, right?”
“Sure, Ernie’s thrilled Nevada took over Brynn’s part.” Roxy said. “But not thrilled enough to lose money. As I said before, the almighty dollar is always Ernie’s bottom line.” Roxy reached around her neck and pulled the headset back onto her head, positioning the microphone in front of her mouth. “Thirty minutes to curtain.”
“I’
d better check on Coco.” Sadie looked around at the increased pace backstage.
“I’m sure she’s still sitting right where she was, admiring herself in the mirror,” Roxy said. “You’ve got quite a character on your hands.”
“No argument there,” Sadie said.
Much to Sadie’s relief, Coco was, indeed, right where she’d left her, in front of the dressing room mirror. Although she was standing now, it was clear she’d been lying down, as the bow on her head was slightly askew.
“Let’s straighten this before Freda sees you.” Sadie removed the pins holding the bow and, trying it on herself before returning it to Coco, she secured it back on the Yorkie’s head. “There, much better. No napping now.” Coco licked Sadie’s hand, and Sadie rewarded her with a treat.
Coop entered, picnic basket in one hand. He set the basket on the floor and opened the lid. Coco jumped down from the dressing table and right into the wicker container.
“You see?” Sadie beamed. “She knows her part.”
“Sid asked to have her practice again, and I want to test the speaker one more time.” Coop shuffled a few items around Coco and closed the lid. Coop adjusted Sadie’s headset and took a position on the floor similar to those in the picnic scene. “Go ahead and give her the command.”
“Give toys,” Sadie said into her headset.
Coco stuck her head out of the basket and ducked back inside.
Coop and Roxy exchanged panicked looks. Both breathed sighs of relief when Coco popped back up, this time hopping out and presenting Coop with a plastic spoon.
“Good girl,” Sadie said. Proud of her trick, the Yorkie returned to the basket and jumped back inside.
“Try it from outside the door,” Coop said, “so I can make sure she’s responding to your voice speaker, not you directly.”
Sadie stepped into the hall, gave the command, and came back into the room. She found Coop holding a paper napkin. Coco sat in the picnic basket, an object in her mouth. Sadie did a double take.
A Sadie Kramer Flair Mystery 02 - A Flair For Drama Page 7
