“Is that a comb in her mouth?”
Coop nodded. “Apparently she’s expanding on the game. She delivered the napkin, but then pulled a comb out of my pocket and took it back with her.”
“Oh, dear,” Sadie said. “Yes, she does like to find items to store in her basket at home sometimes. I never know what I’ll find in there, aside from her favorite stuffed lobster toy.” She looked at Coco, and then back at Coop, worried. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“I don’t think so.” Coop stood up. “Just something else to amuse the audience.”
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
“Ten minutes to curtain.”
“Thanks. Ten,” Coop replied. He turned to Sadie. “Keep Coco with you here. I’ll come get her one scene before the picnic.” Sadie lifted Coco out of the basket as Coop picked it up. “I need to set this on the prop table for now.” He paused, looking inside. “I’ll take this back.” He lifted the comb out, slipped it into his pocket and looked in the basket again. “And…I believe this goes here…” He pulled a makeup brush out and placed it on the dressing table.
“Anything else interesting in there?” Sadie said.
Coop rummaged through the remaining items. “Nope, nothing but picnic supplies now.” He disappeared into the hallway, closing the dressing room door behind him.
“You’re such a clever girl,” Sadie said, patting Coco on the head, though careful not to disturb the sequined bow. She set Coco down on the floor and turned to a compact refrigerator and small microwave in the corner of the room. She pulled a serving of chocolate lava cake from the refrigerator and removed the plastic wrap. She had warned the crew to keep chocolate away from Coco, as it wasn’t good for dogs, and had been pleased to see the desserts stashed safely away. Popping the cake into the microwave, she heated it twenty seconds, just enough to give the “lava” description meaning. Sitting down at the dressing table, she took a bite and settled in to wait for further instructions.
“Everything good?” Roxy said, sticking her head in quickly.
“Fine, we’re ready,” Sadie replied. Coco yipped, as well.
Sadie watched Roxy disappear as rapidly as she’d appeared. Returning to the cake, she scooped another bite into her mouth, closing her eyes to savor the rich flavor. Again she took a generous bite, repeating her closed-eye appreciation. One bite at a time, she finished off the decadent dessert. There’s nothing in the world better than chocolate, she mused. Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked around.
“Coco?” Sadie scanned the room. “Where are you hiding?” She set the empty cake plate on top of the microwave and looked under the dressing table. No sign of the petite dog under that piece of furniture or any other. The wastebasket was empty, as well. It was worth looking there; it was a basket, after all. Sadie studied the room, finally noticing the door to the hallway was ajar. Panic kicked in as she realized Roxy, in her haste, had not closed the door all the way.
Sadie stuck her head out into the hallway. “Coco?” she whispered. The first scene already under way, she could hear the actors delivering their lines from the stage. Shouting Coco’s name was out of the question.
“Have you seen a small dog?” she whispered to a crew member passing by. The young man’s eyes widened as he shook his head and hurried on.
Sadie reached the area just behind the stage and tiptoed in. She dropped to her hands and knees and began checking under chairs and inside containers. A tall stack of coiled electrical cords looked promising, but close inspection revealed nothing inside. She continued to crawl along the wall, peeking sideways at the hanging curtains leading to the stage. She could see glimpses of the actors and hear their voices echoing. She flattened her head against the floor as she came up alongside each curtain, checking to see if Coco might be hovering between the fabric and the floor. The rascal was small enough to hide there. Why hadn’t she adopted a Great Dane instead of a Yorkie? There’d be no chance of losing that critter backstage.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Sadie’s clear vision of the stage suddenly became a dark silhouette of a shoe. She gulped and stood up, dismayed to find herself face to face with Sid. “I…I lost something,” she said. No other explanation came to mind and, besides, it was true. She had lost something.
“Maybe you could wait to find it later?” Sid practically hissed. “We have a show in progress now, in case you didn’t notice.”
Coop came to the rescue. “Don’t worry, Sid, I found the item she lost.” He took Sadie’s elbow as Sid threw his hands up in the air and stalked off.
“This way,” Coop whispered, pulling Sadie back to the prop table. There, sitting calmly in the picnic basket, was an innocent-looking Coco.
“Roxy poked her head into the dressing room to check on us,” Sadie sputtered, trying to apologize. “She must have left the door open.”
“No harm done,” Coop said. “At least she’s ready for her entrance. But do stay right here with her, OK? Sid will have my job if it happens again. Or if he finds out about this time, for that matter.”
“Absolutely,” Sadie promised. Coop walked away, leaving Sadie looking down at the wayward canine. As Coco tilted her head upwards and gazed lovingly at her human, Sadie could swear she saw a smile emerge amidst the fur.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sadie stood by the prop table, one hand resting carefully on Coco’s head, just behind the sequined bow. Bumping the headpiece off kilter at this point was bound to upset Freda, and possibly other company members who were skeptical about Coco’s involvement. Penelope, for example, had given Coco a look that was anything but warm earlier, when they’d first walked by the box office. Sadie still couldn’t figure out what the girl’s problem was, still suspecting she was a wannabe star.
A voice as clear as a wind chime and sweet as a morning sparrow came floating from the stage. Ah, Sadie thought. Nevada had just launched into song, which meant the show was midway through the second scene. Her singing voice was ten times better than Brynn’s. Again, it was obvious Sid should have cast her for the lead instead of Brynn. How many people resented his decision?
Sadie mulled this over as she waited for the show’s first act to progress. Alex had joined in song with Nevada, and Sadie paid more attention to his voice this night than she had before. As was the case with Nevada, his delivery was clearer and stronger than Russell’s had been. It seemed favoritism weighed more than talent when Sid cast both leads. It dawned on Sadie for the first time that Alex may have resented Sid’s casting choices, as well. Ernie hadn’t mentioned Alex at all in the conversation she’d overheard at Curtain Call the day she arrived for the dress rehearsal. Perhaps he wasn’t concerned about the leading man role. Maybe he didn’t understand how casting the male lead would have affected Nevada if Sid had put her in Brynn’s role.
”Warning picnic scene.” Roxy’s voice interrupted her thoughts. A minute later Coop reappeared at the table to fetch the picnic basket. Sadie’s nerves kicked in, and she had trouble releasing the basket.
“It’ll be fine,” Coop assured her. “Remember, I’m in this scene. I’ll take Coco out when we set the stage. And I’ll be sitting nearby. In fact, I’ll be closest to the picnic basket.”
“How do we know she won’t pop out early?” Sadie asked. “We should have practiced telling her to ‘stay’ until it was time for her to pop out.” A dozen scenarios of things going wrong flew through Sadie’s mind within seconds.
“I’ll take care of that,” Coop said.
This comforted Sadie, at least as much as it was possible to be comforted, knowing she was letting Coco out into a murder scene. She shivered at this thought as she watched Coop head into the wings. Maybe agreeing to Sid and Mitchell’s scheme wasn’t such a great idea. Yet she’d signed a contract. She’d let her excitement at the idea of Coco’s stardom interfere with rational thought. There was nothing she could do about it now, except hope everything would be OK.
Sad
ie took a deep breath and moved into the wings, positioning herself near Roxy, who signaled for her to stay quiet.
“Standby.” Roxy’s voice was calm and focused. Sadie watched as the stage lights faded to black. Several figures carried props onto the stage, including Coop, who set the picnic basket down and sat on the floor beside it.
“Go picnic scene,” Roxy said.
The stage lights came up, revealing the scene Sadie had watched twice before: at the dress rehearsal, uneventful except for the spilled lemonade, and the night before, most definitely eventful with Coco’s surprise performance. The setting was a lively one, with the full cast spread around the stage. Several actors sat at a picnic table in animated conversation with each other. Two others nearby tossed a beach ball back and forth. Nevada, Alex, Coop, and a few others sat on a blanket on the floor. Nevada turned the pages of a book while Alex stretched out, enjoying the imaginary sun. Coop leaned casually over the picnic basket, one elbow on the lid, fist under his chin as he conversed with the closest person at the table.
“Stay,” Sadie whispered into her headset, just for good measure, though Coop’s clever pose would prevent Coco from entering early.
“Standby light cue 18A” Roxy shifted her stance as the lighting booth confirmed the standby call.
“Go lights.” Roxy smiled at Sadie as a spotlight brightened over the picnic basket. Coop straightened up, stretching both arms over his head. The lid on the basket flapped up and down slightly. Sadie tensed, wondering if the lid felt heavier to Coco this time. If she couldn’t get out, they were all in trouble.
“Let’s see what we have for lunch,” Coop said, picking up on the potential problem. “I’m famished.” Other picnic-goers chimed in. Coop lifted the picnic basket lid and Coco’s bow popped up, seemingly unattached to a head, and then disappeared back into the basket. A second later, however, both her bow and head appeared, much to the delight of the audience.
“Oh!” Nevada squealed with delight. “Fluffy, there you are!”
Fluffy again? Sadie thought. Really? Why hadn’t she thought to specify a different name in Coco’s contract? Maybe it really was time to get Coco an agent. These things could be negotiated.
Sadie felt Roxy elbow her. Though not as official as the light and sound cues Roxy had been calling, the meaning was clear.
“Give toys,” Sadie said into her headset.
Coco dropped back inside the basket. Roxy sucked in her breath as they all waited for Coco to do her part. Sadie bit her lip and tapped one hand nervously against her side. But a few seconds later, Coco appeared with the grapes from the night before. Propping her two front paws on the basket’s rim, she scrambled over the edge and landed on the stage with the finesse of an Olympic gymnast. Applause filled the theatre as Coco delivered the grapes to Nevada, then trotted back to the basket and hopped in.
“Give toys,” Sadie said again. Dutifully, Coco jumped out, this time with a green leaf in her mouth, the stem attached to an object that remained stubbornly inside the basket. Not to be dissuaded, Coco gripped the leaf with her teeth and pulled, but nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. She let go of the leaf and faced the audience as a round of “aws” circled the theatre. Then, like a fox jumping for prey, she turned back, grabbed the leaf and tugged with her full body weight, slight as it was. She fell back onto the floor with the leaf still firmly gripped between her teeth. An orange popped over the side of the basket and rolled forward, pulling Coco into a somersault.
The audience roared. It was all the encouragement she needed. One by one, she pulled surprises from the basket, distributing them around the stage. She delivered paper napkins to those at the picnic table, which they passed around to each other. Alex received a plastic cup, into which another cast member poured lemonade, this time without spilling it. And Coop seemed delighted when Coco surprised him with a tape measure.
“I wondered where that went,” Freda said, standing behind Sadie and Roxy.
As a finale, Coco pulled a sandwich from the basket, carrying it around the stage in its clear baggie. Going from one cast member to the next, she appeared to contemplate who should receive this special gift. Finally, she walked toward the edge of the stage and sat down, shaking the plastic bag from side to side until it ripped open.
“Oh, no,” a young male crew member to Sadie’s left said. “I…”
“Shhh!” Roxy cautioned just before the sandwich went flying across the floor. Coco immediately chased after it, bringing it back to center stage, where she placed one paw on its edge and took a bite. Looking up, she smacked her lips and went back for more.
“I’m confused,” Roxy said. “Isn’t that plastic? We use a plastic sandwich for that prop. I hope she doesn’t get sick.”
“You and me both,” Sadie said.
“At least not on stage,” Sid mumbled, also watching nearby.
“That’s what I was trying to say,” the same young man said. “I couldn’t find the one we usually use, so I just threw my own sandwich in as a substitute.”
“What kind?” Sadie asked.
“Peanut butter.” The young man looked at Sadie apologetically.
Sadie smiled. “Her favorite.”
To thunderous applause, the curtain came down for intermission. Sadie rushed out onto the stage and snatched up the canine star. Coco clung stubbornly to the remaining half sandwich with her teeth, but looked up at Sadie with both pride in her eyes and peanut butter on her mouth.
“Good job, Coco,” Sadie said. “Now let’s get you cleaned up.”
* * *
The Pawtograph table turned out to be just as successful as everyone hoped. Mitchell stood by grinning proudly, as if he were the one dipping a paw into ink and pressing it firmly inside each person’s program. Coco lapped up the attention, kissing anyone who would let her and even those who didn’t want doggie kisses.
Roxy approached as the crowd was thinning out. Sid and Ernie had both stopped by to congratulate Coco on the performance, patting her on the head and thanking Sadie as an afterthought. Freda came out to retrieve the rhinestone collar and sequined bows, but Mitchell shooed her away, citing Coco’s costume needs for photo ops.
“Everyone’s meeting at Curtain Call,” Roxy said. “Coco’s invited. And you. In that order.” Roxy laughed as Sadie rolled her eyes.
“Dogs aren’t allowed in food establishments, you know,” Sadie said. “I don’t want to get you guys in trouble.” She lifted Coco’s non-inked paw up so that a guest could shake it.
“Don’t worry. Ernie’s arranged a private party,” Roxy said. “The café’s making an exception, since they won’t be open to the public. They also want a pawtographed headshot to add to the collection on their wall.”
“Coco doesn’t have a headshot,” Sadie pointed out.
“We can use one of the show flyers,” Roxy said. “They’ll have a headshot done up for her by next week.”
Sadie blinked. “Wait. Did you just say ‘next week’?”
“Oh, right.” Roxy squeezed Sadie’s shoulder. “Sid’s going to talk to you about that.” Roxy scooted off before Sadie could ask for clarification.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A noisy crowd of cast and crew filled Curtain Call. Champagne splashed from flutes as the rambunctious group shared tidbits from the weekend’s events. Brynn’s murder, the show’s opening, Russell’s arrest, and Coco’s newfound fame, meant there was no shortage of conversation topics. On the café’s counter were platters of cheese, crackers and fruit. Bowls of chips and dips were spread around the room on individual tables.
“This must be the cast party that Sid mentioned,” Sadie said to Roxy as they walked in.
“No, that’s not until next weekend. After the next two shows.”
“The next what?”
“That’s what Sid’s planning to discuss with you.” Roxy patted Sadie on the back. “In fact, here he comes now.”
Sadie saw Sid emerging from the crowd like a shark from a w
ave. Instinctively, she looked around for a place to hide.
“Sadie, so great to see you!” Sadie snagged a champagne flute from the nearest beverage cart and let Sid drag her through the crowd to a table in the back. She wasn’t surprised to find Ernie and Mitchell both seated already. Two chairs had been saved – one for Sadie, and one for Coco.
“Great job, you two,” Mitchell said, his gaze falling on Sadie, as well as the tote bag she’d just placed on the other empty chair.
“You’re talking to a purse, Mitch.” Sid smirked as he tipped back his glass, which was heavier than the champagne flutes making the rounds. Ernie and Mitchell had similar barware. Sid pulled a flask from his jacket pocket and splashed a refill into each tumbler.
“And a fine purse it is, too,” Ernie said. “Let’s see that little star you have in there.” As always, Sadie could almost see dollar signs replacing his pupils.
Sadie lifted an exhausted looking Coco out of the tote and set the Yorkie in her lap. Coco looked around and then leaned against Sadie, closing her eyes. “She’s had a big night, guys. I’m not sure she’ll last long here.” Sadie stroked Coco’s head, now devoid of sequins, which Freda had confiscated the moment the last pawtograph was given out.
“We understand,” Mitchell said. “And we want her to get her beauty sleep. Isn’t that right?” He looked at Sid and Ernie.
“Absolutely,” Sid said.
Ernie nodded in and then spoke. “Ms.…”
“Just Sadie is fine.” How many times would she need to tell the producer her name?
“Sadie,” Ernie continued. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear we’re going to pick up the option on Coco’s contract.”
Sadie ran through her mind the details her lawyer had explained when she first emailed him a copy of the contract. Was that really only the previous morning? It felt like a week had passed since they’d arrived.
A Sadie Kramer Flair Mystery 02 - A Flair For Drama Page 8
