“Yes, I remember what the option means. You’re allowed to extend Coco’s role in the show.” Sadie’s thoughts drifted to Flair and to San Francisco. She couldn’t possibly stay in Monterey a full week. Why hadn’t she thought this through before?
“Exactly,” Ernie said. “That’s how it works. The show tonight was a smashing success, just as it was last night. I saw people buying tickets on the way out, so they could bring friends back with them next weekend.”
Sadie inspected Coco’s ink-stained paw, thinking through the logistics. “I have a business to run in San Francisco.”
“You don’t need to stay here for the week,” Sid explained. “There won’t be any additional rehearsals. Coco seems quite capable of doing her own thing. You just need to be back here Friday afternoon. Same schedule as tonight. Six o’clock call time.”
Sadie mulled this over. It would work, not that she had a choice. She’d run Flair during the week and return to Monterey the following weekend. Besides, it would give her a chance to poke around and see what she could find out about Brynn’s murder. She scanned the crowd, curious to see if Detective Higgins was hanging around. She saw no sign of him.
“Just two shows, correct?” Sadie asked, focusing on the discussion again. Coco curled up in her lap and closed her eyes.
“Yes,” Ernie said. “That’s the end of the run. Unfortunately,” he added. “I’m sure we could sell out another ten shows.”
“At least,” Mitchell added.
“Fine,” Sadie said. “We’ll be here. Maybe you could give Alex some kind of allergy pill to keep him from sneezing.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Ernie said. “Russell will be playing the part next week. Alex goes back to understudy and his regular role. Our boy just needed tonight off. He’s been distraught, as you can imagine. Hauled off to jail, and all that.”
“He was quite fond of Brynn, too, wasn’t he?” Mitchell added.
“Indeed,” Ernie said.
Sid looked down at a flashy ring on his right hand and spun it around his finger with his thumb. Sadie wondered what the mention of Brynn and Russell in the same sentence meant to Sid. Grief? Jealousy?
“Yes, I believe he was,” Sid said, his face expressionless. He pulled the flask from his jacket again and refilled his own drink but didn’t offer more to the others.
“I ‘gree.” Nevada’s voice took Sadie by surprise. It was the same sweet voice she used on stage, only a few champagne glasses down the line. “He was cr..azzzy about her,” Nevada slurred. She leaned over Coco to give her a kiss, hitting her head on the edge of the table in the process. “Ow.” She straightened up, rubbing her forehead.
“Nevada.” Ernie frowned. “I think it’s time to switch to coffee.”
“Oh, I will, Unc’ Ernie,” Nevada said. “After justa fewww more.” She lifted her glass in a salute and turned away, stumbling over to a table where Alex sat. She attempted to kiss Alex as she dropped into a chair, but Alex turned his head away.
Interesting, Sadie thought.
“I’m sorry about that,” Ernie said. “She gets out of hand sometimes.”
“Relax,” Sid said. “It’s a party, and she’s an adult. And a pretty one at that.”
“Just like you to defend drinking,” Ernie snapped. “And you keep your hands off her.”
‘Well, I don’t see soda water in that glass of yours,” Sid retorted. “And Nevada’s a big girl. I’ll keep my hands off her if she tells me to. It’s not like you own either of us.”
Sadie decided to move on, before the conversation deteriorated further. “We’d better make the rounds,” she said, standing up. “Coco has fans, you know.” She lifted the tote bag off the chair, keeping Coco curled up against her chest. Assuring Sid, Mitchell and Ernie that she’d see them on Friday, she crossed the room. Pausing to let Coco accept a few congratulatory pats on the head, she finally slid into a table with Roxy and Coop.
“I saw that little confrontation,” Roxy said. “It’s kind of strange, Nevada getting drunk like that. I haven’t seen her overindulge before. Usually, it’s one glass of something alcoholic, and then she moves on to tonic with lime. I wonder what’s up.”
“She’s upset,” Coop said.
“Upset? Why?” Sadie looked at Coop, confused. “She seemed fine on stage. Did something happen after the show?”
“Not after, before,” Coop said. “She’s a good actress; that’s why it wasn’t obvious during the show. But she and Higgins got into it earlier.”
Sadie nodded. “That’s right. I remember Alex made a comment about seeing her in the alley, arguing with Detective Higgins.” She turned to Roxy. “You remember that?”
“Let’s see,” Roxy quipped. “You mean when he tried to sneak in late?”
“Yes, exactly,” Sadie said. “And, come to think of it, he didn’t sound all too happy about Nevada being out there.”
Roxy laughed. “That’s because he knew she wouldn’t get in trouble. Sid never comes down on her for anything. She gets away with whatever she wants. If Alex were a pretty girl, he would, too. But he can’t pull that with me. And he’s lucky Sid didn’t see him.”
“Are you sure that’s all it was?” Sadie paused, thinking back to Alex’s expression when he walked by, the way he moved, the way he slung his jacket over his shoulder. He looked annoyed, perhaps even angry. Or was it worry she’d seen on his face?
“I don’t see what else it could be,” Roxy said. “He just didn’t like getting caught missing the call time.”
“Maybe he overheard something on his way in that upset him,” Sadie suggested. “Something in the conversation between Nevada and Detective Higgins.” Something incriminating, Sadie thought.
“Well, speak of the devil,” Coop said, nodding toward the front door.
Sadie and Roxy both turned to see Higgins enter. Although a few people looked up when he came in, most of the company went right back to their champagne and conversation. Higgins turned down a drink, but helped himself to cheese and crackers. He leaned against the front counter, his eyes casually scanning the crowd.
“I don’t see what he thinks he can find out tonight,” Roxy said. “He’s already grilled everyone in the show.”
“He didn’t stop by for nothing,” Coop said. “He must think he’ll learn something from someone here.”
“Maybe,” Sadie said. “Or, more likely, from someone not here.” She looked at the table where Nevada and Alex had just been sitting. The seats were empty, and the back door to the café was ajar.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sadie adjusted the rear view mirror and looked at the road ahead. She loved driving Highway One, whether she was heading north from San Francisco, or south. This time, northbound from Monterey, she stepped on the gas, anxious to get home to the city. Despite the luxurious hotel, she was ready to be in familiar territory, and to rest. She had plenty to do at the boutique. And plenty to think about.
It hadn’t taken her long to pack up that morning. The night before at Curtain Call, after she’d noticed that Nevada and Alex had slipped away, Sadie had only stayed fifteen more minutes. She used Coco’s need for beauty sleep as an excuse.
She’d reserved three nights at the hotel for the following weekend: Friday and Saturday for the shows, and Thursday to accommodate some extra time to snoop. She had several different theories about the events behind Brynn Baker’s sudden demise, none including the word “accident.” Now, she just needed to sort fiction from fact. This wasn’t an easy task under usual circumstances, but with a cast of characters trained to present false fronts, the challenge reached new levels. At least in most cases – dare she say “cases” when she just happened to fall into these situations? – she only had to decipher motives, without incorporating professional acting into the equation. The addition of suspects who were proficient at make believe meant that she needed to do some real investigating rather than relying solely on what she saw and heard in person.
Sadie we
nt directly to Flair instead of stopping first at her penthouse apartment. Sundays were the only days the boutique didn’t open. As much as she adored Amber and her regular customers, the closed sign on the door was a relief. She welcomed time alone in the shop on this particular day. She could zip into the back office to check a few things without feeling the urge to chitchat with anyone.
She unbuckled the harness she used to keep her tote secure and lifted the bag off the car’s passenger seat. When she peeked inside, she wasn’t surprised to see Coco fast asleep. It had been a hectic weekend, and the petite canine was prone to getting sleepy on road trips, anyway. Stepping lightly, to avoid waking Coco, she used her shop key to enter, then locked the door behind her and scooted back to her office.
Three notes waited on her desk: one from Amber, welcoming her back, another from a customer who wanted to special order a certain style sweater in a color Sadie knew would not be available, and a third from Matteo, her friend and next door chocolatier. It seemed during her absence, he’d been developing a new truffle, one with mango, coconut and pecans that she simply had to try. Relieved to see Matteo had left samples with the note, she popped one in her mouth and sighed with appreciation. When it came to chocolate, Matteo knew what he was doing. Still, she wasn’t sorry she’d ordered two servings of chocolate lava cake to go before leaving the hotel. Those would be perfect for late-night snacking during the week.
Sadie flipped through her address book, contemplating a call to one of several private detectives she’d used over the years to gather information when she stumbled into mysteries. Vetoing the idea, she put the book away and fired up the office computer. After multiple internet searches, she’d gathered background information on everyone in the cast. Almost, that is. Oddly enough, she couldn’t find anything on Nevada, at least not under the name Nevada Foster. She tried variations – N. Foster, Neve Foster, etc. Nothing. Fiddling with the chunky beaded earrings she’d donned early that morning, she pondered the meaning of this. Was the girl using a stage name? A false name? Was she concealing her true identity for some reason, and, if so, what was that reason?
Shutting down the computer, she pocketed a second mango-coconut-pecan truffle and grabbed her tote bag. Coco had begun snoring like a miniature freight train and was ready for her own dog bed. Sadie didn’t mind the idea of her own bed, either. She locked up the shop and headed home.
As much as she loved excursions, she was always pleased to come home. The penthouse apartment she lived in was luxurious and spacious, with breathtaking views. Marrying an investment banker many years ago had left her in a secure financial position once she became a widow. She looked out over the bay and sighed. She still missed him, even though her escapades kept her busy and Coco kept her company.
Sadie unpacked her overnight bag, which took only a few minutes, since she’d not anticipated staying in Monterey more than one night. It took a little more time to put away the five large bags of new purchases from the shopping expedition she’d made when she learned her stay would be extended. Setting aside the two black outfits she’d worn backstage, which would need to be laundered, she pulled out a variety of items she hadn’t been able to resist. It felt like Christmas, seeing one item after the next – flat shoes in a fiery red with silver buckles, a stunning leather purse with gold studded trim, a dangling necklace with a giant green frog, along with earrings shaped like lily pads. She was always surprised at how delightful it was to dive into bags of her purchases when she got home, as if she were discovering all the fabulous items for the first time.
Once she stored her new acquisitions in her closet, Sadie changed into a favorite lounging outfit, a flowing hot pink robe with boa trim. She returned to the living room, where she found Coco tossing her stuffed red lobster in the air by gripping one claw between her teeth. Each time the plush toy flew through the air Coco chased after it, brought it back to the starting point, and began the game all over again.
With Coco occupied, Sadie poured herself a glass of chardonnay from a bottle she’d saved after a recent trip to Napa Valley. It had been hours since she’d left Monterey, hours during which new developments in the Brynn Baker investigation could have arisen. Sadie decided to call Roxy. Roxy answered on the second ring.
“Anything new since I left?” Sadie asked. She leaned back in an armchair and sipped her wine while she waited for Roxy to respond.
“It’s Sunday, Sadie,” Roxy said. “Not a lot happens on Sunday. And you only left this morning.”
“I realize that, but you never know. Something could have come up, some tidbit of information.” She took another sip of wine and set the glass down on an end table.
“Well, now that you mention it, there is one thing.” Roxy lowered her voice, which struck Sadie as odd, since she assumed Roxy had answered her phone at home.
“Where are you that you have to whisper?” Sadie asked.
“At Curtain Call,” Roxy said. “I came down to get soup and a sandwich to go. I plan to do nothing tonight except eat dinner in pajamas and watch movies. I’m debating between The Sound of Music and Funny Girl.”
“Sounds like a perfect evening to me,” Sadie admitted. All things considered, she might do exactly the same thing. Except she’d order in pizza, and she and Coco would watch Lady and the Tramp or Beethoven. “So what was the one thing you were about to tell me?”
“Oh, just a minute,” Roxy said. The sound of a cash register ringing followed, as well as Roxy saying “thank you” and exiting the café. Sadie heard the rumpling sound of a paper bag. “I checked the cleaning schedule for the day of the dress rehearsal, and the cleaning service was booked for that day.”
“Which means – if the schedule was followed – that Penelope did not clean the theatre that night,” Sadie said. “So she wouldn’t have had a reason to be backstage.”
“That’s the way I see it,” Roxy said.
“So it’s unlikely she was anywhere near the catwalk,” Sadie said, “or even swiped Russell’s phone. That is, if anyone did swipe it, as he claims.”
“Right, and he still insists someone did,” Roxy said.
“Did the police or Russell ever say what was on Brynn’s phone that made him a suspect?” Sadie asked.
“Higgins never specified. Said it was part of the ongoing investigation,” Roxy said. “And Russell won’t say. He says it’s not important, especially since he claims he wasn’t the one who sent the text.”
“Sounds like Russell doesn’t want to say what it was,” Sadie mused. “Maybe he feels it’s something incriminating. But why would it matter, if he doesn’t have anything to hide?”
Roxy sighed. “Well, something can make someone look guilty, even if he’s innocent.”
“True,” Sadie said. “And someone can insist he’s being wrongly accused, even if he’s guilty.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you think, Roxy? You know everyone in the cast much better than I do.” Sadie reached for her wine glass as she watched Coco set her stuffed lobster aside and return to her dog bed for a nap.
“Honestly, Sadie, I don’t know what to think. Now I do think Russell was the one seeing Brynn secretly, and not Alex. If so, it doesn’t make sense that he’d want her dead. And Sid was angry when she dumped him, but I don’t think he would kill off one of the show’s main stars.”
“What about Ernie Palmer,” Sadie asked. “He wanted Nevada to have the lead. Getting Brynn out of the way would be a quick means to that end.”
“I can’t see Ernie risking it. The night before a show opens is a tough time to lose a cast member,” Roxy said. “No matter how prepared an understudy is. Ernie’s always so concerned about finances.”
“And Nevada?” Sadie asked.
“What about Nevada?” Roxy said. “You don’t think…No, that is too far-fetched. I know she was disappointed when she didn’t get the lead, but resorting to murder? No, I don’t see it.”
“I know you like the girl, Roxy, but I found something
curious this afternoon.”
After a pause, Roxy said, “Curious in what way?”
“I did background checks on all the main cast members. But I couldn’t find anything online about Nevada. It’s like she never existed.”
“How odd,” Roxy said. “She has a decent-looking resume. Not a lot of experience, but she’s young, and she’s had a few decent parts.”
“Do directors check resumes before they cast people?” Sadie asked. “Like references for a regular job?”
“Usually, I think,” Roxy said. “I never thought about it. I only handle the backstage stuff. I hire people the regular way. Since Ernie pretty much sponsored her, maybe no one bothered checking.”
“Ernie probably made it clear he’d only back the show with her in it,” Sadie pointed out. “Maybe they didn’t check her references or previous jobs on her resume because it didn’t matter. If they hadn’t cast Nevada, whoever she is, Sid and Mitchell wouldn’t have gotten Ernie’s financial backing. If this is true, Sid and Mitchell would have figured they didn’t have a choice.”
“You may be on to something there,” Roxy said. “I never thought about it.”
“On the other hand…” Sadie said, thinking this over. “Coco would disagree.”
“OK.” Roxy’s tone was skeptical. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Coco took to Nevada right away on stage, during that first…uh…mishap. Dogs have a keen sense about people.”
“Right…the mishap.” Roxy laughed. “Well, you and Coco keep me posted on your theories, all right?”
“You’ve got it,” Sadie quipped. “We’ll continue our investigation and let you know if we make any progress.”
“Great, you do that,” Roxy said. “I’m off to investigate how long it takes the microwave to warm up the soup that got cold while we’ve been talking.”
The call over, Sadie stood and stretched, the boa neck trim tickling her face as she raised her arms over her head. She relaxed and looked at Coco, who slept with the finesse of a trapeze artist, upper body and front legs flopped in one direction, lower body and hind legs twisted in the other.
A Sadie Kramer Flair Mystery 02 - A Flair For Drama Page 9
