Diane’s eyes bulged out of her head just before she grabbed Rachel by the throat and started choking her again. Richard and I moved at the same time, and pried Diane’s hands away. Rachel held her throat with one hand and moved backwards, slipping on some of the pearls and falling down on her butt. I let go of Diane to go help Rachel, while Richard somehow managed to drag a hissing Diane backstage.
I was helping Rachel onto the sofa when Simon returned with a glass of ice water. “What happened?” he said as he handed her the glass. “Where’s Diane?”
“Richard led her off that way,” I replied, pointing toward the left side of the stage. “She and Rachel had another disagreement.”
“Disagreement?” Rachel sputtered. “She tried to kill me again!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have egged her on,” I said.
She blushed, clearly embarrassed.
Richard came back onstage without Diane. “She’s refusing to come out of her dressing room,” he said, flopping onto the oversized chair across from the couch. “How are we supposed to finish rehearsal without her?”
Simon looked over at him. “Get someone to read her lines. The rest of us can manage. We’ll just react like Diane is where she’s supposed to be.”
“I don’t know,” Richard said, shaking his head. “We really need her out here.”
“Come off it, man,” Simon replied. “She knows this play like it was a nursery rhyme she reads every night. How many shows did she do on the West End in London? We don’t need to worry about her. It’s the rest of us that need the work.”
“Speak for yourself,” Rachel said. “I know my part perfectly.”
Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course you do, my dear,” he said, patting her hand. “But it would help the rest of us to work on it. I’m sure you don’t mind helping us out. If we look good, then you look good.”
She sat up straighter on the couch. “That’s a very valid point. I don’t want to look bad in front of Mr. Showalter.”
“What are you talking about?” Richard said.
“I invited him down to watch our opening night.”
“You what?” Simon said, clearly shocked. “When did you do that?”
“When I saw him at the Ritz Carlton a couple of weeks ago,” Rachel responded. “He’s one of Mother’s oldest friends. They went to high school together. He said he thought she was the prettiest girl in school, and that she was still beautiful.”
I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say anything.
“Anyway, he called her when he came into town, and asked if she would join him for dinner. She agreed, as long as I could come along. We had a lovely evening, discussing his work on Broadway, and what he was working on. Mother casually mentioned that I would be starring in a production here, and he said he would be delighted to attend. I couldn’t tell him no.”
Of course not, I thought to myself. No wonder Diane wanted to kill her.
Richard jumped out of the chair and started pacing the stage. “I can’t believe you did that. Oh my God, Stephen frickin’ Showalter is coming to my show. This is a nightmare. This has disaster written all over it,” he fretted, repeatedly running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. “We’ve got to rehearse all night.”
“But we can’t, not without Diane,” Simon pointed out.
“Oh yes, we will,” Richard said with a determined look on his face. “She’s going to come out here and act like a professional, or I’ll make sure she never works again.” He stormed off again, and we could hear him shouting her name. “Diane! Get your butt out here, right now!”
I glanced at Rachel, who was sitting there with a smug look on her face. I turned and walked away, shaking my head.
“What happened?” Mac said as I rejoined them at the table.
“I have no idea,” I told him, “but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
Mother rushed into the room just then. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. Come on,” she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. “Susan is on the phone with the caterer, who is threatening to quit. The florist refuses to redo the centerpieces, and the waiters just walked out. It’s an unmitigated disaster.”
I looked over at Mac and Lillian as Mother dragged me out of the room. Mac looked amused, but Lillian looked rather sad. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
When I went into the kitchen, I saw a woman standing at the island in the center of the room, drumming her fingers on the marble countertop. “Frankly, Ms. Mitchell, if that is your attitude, then I don’t think you’re the right person for this job.”
Mother gasped. “Susan, don’t you dare fire her!”
Susan ignored Mother. “Yes, I’m quite aware of the time and money you have put into this dinner. However, I do not feel that your food is up to par with our current needs. There are very important people coming, and they deserve the very best. You can’t expect me to serve a Broadway director brisket and catfish. That would be an insult.”
“A Broadway director?” Mother said, looking at me. “What is she talking about?”
“Stephen Showalter is coming to see the play tomorrow night.”
“You’re kidding! How do you know?”
“I just found out a few minutes ago.”
“Either change the menu, or we’ll find ourselves another caterer, Ms. Mitchell,” Susan said.
I reached over and grabbed the phone out of Susan’s hand. “Cecilia? Cam Shaw. How are you? Well, I heard part of the conversation,” I said, looking at Susan, who was shooting daggers at me. “No, she is right about an important director coming tomorrow night. However, he is going to eat what we’ve already agreed to. If we had been informed before tonight about this, I’m sure we could have worked something out. I don’t care what Mrs. Ingram told you. She is not the one in charge; Mother is. Who is your contract with, Mother or Susan Ingram? Exactly. Therefore, we will honor our agreement. I’ve always enjoyed every dinner you have catered, and I’m sure our distinguished guest will be just as impressed with your food as we are. Could you do me one favor? Talk to the wait staff and ask them to come back. I guarantee there will be no more problems with Mrs. Ingram. That’s great, Cecilia. I look forward to tomorrow night. Give my love to Henry and the twins. Good night.”
“How dare you?” Susan said angrily after I hung up. “You have no right to come in here…”
“No, ma’am, you are the one who is out of line,” I cut her off. “When the planning began for this event four months ago, Mother did everything but beg you to join the committee. You repeatedly turned her down, claiming that this was beneath you. After all, it’s just a tiny community theatre. Much too insignificant for you to bother yourself with.”
Susan glared at me, and even Mother shot me a warning look, but I ignored her.
“I don’t know how you found out that Mr. Showalter was coming, although I can guess,” I continued. “Suddenly, this has become a big deal to you. A chance for you to shine, and perhaps even make an important connection in New York. Am I correct?”
She didn’t say anything.
“That’s what I thought. I’m sorry, Mrs. Ingram, but Mother and the rest of the committee members have worked very hard to make this a successful event, and they have done an outstanding job. We’re not going to change one single thing just to impress someone none of us will ever see again after tomorrow night. You’ll have to find another stepping stone into New York society.”
Susan looked at Mother. “Charlotte, I think we need to reconsider this. Mr. Showalter is a very important person. We can’t…”
“He’s not important to anyone here in Waxahachie, Susan,” Mother said. “He’s going to see us just as we are, warts and all. I’m sorry you won’t be able to join us for the show.”
“What do you mean? Of course I’ll be here.”
Mother shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not. All the tables have been booked and paid for, and the fire marshal says we are already at capacity. We’re
not allowed to include anyone else, or add any more tables. There’s simply no room.”
“That’s easily fixed,” she said. “Just call someone and tell them that you’re giving their table to the Ingram family.”
“I’m afraid not,” Mother said.
“Are you refusing to allow the Ingrams to attend?”
“No, just you,” I said.
“Camille,” Mother said reproachfully. “Again, I’m afraid that we cannot accommodate you, Susan. And don’t think of trying to crash the party. There is a guest list, and only those on the list are allowed to attend. No stragglers, no plus ones. But if you’d like to reserve a table for the next show in six months, I’ll be glad to do that for you.”
“This is unbelievable,” Susan said. She picked up her shawl, wrapped it around her shoulders, and then grabbed her clutch. “You do realize that this will cost you and your husband our yearly donation to the church.”
“That’s your choice, of course,” Mother said. “I’m sure the Good Lord will provide what we need to make up for your pettiness.”
Susan didn’t say anything. She turned and marched out of the kitchen. “Thanks for stopping by, Mrs. Ingram,” I called after her. “Have a good evening and drive safely!”
We heard the front door slam. “That woman is unbelievable,” I said, leaning against the island.
“I’m proud of you,” Mother said, patting me on the back.
“Of me? What did I do?”
“You stood up to her, and you stood up for me. Thank you,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
I straightened up and gave her a hug. “Anytime, Mother. We gals have to stick together.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lillian watching us, still with the same sad look on her face.
Chapter 7
Friday
“I heard you told off Susan Ingram last night,” Mike said to me the next morning at my parents’ coffeehouse.
“How did you hear about that? I thought you were working that accident most of the night.”
“I told him,” Randy said as he sat down at the table with us. He took a drink of his coffee. “I had a shipment come in early this morning, so I came over here for a latte. Your mother told me what happened. Mike stopped by the bookstore about an hour later, and I told him.”
“It sounds like the two of you really let her have it last night,” Mike said.
I shrugged. “She had it coming.”
“The Ingrams have a lot of influence in North Texas,” Randy pointed out. “This might come back to bite you at some point.”
“It already has,” I replied. “Susan indicated that she and her husband would not be making their yearly donation to the church.”
“Ouch,” Mike winced, “that’s going to hurt.”
“I’m afraid so,” I nodded sadly. “But I’m past the point of worrying about upsetting the money people. Dad’s retired; I don’t have to live my life that way anymore.”
“You may not have to,” Dad said as he brought over a plate of fresh blueberry muffins, “but the church still has to be able to pay their apportionments every year.”
“They’ll find the money another way, Pops,” I said, placing my hand on top of his.
“How are things going with your new father-in-law?” Randy said as he reached for a muffin.
Dad pulled the plate out of Randy’s reach. “Just fine. Walt is a wonderful man.”
“Funny, I’ve never heard you say anything that nice about your mother-in-law,” Randy replied.
“I love the old battleax,” Dad said. “I just enjoy giving her a hard time a bit more.”
“Funny, she says the same thing about you,” Randy laughed as he quickly reached over and snatched a muffin.
Dad muttered something under his breath as he walked away. “Stop giving my dad a hard time,” I admonished Randy.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. She says pretty much the same thing about him that he says about her. Good thing they love each other, or people would really believe they hate one another.”
“If you want to see two people who hate each other, you should have been at the dress rehearsal last night,” I said. I told them what happened.
Mike whistled. “Holy cow, why didn’t you call me? That’s assault.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think about it,” I admitted.
“So you only call me when you find dead bodies?”
“Ooh, low blow,” Randy said, taking a bite of muffin. I could tell he was enjoying this.
“Keep your voice down,” I said. “You want to chase away the customers?”
Mike looked around. “We’re the only ones here, Cam.”
I sat back in my chair and sighed. “It’s over and done with now, so let’s not worry about it.”
“Sounds to me like tonight’s performance is going to be very interesting,” Randy chuckled.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Our leading ladies could kill each other live on stage in front of an audience.”
“That’s not even funny, Randy,” I said.
“You seriously should have called me, Cam,” Mike said.
“I doubt either woman is going to press charges, not with Mr. Showalter in town. Not to mention that Richard would have a cow if you arrested them.”
“I’m sure Charlotte would never forgive you, Mike, if you ruined her big event,” Randy pointed out.
Mike sighed. “I get it, I get it. Calm down, both of you,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “What time do you want me to pick you up tonight?”
“Maybe you should just meet me there. Mother wants me to be there at five to take care of the last minute details.”
“I can do that,” he said. “Maybe we should have dessert at your place afterwards?”
“You might be able to talk me into that,” I smiled at him.
“What do you want me to bring for dessert?” Randy said.
Mike and I just looked at him.
“What?”
“Who said that you’re invited to join us?” Mike replied.
“You said ‘we’.”
“When I said ‘we’, I meant Cam and I, not Cam, Randy, and I.”
“Oh,” Randy said, looking very disappointed. Then a look of understanding crossed his face. “Oh! You’re right, I so do not want to go back to your place for dessert.” He looked at his watch. “In fact, I should get out of here right now. Boxes to unpack, shelves to fill, plenty of things to do.” He grabbed his coffee cup and another muffin before hurrying out the door.
“We’ve really got to set him up with someone,” Mike said.
“Good luck with that,” I replied, taking a drink of my Dr Pepper. “I’ve been trying for years. No one lasts more than two months.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I usually get rather vague answers from him when I ask for specifics. Maybe he has a fear of commitment, or he likes being alone. I have no clue. But if you want to give it a try, be my guest.”
“I accept the challenge. What’s his type?”
“Not what you think.”
“We have a new deputy at the station, Joanne Reagan. About your height, black hair, brown eyes, great personality. She just moved here from Idaho. Maybe he could show her around.”
“Does she have a brother?”
“Why?” Mike asked, a bit puzzled.
“Because Randy would rather date her brother.”
“Ah, gotcha. Hm, that makes things a bit more difficult, but not impossible. I’ll do some checking around.”
“Good luck with that. You’re going to need it.”
Mike checked the time. “As much as I would love to sit here and talk to you all day, I’ve got to get to work. What time are they serving dinner?”
“Six-thirty. We’ve saved you a seat at our table.”
“Great. I can’t wait to spend the evening with you,” he said, leaning over to kiss me. “See you tonight.”
I smiled as I watched him leave. It was going to be nice to spend a nice, quiet evening with a man I was totally crazy about. The butterflies did a little dance in my stomach.
If I had only known then what I knew now, I’d have stayed home.
Chapter 8
Friday evening
I had allowed my mother to boss me around for an hour before telling her that everything was simply perfect, and that she didn’t need to change anything else. I don’t think she believed me, but I needed time to get ready before the dinner.
Carrying a garment bag in one hand, my overnight bag in the other, I hurried toward the backstage dressing rooms. I knocked on the first door I came to, and heard a female voice say, “Come in.”
I put down my bag, opened the door, and shoved the bag inside with my foot. Rachel was sitting down in front of a large oval mirror, putting on her stage makeup. “What do you want?” she said as she applied her eyeliner.
“I’m sorry to intrude, but I was wondering if I could change clothes right quick. It won’t take me more than five minutes.”
She waved her hand at me. “Knock yourself out, sweetie. You won’t bother me any.”
“Thank you so much,” I said gratefully, closing the door.
“Didn’t I see you last night?”
“Yeah, I was there when…”
“Diane went nuts?” she laughed. “It’s not the first time she’s done that. It certainly won’t be the last.”
“Glad I don’t have to work with her,” I said as I hung the garment bag on the back of the door and looked around.
Rachel watched me in the mirror. “Don’t be shy. When you’re an actress, you learn to change in front of anyone. I don’t embarrass easily.”
She might not, but I certainly did. However, I didn’t have much of a choice, and beggars can’t be choosers when they’re desperate. I quickly stripped off my jeans and T-shirt, unzipped the garment bag, and took out my outfit. It was a royal blue blouse, black pants, and black heels.
“That’s a beautiful color on you,” Rachel said. “Here, sit down in the chair for a minute, and I’ll fix your hair.”
Who Invited the Ghost to Dinner: A Ghost Writer Mystery Page 5
