The Mystery on Stage

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “You might not see me!” Melody said angrily as she hung up the receiver. “My mother will probably want to talk to you.”

  Jim ignored her. “You all have the rehearsal schedules. We’ll be practicing almost every day.” The director turned away without waiting for anyone to answer. He looked even more tired than yesterday.

  Nancy quickly gave the crew last-minute instructions about their various jobs. She expected them tomorrow as well.

  The Aldens left Melody sitting on the couch in the dressing room. As they walked through the main lobby, Jessie gasped.

  The large poster listing the results of the audition was torn. Someone had crossed Sarah’s name off the list. In pink crayon, these words were written next to her name:

  Don’t Go On With The Show!

  Henry and Soo Lee stared at the sign. Violet asked shakily, “Has Sarah seen this?”

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said, looking around. “I think she left through the backstage door while Melody was calling her mother.”

  “Could Melody have written this?” Benny asked.

  “She likes pink,” Soo Lee said.

  Benny said, “I hadn’t thought of that!”

  Suddenly, Jim strode into the lobby with Nancy at his heels. He stopped when he saw the note and gave a low whistle. “Who did this?” he exclaimed.

  “We don’t know,” Henry answered.

  Jim and Nancy exchanged glances. “Melody?” Jessie suggested. “She’s so jealous of Sarah for getting the lead role.”

  “Maybe,” Jim said slowly, but he didn’t sound convinced. “But when could she have done it? She was on stage all evening.”

  “That’s true,” Henry said, nodding.

  “I’ll have to talk to Melody and some of the other performers personally,” Jim said frowning.

  He turned to the Aldens. “Can I count on you not to say anything until I’ve gotten to the bottom of this?”

  They nodded solemnly.

  “Good. I’ll let you know what happens,” Jim said. “Right now, I don’t want to upset the rest of the cast and crew.” He pressed his fingers to his forehead.

  “Most people left the building through the door backstage. We’re probably the only ones who have seen it,” Jessie said, trying to make Jim feel better.

  “There must be an explanation,” Henry said. “Whoever wrote this note may be the same person who threatened Jim yesterday on the phone. Somebody, somewhere, doesn’t want this show to go on.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Behind the Scenes

  “I still think Melody had something to do with that note,” Benny said the next day. Benny and Soo Lee were backstage, with many others, sanding boards for the scenery.

  Soo Lee took some more sandpaper. “I don’t know, Benny,” she said.

  Violet came out of the costume room holding the furry yellow-brown material she was using to make Jessie’s lion costume. “Did Melody come back after that scene last night?”

  Benny nodded. “She’s on stage right now rehearsing with Jessie and Harold.”

  “She’s limping, too,” Soo Lee said.

  “How do you know?” Benny asked his cousin.

  “I saw her in the wings,” Soo Lee said.

  “I bet she’s just pretending to limp.” Benny did not sound at all sorry. “She wants everyone to feel sorry for her.”

  Violet threaded her needle and sat on a chair next to Benny and Soo Lee. “It’s too bad Jessie has to spend so much time with her on stage,” she said.

  “Oh, there you are,” Benny suddenly called out to Henry as he saw Henry coming toward them. Benny proudly pointed to his smoothly sanded board.

  “That’s good, Benny.” Henry smiled, but he soon looked serious again. “Jim told me he spoke to Melody last night.”

  “What did he say?” Benny held his piece of sandpaper in midair.

  “He told her if she kept interrupting rehearsals, he didn’t want her in the play.”

  Benny’s eyes grew wider. “Did he ask her about the note in pink crayon?”

  Henry nodded. “He said she seemed just as surprised about it as we were.”

  “She’s a good actress,” Benny reminded his brother.

  “I agree,” Henry said. “But we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions. Let’s just watch her — closely.” The others nodded.

  Jim suddenly came backstage. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. “Has anyone seen Sarah?” he asked.

  Henry, Soo Lee, and Benny shook their heads.

  “What! You mean she hasn’t shown up yet?” Nancy looked at her watch. She was busy sketching the design for Oz’s palace on a big piece of canvas. When the canvas painting was finished, it would be mounted on the wooden frame Henry, Benny, and Soo Lee were building.

  “No, no one’s seen her.” Jim looked worried. “I can’t have this. I can’t have the major performers being this late. She was supposed to be here almost an hour ago.”

  “Maybe she’s been delayed on the bus,” Violet suggested.

  Jim stared at Violet. “If Sarah comes in, tell her I want to see her right away,” he announced.

  “We will.” Violet said.

  “Okay,” Jim announced. “I’d like to rehearse the scene with the Munchkins. Could I have all the Munchkins on stage, please.” Several children and short adults followed the director.

  Stuart rushed by carrying a large white extension cord. “Oh, there you are, Henry,” he said. “I want to show you how to work the lights during the tornado scene.”

  “I’m coming.” Henry stood up and brushed the sawdust off his pants.

  Benny looked at the activity around him. The actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West was mixing paint for the scenery. The Good Witch, who was being played by Mrs. Adams, the town librarian, sewed the hem of her beautiful gown. The Wizard, Richard, hammered boards together to make Dorothy’s house.

  “You have a lot of actors working backstage,” Benny said.

  “Oh, yes,” Nancy answered him cheerfully from across the large room. “Everyone does something to help out in community theater.”

  “Ouch!” Richard suddenly yelled and dropped his hammer. “You can tell Jim I am not, and I repeat not working on scenery any longer! I’m an actor, not a carpenter.”

  “Oh, Richard,” Nancy said, shaking her head.

  Richard stood up and glared. “I think I’ll go see what they’re doing with the lights for my scenes,” he announced.

  Nancy sighed and stood up to stretch. She walked over to where the Aldens were working. Violet was carefully cutting into the furry yellow-brown material. Every once in a while, she paused to look at the sketch she’d made for the lion costume. Nancy looked over her shoulder.

  “I wonder what could have happened to Sarah,” Violet said.

  Nancy didn’t answer right away. She was too busy looking at Violet’s sketch. “Violet,” she finally said, “that’s really good. We should have you design the costumes for the Scarecrow and Wizard, too.”

  “Oh, I’d love to,” Violet said eagerly, looking up from her cutting.

  “Wait until I tell Mrs. Adams. She’s the other person making costumes,” Nancy explained.

  “You mean the one who’s playing the Good Witch?” Violet sounded pleased. She liked Mrs. Adams.

  “Yes.” Nancy chuckled a little. “She was worried about having so many costumes to make in such a short time. I can’t wait to tell her we have another pro on the crew.”

  Violet felt her cheeks flush. “Thank you,” she said, looking at the floor.

  Jessie came backstage holding her script. “Benny, Jim would like you to come on stage and hold Watch. The stage lights are getting him very excited.”

  Benny nodded and stood up. At that moment Sarah rushed in through the stage door.

  “Where were you?” Nancy snapped. “You should have been here at three o’clock.”

  “I know.” Sarah hurriedly took off her purple coat and hung it near the costume
room. “I was looking for my script. I couldn’t find it anywhere.” Sarah looked as if she were near tears. “I know I had it yesterday.”

  Nancy sighed. “What else can go wrong?” she whispered to herself. “You can borrow mine for now.” She handed Sarah her well-worn script. “But be careful with it. It’s all marked up with my notes.”

  “I will,” Sarah said solemnly as she took the script. Violet noticed Sarah’s eyes looked a little red.

  “We can probably find you another script.” Nancy’s voice softened. “I’ll look around for one while you’re rehearsing. Now go on. Jim wants to see you right away.”

  Sarah nodded and rummaged through her big black shoulder bag for another tissue before she hurried on stage. Jessie and Benny followed behind her.

  Nancy went to the costume room to tell Mrs. Adams about Violet. All was quiet, until Melody came backstage limping rather noticeably. She sat down on the stairs.

  “There’s nothing to do — only Sarah and the Munchkins are rehearsing now,” she said crossly. “You know …” She paused, waiting for Violet to look up from her sewing. “I think I sprained my ankle when I fell last night.”

  “Did you see a doctor?” Violet asked politely.

  “Yes, he told me it wasn’t sprained. But he gave me some medicine to help numb the pain.”

  Violet nodded. She was glad when Nancy and Mrs. Adams called Violet into the costume room.

  “Oh, Violet, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Adams.”

  “Oh, I know Violet from the library.” Mrs. Adams held out her hand. “Nancy’s been telling me how well you sew.”

  “You should show her your sketch,” Nancy said to Violet as she rummaged through the bottom drawer in the big dresser. Suddenly she stopped and looked puzzled. Quickly, she opened the other drawers and looked through them.

  “Oh, no! Oh, my goodness!” Nancy almost shrieked.

  “What’s wrong?” Mrs. Adams asked in her soft voice.

  “All the props I collected yesterday are missing!” Nancy wrung her hands. She looked at Violet. “Did you move them?” she asked.

  Violet shook her head. “I didn’t even know they were there,” she said.

  “Neither did I,” Mrs. Adams said. “What was in that drawer?”

  Nancy put her hands in front of her face. “Dorothy’s red shoes, your wand, and the Tinman’s ax.”

  “Those things can all be replaced,” Mrs. Adams assured Nancy. “I can make another wand, and I also have a pair of red shoes that should fit Sarah.”

  “I can make a cardboard ax,” Violet said, looking around the large costume room. Everything seemed to be the way she’d left it earlier. “Maybe we should check to see if anything else is missing,” she suggested.

  “Good idea.” Nancy nodded. “There’s probably a logical explanation for this. When rehearsal is over, I’ll talk to Jim. Maybe he took the props.”

  Violet opened the narrow top drawer. It held makeup, cotton balls, and lotions. Scarves, sweaters, pencils, crayons, drawing paper, and boards filled the other drawers.

  “Everything seems to be in order,” Nancy said, looking over Violet’s shoulder. Mrs. Adams opened the door of a wardrobe. “I put the material for Dorothy’s pinafore in here,” she explained. Suddenly she gasped.

  Violet and Nancy were quickly by her side. The blue-and-white checked material had been ripped to shreds!

  CHAPTER 5

  A Role for Watch

  On stage, Benny was having trouble controlling Watch. The dog kept running to Jessie who stood in the wings waiting for her cue to come on. Watch wouldn’t pay any attention to Sarah.

  Jim was shaking his head. “This may not work,” he told Benny. “Take him off the stage so we can get on with this.” He looked at his watch. “Maybe, if we finish rehearsing early, you can take him outside with Sarah so he can get used to her.”

  Benny nodded and grabbed his dog’s collar. As he walked Watch backstage, Benny did a little dance similar to the one he’d just seen the Munchkins rehearse. He didn’t know that Jim was watching, smiling.

  “Okay,” Jim said, turning to the Munchkins on stage. “Why don’t you start again from the beginning?”

  The Munchkins began their little dance welcoming Dorothy to their country. Jim watched them for a few moments. “No, stop. You’re not in step with one another.” The director shook his head and climbed up on stage.

  “Look,” he said taking one of the Munchkins by the hand. “You need to start by raising your left foot, then the right. Now, start again.”

  The Munchkins obeyed. Jim seemed deep in thought. “Stop,” he called again. “We need another Munchkin to fill out this middle row. Benny, where are you?” Jim looked around.

  Benny stood in the wings holding Watch by the collar. “Sit, boy,” he said before he went on stage.

  “You seem to catch on quickly,” Jim said, smiling at Benny. “I’d like to give you a small role as a Munchkin. Would you like that?”

  Benny nodded, pleased.

  “Okay,” Jim said. “Stand here, Benny. Now take it from the top,” Jim called to the others.

  “What?” Benny whispered to the Munchkin girl next to him.

  “That means start at the beginning,” she whispered back.

  Just then Nancy came out to talk to Jim. She looked terribly upset.

  “What?” Jim almost shouted after Nancy said a few sentences. “Ask everybody to come out on stage!”

  Jim paced until all the cast and crew members had assembled. He told them about the missing props, the ripped costume, and the note written on the board yesterday.

  “Are you suggesting one of us is responsible?” Richard asked.

  “I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this.” Jim sounded very angry. “I will not have the show ruined by a lot of nonsense!” Jim did not look at Melody when he spoke, but several others did.

  “We’re not blaming anyone,” Nancy said. “But if you have any idea who might be responsible, please come talk to Jim.”

  “Yes, please,” Jim pleaded. “I’ll keep whatever you tell me in confidence.”

  “What does that mean?” Soo Lee tapped Violet on the arm.

  “That means he won’t tell anyone,” Violet answered.

  “All right. Go back to your jobs backstage. Rehearsal’s over for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll have a piano player here. I want you to have your lines memorized by the end of the week.” Jim sounded very tired.

  As the cast and crew scrambled off the stage, Jim suggested that Benny and Jessie take Watch out with Sarah. “Get Watch used to her,” he advised.

  The sun was setting when Watch led Sarah, Jessie, and Benny to the stone benches near the school. “He wants to chase squirrels,” Jessie explained to Sarah. Sarah laughed and stooped down to pet Watch who was straining his leash. Jessie looked at Sarah in surprise. It sounded good to hear her laugh for a change. She usually looked so serious.

  “Let’s find a stick before we let him loose,” Jessie suggested, running ahead.

  “Good idea,” Benny said, hurrying to keep up with the dog. “Maybe he’ll play catch with us.”

  Sarah threw her big shoulder bag on one of the benches and raced after the Aldens. They played with Watch until it became dark. Jessie and Benny had Sarah give Watch commands so he would become used to her voice.

  “I think we’re ready to go inside and tell Jim you two are getting along fine.” Jessie smiled at the sight of Watch obediently trailing Sarah.

  “Yes, it’s getting cold out here,” Sarah said as she stooped down to pick up her big shoulder bag from the bench. The bag was on its side and when Sarah reached for it, a large manila folder fell out.

  Benny started to pick it up, but Sarah quickly snatched it from him. “Don’t touch that,” she said.

  “What is it?” Benny asked, pointing at the folder as Sarah quickly shoved it in her purse.

  “Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” she said quickly. Without another word, she tu
rned and hurried toward the Playhouse.

  Jessie and Benny exchanged glances and followed Sarah inside. Jim was waiting for them on stage. “How did Watch do?” he asked, patting the dog on the head.

  “He’s really getting used to Sarah,” Benny said, smiling proudly at his dog. As if in response, Watch went over to Sarah and wiggled his body. Sarah forced a smile and stooped down to pet him.

  “Good,” Jim said. “Watch, it looks like you still have a job.”

  Watch sat down by Jim’s feet and wagged his tail. “He’s happy,” Benny said, translating for his dog.

  “I’m glad someone is,” Jim said. “See you tomorrow. By the way, the rest of your family has already gone home. Better hurry to be in time for your dinner.” Jim actually smiled.

  “Would you like to come to our house for dinner?” Jessie asked Sarah as they were all walking out the door with Watch.

  Sarah looked down at the ground and played with the purple belt on her wool coat. “No, thank you,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “I have to go.”

  Jessie was very puzzled by Sarah’s behavior. She’d seemed so friendly only a few minutes ago.

  “I wonder what Sarah has in that envelope,” Jessie said thoughtfully as she hurried home with Benny. She wrapped her red scarf more tightly around her neck.

  “Maybe it was the missing script,” Jessie said. “Maybe Sarah hadn’t really lost it.”

  “I don’t know,” Benny said. “But whatever it was, it was addressed to New York City and she sure didn’t want us to see it.”

  CHAPTER 6

  A Familiar Face?

  “Benny, what are you going to use that star for?” Violet asked a few days later. Benny was at the kitchen table. He had glue, scissors, cardboard, and a small pile of shiny gold paper spread in front of him.

  “I’m making Watch a gold star for his doghouse.” Benny carefully cut out the cardboard star Violet had drawn for him.

  Violet smiled. “Watch has been doing well in rehearsal.”

  “Yes.” Benny nodded. “Nothing’s gone wrong for a few days. Jim doesn’t even yell as much anymore.” Benny continued cutting the cardboard.