The Wickedest Showman

by Lotta Smith

  Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I tried to focus on Karina’s story.

  She went on. “I was so deeply attracted to him. I worked hard, learned the lines, polished the way I delivered the part just because I wanted to impress him. Thanks to the hard work, I started to get the roles. And luckily I was getting the larger roles, and the audience started to recognize and love me. But….”

  She stopped for a second and shook her head.

  “But what?” Jackie demanded, jumping up and down. “Ooh, I really hate cliffhangers!”

  “Did he change his mind or something?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “One day, I crashed his condo unannounced, and….”

  “Oh my God, he was with another woman, wasn’t he?” Jackie said.

  “Was he with another woman?” I asked.

  “Yes and no. He was with an actress from another theater company, as well as another woman I didn’t know—all three of them in his bed. I was angry, confused, and traumatized. Now, I can be way more tolerant of other people’s sex lives, but I couldn’t then. I ran out of that condo, crying like a naïve country girl.” She shrugged, her facial expression a mixture of smiling and wanting to cry.

  “Oh, what a shame,” I told her. “And?”

  “The next evening, we had a show. By that time, I was so over Russel. I thought I was dancing with him, when in reality I was just dancing with myself, but I wasn’t aware of that.” She took a deep breath. “He was playing the part of my father in the show. At the end, there was a really long line he was supposed to deliver. With bated breath, the audience waited for his strong yet musical voice to ring out. They were silent, just bracing for the climax of the show. But….”

  “What happened?” I noticed I was holding my breath.

  “Russel couldn’t come up with that line.” Karina shook her head.

  “How could that happen?” I muttered.

  “Unfortunately, that happens all the time.” Jackie shook her head. “I once had a moment with my lines completely blown away.”

  “Of course, that happens more often than we want it to,” Karina said. Even though she couldn’t hear or see Jackie, the timing of her words seemed to synchronize with Jackie’s comments. “Perhaps it wasn’t easy for him to completely leave behind what had happened the previous day, or perhaps he was just thinking about something else. Anyway, I thought he was taking an uncharacteristically long pause. And the next thing I knew, I was looking at his blanched face.”

  “Oh my God.” Jackie did a full-body shiver. “If I were in his shoes, I’d have totally dropped dead on the spot. Heart attack, stroke, anything can happen. The worst-case scenario is the scene going on without you delivering that line, and finding yourself alive despite the humiliation and the catastrophe you’d just gone through. Hey, Mandy, can you relay my opinion to Karina, please?”

  “Sure. Jackie says she would have dropped dead if she was in his shoes.”

  “I know. I’d wish the same thing if that happened to me.” Karina shook her head, and then she shut her eyes tightly. “Honestly, I still remember his face—the horror, panic, and the doom….”

  “And?” I asked.

  “I was standing close to him, and I knew what he was supposed to say after listening to that line every day. Russel stared at me intensely, apparently begging for my help. All he needed was the first word of that particular line—it wasn’t like the entire play had vanished from his mind, after all. If only I was generous enough to mutter the first word—no, I mean, even just moving my lips without actually saying the word would have been good enough for him.”

  A deep frown appeared between her eyes. “What did you do?” I said in a stage whisper.

  “Or rather, what did you not do?” Jackie tilted her head.

  “I… I….” The star actress who’d gone through potentially catastrophic moments so many times seemed at a loss. “Like I said, I was enraged and furious… and feeling less than generous. All I wanted was a little piece of revenge, so I looked away from him, completely clamming up. At that time, I thought what I did was nothing but poetic justice, but….”

  “Oh dear! What happened to the show? Did the audience notice what was going on?” Jackie flew around like a pinball. “That’s any theater actor’s worst nightmare!”

  “How did the audience take that?” I said, trying to summarize Jackie’s comments.

  “The buzz coming from the audience was almost deafening. The guy working as the prompter tried to assist Russel, but his voice was too loud. Obviously the audience caught the prompter’s words.”

  “Still, that isn’t such a rare case, is it?” I tilted my head. “Isn’t that why prompters’ jobs exist?”

  “You’re right.” Karina nodded, rubbing her arms. “Then again, for Russel, such a mishap was something that had never happened to him. The audience would talk about his screwup. They could have gone to the press, or some of the audience could have been with the press. By the time of the curtain call, he was nowhere to be seen in the theater. He went missing for days.”

  “Don’t tell me he failed to show up for the shows during those days.” Jackie gasped, blanching. She was a ghost, and generally her complexion tended to be really pale, but she was turning way paler than her usual self.

  “Did he miss his shows after that incident?” I interjected.

  “Yes. He was a no-show, and I knew I was responsible for his devastation.” Karina covered her face with her hands. “One word. Just with one word, I could have helped him. They say there’s no use crying over spilled milk, but sometimes you can’t help but deeply regret and loathe your decision forever and ever.”

  “What exactly happened to him?” I asked. “I know he’s dead, but how did he die?”

  “Three days after he’d gone missing, the police salvaged Russel’s vehicle out of the Hudson River. Inside, they found his body. The police ruled his death an accident, but no one bought that. Everyone thought he committed suicide. No, ‘thought’ would be a weak word. It’s more like everybody just knew.”

  Karina looked like she was on the verge of tears.

  “Still, you’ve devoted yourself to being the foundation of the theater company,” I said, trying to encourage her.

  “I’m just trying to make amends for what I’ve done.” She shook her head. “Or rather for what I failed to do.”

  “You told us some invisible man prompted Rob when he forgot his line. Do you think it was Russel?” I asked.

  “Exactly. That’s what I thought immediately after hearing about the incident from Robert.” She nodded. “He must have reminded the ghost of Russel and his own tragic past.”

  “Well?” Jackie cleared her throat. “Why didn’t you tell Mandy and Rick that you had a hunch about the identity of the ghost in the first place?” She impatiently tapped the floor with her toes in silence.

  I wasn’t sure if Karina would answer me if I repeated Jackie’s question, so instead I said in mock surprise, “Oh, you had a hunch who the ghost could be when we first met?”

  “Um….” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I thought about confiding in you guys, but I had no evidence to claim his identity. Not to mention I’m not so proud of my past. Look, I’m so sorry for withholding a piece of important information. I hope my silence didn’t mess up the investigation.”

  She looked at me with those big eyes that had captured many hearts of theater lovers and her ex-lovers.

  “Speaking of investigation, you seem to be frightened about the ghost thing. What makes you so scared?” I asked, but then I realized that the thought of a ghost stalking you could be creepy. “Okay, if I couldn’t see Jackie but still felt her following me around, I might be scared. Then again, all Russel has done so far is help Rob with his line.”

  “I want you to take a look at this.” Karina went to the dressing table again and brought back something wrapped in a white cloth.

  “What is this?” I stared at the object, but I wasn’t a c
lairvoyant.

  “Some kind of a prop, I guess?” Jackie squinted.

  Returning to her chair, Karina unwrapped it.

  “Wow.” My eyes widened.

  Wrapped in the cloth was a huge hunting knife with a blade as long as that of a large cooking knife.

  “This isn’t a prop for the show,” Karina said, pushing the tip of the blade with the cloth. “See? The blade doesn’t retract by pushing its tip, right?”

  “Right.” I nodded. “So it’s not a stage prop.”

  “In Hamlet, there’s a chair where Horatio is supposed to sit. And this knife was hidden in the backrest of that particular chair,” Karina explained.

  “Oh, really?” I exclaimed. Anyone sitting on that chair without noticing the huge knife sticking out of it would be at risk of severely getting hurt. Or if he was unlucky, he could have ended up dead. “That’s so terrible! Was Rob injured?”

  “Luckily, I recognized something flashy and silver reflecting the lights. It was the tip of this knife peeking out.” Karina inhaled sharply. “So, I interfered with the scene, sitting on that particular chair and making him sit on the other chair set up next to the one with the blade. Robert was surprised, but he didn’t get hurt.”

  “Could it be possible that the knife was misplaced?” I shook my head in answer to my own question. “No way. No one misplaces such a huge blade.”

  “Right.” Karina nodded.

  “Besides, stage props are objects made to visually resemble something, and I can’t think of anyone working so hard to create a prop knife that resembles real ones,” Jackie interjected.

  “So, Karina, do you think Russel’s ghost did that?” I asked.

  “I’ve heard of really powerful and evil ghosts who are capable of making things materialize. Still, I’m not sure if they can pop a hunting knife out of nowhere.” Jackie shook her head.

  “I have no idea who snuck this knife in the chair.” Karina’s frown deepened. Slowly shaking her head, she muttered, “But I can’t imagine anyone else would do that.”

  “Is there any reason for Russel to have a grudge against Robert?” I asked. Then I added, “Maybe grudge is a strong word. After all, Russel helped Rob with his lines.”

  Karina fell silent. After a long pause, she said, “If I were to name one reason, it would be because I’m really, seriously, madly in love with Robert.”

  “Seriously?” Jackie exclaimed. “Still, aren’t you Mr. McMillan’s mistress, Karina? What about him? He’s your big investor, isn’t he? I’m totally witnessing the love triangle of the year!”

  I cleared my throat, prompting Karina to look at me skeptically.

  “That wasn’t for you. I cleared my throat because of Jackie,” I explained, thinking hard and fast in hopes of saying something that wasn’t likely to offend our client. “You know, she’s making a little… noise.”

  “Oh, I can only imagine.” Karina flashed a small but knowing smile. “I don’t know what Jackie is chatting about, but I know it’s hard to be madly in love with someone when you’re sleeping with a rich, balding pig just for money. Actually, I met with Mr. McMillan this morning and broke up with him. Without his investment, it’s harder for our theater company. Still, I’d like to believe we’ll find a way. After the Hamlet shows are over, I’ll tie the knot with Robert.”

  My eyes widened. I opened my mouth and then shut it, not quite sure what to say. At the same time, I recalled how worried I’d been about letting her meet with Rick, fearing that she may be out to get him. I felt a sudden surge of embarrassment. Good thing I didn’t act that defensively on our first meeting.

  Feeling like my cheeks were on fire, I managed to say, “How fabulous! Congratulations, Karina. You have no idea how happy your marriage with my high school classmate makes me.”

  “Thank you so much, Mandy,” she said, sporting her signature dazzling smile. “You know, I wasn’t a huge believer of a monogamous marriage with perhaps a child or two, but you and Rick totally inspired me to take the big leap.”

  “Wow, really?” Her comments were seriously surprising.

  “Yes, really.” She nodded, and she definitely had the glow of a woman in love.

  “Attagirl, Karina!” Jackie hooted. “I always thought you were so cool and so super, but now you look like a goddess to me.”

  As if to agree with Jackie, the baby wiggled in my uterus.

  CHAPTER 8

  After leaving the theater, I went home immediately, afraid the bacon could go bad if the ice pack in the cooler bag completely melted and it took any longer to put it into the fridge.

  I bumped into Natalia at the condo’s lobby. We exchanged brief greetings, and then she asked me how the case with her cousin was going.

  “It’s going fine, I guess. Though some things are a little bit unclear.” Then I realized that I wasn’t supposed to discuss details about our client. When Natalia continued digging for information about her cousin, carrying a bag of bacon with melting ice packs worked like magic for an excuse to leave.

  When I was in the middle of cooking dinner, Rick came home.

  “Hey, are we having Pino’s bacon for dinner?” He sniffed out the specialty bacon immediately.

  “Yes, we are,” I said, swallowing a crispy slice. “You want some?”

  “Sure.” He ate it in one bite and moaned. “Mmm, this is so good.” His hand at his tie, his green gaze captured mine. “No, good is an understatement. It’s heavenly. Hey, why do I have a feeling that you visited the theater and had an interesting experience?”

  “Wow, how do you know that?” Jackie exclaimed, floating by my side. “Mandy, you want to ask him how he mastered the art of mind reading?”

  So I asked, “How did you learn to read my mind? Do you happen to read others’ as well?”

  “I’ve been an expert at reading your mind since the first moment I met you in lockup at Chapel Hill Police Department,” he said nonchalantly. “As for reading other people’s minds, I’m still working on it. Just curious, but what brought you to the theater?”

  “Well, I….” I opened my mouth, thinking about where to begin, but my stomach growled. “Why don’t you wash your hands and let’s have dinner.” I planted a kiss on his jaw. I was famished, and I needed something to eat before telling him about my day.

  Yes, I served bacon for dinner, changing my initial plan to cook lasagna. Instead, I went for a quiche with bacon—not just cooked in the egg mixture but as crispy bits on top. In order to make dinner less artery clogging, I fixed a tomato, avocado, and shrimp appetizer penne salad as well. As for the dressing, I used mayo as the base, adding a little bit of balsamic vinegar and crushed strawberries with a pinch of dried basil leaves.

  While eating, I told him about how I ended up visiting the theater and everything that I witnessed for the day.

  Having been working with me for the last few years and then being married to me, he wasn’t surprised when I told him about my encounter with the ghost of Russel Sassoon. But when I got to the part about Karina’s plan to tie the knot with Rob, he was taken aback.

  “Seriously?” he said. “But isn’t Rob younger than her by something like twenty years?” But he had the decency to add, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

  As for the age difference, I had no reason to object. “I guess so. She’s way older than Rob—like mom and son. Then again, I’ve read about a man in his nineties marrying a woman in her early twenties. Considering the latter sounds almost like a baby marrying a dead body, the nuptials between Karina and Rob don’t seem so out of the ordinary. Except….”

  “Except what?” He tilted his head.

  “I just think Suze will be disappointed.” I recalled how the young, aspiring actress’s face turned pink when she talked about Rob. She definitely had an oh-so-huge crush on him.

  “She’ll be fine, I guess,” Jackie chimed in. “When we met her yesterday, Suze mentioned the couple were about to get married, so she must have been bracing herself for
the big day.”

  She had a point.

  When I relayed her words to Rick, he nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

  All of a sudden, Jackie exclaimed. “Oh my God!”

  “What?” I gasped, twitching in my dining chair as the baby kicked me really hard. “Jackie, I think you’ve just surprised the baby!”

  “Oops, my bad,” Jackie covered her mouth with her big hands.

  “So, what was that?” Rick asked.

  “It’s just that I have a feeling that I could be the next Sherlock Holmes,” she said, uncovering her mouth. She was proudly puffing out her chest and twirling her long hair. “I just figured out who’s been trying to harm Robert.”

  “Really?” I said, then looked at Rick. “Jackie thinks she’s figured out who’s been trying to sabotage Rob.”

  “Come on, Mandy,” she tsked. “I said I’d figured out whodunit, which is different from thinking I figured it out.”

  “Oh really?” I rolled my eyes. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Suze,” she declared proudly.

  “Excuse me?” My eyebrows shot up.

  “What did she say?” Rick asked me, munching on quiche.

  “She says Suze is the culprit,” I replied, shrugging. “There’s no way.”

  “Way,” she corrected me.

  “But Suze adores Rob so much. No, it’s way more than a simple adoration. In my opinion, she practically worships him,” I insisted. “Attempting to harm your love interest is crazy.”

  “Hello? Love is a form of lunacy, and it drives everyone to commit the most idiotic actions.” She snorted.

  “Hmm, Jackie has a point,” Rick interjected after I shared her words. “She’s a member of Magic Lane Theater, and currently her position at the company is mostly behind the scenes. She had access to the stage equipment and the props. That means she had an opportunity to sneak a knife into Rob’s chair.”

  “Riiight.” Jackie nodded. Then she looked at me. “Look, Mandy, everyone working in the entertainment industry is basically a drama queen. And guess what? Drama queens often commit the unbelievable. I met an actress who tampered with the equipment for the curtains and hurt the actor she had a huge crush on. He was hurt worse than she’d intended, and she got arrested. According to her lawyer, who slept with one of the actors I knew, the busted actress thought her love interest might fall in love with her if she looked after him while he recuperated from the injury.”